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As Ji Yun Yue produced the token of the Family Head, the Demon King recognized it and promptly handed over the brightly colored Twin Flowers to the two of them.

Having obtained the Twin Flowers, the duo didn't linger and immediately turned the Nine Desolates Boat around, hurrying towards Qiu Tian Dao that floated high above the center of the desolate sea.

...

Meanwhile, as Li Hao and Ji Yun Yue went in search of the Twin Flowers, Ji Yunqing came swiftly flying with Li Tian Gang.

Ji Yunqing conveyed their purpose to the Elder on the lone peak and borrowed another small ship of Nine-Forged Divine Weapon Grade, with which they crossed the desolate sea towards Qiu Tian Dao.

After traversing tens of thousands of miles across the desolate sea, the towering Qiu Tian Dao appeared before the two.

Three chains stretched steeply from three different directions in the abyss up to the sky, binding and imprisoning Qiu Tian Dao.

"Without these three Abyss Sky Locks, the laws of the Saint Ancestors on Qiu Tian Dao would cause the island to keep rising until it reaches the secret realm's firmament. There, it would face the scorching baptism of the sacred sunlight, and the people above would be burnt alive!" Ji Yunqing said.

Li Tian Gang's eyes narrowed at this. This was the Ji Family's place for imprisoning criminals; even such a place had a sense of miraculous beauty. Was this the power of a Saint?

The other ends of the Abyss Sky Locks extended into the desolate sea, where three spike-like peaks were embedded at three points in a circular abyss.

The thick chains were tightly stretched and embedded onto the sharp peaks, covered in green moss, showing the marks of time.

"They should have found the Twin Flowers by now. They're up there."

Ji Yunqing said, "Let's head straight up."

He jumped onto one of the sharp peaks, waited for Li Tian Gang to do the same, then turned around, stowed the Tongtian Ship, and took the lead by stepping onto the bridge-like chains towards Qiu Tian Dao.

The chains, thousands of miles long, stretched across the sky with a majestic presence.

Upon hearing Ji Yunqing's words, Li Tian Gang looked up at the enormous island above, his eyes betraying his excitement.

Was he going to see their mother and son soon?

His heart surged with emotion, and he quickly followed up. As the two of them stepped onto the Abyss Sky Lock, on the other end of the sea, Li Hao and Ji Yun Yue, having picked the Twin Flowers, were also hurriedly making their way there.

"You wait here for me; I'll bring Qingqing down."

Ji Yun Yue said to Li Hao, not wanting him to venture into this dangerous forbidden area.

Li Hao shook his head: "We've come this far; let's go together."

Seeing Li Hao so determined, Ji Yun Yue felt somewhat helpless. She raised her hand, summoning a whip-like chain that wrapped around herself and Li Hao.

"Then let's go. Be careful of the barren abyss below. There are special laws here; even someone in the Tao Realm can't fly, and if you fall, you'll lose your life," she admonished.

Li Hao nodded, and the two stepped onto the chains, quickly climbing up one after another.

With their movement techniques, the steep chains were like an inclined ladder reaching towards heaven, occasionally leaping with great speed.

After covering dozens of miles and reaching the chains above the barren abyss, Li Hao felt a unique force enveloping his body, suppressing his internal energy so that he couldn't use it, and even the Heaven and Earth Vein disappeared, being cut off.

No wonder it was said one could not cross above the abyss.

The suppression of laws up here was even stronger than that of the desolate sea.

He looked down, his expression becoming slightly more solemn, and thought of the second trial of the Tan Palace Academy: crossing a ten-thousand-feet iron chain to train one's courage.

The courage of him and Ji Yun Yue was obviously not comparable to that of those in the Power Passage Realm, and although their expressions were solemn, it only made them move more cautiously and carefully without any fear.

The chains swayed gently, and from time to time, a fierce wind howled above them, but Li Hao and Ji Yun Yue's climbing was exceptionally stable, unaffected by the wind.

