384: The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the orioles gathering.

Outside the Divine Treasury, at the edge of the God Burying Thunder Sea.

Two streaks of light, looking extremely disheveled, barely escaped the range of the thunder sea. As the light faded, the figures of the Blood-Eyed Giant and the Black-Robed Demonic Cultivator appeared.

Both of their faces were as pale as paper, their auras had withered to a freezing point, and their Physical Bodies were covered in terrifying scars deep enough to see bone.

Wisps of purple divine thunder clung to them like maggots on a corpse, continuously eroding their life force.

"Cough, cough... Damn Little Beast! And that damned thunder spirit!"

The Blood-Eyed Giant clutched his collapsed chest and coughed up a large mouthful of black blood containing fragments of internal organs, his eyes filled with the lingering fear of surviving a disaster.

The Black-Robed Demonic Cultivator's situation was even worse; one of his arms had vanished from the shoulder down. At the wound, Devilish Qi and thunder light intertwined, making recovery impossible.

He said in a raspy, venomous voice, "I've noted this debt! Once I recover my Origin Qi, I will definitely take that Little Beast..."

Before he could finish his sentence.

Boom—!!!

An energy fluctuation far more terrifying and vast than when Dao Lord Zixiao's Dao Thought went berserk—one even carrying a trace of evil aura that did not belong to this world—erupted.

Without warning, it shot up into the sky from the entrance of the Zixiao Divine Treasury behind them!

This fluctuation had already surpassed their understanding of the words 'Dao Integration'!

It was like the palm of an invisible ancient Vicious Beast, slamming ruthlessly against the entire firmament.

In an instant, the God Burying Thunder Sea, which had just calmed down slightly, rioted once more!

The Blood-Eyed Giant and the Black-Robed Demonic Cultivator felt as if they had been struck by lightning. Their hearts, which they had just let down, instantly leaped into their throats, and the hair all over their bodies stood on end.

They turned their heads stiffly, staring fixedly at the purple vortex that had become the center of an energy storm. In their eyes, there was nothing left but fear.

"This... what is this..." the Blood-Eyed Giant's voice was trembling.

"No!"

In the Black-Robed Demonic Cultivator's single eye, a terrifyingly sharp light suddenly burst forth, forcefully suppressing his instinctive fear and replacing it with an extreme greed.

"The source of this power is still inside the Divine Treasury! It's that kid's doing! He's not dead! He's still inside!"

Hearing this, the Blood-Eyed Giant's pupils suddenly constricted.

Yes!

They had been hunted by that thunder spirit and fled for their lives, assuming Shen Yuanmo had long since been torn to shreds by the furious Dao Thought.

But now, with this terrifying fluctuation far exceeding the Dao Thought, who else could it be but that kid who was strange in every way?

"What on earth is he doing in there?!" the Blood-Eyed Giant sent out a Divine Thought in horror.

"How should I know!" The Black-Robed Demonic Cultivator's breathing became heavy, his voice carrying an uncontrollable tremor—a tremor born of the intertwining of excitement and greed.

"But this power... this fluctuation... it definitely far surpasses the previous Dao Thought! A world-shaking change must have occurred inside! Perhaps... perhaps Dao Lord Zixiao's true legacy has appeared!"

Wealth is found in danger!

This thought instantly swallowed the remaining fear in their hearts.

They looked at each other and saw the same madness in each other's eyes.

Leave?

Why leave now!

If they missed such a god-given opportunity, their Dao Hearts would likely be clouded, and they would regret it for the rest of their lives!

"That kid has strange methods; let him fight whatever is inside! We'll just wait outside!" the Blood-Eyed Giant decided immediately.

"Exactly! The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind! When they've both been injured, everything in that Divine Treasury will be ours!"

The Black-Robed Demonic Cultivator laughed sinisterly.

The two reached an agreement instantly. Instead of continuing their escape, they forcibly suppressed their injuries and silently concealed all their auras.

Like two inconspicuous reefs, they lurked back outside the violently fluctuating purple vortex.

Waiting to harvest the fruits of victory... just as that terrifying fluctuation exceeding the Hedao Realm swept outward.

At the border between the Eastern Region and the Central State, above a vast sea of clouds spanning hundreds of millions of miles.

An extremely brilliant sword light, as if it could sever time itself, suddenly pierced through the azure sky.

