After Ye Jingyu rapidly sifted through Yan's memories, disappointment shadowed his face. Even at such a high level, there was no news of Ling'er. Had her soul truly dissipated?

Suppressing the despair churning within, Ye Jingyu, with Dugu Bachén's assistance, began refining Yan's body. He had assumed such immense power would suffice for the nine Heavenly Shamans to condense their true forms, but to his frustration, they couldn't locate their primordial source energies, making manifestation impossible.

It was similar to Zhurong and Tianwu, who only managed to condense their true forms through sheer coincidence—Zhurong finding the Fire Spirit Pearl, and Tianwu discovering that world suffused with wind. Now, while the raw energy was plentiful, the absence of their origins meant they could not materialize.

However, a portion of the energy within Yan was absorbed by the Chiyou Banner, multiplying the power of the grand formation several times over. Liang Xiaoke, Hanba, Zhurong, and Tianwu all benefited significantly. At the very least, Zhurong broke through to the Desolate level that very day after assimilating this influx of power...

In the center of the canyon, Dugu Bachén sat cross-legged before the stone saber, still struggling to bring the surging power under control. Liang Xiaoke, Hanba, and Tianwu were absorbing the residual power gained from Yan nearby. They were currently only at the Heavenly level; once they could fully digest this energy, reaching the Desolate level would be effortless.

Jiufeng, Hu Yanmeng, and Hu Yanqi remained tucked in a corner, tending to their wounds. Only Ye Jingyu sat before Dugu Bachén, allowing the sharp saber auras to cleave against his body as he tempered his physical form using them.

He had also learned of Dugu Bachén's fortuitous encounter from the latter himself. However, Dugu Bachén’s strength had surged too rapidly; even with the comprehension granted by that ancient senior, he struggled to digest the saber auras and control the sheer volume of power. Fortunately, his innate, unique understanding of the blade allowed him to barely manage the internal forces necessary to slay Yan initially.

He remained meditating in the canyon for three full years. During this time, they ventured nowhere. After Ye Jingyu absorbed Yan’s memories, they understood the current terrifying strength of the Demons. Even among those attacking the Demon Realm, there were seven masters who had reached the Cosmic level. With their strength at that time, venturing out would have been suicide.

Three years later, Dugu Bachén finally devoured every last trace of the saber aura within the canyon. Relying on his prodigious innate talent, he managed to gain absolute mastery over this power. The true extent of his current realm remained a mystery even to himself.

Thanks to the aberrant nature of his Chaos Body, Ye Jingyu successfully converted a portion of Yan's power into Earth essence, successfully forging the Golden Core of Earth. His cultivation consequently broke through to the Desolate level. Furthermore, under the constant tempering of countless saber auras, his physical body also attained the standard of the Desolate level; even a full-force strike from an ordinary Desolate expert could scarcely breach his defenses.

Liang Xiaoke, Hanba, and Tianwu also smoothly ascended to the Desolate level. After all, Yan’s essence blood was immensely potent. Yet, perhaps due to their location in the Abyss, even Liang Xiaoke did not encounter the Profound Immortal Tribulation that Blood Sea Wuyai had mentioned.

As for Hu Yanqi, ever since unleashing those seven arrows with his full power that day, he seemed to gain a sudden enlightenment, causing his strength to advance by leaps and bounds. Within three years, he could already execute the Nine Stars in a Line formation.

Since mastering the nine-arrow sequence, Hu Yanqi seemed to have unlocked an entirely new dimension, his power soaring dramatically. Although he hadn't reached the Desolate realm, Ye Jingyu and the others had no doubt that, given preparation time, none of them could withstand the might of those nine arrows—even the current Dugu Bachén felt uncertain about facing them head-on.

Was the Sunset Divine Arrow, an arrow technique capable of striking down the sun, truly undeserving of its fearsome reputation?

While Jiufeng and Hu Yanqi’s raw cultivation levels hadn't advanced as drastically, under Dugu Bachén’s tutelage, their application of power had become exponentially superior, multiplying their combat strength many times over compared to before.

With a powerhouse like Dugu Bachén leading them, the group finally left the canyon. They did not remain in the Abyss. Though Ye Jingyu’s thoughts constantly drifted to Ling'er, he understood that three years had passed without him returning. He had no idea what state the Mortal Realm and the Demon Realm were in; he could only hope that Luo Ruofeng and the others were safe.

Three years prior, the disappearance of Yan, devoured by the Demon Clan, certainly caused the Demons a degree of trouble. After all, Yan was a Legion Commander, capable of controlling forty thousand troops—a significant rank in the sparsely populated Demon Clan. The third general of the Devourer Demons, Miao, was furious about this. Had it not been for an order from the Devourer Lord, he might already have launched a widespread search for Yan's killer.

Because of this incident, the Demon army was delayed by a full month. It was this delay that gave Ye Jingyu and his company the crucial time they needed.

Traveling through the Abyss, they passed from the rift they had previously known into the Demon Realm, finding the path littered with corpses—Demons, Demon Clan members, blood of all kinds mingled in a terrifying panorama.

The war had dragged on for three years. To repel the Demon invasion, the Demon Realm had poured almost all its resources into the fight, but their strength was vastly inferior to the Demons. No matter how large their numbers, it was futile. After over a year of fierce fighting, nearly half of the Demon Clan had been slaughtered. The remainder scattered in all directions, while yet others chose surrender.

The Demons successfully took control of the Demon Realm, but disputes over territorial division sparked an internal civil war among them, lasting a full year. It was only when the Seven Lords intervened simultaneously that these Demons reached a consensus: the Demon Realm would be sectioned into eight directions radiating from Leize, with the seven Lords dividing all areas except the far East.

Finally, the Demons joined forces once more and invaded the Mortal Realm. A realm lacking its supreme experts was no match for them. Even though the seven Great Generals serving under the Seven Lords remained in the Demon Realm, merely sending their Legion Commanders to attack was enough to send the Mortal Realm reeling backward.

Ye Jingyu and his companions rushed forward, seeing only corpses. Whenever they encountered the odd Demon, they were torn to shreds beneath Dugu Bachén’s overwhelming strength.

The group paid no mind to how the Demons carved up the Demon Realm; seeing such a tragic scene, their singular focus was the Mortal Realm.

When Ye Jingyu and the others finally entered the Mortal Realm, the first thing they noticed was that its structure seemed significantly more stable. Even with the strength Ye Jingyu possessed now, landing a punch barely managed to crack the ground...

Had the Heavenly Dao's rules undergone some kind of change?

(The great battle is about to begin, brothers! Our fight continues! Let's push War Soul forward together! An explosion of updates could happen any day now! Of course, not today, so don't wait around this afternoon!)

[Ti: Dear reader, the current chapter has reached the final page of this book]