Eternal Life: I Can Control My Essence Qi

Inside the fifth hall:

After the accusation and exposure by the Three Evils Daoist, the situation in the field had quietly changed. The previous conflict between the two main camps seemed to vanish without a trace. Instead, Fairy Hongxia and Fairy Feiyin, the two demon cultivators, became the targets of everyone's hostility.

Many Golden Core Cultivators had already become extremely wary of the two of them—

Because Hongxia and Feiyin bore the bloodline of the Demon Race and received intelligence transmitted by the Divine Palace, of which they themselves were completely unaware. This meant that the two demon cultivators held a huge intelligence advantage on their own.

In this situation, a single careless moment could lead them into a trap, and no one dared to trust the words of the two demon cultivators anymore.

Faced with Bai Hong Sword Immortal's questioning and the aggressive gazes of everyone:

"...Heh."

Fairy Dawn Light remained silent for a moment, then suddenly laughed:

"As expected, everything can be hidden, except coincidences are hard to conceal."

She stopped smiling at this point, her gaze swept across everyone, and she said calmly:

"Unfortunately, your reaction is too late. Ultimately, it was greed that lured you into this Divine Palace."

Before she finished speaking, a Jade Order flew out from her bosom, suddenly emitting countless rays of light, instantly engulfing the entire hall.

Zhang Yao's vision momentarily blurred, and when he could see clearly again, he found himself in a vast expanse of white fog.

"This is trouble!"

He slightly furrowed his brows, observing the fog before him:

"Is this the seventh barrier, the eighth, or the ninth, or perhaps the final barrier?"

He had actually already guessed the origin of this place—it very likely was the confrontational checkpoint hinted at in the Divine Palace's earlier message.

Though Hongxia and Feiyin had ulterior motives, their earlier speech was not entirely deceitful, Zhang Yao deduced that it was half-true and half-false.

First:

What Fairy Feiyin mentioned about the 'Longevity Alliance' and the cohabitation of humans and demons, was probably true. After all, the Jade Divine Palace did not exclude these pure-blooded human race cultivators from entering the Divine Palace.

Since the cohabitation of humans and demons, jointly ruling the Longevity Alliance, is true, then the composition of the cultivators who came for the Divine Palace trials in those Ancient Times can only be one of two scenarios.

The first scenario is that all nine trial participants are of Demon Race origin;

The second scenario is that not all of the nine trial participants are of Demon Race origin, perhaps the majority, perhaps the minority, or even none at all.

The Divinity Transformation Great Demon who oversaw the construction of the Jade Divine Palace, since it could secretly leave a backdoor unnoticed by the Longevity Alliance's monitoring, could not have overlooked such a scenario.

"First, if nine demon cultivators reached a consensus, gathered nine Jade Orders, and obtained the highest authority, they could do as they pleased, making cheating very simple."

"Second, if they could not gather nine Jade Orders, in such a case, another backdoor would be needed, preferably one that required only a single Order to activate..."

Zhang Yao reached this point in his thoughts, becoming more and more confident in his judgment.

He had initially been speculating about what effect the backdoor activation would have in the second scenario. Now, seeing this white fog, he understood.

"The confrontational checkpoint here will have no protective measures, not only determining victory and defeat but also deciding life and death."

"Killing all the knowledgeable individuals would naturally disguise it as fair competition."

Reaching this point in his thoughts, Zhang Yao became increasingly vigilant.

He had already tested, allowing his Divine Thought to touch this white fog would dissolve it directly, disabling the ability to investigate with Divine Thought, and his vision could not penetrate beyond ten feet.

In this environment, a normal cultivator was almost blind, severely disadvantaged in magical battles, while those demon cultivators certainly held a significant advantage.

"Apart from me, Man Tian Sheng, and the Three Evils Daoist who possesses a Spiritual Treasure, everyone else is in severe danger!"

Upon reaching this conclusion, Zhang Yao maneuvered his Escape Light, soaring up and randomly choosing a direction to fly.

The urgent task was to rendezvous with other Golden Core Cultivators drawn into this checkpoint, to strengthen his side and avoid being defeated in detail.

However, after Zhang Yao flew for a brief period, he directly abandoned this behavior, landing with furrowed brows.

He found himself unable to discern the direction or distance while flying in the white fog, wandering aimlessly like a headless fly. The chances of encountering others were very slim.

"This is indeed troublesome!"

"If the Golden Core Cultivators cannot smoothly converge, then Elder Yuanxu, Bai Hong Sword Immortal, and You Quan are likely doomed!"

"...Ahhh!!"

Just when Zhang Yao thought of this, a faint and somewhat familiar scream came from afar.

"Hmm?!"

Zhang Yao's expression changed as he abruptly turned his head to look, his brows deeply furrowed:

"This voice... seems to be Bai Hong Sword Immortal's?"

The advantage of a Sword Cultivator is extreme speed and high flexibility, able to engage in battle or retreat at will. Flying Sword attacks are also extremely deadly, capable of taking a person's head in an instant.

But in this white fog, the greatest advantage of the Sword Immortal was not realized, instead exposing their weaknesses beyond doubt, resulting in being the first targeted.

Zhang Yao's expression became grave.

The last time during the exploration, Fairy Dawn Light did not activate this backdoor because she lacked confidence in striking down everyone, especially with the Three Evils Daoist having already gained a Spiritual Treasure.

But this time, after she and Fairy Feiyin joined forces, the situation was vastly different.