On Qiu Tian Dao above, Ji Qingqing and Nurse Ning came out of the mountains, standing in front of the Abyss Sky Stele, waiting.

The two occasionally extended their Divine Souls to watch intently, and after a long while, Nurse Ning suddenly exclaimed excitedly:

"There! I see people!"

On the thick chains, thousands of miles away, there were two tiny dots jumping and climbing.

Separated by a great distance, the two of them were unable to see their faces clearly.

But at this moment, those who could arrive at the Abyss Sky Lock were undoubtedly that young man.

"Hao Er..."

Ji Qingqing's eyes brimmed with tears, wanting to descend along the Abyss Sky Lock to meet him, but the pardon from the Family Head had not yet arrived, and descending the island privately constituted a jailbreak.

After waiting for over a decade, she didn't want to create any new complications.

The two of them supported each other, gazing at the two figures climbing.

Meanwhile, on the Abyss Sky Lock.

Li Hao held the Observing Heaven Mirror, and saw at the front of the Abyss Sky Stele, which was used to bind the Abyss Sky Lock, stood two figures, one of whom was his mother, Ji Qingqing.

She was concentrating on the chain, the excitement and tears in her eyes made his steps quicken even more.

Feeling Li Hao accelerate, Ji Yun Yue gave a wry smile; on this Abyss Sky Lock where power was restrained and they could only rely on their physical bodies for climbing, Li Hao's movement technique was surprisingly faster than hers.

Just as the two of them sped up, suddenly, Li Hao felt a bizarre sensation cross his mind.

As if by instinct, he looked down.

He saw nothing but pitch-black darkness beneath his feet, devoid of light, but as he stared, suddenly, a crimson light seemed to emerge from the abyss.

Li Hao blinked, doubting if his eyes were playing tricks on him.

Before he could focus again, suddenly, a terrifying tremor transmitted from the depths of the abyss.

With a bang!

The entire abyss shook, the cliffs near the barren sea trembled, and the three Abyss Sky Locks shook violently.

At the same time, the nearby barren sea seemed to be shaken, and the originally calm sea surface suddenly stirred up surging waves.

"What?"

Ji Yun Yue stopped in her tracks, grasping the chain, and looked over in astonishment.

She saw a crimson glow emerging from the abyss, growing stronger, and then suddenly, a huge tentacle shot out, wrapping around the Abyss Sky Lock they were on.

That tentacle, seemingly a thousand zhang long, when it wrapped around the Abyss Sky Lock, the heavy force nearly dragged Qiu Tian Dao down.

This sudden violent vibration alerted everyone on Qiu Tian Dao.

Some were in deep slumber, some barely hanging on to life, some deeply engrossed in deriving their Cultivation Techniques, but now, all were startled by the intense shaking.

Qiu Tian Dao shook violently like a frail boat.

"What's going on?!"

"Is Qiu Tian Dao collapsing?"

"Look quick, the island is falling!"

On Qiu Tian Dao, the dozen criminals were all shocked; their originally dying, dim eyes suddenly widened, they rushed out of their caves, and gathered at the edge of Qiu Tian Dao.

When they saw the crimson tentacle entwining and dragging one of the Abyss Sky Locks, all the criminals were stunned.

"What is that?"

"Demons? Impossible!"

"That size, that aura, heavens, is there really such a demon guarding this abyss?!"

"Could it be that someone's jailbreak has enraged this guardian demon?"

These criminals, having been there for varying lengths of time, had little understanding of Qiu Tian Dao, and were all horrified by this unprecedented event.

They heard that the abyss was a pit smashed out by the Ancestor, bottomless.

But now, to have a demon crawl out from inside?

A ragged, beggar-like gaunt old man lay on the edge of Qiu Tian Dao, watching the crimson tentacle, his eyes showing shock, then he burst into laughter:

"Ha ha, has the Ji Family now confined all the prodigies with Holy Bones here?"

