Chapter 692 Return to Ji Continent

"Good."

The 2 immediately flew out of the Demonic Sea, and after a dozen or so days of continuous flight, they finally left its boundaries.

That day, Eldrin had just left the Demonic Sea when he suddenly noticed the jade pendant given to him by Dorian erupting with a brilliant radiance, enveloping him completely.

Then he sensed an intensely malevolent blood flame morph into a crimson serpent, lunging straight for his crown point.

"Damn it, it's demonic path sorcery!"

As if by conditioned reflex, the Star-Gazing Tower within Eldrin (Person Name) began to glow, and 1 brilliant Heavenly Secret Spiritual Treasure after another shielded Eldrin (Person Name)'s soul.

Instantly, his body was sheathed in a brilliant stellar radiance, and the Stellar Glazed Body (Spiritual Root) divine ability was activated in a flash.

Boom—

Guarded by strands of heavenly mysteries and divine abilities, along with the protection of spiritual treasures, the crimson blood serpent ultimately proved no match, dissipating into a wisp of azure smoke.

"Are you alright?"

Seeing Eldrin’s face turn pale, Lyra asked with a face full of concern.

"It's fine."

Eldrin shook his head, a trace of lingering fear coloring his expression. The situation just now had been truly perilous.

That blood serpent was truly terrifying, possessing the power to devour spiritual souls. Even a Half-Step Primordial Spirit (Cultivation Realm) expert would likely lose their life to this serpent. Had it not been for his various spiritual treasures and supernatural abilities protecting him, he probably wouldn't have escaped unscathed.

At this thought, Eldrin couldn't help but remark, "Without possessing my birth characters or essence blood, they could still unleash such a vicious curse. It's most likely that Galoo Heavenly Demon has made his move."

"Ah, trash, how could you possibly fail?"

Meanwhile, deep within the Demonic Abyss, a figure clad in black armor spoke with a face full of fury.

This man was none other than the renowned Eldrin Demon, whose cultivation had reached the Primordial Spirit, Late Stage (Cultivation Realm). Even among demonic beings of the primordial spirit rank, he stood as an exceptionally formidable figure.

Before Galo the Celestial Demon stood a crimson-robed elder, his face grim as he clutched the corpse of a deceased scarlet serpent.

His expression turned icy as he spoke with a grim gaze, "My Blood Serpent Soul-Snatching Curse requires the consumption of an exceedingly rare sixth-order Soul-Devouring Blood Serpent to be cast."

"If 1 could obtain his life essence blood and birth date, even a Divine Transformation mighty expert could be severely wounded or even cursed to death. Yet this person, merely at the Nascent Soul, Mid Stage (Cultivation Realm), managed to preserve his life. Most likely, he possesses some invaluable protective treasure."

"Hmph." A dark chill crossed the Eldrin Demon's face as he spoke with a grim expression, "Do you still possess the means to curse this man to death?"

"I am powerless in this matter." The blood-robed elder shook his head, then fell into prolonged contemplation before adding, "Without his birth characters and essence blood, ordinary demonic curses would likely prove insufficient to end his life."

"If you truly wish to kill him, perhaps you should seek out the Dream Devourer Demon (Monster)."

Nightmare...

The Demon Lord of the Garuda’s expression shifted slightly, as if wary of the Demon Lord of the Nightmare.

After a long moment of contemplation, his expression turned icy as he said, "So be it. If it means eliminating that brat, paying some price is only fitting."

At the same time, Eldrin let out a heavy sigh of relief after blocking the Blood Serpent Soul-Snatching Curse.

He smiled faintly and said to Lyra (Person Name), "Without knowing my birth characters or possessing the essence blood of either you or me, performing such a curse must have come at a cost severe enough to cripple even a primordial demon's divine soul."

"If they fail to slay me this time, I shall be deemed secure henceforth."

Lyra also breathed a sigh of relief, yet cautioned with lingering concern, "We must still be cautious. From now on, do not let the Starwatch Tower leave your side easily."

"Hmm."

Eldrin nodded, then continued toward the location of the treasure ship.

Before long, they rejoined the treasure ship fleet and began flying back toward the Eastern Wastelands (Location).

In the blink of an eye, several years had passed. Eldrin (Person Name) finally breathed a heavy sigh of relief as he led his army back to Jizhou on soaring wings.

Everyone aboard the treasure ship—the Chen Clan members, Lady Yan Zi, the Carefree Azure Lyricist, and the rest—broke into rare smiles.

