"Yan Shangcheng!" The figure who arrived was the Priestess from the painted boat on the Qishui River. She looked at Yan Shangcheng's weakened body and gently supported him. "Your body has reached its limit. If you don't control it further, you might be completely taken over by the Rampant Meridian Tianshu."

Yan Shangcheng felt a surge of warmth enter his chest, and he let out a long breath as the red mark on his forehead gradually faded: "Hoo..."

Ye Xiu was also caught in the frenzied state of the Netherworld Blood Water, but the Priestess's power, though not overwhelmingly strong, brought a profound sense of peace to his mind. He managed to regain his composure and collapsed onto the ground: "Priestess, you... you must be the Holy Queen of Ten Thousand Demons!"

The Priestess, her face veiled in white gauze, surveyed the scene on the Forbidden Isle. She judged that Yan Shangcheng should be able to disengage without too much difficulty: "Whether or not I am the Holy Queen of Ten Thousand Demons, no one knows. I only wish to take Yan Shangcheng away!"

Elder Tianyuan, seeing that Yan Shangcheng's strength had waned, finally descended onto the Forbidden Isle. He roared, "Yan Shangcheng has committed too much slaughter and has incurred a blood feud with our Tianyun Ji. Taking him away will not be so easy!"

Old Liu and the others rushed to support Ye Xiu, whose Grand Mystic Dao Curse was still not fully integrated, rendering him ineffective in these high-level confrontations: "You lunatic, you almost lost control again! How did you tap into the power of the Blood Sea?"

Ye Xiu shook his head; the recent battle felt like nothing more than a dream to him: "Who knows? I just felt as if all my blood had been drained."

At that moment, Ziyan coiled out from the jade ring. Su Su, upon seeing Ye Xiu injured, exclaimed with delight, "Congratulations, Master! Your Death God cultivation has unintentionally broken through to the initial stage of the Body Forging Realm!"

"Body Forging Realm!" Ye Xiu recalled the ranks of the Death God cultivation. The Body Forging Realm meant he could now utilize the Black Flame upon his own physical form. "Could the power of the Blood Sea just now be what allowed me to break through this barrier?"

The Priestess responded to Elder Tianyuan's pressure with serene composure. She waved her hand lightly: "As an exchange, I will not simply take Yan Shangcheng away for nothing. I can only share one secret with Elder Tianyuan."

"A secret? What secret?" Elder Tianyuan had heard rumors of the Priestess, but upon sensing her cultivation, he was certain she was no native of the Boundless Realm.

The Priestess pointed toward Ye Xiu beside her: "He has already obtained the Three Primordial Needles. These needles possess an additional marvel for the entire Boundless Realm!"

Ye Xiu knew the Three Primordial Needles could unravel the chaotic energies mixed within his body, but what other marvels they held was unknown to him.

"Please elaborate." The members of the Sun-Blind Clan had all arrived and surrounded the entire Forbidden Isle. He, too, wished to hear what the Priestess had to say.

The Priestess walked over to Ye Xiu and whispered, "The Tyrant of the Underworld, Sha Juntian, is sealed in ice atop Mount Sumeru. With the day of his thawing rapidly approaching, if no measures are taken, the entire Boundless Realm will spiral into chaos."

Elder Tianyuan pondered for a moment before pressing further: "So you mean to say, Priestess, that you have a method to restrain Sha Juntian?"

"Not restrain, but obliterate completely!" The Priestess let out a cold laugh, her features hidden behind the white gauze. "The ice seal formed by the supreme life essence of the Boundless Dao Master cannot be pierced by any divine weapon. However, these Three Primordial Needles can penetrate it entirely. If an external force can shoot the Needles into Sha Juntian's body, the power of the Demon Realm's primordial essence will be completely depleted, and Sha Juntian can no longer threaten the Boundless Realm."

Hearing this, Ye Xiu looked down at the glittering Heavenly Needles in his hand: "I never expected this thing could actually harm Sha Juntian, truly..."

Elder Tianyuan naturally understood the Priestess's implication. He waved his hand, signaling the Sun-Blind Clan members behind him to disperse: "Let Yan Shangcheng go. However, the blood feud with Tianyun Ji will not be forgotten. Should we encounter Yan Shangcheng at any time, he will be executed without question."

"Thank you, Elder!" The Priestess's objective for this visit was to take Yan Shangcheng. She then fixed Ye Xiu with a cold gaze: "What is it? Do you wish to use the Three Primordial Needles to regulate the energy in your body, or are you choosing to bear responsibility for the safety of the entire Boundless Realm?"

"Nonsense, the Boundless Realm has nothing to do with us..." Old Liu tried to blurt out, but everyone present, save for Ye Xiu and himself, seemed connected to the Boundless Realm in some way.

The Priestess shook her head and plunged into the clouds below with Yan Shangcheng. Her cultivation and power remained deeply mysterious. As the eternally reincarnating Holy Queen of Ten Thousand Demons, what role had she played in driving the history of the various realms?

"Take these youths back to the main hall to recuperate. Others, handle the clean-up," Elder Tianyuan subtly indicated for Potian and Birdman to follow him back to the hall, though his eyes never left the Heavenly Needles in Ye Xiu's hand.

The calamity that befell Tianyun Ji was more than just the destruction of one Forbidden Isle. The accidental death of Elder Liuyun was a significant blow to the entire Sun-Blind Clan, which is why many were displeased with Elder Tianyuan allowing Yan Shangcheng to leave.

