Starting at the Nascent Soul stage, a rogue cultivator is incredibly poor.

"At a strategic point on the sea thousands of miles away, how could a demon in human form like you have ever been entrenched here? And you even dare to claim to have been here for three hundred years?"

Wen Tao swallowed the elixir, his magical power slightly restored, and his voice became cold and stern.

"How ridiculous!"

Qingyouzi remained silent, tilting the jade bottle in his sleeve slightly, and quietly swallowed half a bottle of thousand-year-old spiritual milk.

A surge of immense spiritual energy instantly replenished the depleted magical power.

He remained expressionless, merely concealing his aura as if he had simply recovered.

"Wen Tao's concerns are reasonable."

Qingyouzi's mind raced.

"This route was repeatedly surveyed and determined by Heavenly Immortal City, and the demon race's forces have long been eradicated. If a fourth-tier great demon had been lurking for a long time, there would be no way it could have slipped through. Unless…"

His pupils contracted slightly.

"Unless something goes wrong at the front lines, or there's a lapse in patrols, allowing them to infiltrate?"

He quietly spread his divine sense, carefully sensing the fluctuations of demonic power around Cangming.

wrong.

This demon's aura was deep and lingering, and its demonic power flowed smoothly and naturally, unlike that of someone who had infiltrated hastily. Moreover, its divine sense was hidden yet vast; when he was exchanging voices with Wen Tao just now, he had vaguely sensed a fluctuation of being spied on.

This demon race possesses extremely strong divine sense perception!

Qingyouzi felt a chill run down her spine, but remained calm on the surface, waving her hand behind her.

Mo Xuanjun immediately understood and shouted the order:

"Turn the airship around and retreat at full speed! Activate all formations without delay!"

The twelve giant ships shone brightly, their sails swirled rapidly, and they began to slowly turn.

Wen Tao's telepathic message reached Qing Youzi's ears at this moment, his voice solemn:

"Fellow Daoist Qingyou, we must hold this fiend off. Our battle just now drained our mana considerably, and Heavenly Immortal City must have already noticed. Reinforcements should be on their way… hopefully in time."

During the telepathic exchange, he swallowed two more pills, then spoke loudly, his tone laced with rebuke:

"You demon race, instead of keeping to yourselves in the Boundless Sea, you insist on colluding with Beiting, coveting my Southern Xuan territory. Do you really think my human race can be bullied?!"

"Collusion? Covetousness?"

Cangming's scarlet vertical pupils suddenly contracted, and he laughed in extreme anger, the sound of his laughter causing ripples to spread across the sea:

"What a fine example of 'coveting'! What a fine example of 'being easily bullied'!"

He stood on the waves, his dark blue scale robe fluttering in the wind, and his voice suddenly turned sharp:

"When did these vast mountains and rivers, these boundless seas, become the exclusive property of your human race?! Why should you occupy all the blessed lands and spiritual peaks, while my demon race can only cower in the desolate sea, barely surviving?!"

Wen Tao's face darkened, and he shouted:

"In ancient times, the human and demon races fought side by side against the Heavenly Demon at Buzhou Mountain, shedding blood in the process! The distribution of resources after the war was a natural choice made by heaven and earth. Your race was defeated and retreated to the outer sea; it was due to your lack of strength, so who can you blame? Now you've even colluded with Beiting, intending to make a comeback. Who is truly the one who has betrayed us?!"

"treachery?"

Cangming looked up at the sky and roared, his roar filled with grief and indignation:

"Back then, when Mount Buzhou sealed the Heavenly Demon, seventy percent of my demon ancestors perished! But what happened after the war? Eight or nine out of ten spiritual veins, mineral deposits, and blessed lands fell to the human race! My race only received scraps and leftovers, and you even drove us to a barren sea area thirty thousand miles away!"

His vertical pupils fixed intently on Wen Tao, and he spoke slowly and deliberately:

"This is what you call 'natural selection'?"

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly sprang into action!

It moved with incredible speed, leaving several afterimages in the air as it hurtled straight towards Wen Tao!

