Tai Yan exclaimed in surprise. It was understandable that Lan Ling and the others couldn't sense it, but for her, a Spirit God herself, to be unable to perceive Nie Kong's presence meant only one thing: after absorbing the 'Chaos Heavenly Fire' from the lower jade scroll, Nie Kong must have also ascended to the Spirit God realm. However, the moment she voiced this, Tai Yan grew doubtful; while the commotion Nie Kong caused while drawing in the surrounding spiritual energy had been immense, it hadn't shown any signs of a Spirit God promotion.

Nie Kong sprang up. "Not yet, but I have successfully cultivated Chaos Divine Power. Still, I have a feeling that the moment the opportunity arises, I can ascend to Spirit God at any time." As he spoke, a strange smile flickered across Nie Kong's face. "I didn't expect my opportunity to arrive so soon."

"What opportunity?"

Lan Ling, Qing You, and Hulu were utterly confused, but Tai Yan's eyes suddenly lit up. She spun around abruptly, gazing toward the western horizon. Seeing her reaction, Lan Ling and the others followed her gaze. The next moment, in the sky where the first rays of dawn were breaking, over a dozen small black dots flashed into view, hurtling rapidly toward them.

The black dots grew larger and larger, quickly resolving into more than a dozen figures that descended like lightning into the scorched depression of the mountain—it was the strongest lineup the Dan Xian Sect could muster at the moment: Marquis Wu, Zhuang Yu, and Taishu Yan, among others.

Their gazes swept past Tai Yan to settle on Nie Kong. Zhuang Yu and Taishu Yan paused, momentarily stunned. By now, Nie Kong had reverted to his original appearance, and they didn't immediately recognize him. Yet, as their eyes traveled over Lan Ling, Qing You, and Hulu, their gazes filled with surprise and delight.

Marquis Wu’s eyes snapped open, and his deep gaze quickly swept over Lan Ling and the others, an unconcealed trace of avarice flickering within them.

Nie Kong chuckled playfully. "Marquis Wu, Zhuang Yu, and Taishu Yan. Coming after me in such a rush—did you perhaps forget to give me some more treasures?" Nie Kong recognized the majority of the dozen people facing him; even if he couldn't name everyone, he had met them a few times before.

The only unfamiliar face was the elderly man in blue robes beside Marquis Wu. This elder had an aura on par with Marquis Wu and Zhuang Yu, suggesting he was also a Spirit God.

Yuan Ru stared fixedly at Nie Kong and suddenly spoke, "Are you Tai Shuang?"

"You can call me Nie Kong," Nie Kong replied with a smile.

"Whether I call you Tai Shuang or Nie Kong,"

Yuan Ru sneered, suddenly roaring, "Divine Water of the Grand Void, go!" The instant his voice exploded, a curtain of azure water light swept from his palm. In less than half a blink, it hovered directly above Nie Kong's head, pouring down upon him with a rushing sound, enveloping the space several meters around them in a cool mist.

"Move!"

The moment Yuan Ru attacked, Marquis Wu let out a great shout and vanished from his spot simultaneously with Zhuang Yu. In the next instant, they appeared on either side of Tai Yan. A massive, fiery-red medicinal cauldron whistled as it slammed toward Tai Yan’s head, immediately followed by a giant purple longsword slicing horizontally toward her waist.

Taishu Yan, a savage grin twisting his features, lunged toward Lan Ling, while the remaining ten individuals closed in to encircle the Ghostly Soul Eagle King, Qing You, and Hulu.

Suddenly, the very essence of the heavens and earth shifted its color with the surging wind and clouds.

"Oh? Something good!" Nie Kong casually raised his hand to grasp the azure curtain of water.

"Seeking death!"

Yuan Ru scoffed, waving both hands. A thousand sharp arrows shot out from the water curtain. These water arrows, condensed from the 'Divine Water of the Grand Void,' were incredibly potent, capable of easily piercing hardened Dragon Stone. One shot striking a ninth-rank Spirit Illusionist would instantly leave a bloody crater.

However, Nie Kong didn't spare the water arrows a single glance, allowing them to bombard him from head to toe. Seeing this, the disdain in Yuan Ru's eyes deepened.

