High-level martial arts: Long spear with black flames to suppress demons.

South of the coast, in a mountain peak, Xu Mingjing slowly withdrew his gaze.

He stood deep within a crevice in the rock wall, and through a narrow slit in front of him, he could see the black flames constantly swirling in the distance. Yin and Yang energies flowed around his body, concealing his aura to an extremely faint degree. Occasionally, his divine sense would sweep over the nearby area, but it would quickly move away.

Several Tianpeng Clan cultivators had just flown over the mountain ridge.

Xu Mingjing stood still until those figures had completely disappeared before looking back at Bei Ming.

All four True Name Species have been killed, and the demonic energy at sea is rapidly decreasing. The demon army is gradually freeing up manpower, and cultivators are beginning to patrol the previously chaotic coastline.

Warships and great demons can be seen on several routes leading to Zhenhai City.

Those people from the capital fled in a very sorry state.

Xu Mingjing saw all of this, but let them leave.

At this moment, he was more concerned about the young man standing high in the sky.

A severed arm, a body that has risen again after several near-death experiences, and flames capable of burning stone slabs...

This battle drastically changed his assessment of Shen Chang'an. The person before him was no longer comparable to the boy he had first met in the Dead Zone.

Seeing how much attention Murong Qing and Murong Yan paid to him, Xu Mingjing was already certain that he was Murong Xiangqing's child.

He had originally planned to talk in person, but now was clearly not the right time.

The demon race has already taken control of the battlefield, and Shen Chang'an is accompanied by a phoenix. If he were to appear now, the matter of the Demon City Dead Zone alone would be enough to have everyone surround him.

Although his injuries had almost fully healed, they were still insufficient to support him in fighting so many powerful demons again. Moreover, there was a ninth-realm Kunpeng in the sea, and he had no idea to what extent it had recovered.

A moment later, he took a step back into the crevice.

Let's wait a little longer.

As long as Shen Chang'an is still in Beiming, there will always be opportunities to get close to him.

The yin and yang energies flowed slowly, concealing the last trace of his aura within the crack.

......

On the outskirts of the Northern Sea, Bai Yin cautiously looked up and glanced in the direction of the Northern Sea.

"It seems we won..."

She observed carefully for a moment longer. The roaring sounds from the sea had thinned considerably, and the previously dense swarms of demons had diminished by more than half. Several warships were advancing along the battle line, while flocks of birds flew overhead, beginning to clear out the scattered shadowy figures on the outer perimeter.

The tension on Baiyin's face gradually dissipated, and she couldn't help but laugh.

"We really won! Look, the monsters are almost all wiped out, and the boss is still burning away that demonic energy up there!"

Overjoyed, she tried to stand up, holding onto the rocks. But as soon as she straightened up halfway, a gust of wind carrying moisture swept across the slope, causing her cloak to billow and her to fall backward.

Baiyin screamed and immediately threw herself back to the ground, clinging tightly to the rocks. Her boots left two tracks in the gravel as she struggled to regain her balance.

After the gust of wind passed, she remained lying down, too afraid to move, pressing her cloak under her body with lingering fear.

"Why is the wind still so strong..."

"Wait a little longer, don't rush."

An Nuan's voice came from the side.

Bai Yin turned her head and saw that she was still protecting the wooden box, her expression even more serious than before.

An Nuan looked out at the sea again.

The warships and clouds before her gradually blurred, and scenes yet to unfold emerged from the depths of her vision. She traced back along the future she had previously glimpsed, only to stop in a place that should have been familiar.

The previously clear image has become distorted.

She focused her gaze again, but the images began to disperse, revealing several unfamiliar fragments. After several attempts, she was still unable to reconcile them with what she had seen before.

An Nuan's hands, which were holding the wooden box, tightened slowly, and the last bit of color on her lips faded.

Baiyin noticed something was wrong, and the smile on her face gradually disappeared.

"What's wrong?"

An Nuan looked away after a moment, her voice very low.

"The timeline... seems to have changed."

She looked again at the gradually calming sea in the distance, her face growing increasingly grim.

......

On the sea, the last eighth-realm demon that had rushed beyond the battle line was shoved into the sea by Cang Wulan's claw.

Thick ice spread across the water's surface, freezing its struggling body. Then, a bolt of lightning struck, shattering the ice along with the monster, leaving only a cloud of black mist rising upwards.

Shen Chang'an raised his hand and directed the demonic energy into the sky.

