Jing Tao had been watching intently, witnessing a full three hundred colossal beams of multi-hued light simultaneously pierce into the gorge. Everywhere these beams passed, the air sizzled and convulsed.

The earth below instantly turned to scorched black soil. The Yuanmie Bolt could completely detonate any sixth-tier beast crystal of any attribute, extracting all the vital essence and exploding it into a spiritual energy so purely condensed it reached the absolute extreme, blasting outward.

The attributes of these spiritual energy beams naturally varied, yet without exception, each contained a devastating divine might. Almost every single shot possessed the explosive power equivalent to a sixth-tier spirit beast self-detonating its body!

Even a seventh-tier spirit beast would suffer grievous injury if caught directly in the full brunt of the onslaught. In a mere instant, more than half the spirit beasts guarding the gorge entrance were wiped clean.

Those that survived the initial Yuanmie Bolt assault immediately lost their prior frenzy; the blood-red pupils of their eyes regained a degree of clarity, revealing stark terror. They stared in horror at the massive warships hovering in the sky.

It seemed only then that they realized these aerial vessels, constructed of mere wood, were never their prey. Then, in just twenty breaths’ time, the second wave of beams arrived, following close behind.

Again, three hundred shafts of destructive power converged upon the canyon. Moments later, the ten-mile perimeter defense at the gorge entrance was utterly silenced.

The ground became a carpet of shattered, dismembered beast corpses. Hardly any spirit beasts remained capable of survival.

All evil spirits and spectral entities were utterly disintegrated and pulverized by the Yuanmie Bolts before they even had a chance to approach. Jing Tao’s tightly wound nerves immediately relaxed.

Though he knew this was only the beginning of the beast tide, and the seventh-tier spirit beasts had yet to appear, he was no longer as worried as before. As long as these eight hundred Yuanmie Bolts could be fired continuously, holding this gorge entrance was absolutely guaranteed.

He stopped paying attention to the fighting and casually waved a hand. A strange force retrieved the Qiankun Bag from the corpse lying nearby.

Probing it with his spiritual sense, he was ultimately deeply disappointed. He tossed it carelessly to Zong Shou, saying, “The contents are extremely sparse.

It seems this senior anticipated his end long before he perished.” Zong Shou caught it. He saw that this genuine Qiankun Bag was enormous, spanning a thousand zhang in length and width, and equally a thousand zhang high.

The space within was several times larger than the miniature Qiankun Bag he possessed. However, just as Jing Tao had said, the interior was indeed largely empty.

Besides some nearly used-up medicine vials and talismans, and some raw medicinal ingredients, there was nothing else. Clearly, this person knew beforehand that he had no hope of survival.

Therefore, he had either stored all his personal belongings elsewhere or entrusted them directly to his relatives or trusted disciples and friends. The most valuable items were two Spirit Artifacts inside.

Relative to a powerhouse who had already stepped into the Immortal Martial Gate, their ranks were not high, only seventh-tier. Zong Shou carefully examined them with his spiritual awareness, confirmed that none of the medicine vials contained particularly valuable elixirs that could aid in raising one's cultivation realm, and then spoke, “I will take this Qiankun Bag.

You and I will each take one of the seventh-tier Spirit Artifacts. The remaining medicinal pills and talismans will all go to the Lingyun Sect.

What does the True Man think of this arrangement?” The True Man Jing Tao nodded. In truth, he was more interested in the Qiankun Bag itself.

This item was crafted from the skin, bones, and essence blood of a spirit beast above the ninth-tier that possessed spatial anomaly abilities. Even the Lingyun Sect possessed only six such bags.

But he could not claim the lion's share of the day's spoils. Having one seventh-tier Spirit Artifact would suffice to cover his prior losses.

After a brief contemplation, Jing Tao smiled and spoke, “May I ask Your Highness to give the Xuanfeng Sword within this bag to this Daoist?” Zong Shou’s lips twitched slightly. He thought, This old Daoist is truly shrewd.

Of the two Spirit Artifacts, the Xuanfeng Sword was unquestionably the more valuable. But he did not hesitate.

He tossed the seven-foot-long, azure Spirit Sword, along with the pills and talismans inside, entirely toward Jing Tao. Then, from the bag, he retrieved a Yaoqin (a type of zither) and casually handed it to Xuan Yunlan beside him.

Her expression briefly froze. She recognized that this, too, was a seventh-tier Spirit Artifact.

On one corner of the Yaoqin, the words ‘Dragon String Zither’ were carved—its strings seemed to be made from the sinews of a Flood Dragon. She plucked a string lightly; the sound was crisp and melodious, the tone quality superb.

She had absolutely never expected Zong Shou to gift a seventh-tier Spirit Artifact to her so casually. Though she hailed from the Qingyin Sect and was its direct successor, due to the sect’s usual practices, most disciples were left to fend for themselves.

Apart from the annual quota of Spirit Artifacts and elixirs, everything else had to be acquired independently. Obtaining a seventh-tier Spirit Artifact was not easy; finding an instrument perfectly suited to her was even harder.

Her gaze struggled for a moment, but Xuan Yunlan ultimately did not return the item she held. She bowed gracefully, saying, “Thank you, My Lord!

Xuan Yunlan has no way to repay you, but after the three-month period concludes, I shall play the Jing Shen An Ling Qu (Spirit Calming and Soothing Melody) for Your Lord for another year!” Zong Shou smiled inwardly. He had successfully tricked another year out of her.

This Yaoqin was an excellent trade. His gains this time were substantial; he could acquire seventh-tier Spirit Artifacts with ease.