In normal magical battles, not many Early Stage Golden Core Cultivators could fight two opponents at once, let alone in this disadvantageous environment, where stealth attacks are virtually unstoppable—how could one counter two Golden Core Demon Cultivators working together?

Moreover, there may not be just one Fairy Feiyin working with Fairy Dawn Light...

"Forget it, better to sit and wait."

"No matter what methods they have, it is best to remain unchanging in response to change."

Upon reaching this decision, Zhang Yao stood in the same spot with his hands behind his back, waiting for the enemy to come to him.

This wait lasted for more than half an hour.

"Ah!"

Again, a short, sharp scream.

Zhang Yao discerned that it was the voice of the artifact cultivator You Quan, sounding particularly miserable as if suffering extreme torment.

"...Even this guy is dead."

Zhang Yao's expression darkened.

In less than an hour, Bai Hong Sword Immortal, Elder Yuanxu, and You Quan had all died in succession.

He could now confirm that the screams before their deaths were deliberately created by Fairy Xia Guang's group and then spread through the white mist; otherwise, they wouldn't have been heard.

"Deliberately creating psychological pressure? Such childish tactics."

Zhang Yao sneered inwardly and continued to wait in place.

About a quarter of an hour later:

"Hua..."

A sudden surge of magical power erupted around, causing a small section of the white mist to disperse.

Three or four zhang away, a figure suddenly dashed out, covered in blood, with tattered clothes, looking extremely wretched.

"Haihe?"

Zhang Yao's expression shifted, and he quickly spoke up.

Haihe Ancestor was about to pass by, narrowly missing him, but upon discovering him, he was instantly overjoyed:

"Qingxu! It's you! That's great!"

As he spoke, he maneuvered his Escape Light towards Zhang Yao, still shouting:

"Be careful! Those two scoundrels are hiding in the surrounding mist..."

"Boom!!"

Before Haihe Ancestor could finish his words, he was interrupted by a deafening thunderous roar!

Without any warning, Zhang Yao suddenly acted, and eight purple Thunderballs shot forth explosively, unleashing a deluge of thunderous power!

At such a short distance, and catching the defenseless Haihe Ancestor off guard, he didn't have time to retreat or evade!

"Qingxu! Are you mad?!"

Haihe Ancestor roared in shock and indignation, his actions unhesitating, with the magical power around him seemingly already in motion, waiting.

"Clatter..."

Amid the rushing mighty magical power, nine layers of monstrous waves were conjured, quickly turning from illusion to reality, stacking layer upon layer to form an iron wall and copper rampart.

Moreover:

"Boom!" "Buzz!"

In the blink of an eye, from Haihe Ancestor's sleeve flew out a crimson hairpin and a piece of light fabric like a sunset, shining brightly!

The two magical treasures combined with Haihe Ancestor's Divine Techniques, countering Zhang Yao's sudden assault with the 'Annihilation Divine Thunder'!!

"Rumble..."

Within a brief moment of stalemate, the Thunder Marsh began to gain the upper hand, pushing back the combined force of the three Golden Core level powers step by step!

"What?!"

In shock, Haihe Ancestor dared not contend with Zhang Yao any longer, immediately pulling back and retreating into the surrounding white mist.

"Poof!"

Due to forcibly withdrawing his magical power and the backlash of the qi, he vomited a mouthful of blood, but his figure disappeared without a trace.

The two magical treasures, the crimson hairpin, and the sunset-like fabric, also plunged into the surrounding white mist in an instant, leaving only the raging Thunder Marsh on the scene.

"Hmph! Coward!"

Zhang Yao snorted coldly, waved his sleeve to dispel the Annihilation Divine Thunder, and his gaze swept around :

"Do you think that hiding in this mist means this poor Daoist has no means to deal with you?"

"...Hehe."

A silver-bell-like laughter suddenly came from the white mist, belonging to Xia Guang:

"As expected of the renowned Elder Qingxu, your Divine Techniques truly open our eyes!"

"I imagine on your person, there must be earth-shattering opportunities, making me drool with envy..."

Her voice scattered in the surrounding white mist, making it impossible to judge the direction and distance.

"Qingxu..."

Haihe Ancestor's voice also followed, now tinged with a trace of depth and unfamiliarity:

"How did you find out? When?"

"Your flaws were too many!"

Zhang Yao stood with his hands behind his back and said calmly:

"The first flaw was when we encountered Three Evils Daoist and his group at Feicui Lake."

"During the battle at Cangjiang Water Mansion years ago, Lord Haihe and I fought side by side, and every detail is etched in my memory."

"That battle, one could say, was a turning point in Lord Haihe's life, where he lost an apprentice as dear as a son, formed a deadly feud with Yu Wen Tai, and simultaneously regained the Jade, allowing him to return to his sect after a hundred years."

"This memory must be etched in his bones, never to be forgotten."

"Yet you showed no surprise or astonishment at the reappearance of the pivotal Man Tian Sheng from that battle and didn't discuss it with me at all, as if you didn't recognize him!"

"At that time, I already became suspicious of you, doubting you were the real Lord Haihe!"

'Haihe Ancestor' fell silent, providing no response.

Zhang Yao's gaze scanned the surroundings, continuing:

"Later, during the first trial at Jade Divine Palace, my suspicions increased when Three Evils Daoist advised me that among you and Fairy Xia Guang, there was a problem."

"And your second flaw was even more obvious..."