"Then Sect Leader, I'll let you get back to your work."

"How's the situation at the Wanderer Post?" Wen Ping suddenly remembered Pei Wu; after all, they'd met a few times.

Wen Ping's original intention had been to hand Heaven and Earth Lake over to the Wanderer Post, since the Immortal Sect had no real use for it. If something happened to Pei Wu in this great war, that would really be a pity. After all, Pei Wu was competent and a genuinely good person; with Heaven and Earth Lake in his hands, Wen Ping could feel at ease.

He Nian replied, "The Wanderer Post's losses are rather heavy. Although Elder Sword Demon rushed to support them in time, because ten Earth Unrestricted Middle Realm experts were helping the Hundred Sects Alliance, a lot of people still died. Three Vice Alliance Leaders were killed, and many other core members as well. Alliance Leader Pei Wu lost an arm, but it's not fatal."

"If Pei Wu needs anything next, go help him. Just make sure he doesn't die."

"Understood."

He Nian nodded.

"Go take care of your business, then." With that, Wen Ping put away the Sound Transmission Stone and prepared to go look for Wood Dragon.

…

Bright Mirror Lake.

At this moment the three Earth Unrestricted Upper Realm experts from Shade Heaven Tower were being driven back step by step by Sword Demon's Holy Light Blade Intent and Huaikong's powerful Demon Body. The Hundred Sects Alliance coalition was also being slaughtered by the Demon Race army at the same time.

But as for how many people from the Hundred Sects Alliance died, the people of Shade Heaven Tower couldn't care less; they only cared about the battle in the sky.

"Sword Demon, I advise you not to ruin yourself. Do you know what the consequences are for resisting Shade Heaven Tower?"

"Remember, you are not You Country!"

"Does your Immortal Sect truly wish to step into a place of eternal damnation first? The fact that only the three of us came today is us giving your Immortal Sect a final bit of face. Hand over the person who possesses the Rebirth Body, and we will let bygones be bygones!"

After being beaten back, the three of them already had no will to resist. Since they couldn't win, there was no point in continuing to fight.

Their original goal wasn't to kill everyone here.

What they wanted was simple: that person in the Immortal Sect who possessed the Rebirth Body.

The Rebirth Body was something only the Tower Master of Shade Heaven Tower possessed; it represented a certain status and carried extraordinary meaning. Now another person with a Rebirth Body had suddenly appeared—this person absolutely could not be left outside, and must be taken back to Shade Heaven Tower.

Sword Demon did not stop. He continued to swing his blade and charge toward the three, unleashing the Holy Light Blade Intent again.

The black and white Sword Intent turned into a sky full of flying leaves, encircling the three and relentlessly attacking them. The three Earth Unrestricted Upper Realm experts of Shade Heaven Tower were forced to keep defending and had no chance to fight back.

Attacking as he laughed wildly, Sword Demon shouted, "With just that bit of power from you three, you think you're qualified to negotiate terms with our Immortal Sect? Putting aside whether or not the Immortal Sect even has the so‑called person possessing a Rebirth Body—in the event we do, this daddy still wouldn't hand them over to you. Because with your level of power, you're not worthy!"

From the side, Huaikong chimed in, "Elder Sword Demon, did the Sect Leader ever say we had to keep their three corpses?"

"No!"

Huaikong's eyes lit up with joy. "Then let me swallow the three of them. Coincidentally, this emperor is feeling a bit hungry."

With that, Huaikong immediately opened his massive maw.

At this moment Huaikong's cultivation had already reached five hundred years of accumulation, so his devouring ability had increased greatly. The instant his devouring ability came online, heaven and earth immediately changed color.

Vast Demon Power instantly enveloped the three from Shade Heaven Tower, like ropes of death binding them, making them unable to even stand steady as they kept sliding toward Huaikong's mouth.

Sword Demon sheathed his blade at once and then said blandly, "Can you handle eating them?"

Huaikong laughed proudly. "It's only a few hundred meters. At this distance, even if they wanted to run, they couldn't."

