"That's not all that surprising. Do you really think he would've failed to see through the fact that we had possessed this pair of Jiao Chi beings? He was simply looking for an excuse to perform a blood sacrifice anyway, so he's going along with our plan for now. With his powers as a true immortal, there's no way an ordinary Grand Ascension Stage being would've been able to pose any resistance to him," the male Jiao Chi being replied with a cold smile.

"That's true. What's most unexpected to me is that you know such a profound possession secret technique that can temporarily shake off that man's surveillance. If we had used this secret technique earlier, we wouldn't have been reduced to such a sorry state," the female Jiao Chi being said.

"You don't know anything. This secret technique is different from normal possession techniques as it involves completely planting one's soul into another physical body. It's extremely dangerous to use, and the success rate for me is only around 70%. On top of that, once this secret technique is unleashed, my original body will have to go into hibernation. During that time, it'll be carried by the newly possessed body, and in this new body, my powers will be severely restricted. As such, I wouldn't take such a huge risk by resorting to this technique if I had any other choice.

"As for why it was able to shake off that man's surveillance, I presume that's because this is also a secret technique from the True Immortal Realm. This is something that I didn't anticipate; I had prepared another course of action to shake him off, but that won't be necessary now," the male Jiao Chi being explained.

These two were none other than the Six-winged Frost Centipede and the Ice Phoenix, who had possessed a pair of Jiao Chi beings and temporarily shaken Ma Liang off their trail.

The Ice Phoenix was rather taken aback to hear this. "How did you come into possession of this immortal secret technique?"

"Back in the primordial world, I stumbled upon the cave abode of a foreign being and found a page of the Golden Jade Tome that contained this secret technique. Unfortunately, the complete secret technique can only be unleashed by a true immortal; this possession technique is actually only a small part of it, and it was the only part I could cultivate. Also, this possession can only last half a day before we're forced to return to our original bodies. Otherwise, there would be a decent chance that we could just get away like this," the Six-winged Frost Centipede replied in a slightly forlorn manner.

"So be it; it's already a pleasant surprise that you know this immortal secret technique that can temporarily shake that man off our trail. All we have to do is make it to another major city of the Jiao Chi Race while this secret technique is still in effect. I'm sure the Grand Ascension Stage beings of the Jiao Chi Race wouldn't just allow that man to do as he pleases. As long as they can stall that madman for a while longer, we'll be able to find another super teleportation formation and return to the Tian Yuan Continent.

"Once that happens, it'll be very difficult for him to track us down again unless he immediately follows us into the formation. If worse comes to worst, we can go and find Fellow Daoist Han. Brother Han was able to slay even the Stemborer Queen in the past; perhaps with his powers, he'll have a way to remove the tracking marks planted in our bodies," the Ice Phoenix said.

The Six-winged Frost Centipede immediately flared up with rage upon hearing this. "There's no way I would turn to Han Li! I would sooner die!"

"Hmph, given how much you've enraged that madman, if we get captured, we'll most likely suffer a fate even worse than death," the Ice Phoenix countered in a cold voice.

"We'll discuss this matter when we need to. Perhaps we'll be able to completely shake off that madman once we return to the Tian Yuan Continent," the Six-winged Frost Centipede said as he reverted back to a calm expression.

"Alright, in that case, we'll take things one step at a time. Let's focus on getting to the next major city for now. I can already sense that this body of mine won't be able to last much longer; that madman is going to be able to track us down again very soon," the Ice Phoenix replied.

Thus, the two of them sped onward as a pair of balls of light.

......

Half a month later, Ma Liang was just preparing to perform a blood sacrifice in another major city of the Jiao Chi Race when he was ambushed by six Grand Ascension Stage Jiao Chi beings.

Ma Liang had already slaughtered countless Jiao Chi beings, including two Grand Ascension Stage elders, so these Grand Ascension Stage beings naturally had no intention of trying to settle this peacefully.

Instead, as soon as they appeared, they immediately activated an extremely powerful restriction.

On this occasion, Ma Liang didn't use that talisman to remove the chains of laws within his body. Instead, he engaged the six Grand Ascension Stage beings in a fierce battle with his handicapped powers.

All six of these Grand Ascension Stage Jiao Chi beings were far more powerful than the average Grand Ascension Stage being, and with this restriction to assist them, they could virtually dominate the entire Thunder Continent.

