Wait a minute, where is my master?

The short demon cultivator noticed something unusual and looked down.

The tall demon cultivator also opened his mouth in surprise, teasingly saying,

"Clan brother, what treasure have you hidden in your bosom that's now giving off light?"

"I... I have nothing in my bosom except for the box the Clan Leader bestowed upon us?"

With the same expression of surprise, the short demon cultivator replied and then reached into his clothes to search.

A moment later.

He pulled out an old carved wooden box and realized that the glow on his chest came from this very object.

"Look, this light indeed emanates from the wooden box."

As the short demon cultivator spoke, he lifted the box towards the other.

The tall demon cultivator also instinctively leaned in to take a look.

"Strange, didn't the Clan Leader say that the purpose of this object was to repair spatial rifts? How could it still....."

Before he could finish his sentence, the dimly glowing box suddenly sprang open.

A mass of blue substance, intermingled with threads of black mist, instantly struck the tall demon cultivator's forehead.

The sudden turn of events caught him off guard. Although some protective charms he carried were activated, they were as fragile as paper against the blue substance and were easily pierced through.

"Clan brother!"

The short cultivator first cried out in alarm, then immediately halted the flying treasure under his feet and swept his body backwards.

He did not know why the box personally handed over to them by the Clan Leader had undergone such a change, but the forehead was just as crucial to any cultivator as the Dantian.

Now that the tall demon cultivator had been invaded by an unknown entity in the forehead,

he had instinctively begun treating him as an enemy.

"Clan brother, do you still remember who I am?"

The short demon cultivator first tentatively asked, but the person in front of him did not answer. Instead, he turned his head and gazed toward the direction of West Pole Peak.

"It was indeed targeting me."

The tall demon cultivator muttered to himself in a low voice.

Then he suddenly raised his hand, pointing towards the short demon cultivator's waist.

With a bang.

The storage jade pendant hanging at the other's waist instantly shattered into powder.

This move startled the short demon cultivator, who was just about to contact Wu Mingyuan with a communication token.

He could now be certain that the person before him was definitely no longer his clan brother.

"Strange, why would an object bestowed by the Clan Leader contain a divine soul capable of possession? Could my brother and I have unwittingly encountered some vile entity on the way?

"But from beginning to end, the box never left my bosom...

"Forget it, contemplating the cause is useless if I don't survive; I should think of a way to escape first."

After contemplating momentarily in his heart, and failing to understand why such a turn of events had occurred,

the short demon cultivator began to think about a way to escape.

He didn't have much time left.

So the short demon cultivator quickly decided between trying to fight back with force or turning to flee,

— he chose to reveal his identity.

Normally, the first two options would have had a better chance of survival.

Because no matter what realm the cultivator was from, there would always be a moment of weakness after possession, and anything done by those around him during this time had a great chance of success.

But the individual before him... was clearly not normal.

Remembering the scene where the other easily shattered his protective Dharma Treasure and the storage jade pendant with a simple finger gesture,

The diminutive demon cultivator steadied their mind and, forcefully suppressing the unease within, opened their mouth to speak.

"Your Excellency must be a senior from the Demon Realm who has been in hidden cultivation for a long time, right?

"Otherwise, you wouldn't have easily taken action against my Little Golden Crow Clan unless it were absolutely necessary. Now, as the world's Origin has issued warnings, a great calamity is descending upon our realm, and my Little Golden Crow Clan has been chosen by the Origin of the Demon Realm to act as this realm's representative. We have replaced the Origin in overseeing the surveillance of all clans and the selection of candidates.

"If Your Excellency is willing to spare the lives of me and my brother today, I, Crow, am willing to speak well of you in front of the Clan Leader, in exchange for a chance to survive in the great calamity."

After the diminutive demon cultivator finished speaking, they became extremely cautious and turned to look at their clan brother who was no longer one of their own.

"Heh, I've already devoured the Divine Soul of this Fire Crow."

The tall demon cultivator sneered, lifted his finger to his temple, and replied with a playful tone.

The diminutive demon cultivator, upon seeing that the other party didn't point directly at him but instead engaged in conversation, felt a surge of joy in their heart.

"Being able to communicate means there's room to negotiate!"

They muttered to themselves, and then without hesitation, they spoke again.

"My brother and I were acting on behalf of our Clan Leader, heading to the Purple Spirit Elephant Clan to repair a spatial rift, when we encountered attackers on the road, and my clan brother fell in battle.

"As for myself, Crow, I was by chance rescued by you, who were in secluded cultivation here, and that's how I survived."

They paused briefly and chuckled before continuing.

"Elder, I am willing to swear a great oath on everything I've just said. However, you'll need to change this body, as it won't be easy to deceive the Clan Leader otherwise.

"Cough, our destination happens to be the Purple Spirit Elephant Clan, you see... maybe..."

"Hahahaha!"

The diminutive demon cultivator's words were cut short by a burst of laughter laced with a tinge of mockery.

After laughing, the tall demon cultivator gently shook his head, looking at the somewhat puzzled person before him, and spoke with a hint of regret.

"You really are a dog smarter than Wu Mingyuan, I almost feel reluctant to kill you.

"But it's a pity, it's just your misfortune.

"If you're looking for someone to blame… blame that human cultivator who appeared here out of nowhere."

As he spoke, he lifted his arm and pointed at the massive Fire Crow, which had already transformed back to its true form and was flapping its wings towards the horizon at the first sentence.

With a bang,

the other party exploded into a cloud of dust, just like the Storage Jade Pendant had before.

"Heh, but fortune and misfortune go hand in hand, just as the tides of heaven and earth were once a blessing to all realms, they now bring calamity to the Nine Provinces and all Small Worlds.

"This human cultivator broke the spatial passageway back to the Nine Provinces Realm for me, so I've been spared the effort of refining the races of the Demon Realm to open it myself."

After pulverizing his opponent, the tall demon cultivator muttered quietly.

Then, he used the Flying Escape Skill to rocket towards the burial grounds of the Purple Spirit Elephant Clan at a speed dozens of times faster than the previous two.

...

...

Meanwhile, at the West Pole Peak to the east,

Wu Mingyuan, who had thought he could escape by relying on the sparks he had planted in his clansmen's bodies to seek help from his backer, Mr. Bai, was once again pinned under a giant wolf's paw.

Of course, it was actually a punch from Jin Xu that had sent him flying back.

But considering the disparity in their sizes, the little Taoist always found the thought of himself stepping on a giant phoenix head to be quite odd. Therefore, he had Mr. Bai do the deed instead.

"There's not even a shadow of the world's Origin in that broken temple. Have you communicated with It anywhere else?"

Jin Xu crouched in front of the Black Phoenix, frowning and asking.

At the same time, the golden Thunder Arc in his palm danced threateningly before the other's eyes.

It was unnecessary to intimidate Wu Mingyuan with the Truth-Telling Skill, as he would definitely speak the truth.

Yet considering the bird's prior actions,

the little Taoist felt it wouldn't be improper to apply some psychological pressure on him.