He truly looked down on this Dragon String Zither. Conversely, a year of the Jing Shen An Ling Qu would undoubtedly enable him to advance the evolution of his Han Shi Ling Jue (World-Shaking Spirit Edict) and his personal spiritual techniques to a higher realm.

True Man Jing Tao then used his small Qiankun Bag to collect about two-tenths of the seventh-tier beast corpses from the area. He ceased his actions, standing aside to observe quietly.

He watched Zong Shou methodically drawing the massive seventh-tier beast carcasses one by one into the spatial interior of his bag. A flicker of doubt arose in his mind: Zong Shou supposedly possessed no soul power whatsoever.

How then could he activate a Qiankun Bag? However, artifacts of this nature did not require an excessive amount of spiritual energy to operate.

He glanced toward the flickering lightning surrounding Zong Shou, attributing it to some favor or connection. Could it also be due to that unknown treasure?

It was not surprising; a Demon Race King who was also immensely wealthy could hardly lack any means of self-defense. Not dwelling on it, True Man Jing Tao walked into the Spirit Master Array, preparing to lend his spiritual power to the effort.

Then, the very next instant, his expression shifted again. During the brief lull between the volleys of the Yuanmie Bolts, he thought he had distinctly heard human voices emanating from beyond the gorge mouth.

It sounded like curses directed at Zong Shou, mixed with a few cries of agony. He faltered momentarily.

Did Zong Shou's earlier words actually hold truth? Or was he experiencing auditory hallucinations?

Just as True Man Jing Tao’s mind wavered. Zhao Yanran leaped into the air, landing beside Zong Shou, who was still calmly collecting the seventh-tier beast corpses, and stated flatly, “I heard the sounds from outside.” Zong Shou blinked, feigning a look of confusion.

“What does Fairy Yanran mean by that? What exactly did you hear?” Zhao Yanran gave a cold, sharp glance.

This was the first time in her life she had encountered someone so utterly insidious. Those cities of Taoyun and Blazing Flame that provoked this fellow had truly suffered the worst luck in eight generations.

“I also saw the traces you ordered Gu Liekong to leave behind…” Go on pretending, she thought. Keep acting.

Zong Shou let out a soft laugh. The matter was done.

Even if exposed, he didn't particularly care. However, upon careful consideration, he decided to secure Zhao Yanran’s silence: “Thirty seventh-tier Beast Crystals—don't forget them!” Zhao Yanran’s delicate brows lifted, and finally, she gave a slight smile.

“If this matter gets out, Your Highness might not fear it, but it would cause considerable trouble. If that Jing Tao realizes the situation now, he certainly won’t let you have your way…” Zong Shou chuckled darkly and offered no reply.

Instead, he sent a flicker of intention toward the small crimson dot swirling within the vortex of his Soul Sea. Zhao Yanran instantly felt her body tremble, her limbs turning weak, and a sensation of shivering itchiness rising from her lower body.

Her thighs instinctively clenched, yet she could not suppress the rush of pleasure, a slight dampness forming beneath her inner garments. A blush surged across her pretty face.

But Zhao Yanran’s eyes were filled only with dread and fear. No wonder she had felt an intuition earlier—Zong Shou had already refined the Primordial Fetal Dao Seed!

Furthermore, it seemed that any measures she had placed upon the Primordial Fetal Dao Seed, Zong Shou had already seen through every mystery! And within just a few days, he had devised means of counteraction.

Zong Shou simply burst into loud laughter and walked over to the corpse of the Immortal Dao expert. There, Xuanyuan Yiren was meticulously gathering the Corpse-Containing Sword Extreme Grass one by one.

Compared to Jing Tao, she was far more careful and focused, completely ignoring him. Zong Shou didn't mind.

Instead, he swept his large hand out, and a flash of lightning drew all the fragments of the Phoenix-Patterned Sword toward him. He gazed at these fragments of the magical treasure, deep in thought.

The next instant, he suddenly felt an itch on the tip of his nose and let out several consecutive sneezes. Zong Shou became inwardly furious.

Who is cursing me? That’s truly unethical!

※※※※ Right at the exit of the gorge, Xiong Ba was roaring curses: “Zong Shou, you brat! Damn your ancestors!

I’ll curse your entire lineage! You actually dared to plot against me!” It wasn't just him; everyone nearby wore grim and resentful expressions, though they hadn't yelled the curses out as directly as Xiong Ba.

Feng Nu’s arms and neck were already bulging with blue veins. If he hadn't realized by this point that he had been ensnared by Zong Shou’s scheme, he would truly have been an imbecile.

The several thousand Cloud Ships had barely managed to shift aside to the banks of the gorge path. However, under the crushing impact of the beast tide, they had no time to form proper battle arrays.

Pressed by the spirit beasts, they were forced to retreat deeper into the canyon. What was even more fatal were the multicolored beams shooting out from within the gorge.

Several hundred colossal impacts of spiritual energy, even after crossing more than twenty li, had not diminished in magnitude. Watching those Cloud Ships either shatter under the impact of the beams or be directly rammed and sunk by the spirit beasts, Feng Nu’s heart bled profusely.

“It’s the Yuanmie Bolts! Yuanmie Bolts that fire one shot per beast crystal!” Yue Guanyun’s mind went blank for a moment.

Of the four thousand Cloud Ships this time, a full forty percent belonged to the Taoyun City fleet, meaning their losses were the greatest among the three factions. Recalling the youth he had seen on Tongling Island not long ago, Yue Guanyun ground his teeth in hatred.

“There are eight hundred of them in total! That Zong Shou clearly planned this meticulously, intending for the ships of our three cities to be completely destroyed here!” The feeling of transforming from hunter to prey stepping into a trap nearly drove Yue Guanyun insane, especially since he had been so smug about it just a short while ago.

(To be continued)

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