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

Qingyouzi's divine sense was like an invisible chain, firmly tied to the jade-colored escape light three hundred miles away, sensing its flight trajectory and speed.

It was confirmed that the other party was heading towards the depths of the sea, most likely returning to its cave or nest located in the sea.

He sneered inwardly, his figure silently drawing a near-perfect arc in the high-altitude clouds, making a large circle, and relying on his faster speed, he silently overtook his target and arrived at the sea area in front of its inevitable path.

Having chosen a secluded area far from the shipping lanes, with only deep blue seawater below, Qingyouzi stopped.

He made hand seals, and the array flags that Jiugan had already refined to perfection flew out from his sleeves, disappearing into the void and sea below in a specific direction, their spiritual light flashing and then disappearing.

The Nine-Chained Formation was silently laid out, and an invisible binding force field quietly spread, waiting for its prey to fall into the trap.

Immediately, his figure rose higher again, soaring upwards, passing through layers of thin clouds, until he stopped a thousand miles above, where the fierce winds howled. From here, the sea below appeared as nothing more than a dark ribbon, and his jade-colored escape light resembled a firefly crawling slowly.

He stood in mid-air, his black robes fluttering in the gale, yet his hat and fire curtain remained perfectly still. He raised his hands in front of his chest, his left palm gathering pure magical power, while his right palm churned with dark red malevolent energy, and deep within his dantian, demonic fire was also ignited.

Three vastly different yet equally powerful forces, under his exquisite divine control, began to slowly converge, compress, and condense. A terrifying killing intent, causing the surrounding space to tremble and distort slightly, slowly rose from his body.

He was gathering momentum, experimenting.

Waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike and kill.

Less than a quarter of an hour.

The jade-colored firefly below finally drifted slowly into the designated sea area, entering the core influence zone of the Nine-Lock Linked Array. Dozens of feet behind it, the red figure continued to follow silently, like a lifeless puppet.

This is the moment!

Qingyouzi's thoughts suddenly changed!

Below, the once calm sea surface was suddenly rippled violently! The Nine-Lock Linked Array was activated at full power! A powerful and strange binding force was born out of thin air, like countless invisible chains, instantly wrapping around the jade-horned youth!

The transformed demon was flying away slightly drunk when it suddenly felt its demonic power suddenly stagnate, as if it had fallen into a sticky swamp. Its full strength was suppressed by nearly 30% out of thin air!

His expression changed drastically, and he instantly sobered up considerably!

"not good!"

Before the exclamation could be uttered, another strange event occurred!

High above, a sharp, piercing sound rang out! Dozens of dark, heavy shields, carved with ferocious dragon patterns, were arranged in a tight formation, crashing down like meteors with immense force!

The target wasn't to attack him directly, but rather to precisely plant itself in the sea and mid-air between him and the woman in red behind him, instantly forming an impenetrable shield wall that completely separated the two!

The Jade Horned Demon was both shocked and furious. Instinctively, it swung its claw, and a condensed jade-colored claw beam slammed hard into the nearest shield!

"clang--!"

A deafening roar, like metal clashing, exploded on the sea, sending waves soaring skyward!

However, the shield only rippled slightly with a dark light, remaining completely still, without even leaving a white mark. Instead, the recoil made his claws numb, and his horror deepened!

"Who?! What kind of scoundrel dares to ambush me here?!"

He roared angrily, his voice carrying far across the sea, his outward fierceness masking his inner weakness.

"I am an elder of the South Sea Dragon Clan! You humans, do you not know that the human and demon races have temporarily ceased hostilities to jointly resist the demonic calamity? Are you trying to disrupt the harmony between the two races and provoke a great war?!"

As he roared, he unleashed his powerful divine sense, comparable to that of a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator, sweeping across the surrounding sea and sky like a whirlwind, trying to find any trace of the ambush.

However, apart from the icy seawater below, the biting winds in the air, and the eerie, impenetrable shield wall, he could sense nothing. His opponent seemed to have completely merged with the world around them, leaving no trace.

What chilled him to the bone even more was that when he tried to break free upwards, downwards, and in all directions, he found that all directions were firmly blocked by those indestructible black shields! This space had become an elaborately crafted prison!

Panic gnaws at the mind like a venomous snake.

Just then.

A terrifying aura that made his very soul tremble descended without warning from the highest heavens! It was as if an ancient ferocious beast had opened its cold eyes beyond the nine heavens and locked onto him, so insignificant!

The sheer power, the sharpness, the... aura of destruction sent chills down his spine and made his soul tremble!

"Wait...wait a minute!"

The Jade Horned Demon could no longer care about the dignity of a demon king. Its voice distorted with extreme fear as it screamed.

"No matter who you are, or what your purpose is! What do you want to know, what treasure do you desire? I... no, I can tell you! We can discuss anything! Just don't make a move! Just don't..."

"boom--!!!"

A light that defies description.

Or rather...

