The Heart Demon was born from the Black Lotus.

But this time, their soul split was also destined to perish within the Black Lotus.

Black Longevity Fire Lotus.

Named for longevity, its bloom, however, signifies death.

........

In the dim sky, dozens of light dots halted.

"Lord, the other teams have also yet to find the trace of that human Sword Cultivator," Huang Yang reported alongside Tian Mang.

Tian Mang froze for a moment, frowning, "His condition is unusual, already severely injured, he definitely can't escape far."

He closed his eyes in contemplation, putting himself in the other's shoes, "If it were me, what would I do in such a situation....?"

"That's right," after pondering for a moment, Tian Mang opened his eyes, the gaze under the Golden Armor flickering, "He definitely can't escape far; once the pursuers find him, in such a severely injured state, he'd have no chance to resist, certain death awaits.

So, he has only one option, which is to find a place to temporarily hide and heal, wait until his injuries improve somewhat, then plan his escape."

"Although it's just a makeshift plan, it's certainly wiser than running around like a headless chicken."

"However, why haven't we been able to find any trace of this human Sword Cultivator, considering we've deployed so many demon beasts to search, and as per your strategy, he can't have gone far?" Huang Yang asked.

"There are three possibilities," Tian Mang said in a deep voice: "The first possibility is that Lu Qingshan possesses some secret technique or treasure, allowing him to conceal his presence; we might have passed by his hiding place without noticing him."

"The second possibility, he might also have a beast pet, so despite being injured, he escaped farther than we anticipated with its help, and our search area hasn't yet covered his hiding spot."

"The last possibility, he's simply lucky."

Huang Yang was taken aback, then chuckled, "In the face of absolute strength, even good luck can only delay death, it can't save his life."

"That's the truth." Tian Mang nodded, his Tribulation Armor gleaming under the dim sky.

"However," he paused, his voice cold, "I've run out of patience playing this hide-and-seek game with him."

"I wish to find him right now, and strip everything away from his desperate gaze!" Tian Mang's voice was filled with murderous intent, his eyes flickering, his gaze exceedingly cold.

"Let's see how long you can hide today!"

In the next moment, he suddenly formed a seal gesture with one hand.

"Control, Fate!" Tian Mang said in a low voice.

Vast demonic qi surged, faintly forming a huge face at his hand.

That face was incredibly strange, with no mouth or nose, only a pair of closed eyes.

Waves of light erupted from the face's eyes.

Those light waves seemed to bear no destructive power, passing through any solid matter directly.

The Heart Demon Clan's dual innate divine abilities.

The first is Soul Mastery, the source of the Heart Demon Clan's strength.

The second is Control Fate, not as powerful as Soul Mastery, yet exceedingly bizarre.

Control Fate confounds the mind, manipulating the Primordial Spirit.

It's a means involving the domain of the Primordial Spirit, aligning with the essence of the Heart Demon Clan.

At this moment, Tian Mang chose an unconventional path, using Control Fate to search for Lu Qingshan's trace.

Control Fate, controlling living beings with a Primordial Spirit, not dead objects.

Only when encountering a living being would these light waves stop.

And in the barren, desolate wilderness, especially at this moment, finding any living creature was highly likely to be the fugitive Lu Qingshan.

The light waves spread from Tian Mang's body, extending outward.

Tian Mang sped up again, like a humanoid radar, heading towards the wilderness to search.

The subordinates behind him didn't hesitate and immediately followed their lord's lead.

Logically, dividing forces should be more efficient for searching.

But with Tian Mang's true body present, the most important thing for them was to protect Tian Mang, more important than anything else.

The search continued for several hours.

Suddenly, Tian Mang noticed something unusual.

His speed began to slow, his form descending from the sky, his gaze locked onto a distant dead volcano flowing with lava, exhaling high-temperature black smoke.

"Finally found it?" A ferocious meaning emerged in Tian Mang's tone.

Because his Control Fate divine ability responded within this volcano.

It meant that inside this volcano, there was certainly a living being with a Primordial Spirit.

Moreover, he could sense that the power of that Primordial Spirit was immense, nothing a wild demon beast could possess.

In this sensitive time, in this sensitive area, possessing such a powerful Primordial Spirit, who else could it be but that human genius Sword Cultivator?

"Clever, hiding in the volcano, if I hadn't used the Control Fate divine ability, I'd genuinely have a hard time detecting you." Tian Mang murmured to himself.

A mocking, cruel smile suddenly appeared on his face under the Tribulation Armor.

Once Lu Qingshan is found, let alone in his severely injured state, even at his peak, in the presence of my Eighth Grade Second Forge true body and my subordinates all in the First Tribulation Realm forming a powerful formation, he would still be a pig or dog waiting for slaughter.

"The Human Race, despite such weak bloodlines, possesses infinite potential to produce cultivators capable of contending with us noble Demon Race, even producing an Ancestral Daoist Xia." Tian Mang stood aloft, his eyes coldly watching the volcano below.

"Such potential, coupled with the noble bloodline of my Heart Demon Clan, that would truly be invincible!" His gaze grew increasingly greedy.