Chapter 132: Jade Capital Mountain, Li Changsheng

The blue-robed figure's tone shifted, tinged with delight. "Ah, the Burial Cloth! I've searched for so long, and here it is. This treasure was destined for me."

"As for those demon spawn, they deserve to die."

In the next instant, with a gentle wave of his hand, a beam of light descended upon the ten-meter-tall demon, who had spread his arms wide, a scheme millennia in the making. The demon's frozen Demonic Body instantly disintegrated into nothingness, not even dust remaining.

Annihilation. The light completely eradicated the Demonic Body, the Divine Soul, and even the faintest trace of flesh that might have existed.

Then, the blue-robed figure stretched out a hand and tugged downward. The blood-colored light curtain surrounding the plaza collapsed like a falling cloth, rapidly shrinking into a single blood-stained patch that the figure stowed away.

After securing the blood-stained cloth, the figure glanced at the stagnant space below. Divine light flickered in his eyes as the mangled corpses of those slain by the demons along the plaza's edge swiftly faded into illusions, their flesh and blood dissolving into nothingness.

As Han Yi averted his gaze, the blue-robed figure gradually faded, dissolving into the Cave Heaven World.

With the figure's disappearance, an Immortal Proclamation seemed to descend into the mortal realm:

"Above, the Jade Capital of Heaven, twelve towers and five cities!"

"An Immortal strokes my crown, binding my hair for eternal life!"

"I am Li Changsheng, of Jade Capital Mountain!"

Boom!

Frozen time violently resumed its natural flow with a thunderous crash.

In that split second, before Han Yi could even register his shock, deadly intent had already descended upon him.

At the last possible moment, he snatched the Jade Capital Grand Void Token from his lips, where he had been about to activate it, and stuffed it back into his Storage Pouch. He then tried to retrieve his Wind Demon Dagger.

But a tattered Battle Banner plummeted from the sky, threatening to pin him in place.

Han Yi managed to retrieve two of the Wind Demon Daggers, but the third sprang from his waist, arcing upward to pierce his skull.

Instantly, his body and Storage Pouch dissolved into illusionary fragments, vanishing without a trace.

The dagger he had been controlling to strike himself flew over a thousand meters, plunging hilt-deep into the plaza's stone ground.

Xie Jingshan retracted his Battle Banner, his gaze lingering on the spot where Han Yi's Grand Void Body had vanished. "It's you again," he muttered. "I'll remember this."

He then looked up at the sky, a flicker of awe in his eyes, before turning without hesitation to rejoin the fray for the remaining Jade Capital Grand Void Tokens.

The recent annihilation of the terrifying Demon Race warrior and the sudden appearance of the Jade Capital Mountain cultivator who called himself Li Changsheng hadn't yet registered with the Qi Refining Stage cultivators on the plaza. There simply hadn't been time for shock to take root.

The moment the crisis subsided, everyone plunged back into the scramble for the tokens.

The paused carnage resumed, now intensified.

Some managed to secure Jade Capital Grand Void Tokens and flee, while others, caught off guard with their tokens still exposed, were instantly immobilized and cut down. Even those who successfully seized a token found themselves targeted by concentrated attacks.

One crisis had ended, but a blood-soaked feast had just begun.

Han Yi felt a sharp pain between his eyebrows. When he regained consciousness, he was back in the Grand Void Illusionary Realm, facing two True Ascension Marks of different sizes. With a thought, his Grand Void Body materialized, and the Storage Pouch that had accompanied it reappeared.

He retrieved the azure jade token from the pouch and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was still there.

After such a desperate struggle, he had somehow, through a twist of fate, obtained a Jade Capital Grand Void Token. Luck had played at least eighty percent of the role in his success.

Without the sudden chaos caused by the blood-colored barrier and the ten-meter-tall Demon Race warrior, his chances of snatching a token from over thirty Legendary Qi Refining experts would have been slim to none.

Confirming the token was secure, Han Yi's relief was mingled with lingering dread from the recent crisis.

As the fear faded, shock took its place. "The Demon Race, Burial Cloth, blood-colored barrier isolating heaven and earth, Jade Capital Mountain, a grand scheme, Li Changsheng..."

