The prolonged war on the Southern Barren Continent was something Xiao Fei could often sense even while cultivating in his spatial realm.
For several months now, there had been an unusual calm, with no more battles occurring.
One day, Xiao Fei dispatched a puppet to scout the surroundings. It found nothing out of the ordinary.
An hour later, Xiao Fei himself emerged from a patch of scorched earth.
He ascended into the sky. The Southern Barren Continent had now become a wasteland, devoid of all life, with traces of battles everywhere.
He flew a great distance in the sky but saw no one breathing.
The entire continent was terrifyingly silent!
From the battlefield remnants alone, it was impossible to tell whether the human race had won, the giant race had won, or if they had annihilated each other.
As he approached the Desolate Spirit Locking Heaven Array, he saw from afar, within the darkness of the array, a distinct beam of light that had been cleaved open.
He concealed his aura and descended, flying towards the Desolate Spirit Locking Heaven Array, staying close to the ground.
Just as he was about to get close, he saw a familiar figure standing in the air ahead. The other party had clearly discovered him long ago.
"Junior Xiao Fei pays respects to Ancestor Ji!"
Xiao Fei had not seen this Ancestor Ji since their last encounter.
However, Ancestor Ji had frequently sought out Huang Feifei, asking her to use the Law of Life to heal his injuries.
He had heard from Huang Feifei that she didn't know what unbearable past Ancestor Ji had experienced, but now his vitality was weak and he often needed her treatment to strengthen his life force.
"Very good! You are still alive. Where is fellow Daoist Huang Feifei?"
Ancestor Ji was very surprised to see Xiao Fei appear.
He had searched the entire Southern Barren Continent several times and had not found any trace of these two, thinking they had been eaten by giants.
Now that the war had just ended and Xiao Fei had emerged, it was clear that these two also knew how to protect themselves.
"I apologize, I am also looking for her!"
Xiao Fei skillfully told a lie. After the incident where the Thousand Crane Sect sought revenge, he always harbored a slight wariness towards this Ancestor Ji.
"You've come at the right time. I need your help with something."
Ancestor Ji beckoned to Xiao Fei.
"Ancestor Ji, I still need to find Huang Feifei. I fear she might encounter some accident, so I must excuse myself today."
Although Xiao Fei still held the guest token of the Ji clan, it was merely a cooperative relationship. He had no obligation to obey Ancestor Ji's commands absolutely.
Of course, if the other party insisted on using force, he would have to yield. But doing so would completely sour his relationship with the Ji clan.
As Xiao Fei spoke, he turned to leave. However, the moment he turned, Ancestor Ji was already standing in front of him, looking at him with a cold smile.
He immediately used a teleportation technique, appearing over a hundred feet away.
However, Ancestor Ji was like a ghost clinging to him, still appearing in front of him, looking at him with mockery.
At this point, Xiao Fei simply stopped trying to escape and stood his ground.
"May I know what Ancestor Ji means by this?"
"I now suspect you are a spy for the giant race. Come with me!"
As Ancestor Ji spoke, a darkness surged towards Xiao Fei, quickly engulfing him.
Xiao Fei felt a powerful suppression of laws, rendering him blind to his surroundings.
He tried to circulate his own Law of Gathering and Scattering, causing a faint halo to appear at his fingertips.
As expected, his Law of Gathering and Scattering could corrode and invade even the Desolate Spirit Locking Heaven Array. Corroding Ancestor Ji's law domain would not be difficult.
However, he temporarily held back his law domain, not unleashing it.
Ancestor Ji likely did not intend to kill him yet, and he wanted to see what tricks Ancestor Ji was planning.
If his life were truly in danger, he could always escape into his spatial realm.
If he couldn't escape in time, he didn't mind being killed. He wasn't someone afraid of death.
Subsequently, Xiao Fei felt himself being bound by this dark law power, then enveloped and flown in a certain direction.
Ancestor Ji flew for only a short while before stopping.
"Alas! Old Ji, didn't you go to relieve yourself? Why did you bring back a human cultivator?"
At this moment, a rather rough voice reached Xiao Fei's ears.
"Huh! This little cultivator looks a bit familiar. I remember now, he seems to be that famous alchemist among your human race recently!"
"Why did you capture him? To force him to refine pills for you? Forced love doesn't taste sweet!"
This rough voice seemed to enjoy talking, and it was only him speaking.
Xiao Fei guessed that since the other party called Ancestor Ji "Old Ji" and spoke so casually, he was likely also an Integration Stage expert. He just didn't know if these two were allies.
Ancestor Ji casually tossed Xiao Fei onto the ground nearby and then walked towards another demon race Integration Stage cultivator guarding the passage entrance.
"I suspect he is that giant race spy. He is closely related to the destruction of the teleportation array and the opening of the Desolate Spirit Locking Heaven Array passage."
"Ah? Is that so? This scoundrel looks decent, yet he could do such a heinous thing."
Xiao Fei didn't know what Ancestor Ji's intentions were, to smear such filth on him, a mere Nascent Soul cultivator.
As a dignified Integration Stage expert, dealing with a small fry like him in the Nascent Soul stage required no schemes or tricks; a simple slap to the face would be both easy and effective.
Just as Xiao Fei was in confusion, Ancestor Ji walked beside the demon race expert and suddenly enveloped him with darkness.
The demon race expert had no time to defend himself before being swallowed by the darkness, and a black long needle instantly pierced his body.
"Old ghost Ji, what are you trying to do?"
The demon race expert roared, his aura surging outwards, and his laws expanding, colliding with Ancestor Ji's dark domain.
However, he had lost the initiative. With Ancestor Ji's black long needle in his body, his strength rapidly declined.
As the two Integration Stage experts battled, Xiao Fei, who had been sealed by Ancestor Ji's laws, gradually began to move.
His hands emitted a faint white glow. This glow spread outwards, quickly breaking through the darkness that sealed him.
When he completely broke free from the seal, he saw Ancestor Ji pressing down on a fish-headed, human-bodied demon.
"Kid, run quickly! Old ghost Ji is the spy!"
This demon, already subdued by Ancestor Ji, saw Xiao Fei escape and still managed to transmit a message to him via divine sense.
Seeing this, Xiao Fei knew Ancestor Ji was problematic even without the demon's reminder, and escaping was the only option.
"Hmph! Trying to escape my grasp is not that easy."
Ancestor Ji said, pointing far away with his hand. Another wave of darkness rushed towards Xiao Fei.
Xiao Fei no longer intended to hide. He unleashed his Law of Gathering and Scattering, blocking the darkness.
Ancestor Ji did not expect Xiao Fei's laws to be so powerful, already able to contend with his Integration Stage laws.
"Run!"
The demon expert's cry was almost the last of his strength.
Xiao Fei looked around, searching for an escape route. While Ancestor Ji had not yet fully reacted, he gritted his teeth and darted into the darkness of the Desolate Spirit Locking Heaven Array.