Before she could finish speaking, another figure appeared beside them. It was Xiaofeng.
Although Xiaofeng had only recently undergone Human Transformation, having been obtained by Qin Xi in her youth and raised within the Xuanqing Sect, she harbored few deep obsessions. Breaking free from the Illusion was thus relatively easy for her.
Elder Jing was surprised to see her. He and Ni Qi had broken out of the formation early because their cultivation was the highest; Jin Crystal was only slightly later due to her innate talent. But this Fellow Daoist Feng showed no remarkable cultivation or special talent, yet she had also escaped the trap so early. Could this be the might of her bloodline?
His gaze shifted to the sea of clouds. Demon Lord Xuari was still struggling bitterly within. He sighed inwardly. The Great Prince's aptitude was ordinary, his temperament and comprehension unremarkable. Over the years, Elder Jing had devoted himself to assisting him, yet he couldn't help feeling a sense of powerlessness...
Snapping back to attention, Elder Jing saw that Demon Lord Xuari would not break free anytime soon and sent a low voice transmission: "Ni Qi, you came out earlier. Do you know what's going on here?"
Ni Qi's voice carried a note of joy: "Old Jing, we've found it!" He then recounted everything that had transpired.
Elder Jing, for the moment disregarding Mo Tiange and the others, looked up and saw Amber, clad in white robes, leaning gracefully against the horizontal plaque. He pondered for a moment, then bowed respectfully: "This junior Jing Tao pays his respects to Senior."
He was more cunning than Ni Qi. While Ni Qi called this being 'Divine Monarch,' Elder Jing dared not readily believe it, especially since he couldn't sense the slightest aura of a Divine Beast from the other.
Amber curled his lips, glancing at him. "No need for formalities." He could read minds, so of course he knew what Elder Jing was thinking.
Elder Jing maintained his respectful posture but said, "Senior, in the past, you left behind a trace of your bloodline in the Xumi Sea, granting us this opportunity. Had we known Senior was trapped here, all under the Xumi Sea would have spared no effort to rescue you. Yet I wonder, for what reason is Senior confined here? Is there any way we can be of service?"
Amber replied, "What I did back then was merely to leave a spark of life for my Qilin clan; benefiting the other demon clans of the Xumi Sea was incidental. As for my confinement here, it is not something you all can resolve." He smiled again. "I know you are full of doubts. I can't be bothered to prove my identity, so you needn't say more."
Elder Jing was taken aback, momentarily unsure whether this was a bluff or the truth.
In that brief moment, three ninth-rank demon cultivators, who had been in the same Illusion, broke free simultaneously.
Only Demon Lord Xuari remained in the Illusion. Elder Jing grew extremely anxious. Having assisted Demon Lord Xuari for a thousand years, he knew his temperament all too well. Leaving him to struggle against the Illusion alone would not be easy.
But this Illusion far exceeded his own cultivation; he was powerless to intervene.
Just as he was at a loss, Ni Qi suddenly shouted loudly, "Divine Monarch! Please save the Great Prince's life!"
Ni Qi, having transformed from a loach, possessed a simpler mind. Seeing Demon Lord Xuari unable to shatter the Illusion, he didn't share Elder Jing's many reservations and instead instinctively sought help from the more powerful Divine Monarch.
Elder Jing was startled, but as he had no other ideas at the moment, he thought it over and did not stop him.
Amber, on the plaque, opened his eyes slightly. "I have already simplified the Illusion he is experiencing. Unfortunately, he still hasn't broken through. There's nothing to be done now."
"Divine Monarch!" Ni Qi cried out loudly. "The Great Prince is a descendant of your bloodline! He has traveled thousands of miles precisely for you. Please, Divine Monarch, see his sincerity and save his life!"
Amber said nothing more, only sighing softly as he fiddled with the silver ring on his left wrist with his right hand. If not for this thing, what was a mere small Illusion? Even breaking free from this place wouldn't be impossible.
