"But without those three fellow daoists, our overall power will be severely reduced; won't that be an issue? Also, where is Fellow Daoist Xuan Jiuling? Is he not going to be joining us?" Yin Gangzi asked as his brows also furrowed slightly.

"There's no helping it; those three must be assigned to guard the formation cores so we don't have to worry about the formation being destroyed. After all, this is an immortal formation that will be an absolutely necessary trump card for us to overcome this true immortal, so the compromise had to be made. As for Fellow Daoist Xuan Jiuling, he has already arrived," Ming Zun replied in an unhurried manner.

As soon as his voice trailed off, another male voice rang out, seemingly out of thin air.

"Were you concerned that I would back out at the last minute? Rest assured, even if all of you had changed your minds, I would still face the true immortal on my own. After all, the opportunity to slay a true immortal doesn't come around every day."

"As expected of Fellow Daoist Xuan, but seeing as you're already here, why aren't you coming out to meet us?" Mistress Wu Ling asked.

Everyone else's expressions also eased slightly upon hearing this.

"I've always preferred to be alone, so I won't come out to meet you. All you need to know is that I'll definitely strike when the time is right," Xuan Jiuling replied in an expressionless voice.

The Grand Ascension Stage beings present could only exchange speechless glances upon hearing this.

At the same time, they were quite surprised that they were still unable to pinpoint Xuan Jiuling's exact location.

......

On the edge of Baleful Cry Point, a streak of azure light appeared before flying straight into the region.

All of a sudden, the azure light faded to reveal a flying boat that was over 100 feet in length.

At the front of the boat stood the Six-winged Frost Centipede and the Ice Phoenix, both of whom had unnaturally pale complexions.

A hint of fear flashed through the Six-winged Frost Centipede's eyes, and he said, "That was a close call. Not only does that madman not seem to be slowing down, it appears his stamina is only improving as this chase drags on. However, we should be safe for now. All we need to do is wait for a while so he can close down the distance between us a little, then lead him into the formation."

"Not only have we used up almost all of the pills and talismans given to us by the He Lian Trade Guild, even the essential power that you and I had only just recovered were expended. If the trade guild can't bring down that madman here, then we won't even have a chance to escape anymore," the Ice Phoenix said with a dark expression.

"Ming Zun proclaimed that he had recruited the most powerful beings on the entire continent, didn't he? That should include my former master. I hate to admit it, but that former master of mine really is quite formidable. With his inclusion, this plan will most likely be a success," the Six-winged Frost Centipede said in an expressionless manner.

The Ice Phoenix was rather surprised to hear this. "I didn't think that you would be so confident in Brother Han."

"Hmph, if I weren't so wary of him, I wouldn't have raised that condition to Ming Zun to persuade him not to come after me for the next 1,000 years. With those 1,000 years, I'll be able to reach a pinnacle in my cultivation, and I won't have to fear anyone in the Spirit Realm then," the Six-winged Frost Centipede harrumphed coldly.

"Is that so? If you ask me, with Brother Han's incredible aptitude, he'll be even more unfathomably powerful in 1,000 years. I daresay there's a possibility that he could ascend to the True Immortal Realm within the next 10,000 years," the Ice Phoenix said with a hint of mockery in her eyes.

"Haha, ascension isn't child's play; there are hundreds of Grand Ascension Stage beings in the entire Spirit Realm, but have you heard of anyone successfully ascending within the past 100,000 years? Regardless of how incredible my former master's aptitude is, there's virtually no chance he'll be able to ascend to the True Immortal Realm," the Six-winged Frost Centipede chortled.

"I'm very confident that Brother Han will be able to ascend. How about we make a bet if we manage to survive this ordeal?" the Ice Phoenix proposed.

The Six-winged Frost Centipede was rather taken aback to hear this. "What's the bet?"

"It's very simple: the bet will be whether Brother Han will be able to ascend to the True Immortal Realm within the next 10,000 years," the Ice Phoenix replied.

The Six-winged Frost Centipede could tell that she wasn't joking, and he asked, "What are the stakes?"

"You want me to become your dual cultivation companion, right? If I lose the bet, I'll become your dao companion. However, if Brother Han manages to ascend in the next 10,000 years, then you have to promise me that wherever I go, you have to actively avoid me. Of course, during these 10,000 years, you're forbidden from harassing me," the Ice Phoenix replied in a cold voice.

