A hand pressed against the ground, and a figure slowly crawled out from the flesh and blood.

He was a completely unclothed man, his face so handsome it was almost unearthly. Between his brows was a vertical purple mark, like a closed third eye.

He stretched his body, his bones crackling and popping as if they hadn’t moved in a millennium.

"So many years..."

The man took a deep breath, a look of enjoyment on his face. He spoke slowly, his voice like grinding metal, carrying an ancient aura of decay.

"I’ve finally gotten the chance to awaken. Although the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi here is pitifully thin and rife with impurities, in the end... I’m alive."

He looked at Xu Yunfan, the corners of his mouth curling into a wicked smile. "And I have you to thank."

The purple mark flickered faintly, emitting a dangerous light. "If not for your hammer strike shattering that Purple Gold Pill, I’m afraid I would have had to slumber for another century."

Dugu Jiu’s pupils contracted, his right hand already gripping the hilt of his sword.

He could feel the aura radiating from the man. It wasn’t the kind of energy a human should possess, but that of some far more ancient and evil existence.

Xu Yunfan’s eyes narrowed slightly, and the hair-thin red line between his brows flashed with a nearly imperceptible glint.

The red line between his brows began to shift. The Martial Arts Celestial Eye opened silently, a vertical, blood-red pupil moving just beneath his skin.

The Celestial Eye saw everything with perfect clarity, instantly taking in the entirety of the man’s energy signature.

In an instant, the Celestial Demon’s entire energy signature was revealed. The millennia of resentment coiled within the purple mark, the fragmented energy circulating through his body, even the trajectory of every wisp of power—it all transformed into countless threads, weaving an intricate web in Xu Yunfan’s Sea of Consciousness.

’So that’s how it is.’

A faint, almost imperceptible smile played on Xu Yunfan’s lips.

Under the gaze of the Celestial Eye, this Celestial Demon appeared monstrously powerful, but in reality, not even a tenth of his strength remained.

The backlash from the destruction of the Purple Gold Pill he had become had long since corroded his Origin, leaving it riddled with gaping wounds.

He was just putting on a brave front, vainly attempting to use the residual Dragon Qi of the Imperial Court to mend his wounded body.

’An Outer Heaven Demon?’

’I can beat him!’

’And it’ll be an absolute rout.’

With his mind made up, Xu Yunfan’s gaze sharpened. His tone was as placid as if he were commenting on the morning dew. "An Outer Heaven Demon?"

The man raised an eyebrow, then let out a string of low laughter as the charred flesh and blood peeled away from his body.

He casually strolled out of the ruins, his bare feet landing on a crack at the edge of the fighting stage. A strange purple light flowed through his muscle fibers.

"By the standards of you natives of this realm..."

He nonchalantly wiped a smear of blood from his shoulder, a teasing smile on his lips. "Indeed, you may call me a Celestial Demon."

His gaze raked over Xu Yunfan’s frame like a blade, and a satisfied sigh escaped his throat. "This flesh... if refined into a war puppet, it would be a delightful surprise for me."

Before he finished speaking, the bluestone of the stage silently disintegrated into dust beneath his feet.

A thought crossed Xu Yunfan’s mind.

"You’re from the Primordial Sect?"

A flash of surprise crossed the man’s eyes before his smile widened. "Interesting. A native of this realm who actually recognizes where I’m from."

He raised his chin slightly. "Correct. I am Nether Spring, from the Taihua Spirit Ruins Realm. Now that the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi is reviving—hm?"

Before he could finish, his expression changed abruptly. The Spiritual Qi around him churned like boiling water. "This realm’s Spiritual Qi... was created by blood sacrifice? No wonder it’s so saturated with the thick stench of blood, Evil Qi, and resentment."

A bloody glint flashed in Nether Spring’s eyes, his knuckles cracking loudly. "What a monstrous waste!"

His voice was laced with venomous fury. "Such a crude blood sacrifice. They didn’t even know Soul Extraction and Refinement, yet they dared to meddle with the Earth Vein?"