After a long pause, he said, "Since he is my descendant, how could I stand idly by? Whether he succeeds or not, I don't know."
Ni Qi was overjoyed, kowtowing in thanks. "Thank you, Divine Monarch! Thank you, Divine Monarch!"
Without any visible movement from Amber, a light flashed in his eyes. Within the Illusion, the visions changed again, revealing more flaws. Demon Lord Xuari finally noticed something amiss, shattered the Illusion, and broke free from the formation.
Seeing Demon Lord Xuari safe from danger, even if he didn't fully believe, Jing Tao was immensely grateful to Amber and kowtowed. "Thank you, Divine Monarch!"
Amber waved his hand, saying nothing.
Emerging from the Illusion, Demon Lord Xuari was still bewildered until Elder Jing confirmed he was free, whereupon he nearly collapsed from exhaustion. "Elder Jing, what kind of formation was that? It was truly terrifying!"
Elder Jing hurriedly said, "Great Prince, your escape this time is all thanks to the Divine Monarch. Quickly thank him."
"Ah, Divine Monarch?" Demon Lord Xuari looked confused, then followed Elder Jing's pointing finger to see Amber on the plaque. He was shocked. In the next moment, the blood within him boiled, and a mysterious sense of bloodline connection instantly revealed Amber's identity to him.
He fell to his knees with a thud, kowtowing. "This junior Xuari pays homage to Grandfather Divine Monarch."
With Demon Lord Xuari kneeling, all the other demon cultivators—except Xiaofeng—followed suit without exception, speaking in unison: "This junior pays homage to Divine Monarch."
Only then did Elder Jing's doubts vanish. The bloodline resonance could not be wrong. If the Great Prince said it was so, then it was.
"Rise, all of you." Seeing his descendants, Amber felt not a shred of joy, only deeper worry. Leaving aside that he couldn't break this formation, this Demon Lord Xuari alone was truly disappointing.
His bloodline was the noblest, yet he was even inferior to the lowly-blooded Ni Qi. Had the bloodline he left behind diluted to this extent? If so, within tens of thousands of years, the Qilin clan of the Xumi Sea would become no different from those so-called "Divine Beast descendants."
Setting aside the formalities exchanged between Demon Lord Xuari's party and Amber, Qin Xi beckoned Xiaofeng back.
"Master, Mistress," Xiaofeng's face showed shame. "Xiaofeng has failed in her mission."
She had left to investigate the unusual phenomena here. Now, not only had they found the entrance, they had entered smoothly. The information she had been tasked to gather was no longer necessary.
"It's fine," Qin Xi said. "We'll conserve our strength and prepare for any unforeseen events."
Over there, Demon Lord Xuari was reporting to Amber on the Qilin clan's experiences over the past hundred thousand years. Listening from the side, they learned that the so-called Xumi Sea was actually a sea-within-a-sea created by Amber in the South Sea long ago to preserve a trace of his bloodline. The South Sea was perilous yet abundant, and the Xumi Sea was even more suitable for demon cultivators to thrive. Thus, the Qilin clan quickly grew to become the rulers of the South Sea.
Over a hundred thousand years, the Qilin bloodline grew increasingly diluted. By today, they could barely maintain their Qilin form. The Monarch of the South Sea pondered deeply: if they could find their ancestor's legacy, they could use Qilin blood to purify their bloodline. Coincidentally, around this time, the Great Upheaval of Heaven and Earth occurred, connecting the South Sea and East Sea. They dispatched a large army to seize the Bixuan Pavilion while Kunwu was preoccupied, in order to search for clues there. Unexpectedly, not long after, Elder Jing found a clue from a Sacred Relic passed down through generations and urged the Great Prince to come personally to claim the first merit.
They simply never imagined that their ancestor, the Divine Monarch, had not died but was imprisoned at the bottom of the East Sea.
Just as Demon Lord Xuari finished speaking, the sea of clouds churned again, and another figure appeared upon it.
