Li Xuanxiao systematically swept through one settlement after another at a blistering pace. Every time he cleared a perimeter, he would instantly ping a status update through his transmission jade, ensuring the rest of his squad didn't waste precious time backtracking through territory he had already mined.
Previously, Senior Liang Jianqiu—by virtue of his monstrous Supreme Realm velocity—had always been the first to flood the network with clearance codes. But now, the leaderboards had completely flipped. The notifications were arriving in a relentless, rapid-fire stream from a single source.
"Xuyang City, sweep complete. Zero anomalies detected!"
"Jinhui City, sweep complete. Zero anomalies detected!"
"Chiguang City, sweep complete. Zero anomalies detected!"
Within a matter of hours, the sheer volume of notifications completely blindsided the other four members of the strike team.
Finally, a prompt buzzed through the collective jade network: "Li Xuanxiao, how in the hell are you moving this fast? Are you actually conducting thorough audits, or are you just sightseeing?"
To anyone else, it looked like Li Xuanxiao was literally teleporting across vast expanses of the empire's airspace. And in a sense, he practically was. Flying at maximum speed near the clouds with 「Vairocana's Seven Radiances」 fully active, the ancient estates and grand streets below were entirely transparent to his golden vision. He needed nothing more than a passing glance to check for the telltale crimson rot of a target. His investigative speed was limited only by his raw flight velocity.
Glancing down at the skeptical queries vibrating in his palm, Li Xuanxiao casually pinged a response: "My operational records speak for themselves. If any of you esteemed seniors harbor doubts, feel free to conduct a random spot-check on my coordinates."
Faced with such unbothered, shameless confidence, the rest of the squad went silent. They were still deeply suspicious, of course. Logic dictated that a martial artist who had just forced his way into the First Layer of the Void Realm shouldn't be out-pacing a seasoned Supreme Realm vanguard like Liang Jianqiu using standard tracking gear.
Deep within their respective sectors, Lu Yixian and Long Hui could only surmise one logical explanation: It has to be a specialized Buddhist Dharma technique.
Unconcerned with their bewilderment, Li Xuanxiao maintained his relentless momentum. Along the way, whenever he spotted lone, wandering members of the Yao beast or Demon tribes, he took the initiative to proactively 'cleanse' them, quietly padding his treasury with a steady stream of Demon Value Points.
[Killed a Fourth Layer Heaven Realm Horse Demon! Gained 400,000 Demon Value Points!]
[Killed a Seventh Layer Yuan Realm Leopard Demon! Gained 70,000 Demon Value Points!]
[Killed a Second Layer Heaven Realm Ape Demon! Gained 200,000 Demon Value Points!]
[Killed an Eighth Layer Yuan Realm Dog Demon! Gained 80,000 Demon Value Points!]
Once a cultivator successfully crossed the threshold into the Void Realm, swatting down Heaven Realm targets became as effortless as lifting a finger. Furthermore, 「Vairocana's Seven Radiances」 wasn't just a passive radar utility; it allowed him to channel concentrated beams of pure solar judgment directly from his retinas. The moment that golden, divine light washed over an unsuspecting target, it resulted in instantaneous, explosive salvation.
Li Xuanxiao settled into a comfortable, thoroughly lucrative rhythm—efficiently scouting the empire while casually sniping whatever stray point-bounties crossed his path.
By the time the sun began to dip, the vast majority of the urban hubs had been mapped, and he took a brief moment to check his floating balance sheet. Prior to this deployment, his reserve fund sat at a modest 4.25 million.
Now? The ledger had quietly inflated to a comfortable 27.20 million.
In the past, a haul of nearly thirty million would have had him doing backflips. But the current Li Xuanxiao was a veteran tycoon who had already seen his net worth touch the multi-billion mark. This minor influx couldn't even cause a ripple in the placid, unbothered ocean of his soul. It was, at best, a decent tip. Better than nothing.
However, as the hours dragged on, he noticed a frustrating trend: the population density of wild Demon Race members was plummeting sharply.
Li Xuanxiao pondered the phenomenon for a moment and sighed. It was obvious. The massive, thunderous march of the Three Great Factions had effectively terrified the local beast tribes, forcing them to turtle up deep inside their ancestral lairs.
What an absolute waste... he lamented. If these monsters had stayed out in the open, his passive farming yield during this scouting run would have easily doubled.
While internally grieving his lost profits, the stone walls of the next major city materialized on the horizon. Following his routine, Li Xuanxiao cast a lazy, routine glance over the settlement.
The very next second, his eyes nearly burned out of his skull.
