On the ancient city wall, Duolong stood drenched in killing intent, his eyes burning with deep-seated hatred, waiting in silence.

Kaba, Zhameng, and Yitianmo stood nearby, accompanying him with cautious steps, uttering nothing.

More members of the Yinmei tribe dared not even breathe loudly, each one bowing low, not daring to glance too often at Duolong.

The overall strength of the Winged Clan far surpassed that of the Yinmei tribe. Over the years, the Yinmei tribe had always been the weaker party in their conflicts with the Winged Clan; many times, it was only due to internal strife among the Winged Clan that the Yinmei tribe hadn't been completely subjugated.

The Winged Clan possessed formidable physical bodies and abundant vital essence, and they were immune to the soul invasions of the Yinmei tribe, giving them a natural advantage in their struggles.

Duolong was the chieftain of the Gray Wing tribe. Although the Gray Wing tribe was not as powerful as the Black Wing or White Wing tribes, they were notoriously belligerent. Duolong, in particular, was an extremist among the Winged Clan, advocating for the enslavement of the entire Yinmei tribe.

Consequently, Duolong of the Gray Wing tribe was the one the Yinmei tribesmen resented the most and feared the deepest.

Duolong’s presence was a severe deterrent to Kaba, Zhameng, and Yitianmo; for the ordinary Yinmei tribesmen, Duolong was practically a harbinger of doom, and no one knew what action he might take next.

Inside the cage.

Cao Zhilan’s clear eyes swept over Duolong once, then quietly focused on the stone sphere in his hand, a flicker of surprise crossing her face.

She had no idea how Shi Yan had managed to offend Duolong so grievously, but judging by Duolong’s expression, she knew Shi Yan was likely facing a grim fate this time.

It seemed this was truly a lost cause...

Cao Zhilan sighed inwardly with frustration. She had been counting on Shi Yan to deal a blow to the Winged Clan, hoping it would allow the Yinmei tribe a chance to shake off the soul imprisonment imposed by the Winged. But Duolong’s arrival instantly made Shi Yan the target of universal scorn, turning him into a thorn in everyone’s side, making it impossible for him to pull off any further maneuvers.

Cao Zhilan could easily imagine Shi Yan being brought to them soon, held captive by the Yinmei tribesmen, tortured mercilessly by Duolong’s methods until he died, preceding them to the afterlife.

Zeng Yanqing, Pan Zhe, and the others in the cage shared the same bleak anticipation.

Suddenly, Yifeng’s figure materialized sharply in the distance.

Before even reaching them, Yifeng cried out, “Great Commander, the human has escaped! We don't know when he left the city; he seems to be outside the walls now.”

“What!” Yitianmo couldn't help but exclaim.

“In what direction?” Duolong roared.

“That way,” Yifeng pointed outside the city.

“Yitianmo, I hope this isn't some trickery on your part. When I catch him, I’ll get the truth out of him.” Duolong’s body was engulfed in fierce killing energy. “If I find out you meddled, don’t blame me for being ruthless.”

With that, Duolong suddenly took flight.

Zhameng, Muba, Yitianmo, and the other Yinmei experts paused for a beat, then swiftly followed Duolong, soaring toward a different section of the city wall.

On the other section of the wall.

Zhameng, Kaba, Yitianmo, Zhaoji, and other members of the Yinmei tribe watched the scene unfolding ahead from a distance, their expressions oddly strained.

Clusters of Yin Beasts were gathered densely in a nearby forest. One level-six Ghost Infant roared incessantly, seemingly marshalling more Yin Beasts to arrive.

Counting roughly, the observers noted there were no fewer than a thousand Yin Beasts, packed together as thickly as mosquitoes and flies.

Behind that massive horde of Yin Beasts, bursts of dazzling light could be seen. Looking from afar, one could vaguely make out winged figures—experts from the Winged Clan—seemingly locked in a fierce battle with the Yin Beasts.

A streak of crimson flame, like a red lightning bolt, was currently streaking toward the dense aggregation of Yin Beasts.

Following that crimson fire, Duolong swept forward, his body churning with fierce wind, baring his teeth in a cold, mocking laugh, pursuing relentlessly.

“What powerful flame energy! Is that fellow… the human you captured?”

Kaba stared intently at the figure wreathed in fire, scrutinizing him for a moment, before his face suddenly changed drastically. “No! This, this flame energy, it’s not ordinary fire! Absolutely not!”

Zhameng’s body shuddered violently, and his voice took on a strange quality. “This is Heavenly Fire! It’s Heavenly Fire! Yitianmo, look what you’ve done!”

Yitianmo’s eyes glittered with sharp light, and his body swayed slightly before he suddenly forced a bitter laugh. “I truly didn’t know…”

“You didn’t know?” Zhameng’s expression turned venomous. “You placed a soul imprint on that man. Since you placed a restriction on him, how could you be ignorant of the secrets of his body? Yitianmo, aren’t you afraid of playing with fire and getting burned? As a commander within the tribe, you must know the danger Heavenly Fire poses to our entire race!”

“I genuinely didn’t know this brat possessed the power of Heavenly Fire,” Yitianmo shook his head. “But it’s not important now. Duolong is already pursuing him; whether or not he has Heavenly Fire, he cannot escape Duolong’s clutches. Since things have reached this point, there’s no need to worry excessively.”