"The Ji Family should be destroyed..."

He laughed loudly, tears streaming down his aged face.

Many criminals recognized this old man, calling him the old madman, a criminal confined here from an ancient era who was always rambling and speaking incoherently, and nobody wished to bother with him.

In front of the Abyss Sky Stele, Ji Qingqing and Nurse Ning were almost shaken off Qiu Tian Dao by the sudden tremor.

They hastily grabbed onto the Abyss Sky Stele to stabilize themselves, but they saw Qiu Tian Dao rapidly descending, continuously shaking, the island's own buoyancy pushing it upward while the tentacle pulling on the Abyss Sky Lock dragged it down, making the entire island tilt.

"What is that thing?"

Ji Qingqing also saw the crimson tentacle on the chain; it was too large, visible even from thousands of miles away.

Her face was full of shock; she had never heard of such a terrible demon dwelling in this ancient abyss.

Nurse Ning was similarly terrified, her face pale, unknown the cause.

At that moment, on another Abyss Sky Lock, Li Tian Gang and Ji Yun Yue were also frightened by this sudden disturbance, nearly failing to hold onto the chain and falling off.

When they saw the tentacle entwined around a distant Abyss Sky Lock, Ji Yun Yue's pupils shrank, and she exclaimed in horror, "What is that thing?"

He had never heard of it either, finding it unbelievable.

"Is it the monster that guards this place?" Li Tian Gang also changed color and hurriedly asked.

Ji Yun Yue did not answer; fear appeared in her eyes as she felt the tentacle contained the power of the Grand Tao; the Ji Family could not possibly domesticate a demon of such a level.

"Run!"

On Abyss Sky Lock, Li Hao saw clearly the movement of the tentacles and felt a chill in his heart. He immediately burst forth with all his power, pulling Ji Yun Yue forward as they rushed onward.

Ji Yun Yue also reacted, her face pale. The tentacles had wrapped around the end of the chain; there was no way back, and they could only escape to Qiu Tian Dao.

She instantly burst forth at full speed, employing the Ji Family's movement technique, following Li Hao closely.

As the two sprinted at full speed, several more tentacles shot out from the abyss, grabbing all three chains.

The three chains were simultaneously pulled downward, causing the bowl-shaped Qiu Tian Dao to regain balance but to also plummet rapidly.

Within the abyss, a crimson giant shadow, resembling a Blood Lotus, gradually emerged.

Those thousand-zhang long tentacles were all extending from the back of the Blood Lotus. In the center of the Blood Lotus, there was a huge human face—a stunningly beautiful woman with extremely pale skin, her eyes tightly shut.

The woman's red lips were lightly closed, her eyes serenely shut, her expression as if she was in peaceful sleep.

But this stunningly beautiful face had a thousand-zhang diameter. As the Blood Lotus rose, it kept pushing forward, and though its appearance was extremely beautiful, it gave one an eerie feeling.

More and more tentacles shot out from behind the Blood Lotus, entwining around the chains, pulling Qiu Tian Dao in the high sky to plummet straight down.

"That is," said a prisoner who recognized it as the Demon Saint, Wen Ren Ji, recorded in the ancestral notes.

On Qiu Tian Dao, some aged criminals, upon seeing the giant face of the Blood Lotus, were immediately stunned and lost.

"Blood Lotus, demon face, purple soul-stealing eyes—one glance can rob a person's soul, two can steal their Tao spirit, three cause those who hear Tao to perish!"

"This, this is the Demon Saint!!"

A few old criminals felt nearly insane, almost suffocating.

On two Abyss Sky Locks, both Ji Yun Qing and Ji Yun Yue recognized this Wen Ren Ji. Their faces contorted with fright, feeling their souls almost leave their bodies.

This was the Demon Saint!

An existence comparable to that of the Ancestors!

"Rumors said the Ancestors suppressed the Demon Saints. Wasn't this Wen Ren Ji killed by the Ancestor? How could she be here?"

