※Old Kang, however, didn't have much time for lingering sentiment. He activated the mechanism!

Then, the artistic works were deleted entirely, and he withdrew from the Xun Palace. "Since we have some spare time, perhaps we should pay a visit to another friend or two." Huo Zhongguang secretly wiped a bead of cold sweat.

Paying a visit, of course, meant stabbing someone and killing them; why phrase it so civilly? "Junior Brother, since this mechanism requires an infusion of power to open, and there is only one pivotal treasure bead, if you deal with them, won't this mechanism..." What he said had some merit, and Feng Zikang, naturally, already had a plan.

He smiled faintly. "Naturally, we'll strike after they open the mechanism." Feng Zikang gave a cold smile.

Huo Zhongguang could instantly picture those people desperately struggling to open the mechanism, only to be suddenly stabbed in the back and killed. A chill ran down his spine.

"Do you think the Iron-Masked Man won't do such a thing?" As they walked out the door, Huo Zhongguang suddenly recalled. The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind.

If Feng Zikang went out to kill, only to run into the Iron-Masked Man as well, that would be disastrous. "He won't!" Feng Zikang was very certain.

Regardless of the Iron-Masked Man's schemes, he didn't intend to take everyone's lives before entering the Central Palace. Otherwise, with his superb cultivation, he could have slain them all and still found a way into the Central Palace; he must have another agenda.

Feng Zikang didn't know what that agenda was, but the opponent's strength was indeed far beyond his own. If he wanted to fish in troubled waters, the best approach was to introduce more variables; For instance, if the Iron-Masked Man hoped to see four exhausted Foundation Establishment cultivators in the Central Palace, and if he saw none of them, then— The situation in the Central Palace.

Every move held variables! "Then who should we deal with first?" Huo Zhongguang was still somewhat skeptical, but his Junior Brother’s judgments had rarely been wrong.

Following him was the right course... Besides, even if he wanted to leave him, he couldn't.

"Naturally, from strongest to weakest. If we're lucky, perhaps we can take them all out in one sweep." The stronger the individual, the shorter the time required to open the mechanism.

If they could eliminate everyone before the weakest among them succeeded, they would be in time. "Ruthless," Huo Zhongguang was already numb to his Junior Brother's plan to consecutively confront three mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators, muttering something indistinctly.

※ Kun Palace. The ground was littered with scattered blood and shredded flesh from the puppets.

Madam Two-Faces, panting heavily, clung to the shadow wall. With great effort, the pattern of the Kun Palace before her finally began to dim.

"Pfft! Pfft!" She had been channeling her energy for an entire day and was now near exhaustion.

Both faces spat a mouthful of blood simultaneously. However, the front mouth expelled fresh blood, while the rear mouth spewed a repulsive mass of greenish, putrid blood.

"Who is there!" Madam Two-Faces abruptly raised her head, a cold glint flashing across all four eyes. She twisted her head, directing her hideous face toward the entrance.

It was at this moment that Feng Zikang strolled in leisurely. He had initially intended to hide and launch a sneak attack, but he hadn't expected Madam Two-Faces' abilities to be so formidable that she could even detect his Shadow Concealment Divine Art.

Unconcerned, he allowed his true form to show. "It's you?" Madam Two-Faces' eyes were filled with astonishment.

She had been worried about a sneak attack, but the people she worried about were essentially the Iron-Masked Man and the others—never this youth. But hadn't he already left the Li Fire Essence Qi and arrived beneath the Fusang Tree?

How could he have entered the secret mansion? Madam Two-Faces tilted her head, presenting her benevolent, smiling face to him.

"Little brat, why are you here?" Feng Zikang wore a look of deliberate confusion, slowly inching forward. "Ah!

Is that Senior Two-Faces? May I ask where this place is?

I was just cutting wood beneath the Fusang Tree moments ago, and I don't know how I suddenly arrived here..." "Swish!" Suddenly, three green ghostly fires erupted from an unknown source, tracing bizarre curves as they shot toward Feng Zikang's back. Feng Zikang turned, waving his sword, lightly deflecting the three ghostly fires.

"Heh heh! I, Madam Two-Faces, have spent my life catching geese, how could I let a wild goose peck out my eye?

You think you can play this game of hidden dagger with me? You are far too green!" Although the Formless Heavenly Demon was a master of smiling faces and honeyed words masking lethal intent, compared to the people of the Two-Faced Country, who were born two-faced, they were still inferior.

No matter how perfectly Feng Zikang feigned it, how could he fool an expert in this field like Madam Two-Faces? Feng Zikang smiled faintly.