The black flame vortex slowly rotated, its speed no longer as rapid as before. As the surrounding demonic mist was burned away, the original color of the seawater finally appeared.

On the deep, dark blue-black water floated shattered shells, broken horns, and fragments of warships. Several lingering spells still flickered in the water, but were quickly sealed off by the arriving demon cultivators and dragged away from the main shipping lanes.

Shen Chang'an lowered his hand and let out a long breath.

The continuous activation of the black flames caused a renewed, dull pain in his soul. The phoenix tree in the spirit realm stood silently, its sparse branches no longer swaying. The two spots where phoenixes used to circle among the branches were now empty.

He regained his composure.

Du Yue fell from the height, her golden-red robe still shimmering with light. The Xuan Yuan Sea-Suppressing Seal hovered above the two, continuously dispersing the vibrations from underwater to various sea-suppressing pillars.

"Let's take a break first."

She glanced at Shen Chang'an's empty sleeve, then looked at the golden flame that had temporarily replaced his arm.

"We'll deal with the remaining demonic energy later."

Shen Chang'an nodded and slowly dissipated the ring of fire above.

The last few wisps of black flame receded from beneath the clouds, and the sunlight once again fell upon the sea. In the distance, through the broken clouds, a faint gray-blue hue appeared.

Just then, the underwater tremors suddenly stopped.

The light of the Xuan Yuan Zhen Hai Xi remained stable. This change came from the sea, where the enormous creature that had been swimming continuously stopped on its own.

Everyone looked ahead.

The sea ahead rose slowly, and a broad shadow emerged from the depths.

The seawater parted gently along the massive body, revealing its scarred back. This time, there were neither giant waves nor the previous impacts that had capsized the warship.

The Kunpeng slowly floated up.

Many of its old wounds have not yet healed, and some wounds still contain broken seals. The area on the back of its neck that was burned by black flames has lost its purplish-black luster, leaving only intermittent lines, like cracks left on dried skin.

A giant eye slowly turned this way.

For the first time outside of battle, Shen Chang'an got a good look at its eyes.

A few strands of dark purple still slowly moved around the edges of his dark gold pupils, but the frenzy in his eyes had faded.

The nearby demon cultivators all stopped.

Cang Gu arrived at Shen Chang'an's side first, the Ding Cang Pearl still hanging in front of him. Peng Lie also turned back from above, his golden wing blades hidden at the edges of his wings, ready to be deployed at any moment.

Yuan Chongyue, carrying a long stick, looked at the approaching shadow and slowly tightened his grip on the stick.

Kunpeng did help them just now, but everyone still remembered the power it displayed. If such a being were to lose control again, the defenses they had just stabilized would collapse in an instant.

"Don't make a move yet."

Shen Chang'an suddenly spoke.

Yuan Chongyue looked at him, and Cang Gu also turned his head slightly.

The Kunpeng was still approaching, its massive head slowly coming to a stop on the sea surface. Tiny waves lapped against its skin, and the few people in mid-air were even less noticeable than a single wound on its body.

Du Yue subconsciously moved closer to Shen Chang'an, her hand seals still in place.

Shen Chang'an raised his hand to signal her to wait a moment, then moved forward a few steps on his own.

Cang Gu immediately followed, but was stopped by him gently shaking his head.

"I'm right here, I won't get too close."

With Qianbian still in his hand, the spear tip pointing towards the sea, Shen Chang'an stopped some distance from Kunpeng's head.

The sea breeze ruffled the tattered hem of her clothes, revealing the newly healed wounds on her ribs.

His face was pale, and the golden flames at the severed arm had extinguished. Compared to the enormous figure before him that almost covered the entire sea, he was truly insignificant.

Kunpeng's gaze remained fixed on him.

The giant, dark gold eye slowly rotated, moving from his face to his empty sleeve, lingering for a moment before rising again.

A low groan emanated from its throat and traveled far across the sea.

The nearby ice shards collided gently, causing the flags on several warships to flutter.

Shen Chang'an couldn't understand what it meant.

He could only sense that the other person's gaze had lost its murderous intent, as if they were trying to discern something.

Kunpeng's head moved forward a little more.

Cang Gu's shoulders and back tensed instantly, and the watery light on the Ding Cang Pearl brightened accordingly. The giant beast stopped at this moment, lowering its eyes slightly until it was at the same height as Shen Chang'an.

The two sides gazed at each other silently across the gently undulating sea.

Shen Chang'an asked softly, "Can you...understand me?"