I've already become a god, and you're telling me about the ancient demon invasion?

Wang Tianlong carefully stored the ten-thousand-year-old Soul-Nourishing Wood into his storage bracelet. He then gave the spiritually vibrant grotto one last look, making sure nothing was missed, before leaving without lingering. With a flicker of his body, he transformed into a barely perceptible gust of wind, silently exiting the grotto and returning to the deep corridor.

He followed the faint fluctuations of fighting and roars, quickly navigating the labyrinthine corridors. The source of the sounds seemed to be quite circuitous, passing through several forks in the road. Had he not possessed keen spiritual sense and an extraordinary perception of the flow of energy, he would likely have already lost his way.

As the distance closed, the roars of battle, the explosions of colliding spiritual energy, the roars of demonic beasts, and the shouts of cultivators became increasingly clear, and the air was filled with violent spiritual energy turbulence and the stench of blood.

Wang Tianlong cautiously concealed his aura to the extreme, approaching silently like a ghost in the night. Finally, he stopped in the shadows at a corner of a corridor, his gaze piercing through the swirling smoke and light ahead, allowing him to see the scene in the distance.

Ahead was not a corridor, but a relatively spacious courtyard in front of a side hall. At this moment, the courtyard was in a mess, with cracked ground and toppled stone pillars, clearly indicating that a fierce battle had taken place.

The two sides in the battle were a demon cultivator in the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm and a human cultivator in the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm!

The demon cultivator revealed part of its true form: a red-armored rhinoceros nearly three zhang tall, covered in crimson scales, with a single horn on its head. Its demonic aura soared to the sky, and its strength was immense. Each charge shook the earth, and it would spew out scorching demonic fire from its mouth from time to time.

As for that human cultivator, Wang Tianlong vaguely remembered that he seemed to be a mid-stage Nascent Soul elder from a major sect in Tiannan. He was skilled in fire-based Dao techniques. At this moment, he was surrounded by raging flames, holding a giant flaming sword with flashing sword light, and was fighting the red-armored rhinoceros to a standstill.

The two were clearly fighting with their lives on the line, unleashing a barrage of powerful magical abilities and treasures. The aftershocks of their spiritual energy clash shook the entire side hall.

However, Wang Tianlong's gaze only lingered on the two sides engaged in fierce combat for a moment before he was immediately drawn to the scene inside the side hall behind them!

Through the open hall doors, one can clearly see an ancient stone table placed in the center of the hall. On the stone table, two things are suspended in mid-air:

On the left is a short sword that is entirely azure blue, exudes a chilling aura, and has ice phoenix patterns swirling on its blade. Although it floats quietly, it naturally emanates an incomparably sharp sword intent and a vast spiritual pressure—it is clearly a heaven-reaching spiritual treasure of the ice attribute!

On the right is a purple-gold jade box sealed with layers of restrictive runes. The surface of the jade box is shimmering with light, and it is impossible to see what is inside. However, the fact that it could attract two mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivators to fight so desperately means that it is no ordinary item!

"So that's how it is... They fought to the death for the treasures inside the hall." Wang Tianlong instantly understood. Judging from the situation, the two must have discovered the side hall and its treasures almost simultaneously, and neither was willing to give way, which led to the fight.

A powerful spiritual treasure and a mysterious jade box are indeed enough to drive a mid-stage Nascent Soul cultivator crazy.

Wang Tianlong remained hidden in the shadows, his eyes darting around as he quickly weighed the pros and cons.

"Both of them are roughly equal in cultivation to me, and they are currently engaged in a full-scale battle, which must be extremely taxing on them. If I were to intervene now, it might create an opportunity for a third party to benefit from their conflict..."

However, the risks are equally enormous. Even if they succeed, there's no guarantee they won't alert other cultivators who might pass by, or trigger unknown restrictions within the hall.

"Or... while they're both exhausted, I could sneak in, grab the treasure, and escape?" The idea was incredibly tempting. With his Wind Release technique, if the timing was right, it wasn't impossible.

Just as Wang Tianlong was thinking rapidly and weighing the pros and cons, the battle situation suddenly changed!

That day, the Southern cultivator seemed impatient for quick success. He feigned an opening, luring the Crimson-Armored Rhinoceros to charge forward, and then suddenly unleashed a golden talisman! The talisman swelled in the wind, transforming into a glittering golden mountain that crashed down upon the rhinoceros demon! It was none other than an ancient talisman treasure of immense power!

"Moo!" The red-armored rhinoceros was both shocked and furious. Its crimson scales burst forth with a dazzling light, and its single horn shot out a thick beam of blood-red light, crashing fiercely into the golden mountain!

"Boom—!"

A deafening roar erupted, as golden and crimson light intertwined and annihilated each other! The terrifying shockwave completely overturned the plaza in front of the side hall!

Amidst the billowing smoke and dust, a muffled groan was heard from the Tiannan cultivator, who seemed to have suffered some backlash. The crimson-armored rhinoceros was also shaken and staggered backward, with several cracks appearing on its massive body, dripping with demonic blood!

Both sides suffer heavy losses!

opportunity!

A glint flashed in Wang Tianlong's eyes, and he no longer hesitated! The wind spirit power around him instantly surged to its peak. Wearing the Sky-Stepping Boots, his figure transformed into an almost invisible pale blue thread. Taking advantage of the moment when the smoke and dust had not yet dissipated and the two people's auras were disordered, he shot towards the side hall door like a ghost!

His target was the Heavenly Treasure Ice Sword and the mysterious jade box on the stone table!

