As Nie Kong had previously anticipated, Bai Yuqing's cultivation speed in this place was astonishingly fast. She had broken through to the Heavenly Spirit Realm a full month ago and was now at the second rank of Heavenly Spirit. At this rate, in about a year, she would reach the peak of the ninth rank of Heavenly Spirit.

By then, the "Serpent Dragon Entering Divinity Pill" Nie Kong left for her would be perfectly timed for use.

With a shift in thought, Nie Kong calmed his mind, and his spiritual consciousness quietly spread out, instantly enveloping the entire Heavenly Spirit Continent.

According to Xian Zhuyin, after his advancement to the Grand Venerable realm, he could use the attractive force of the "Chaos Immortal Qi" to perceive the hiding spots of the "Chaos Immortal Spirits."

However, up to this moment, he had found nothing.

If it weren't for Chong Xu and Pangu's schemes indicating that the "Chaos Immortal Spirits" were indeed within the vicinity of the Heavenly Spirit Continent, Nie Kong might have started doubting the accuracy of Xian Zhuyin's perception.

Fortunately, Nie Kong was now a Grand Venerable X, and the merged Tai Yan and Da Yan Ling Zun were also Grand Venerables, affording him some measure of self-protection. The urgency to find the "Chaos Immortal Spirit" was not as intense as it had been initially. Still, aimless searching would likely end in wasted effort.

But this was Nie Kong's only method.

For entities like the "Chaos Immortal Spirit," even if Nie Kong drew upon the aura absorbed from his Chaos Shell and unleashed the "Blood Shadow Dharma Form," it would be useless. At this point, Nie Kong’s greatest hope was that the "Chaos Immortal Spirit" would not awaken before he could locate it.

"Force!"

Suddenly, a booming sound seemed to traverse countless spaces. By the time it reached the Heavenly Spirit Continent, significantly weakened and transmitted through layers of reduction, it was as faint as a mosquito’s hum.

Nie Kong's heart skipped a beat; this roar originated from the World Gate.

"Nie Kong, the World Gate!"

After only a moment of stunned pause, Nie Kong snapped back to attention. Just then, the vigorous voice of Mu Zu suddenly echoed across millions of miles of space, reverberating in his ears.

"Hoo!"

Nie Kong vanished from the Medicine King Palace with almost no hesitation.

Seconds later, Nie Kong appeared tens of thousands of meters in the sky. Above his head, the hazy, pale sky formed a hemispherical dome, covering the Heavenly Spirit Continent and the Underworld Earth. At the apex of this dome, however, was a dimness—a vast and deep black hole presented itself clearly before Nie Kong's eyes.

"They've already made their move over there..."

Mu Zu suddenly arrived beside Nie Kong, looked up at the black hole, and sighed softly.

"Boom!"

The moment his words fell, another faint roar sounded, and the deathly silent black hole trembled, dark black energy churning violently within it.

Nie Kong nodded. "If my sensing is correct, there are four Grand Venerables attacking from that side. They might not last long before this World Gate opens. However, we shouldn't worry too much; we also have four Grand Venerables on our side. Even if we are collectively weaker, the gap won't be too large."

"Look at this little fellow; it seems he's counted me in as well." Mu Zu chuckled upon hearing this. "Although your cultivation realm is still stuck at the Heavenly Spirit stage, you absolutely possess the strength of a Grand Venerable."

Nie Kong, having said this, couldn't help but feel quite suspicious. "Mu Zu, why have you always suppressed your realm and refrained from advancing for so many years?"

Nie Kong had wanted to ask this question for a long time.

He knew that if Mu Zu elevated his cultivation realm, his strength would certainly increase significantly, and he could also break free from the constraints of the Yin Ruins and move freely between heaven and earth. At that point, the Heavenly Spirit experts in Ling Yu City and the Yin Ruins would no longer need to expend effort suppressing that spirit vein.

Mu Zu sighed. "Back then, if I had advanced my realm, I probably would never have reached the strength I possess today. As for now, I dare not advance anymore."

"Dare not advance?"

Nie Kong was greatly shocked.

He had conjectured many possibilities, but never had he expected Mu Zu to answer this way. Mu Zu was so powerful, yet he dared not elevate his cultivation realm?

This was truly bizarre.

Mu Zu replied helplessly, "Ten thousand years ago, when the great calamity struck, I escaped by hiding in the Yin Ruins. Later, I discovered that a mystical power occasionally leaked from the source of the spirit vein in those Yin Ruins. That power was extremely subtle; it took me several centuries of cultivation there to sense it."

Mysterious power? Nie Kong’s heart stirred upon hearing this.

"Relying on that power, I easily ascended to the peak of the Heavenly Spirit Realm."

"At that time, I could certainly pass the Triple Spirit Tribulation with ease. However, if I had truly advanced to Spirit God, I would have been summoned by the World Gate of the Heavenly Spirit Continent to the Grand Venerable Spirit Realm. Even after thousands of years of diligent cultivation, I might have reached the peak of Spirit God, but achieving Grand Venerable would have been a remote hope."

"So, I chose to stay, expanding my physical form while suppressing my cultivation realm, constantly absorbing that power, which continuously increased my strength until I reached my current state. Only now do I realize that this power emanates from an independent space."

"Moreover, after ten thousand years of cultivation, my physical body has fused with the barrier of that space. If I advance to Grand Venerable, the body of the Ancestral Heaven Divine Luo Tree will condense, and that space will inevitably collapse. If the power contained within that space erupts, not only will the Yin Ruins be imperiled, but the entire Heavenly Spirit Continent might also be destroyed."

"As for me, I would likely scatter my soul under the force of that explosion."

"......"

Such a thing existed?

Nie Kong was stunned, and the strange feeling in his heart grew stronger. He suddenly asked, "Mu Zu, have you ever heard of the 'Chaos Immortal Spirit'?" It suddenly dawned on him that while he had meticulously searched every corner of the Heavenly Spirit Continent, even inspecting the Underworld Earth, he had deliberately avoided the Yin Ruins.

In his view, with Mu Zu, who possessed Grand Venerable strength, presiding over the Yin Ruins, if the "Chaos Immortal Spirit" were truly hidden there, Mu Zu couldn't possibly have failed to notice it. But he had overlooked a critical detail: if the "Chaos Immortal Spirit" were so easy to find, Chong Xu and Pangu would have succeeded long ago.

"Chaos Immortal Spirit?"

Mu Zu seemed surprised, clearly hearing the name for the first time.

"Mu Zu, I will tell you about this later; let's go to the Yin Ruins now," Nie Kong said, feeling a bit anxious.

"Wait, little fellow, aren't you going to reinforce this World Gate?" Mu Zu paused. He had called Nie Kong here precisely to join forces with him to make the World Gate more solid. With them blocking this side, it would be significantly harder for the people on the other side to break through the gate.

"This World Gate was engineered entirely by Chong Xu. No matter how much we reinforce it, we cannot stop them; it will only delay the time it takes for them to open the gate. Once they enter the Heavenly Spirit Continent and find that 'Chaos Immortal Spirit,' all of us will likely meet a gruesome end." Furthermore, there was another reason Nie Kong didn't state: if Chong Xu and Pangu sensed someone blocking them here, they might vent their anger on his master, the Seven-Colored Grand Venerable. The Seven-Colored Grand Venerable was vulnerable in the "Grand Venerable Spirit Realm," and their situation would become extremely perilous.

"Oh?"

Mu Zu was skeptical, and before he could voice the many questions brimming in his mind, he found Nie Kong already rushing toward the Yin Ruins. He had no choice but to follow...