"Are you really that confident in him?" A hesitant look appeared on the Six-winged Frost Centipede's face.

"Are you scared? If you don't have confidence in your own judgment, then there's no need to accept this bet; you can just wait until you're captured by Brother Han and forced to become his spirit beast again," the Ice Phoenix said with a hint of a smile on her face.

"Why would I be scared? I accept your bet, but I'm changing the stakes. You're planning to use this bet to restrain me for 10,000 years, so you have to take responsibility for your actions. If he can't ascend within the next 10,000 years, I'm not going to make you my dao companion. Instead, you'll become my servant, and you won't be able to refuse any orders I give you. On top of that, both of us have to swear inner demon vows on this bet," the Six-winged Frost Centipede said with a cold look in his eyes.

"Alright, that's not an issue," the Ice Phoenix agreed without any hesitation.

The Six-winged Frost Centipede's heart jolted slightly upon seeing this, but he was confident that he would be able to win the bet, so after a brief hesitation, he opened his mouth to release a ball of blood essence.

He then pointed a finger at the ball of blood essence, and it transformed into a crimson ghostly face.

He then began to chant something while making a string of hand seals, swearing a vow to the ghostly face before him.

The Ice Phoenix replicated his actions, expelling a mouthful of blood essence before swearing a vow of her own.

After that, the two of them exchanged a glance, and both of them could see their own confidence mirrored in one another's eyes.

However, before they had a chance to say anything to one another, the Six-winged Frost Centipede's expression suddenly changed drastically as he cast his gaze toward a certain direction.

At the same time, the sky in that direction dimmed, and a burst of rumbling rang out in the distance, quickly growing louder and louder.

"We have to go!" the Ice Phoenix hurriedly urged.

The Six-winged Frost Centipede immediately summoned a crimson pill that he tossed into his own mouth, following which the flying boat shot forth as a streak of azure light once again, vanishing into the distance after just a few flashes.

Within the span of around a dozen breaths, a burst of crimson light appeared in the distance, following which a river of blood gushed forth at an incredible speed.

Within the river of blood, there were eight five-clawed blood dragons thrashing around with golden light surging out of their mouths.

In the blink of an eye, the river of blood flowed into Baleful Cry Point, directly pursuing the flying boat up ahead.

Both the flying boat and the river of blood were traveling at an incredible speed, but the gap between them was quickly shrinking.

After only about 15 minutes, the river of blood had become clearly visible to the Six-winged Frost Centipede and the Ice Phoenix.

"Do we still have more of the Wind Evasion Talismans given to us by Ming Zun?" the Six-winged Frost Centipede asked.

"There's only one left," the Ice Phoenix replied after a brief hesitation.

"Then what are you waiting for? Use it right now!" the Six-winged Frost Centipede yelled.

The Ice Phoenix immediately swept a sleeve through the air, releasing a shimmering silver talisman that vanished into the flying boat in a flash.

In the next instant, countless silver runes appeared all over the surface of the flying boat, then instantly disappeared.

A sharp screeching sound rang out from the flying boat, and it abruptly blurred before speeding up by around twofold, making it slightly faster than even the pursuing river of blood.

"Hmph, they're using the same trick again. I'm quite surprised that the Wind Evasion Talismans of our True Immortal Realm can be found in a realm like this," Ma Liang harrumphed coldly as he stood on the head of one of the blood dragons in the river of blood.

"Those talismans were most likely left behind in this world by immortals of ancient times. Otherwise, there's no way anyone in this realm would've been able to refine these immortal talismans," Yang Deer replied in a respectful manner.

"Even so, these talismans are quite annoying to deal with. Without their interference, I would've already captured those two a month ago," Ma Liang said as a hint of impatience flashed through his eyes.

"Rest assured, Master; there definitely wouldn't be too many of these immortal talismans in this realm. Perhaps this is already their last one."

Unbeknownst to Yang Deer, his optimistic statement had struck the nail on the head.

"Yang Deer, do you think this would be a good place to ambush me?" Ma Liang suddenly asked as he swept his enormous spiritual sense through the surrounding area.

Yand Deer's heart jolted upon hearing this, and he hurriedly asked, "Have you discovered something, Master?"

"No, but the Baleful Yin Qi here is extremely abundant, to the extent that even my spiritual sense is significantly restricted. This would be a perfect place to set a trap for me," Ma Liang said with a cold smile.