"Madam is indeed powerful. An apprentice showing off before a master only makes a fool of himself!

Very well, let's settle this with our hands!" He swung his iron sword, sending three streaks of sword light attacking Madam Two-Faces' upper, middle, and lower paths simultaneously. Madam Two-Faces merely burst into hearty laughter.

A Qi Refining disciple challenging a mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivator? It was utterly hilarious.

Even though she was at the end of her tether now, how could a mere Qi Refining disciple insult her? "Impudent junior, perish!" She lightly flicked her hand, intending to send the three sword lights rebounding, but suddenly felt a powerful force strike from behind.

Her ugly face let out a ghostly shriek as she forcefully twisted her arms to block the sneak attack from the Dark Demon King. Unfortunately, she only had two hands.

She was immediately struck on the head by a pagoda, rendering her dazed, and her hands and feet were firmly seized by four powerful hands, leaving her utterly immobilized! "Clang!" A white streak of sword light flashed past, emitting only a faint scraping sound.

Madam Two-Faces' face turned pale, and blood spurted from her neck, waist, and knees. With that single strike, she was cleaved into four pieces!

Feng Zikang showed no mercy. The sword light twisted, grinding her into mincemeat!

Madam Two-Faces: Killed! ※ Hu Sha sat cross-legged in the Zhen Palace, circulating his energy to recover.

This location served as a guest room. He rummaged around but found nothing of value, only two jars of fine wine.

The liquid was blood-red, but surprisingly sweet and delicious to drink. He knew that in the ancient Demonic Path, wine was brewed using the blood of immortals, called Immortal Blood.

This substance, upon drinking, bore a two-to-three-part resemblance to the legend. After draining a cup, his entire vitality was restored; it was truly miraculous.

Thus, he furiously channeled his inner energy, activating the mechanism on the shadow wall, holding nothing back. Since the mechanism would be opened anyway, and he had the Immortal Blood to restore his vitality, he wasn't in a hurry at all.

Indeed, under Hu Sha's urgent surge of true qi, he was the fourth to complete the mechanism opening, faster than the one-eyed scholar Cui Ke. He sat on the ground, panting, savoring a cup of the fine brew resembling Immortal Blood.

He felt utterly refreshed, almost ethereal, and sensed his vital energy rapidly recovering. "Hmph!

Old Fiend Iron-Mask, no matter what conspiracy you have, you couldn't have foreseen my good fortune!" Hu Sha had also anticipated the Iron-Masked Man's plot. But with the Immortal Blood in hand, he could at least ensure his strength remained intact, giving him greater leverage in the Central Palace; After decades of struggle, he couldn't return empty-handed, could he?

Hu Sha fantasized about the secrets hidden within the Central Palace, completely unaware of the sword striking him from behind, cleanly severing his head! "Ah!" He suddenly perceived his headless torso sitting on the ground, while his own head tumbled wildly in the air.

In shock and anger, he roared out. As his head fell, he glimpsed the familiar face of a young man appear.

"Feng..." "Feng..." Hu Sha couldn't even recall the boy's name. Wasn't he just a military disciple at the Qi Refining stage?

How could he have crept up behind him without making a sound, undetected even by him? He let out a great shout and forced a golden saber out from his Niwan Palace at the top of his head, hacking rapidly at Feng Zikang.

Kill this little bastard quickly, reconnect the body, and there's still the Immortal Blood to save him—it should be... "Puff!" The white sword light in Feng Zikang's hand easily shredded his golden saber.

As the sword passed, it coincidentally shredded his head as well! Thousand-Hand Butcher Hu Sha: Killed!

※ The one-eyed scholar Cui Ke always believed he was second to last in strength among the six, only superior to Rong He'er. In a sense, his assessment was correct.

Therefore, he maintained a very low profile. Even when courting Madam Two-Faces, he was considered one of the three competing powers.

Furthermore, he was as cunning as a fox and would never genuinely risk his life. Heaven knows the truth.

He suspected the Iron-Masked Man had a scheme, so his plan was simple: as long as he could eliminate the Puppet Men and secure the treasures in this courtyard, it would be enough; he didn't necessarily have to enter the Central Palace. Especially if the mechanism proved difficult to break, he had no desire to risk himself.

Generally speaking, the one-eyed scholar Cui Ke's objective was not hard to achieve. His selection of the Dui Palace proved to be correct; the Puppet Man there was not strong.

He was annihilated by the Evil Eye Divine Art that Cui Ke had painstakingly cultivated for many years. Moreover, this place was an armory.

Although time had passed, many demon soldiers had decayed, vanishing like the crumbling Mystic Realm, their divine powers lost. Still, after careful selection, he managed to find a few usable items.

