Your Spell Version is Too Low!

As his form merged with the withered tree, Qi Yun’s vision went dark. A moment later, a thick, heavy black cloud, saturated with viscous Evil Qi, surged toward him.

This black cloud was no inanimate object. Faint flashes of lightning coursed within it.

It also exuded a heart-stopping pressure, as if it were some kind of living barrier.

Deep within the churning black clouds, two scorching, dazzling spheres of light flickered in and out of view, like miniature suns. They radiated a golden glow and an intense heat that made it impossible to look at them directly.

’Hm? An anomaly like two suns shining together?’ A chill ran down Qi Yun’s spine. Not daring to let his guard down, he maintained his state of Gathering Form and Scattering Qi and the effect of the Formless Divine Talisman, cautiously navigating through the black clouds.

But as he finally passed through the dense barrier of black clouds and saw the true nature of the "two suns," his expression froze. He couldn’t help but exclaim in his heart:

’Well, I’ll be!’

Those weren’t suns at all!

They were the eyes of a giant beast!

In the void ahead crouched a colossal ape, its body as massive as a small hill.

Its body was covered in thick, glossy, blue-black fur. Its knotted muscles bulged with explosive power.

Most striking of all were its enormous pupils, which looked as if they were cast from molten gold. As it blinked, they shot out golden light and a searing heat. These were the "suns" he had seen from within the black clouds.

The great ape’s limbs were thick and powerful. Beneath its massive feet, two clusters of ethereal blue flames burned quietly.

The flames held its massive body slightly aloft, suspending it in mid-air and giving it a look that was both mystical and imposing.

’A Dharma Guardian Great Demon?’ Qi Yun’s expression turned serious as he instantly understood the great ape’s role.

He gave the green-furred, golden-eyed, flame-footed great ape a careful look, inwardly amazed.

The Demon Power radiating from the giant beast was immense. While it was a notch below that of Ling Master—the Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator under Black Mountain Master whom he had once seen—

it was still at the true Qi Refining Great Perfection level!

Moreover, judging by its form and anomalous abilities, it was definitely a rare species with an extraordinary bloodline.

A demon of this caliber would have real combat power far exceeding that of an ordinary Great Perfection Qi Refining Cultivator.

It might even be able to exhibit some of the power of the Foundation Establishment Stage.

As he watched the green-furred great ape—whose every breath caused the surrounding black clouds to roil, like a guardian deity—Qi Yun suddenly raised an eyebrow. An absurd, yet not entirely impossible, thought flashed through his mind:

’Black Mountain, Black Fiend... The names of these two Masters are so similar, and their methods are just as tyrannical and ruthless.’

’They also both enjoy raising demons as servants...’

’Could it be... that the two of them are actually brothers?’

The more he thought about it, the more plausible the guess seemed. Qi Yun couldn’t help but chuckle and shake his head, pushing aside these harmless, gossipy thoughts.

The treasure vault was the top priority.

Under the power of the Formless Divine Talisman, Qi Yun’s aura was almost completely concealed.

Although the giant golden eyes were terrifyingly powerful,

when they scanned the surroundings, they didn’t linger on Qi Yun’s position for even a moment.

Qi Yun wasted no more time. His figure, like an invisible breeze, silently slipped past the hill-sized great ape and continued deeper into the treasure vault.

Beneath his feet was a path constructed from some unknown gray soil. The soil seemed ordinary, but it faintly emitted a strange fluctuation that seemed to stabilize the space and block any attempts at probing.

As he followed the path of gray soil, the surrounding scenery gradually cleared, the boundless black clouds giving way...

to a vast, albeit somewhat empty, independent space.

At the end of the path, a palace came into view.

It was a towering, entirely pitch-black palace!

The palace’s material was neither metal nor stone, resembling both jade and iron. It was a shade of profound black so deep it seemed to absorb all light.

Its overall design was simple yet majestic, devoid of excessive ornamentation. Only the corners of the eaves, sharp as swords, pointed at the void, exuding a grim, murderous aura.

Faintly visible on the palace walls were countless fine, intricate, dark red lines. They resembled clotted blood or pulsing Demon Patterns, slowly circulating and emitting heart-stopping waves of Daoist Intent and the powerful aura of a Restriction.

Two massive doors were shut tight. Each was carved with the head of a snarling Demon Deity, its eyes wide with fury, a huge ring-pull clamped in its mouth. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

The pressure emanating from the palace was every bit as strong as, if not stronger than, that of the green-furred great ape outside.

It was like a slumbering primordial beast—silent, yet filled with an unparalleled sense of danger and power.