However, just as he darted out—

"Hmph! A cowardly junior trying to take advantage of others?!" A cold snort, like a thunderclap, resounded from the entrance of another corridor behind Wang Tianlong!

A pitch-black, lightning-fast demonic claw, carrying sinister and soul-corroding energy, struck first, even faster than Wang Tianlong, and grabbed at the treasure on the stone table!

There was actually a third Nascent Soul cultivator lurking nearby, and judging from the power and demonic energy he displayed, he was clearly a demonic cultivator at the peak of the mid-Nascent Soul stage!

The mantis stalks the cicada, unaware of the oriole behind! And Wang Tianlong seems to have become that "mantis" that has just appeared!

Wang Tianlong's Wind Escape Technique had reached its pinnacle, and with the added advantage of the Sky-Stepping Boots, his speed was as fast as lightning. He calculated that the moment when the Tiannan cultivator and the Crimson Armored Rhinoceros were both severely injured and their minds were in turmoil was the perfect opportunity to seize the treasure.

However, he never expected that he wasn't the only one lurking nearby! Moreover, this newcomer seemed to be even more skilled, and his attacks were ruthless and cunning, directly targeting the core!

The pitch-black demonic claw was not a physical entity, but rather formed from pure Nascent Soul stage demonic energy. Writhing in its web were countless illusory ghostly figures, emitting mournful howls that specifically targeted the souls of cultivators and the spiritual essence of magical artifacts—it was utterly vicious. Its speed was also incredibly fast; it arrived before the enemy, seemingly about to snatch the ice sword and jade box from the stone table!

"Ancient Demon?!" Sensing the pure and evil demonic energy, alarm bells rang in Wang Tianlong's heart! But at this moment, he was already on the verge of death, his figure already rushing to the front of the palace. If he retreated, not only would all his previous efforts be in vain, but he might also expose his back to this terrifying demonic cultivator!

In a flash, a fierce glint appeared in Wang Tianlong's eyes. Instead of slowing down, he pushed the *Wind-Treading Technique* to its limit, increasing his speed by an impossible third! Simultaneously, his left hand formed a lightning-fast hand seal, and an incredibly condensed "spiritual thorn" shot silently towards the void behind the demonic claw—he judged that this was the node where the demonic cultivator's divine sense controlled the claw! His right hand, without hesitation, reached out and grabbed at the purple-gold jade box slightly closer to him on the stone table! A solid hand of wind spiritual energy instantly formed, reaching for the jade box!

He chose to divert attention from one enemy's territory and take advantage of their weaknesses! He used mental attacks to disrupt the demonic cultivator's control while simultaneously seizing a treasure! As for the more powerful Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure Ice Sword, he had to temporarily abandon it, otherwise he might lose both, or even find himself caught in a desperate situation, attacked from three sides by the demonic claws, the Tiannan cultivators who had reacted, and the Crimson Armored Rhinoceros!

"Huh?" The black-robed demonic cultivator who had been hiding to the side and had just revealed himself (it was the ancient demon Hei Ming, but he was disguising his appearance at the moment) let out a soft exclamation, seemingly not expecting that Wang Tianlong would dare to advance instead of retreating under such a disadvantageous situation, and even unleash such a sharp soul attack.

Although the mental thorn failed to severely injure him, it caused his consciousness controlling the demonic claw to momentarily falter. In that brief moment of hesitation, Wang Tianlong's wind-spirit power hand preemptively seized the purple-gold jade box and pulled it towards himself! At the same time, using the momentum, he moved like a willow catkin in the wind, retreating rapidly to the side and backward in an unnatural manner!

"You're courting death!" A glint of demonic fire flashed in Hei Ming's eyes, his rage rising. How could he allow half of the prize he had almost obtained to be snatched away? The pitch-black demonic claw, which had hesitated for a moment, suddenly swelled, no longer attempting to grab both objects simultaneously. Instead, it concentrated its power and fiercely grabbed at the ice-attribute Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure Short Sword. At the same time, the claw's momentum did not diminish as it swept across Wang Tianlong's retreating figure, its demonic energy surging to the heavens!

"Pfft!" Although Wang Tianlong avoided the direct attack of the demonic claw, he was still grazed by the edge of the sharp claw wind. His protective aura vibrated violently, and his blood surged in his chest. But he also used this force to retreat even faster, and was about to disappear into the shadows of the corridor he had come from.

"Put down the treasure!" "How dare you, you thief!"

Only then did the Tiannan cultivator and the red-armored rhinoceros, whose blood and qi had been briefly shaken by the clash of the ancient talismans, manage to regain their footing. When they saw that there were actually two people (two of them!) trying to take advantage of the situation, they were immediately filled with shock and anger, and almost simultaneously roared out!

Ignoring his injuries, the Tiannan cultivator urged his flaming giant sword, unleashing a ten-zhang-long scorching sword beam towards Hei Ming (who was closer and grabbing the ice sword). The Crimson Armored Rhinoceros roared even more furiously, its massive body surging forward once more like a crimson chariot, crashing into the retreating Wang Tianlong, while simultaneously spewing out a thick, scorching demonic flame to block his escape route!

In front, the lingering force of the demonic cultivator's claws clashed with the crimson-armored rhinoceros; behind, demonic fire blocked the way; and from the side, the sword light of the Tiannan cultivator slashing towards Heiming might also affect them!

In an instant, Wang Tianlong found himself in a perilous situation, surrounded by enemies on three sides! And in his hand, he was still tightly clutching that burning purple-gold jade box!