Realm-Hopping Martial Master

The raging Space Storm mixed with the Flame of Burning World erupted violently.

Such was the power of this claw, that even a Daoist Venerable at the Middle Stage of the Mixed Cave Realm, let alone at the Early Stage, would be severely injured or even meet their demise if struck directly!

The fury and pride on Heaven-Burning Ancestor’s face froze for a moment.

For he had grasped nothing tangible.

The anticipated blood spray, the boy’s desperate resistance, and even the expected Space Imprisonment fell into nothingness.

The Space Ripple he had precisely captured was merely a ripple, not the source that caused it.

At the instant his huge claw descended, about a hundred miles ahead, above a seemingly tranquil sand dune, a ring of Space Ripple, almost identical to before but more subtle and calm, spread soundlessly like a stone dropping into water, quickly vanishing within the Chaotic Sand Sea’s Daoist Rules, leaving no trace.

Heaven-Burning Ancestor wanted to kill Jiang Shu, but missed.

No one knew that Jiang Shu’s true body had left well before the ripple expanded, having leapt through the torn space fold, completely escaping Heaven-Burning Ancestor’s Divine Sense lock.

The lingering fluctuation was merely a meticulously prepared space trap left after his Teleportation, designed to bewilder and lure pursuers into unleashing a fatal blow.

Heaven-Burning Ancestor realized this momentarily.

His massive body hovered before the fire hole he had torn open, his whole body flickering with violent flames, like a star on the verge of exploding.

For the first time, those scarlet eyes, akin to small suns, expressed sheer disbelief, soon to be replaced by a deeper fury that threatened to consume all reason.

Deceived!

Outwitted by a junior he considered easily extinguishable, using such a simple yet precise space trap to waste his full-force strike!

More importantly, when he attempted to capture that genuine space trail again, he was shocked to find Jiang Shu’s remnants and presence had dissipated entirely, like water droplets into the sea.

Not only was his Divine Thought unable to lock onto his position anymore, but even a trace of causality was cleverly "wiped away" from this world!

The concealing ability of the Mixed Cave Space fused with the World Tree Seedling was now undeniable.

"Ah!!"

Once again, Heaven-Burning Ancestor emitted an earth-shattering roar, this time with a strong sense of defeat.

He turned sharply, glaring at the Three Ice Chi that had caught up.

"A bunch of useless fools!"

"The proud Four Fierce Array, who’ve practiced the Combined Attack Skill for over a thousand years, consuming so many resources, yet unable to even hold back a fledgling of the Mixed Cave Realm, even losing one of your own, of what use are you?!"

Before he finished speaking, a very faint cold thought echoed directly in his powerful Divine Soul.

"Enough, Heaven-Burning, there’s no need to pursue further."

"That person bears great secrets, already completely severed from this space node’s perception."

"The array hub of the Desolate Sand Sea has been exposed, and the Emperor Palace has learned of the Human Clan’s movements."

"Gather the scattered troops, stabilize the layout of the Desolate Sand Sea, Dragon Venerable has other important matters for you."

This thought was cold, authoritative, and incontestable.

The raging flames around Heaven-Burning Ancestor were like doused with cold water, instantly stalled, dimming slightly.

His large, sinister head bowed slightly, deep-seated with resentment and violent rage, yet he could only respond in a muffled voice:

"I comply with Phoenix Venerable’s decree."

Though Phoenix Venerable was only a small realm higher, standing at the Demon Venerable Peak.

However, reaching the realm of Demon Venerable, every step forward was extremely difficult.

Sometimes, the gap between the Peak and the Late Stage could be larger than that between the Late Stage and an ordinary Demon Monarch.

Moreover, Phoenix Venerable’s bloodline was purer, and the Fundamental Dao they walked surpassed his own.

Thus, Phoenix Venerable held a highly regarded position in Heaven-Burning Ancestor’s heart.

He gave a fierce glare toward the direction where Jiang Shu last vanished, then turned to face the Three Ice Chi who were bowing in fear, and squeezed out a bone-chilling voice:

"Were it not for this time of war, and you being Demon Venerables, for letting Jiang Shu escape, you should all be suppressed for a millennium!"

