The Heavenly Ghost's vicious expression was still etched on its face, but there was a hint of lingering astonishment in its wide eyes.

It was as if the Heavenly Ghost had seen something unbelievable in the instant that it had been decapitated.

"Brother Han, did you chase down that devilish lord?" Fairy Silver Light asked as she glanced down at the Heavenly Ghost head in a stunned manner.

"Rest assured, I've already taken care of him and the three other Heavenly Ghosts." A faint smile appeared on Han Li's face, and he swept a sleeve through the air to release a ball of black light, within which was a miniature azure gate that was several inches in size.

This was none other than the bald devilish lord's Heavenly Asura Gate! However, the light that was currently radiating from it was quite dim, suggesting that it seemed to have been damaged.

"That's great! With all of them dead, there's no way the Elder Devil Race will hear about our trip to Heavenlean City! It was all thanks to you that we were able to kill those three devilish lords, Brother Han. If Ling Long hadn't told me about you all those years ago, I would truly be unable to believe that you've only been cultivating for just over 2,000 years," Fairy Silver Light said with both elation and awe in her voice.

"I was merely lucky; the cultivation arts I use just so happen to suppress most devilish and ghostly cultivation arts. Compared to other fellow Daoists of the same cultivation base, my powers will be nowhere near as prominent. Speaking of which, don't forget what you promised me," Han Li said in a meaningful voice.

"Rest assured, Brother Han; I made a promise and I plan to deliver. Ling Long and I are both from the same race, so it won't be too difficult for me to pass on a message to her in your stead. It's just that Ling Long is currently with Senior Ao Xiao, and I can't get into contact with her for now," Fairy Silver Light replied.

"I'll have to thank you in advance, then, Fellow Daoist Silver Light. If you need my assistance with anything else in the future, feel free to call on me," Han Li said with a smile.

Fairy Silver Light's eyes lit up with elation upon hearing this, and she replied, "You're very welcome, Brother Han; this is just a simple task for me."

Han Li was far more powerful than she had anticipated and wasn't inferior even to a late-Body Integration cultivator in the slightest. With a favor from such a powerful being up her sleeve, she would definitely be able to benefit immensely from it at a later date.

After a brief discussion, both of them erased all traces of the nearby battlefield, then continued on toward Heavenlean City.

Han Li was flying through the air at a leisurely pace within a streak of azure light, and he was gently stroking a white wooden box within one of his sleeves with a contemplative look in his eyes.

This wooden box was something that he had obtained from the bald devilish being, whom he had slain using his blade segment again.

Initially, he wasn't all that interested in the item, and only after discovering that neither his spiritual sense nor his spirit eye ability could allow him to glean its contents did he become very curious toward it.

However, an extremely powerful formation had been set up on this box, making it very difficult for him to open it even with his vast array of abilities. As such, Han Li stowed the item away and hurried back to where Fairy Silver Light was.

As he was stroking the wooden box, he could feel faint traces of heat being released from its surface, but less than 10 minutes later, it suddenly became very cool to the touch, and that made Han Li even more intrigued by its contents.

However, they were currently still traveling, so he would just have to wait until they reached Heavenlean City before studying the wooden box further.

With that in mind, Han Li released a crimson bead from each of his five fingers, which then vanished into the wooden box in a flash as five crimson runes.

This was a restriction he had learned from a certain foreign race, and he had cast it onto the wooden box as a safety precaution.

Immediately thereafter, the wooden box was stowed away into his storage bracelet amid a flash of azure light, and he focused his entire attention on flight.

At his and Fairy Silver Light's current speeds, they were quickly able to cover a distance of hundreds of thousands of kilometers.

...

Meanwhile, within a newly constructed devilish city that was countless kilometers away, there was a hall situated within one of the massive pyramids. All of a sudden, a thunderous roar of fury erupted from within the hall.

"What happened? How did three devilish lords fail to transport a single item? Do those three pieces of trash want to be thrown into the Devilform Pond?"

The one who had spoken was a crimson-robed young man sitting in the main seat at the center of the hall. It was none other than the clone of Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang, and his face was currently etched with fury.

This clone was only at the pinnacle of the Body Integration Stage, but in his burning fury, a giant devilish projection that was over 100 feet tall abruptly appeared behind him.

