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

As midnight approached, Crane City fell into a deathly silence. This normally bustling cultivation city was now like a ghost town.

The streets were deserted, all the shops were closed, and even the sound of the night watchman's clapper had disappeared.

Only in the center of the city, the altar that had been abandoned for many years cast a huge, distorted shadow under the pale moonlight.

The altar was made of black stone and had nine layers, each layer of which was carved with twisted and eerie runes.

At this moment, hundreds of cultivators dressed in gray robes were kneeling and worshipping around the altar; they were the followers of the Yin Sha Sect.

They bowed their heads, chanting incantations, and grayish-white spiritual energy surged from each of them, flowing into a dark red array eye at the bottom of the altar.

The array's core was crimson, emanating a rich aura of reincarnation that spread upwards along the altar's runes, eventually coalescing into a phantom portal on the ninth-level platform.

Luo Tian and his group appeared a hundred feet away from the altar.

He didn't deliberately conceal his aura; the pressure of a peak Earth Immortal cleared away the viscous Yin energy around him.

Nannan, Xiaoxiao, Qianqian, and Qiqi followed closely behind, each concealing their divine beast aura, yet their extraordinary nature was still undeniable.

"Master, that portal is a forbidden technique that forcibly opens the Yin and Yang channels. Its foundation is unstable, and it can only last for the time it takes for an incense stick to burn."

Qianqian whispered, unleashing her full illusionary perception to take in the entire illusionary array structure surrounding the altar.

"The core of the formation lies at its eye, and the driving force... is the myriad vengeful spirits buried beneath the altar, along with the life essence of these believers."

"The aura of reincarnation..."

Nannan frowned, and the crimson golden divine fire flashed and disappeared from her fingertips.

"Below... there's something that echoes that mark."

Luo Tian did not stop walking, his gaze calmly sweeping over the altar and the Yin Sha cultists.

The dark gold crystal hanging from his waist was trembling slightly, resonating with the aura of reincarnation on the altar.

"Jin Wuming is willing to spend a lot of money, using the yin energy of the city's inhabitants as a catalyst and the blood essence of thousands of believers as fuel, in order to ignite this 'beacon fire' leading to his immortal lair."

Luo Tian's tone was calm, yet tinged with a hint of mockery.

"Unfortunately, this altar is dilapidated and its foundation is destroyed. Even if it is forcibly opened, it will only be a crack, and not even a decent ghost can crawl through."

He paused, glancing at the blurry portal to the ninth level of the altar, a cold smile playing on his lips:

"He set up this scheme for three reasons: first, to test whether I was truly being suppressed; second, to use me to complete the final opening of this rift; and third..."

Luo Tian's gaze narrowed slightly as he looked directly below the altar:

"They probably want me to be a 'sacrifice' for this crack, to stabilize the passage so that they can... drop something down from their side."

As soon as he finished speaking, a strange change occurred on the altar!

The blurry portal trembled violently, and a gray figure slowly appeared, exuding the aura of a peak Earth Immortal!

"Luo Tian...you really dared to come..."

The gray figure spoke, its voice overlapping, carrying Jin Wuming's unique cold and sinister tone.

"Once you step into this formation, don't even think about leaving unscathed!"

Beneath this altar lie the souls of ten thousand, and even a wisp of my own 'Yin Luo Thought' that I have separated from them. Today, I will use you to consecrate the array and stabilize the passage!

As soon as he finished speaking, the Yin Sha cultists around the altar collapsed in unison, their life essence drained instantly, turning into piles of white bones!

All the essence and yin energy rushed wildly into the array eye, causing the scarlet array eye to shine brightly!

The aura of that gray figure also rose steadily, almost breaking through the limit of the peak of the Earth Immortal realm and approaching the threshold of the Immortal Realm!

Luo Tian chuckled, his voice laced with sarcasm.

"Yin Luo Nian? It's nothing but a wisp of inferior thought that dares to call itself 'this one'? Jin Wuming, is this all you've got?"

He didn't rush to act, but turned to look at Nannan:

"Nannan, that portal and this Yin Luo Nian both carry the aura of reincarnation. Burn them with Phoenix True Fire."