Han Yi hadn't delved deeply into these matters, but even his superficial understanding left him profoundly shaken.

"Could Li Changsheng be the Transformation God Stage cultivator who transformed the True Dawn Grand Void Heaven?"

"Forget it," Han Yi muttered. "Trying to fathom the intentions of such unfathomably powerful beings is beyond my comprehension."

"I shouldn't reach for the stars," he continued. "It's best to focus on my own cultivation and progress."

"This Cave Heaven Trial cost me the Chengying Sword and four Wind Demon Daggers," he lamented. "I hope this Jade Capital Grand Void Token holds a truly remarkable surprise."

After a moment's thought, Han Yi retrieved the Golden Light Shuttle from his main body's storage pouch and transferred it to the Grand Void Body's pouch, just in case.

Then, shifting his Divine Soul into the body, he turned and stepped through the Light Gate.

The world dissolved into swirling light and shadow before reforming into the Crimson Radiance Tribe. Without hesitation, Han Yi hurried toward the Shaman's stone hut.

Along the way, he spotted numerous Descenders—cultivators who had died in Imperial Demon City and been reborn through the descent process. They clustered together, discussing the events that had just transpired in the city.

Unfortunately, each cultivator only had one chance to reach Imperial Demon City. Upon death, their Grand Void Body would descend to a Primitive Tribe, making it impossible to return to the city in time.

Han Yi slowed his pace, feigning composure while listening intently to their conversations.

"The Ancestral Master of Jade Capital Mountain—Li Changsheng of the Transformation God Stage."

"Critical State, Demon Race, Burial Cloth."

"Jade Capital Grand Void Token—Master Found."

Countless keywords flashed through Han Yi's mind.

Without lingering, he entered the Shaman's stone hut.

After the time it took to drink a cup of tea, he emerged with a tense expression. Finding an uninhabited spot, he struck his Hall of Impression acupoint, dissolving his physical form and returning to the Grand Void Illusionary Realm.

The moment he reopened his eyes, he eagerly materialized his Grand Void Body and retrieved the spiritual object he had just obtained from the storage pouch attached to it.

Han Yi felt uneasy about remaining in the Cave Heaven World. He worried he might encounter a Legendary Cultivator skilled in mental manipulation who could control him and force him to surrender his hard-won spiritual object. It would be a devastating blow to all his efforts.

Though the possibility was near zero, the spiritual object held the key to his future. He couldn't afford to ignore even the slightest risk.

The item he pulled from the storage pouch was a bizarre stone insect. The creature showed no signs of life whatsoever; even using the Qi Observation Technique, Han Yi couldn't detect a trace of vitality.

Its utter ordinariness was almost unnerving. If Han Yi saw this stone insect lying on the roadside, he wouldn't have given it a second glance.

"This is the spiritual object that can improve my Root Bone?"

Han Yi materialized in the stone hut of the Crimson Radiance Tribe's shaman. When Shaman Crimson Radiance produced the stone worm, the torment etched on his aged face made him appear even more ghastly.

Han Yi recognized that look—more ravenous than the one he'd seen when he sold the Grand Void Token and received the True Ascension Mark. It was the anguished expression of someone forced to relinquish their most precious treasure.

Though the shaman would have sacrificed his life to obtain a Jade Capital Grand Void Token, he ultimately surrendered it to Han Yi.

When Han Yi handed the Jade Capital Grand Void Token to the shaman, the manic smile that bloomed across the elder's face sent a chill down his spine.

But none of this mattered to Han Yi. Whatever the Jade Capital Grand Void Token meant to the Primitive Tribe or its shaman was irrelevant. All he cared about was the treasure that could improve his Root Bone—this bizarre stone worm before him.

"The shaman didn't tell me the worm's name, but he did explain how to use it."

"True to their primitive nature, their methods are brutally straightforward."

Without hesitation, Han Yi's true form reached out, grabbed the stone worm, and shoved it into his mouth, heedless of its cleanliness.

The moment it entered his mouth, it felt utterly unlike ordinary spiritual objects. It lacked even a trace of flavor. After a few chews, it crumbled like stone, and he swallowed it whole.