"Hurry, run!"

Ji Yun Yue and Ji Yun Qing were both terrified out of their wits. They were both from the Grand Tao of Peace Realm, but in front of this Demon Saint, they were no different from children. The opponent's light breaths could probably kill them.

"This is the Demon Saint, run!"

Ji Yun Yue urgently called out to Li Hao.

Li Hao's heart twitched. A Demon Saint, no wonder he felt that eerie sensation, almost numbing his whole body and rendering him unable to move.

The two ran for their lives.

Abyss Sky Lock was continually shaken by the tugging, emitting a sound of metal clashing, but the chains were extremely sturdy and did not break.

However, that Blood Lotus's stunningly beautiful woman slightly opened her mouth at that moment, and her perfect red lips continually cracked open, revealing a mouth lined with countless sharp spikes, leading to a pitch-black depths.

A powerful suction force surged into her mouth. Li Hao and Ji Yun Yue felt as though countless threads were entangling them, making climbing upwards extremely difficult.

Upon seeing this, numerous criminals on Qiu Tian Dao scattered in terror.

"It, it's going to devour the whole island!"

"Quick, quick, push down the Abyss Sky Stele. I'd rather ascend to heaven than die in its mouth. They say those killed by a Demon Saint don't even get the chance to reincarnate."

The panicked criminals started rushing towards the various Abyss Sky Steles.

An old man known as the mad elder lay on the ground, laughing loudly:

"It's useless, useless. This Wen Ren Ji was originally a Demon Pet under the Ancestor, but she attacked when the Ancestor ascended, and was suppressed by him."

"It must be someone who carries the Holy Bone, the scent of a Saint on it stirred her, letting her awaken from the abyss."

"Ha ha, who would have thought the Ancestor would bury such a Demon Saint here, this entire desolate sea is its graveyard..."

In the chaos, however, no one heeded his words. About a dozen dispersed, heading towards three Abyss Sky Steles.

Ji Qingqing, hearing these people's words, her face changed suddenly, and angrily shouted: "Stop, who dares!"

She manifested her Divine Soul, standing in mid-air, emitting a powerful Divine Light, blocking those trying to topple the Abyss Sky Steles.

The Abyss Sky Lock could not be cut, but the Abyss Sky Steles, buried on Qiu Tian Dao, could be moved. Thus, even if Qiu Tian Dao ascended and was scorched by the Scorching Sun Holy Fire, there was still a slight chance of reincarnation.

"Get out of the way, don't block us!"

Someone roared, trying to charge at Ji Qingqing.

But Ji Qingqing's body glowed with Divine Light from the treasured clothes, and a frost-like long sword fell into her hands. She swung her sword.

With a loud bang, the Sword Qi burst forth like a rainbow, splitting the man in half, spilling a vast amount of blood, sending him retreating.

She had been a prodigy of the Ji Family in her youth, though not the top-notch type. However, having reached her years, years of Cultivation had brought her to the Ultimate Study Realm before being imprisoned.

Additionally, having only been on Qiu Tian Dao for less than two years, her physical strength was nearly unspent. Now, her angered attack burst forth with immense power.

The other criminals, seeing Ji Qingqing's manifested divine might, all changed their expressions and angrily said:

"Do you really want us all to die?!"

"Exactly, if you want to die, don't drag us to accompany you in death. We still hope to be reincarnated!"

The criminals shouted angrily.

However, Ji Qingqing ignored them. Her Divine Soul soared above the island, seeing criminals scattering towards the other two Abyss Sky Steles. Her eyes brimming with murderous intent, she wielded the Divine Sword to slash, driving those people back.

"As long as I'm here, no one can touch them!"

Ji Qingqing stood against the Abyss Sky Stele, her body clothed in Divine Flame as if a descending Goddess, angrily proclaimed.

"You, you are utterly unreasonable!"

Many criminals were intimidated and blocked by her, both shocked and furious.