Hearing the Monarch of Ten Thousand Demons’ words, Xu Qi An’s heart nearly stopped. He didn’t turn around, but his danger sense was finally triggered.

An image flashed through his mind:

From deep within the mist, a face resembling a human’s emerged, vast as the heavens, opening a blood-red maw like an abyss.

Under normal circumstances, his danger sense should have warned him before the silver-haired enchantress’s alert, not belatedly responding after her warning.

The only explanation was that the dream realm had powerful deceptive properties that could affect even First-Rank warriors.

Without hesitation, he immediately attempted to use Shadow Jump, trying to leverage the distant Nine-tailed Fox’s position to leap out of the dream realm.

But at that moment, the scenery before Xu Qi An’s eyes changed uncontrollably. A magnificent palace materialized, steam rising in wisps, several pristine figures bathing in a hot spring, accompanied by silvery giggles and playful sounds.

They were Lin An, Huai Qing, Zhong Li…

And on the empress couch beside the hot spring, Luo Yu Heng and Mu Nan Zhi lay prone, their bottoms raised as they looked back with alluring smiles.

He had fallen into the dream again—the beautiful dream he had forcibly interrupted earlier.

Previously, Xu Qi An had broken free because this scene felt too incongruous, completely defying logic, so jarring it lacked any sense of immersion.

Now it seemed that regardless of whether one recognized it as a dream, merely being within the mist forced one to dream.

With his previous experience, breaking free from the dream required just a moment’s thought.

But being forced into a dream at this moment meant standing defenseless before Huang. Even a split second could cost him his life.

*It’s over*… This thought flashed through Xu Qi An’s mind, suddenly filling him with desolate despair.

The figures of Luo Yu Heng and Mu Nan Zhi shattered like illusions. Xu Qi An broke free from the dream and realized he wasn’t dead.

“Hmm?”

He let out a questioning grunt but had no time for excitement or joy. Continuing the technique he had intended to use, he transformed into a shadow and vanished, emerging from beneath the Nine-tailed Fox’s skirt.

Only then did he have time to observe “Huang,” noticing His golden pupils were slightly dazed, that face resembling a human’s showing traces of pleasure?

*He’s fallen into the dream too. My luck isn’t useless after all*… Even as Xu Qi An rejoiced, he grabbed the Nine-tailed Fox’s arm and said gravely: “Let’s go! Back the way we came.”

Although he had mentally prepared for a death battle with Him since landing on the island, Xu Qi An instinctively felt this wasn’t the right battlefield.

Because it offered them no advantages—they couldn’t utilize the terrain.

The Nine-tailed Fox’s beautiful face turned pale as she nodded forcefully. That tsunami-like, terrifying presence gave her an overwhelming sense of pressure.

Even though Huang was no longer at His peak, He was still far stronger than a First-Rank cultivator.

Their bodies melted, collapsing into shadows, but at that moment, Huang’s golden, brilliant pupils deep within the mist regained focus.

He stared at the two about to merge with the shadows ahead, unhurriedly opened His mouth, and gave a gentle inhale!

The shadow that was about to melt was immediately distorted by the pull, unable to maintain its form, reverting to Xu Qi An and the Nine-tailed Fox.

Seeing escape was impossible, Xu Qi An decisively said: “Support me. If we can’t win, find your chance to escape—I’ll cover the retreat.”

The Nine-tailed Fox glanced at him, “Alright!”

*This annoying man has never cowered at critical moments.*

Hiss hiss… Blood mist spurted from his pores, his skin becoming scalding hot, like a cooked shrimp.

Xu Qi An drew both the Taiping Blade and the Nation-Steadying Sword from the jade mirror—the latter had become his exclusive weapon.

Thump thump thump! Xu Qi An actively charged toward Huang. As he ran, the blood mist from his pores, along with his body’s moisture and essence, rapidly drained away. In just two breaths, he resembled a dried corpse.

Snap!

Xu Qi An’s left hand holding the Taiping Blade snapped its fingers. The next moment, Huang’s massive body, comparable to city walls, sprayed dense blood mist and water vapor. His fur no longer gleamed, and His shattered gold pupils no longer dazzled.

The rolling vortex in His mouth subsided.

By then, Xu Qi An had successfully closed in. For a First-Rank warrior, no matter what you are, if you let me get in close combat range, I’ve already won half the battle.

Bang!

His knee strike connected with Huang’s jaw, forcing that massive head, as large as a city gate, to snap upward.

Immediately after, Xu Qi An began spinning, becoming like a shredding blade. The Taiping Blade and Nation-Steadying Sword transformed into a storm of blade edges, striking sparks in dense succession against Huang’s neck.

Huang had lost spiritual essence, but His physical body hadn’t weakened. Even though He wasn’t among the God-Demons known for powerful bodies, He still wasn’t something the Taiping Blade and Nation-Steadying Sword could easily harm.

*I shouldn’t mock Master Kou—I’ve become a scratching master myself*… Xu Qi An’s rotation speed increased rather than decreased, and the sparks grew denser.

The Taiping Blade and Nation-Steadying Sword carved white marks, which multiplied and deepened, gradually seeping blood drops.

Through a warrior’s endurance and his weapons’ sharpness, Xu Qi An successfully transformed quantity into quality.

Huang once again experienced the terror of close combat with a First-Rank warrior. He wasn’t ruled by emotion; seeing He couldn’t regain the initiative against a First-Rank warrior for the moment, He immediately changed tactics. The six horns atop His head lit up in sequence, dark-gleaming patterns instantly crawling across His entire body.

A terrifying force was gathering, charging up.

“Quick, dodge!”

The Temple Master’s voice came from one of the horns.

Xu Qi An simultaneously sensed the danger, withdrawing his blade and sword, his body falling backward, retreating like a ghost.