As he spoke, Nether Spring plunged his long fingers into the ground and pulled out several struggling, resentful souls, clearly visible to the naked eye.

Xu Yunfan’s pupils contracted at the sight, his gaze growing profound.

Beside him, Dugu Jiu’s knuckles turned white from how tightly he was gripping his sword hilt.

The bizarre scene shook him to his core.

"A pity. If I had been the one to set up the formation..."

He crushed the souls with a sigh of satisfaction. "One should take one hundred thousand young boys and girls, extract their living souls to serve as a catalyst, and strip their flesh and blood to serve as a medium. Let their wails resound for forty-nine straight days to draw out their resentful Evil Qi. Not only could one refine a Magical Artifact, but it would also make the Earth Vein Spiritual Qi sweet and mellow."

Seeing the look of displeasure on Nether Spring’s face, Xu Yunfan couldn’t help but speak.

"You seem to think you’ve awakened at a bad time?"

"A bad time?"

Nether Spring slowly raised his head, a cold light flashing in his eyes as his lips twisted into a sneer. "Mere ants from the Lower Realm, how could you possibly know the plans of my Primordial Sect? Since the Spiritual Qi of this realm has already revived, my Sect will naturally dispatch disciples to descend and reap this season’s bounty."

Xu Yunfan suddenly laughed. He recalled what Bi Yuan had told him long ago—that when these Outer Heaven Demons descended, the Supreme Grandmasters of the world who had reached Nine Realms Qi Cultivation were driven to near extinction.

’So, they were plucked and harvested by the so-called Upper Realm Sects.’

’How is such an act any different from the Demon Dao?’

The laughter was quiet, but it brought Nether Spring’s words to an abrupt halt.

He frowned, a hint of displeasure showing in his purple eyes.

"What are you laughing at?"

Xu Yunfan said quietly, "I’m quite curious about your strength. What level are you? What Realm? How are you any different from us ’ants of the Lower Realm’?"

Hearing this, a smile returned to Nether Spring’s face.

"How interesting. You’re not bad at all, quite to my taste. When I take you from this Divine Martial Realm and begin the refining, I’ll be sure to reshape your body into that of a woman and grace you with my favor."

A chill of revulsion went through Xu Yunfan. Nether Spring’s words were absolutely sickening.

Beside them, Dugu Jiu felt as if he were suffocating.

The pressure Nether Spring casually radiated made the True Qi in his body turn sluggish, and the longsword in its sword scabbard began to hum uneasily.

He looked at Xu Yunfan, only to find that the latter’s expression was as calm as ever.

’The quality of his True Qi seems to be on another level entirely.’

"Xu the Kid..."

Dugu Jiu said in a low voice, "This fiend is not to be trifled with. You must be extremely careful. Don’t let your emotions get the better of you."

Xu Yunfan nodded slightly, his gaze still fixed on Nether Spring, a flicker of amusement in his eyes. "That’s pretty disgusting. So disgusting, in fact, that it makes me eager to beat you to death."

"Beat me to death?"

A hint of astonishment crossed Nether Spring’s face. "Do you have any idea what you’re saying? The Martial Dao of this realm was passed down by my Primordial Sect. The True Qi you all cultivate is merely sustenance for us."

He broke into a smile. "A piece of food says it wants to beat me to death. That’s a first."

Xu Yunfan suddenly spoke. "But do you know what Land Immortals are?"

Nether Spring faltered, then scoffed. "Land Immortals? Just some vainglorious title you Martial Artists of the Lower Realm came up with. The Qi in your body alone is enough for me to cross an entire Realm. My thousand years of hibernation in this world using a Secret Technique were not in vain."

A purple-black Evil Qi suddenly erupted from his palm, expanding rapidly and transforming into a giant, purple-black python that coiled around his body.

"It’s not like I haven’t killed one before, back when I first descended to this Lower Realm."

Xu Yunfan sighed and shook his head. "It seems you truly have no idea."