"As expected of Li Gou, still alive..."

Shangguan Xiaoxiao dug Li An out from Immortal Mountain Island. Seeing Li An’s disheveled appearance, she showed no sympathy. Instead, she laughed heartily, took out a Memory Crystal, and said, "Li Gou, you’re really too pitiful hahahaha, I must keep this to mock you later..."

Li An’s clothes were tattered into strips, his body covered with bloody marks, looking like a beggar with no trace of a Great Cultivator’s appearance.

Li An initially wanted to disguise himself more, after all, considering the self-destruction of an Immortal, ending up worse made sense. However, he didn’t expect Shangguan Xiaoxiao to behave so unpredictably, so he quickly took out two new robes from his storage ring and put them on.

"Why are you here?"

He questioned.

When he saw that the defense line of Immortal Mountain Island had collapsed yet Tianchenzi did not retreat, he realized that the guy was prepared to go all out.

Self-destruction was bound to be his final outcome.

From that moment, he quickly distanced himself from Immortal Mountain Island and slipped into the mysterious energy.

As a result, even the self-destruction of Immortal Level was too strong, which indeed caused him some harm.

He was secretly observing Shangguan Xiaoxiao, only to find that her main purpose of coming to Immortal Mountain Island seemed to be him?

She had entered the Array of Transformation directly at first, and even after the defense was broken, she had been searching for someone, not doing anything else.

Li An was unwilling to meet her initially, but he reconsidered that Shangguan Xiaoxiao’s mysterious Dao mark came from Lady Yi’s tomb, and thus, the exotic realm she allied with might very well be the Yi Clan...

Through her, could he find Lady Yi’s direct descendants faster?

So he came out.

"I’m here to break the array."

Shangguan Xiaoxiao said: "Oh, let me introduce myself, I am currently one of the Honorary Guest Elders of the Yi Clan from the Eleven Heavens and Eight Veins."

"Well, you are now my captive."

"Come back with me to the Exotic Realm—"

After speaking, she picked up Li An. Though Li An was large and burly while she appeared frail, she lifted Li An like a little chick, rendering him completely powerless to resist.

"Let go of me, let go of me..."

"Li Gou, stop yelling, it sounds so stupid, and you’re not an idiot."

...

Li An followed Shangguan Xiaoxiao to leave. Her mastery over the mysterious force had reached a truly terrifying level, stepping out and cutting through the mysterious Dao Power underfoot, walking within the mysterious storm.

"The Dao Sect has fallen,"

She said while holding Li An, gazing out from the high sky over the Mist Sea.

The major forces from the outside, with countless troops, had crossed the Dao Sect’s defense line and entered the core area of the Mist Sea, vying for the immense amount of Immortal Dao Material...

Geniuses devoured countless volumes, almost evoking the aura of becoming immortals; Immortal Dao Warships rampaged, towing away massive quantities of material; and some of the strongest headed towards the Exotic Realm, seemingly wanting to enter within...

The Dao Sect’s people, apart from some like Tianchenzi who fought to the death, mostly retreated.

"Perhaps they are fortunate, that the defense line broke early, allowing more people to live."

Shangguan Xiaoxiao sighed.

In fact, she knew very well about the situation in the Exotic Realm that it was impossible for the Dao Sect to withstand. If it continued, the Dao Sect might perish at this defense line.

The break of the defense line made the Dao Sect lose hope, sparing the lives of many innocents.

"I’m quite curious, who do you think buried the mysterious energy into Immortal Mountain Island? Such great Divine Power."

She looked at Li An.

"How would I know!"

Li An said: "What exactly is the situation in the Exotic Realm? You’re taking me over there, is it safe?"

He didn’t care nor had the mind to consider how many people died in the Dao Sect; his main concern was about the Exotic Realm side.

"Don’t worry, I do not kill captives; you won’t die."

Shangguan Xiaoxiao smiled, leading Li An towards the edge of the Mist Sea, to the corner of the Exotic Realm—

...

At the same time.

Somewhere in the Mist Sea.

"Well done!"

A group of mysterious creatures stood there, among them an elder with entirely gray hair, who looked approvingly at Gong Shanqing, saying: "This time Shanqing has made great contributions by breaking the Dao Sect’s defense line, not only giving our Gong Clan an advantage but also bringing great honor to our clan among the other clans, living up to the name of the Eight Veins!"

"Shanqing, do you have any requests?"

Gong Shanqing was wild with joy and saluted, saying: "Reporting to the Elder, Shanqing would like to have a force to aid in the search for Lady Yi!"

The elder looked at him and pondered slightly.

Within the Gong Clan, the operation to find Lady Yi was regarded as a major test for the younger generation.

Gong Shanqing’s line, having lost all its masters, became a vassal of another line. Now that Gong Shanqing made this request... it was to want to independently engage in the competition among the younger generation.

"Alright, I will give you thirty men."

The elder agreed.

That Gong Shanqing could break the Dao Sect’s defense line showed he indeed had some ability... letting him join might not necessarily be a bad thing for the Gong Clan.

Moreover, the progenitor of Gong Shanqing’s line was once immensely glorious within the Gong Clan... what if he indeed has hidden talents?

"Shanqing, I’m quite curious, how did you manage it? The Dao Sect Immortal on Immortal Mountain Island is no ordinary figure..."

At this moment, another middle-aged man spoke with a smile.

This person’s name was Gong Yuanmang, and he had been Gong Shanqing’s "immediate superior" before, trying all means to promote his own branch’s direct descendant "Gong Shanye", including forcibly assigning the task of burying an Exotic Spirit’s corpse to Gong Shanqing, with the intent of getting Gong Shanqing killed...