Especially a demonic pearl, which seemed to contain profound divine power. Although he hadn't deciphered it yet, he could vaguely sense its immense energy, filling him with delight.

Thus, the one-eyed scholar merely glanced into the main hall and discovered that its mechanism was very simple: activating it required only an infusion of power. Although this process left him nearly drained, his greed flared up again.

He decided that no matter what, he had to see the Central Palace; if the situation looked bad, he could always flee. He thus vigorously channeled his true qi.

The last of the eight trigrams surrounding the Nine Palaces, the Dui Palace, slowly dimmed! "Excellent!" The one-eyed scholar leaped up forcefully.

As soon as all the trigram symbols went dark, the Central Palace symbol in the middle lit up, revealing a light screen at the rear of the main hall. That was the path leading to the Central Palace!

The one-eyed scholar was overjoyed. Disregarding his weakened state, he rushed toward the light screen.

"Clang!" A streak of sword light descended, precisely blocking his path. The one-eyed scholar, caught off guard, violently dodged to the side.

Half of his right shoulder and arm were cleaved off without mercy! "This hurts like hell!" The one-eyed scholar howled in pain and rolled onto the ground.

Red light shot from his right demonic eye, enveloping the surroundings. Feng Zikang, having slipped past him from behind, felt a tightness in his chest and his vision blurred after being covered by the Evil Eye Divine Art.

Startled, he quickly flipped over and leaped away. "It's you, brat!

How dare you injure me!" The one-eyed scholar recognized Feng Zikang and became furious. He held himself in high esteem; when had some mere Qi Refining nobody dared to climb over his head?

He had been caught unaware and fallen for a trick; wouldn't he become a laughingstock if this got out? He gnashed his teeth, the red light in his demonic eye intensifying as he swept it across.

Feng Zikang knew its power and dared not meet it head-on, dodging swiftly. With a shout, four Divine Demons descended, their many hands pinning the one-eyed scholar to the ground.

The one-eyed scholar Cui Ke now realized this boy was no simple character. He saw the white sword light approaching, ready to grind him into mincemeat.

In a surge of anger, he gritted his teeth, and his right demonic eye shockingly detached and flew out, emitting a brilliant red light. "Junior Brother, be careful!

This man is trying to self-detonate!" Huo Zhongguang knew a thing or two about unorthodox methods. Seeing Cui Ke’s appearance, he recognized his intent and quickly shouted a warning!

Feng Zikang also saw it. He did not recall his sword light but commanded the four Divine Demons to retreat, while he activated his Vajra Indestructible Body Divine Art and flew backward!

"Boom!" The Evil Eye self-detonated, turning the entire main hall into ash. The one-eyed scholar Cui Ke was, of course, utterly annihilated, leaving behind only a light screen, still shimmering gently, as if alive.

One-eyed scholar Cui Ke: Killed! Feng Zikang coughed a few times.

The self-detonation had left him disheveled, with a few scrapes on his face. He shook his head, seemingly dissatisfied with his achievements.

Huo Zhongguang, however, gazed at him with sheer admiration. Four battles in a row, slaying four mid-stage Foundation Establishment experts.

Although a degree of sneak attack was involved in each, the victories were clean and swift, without any procrastination. This showed that although his Junior Brother was only at the late stage of Qi Refining, his actual strength had long surpassed the mid-stage Foundation Establishment realm!

If he were to reach Foundation Establishment, how much further would his power advance? Huo Zhongguang dared not imagine.

"Gather the items. We still need to prepare to enter the Central Palace...

The fellow back there won't be easy to deal with." Feng Zikang’s heart remained unmoved by the defeat of these four mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivators. Setting aside his distant enemies in the Nascent Soul stage, even the nearby Iron-Masked Man, he might still not be a match for him.

But regardless, he still had to enter the Central Palace to see the situation, to learn what they had been scheming for these sixty years. And what had the exceptionally talented Daoist Qingmu discovered?

He died by the sword against that super expert—perhaps the one who created the Starfall Great Extinction Sword Art. Where was that person now?

Extending the thought further, who built this secret mansion? Where did its creator go?

A giant demon capable of shaping such a magnificent Mystic Realm could not be an unknown figure. Why did this Mystic Realm collapse, and how did its master perish?

Did this fallen master leave anything extraordinary at the very center of the secret mansion? The answer to all these mysteries might be hidden behind that faintly trembling light screen.

Feng Zikang stared at the light screen, his expression resolute, gripping his sword tightly. The iron sword was still stained with specks of blood—the blood of the four Foundation Establishment cultivators, still warm.