The Undersea Palace of the Netherworld Auction had become a blood-soaked hellscape. The Ten Thousand Demons Heart-Devouring Formation ran wild, demonic energy churned like tangible matter through the great hall, tearing the buyers who hadn't escaped in time into shreds. The Pavilion Master of the Shadow Snake Pavilion stood at the formation's eye, laughing maniacally as he absorbed the essence blood and resentment permeating the air.
"Do you see now? This is the price of opposing the Demon Lord!" His body swelled continuously under the infusion of demonic energy, the demonic horns on his forehead growing over half a foot long, hard demonic scales emerging on his skin.
Xiao Qi kept Liu Yun and the others protected within his Green Lotus Domain, but his gaze remained fixed on the Star Iron from Beyond the Realm suspended above the demon formation. Under the stimulation of demonic energy, the Star Iron was undergoing a strange transformation—the starlight dots on its surface were gradually connecting into a clear pattern—showing an unprecedented star map!
"We must seize the Star Iron!" Xiao Qi transmitted to Liu Yun via divine sense. "Hold the domain. I'll be right back."
Without waiting for Liu Yun's response, his form flickered like a shooting star—flying out of the domain. His Void Wandering Dragon Step traced bizarre trajectories through the demonic energy, the space itself seeming to part before him wherever he passed, as if cowering from the spatial fluctuations emanating from his body.
"Stop him!" the Shadow Snake Pavilion Master roared.
The surviving demon descendants rushed forward in formation, arranging themselves into an ancient battle array. Demonic energy flowed between them, coalescing into a hundred-zhang demonic dragon that spat destructive demonic flames.
Xiao Qi didn't dodge or evade. The Nirvana Crimson Flame Sword displayed its spatial authority in actual combat for the first time. Where the sword blade swept past, space tore like cloth, the demonic flames spat by the dragon being directly devoured by the spatial rifts. More terrifyingly, the rifts spread like a spider's web, dismembering the entire demonic dragon in the blink of an eye!
"Spatial Law! You've actually mastered Spatial Law!" The Shadow Snake Pavilion Master's shock turned to fury. He had thought his demon formation would be enough to suppress Xiao Qi, never expecting his opponent to have reached such a level of spatial mastery.
Xiao Qi gave him no chance to catch his breath, his form vanishing once more. When he reappeared, he was already at the core of the demon formation, reaching directly for the Star Iron from Beyond the Realm!
"Dream on!" The Shadow Snake Pavilion Master howled, throwing himself in the way. His demon-clawed hands transformed into razor-sharp talons tearing forward. This strike carried the purest essence of demonic origin—space itself cracked with fine lines where it passed.
But Xiao Qi was faster. In the heartbeat before the claws reached his body, he distorted impossibly, as if merging into space itself. The claws passed through his phantom image, while his true body had already appeared behind the Shadow Snake Pavilion Master!
"Squelch—"
The Nirvana Crimson Flame Sword pierced through the Shadow Snake Pavilion Master's back without the slightest resistance. The spatial power contained within the blade erupted instantly, shredding the demonic core within his body!
"Im... impossible..." The Shadow Snake Pavilion Master stared downward in disbelief, watching the sword tip emerge from his chest. He had spent centuries building his power, believing he would hold an important position after the Demon Lord's return—never imagining he would fall here.
Xiao Qi sheathed his sword. The Shadow Snake Pavilion Master's corpse crumpled to the ground. He reached out and grasped the Star Iron from Beyond the Realm, immediately sensing the vast information contained within.
The Star Iron felt ice-cold in his palm, its interior seeming to seal away a real starry sky. When he probed with his spiritual sense, countless stellar trajectories flooded into his mind, ultimately condensing into a vague coordinate at a certain location.
"The depths of the Boundless Ocean..." he murmured to himself. This coordinate pointed toward an unknown sea region far beyond the overseas territories—barely recorded even in overseas cultivator records.
While he was deciphering the coordinate, the Ten Thousand Demons Heart-Devouring Formation, now without its master, began to collapse. The violent demonic energy lost control, rushing outward like a breached flood. The entire undersea palace shook violently, on the verge of collapse at any moment.
"Let's go!" Xiao Qi returned to the Green Lotus Domain and led everyone to evacuate swiftly.
When they burst through the sea surface, a deafening roar erupted behind them. A massive vortex formed on the sea surface, swallowing the entire undersea palace along with the demon formation within.
"At last, it's dealt with." Liu Yun breathed a sigh of relief.
But Xiao Qi's expression was grave: "No. This is only the beginning."
He displayed the Star Iron from Beyond the Realm for everyone to see. Within the Star Iron, besides that vague coordinate, was hidden a piece of unsettling information: the dimensional rift where the demonic entity resided was approaching the main world at an alarming speed. According to the Star Iron's calculations, in a maximum of eighty-one days, the rift would intersect with the main world!
"Eighty-one days..." Everyone sucked in a cold breath. This time was far shorter than they'd estimated!
What was even more worrying was that the Star Iron showed the coordinate point in the Boundless Ocean's depths had an exceptionally fragile spatial structure—it might well be a natural entrance for the dimensional rift. The demon remnants' search for the Star Iron was probably precisely to guide the demonic entity's return through this entrance!
"We must act immediately." Xiao Qi made his decision. "Before the demonic entity finds this entrance, we must control it."
But the depths of the Boundless Ocean teemed with dangers—even overseas cultivators rarely ventured there. It housed not only powerful sea beasts, but also legends of forbidden lands left behind from ancient times.
"I'll inform the overseas sects." Liu Yun volunteered. "They know the Boundless Ocean better."
Xiao Qi nodded: "Be quick. Also, inform all Soul Transformation stage cultivators in the alliance—gather at Qingxu Temple in ten days."
He gazed at the warm, cool Star Iron in his palm, sensing the space-time power it contained. This divine iron from beyond the heavens not only recorded dimensional coordinates, but also seemed to have a special sensing ability for spatial fluctuations.
That night, Xiao Qi studied the Star Iron alone in his private chamber. Propelled by the Green Lotus Origin, the star map projected by the Star Iron grew increasingly clear. He was amazed to discover the star map marked not only spatial coordinates, but time markers as well!
"So that's how it is..." He suddenly understood.
The demonic entity's choice to return in eighty-one days was not random. According to the star map, that was precisely when the once-in-ten-thousand-years "Void Tide" would reach its peak. Under the Void Tide's influence, the spatial barriers would become exceptionally fragile—the demonic entity could break through the seal with ease!
"What deep calculation..." Xiao Qi felt a chill down his spine. The demonic entity wasn't just powerful; its grasp of heavenly timing and geographical advantages was this precise.
But the Star Iron also gave him hope. In one corner of the star map, several special time nodes were marked. At these points, the Void Tide would produce brief fluctuations—perhaps, by grasping these opportunities, they could do something before the demonic entity's return.
"Eighty-one days..." Xiao Qi gripped the Star Iron tightly. "That's enough."
He walked out of the chamber, gazing toward the rising sun in the east. In this race against time, they had to seize every moment. And the Star Iron from Beyond the Realm would become their most important bargaining chip.
When Liu Yun returned with representatives from the overseas sects, Xiao Qi had already formulated a detailed plan. This time, they would take the initiative—delivering a fatal strike at the place the demonic entity least expected!
The scent of final battle hung over the entire cultivation world.