As Nie Kong hesitated, the little fellow grew agitated and let out a series of sharp cries: "Ah..." Ya Ya, Ah Ya... Ya..."

"Indeed, while the Spiritual Aperture and the Nine Nether Stars can operate now, how long it will take to fully return Taiyan's power to her body remains uncertain."

Nie Kong gave a wry, internal smile. Since ascending to the Eighth Order, the little fellow's sentience had truly grown; in the past, it would never have tried to persuade him like this. "Fine, I'll try it as it suggests. Success is still up in the air, though. If it actually works, and if the problem I anticipate does arise, I'll stop immediately. After all, the most dangerous phase has passed; how much worse can things get than before?"

His resolve firm, Nie Kong no longer delayed: "Xiangxiang, begin!"

"Ah Ya Ya!"

The little fellow chirped happily, and its life-force essence began to flow into Taiyan's terrifying power, exploding outwards instantly. At almost the same moment, Nie Kong started circulating the 'Yin-Yang Spirit Devouring Art,' allowing the essence of the Spirit Treasure to slowly traverse his meridians, following the trajectory of Taiyan's energy.

"Hong."

From within the pale green sphere, Qingyue let out a sudden, startled whisper.

The little one suddenly sensed a faint trace of life force seeping out from the crimson walls outside, spiraling through its very core and entering Nie Kong's body.

After observing intently for a while longer, Qingyue finally realized it wasn't an illusion and couldn't help but feel a spark of disbelief: "Is it finally healing?"

"It's healed!"

Deep within the dense forest, the Spectral Eagle King shrieked a cry of pure relief. "This great lord has finally escaped! Those bastards from the Spirit God Hall are fit only to eat my dust!" The Spectral Eagle King was currently filthy, having shed a significant portion of the feathers on its neck, back, and wings; it looked utterly wretched.

Ever since encountering Zhan Bang and the other two Heavenly Spirit powerhouses from the Spirit God Hall in the 'Spirit Restriction Marsh,' the Spectral Eagle King had fled desperately. When the distance between them had narrowed to barely a hundred meters, the creature finally burst free of the Marsh's boundaries.

It had anticipated unleashing its divine might and shaking off its pursuers immediately, but unexpectedly, two more Heavenly Spirit powerhouses suddenly surged into the sky ahead, blocking its path. Faced with this situation, the Spectral Eagle King was nearly scared witless—how could one spirit beast survive being cornered by five Heavenly Spirit masters?

What happened next made the Spectral Eagle King wish it had been born with two extra wings. Under the siege of the five experts, it was in grave peril in less than half a minute. Fortunately, at that precise moment, the five seemed to freeze momentarily, having received some message.

The Spectral Eagle King seized the opportunity and broke out of the encirclement. Afterward, the chasers were reduced to Zhan Bang and one other, while the remaining three Heavenly Spirit masters returned to the 'Spirit Restriction Marsh.'

By that time, the Spectral Eagle King’s wings were injured, and even mobilizing its spiritual power offered little speed advantage over Zhan Jiao and the others.

After chasing for hundreds of li, the Spectral Eagle King only managed to escape through sheer endurance.

It rested briefly hidden in the dense woods, unwilling to risk going back to check the situation, and continued speeding into the distance. It guessed that the three who suddenly left must have done so because other Heavenly Spirit masters had arrived at the 'Spirit Restriction Marsh.' More Heavenly Spirit experts would likely appear, and if a wounded peak Ninth-Grade spirit beast like itself had its tracks discovered, it could easily become prey for them. A distance of several hundred li wasn't safe enough.

It needed to be at least a thousand li away from the 'Spirit Restriction Marsh'!

"Damn bad luck! That vile beast actually got away! And its master, I don't know where he's hiding, but he hasn't shown his face once!" After restoring his spiritual power and finally returning to the edge of the 'Spirit Restriction Marsh,' Zhan Jiao's expression was grim, his already long horse-face pulled even longer.

"Don't worry about that man stealing the spirit medicine. The spirit masters driven into the Marsh were surely after the Illusory Realm within the swamp. As long as the Illusory Realm remains, we will encounter him again," said the white-haired old man beside him with a grin, though his body suddenly began to drop downward. With a surprised cry, fierce black flames erupted around him, and the old man floated upward again. "Has the Marsh's 'Shared Spirit Restriction' reactivated?"

"It was the same last time. It seems there truly is a Medicine Spirit residing within the 'Medicine Spirit Illusory Realm,'" Zhan Bang replied, black flames also swirling around his body, supporting him against the fall. A moment later, a hint of anger crossed his face: "I understand now. That Medicine Spirit clearly used us to drive out that beast."

"Don't..."

"..."

As they spoke, neither man slowed their pace, and soon they reached the center of the 'Spirit Restriction Marsh.' However, upon seeing the situation clearly, both couldn't help but be startled.

At this moment, surrounding the Spirit Restriction Stele, there were nearly twenty other figures. Besides the experts from their own Spirit God Hall, there were many familiar faces among them. The Heaven and Earth Sect, Spirit Imperial City, Ink Snow Sect, Mara Holy Mountain, Shatu Royalty, the Serpent Spirit Clan... Every one of them had Heavenly Spirit experts present.

In less than two days, perhaps every major sect, great lineage, and even every Spirit Clan on the Heavenly Spirit Continent would have representatives here. If the 'Medicine Spirit Illusory Realm' opened, it would be difficult for the Spirit God Hall to monopolize it. Although the Spirit God Hall was the strongest on the Heavenly Spirit Continent, if all those Spirit Master Holy Lands, great sects, great lineages, and Spirit Clans joined forces to scramble for it, even two Spirit God Halls couldn't stop them!

This situation had become troublesome!

Zhan Bang and the other exchanged worried glances, their figures slowly descending...

In the crimson wall space, greenery flourished, and the pale green sphere was saturated with rich vitality. Taiyan's graceful form and Nie Kong’s body remained pressed tightly together, motionless.

"That should be enough."

Nie Kong thought to himself. After expending nearly half of the little fellow's life-force essence, the violence in Taiyan's power had gradually subsided, while Nie Kong's Spirit Treasure essence, having fused with a large amount of vitality, had become exceptionally active.

The preparation was complete. Nie Kong began recalling the method for running the 'Silken Web Sericulture Absorption Art.'

This 'Silken Web Sericulture Absorption Art' held a fatal attraction to primordial power. Nie Kong had only used it once before, absorbing Fu Mang's primordial power in the Nether Sea. Coincidentally, the primordial power within Fu Mang's body was of the exact same origin as Taiyan's—both derived from the Great Evolution Spirit Venerable.

Although the little fellow could also absorb primordial power, its life-force essence had been consumed too much; using the 'Silken Web Sericulture Absorption Art' was the more prudent choice. The little fellow’s remaining life-force essence needed to be saved for unexpected situations. Taiyan's power was too vast; if it rioted again, he would need to cooperate with Xiangxiang to use 'Return to True Simplicity.'

With a thought, Nie Kong quieted his mind. The five golden Nether Stars inside his body, which had completely transformed, began to flicker continuously, sometimes fast, sometimes slow, with a rather bizarre frequency. Guided by these five golden Nether Stars, the other four Nether Stars began to flash according to their pattern.