At this moment in Greenlotus Isle, a full 10 1000 cultivators were disembarking 1 after another. The numerous welcoming cultivators on shore were all frantically searching for their loved ones.

Upon the plaza, some wept bitter tears, some were wild with joy, while others choked back silent sobs.

20-some years had passed since their parting. To the high-level cultivators at the Violet Mansion realm and above, this was but a fleeting moment, yet for the low-level practitioners who had survived the tribulation, it felt like an entire lifetime had slipped away.

During this time, some perished in battle, some passed away in meditation, while others saw their clans completely decline.

Many also achieved illustrious military exploits, obtaining Foundation Establishment Pills (Spiritual Object) to break through to the Foundation Establishment realm, and some even advanced to the Purple Mansion and Golden Core realms. They could truly be described as enjoying a period of unparalleled glory.

This was no exaggeration—in this battle alone, the Chen family had distributed over 20,000 Foundation Establishment Pills (Spiritual Object) merely as military rewards.

On the treasure ship, Eldrin glanced at the reunited group and couldn't help but reveal a complicated expression.

He glanced at the assembly and noticed Chen Silas had been waiting for quite some time, then inquired, "In recent years, has anything of significance occurred in Ji Zhou and The Vast Sea?"

Chen Silas (Person Name) wore a contemplative expression before finally murmuring under his breath, "The Xu family's training ground has been completely eradicated."

"This..."

Eldrin's expression shifted slightly as he finally grasped the situation that had been unfolding in the Eastern Wastelands over recent years.

In the Eastern Wastelands (Location), before each eruption of the Abyssal Cataclysm, many demonic cultivators would secretly conceal themselves, waiting until the cataclysm erupted to launch large-scale blood sacrifices of the human race to break through their cultivation.

Apart from the Nascent Soul immortal clans, who were inspected and watched over by the Eastern Desolation Immortal Alliance (Organization), the low-level immortal clans had little protection.

In the mere 20-some years since their departure, numerous demonic cultivators had emerged across the entire Ji Province. From Golden Core immortal clans down to Qi Refining immortal families, countless lineages had been obliterated in the calamity—no 1 could tally precisely how many.

Chen Silas (Person Name) spoke with a pained expression, and only after a long while did he continue, "Over the past 20-some years, 13 of the 50-odd Golden Core immortal clans in Ji Province have been eradicated, while nearly 40 to 50 percent of the Foundation Establishment-level clans have been wiped out."

Those demonic cultivators specifically targeted low-level immortal clans, and there were even Golden Core demon lords who shamelessly performed blood sacrifices on Foundation Establishment and Qi Refinement immortals. 1 Golden Core demon lord single-handedly sacrificed over a 100 Foundation Establishment Purple Mansion immortal clans.

After hearing this, Eldrin and Lyra’s expressions grew increasingly icy.

This was only possible because they had taken preemptive action, completely eradicating all demonic cultivation forbidden grounds near Ji Zhou and The Vast Sea (Location).

If the demonic cultivation forbidden lands such as the Demonic Fiend Qi (Spiritual Root) Ridge and the Devil's Cave had not been eradicated, I'm afraid the entire Ji Province and even The Vast Sea (Location) would have been left with 9 houses out of 10 empty.

At this moment, Eldrin finally understood why the Abyssal Cataclysm was called a cataclysm.

It turned out that this cataclysm was a tribulation for all cultivators under heaven, recurring every 1000 years. Each time it erupted, Qi Refining immortal clans would essentially meet near-total annihilation.

This is precisely why it is nearly impossible to find Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment immortal clans with millennia-old legacies in this world—they simply cannot survive the cataclysm of the Demonic Abyss.

Only those immortal clans above the Purple Mansion realm possess even a sliver of possibility to survive such terrifying tribulations, thereby perpetuating their lineage for thousands of years and seizing a fleeting opportunity to ascend toward higher-tier immortal clans.

Thinking of the great terror behind this, Eldrin asked, "How are things now?"

Chen Silas (Person Name) shook his head and said, "During this Demonic Abyss Cataclysm, 5 demonic cultivators from Jizhou successively ascended to the Nascent Soul Realm through blood sacrifices."

"The Vast Sea (Location) also harbors 4 of them. Now they've occupied the former Demonic Fiend Qi (Spiritual Root) Ridge and the Devil's Abyss Cave, among other territories. It appears they intend to wield power by leveraging these forbidden grounds of demonic cultivation."