Qi Yun stood at the end of the gray dirt path, his gaze fixed as he looked up at the black palace, which exuded an aura of solemnity, majesty, and mystery.

’This... is the Black Death Peak Master’s private treasure vault?’

Gazing at the black hall before him, which radiated an extremely dangerous aura, Qi Yun knew that he had no hope of forcing his way in on his own, even with the protection of the Formless Divine Talisman.

Every strand of the Restriction’s aura flowing over the palace contained the Magical Power imprint and grim killing intent of a Foundation Establishment Master.

It was far beyond the power of any Qi Refining Realm cultivator to challenge.

If he acted rashly, he would be obliterated without a trace.

"’It takes a Master to deal with a Master,’" Qi Yun muttered. With a flip of his hand, he produced the Formless Divine Talisman bestowed upon him by Elder Master Deng Yin.

The Talisman, which seemed to be carved from smooth, raw jade, now lay quietly in his palm.

Its surface shimmered with a subtle yet profound luster.

He took a deep breath. Without further hesitation, the surging, tide-like True Essence of his Qi Refining Eighth Layer erupted from his body without reservation. Like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea, it all poured into the Formless Divine Talisman in his palm!

HUMMM—!

The once-subtle Talisman suddenly erupted in a brilliant light. The pearly white radiance wasn’t blinding, but it carried a strange Dao Rhyme—one that could pierce through illusion and bend the very Laws of existence.

As the light coalesced, an elderly, somewhat illusory figure with an aura as deep as the sea stepped out of the radiance and slowly solidified.

It was none other than Elder Master Deng Yin!

But this was not the Elder Master’s physical body.

Rather, it was an avatar he had sealed within the Formless Divine Talisman beforehand, containing a portion of his Divine Sense and power.

Created specifically to handle this very situation.

The moment the avatar appeared, its eyes—seemingly murky, but in reality, all-seeing—fell upon the majestic black palace.

His gaze swept over the dark red patterns on the walls, the massive, sealed Demon Deity doors, and the countless invisible yet lethal Restriction nodes in the void. A mocking smile played on the Elder Master’s lips as he snorted.

"The Eighteen Layers of Yin Seal, fifty-five Heart-Piercing Skills, and this pair of demon-sealing door fiends..."

"He certainly spared no expense for these little trinkets of his."

With a single glance, he had seen through all the protective measures around the grand hall—measures that would give even a Master of the same rank a headache.

"A pity," the Elder Master said, shaking his head. With a casual gesture, the Formless Divine Talisman—which floated in the air, serving as the vessel for his avatar—drifted into his illusory palm.

"No matter how many thousands of Forbidden Skills and imposing barriers you have, you cannot transcend the realm of the ’Formless.’"

Before the words had even faded, he turned his palm upward and gave a gentle push.

The Formless Divine Talisman erupted with an unprecedentedly fierce white light. It was no longer a gentle, jade-like glow, but had transformed into a blazing white bridge formed purely from the Dao Principle of the ’Formless’!

The bridge ignored spatial distance and the terrifying, layered Restrictions teeming with killing intent, as if they didn’t exist at all. It extended straight forward.

Its far end easily ’merged’ with the heavy, sealed doors carved with the heads of Demon Deities, passing straight through into the hall’s interior!

The Restrictions remained unbroken, the doors unopened.

Yet this Bridge of Formlessness was already in place.

Its miraculously profound power had bypassed all security measures and led directly to the core.

"Let us go," the Elder Master’s avatar said coolly, taking the first step onto the brilliant bridge of light.

Qi Yun suppressed his shock and hurried to follow, stepping onto the strange bridge formed by the Formless Divine Talisman.

His feet felt solid on the bridge of light, yet it also felt as light as air.

Just like that, following the Elder Master’s avatar, he walked step by step, as if taking a leisurely stroll. He passed through the region of Restrictions that could annihilate any being below the Foundation Establishment Stage, and through the heavy, sealed doors containing the twin demon-sealing fiends. He had truly stepped into the most private and heavily guarded treasure vault of Li Hanyan, the Black Death Peak Master!

The moment he entered the treasure vault, an endless stream of Treasure Light rushed toward him, as if ten thousand colored lanterns had been lit before his eyes all at once.

With a muffled grunt, Qi Yun hastily summoned layers of Iron Sand to shield himself, blocking out most of the Treasure Light.

But as his eyes adjusted to the blinding Treasure Light within the hall and he finally saw the "treasures" on display...

...even with his current composure, his eyes flew wide and his breath caught in his throat.

GULP.

The sound of someone swallowing hard echoed clearly.

...