Amber paused. Everyone turned their gazes. Demon Lord Xuari was the first to exclaim in shock: "Xuanyue!"
The figure reflected in the sea of clouds was none other than Demon Lord Xuanyue and the two tenth-rank demon cultivators, Dieyi and Jing Hu.
Under normal circumstances, even if Demon Lord Xuanyue found this island, he wouldn't locate the entrance. They must have seen the entrance because they had entered the formation. Realizing this, Demon Lord Xuari said resentfully, "He got lucky!"
Elder Jing hesitated, then shot Demon Lord Xuari a meaningful look. To the Divine Monarch, both Xuari and Xuanyue were his descendants, with no distinction in closeness. If the Great Prince showed no restraint in his hostility toward the Second Prince, he might anger the Divine Monarch.
Unfortunately, they didn't know Amber could read minds and was already aware.
Amber naturally paid no mind to their petty scheming and struggles for power. As contenders for the throne, conflict was inevitable; he merely hoped this descendant would be more capable.
Seeing Demon Lord Xuanyue, Mo Tiange frowned and asked quietly, "What should we do?"
Demon Lord Xuari's party had seven members, Demon Lord Xuanyue's three, including four tenth-rank demon cultivators. They were no match at all.
Qin Xi glanced up at Amber, who was intently watching the image in the sea of clouds, and replied in a low voice, "It's fine. We have the Profound Void Connecting Clouds Formation."
Mo Tiange understood his meaning. If Amber's words were true and they were all trapped here, the Profound Void Connecting Clouds Formation in her possession would be their bargaining chip. There was no deep-seated hatred between them—only that, while defending the Bixuan Pavilion, they had used the great formation to kill some demon cultivators, a consequence of their opposing stances.
Not long after, Dieyi broke free from the formation and stood before the Immortal Palace. Taking a clear look, a look of astonishment appeared on her perpetually icy face. "You..."
Gathered here like this, it seemed as if they were deliberately waiting for her.
Elder Jing gave a cold laugh. "Elder Die, we didn't expect you to arrive so quickly."
Dieyi composed her surprised expression, her face becoming impassive. "The ones who should be surprised are us. The Second Prince only set out recently, yet the Great Prince has already appeared in the East Sea... Heh, Elder Jing Tao, your schemes are indeed peerless."
Just as Elder Jing was about to retort, another person shattered their Illusion: Jing Hu.
The moment Jing Hu appeared, Elder Jing's gaze fixed upon him.
Jing Hu looked at him, his eyes deep and heavy. "Elder Brother, you arrived really fast!"
Mo Tiange exchanged a surprised glance with Qin Xi and whispered, "How interesting. The ones contending for the throne are brothers, and the ones assisting them are also brothers."
Qin Xi's lips lifted in a faint, almost imperceptible smile. "For us, that's a good thing."
Mo Tiange nodded lightly. "Indeed. With them opposing each other, we have a chance to survive."
Looking carefully, the two Elder Jings' transformed appearances were also somewhat similar, their expressions and movements even more alike.
Before the two Elder Jings could say more, another figure appeared beside them: Demon Lord Xuanyue.
Seeing Demon Lord Xuanyue emerge from the formation, Amber smiled with pleasure and said, "Now that's more like it."
Demon Lord Xuanyue, suddenly confronted by so many people, instinctively took a step back. Then, seeing Amber, his bloodline stirred. He paused for a moment before immediately kneeling. "This junior Xuanyue pays homage to High Ancestor!"
A hint of a smile appeared on Amber's lips. "Rise."
Anyone with eyes could see his appreciation for Demon Lord Xuanyue. Jing Tao's expression darkened, and Demon Lord Xuari's face grew utterly unsightly.
They were well aware of the purpose of this journey. If Xuanyue gained the Divine Monarch's favor and had his bloodline purified, then the throne would inevitably fall into his hands!