The Demon King is back, leading adorable kids on an adventure around the world!

The figure on the sea surface did not move immediately.

He stood in the middle of the sunken sea, the hem of his dark gold robe flattened by the sea breeze, without any undulation.

His gaze shifted from Luo Tian, ​​swept over the lingering embers of thunderclouds that had just dissipated in the distance, and then returned to Luo Tian's face. As if having confirmed something, he no longer cared about the rest.

Luo Tian took a step forward, shielding Nian Nian behind him.

The Xuanyuan Sword was drawn, and its golden light illuminated the seawater beneath his feet. The sun, moon, and star patterns on the sword blade flowed slowly in the light.

"Who are you? Why do you know me?"

The figure did not answer immediately. He raised his hand and pressed down in the air, causing the seawater beneath his feet to sink even deeper, as if he had sunk half an inch.

Then he spoke, his voice not loud, but when it came from nearly a hundred feet away, every word seemed to be spoken right next to your ear.

"Luo Tian, ​​it really is you."

The clone's tone contained neither surprise nor anger, only a calm acceptance of confirmation:

"So you really did come to take this lotus after all."

Luo Tian did not respond.

The clone continued speaking, at a slow pace, as if recounting something that had already been written down:

"You think finding the Nine-Leaf Lotus is a great opportunity? How laughable! This lotus has been rooted in the earth for ten thousand years and sealed away. It was originally bait that I specially left for you."

"The moment you broke the seal and seized the lotus, every step you took fell into the path I had already written."

Luo Tian frowned slightly. The Xuanyuan Sword remained steady in his hand, the tip of the sword did not deviate, but the fingers gripping the hilt tightened by half an inch.

"What did you say?"

"Literally, your breaking the seal and retrieving the lotus on this planet was exactly what I expected."

The clone tilted its head slightly, as if recalling something insignificant.

"Ten thousand years ago, when this lotus was planted here, I foresaw that this day would come."

Luo Tian's gaze darkened, and the feeling of being watched from the shadows resurfaced.

It felt exactly the same as when I heard the sweeping monk's words at the Damo Temple.

The clone glanced at Nian Nian behind him, a faint light flashing in its eyes before disappearing.

"The Chaos Nine-Leaf Lotus that you painstakingly obtained, you turned around and gave it to the person next to you to rebuild their foundation. How affectionate and righteous you are."

Unfortunately, good fortune doesn't fall from the sky.

From the day this lotus took root, it has borne the weight of my calculations.

"What do you mean?" Luo Tian asked.

"Compatibility is real, but so is selfishness."

The clone's tone was flat.

"This is just a piece in my game, and I can't say more about it today."

You take it with you as you leave Earth, enter the world of cultivation, and then from the world of cultivation to the immortal realm. At every turn along this path, I will be waiting for you.

Luo Tian gripped the Xuanyuan Sword tightly.

The clone watched him grip the sword and continued speaking, as if a chess piece had been placed on the board and then casually pushed another piece next to it:

"Those people you care about are also in the cultivation world. Once you set foot there, you will naturally understand what I am saying today."

Luo Tian paused, his hand gripping the sword still. He stared at the clone, his gaze unwavering.

He knew exactly what the "clone" meant, and he knew even better that the other party had deliberately chosen this moment to say it, not to give him the answer.

Instead, he wanted to drive a nail into his heart, and he could already feel that nail going deeper and deeper.

"Further words are useless," the clone said. "Today, I'll sever half of your foundation to prevent you from becoming too troublesome in the future."

As soon as he finished speaking, he raised his hand, and dark golden spiritual energy condensed into a semi-transparent barrier in front of his palm.

Fine lines appeared on the surface of the barrier, constantly changing their direction in the air, as if they were alive, extending all the way to the edge of the barrier.

Without hesitation, Luo Tian unleashed a burst of golden light from the Xuanyuan Sword. He stepped forward, the tip of the sword piercing straight into the center of the barrier with a golden gleam.

The two forces collided with a dull thud, and a shockwave exploded at the point of impact, creating a deep trench in the seawater between the two.

The seawater on both sides was as if it had been cut open by a knife, revealing the rocks on the seabed, and then it surged back from both sides to fill the gap.

Luo Tian pushed forward against the barrier with the tip of his sword, and the patterns on the Xuanyuan Sword shone even brighter in the collision.

The light at the tip of the sword condensed into a pillar of light, continuously impacting the center of the barrier.

Cracks appeared on the surface of the barrier, spreading outward from the center, and then the entire barrier shattered into more than a dozen pieces, turning into points of light and dissipating into the air.

The clone withdrew its hand, looked at Luo Tian, ​​and nodded slightly.

"This sword is in good condition."

He didn't retreat, but his figure swayed slightly in place, like a wisp of smoke blown away by the wind.