The projection was completely crimson in color with a dozen or so horns on its head. At the same time, there were several thick tentacles extending from its body and whipping wildly through the air, making it appear as if it were a giant octopus.

The terrifying aura released by the devilish projection was causing the entire hall to creak and tremor violently, as if it were going to collapse at any moment.

In the face of this terrifying aura, the black-armored guards in the hall hurriedly half-knelt onto the ground and lowered their heads with horrified expressions, not daring to look up at Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang.

There were only two high-grade devilish beings standing near Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang, and they immediately exchanged a bewildered glance upon seeing this.

One of the two was a man in a baggy silver robe, and he asked, "What's made you so angry, Master Xue Guang?"

The fury on Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang's face quickly faded, but his voice was still very heavy as he replied, "I asked three of my subordinates to transport something very important, but the wisp of spiritual sense I left on that item has been cut off by a secret technique. Something must've happened to those three. Otherwise, there's no way the item would've been lost!"

The other high-grade devilish being was a pink-robed middle-aged beauty, and she said in a bewildered manner, "Is that so? That seems very implausible. With three devilish lords traveling together, they should be able to protect themselves even against a human cultivator at the pinnacle of the Body Integration Stage. As for that Grand Ascension Stage human cultivator, he was wounded by several Sacred Ancestors when he ventured into our sacred realm around 1,000 years ago, so surely he won't appear at a time like this."

"It is indeed quite incredible to think that the three of them could've perished all at once, but it's not impossible for someone to have simply taken the treasure from them. I just tried to contact them using a secret technique, but there was no response. Someone go check if any devilish lord level soul flames have been snuffed out in the Soul Hall," Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang instructed with a dark expression.

"Yes, Sacred Ancestor!" One of the black-armored guards immediately extended a respectful bow before backing out of the hall.

Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang leaned back in his seat and fell silent as he narrowed his eyes slightly.

The two high-grade devilish beings were naturally aware that he was in a foul mood, and didn't dare to speak, either. Thus, the entire hall became deathly silent.

Around 10 minutes later, the black-armored figure rushed into the hall again, then half-knelt onto the ground and reported in a slightly panicked manner, "Sacred Ancestor, the soul flames of three devilish lords have been snuffed out in quick succession!"

"Three?" Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang's eyes immediately widened, and one of the armrests of his chair was instantly crushed into dust in his white-knuckled grip amid a dull thump.

"Yes, Sacred Ancestor. The supervisor of the Soul Hall has confirmed that these three soul flames belonged to Lord Lan's trio," the guard replied in a careful manner.

Upon receiving this news, Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang was looking like a volcano that was on the brink of eruption.

The two high-grade devilish beings in the hall also exchanged an astonished glance upon hearing this. However, both of them could tell that Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang was more enraged by the fact that the aforementioned item had been lost, rather than the deaths of the three devilish lords.

This made them both rather curious about just what this item was.

Sacred Ancestor Xue Guang sat in a brooding silence for a long while before finally making a decision. "You two, lead a group of Bloodlight Crystal Guards and set off right away to find the place where those three were killed. Even if a Grand Ascension cultivator had been responsible, there must still have been signs of battle left behind. Carefully examine every single inch of soil there, and be sure to verify the identity and whereabouts of the human cultivators responsible. Drop all your other duties for now and prioritize this one above all else; contact me as soon as you find any useful information!"

"Yes, Master Xue Guang!" The pair of high-grade devilish beings immediately accepted their orders with a respectful bow.

An hour later, a crimson cloud flew out of a certain level of the pyramid, and sinister devilish beings in suits of translucent crimson armor could be seen within the cloud. There were over 100 such beings in total, and they quickly vanished into the distance.

...

Over a month later, two streaks of light shot forth in an extremely discreet manner toward a giant human city constructed beside a lake. After just a few flashes, the two streaks of light landed on a nameless mountain nearby.

They were none other than Han Li and Fairy Silver Light, who had finally made it to the general vicinity of Heavenlean City.

Both of them were currently appraising Heavenlean City with grim expressions.

In the air in front of one of Heavenlean City's city walls, there were tens of thousands of giant black arks hovering in mid-air, and between these arks were countless ferocious devilish cavaliers.

The devilish beast steeds of these cavaliers had black clouds beneath their feet and were fitted with suits of beastly armor, clearly setting them apart from those normal devilish beasts.