"I know many of you are dissatisfied with my actions, but..." Elder Tianyuan smiled slightly as he looked at Elder Potian, knowing he shared the same view. "The death of Elder Liuyun is a major setback for the Sun-Blind Clan, but the Priestess’s words have presented us with an opportunity."

Birdman, naturally calm, seemed less clear on the Elder's meaning: "Elder, are you suggesting that the Sun-Blind Clan will utilize the Three Primordial Needles on behalf of the Boundless Realm to slay Sha Juntian at Mount Sumeru!"

"Precisely. This is an excellent opportunity for the resurgence of the Sun-Blind Clan." Elder Tianyuan nodded, optimistic about the clan's future. "As of now, we are likely the only ones aware of this matter, and the Life-Seizing Heavenly Needles have long been kept within Tianyun Ji. It is most fitting that we undertake this task."

"But, but Ye Xiu..." Birdman had heard of the critical importance of the Three Primordial Needles to Ye Xiu and considered him a friend. "Will that young man agree to hand over the Three Primordial Needles?"

"Don't forget, we still have leverage!" Elder Potian smiled faintly and continued, "That fellow named Jun Bugu is still a prisoner. At our current advantage, we can end him whenever we wish!"

Birdman seemed to grasp the Elders' intentions: "You intend to use Jun Bugu to force Ye Xiu to surrender the Three Primordial Needles. But doing so..."

"There is no 'but.' If he doesn't hand them over, he will have to!" Elder Tianyuan finalized the decision with a clap. He noticed Birdman's expression. "Yu'er, I know you have some rapport with that young man, but friendship is friendship. Revitalizing the Sun-Blind Clan is what you should be focused on, especially since you were selected from childhood to be the successor of the Divine Beast Phoenix."

"Yes!" Birdman dared not contradict the Elder, though such an action seemed deeply unfair to Ye Xiu.

The sky still held a warm hue. On Tianyun Ji, there seemed to be no distinction between day and night, only shifts in human loyalty.

Under Old Liu's care, the turbulent energy within Ye Xiu’s body finally calmed. He sat up and looked at Old Liu, who was nearly asleep: "Hey, you lazy good-for-nothing, taking a nap when you should be watching over me."

Old Liu's pleasant dream was shattered by Ye Xiu. He flung off the covers and saw that Ye Xiu's sword wounds from earlier had vanished: "The Death God's physique is absolutely suited for combat. Every one of your wounds heals within a few hours."

"Where is Jun Bugu?" Ye Xiu got up but didn't see the young man.

"Birdman and the others took him away, said they were locking him up!" Old Liu noticed Ye Xiu's strong sentimentality, as his first action upon waking was to look for his friend. "Did you and Jun Bugu kill one of their Elders or something? This matter is going to be tricky."

Ye Xiu sighed. The circumstances demanded it; killing had been unavoidable: "Alas, what should be done now? Jun Bugu killed someone because of me. I have to find a way to save him."

"How about we ask Birdman for help!" Old Liu sat comfortably with his legs crossed. "I didn't realize he was part of the Sun-Blind Clan high command. Releasing a prisoner shouldn't be a problem for him."

"Forget it. You know Birdman's nature." Ye Xiu felt this approach wouldn't work. "Birdman is steady and calm; he is far more loyal to his own clan than either of us."

"How loyal are we?" Old Liu spread his hands in a gesture. "Count the powers within you—how many factions do you owe allegiance to? How many do I owe? We should focus on yourself first and figure out how to use the Three Primordial Needles to heal those chaotic energies."

Ye Xiu once again took out the Heavenly Needles. The small needles shimmered with an extremely clear tri-color light: "The Priestess said these Three Primordial Needles could kill Sha Juntian. Don't you want to try that out?"

"I am certainly interested in seeing how Sha Juntian is killed by this little gadget, but not at the cost of watching you remain so chaotic," Old Liu snatched the needles away. No matter how he looked at them, he couldn't see how these things could break the Demon Realm's primordial essence.

"Think about what we are doing this all for in the Boundless Realm," Ye Xiu began to reflect. This trip to the Boundless Realm had seemingly changed him; he began to value certain emotions more. "Remember back at Mount Sumeru when the Boundless Dao Master sacrificed himself to save us? If he hadn't, do you think the two of us could have killed much of Sha Juntian?"

"At that time, we certainly wouldn't have been confident, but now..." Old Liu smugly held up the ice energy in his hand. "Don't get me wrong, I'm actually quite eager to fight Sha Juntian."

"Forget it, the Boundless Realm is chaotic enough already." Ye Xiu reasoned calmly. The death of Jiaye, the fall of Jiayunxin—he was a factor in all of it to some degree. Yan Shangcheng's power was still growing unchecked, which was another major crisis, coupled with the invasion of divine beasts. It seemed impossible to remain detached now. "Elder Tianyuan of the Sun-Blind Clan certainly wants the Three Primordial Needles I possess. Do you think I could trade the Heavenly Needles for Jun Bugu's freedom?"

"Is that silly boy worth you doing that?" Old Liu genuinely couldn't fathom the mind of a Death God. "That fellow doesn't seem as powerful as you describe."

Ye Xiu nodded: "That's precisely why I'm more interested in him. He seems like a completely different person, and that person seems to have some connection to the Death God lineage."