Luo Tian's second sword grazed his shoulder, slicing off a corner of his robe.

The fragments drifted onto the sea surface and were swept away by the waves.

Luo Tian landed, the tip of his sword slightly sinking, and the sword energy pressed a shallow pit into the sea.

There was no blood flowing from the gap in the clone's body, and there was nothing under the missing piece of robe; the robe itself was like a piece of skin without substance.

"You're doubting that lotus," the clone said.

Luo Tian's gaze shifted from the clone's shoulder to his face, but he remained silent.

"Your suspicions are valid," the clone said, "but there's nothing you can do about it right now."

He took a step forward, and dark golden spiritual energy surged around him.

When it was spread out, it flattened all the surrounding seawater, and the water surface within a radius of a hundred feet became like a mirror, with no waves and no wind.

He raised his hand, and a dark golden beam of light shot out from his palm, heading straight for Luo Tian.

Luo Tian dodged to the side, the beam of light grazing past his robes.

It landed on the sea behind him, exploding into a water column tens of meters high. The water column was hot as it fell, as if it had been boiled.

While dodging, Luo Tian retaliated with a sword strike, his golden sword energy slashing out horizontally.

It cut through the seawater, cut through the air, cut through the aftershocks of that beam of light, and reached the side of the clone's waist.

The clone raised its hand to block, and sparks exploded where its palm met the sword energy.

Sparks danced on the dark gold barrier, then turned to ash and vanished in his palm.

The clone looked down at its palm, where a scorch mark had been burned by the sword energy, but it quickly faded, like a thin film being lifted and then flattened again.

He didn't make another move and took a step back.

The seawater beneath his feet gathered again, forming a steady ripple around his feet.

He withdrew his hand, and the scorch marks on his palm were no longer visible.

"The matter on this planet can be put to rest for now."

You've come this far on your journey; the next leg will be even more difficult.

He raised his hand, and dark golden spiritual energy condensed into a thin crack in his palm.

The edges of the crack curled inward, revealing the darkness on the other side.

"You will see me again when you reach the cultivation world."

Luo Tian stared at the crack, the tip of the Xuanyuan Sword still held, but he didn't attack again.

The clone turned around and stepped into the crevice.

The crack behind him contracted rapidly, closing with a low, muffled thud before disappearing completely.

The depression on the sea surface began to slowly recede as seawater surged in, leveling the low-lying area.

Only a few expanding ripples remained, spreading outwards, the ripples becoming shallower and shallower until they were completely submerged in the layers of waves on the sea surface.

Luo Tian stood still, and the sword light of the Xuanyuan Sword slowly faded away.

Niannian walked up from behind and stood beside him, looking in the direction where the crack disappeared:

"Dad, what did he mean by that?"

Luo Tian did not answer immediately. He sheathed the Xuanyuan Sword, making a soft sound as the blade entered the scabbard. Then he turned his head and glanced at the direction of Nian Nian's abdomen.

The light of the Chaos Nine-Leaf Lotus shone through her clothes, faint, warm, and gentle, like a lamp placed behind a semi-transparent sheet of paper.

There was nothing unusual or abnormal about it; everything seemed normal.

But the clone's words were replaying in Luo Tian's mind, one by one.

"This lotus, which has been rooted in the earth for ten thousand years and sealed away, was originally bait that I specially left for you."

"Compatibility is real, but so is selfishness."

"Your suspicions are correct."

He didn't know what was hidden inside that lotus, but he knew very well that someone who had spent ten thousand years setting up such a scheme on Earth wouldn't talk so much nonsense for no reason.

Every word they said was pushing in one direction—the Nine-Leaf Lotus might be good for Nian Nian, but there was something else behind that benefit.

He was right about one thing.

Luo Tian withdrew his gaze and looked at the sea in the distance, which was gradually returning to its normal color.

"What is it?"

"This game isn't over yet," Luo Tian said. "The cultivation world he's talking about is just the beginning."

Niannian lowered her head and looked at her abdomen.

Her gaze lingered there for a moment, then lifted, without asking any further questions.

Ye Qianxue and Li Mengmeng flew back from the direction of the tribulation and landed beside Luo Tian.

Xiao Xiao, Qi Qi, and Qian Qian also returned to their places one after another, with the withered tree monk walking at the very end, his gray robe stained with a wet patch at the hem.

He stood on the shore, glanced at Luo Tian's expression, and said nothing or asked anything.

Luo Tian turned and walked towards the shore: "We'll talk about it when we get back."

The wind on the sea dispersed the last thundercloud, and sunlight leaked through the edge of the cloud, spreading a long golden band of light across the sea.

The band of light rippled with the waves, growing wider and wider until it covered the water surface that had once been flattened by the dark golden spiritual energy, as if nothing had ever happened.