"Guard this place, wait for my return!"

"Any more slip-ups, even as Demon Venerables, I will exact a heavy price from you!"

With that, Heaven-Burning Ancestor’s large form shook, rolling up a sky-high crimson flame, and vanished instantly, heading into the distance.

He needed to bring people to maintain the order of the Desolate Sand Sea.

Above the core array hub of the Desolate Sand Sea, only the massive space fire hole continued to burn, as the enormous corpse of an Earth Ant, split in two, gradually cooled.

The Three Fierce Array members exchanged glances, looking at the Earth Ant’s wretched state and the terrifying space breach, feeling the lingering aura of Heaven-Burning Ancestor’s fury and Jiang Shu’s enigmatic spatial residue in the air.

A chill, mixed with fear and humiliation, etched deeply into their hearts.

Without daring to linger, they led their remaining Demon Soldiers and Generals like lost dogs, hastily fleeing toward Thousand Streams Creek in the direction of the Chaotic Sand Sea.

At the edge of the Desolate Sand Sea perimeter, at the fringe of the endless yellow sands.

Space slightly twisted, like a ripple caused by a speck of dust landing on water, subtle to the point of being almost imperceptible.

Jiang Shu’s figure emerged silently from within, stumbling a step before steadying himself in the void.

His blue robe was more severely damaged, his aura slightly tenuous, with several wounds on his back still emitting a resilient, dim red glow of fire poison, continually pulled and devoured by the Chaotic Space within, suppressing the lingering evil thoughts.

He panted heavily, a weariness that was not just physical, but also an exhaustion of the Divine Soul and a tremor after his Daoist Rules clashed.

The strike from the Heaven Opening Axe had drained too much of his mind, blood, and Dao Rhyme, and Jiang Shu’s forced escape through multiple space barriers was alarmingly precarious.

When Heaven-Burning Ancestor descended, the overwhelming pressure, as if searing iron branding his deep perception, remained clear despite the vast spatial distance, as a moment of lethal threat.

Without any hesitation, Jiang Shu immediately concealed his aura to the utmost.

The small world forming within him trembled slightly, with the World Tree Seedling rooted inside exuding a denser Chaotic Aura, completely enveloping his Life Origin and Daoist Rules fluctuations, like an ordinary grain of sand merging into the vast sand sea.

He quickly chose a visual blind spot formed by natural spatial disorder.

That was a shadow area where several giant wind-eroded rock pillars intersected, silently sliding into the deepest, most inconspicuous crevice.

The rock walls were cold and rough, yet Jiang Shu paid no mind, sitting cross-legged suspended in the crevice’s darkness, like an old monk in meditation, with only an extremely faint Divine Sense delicately extending toward the core of the Desolate Sand Sea.

His Divine Sense didn’t directly touch that area but perceived the remaining terrifying heat waves, the traces of rule collisions, and the fluctuations of Daoist Rules within that area to assess the situation. Time here became thick and prolonged.

One day and night, like deathly silence.

The aura of the core area remained chaotic and scorching, with the violent flame will of Heaven-Burning Ancestor imprinted in the world, clearly distinguishable.

Jiang Shu could see the space cracks like ferocious scars yet to heal, hearing the whimper of chaotic energy echoing in the collapsed crater.

The aura of the Earth Ant’s massive corpse served as a landmark, emanating the desolation and decay of a fallen Demon Venerable Middle Stage, yet to be thoroughly cleansed.

Outside the core, the three Demon Venerable auras seemed anxious and restless, like startled snakes coiled at the crater’s edge, neither daring to approach the core storm area where Heaven-Burning Ancestor lingered, nor leave on their own.

They were in fear, fearing Jiang Shu’s Mixed Cave prowess and the power of the Great Dao.

Even more so, they feared Heaven-Burning Ancestor’s sky-high fury.

Three figures, regarded as akin to heaven and earth among the Demon Race.

At this moment, they were like ants on a hot pan, stirring the surrounding aura into greater chaos with their agitation and anticipation.