A terrifying sword aura, condensed to its extreme, its color a mixture of cyan, red, and dark blue, yet perfectly unified, and nearly a hundred feet long, tore through the space between the sky and the sea, ignoring all distance and obstacles, and slashed down at him, who was trapped in the shield wall cage!

fast!

Incredibly fast!

Under the combined influence of the array's suppression and inner fear, the Jade Horned Demon only had time to let out a final desperate roar, exhausting all its remaining demonic power and even sacrificing its own essence!

The crystal-clear, jade-like scales on his body instantly detached and flew around like living things, frantically piling up and combining above his head, instantly condensing into a "Jade Scale Heavy Shield" that was several feet thick and more than ten feet in diameter!

This was his last resort for survival.

however.

High in the sky, hidden above the clouds, Qingyouzi stared expressionlessly at the hastily formed jade shield below and coldly exhaled.

This attack was his first attempt to forcefully compress and fuse his purest magical power, newly mastered evil energy, and the Ten Thousand Cold Demon Fire into a powerful strike!

Its power was beyond his full estimation, but he was certain that it would pose a deadly threat even to a true late-stage Nascent Soul cultivator!

as predicted.

The terrifying "sword energy" of mixed three colors had not yet truly touched the "Jade Scale Heavy Shield," but merely the destructive energy ripples emanating from its front end swept over it.

Click... click click...

The seemingly indestructible jade scale shield's surface rapidly dimmed, and fine cracks began to spread quickly! The jade scales that made up the shield lost their luster at a visible speed, and even began to disintegrate and vaporize!

next second.

There were no earth-shattering explosions.

There was only a faint, teeth-grinding sound, like a hot knife cutting into butter.

The nearly 100-foot-long tri-colored "sword energy" sliced ​​through the jade scale shield, which was already riddled with cracks and had lost much of its spirituality, as easily as cutting through tofu. Then... it gently grazed the body of the Jade Horned Demon, which was filled with terror and despair.

It rushed directly across the sea beneath it.

Time seemed to stand still for a moment.

Followed by.

"Boom—!!!"

The sea below, cleaved by the "sword energy," was as if the seawater had been split open by an invisible giant blade, and terrifying water walls hundreds of feet high suddenly exploded to both sides!

A massive trench, seemingly bottomless, tens of meters wide, and stretching to the horizon, appeared on the sea surface!

Through the churning seawater, one could even vaguely see the dark seabed rocks below! Seawater rushed in from both sides, stirring up towering waves, and the roaring sound lingered for a long time, as if the sea itself had been cleaved by this blow and suffered an unhealable wound!

And that transformed elder of the South China Sea Flood Dragon Clan, the Jade Horn Youth…

It has already disappeared.

The physical body was instantly vaporized by the extreme destructive energy contained in that attack, leaving not even a trace behind.

Only a tiny, fist-sized, dimly colored, and constantly twisting spirit, by sheer luck, was not completely annihilated. It floated in the air where it had been, shimmering with a light of terror and bewilderment.

Qingyouzi moved swiftly, arriving before the fragmented essence. With a flick of his sleeve, a powerful magical force enveloped and imprisoned it, dragging it to his side.

He glanced at it indifferently and casually sealed it into his storage bag.

Their gaze shifted to the other side.

The shield wall formed by the dragon shield remained sturdy, isolating that area from the destructive storm that had just struck.

Behind the shield wall, Chen Wenjing stood quietly, looking bewildered. Her veil seemed to have been blown off slightly by the strong wind, revealing a pale but calm young face.

She neither screamed nor tried to escape; she simply stood there quietly, seemingly indifferent to everything that had just happened, to the imminent death and rescue.

Qingyouzi looked at her, a faint, complex emotion flashing in her eyes behind the fire curtain of her hat.

The woman had not seen his true face, nor did she know what specific magical artifact he had used. She also did not possess anything he urgently needed or was interested in.

More importantly... in his mind, a girl with clear eyes who handed him a yellowed ancient book more than ten years ago, and her honest and upright father flashed through his mind.

That ancient book on formations certainly served as an introduction to his initial study of formations, and it will undoubtedly be of great help to him in repairing the Nine Palaces Spirit Locking Formation later on.

"That's enough."

Qingyouzi murmured to herself.

Since there was no profit to be made, no harm to his own interests, no need to silence him, and considering the slightest bit of old friendship and the kindness of the book gift...

Without further hesitation, he raised his hand and made a gesture.

The Demon Dragon Shield that sealed off the surroundings and the Nine-Chained Array Flag hidden beneath the sea surface simultaneously transformed into streams of light and flew back into his sleeve.

Immediately, his figure flickered, transforming into a faint, almost invisible blue streak, merging into the vast night sky and endless sea breeze, disappearing without a trace.

All that remains is the gradually calming sea surface, still bearing a hideous "scar," and the woman standing alone amidst the waves, dressed in blood-red robes.