As Yitianmo spoke, Yicui Bi’s beautiful, jade-green figure flashed stealthily below the city wall.

“You still claim you’re uninvolved?” Kaba’s expression was equally sinister. “It looks like you knew about the boy killing Duolong’s son, too, which is why you let Cui Bi let him go. Yitianmo, do you know what you are doing? Once Duolong captures that brat and forces the truth out of him, even if Duolong kills him, he will still come seeking revenge on you. You know Duolong’s temperament—why would you do this?”

“I don’t know what you are talking about,” Yitianmo replied with an impassive face. “If Duolong truly seeks revenge on me, it has nothing to do with you. Why are you getting so agitated?”

“Hmph!”

Kaba nodded curtly at Yitianmo with a grim face, then suddenly seemed to realize something, bursting into loud laughter. “I understand now, I truly understand, Yitianmo, you were planning against us. Haha, Heavenly Fire is the nemesis of our Yinmei tribe, you intended to control that boy to intimidate me and Zhameng! Now I get it.”

Zhameng’s face paled in shock, and he secretly nodded. “So that’s it. Yitianmo, your scheme was quite clever, but unfortunately, Duolong’s intervention ruined it. You certainly didn’t anticipate Duolong knowing who killed his son, which led to your miscalculation, right?”

“You are both wildly imaginative,” Yitianmo shook his head, his composure unwavering.

“You will regret this!” Kaba sneered fiercely.

Zhameng’s expression was also cold and shadowed, clearly displeased with Yitianmo’s actions, and he seemed to be secretly plotting something, looking for a way to deal with Yitianmo.

Flames surged from Shi Yan’s body in bursts, transforming him into a fiery rocket that sped toward the gathering of Yin Beasts.

After Yicui Bi delivered the news of Duolong’s arrival, Shi Yan cursed inwardly and immediately fled the ancient city at top speed.

When he had executed Han Long, to prevent the elders from finding out, he had killed the two martial artists beside Han Long as well, wiping out all three completely. He had thought his clean work would surely prevent them from tracing him, but he had miscalculated.

Therefore, he could only run.

He knew his advantage: possessing Heavenly Fire within his body meant he feared no Yin Beasts. Thus, the place where the Yin Beasts were concentrated became his route to survival.

Yin Beast Mountain!

He had learned from Cui Bi that the Yin Beast Mountain held an extremely powerful barrier, one that isolated the entire region, a barrier even the three Winged Clan chieftains could not breach. The mountain was overrun with Yin Beasts, and the pervasive Yin and cold energies were intense; anyone who entered except a Yin Beast would suffer a massive reduction in strength.

Once he reached Yin Beast Mountain, relying on the Heavenly Fire within his body, he would be immune to the attacks of the Yin Beasts. The Heavenly Fire could incinerate everything, and perhaps it could even break the barriers within the mountain itself. For others, Yin Beast Mountain was a perilous land, but for him, it was the place where he could survive Duolong’s pursuit.

With the fire within his body boiling, Shi Yan activated the Swift Lightning Transformation, his body becoming like a bolt of lightning, shooting toward the area dense with Yin Beasts.

Nearly a thousand Yin Beasts were clustered there, completely surrounding dozens of White Wing and Black Wing tribesmen. Among these Yin Beasts were many at level six and seven, and the Yin energy radiating from them filled the surroundings, forming a layer of gray cloud visible to the naked eye.

Shi Yan shot toward the center of the Yin Beast concentration like a rocket.

Gusts of Yin energy rolled by like dark clouds. As the energy washed over him, Shi Yan took a breath and suddenly felt refreshed and spiritually clear, his consciousness sharpening instantly.

His eyes widened in astonishment. After sensing carefully, Shi Yan’s body trembled, and his face broke into joyous relief.

The three acupoints in his chest, forming Yin Vortices, quietly began to spin. The rotation of these vortices was clearly linked to the surrounding Yin Qi, and the moment they turned, his body began to actively absorb and gather that Yin Qi.

Simultaneously, a vortex quietly formed above his head. As soon as the vortex appeared, a powerful suction force erupted.

The surrounding Yin Qi, like a gray cloud, was drawn in by the vortex, all of it becoming sustenance for the vortex, causing it to grow larger and larger.

Mystic Yin Art!

This unique secret technique from the Three Gods Sect possessed the extraordinary effect of gathering the Yin Qi of heaven and earth. As long as it was cast in an area rich with Yin Qi, the Mystic Yin Art would spontaneously form a vortex, drawing the nearby Yin Qi together to transform into Yin Pearls within the internal Yin Vortices.

Back in the Land of Absolute Yin, he had used the Mystic Yin Art to resist the Yin Qi. He had inadvertently activated the technique there, causing it to absorb all the ambient Yin Qi in the Land of Absolute Yin.

The scene from that time was still vividly etched in his mind. Now, watching the changes in the Yin Vortices and the formation of the vortex above his head, Shi Yan suddenly realized history might be repeating itself.

Mid-air, with flames swirling around his body, a vortex condensed from Yin Qi floated above his head, emitting an intensely fierce suction force that ravenously gathered the Yin Qi from all directions.

At this moment, the thousand-plus Yin Beasts sensed the abnormality in the world and glared hatefully at Shi Yan.

On the distant city wall, Kaba, Zhameng, and Yitianmo were equally stunned, staring disbelievingly at Shi Yan’s location.