By this time, the patterns spreading from Huang’s six horns had covered His entire body. The next moment, He transformed into a pure “black hole,” His form becoming indistinct because He was absorbing all nearby light.

Huang devoured everything around Him, including the dense fog, soil, air, and Xu Qi An.

The reason Huang was called Huang was because wherever He passed, all life would wither, and all energy would dissipate, leaving only desolation.

This wasn’t Xu Qi An’s first time witnessing Huang’s innate divine ability, but compared to when He killed Xu Ping Feng, this time the devouring force was ten or a hundred times stronger.

Thud thud!

He thrust the Nation-Steadying Sword and Taiping Blade into the ground, his feet deeply embedded in the surface, body leaning back to resist the crazy suction.

Even so, his essence and moisture continued to drain madly.

His entire body visibly shriveled.

He hadn’t failed to resist—while his essence was being devoured by the terrifying suction, he had also released poison gas, aphrodisiac vapor, and Jade Shattering.

That the first two were ineffective was understandable, but even the reflected damage from Jade Shattering seemed to be devoured, not causing any ripples.

*So strong*… Xu Qi An roughly gauged Huang’s strength—as terrifying as Shen Shu, but in a different way.

Huang had no other flashy abilities, His attack method was extremely simple: devour.

Yet this simple ability was more impossible to counter.

*The Seven Fatal Curse can’t help me, Jade Shattering’s reflection is ineffective, so I can only use Heaven and Earth Slash, but caught in this vortex, I can’t collapse my energy to complete Jade Shattering’s charge. Fortunately, Nan Zhi gave me plenty of life essence before we set sail, otherwise I’d already be a dried corpse*…

Various thoughts flashed through Xu Qi An’s mind as he pondered ways to save himself, but he found he had no options.

At this moment, the suction from the “black hole” Huang had become suddenly weakened slightly.

In the black hole’s center, an illusory figure slightly floated up, as if forcibly pulled out—this process lasted less than a second, just an instant.

On the other side, the Nine-tailed Fox held the Universal Divine Mirror, its surface distantly illuminating the “black hole.”

This magical treasure, after lengthy observation and power accumulation, had successfully affected Huang, though only for a brief moment.

Simultaneously, the Temple Master’s voice came from within the black hole:

“The bone!”

*The bone? What bone?*

He was stunned for a moment before remembering the vertebra retrieved from the magma.

Without hesitation, Xu Qi An chose to trust the Temple Master. Seizing the momentary opportunity created by the Universal Divine Mirror, he freed one hand to reach into his chest, gripped the handle of the Earth Book fragment, and shook it forcefully toward the “black hole.”

The Earth Book fragment was connected to his will and wouldn’t shake out anything else.

A grayish-red bone fragment flew out from the mirror surface, quickly drawn into the black hole by the powerful suction.

Bang! Brilliant flames burst forth, only to have even their sparks devoured by the black hole.

A miraculous scene unfolded—the black hole’s suction gradually weakened until it could no longer devour light, and Huang’s form reappeared before Xu Qi An and the Nine-tailed Fox.

“Run!”

He used Shadow Jump, taking the Nine-tailed Fox back in the direction they had come.

They fled into the area where space was fragmented.

If Huang gave chase, they could use the constantly changing spatial properties to engage Him.

“Temple Master!”

Huang gazed into the empty distance ahead, gnashing His teeth.

He had missed an opportunity to eliminate Xu Qi An.

The Temple Master’s light laughter came through: “Why should I help You instead of him? If You don’t like me, You can try to devour me—but You can’t, can You?”

Huang fell silent for a moment, suppressing His emotions before slowly saying: “Never mind, obtaining that thing is most important. Whether you are the Gatekeeper will soon be verified.”

He turned His heavy footsteps carrying Him deep into the mist, heading toward the center of the God-Demon Island.

…

“It seems I alone still can’t defeat Huang,” said Xu Qi An, withered as dead wood, sitting on the ground with a sigh.

The Nine-tailed Fox remained silent, vigilantly looking around. After a quarter hour, they finally confirmed Huang hadn’t given chase.

“What happened just now? Can that bone counter Huang?”

The silver-haired enchantress caught her breath and began pondering this perplexing matter.

Xu Qi An thought for a moment, shaking his head: “The Fire Spirit couldn’t possibly counter Huang. If it were that simple, He would be too easy to deal with. The power contained in the bone fragment wasn’t particularly strong, and its explosive force similarly couldn’t have broken Huang’s innate divine ability.”

The Nine-tailed Fox pressed her lips together, contemplating: “Then the key must be in the spiritual essence contained within the bone…”

Her eyes brightened as she vaguely felt she had grasped something, but couldn’t quite articulate it for the moment.

Xu Qi An also thought for a while but couldn’t reach any conclusions. Changing the subject, he said: “Why didn’t He chase after us? Given the hatred between us, there’s no reason He would let me off so easily.”

Although this area’s space was chaotic, at most it would increase the difficulty of pursuit—not enough to make Huang hesitate to chase down His enemy.

“Perhaps He has more important matters to attend to, like recovering His power. Compared to that, I’m more curious about how the Temple Master knew you had that bone?”

The silver-haired enchantress had grasped the key point.

From what had happened, the Temple Master knew Xu Qi An held a bone fragment, but this had occurred several hours ago when the Temple Master was sealed within Huang’s horn.

Since he was sealed, his Fate Master abilities were likely suppressed—if Huang couldn’t manage even this much, He wouldn’t have been able to contain the Temple Master.

So how did the Temple Master know?

Xu Qi An thought of a possibility: “Is he monitoring us?”

As they spoke, a butterfly formed from thin mist gracefully fluttered its wings, flying toward the two of them.