"Begone."

With a fierce shout, Xia Jie thrust both hands heavily towards the void in front of him.

The Starlight Giant Kite flapped its wings vigorously, bringing with it a series of starlight streamers as it violently collided with the black iron coffin.

The bizarre patterns on the surface of the black iron coffin suddenly lit up simultaneously, emitting a strange dark purple glow.

A tangible black mist spread out from it, breaking through the starlight screen that shackled it and filled the surroundings, nearly submerging the iron coffin within it.

It was notably denser and purer than the Demonic Qi previously encountered at the stone gate.

Yuan Ming merely glanced at it and felt an almost suffocating terror descend from the sky in an instant.

At this moment, Xia Jie was muttering under his breath and raised an arm, pointing solemnly at the black iron coffin.

Suddenly, a dazzling golden light shone from the head of the Starlight Giant Kite, and then a spirit light shot out from it, dimly revealing a golden figure a few inches tall within.

The small figure was surrounded by brilliant golden light; from afar, it was too blurred to discern any facial features. As soon as it appeared, it moved slightly and turned into a flash of golden light, vanishing into the iron coffin without a trace.

With a bang!

The black mist that had been furiously rushing out of the black iron coffin rolled back into the coffin after a massive tremor.

In an instant, not a trace of the black mist surrounding the iron coffin remained.

The bizarre patterns on the surface of the coffin then brightened significantly but immediately dimmed to an unprecedented dullness.

At that moment, the Starlight Giant Kite also collided with the black iron coffin. Upon contact, it suddenly dispersed, transforming into even more dazzling starlight that enveloped the entire coffin.

The previously seemingly heavy black iron coffin, now wrapped in starlight, interwoven black and white, appeared surprisingly magnificent and became incredibly light, beginning to fly towards the black crack that Yuan Ming had smashed open with the Sky-reaching Demon Pillar.

After entering the crack, the figure of the iron coffin visibly began to shrink at a speed visible to the naked eye until it flew into the darkness deep within the crack, turned into a bright spot, and finally disappeared.

All this might sound lengthy, but it all happened in just two or three breaths.

Yuan Ming was still somewhat dazed, but then he heard Xia Jie's slightly weary voice:

"You can retract the Sky-reaching Demon Pillar now."

Upon hearing this, Yuan Ming immediately waved his hand and collected the Sky-reaching Demon Pillar.

The Space Power that was turbulent inside the Underground Palace immediately contracted, and the hovering black crack in the void also immediately shrank, until it turned into a black spot as small as a grain of rice.

"Mission accomplished," Xia Jie finally relaxed and let out a sigh, saying.

"Senior, what exactly is going on here?" Yuan Ming was not as relaxed, steadying his somewhat turbulent spirit while turning to Xia Jie to ask.

"The fellow in that black iron coffin is the Reincarnation Demon Lord from the Demon World. Back then, we perished together. However, ultimately, both of us were severely injured and near death, too weak to kill the other, so we chose to seek a place to recuperate. This place was built by the Reincarnation Demon Lord as his mausoleum; he hid here, using this demon eye to heal and restore," Xia Jie explained.

"Was this Sealing Array also laid down by you?" Yuan Ming asked.

"Indeed. I discovered this place years ago, but since the Reincarnation Demon Lord was hiding inside that black iron coffin and could resist the oppression of Space Power, he hid inside the space crack within the demon eye and didn't come out. I had no other choice but to set up this Thirty-Six Star Constellation Sealing Array, precisely for today, to thoroughly send him back to the Demon World," Xia Jie nodded and continued.

"Since the array was already set, why did you only activate it today?" Yuan Ming was still somewhat puzzled.

"First, the array needed time to gather strength; second, we needed to wait for an opportunity, one that would make the Reincarnation Demon Lord come out voluntarily. Otherwise, if he kept hiding in the space crack, the Starlight Kite formed by the array wouldn't be able to capture him, naturally unable to send him back," Xia Jie, in a very good mood, answered all of Yuan Ming's questions.

"Was the Sky-reaching Demon Pillar also originally placed here by you?" Yuan Ming asked.

"The Sky-reaching Demon Pillar originally belonged to the Reincarnation Demon Lord. After I sealed it, I placed it outside the Underground Palace, firstly to block the stone gate, secondly to absorb the Demonic Qi leaking from the stone gate, to prevent creatures who accidentally wandered in from being contaminated by the Demonic Qi. Unexpectedly, you yanked it out," Xia Jie said with a laugh.

Yuan Ming, feeling somewhat embarrassed, coughed dryly and changed the subject: "By the way, Senior, what about the two people who came with me earlier?"

"They were too unlucky, I'm afraid they got sent to the Demon World along with the Reincarnation Demon Lord," Xia Jie paused, then said.

"This..." Yuan Ming was somewhat stunned.

He had intended to ask if the one who stole the Water Spirit Body of the Water Spirit Saint Mother was the Reincarnation Demon Lord, but the latter seemed to have run out of patience.

"Alright, stop asking questions. I still need to rearrange the array here to prevent the demon eye from recovering; if you have nothing else, you should leave quickly," Xia Jie waved his hand, already beginning to urge him on.

"Senior Xia Jie, may I know where you reside? I might seek your advice in the future," Yuan Ming asked hesitantly.

"I will return to the town; you can find me there if you need something," Xia Jie said.