Wen Tao was prepared and summoned the Vast Ocean Pearl, which formed a blue water shield around him.

"Bang--!!!"

Cangming slammed his fist into the water shield, and demonic power exploded like a tidal wave!

The water tank caved in violently, ripples spreading wildly. Wen Tao groaned and staggered backward, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.

"Mid-stage fourth rank... indeed troublesome." He gritted his teeth and steadied himself.

"Mid-stage? Late-stage? Those are nothing but prisons arbitrarily drawn up by your human race!"

Cangming roared, his right hand transforming into a claw, five dark blue claws tearing through the air as he struck down again!

Just then, Qingyouzi made a move.

He did not directly attack Cangming's vital points, but instead, thousands of threads surged out from his sleeves like a tide. The hundreds of black threads did not gather in one place, but instead scattered in all directions, weaving a large, sparse but not leaky blue net in the air.

Online, the Ancient Green Demon Flame burns silently.

The blue flame was not scorching hot, but it exuded a strange vitality. When it came into contact with the demonic power, it subtly repelled it and even corroded it in the opposite direction!

"Um?"

Cangming paused, its claws poised.

A hint of apprehension flashed in his scarlet vertical pupils.

This blue flame...something's strange!

Ordinary fire spells have limited effectiveness against water-type demons, but this blue flame could penetrate the demon's defenses and directly burn away the life force within his body.

What's even more troublesome are those silk threads, which, though seemingly thin, are exceptionally tough.

Qingyouzi's expression was calm, but his figure was unpredictable.

He maintained a distance of about a hundred feet from Cangming, the limit at which he could react in time and effectively and precisely interfere with it using his myriad threads. The ancient azure demon fire adhered to the threads, and wherever the azure threads touched, the flow of demonic power became sluggish by three points.

"With these paltry skills?!"

Cangming roared, his demonic power erupting, forcefully shaking off the black hair that was binding him.

But the blue flames were like a leech, and even though they were scattered, wisps of fire still seeped into his scales, causing his demonic body to ache faintly.

His crimson vertical pupils suddenly turned towards Qingyouzi, his killing intent surging:

"I'll kill you first, you who's in my way!"

As soon as he finished speaking, his figure transformed into a dark blue lightning bolt, abandoning Wen Tao and shooting straight at Qing Youzi!

Qingyouzi had anticipated this.

He lightly touched the sea surface with his toes, his body sweeping backward, countless threads weaving into layers of blue net before him. Each layer of net only hindered Cangming for a moment before being torn apart by his sharp claws, but the broken blue net did not dissipate, instead transforming into more fine threads that coiled around him.

The ancient blue demon fire spread along the silk threads, clinging to the Cangming demon's body like a living thing.

"Get out of here!"

Cangming roared, its scales standing on end, and its immense demonic power exploded like a tsunami!

His black hair was completely shattered, and demonic flames scattered everywhere!

But in that brief moment of delay, Wen Tao made another move!

The Pearl of the Vast Ocean shone brightly, and nine water dragons roared up from the sea, slamming into Cangming from the side. At the same time, he clapped his hands together, and dozens of condensed water arrows shot towards Cangming's vital points like a torrential rain.

Besieged on all sides, Cangming's ferocity was fully unleashed!

"court death!!"

He roared and, without dodging or avoiding, took the water dragon and water arrow head-on. His dark blue claws tore through the sky and went straight for Qingyouzi's face!

This claw strike was unleashed in fury, its demonic power solidified to the point of being tangible, causing space to subtly distort wherever it passed!

Qingyouzi's pupils suddenly contracted.

There's no way to avoid it!

At the critical moment, countless threads surged forth from his sleeves, forming a three-foot-thick blue silk wall in front of him. The surface of the silk wall was ablaze with blue flames.

"Bang—!!!"

The sharp claws slammed into the silk wall!

The silk wall caved in violently, and countless strands of green silk broke off, but the ancient green demon fire spread wildly along the claws and arms, scorching the Cangming scales with a "sizzling" sound!