However, even though Ma Liang's powers were severely restricted, he was able to match them with his immortal secret techniques and treasures from the True Immortal Realm.

Thus, the two sides were evenly matched, and the battle only became more and more intense.

In the end, the battle lasted close to a day, and it concluded with the deaths of four of the Grand Ascension Stage Jiao Chi beings, while the other two fled with severe injuries.

However, at the final juncture, the Grand Ascension Stage Jiao Chi beings had detonated several incomplete Profound Heavenly Treasures, catching Ma Liang by surprise and injuring him in the process.

In a fit of fury, Ma Liang sacrificed three more major cities of the Jiao Chi Race.

In this situation, what remained of the higher-ups of the Jiao Chi Race were forced to summon three true spirits from another space using an ancient contract.

These three true spirits, namely the Hoof Dragon, the Grand Sparrow, and the Yang Deer, had been worshipped by the Jiao Chi Race since ancient times, and they engaged Ma Liang in another epic battle.

This battle lasted for three days, and the entire region within a radius of hundreds of thousands of kilometers was affected.

Once the battle concluded, the nearby Jiao Chi beings immediately rushed over, only to find that the three true spirits and Ma Liang had all disappeared.

The Jiao Chi Race attempted to use various secret techniques to contact the three true spirits, all to no avail, and thus, they were left at a loss for what to do.

At this point, Ma Liang's egregious actions on the Blood Sky Continent finally reached the ears of the people on the Thunder Continent, and everyone was plunged into a state of perpetual fear given that Ma Liang had disappeared and was potentially still out there somewhere.

As for the Six-winged Frost Centipede and the Ice Phoenix, they were naturally ecstatic to hear about Ma Liang's disappearance, and they immediately implemented their plan.

Over a month later, the two of them entered the territory of another major race, then gained access to their super teleportation formation in exchange for some compensation, thereby allowing them to return to the Tian Yuan Continent.

......

Meanwhile, Han Li and the others had also appeared in a giant teleportation formation in a certain corner of the Tian Yuan Continent.

The formation was situated in a large hall with several tens of guards nearby, and they seemed to have expected the arrival of Han Li and his entourage.

The leader of the guards immediately stepped forward in a respectful manner, and said, "I've been instructed to come here and meet you, Senior Han. Master Ming Zun has already been waiting for a long time, and he would like to meet you."

"I certainly can't refuse an invitation from Fellow Daoist Ming Zun; go ahead and lead the way. Wan'er, you can take a rest here for now," Han Li said.

"Don't worry about us; we'll look after ourselves," Nangong Wan replied in a reassuring manner.

Thus, Nangong Wan and the others exited the teleportation formation and sat down to meditate outside the hall.

Meanwhile, Han Li was being led by the guard toward a stone cabin situated in a nearby lush forest.

Before Han Li had even arrived at the stone cabin, the door was opened on its own, and Ming Zun's voice rang out from inside. "You're finally here, Fellow Daoist Han. Please come in; I've been waiting for you for quite some time now."

"Sorry to keep you waiting, Fellow Daoist," Han Li said as he strode into the stone cabin.

The interior of the cabin was very sparsely furnished, with only a yellow wooden table and several sandalwood chairs.

A red-haired elderly man was seated on one of the chairs, inspecting a white jade slip in his hand.

"Please take a seat, Fellow Daoist Han, and do forgive me for telling Bi Ying about you," Ming Zun said with a smile as he cast his gaze toward Han Li.

"It's alright. In any case, Fellow Daoist Bi Ying has already passed away, so there's no need to discuss something like this," Han Li said with a shake of his head, then sat down across from Ming Zun.

"Never did I think that Bi Ying would go to the other side ahead of me. Our trade guild has most likely already withdrawn its force significantly on the Blood Sky Continent," Ming Zun sighed.

"That is indeed the case, but with several elders managing the trade guild together, I'm sure nothing will go wrong; it was all thanks to those elders that I was able to return to the Tian Yuan Continent so quickly," Han Li replied.

"I certainly hope that's the case. How much do you know about the culprit behind the blood sacrifices, Fellow Daoist Han?" Ming Zun asked with a serious expression.

"The elders of your trade guild haven't provided me with a lot of information, but what I do know is that he's definitely not inferior in power to the likes of the Stemborer Queen," Han Li replied with a grim expression.