Seeing this, Yuan Ming said no more, bowed to Xia Jie, and transformed into a streak of cyan light shooting outside, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Xia Jie gently closed his all-white eyes, seemingly sensing something. After a moment, once he confirmed Yuan Ming had gone far, he reopened them.

Three purple rings flew out from his sleeve, hovering inside the stone chamber.

He cast several spells in succession, and the rings burst into myriad starlights, instantly flooding the entire stone chamber and forming a starlight barrier.

Xia Jie then tapped into the void at his waist, and a body shot out from a bag there—it was Liu Tianming.

Liu Tianming was still an empty shell, standing silently, motionless. * (*)

Senior Xia Jie muttered some incantations, and a white orb emerged in his right hand, seemingly composed of countless threads revolving slowly around a black cocoon at its center.

With a flick of his palm, the white orb flew out and merged into Liu Tianming's body, settling in his Dantian.

The rotation speed of the white orb increased several folds, the Demonic Qi in the stone chamber surged and converged towards Liu Tianming, merging into the white orb.

The white orb quickly turned black, emitting waves of Demonic Qi, which rapidly intensified.

"Heh heh, true to a Chaotic Demon Species, its affinity with Demonic Qi is indeed astonishingly strong," said Xia Jie with a satisfied smile on his face.

He recited complex spells under his breath while a stream of Soul Power flew from his brow, merging into Liu Tianming's Sea of Consciousness.

Liu Tianming's previously vacant eyes sparkled with a glint, and he began to move his hands and feet as if familiarizing himself with the body.

Xia Jie continued his chants, rapidly forming hand seals towards the three Starlight Rings.

Bang bang bang!

The three Starlight Rings exploded, transforming into three dazzling starry clouds that enveloped Liu Tianming's body and once again formed a bird-like phantom similar to the previous one.

The Starlight Giant Kite flapped its wings and took Liu Tianming into the rift within the Demon Eye.

"Six Demon Lords, our conflict has not ended yet, since you desire this young man, then I shall use him to engage in another fierce battle," Xia Jie said with a slight smile as he looked at the spatial rift.

The Starlight Giant Kite disappeared into the spatial rift, which immediately started trembling, sending eerie vibrations spreading outward, causing the stone chamber to tremble as well, revealing numerous cracks.

Xia Jie's right hand closed on the void, with starlight rushing from all directions, quickly congealing into a long spear made of starlight about three meters long within a few breaths.

With a flick of his wrist, the starlight spear shot out, instantly disappearing into the spatial rift.

Boom!

A burst of tremendous light, resembling the sun, erupted from within the spatial rift, filling the stone chamber and even the entire Underground Palace.

The power contained within the starlight caused the stone chamber to collapse instantly, and the Underground Palace followed suit, with rolling dust spewing into Snake King Valley through the entrance.

The falling stones hit Xia Jie, but his body seemed to have turned into a phantom, allowing the stones to pass right through without causing any damage.

The spatial rift within the Demon Eye started to twist and, after a few breaths, shattered, thereby dissipating.

Xia Jie nodded, then vanished with a flicker.

...

Atop a mountain tens of miles away, Yuan Ming stood silently, looking towards Snake King Valley.

"Senior Xia Jie can still harness such a level of power, to destroy a spatial rift; it seems his cultivation is not half-ruined..." he muttered to himself.

"This old man is really formidable, destroying a spatial rift; master, perhaps even you couldn't do that, right?" Hua Zhi's voice came from the Spiritual Beast Bag.

Yuan Ming silently nodded, acknowledging that indeed, he was not yet capable of manipulating space to such an extent.

He continued observing Snake King Valley but did not leave.

Did Xia Jie come to Snake King Valley merely to destroy the tomb of the Reincarnation Demon Lord? He always felt that the man had deeper intentions.

After considering for a while, Yuan Ming stopped pondering.

No matter what Xia Jie intended to do, it had little to do with him as long as he did not attempt to summon the Demon Clan to the Yunhuang Continent like the Blood Demon Ancestor had.

Yuan Ming turned to leave, then suddenly remembered something and sat down cross-legged.

He sealed both Hua Zhi and Vajra within the Spiritual Beast Bag to prevent their Divine Sense from leaking, then used the Silver Token to open a silver barrier.

Having done these, Yuan Ming summoned the Stealing Heaven Tripod, lit the Black Incense, and attempted possession of Luo Zhu.

His vision darkened momentarily before brightening again, having possessed Luo Zhu and appearing in a black space.

Yuan Ming did not move carelessly but carefully surveyed his surroundings.

Soon, he saw that Luo Zhu was lying on the sarcophagus of the Reincarnation Demon Lord, his limbs shackled by chains formed from Demonic Qi, speeding forward at an incredibly fast rate.

The black space was shaped like a corridor, emitting tremendous spatial fluctuations, apparently a rather unstable spatial passage.

"Just as suspected, Luo Zhu is not dead but was captured by the Reincarnation Demon Lord," Yuan Ming thought with pleasure.

He had long been curious about the Demon World; every time he asked Qi Ye, Qi Ye would sidestep the question, unwilling to elaborate. Now, having Luo Zhu provided him the opportunity to glimpse into that realm.

However, given the Reincarnation Demon Lord's inscrutable strength, he dared not make any sudden movements, lest he be noticed.

Should Luo Zhu be detected and meet a harsh fate, his plans would be utterly ruined.

With this thought, Yuan Ming retracted his consciousness and waited quietly.