As he spoke, a disc-sized white sun rose from Nie Kong’s body, its blinding light igniting to weave a wall of white fire around his form.

“Whoosh!”

Entering this void, the spatial bonds vanished completely. Nie Kong’s figure shot forward like lightning, traversing a hundred meters in an instant to reach the edge of the cloud of mist.

His body had already breached the misty confines.

If this were the “Seven-Colored Immortal Domain,” those wisps of immortal energy would have surely swarmed him, but protected by the “Great Sun Chaos True Fire,” the more than three hundred strands of immortal energy here seemed entirely unaware of his presence, drifting lazily as before, not a single one colliding with Nie Kong.

A moment later, Nie Kong’s right hand darted out, snatching a strand of “Chaos Immortal Qi” as it swept past his side. The snow-white flame immediately spread.

The immortal qi offered no resistance, captured silently in Nie Kong’s palm.

With a mere thought, Nie Kong quietly circulated the “Chaos Divine Art.”

The ensuing development was even smoother than Nie Kong had anticipated. In terms of sheer heat, the “Great Sun Chaos True Fire” was far inferior to the “Chaos Heavenly Fire,” yet its efficiency in refining the immortal qi was countless times faster. This strand of immortal qi, thick as a little finger, was completely refined in no time.

The speed was so great that Nie Kong could barely register the passage of time.

“So fast!”

“Brother, refining that single strand of immortal qi took half an hour at most.”

Hulu and Tai Yan were both quite surprised.

Nie Kong’s spirit soared. In the span of a thought, he had completely absorbed the refined immortal qi.

“Hoo!”

Without pausing in the slightest, Nie Kong’s right hand reached for the second strand of “Chaos Immortal Qi…”

Divine Heaven Desolation Domain.

Figures sat cross-legged before the spatial barrier.

Besides Divine Venerable Leshan, Divine Venerable Zibi and Divine Venerable Dantian were present, along with Pan Lin, Pan Yan, Pan Lie, and four other Ninth-Rank Star Gods.

“Gentlemen, Nie Kong is likely not here,” Pan Lie suddenly spoke, his thick eyebrows tightly knitted together.

“No, he must be here.”

Divine Venerable Leshan opened his eyes and stated firmly, though his voice still sounded weak.

Nie Kong’s sneak attack had completely pulverized his five viscera and six bowels. While such damage would not be fatal to a Ninth-Rank Spirit God, reshaping the organs was not a task that could be completed quickly; until his organs recovered, his injuries would not heal.

Pan Lin also frowned. “Just relying on those few drops of Nie Kong’s blood?”

“Indeed, Leshan, seven days have passed. If Nie Kong truly entered the spatial barrier, he would be nothing but dust by now,” Divine Venerable Zibi remarked, an undisguised hint of regret in her expression—though it was unclear whether she regretted Nie Kong’s demise or the dissipation of the Chaos Divine Power.

“Impossible. Since Nie Kong could hide within the spatial barrier to launch a sneak attack on this Venerable, he would never become lost inside the spatial barrier,” Divine Venerable Leshan asserted resolutely.

“That’s debatable. When he was on the second layer of the Grotto-Heaven, Nie Kong used a clone to distract us and slip away. Who knows if this spatial barrier harbors another one of his clones while his main body has already left to search for the ‘Primal Beginning Divine Crystal’ elsewhere,” Pan Yan stated solemnly.

“This…”

Divine Venerable Leshan’s face finally betrayed a flicker of hesitation.

The Chaos Divine Power Nie Kong cultivated was utterly marvelous; perhaps there truly was a way for him to conceal his true aura, making even his ‘Dao Source Tracing’ technique fail to detect him.

If Pan Yan’s speculation held true, waiting here any longer would be foolish.

Moreover, though his tone was resolute when countering Divine Venerable Zibi’s doubt earlier, he too harbored some uncertainty. He knew the dangers of the spatial barrier within this “Divine Heaven Desolation Domain” intimately; even an Exalted Sovereign had to tread carefully. Could Nie Kong, no matter how powerful, surpass an Exalted Sovereign?

“Gentlemen, we will take our leave now.”

Just then, Pan Lie suddenly sprang up. The five individuals around him, including Pan Lin and Pan Yan, rose in succession and sped toward the exit of the Desolation Domain.

In the blink of an eye, the six figures vanished from the sight of the three Divine Venerables.

“Our losses this time are too great,” Divine Venerable Zibi sighed softly. “The Sea Dragon’s main body was destroyed; only fragments of its soul and power escaped. Dark Night was even worse—not a trace of his soul managed to get out. Within the Dark Spirit Grotto-Heaven, his Spirit God clone likely remains, but for him to return to his peak realm… that is much easier said than done.”

Divine Venerable Dantian snorted coldly. “This Nie Kong is ruthless. Even as a Ninth-Rank Spirit God, he is this difficult to handle. Once he ascends to the Exalted Sovereign realm, I fear none of us will survive.”

“He will not ascend to the Exalted Sovereign realm.”

Divine Venerable Zibi’s beautiful features curved into a smile filled with hidden meaning. “Exalted Sovereign Chongxu will not give him that chance, nor will Exalted Sovereign Pangu.”

“Oh?”

Dantian and Leshan subconsciously turned their gazes toward her. Divine Venerable Zibi merely smiled enigmatically as she drifted toward the domain’s exit. “Let us go as well. Within this Grotto-Heaven, we likely cannot manage him. We must look outside the Grotto-Heaven. Once the time is right, even Exalted Sovereign Qicai will not be able to protect him.”

“Zibi, you mean…” Divine Venerable Dantian’s eyes flickered as he followed.

“…”

Divine Venerable Zibi only smiled and offered no further words.

Divine Venerable Leshan struggled for a moment, throwing a fierce glare at the spatial barrier. Ultimately, he followed Zibi and Dantian. Despite gnashing his teeth in hatred for Nie Kong, the sneak attack had left him deeply shaken; before leaving the “Primal Beginning Grotto-Heaven,” he dared not act alone again.

“Swish!”

In the void behind the spatial barrier, Nie Kong’s right hand shot out like lightning, grasping the final strand of “Chaos Immortal Qi.” It was as thick as two fingers—the largest strand of immortal energy.

The white flames burned fiercely, and soon, this immortal qi was refined, merging into Nie Kong’s Chaos Divine Power.

After absorbing approximately two hundred strands of “Chaos Immortal Qi,” Nie Kong’s strength had already reached the peak of the Ninth-Rank Spirit God realm. In the subsequent absorption process, the Chaos Divine Power continuously condensed, reaching an unprecedented extreme. Every minute thread of divine power contained terrifying stellar force.

Feeling the surge of divine power within his body, a faint understanding flickered in Nie Kong’s mind.

But it was ephemeral, like a night-blooming cereus, impossible to grasp. When he tried to examine it closely, it seemed as if nothing had appeared at all, leaving Nie Kong itching with frustration, desperate to split his head open to see what profound mystery was hidden inside.

“Brother, look quickly.”

Suddenly, Tai Yan’s “Revolving Flower” rubbed insistently against Nie Kong’s chin.

Nie Kong snapped back to attention and looked up, a slight look of astonishment on his face. The cloud mass that had been absorbing the “Chaos Immortal Qi” was inexplicably twisting and shifting violently. In a brief moment, a staircase formed of condensed mist was revealed. At the top of the stairs, there was a vortex.

The aura of immortal energy surged from the depths of the vortex, intensely potent.

“There is more ‘Chaos Immortal Qi’ in there?”

Nie Kong froze, his figure subconsciously drifting forward…