"Clang! Clang! Clang..."

A string of crisp, ringing explosions echoed, yet Nie Kong's body remained utterly unharmed.

Witnessing this scene, Yuan Ru's eyes widened in disbelief. Thousands of Divine Water of the Grand Void arrows had struck Nie Kong, and he appeared completely unfazed, as if nothing had happened.

Just then, Nie Kong’s right hand pierced the water curtain.

"Hmph!"

Yuan Ru's aged face showed a trace of anger. He tapped his right index finger, and a colossal azure water dragon shot out from within the water mass, merging into the curtain. Immediately, an icy chill spread out, and within the area shrouded by the water curtain, even the void itself seemed to freeze.

Seeing Nie Kong below frozen motionless like an ice sculpture, Yuan Ru snorted coldly. In his eyes, Nie Kong was no different from a dead man now. Under the freezing embrace of the 'Divine Water of the Grand Void,' even someone like Taishu Yan, who had already passed the Second Spiritual Tribulation, would be turned into an ice sculpture—let alone a little fellow at the peak of the Ninth Rank.

In a flash, Yuan Ru's gaze shifted to the surroundings.

Marquis Wu and Zhuang Yu were currently besieging the woman in red. Yuan Ru knew her as 'Tai Yan'—though now he suspected 'Tai Yan' was also a false name. It was rumored she had weathered the Third Spiritual Tribulation and had only recently advanced to the Spirit God realm.

Not far away, Taishu Yan was forcing the other woman into a desperate defensive posture, while the ten other Spirit Illusionists from the Dan Xian Sect were relentlessly chasing the spirit beast and the two small spiritual creatures. Across the various skirmishes, aside from the female Spirit God being somewhat troublesome, the others posed no real threat; victory was within grasp.

"I never expected Nie Kong to have so many fully realized spiritual beings around him—even such a rare Water Spirit that appears once in ten thousand years. I must claim that Water Spirit later. Once this biggest threat, the 'Chaos Heavenly Fire,' is resolved, I naturally deserve some spoils." As he watched the Water Spirit darting about haphazardly, a smile played on Yuan Ru's lips.

"Shameless Dan Xian Sect, ganging up on a few people!"

Just then, an angry shout thundered, immediately followed by a flash of green streaking forward. It was an old man with a pointed head and a plump body. The moment his voice faded, his form transmuted into a gigantic, green-shelled behemoth, crashing violently into one of the Dan Xian Sect elders.

That Dan Xian Sect elder was sent reeling backward dozens of meters, his face instantly flushing crimson. The green giant turtle also tumbled several times on the ground before stabilizing itself.

"Elder Gui Xian, we are here!"

More than a dozen figures shot in from a distance, engaging the Dan Xian Sect elders in a fierce melee. Qing You and Hulu, who had been fleeing in disarray, suddenly felt the pressure ease, finally able to catch a temporary breath.

"The Sea Clan?"

Yuan Ru’s expression remained unchanged.

For a Spirit God like him, any number of Ninth-Rank experts were merely bubbles waiting to be popped. Moreover, these newcomers were from the Sea Clan, and the Dan Xian Sect knew how to handle them; he saw no need to incur enmity with the Sea Clan over this matter. His gaze flickered, settling on Qing You and Hulu.

"Perfect, I'll take them all down then!"

Yuan Ru was about to make his move when his heart suddenly gave a jolt. He instinctively turned his head to look, only to see that beneath the 'Divine Water of the Grand Void,' the layer of crystalline ice shimmering on Nie Kong's body was suddenly shattering inch by inch. Instantly, the five fingers of his right hand, still plunged into the water curtain, spread wide open and violently churned the water as if stirring batter.

"Splash!"

The water curtain spun rapidly, actually growing smaller and smaller.

Yuan Ru had not anticipated that the seemingly dead Nie Kong would suddenly spring back to life, nor had he expected him to be able to stir the 'Divine Water of the Grand Void' so easily. By the time he reacted, the 'Divine Water of the Grand Void' had condensed into a fist-sized sphere of water, resting quietly in his palm.