The speed of the sword light was beyond words, and the space along its path was torn open into a pitch-black rift that could not heal for a long time.

The sword light faded, and a jade-white flying boat cast from an unknown jade—more ancient and majestic than Sword Profound One's immortal slaying sword boat—manifested out of thin air.

Aboard the flying boat, an old man dressed in simple hemp clothes with hair and beard as white as snow sat cross-legged in silence, his aura so restrained he seemed like a Mortal.

He seemed to have merged with heaven and earth; if one did not look closely, they might even overlook him.

But at this moment, the old man's eyes, which had been closed for an unknown number of years, suddenly snapped open!

Boom!

Two condensed sword beams shot out from his eyes, piercing through the hundreds of millions of miles of the sea of clouds and stabbing straight toward the horizon!

The entire sea of clouds was forcibly sliced in half by those two gazes!

He was none other than the Grand Elder of the Taiyi Sword Sect, Jian Wuchen, who had been in seclusion for a hundred thousand years and had long since stepped into the Hedao Realm!

The reason Jian Wuchen had suddenly awakened was that he felt Sword Profound One's Life Soul Lamp go out!

And at that very moment, the evil fluctuation spreading from the depths of the God Burying Thunder Sea crossed the endless space and was clearly perceived by him.

"Good, good, good!"

Jian Wuchen laughed out of extreme anger. His voice was not loud, but it sounded like a decree of the Heavenly Dao, making the entire world hum and vibrate.

"This seat has been in seclusion for a hundred thousand years. Does the world think my Taiyi Sword Sect has no one left?"

"Junior! How dare you treat my Taiyi as if we have no one!!"

With an angry shout, the heavens and earth changed color!

In the void before him, an ancient bronze mirror flowing with light and engraved with the sun, moon, and stars quietly emerged.

A seventh-rank Dao Artifact, the taiyi ancient mirror!

Jian Wuchen tapped it with his finger, injecting a wisp of pure Dharmic power into it.

Buzz—

Light flashed on the mirror's surface as countless images flowed rapidly. Finally, the image penetrated the layers of Restrictions in the Zixiao Divine Treasury.

Though it was blurry, it precisely locked onto a young figure wrapped in endless Devilish Qi and thunder light.

It was Shen Yuanmo!

"Found you!"

Killing intent was laid bare in Jian Wuchen's eyes, and he hesitated no longer.

He personally piloted the Taiyi Sword Sect's sect-protecting treasure, the Taiyi World-Crossing Boat, and took a step forward.

The space at the front of the flying boat rippled like water.

In the next step, it had already crossed an immeasurable distance and appeared directly above the God Burying Thunder Sea!

The terrifying pressure of a Hedao Realm powerhouse descended like the Heavenly River pouring down, without any reservation!

Rumble!

The entire God Burying Thunder Sea let out an overwhelmed wail under this pressure. Countless thunder dragons and electric snakes...

Before this absolute power, they shattered inch by inch like fragile porcelain.

That originally violent forbidden zone became as docile as a lamb before Jian Wuchen!

His gaze coldly locked onto the violently fluctuating purple vortex below.

The aura belonging to Shen Yuanmo was inside!

...Inside the Divine Treasury, the Myriad Thunder Return Ruins.

Shen Yuanmo, who was currently in a tug-of-war with the Heart Demon behind the door, naturally sensed the changes in the outside world immediately.

He didn't even bother to spare a second glance at the two small fish that had returned.

They were merely clowns.

But the vast pressure that followed caused even his fully circulating Chaos Myriad Dao Returning Origin Scripture to stall for a moment.

"Hedao Realm..."

Through the Zixiao Thunder Spirit, which was merged with the entire Divine Treasury, Shen Yuanmo clearly saw everything happening outside.

He saw the jade-white flying boat that was even more powerful than the immortal slaying sword boat.

He saw the old man in hemp clothes with white hair and beard, whose aura was like an abyss or a purgatory.

He saw the undisguised determination to kill in the other's eyes.

"The foundation of the Taiyi Sword Sect? You've come... just in time!"

Not a trace of panic or surprise could be seen on Shen Yuanmo's face.

Instead, it carried a coldness that suggested everything was under control.

In a layout, the most important thing is to attract chess pieces of sufficient weight.