Remember, only burn the aura of reincarnation; do not let it affect the altar itself. There might be something useful underneath.

"Yes, Master."

Nannan nodded, a rare hint of fierceness appearing on her little face.

She stepped forward, but instead of transforming into her true phoenix form, she simply raised her right hand, palm facing upward.

"boom!"

A ball of flame, no bigger than a fist but with a dark golden hue, suddenly rose up in her palm!

The flames contained the pure essence of the phoenix, possessing absolute power to restrain all evil and cyclical things!

With a push of her little hand, the ball of dark golden flame transformed into a streak of light, heading straight for the gray figure on the ninth level of the altar!

The gray figure, sensing the terror of the Phoenix True Fire, let out a terrified scream and tried to hide in the blurry portal.

But Phoenix was incredibly fast, arriving late but catching up with him in an instant!

"Sizzle!"

Like a red-hot iron being plunged into ice and snow, Yin Luo Nian didn't even have time to scream before he crumbled and melted away inch by inch in the dark golden flames!

The intense aura of reincarnation he brought was instantly purified and devoured by the flames!

At the same time, the dark golden flames, undiminished in momentum, crashed directly into the blurry portal!

"Snap!"

The already unstable sect was shattered by the Phoenix True Fire, turning into ashes everywhere!

"puff!"

A muffled thud came from directly below the altar, as if something had been shattered.

As for Jin Wuming's true form, which is far away in the Immortal Realm and whose whereabouts are unknown, he must have suffered some backlash to his soul due to the destruction of Yin Luo Nian.

"No...it's impossible...Phoenix True Fire...how could you...?"

From the depths of the altar, a roar from Jin Wuming's true form, filled with shock, anger, and resentment, echoed across the world, but it was quickly drowned out by the rumble of the altar collapsing.

Luo Tian ignored the futile roar and stepped directly onto the first level of the altar!

With each step he took, the black stone altar beneath his feet would tremble slightly, and the strange runes would dim and extinguish under his feet!

He made his way to the ninth floor without any obstacles.

"Hiding one's head while revealing one's tail."

Luo Tian spoke calmly, raised his right foot, and then gently stepped down.

"Thump!"

A deep, resounding thud, like the beating of a drum, followed by a sudden lurch of the entire altar!

Centered on the spot where Luo Tian landed, countless cracks instantly spread to the entire altar!

The crimson light at the center of the formation shattered like glass broken by a heavy hammer, crumbling inch by inch!

"what!"

From the depths of the altar came a piercing scream! The sound was filled with pain and resentment, then it stopped abruptly and vanished into nothingness.

Luo Tian withdrew his foot, and the altar had completely collapsed, turning into a pile of charred rubble.

"Master, next..."

Nannan walked to Luo Tian's side, the crimson gold divine fire burning quietly in her palm, dispelling the remaining yin energy.

"Below are 100,000 Yin spirits, imprisoned and refined by Jin Wuming using secret techniques, to be used as fuel to open the passage."

Luo Tian stared intently at the pile of rubble.

"Now that the formation is broken and the vengeful spirits have dispersed, only this resentment remains, as well as... a little 'backup plan' left behind by Jin Wuming."

He crouched down, running his fingertips across the charred stone surface, picking up a wisp of almost invisible gray powder.

"He left a 'soul guide' beneath this altar."

If no one breaks the formation, the 100,000 Yin souls will be drained, and the Soul Guide will automatically activate, turning Crane City, where the altar is located, into a dead land. All living beings will become new nourishment for the Yin souls.

If someone breaks the formation, this soul guide will lie dormant, waiting for an opportunity to attach itself to the one who breaks the formation, or... record the one's aura and methods, and transmit them back to the Immortal Realm.

Luo Tian crushed the powder, a cold glint flashing in his eyes:

"His calculations were quite far-reaching, but unfortunately, he underestimated Nannan's Phoenix True Fire, and he also underestimated me."

He stood up and looked at the distant horizon, where the sky was already showing the first light of dawn.

"Let's go, this place is no longer of any value. I have received Jin Wuming's 'greetings'."

I've already foiled his backup plan. Now it's my turn to return the favor.

Luo Tian turned around, and with Nannan and the others, they transformed into streaks of light and headed back towards the valley.