The First Venerable of All Paths

"Lord Evil Spirit, I don't know either."

Liu Ming was also on the verge of tears, saying, "That guy is just a country bumpkin from a small town, what kind of big shot is he?"

"Country bumpkin?"

The evil spirit roared, "You idiot! How can a country bumpkin possess both the Undying Phoenix Flame and the Azure Lotus Karmic Flame, two great heavenly flames? And a sword cultivator at that! You call someone like that a country bumpkin? You're utterly hopeless!"

"I......"

Liu Ming was immediately rendered speechless by the scolding.

"Let's deal with this problem first, we'll settle things with you later!"

The evil spirit cursed in exasperation, then formed hand seals to block the refining power of the Undying Phoenix Flame.

However, the evil spirit was already injured by the Azure Lotus Karmic Fire, and it felt somewhat powerless in the face of the Undying Phoenix Fire.

"No!"

The evil spirit said solemnly, "Liu Ming, I need to borrow your body now, otherwise I can't deal with this damned flame."

"What?"

Liu Ming quickly said, "But sir, this will make me..."

"Shut up!"

The evil spirit coldly said, "If you don't want to die here, then listen to me."

"good!"

Liu Ming gritted his teeth and said, "But sir, you must help me kill that little beast Fang Xuan!"

"What a load of crap!"

The evil spirit said irritably, "I can only guarantee your survival; I can't do anything else."

"All right."

Liu Ming had no choice but to compromise.

"Then relax your mind, otherwise I won't be able to control your body and take you away."

Upon hearing this, Liu Ming immediately hesitated.

Ever since discovering that a remnant of an evil spirit was hidden within the blood-red statue, the spirit had been trying to take control of his body.

But Liu Ming never gave the other party a chance.

He knew very well that if he were possessed by the other party, it would bring him irreversible and serious consequences.

But if he doesn't agree, he'll die here today.

"good!"

As the sword formation continued to shrink in size and the flames grew increasingly terrifying, Liu Ming immediately agreed.

"very good."

A strange light flashed in the evil spirit's eyes as he softened his tone and said, "I promise you, once I regain some of my strength, I will definitely help you kill that brat."

"Then I'll have to trouble you, Lord Evil Spirit."

Liu Ming immediately relaxed his mind, and the evil spirit, which had been preparing for a long time, directly entered Liu Ming's body.

"Boom!"

The moment the two merged, an extremely terrifying aura erupted from Liu Ming's body.

His cultivation level also improved from the sixth level of the Divine Intent Realm to the seventh level of the Divine Intent Realm.

Although it was only a small improvement, it caused the entire sword formation to tremble violently.

"Although it's less than one ten-thousandth of my power at my peak, it's still a long-lost strength."

[Liu Ming] let out a sigh, which was quite different from his original voice.

Seeing that the Guixu Sword Formation had shrunk to only three meters in size, with flames and sword energy raging, [Liu Ming] raised his arm and grabbed forward suddenly.

"Sizzle!"

Sword energy and flames exploded simultaneously.

The entire sword formation collapsed.

As the sword formation shattered, a sharp claw enveloped in demonic energy emerged from the void and smashed Liu Ming's head to pieces.

"Afterimage?"

Just as the Crimson Scale Demon Emperor's surprised voice rang out, a figure suddenly appeared above him and stomped down heavily.

"Boom!"

With a cry of pain, the Crimson Scale Demon Emperor crashed heavily into the dense forest below.

Its massive body rolled and destroyed half of the mountain forest.

Liu Ming stood in mid-air, his aura sweeping around him, shattering the wind and clouds.

"What a pity, this body is too weak, otherwise that attack just now would have killed you."

[Liu Ming] looked regretful, then glanced at Fang Xuan standing on the boulder, a sinister smile curving his lips.

"Boy, I'll let you go today."

[Liu Ming] said calmly, "I hope we'll have a chance to meet again. I'm quite interested in what you have on you."

"Trying to leave?"

Fang Xuan pointed his sword, and the Phoenix Cry Sword shot out with a whoosh, slashing towards [Liu Ming].

"Haha, kid, you're not still thinking of killing me, are you?"

[Liu Ming] laughed loudly and struck out with his palm, sending the Phoenix Cry Sword flying.

"While I may not be able to do anything to you, your idea of ​​killing me is nothing but a pipe dream."

As soon as he finished speaking, Liu Ming retreated continuously, and then disappeared in the blink of an eye like lightning.

"Kid, live well, those things on your body belong to me."

From afar, Liu Ming's voice could be heard.

"Ugh, that bastard got away again!"

The Crimson Scale Demon Emperor flew into the air, shook his head violently, and was extremely angry.

"Fang Xuan, you're so useless!"

The Crimson Scale Demon Emperor said, "With such thorough preparations, he still managed to escape. I'm furious!"

Fang Xuan sheathed his Phoenix Cry Sword and said helplessly, "Who would have thought that he had a powerful evil cultivator by his side?"

"A member of the evil race?"

The Crimson Scale Demon Emperor was shocked and said, "How is this possible? Wasn't their clan...?"

The Crimson Scale Demon Emperor immediately shut his mouth.

"I once encountered a person who cultivated the secret techniques of the evil race in the Azure Lotus Secret Realm, but the aura emanating from this person was purer and more powerful than that person's."

Fang Xuan said, "Although the evil race was driven out of the Nine Provinces Continent countless years ago, there may still be some remnants lurking in the shadows."

"If that's the case, then we must be careful when we encounter this person in the future."

The Crimson Scale Demon Emperor said solemnly, "This race is cunning and treacherous, adept at infiltration and concealment, and extremely difficult to kill. Once they set their sights on you, it means you have one foot in the underworld."