Cangming, in pain, slowed his attack slightly.

Qingyouzi was thrown back a hundred feet by the force of the impact, his face was slightly pale, and a trickle of blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Although the silk wall blocked one attack, the recoil still injured his internal organs.

"What a hard turtle shell!"

Cangming shook his charred right claw, his scarlet vertical pupils filled with even greater apprehension.

This azure flame is too strange, and the threads are too tough. If the fight continues, even if I win, I will pay a heavy price.

He stood atop the waves, his dark blue scales bearing numerous scorch marks, and the burn marks from the blue flames on his demonic body were clearly visible.

His scarlet vertical pupils swept over the two of them, his voice hoarse and cold:

"You humans hunt my demon race, taking their elixirs to refine medicine, skinning them to make armor, and extracting their bones to make weapons. For thousands of years, have you ever spared such blood debts?"

Qingyouzi wiped the blood from the corner of her mouth with her sleeve and replied coldly:

"The demon race cultivates by eating humans, using their essence, blood, and souls to enhance their power. How many cities and towns have they slaughtered and destroyed throughout history?!"

"so......"

Cangming slowly raised its sharp claws, its demonic power gathering once more, yet its voice remained strangely calm:

"So there's no solution, is that right?"

He looked at Qingyouzi, a complex emotion flashing in his scarlet vertical pupils:

"You humans possess strange magical artifacts and unique flames... It's a pity we can't have a proper battle today."

Before he finished speaking, he suddenly looked up and gazed at the distant horizon.

Qingyouzi and Wentao also felt something.

Three powerful Nascent Soul auras are rapidly approaching!

The one leading the group was none other than a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator!

A hint of resentment flashed in Cangming's scarlet vertical pupils, but without hesitation, he transformed into a dark blue light and disappeared into the deep sea.

The lingering sound came with the waves:

"We'll meet again on the battlefield... and then we'll see who lives and who dies."

The sea leveled off.

Qingyouzi and Wentao stood in mid-air, exchanged a glance, and both saw the lingering fear in each other's eyes.

The three streaks of light had already arrived close.

The leader was a middle-aged man in purple robes, with a dignified face and a powerful aura. He glanced at the ravaged sea and said in a deep voice:

"Are you two alright, fellow Daoists? That demon... escaped?"

Wen Tao bowed respectfully:

"Thank you for your help, fellow Daoist. That transformed demon has already fled, probably sensing your presence."

The purple-robed cultivator nodded, but his gaze fell on Qing Youzi, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes:

"I was watching the battle from afar just now, and your azure flames and silken magic weapon were quite formidable, actually causing a mid-stage fourth-tier demon to retreat in fear... I wonder what their origin is?"

Qingyouzi bowed slightly, but felt somewhat displeased, as he had revealed some of his trump cards.

"It's just a demonic flame I acquired by chance in my early years, along with a natal magic weapon, which has a lucky effect in restraining me. If it weren't for Fellow Daoist Wen directly restraining me, I wouldn't have been able to hold on."

He spoke humbly, but the purple-robed cultivator gave him a deep look and asked no further questions. He then beckoned and began counting the sea monster corpses below.

"I will help you clean up these corpses, fellow Daoists. They can be exchanged for battle merits, which can then be used to trade for various cultivation materials. Let's return to the flying boat first. This place is not safe to stay any longer."

The group transformed into streaks of light and chased after the retreating airship team.

Qingyouzi flew at the very end, glancing back at the sea where Cangming had disappeared.

Beneath the deep sea, all is dark and without light.

During the fierce battle, he vaguely sensed a very subtle spiritual energy fluctuation on the seabed, which seemed to be some ancient relic, but he was unable to investigate it in detail due to the urgency of the battle.

"Once things have settled down... we may come back to investigate again."

He withdrew his gaze and accelerated to catch up with the stray light ahead.

The sea breeze rustled, stirring the green robe.

Beneath the surface, the undercurrents remain turbulent.