If they were farther away, Huaikong wouldn't be so sure.

If the three were all in peak condition, he also wouldn't be sure.

After all, the three of them were Upper Realm powerhouses.

But now the three were severely depleted, and they were only two to three hundred meters from him. That was no different from food delivered right to his mouth.

The three, bound by Demon Power, struggled to break free, only to discover that the Demon Power was extremely difficult to escape from. Even for them, breaking such a binding would take at least a hundred breaths.

But in a hundred breaths' time, they'd already be in his stomach.

As the suction grew stronger and the three drew closer and closer to his mouth, Huaikong was already getting ready to enjoy a full meal.

However, just then, a giant hand of Vein Qi suddenly descended from the sky.

Smack!

Huaikong was slapped flying with a single palm.

Like Mount Tai crushing down, he slammed into the ground of Bright Mirror Lake, making the earth tremble.

Only then did Sword Demon react. "Who!"

It wasn't that Sword Demon was slow to react.

It was that the opponent moved too fast.

Sword Demon glanced at Huaikong, who had been slapped away, then swept his gaze around, but saw no sign of the attacker. What he did see was the three from Shade Heaven Tower dropping to their knees in midair as if relieved of a great burden, shouting loudly, "We welcome, my lord!"

Such a sudden turn of events drew not only Sword Demon's gaze; the people of the Hundred Sects Alliance and the Demon Race all turned to look as well.

Then all members of Shade Heaven Tower dropped to their knees on the ground, shouting in unison, "We welcome, my lord!"

Seeing this, Sword Demon roared, "Who are you? If you've got the guts, come out and fight. What's the point of hiding in the dark, pretending to be some peerless powerhouse?"

At this moment, a voice drifted over faintly.

"Sword Demon, hand that person over to this seat. For the sake of you having already left the battlefield and no longer staying in You Country, this seat can choose to forget all our past grievances and spare your life."

As that voice fell, a middle‑aged man in a Black Gold python robe appeared in the sky with his hands clasped behind his back. He stood at the very highest point of the heavens, overlooking everyone.

It was as if he were the master of all between heaven and earth, and Sword Demon and the others were nothing but ants.

A light breeze blew past his side, spreading the pressure he released onto every single person present.

Those at the Mountain Suppression Realm and below all had a change in expression, because this pressure made them feel as though the sky itself was collapsing.

This naturally spreading pressure was far greater than the aura that burst out when Sword Demon was battling the three from Shade Heaven Tower.

Calling it ten times, even twenty times stronger would not be an exaggeration. 𝗳𝗿𝐞𝕖𝘄𝗲𝕓𝗻𝚘𝚟𝕖𝐥.𝚌𝕠𝕞

"Celestial Traveler!" When he saw who had come, Sword Demon cried the man's name in shock.

By now Huaikong had flown back into the sky as well, glaring angrily at Celestial Traveler above and asking Sword Demon, "Elder Sword Demon, who is this man?"

Sword Demon replied, "Celestial Traveler, a Half-Step Celestial Unrestricted powerhouse of Shade Heaven Tower with a fearsome reputation. Twenty years ago, on the battlefield, he slew seven Earth Unrestricted Upper Realm experts of You Country in a row and forcefully stepped into the Half-Step Realm. After that, he never appeared on the battlefield again. I didn't expect to run into him here today."

"If we join forces, do we have a chance?" Huaikong asked.

Sword Demon shook his head. "A chance to kill him? Hard to say… You fall back and watch first. I'll go exchange a few blows with him."

Seeing this, Celestial Traveler in the sky spoke faintly, "Sword Demon, this seat is giving you a chance—do not fail to value it. What this seat wants is very simple: hand that person over, and Shade Heaven Tower will henceforth be willing to shelter your Immortal Sect and give you the entire Heaven and Earth Lake. Are you sure you don't want to make this deal?"

(Congratulations to Brother Regardless for leveling up to Alliance Leader! Congrats!)