"I will be careful."

Fang Xuan nodded, indicating that he understood.

"Let's get out of here first."

Just as the Crimson Scale Demon Emperor was about to leave, he suddenly seemed to remember something, and a cold glint flashed in his eyes: "Heh, I almost forgot about that brat."

With a swift grab, he pulled a figure from the ruins.

It was Liu Hao.

This person had both legs severed and was knocked unconscious by the power of the collapsing secret realm; he has not yet woken up.

"This little brat seems to be Liu Ming's nephew, right?"

The Crimson Scale Demon Emperor said in a chilling tone, "Liu Ming has escaped; consider him interest!"

As he spoke, he opened his mouth wide and was about to swallow Liu Hao whole.

"etc."

Fang Xuan quickly stopped the Crimson Scale Demon Emperor, saying, "Keep this person alive for now; he might still be useful."

"Are you trying to use him to blackmail Liu Ming?"

The Crimson Scale Demon Emperor chuckled: "You're the one with the most ideas, kid. I'll listen to you."

As he spoke, he spat directly onto Liu Hao's wound to stop the bleeding from his broken leg.

His saliva also contained trace amounts of toxins, which, while not fatal, could keep Liu Hao in a state of living death.

All it takes is to remove the toxins, and Liu Hao will instantly wake up.

"I'm leaving the person in your care."

Chi Lin warned, "Remember, don't let me lose it, or I won't forgive you."

"Yes, yes, yes."

Fang Xuan smiled helplessly, then added two more seals to Liu Hao before storing him in his storage ring.

The Crimson Scale Demon Emperor also transformed into a bracelet, which Fang Xuan put on his wrist.

Fang Xuan cleaned up the scene, removing all traces, before appearing beside Li Guanlan on his sword.

"How is it?"

"He got away."

Fang Xuan shook his head and said, "What about your side?"

"That person never showed up."

Li Guanlan said, "But I can sense that he's nearby."

"But don't worry, I just set up a soul barrier. He can only vaguely sense the battle here, but he can't see the specific details."

Fang Xuan was surprised by Li Guanlan's thoughtfulness and said, "Thank you for your hard work."

"Do we need to say these things to each other?"

Meeting Li Guanlan's calm and gentle gaze, Fang Xuan quickly coughed lightly: "Um, let's hurry up and leave, otherwise the experts from the Beast Taming Hall will be here soon."

Li Guanlan nodded and left with Fang Xuan in the air.

The two had barely left when a transparent barrier in mid-air vanished without a trace.

As soon as the barrier disappeared, a ghostly figure appeared in the sky above the battlefield.

It was Fu Hai of the Beast-Taming Hall.

His gaze swept downwards, and his expression grew increasingly solemn.

"Who on earth dares to oppose my Beast Taming Hall!"

Instead of searching blindly, Fu Hai waited quietly.

Before half a cup of tea could be brewed, several figures broke through the air and landed in front of Fu Hai.

The leader was none other than Fu Shan, the head of the Fu Shou Hall.

"What urgent message did you send to the hall? What has happened?"

Fu Shan glanced around, his brows furrowing immediately. He asked, "Where's Liu Ming? Where's the Hundred Beasts Secret Realm?"

"Liu Ming has escaped, and the Hundred Beasts Secret Realm... is destroyed."

Fu Hai sighed and said, "Brother, someone is targeting our Beast Taming Hall."

"What?"

Fu Shan's face darkened, and he said, "Tell me exactly what happened. Don't hide any details."

So Fu Hai recounted everything he had seen in great detail.

After listening, everyone, including Fu Shan, fell silent.

"You mean you didn't see who did it, you only know that someone destroyed the Hundred Beasts Secret Realm, killed my Beast Taming Hall disciples, and Liu Ming escaped?"

Fu Shan looked at Fu Hai and said coldly, "And you just stood by and watched all of this, doing nothing?"

The other elders of the Beast Taming Hall also looked at Fu Hai with extreme dissatisfaction.

"Fu Hai, aren't you going to explain this to everyone?"

One of the elders said in an unfriendly tone.

"Brother, elders, it's not that I'm unwilling to help, but I'm just watching others destroy my Beast Taming Hall's Hundred Beasts Secret Realm."

Fu Hai sighed and said, "The opponent's strength is simply too terrifying. There is even a terrifying being who can set up a soul barrier."

"What? A soul barrier?"

Everyone gasped in astonishment, saying, "This is a technique that only a fourth-grade Soul Master can possess!"

A fourth-grade Soul Master is a terrifying existence that only the top families and forces in the Central State can cultivate.

Are you sure?

Fu Shan's tone was stern, and his voice even trembled slightly.

"Brother, gentlemen, how could I dare to deceive you about such a thing?"

Fu Hai said with a bitter expression, "If the other party hadn't had a Soul Dao Master, how could I have remained indifferent?"

"It seems that the other party is not only targeting my Beast Taming Hall."

Fu Shan pondered for a moment and said, "It might even be... aimed at Beast Taming Mountain."

Upon hearing this, everyone was immediately stunned.

If they came for Beast Taming Mountain, then everything makes sense.

"Your Excellency, do you think it's possible that Liu Ming is an inside agent?"

One of the elders suddenly spoke up.

Fu Shan was taken aback, then said expressionlessly, "It's too early to draw conclusions now. Let's wait for Elder Liu Ming to return."

"Big brother, what if he doesn't come back?"

"Then issue a kill order!"

A flash of murderous intent crossed Fu Shan's eyes, and he said in a cold voice, "Anyone who dares to betray the Beast Taming Hall will be killed, no matter where they are!"