[Insert Blinded by the Light / My Eyes Meme.gif]
His entire field of vision was suddenly completely flooded by a thick, suffocating, violently pulsing wall of crimson energy.
"De... Devils! An entire city... packed to the brim with the Devil Race!"
Li Xuanxiao's hand blurred as he whipped out his transmission jade, violently burning his spiritual intent into the network: "Everyone, lock onto my coordinates immediately! Target located! Niguang City! Repeat, Niguang City! The entire settlement is completely infested with the Devil Race!"
The artifact in his hand instantly began to spasm with incoming replies.
"Understood! Moving now!"
"An entire city? Are you certain?"
"Damn, kid, I guess you really weren't just slacking off out there!"
"Li Xuanxiao, maintain maximum concealment and hold your position! The Devil Race possesses sensory perceptions far more insidious than standard beasts. Do not engage!"
Li Xuanxiao opened his mouth to reply, but the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood straight up. The sharp, whistling shriek of displaced air detonated directly behind him!
Instinct taking absolute control, he ignited his 「Steps of Unbound Freedom」. His silhouette liquefied into a residual shadow, instantly displacing his physical body dozens of yards away from his original coordinates.
A cold sweat broke out across his back. He whipped his head around to face the trajectory of the ambush.
Hovering in the sky a short distance away was a young man wearing a light, thoroughly poised smile. His eyes possessed a bizarre, shimmering hue that gave him a hypnotic, unsettling charm. At that precise moment, he was silently spinning a long, wicked spear back into a neutral guard—the very spear that had just been aimed squarely at Li Xuanxiao's throat.
Though the young man's smile was warm, the intent radiating from his gaze made Li Xuanxiao's instincts scream in mortal danger. Furthermore, dense, visible currents of Luck were circulating through the stranger's meridians. This was an entity firmly entrenched at the Void Realm level.
"Well, aren't you a perceptive little brother?" the youth remarked smoothly.
The words had barely left his lips before the youth detonated forward, his spear transforming into a fluid torrent of cold steel. His forms moved like shifting clouds and flowing rivers, but every single trajectory was packed with absolute, lethal malice.
Through the golden filter of 「Vairocana's Seven Radiances」, Li Xuanxiao didn't see a handsome young man. He saw a towering column of corrupted, blinding crimson light. This monster wasn't human—it was a purebred member of the Devil Race!
Li Xuanxiao's mind raced at a million miles an hour. Niguang City was right below them. If a prolonged, high-amplitude duel broke out in the upper atmosphere, it would instantly alert the entire garrison of monsters stationed on the ground. The moment he got bogged down, he would be subjected to a relentless, inescapable siege by an entire city of Devils.
Yeah, nope. Engaging here is a sucker's game, he decided instantly. He needed to relocate the battlefield and drag this guy away until his high-tier meat shields arrived.
Li Xuanxiao triggered his 「Steps of Unbound Freedom」 once more, seamlessly weaving through the incoming spear arts. Simultaneously, he flipped his wrist and unleashed his high-tier offensive art:
「Sky-Ripping Astral Slash」!
A dense, blinding canopy of starlight blade-qi erupted into the sky, hacking downward like a collapsing constellation toward the youth. Without waiting to see if the attack connected, Li Xuanxiao flooded his meridians with Luck and bolted in the opposite direction like a scalded cat. His understanding of this new race was practically zero, and fighting on their doorstep was a logistical nightmare.
Behind him, the Devil youth snarled, thrusting his spear forward as his own Luck erupted, generating layers upon layers of defensive spear shadows. The brilliant starlight blade-qi clashed violently against the steel barriers, unleashing a deafening, metallic tempest that echoed through the clouds before both techniques neutralized into nothingness.
The young man's eyes widened to the size of saucers, staring fixedly at the rapidly vanishing speck that was Li Xuanxiao's retreating figure. A look of profound, existential shock washed over his features.
"A dual cultivation of Buddhism and Martial Arts...?" the youth whispered, his voice trembling slightly. "For such an anomaly to actively manifest within the modern Human Race... I must report this directly to the Demon God Lord without a moment's delay!"
A few miles away, Li Xuanxiao was glancing back over his shoulder every three steps. Seeing that the crimson youth wasn't pursuing him, he let out a massive sigh of relief, though a profound sense of confusion immediately took its place.
His presence alone confirmed that humanity had officially mapped their vanguard's coordinates. Was that Devil youth seriously not worried about letting him escape to bring back an entire army of human powerhouses to liquidate the city?
Before he could overthink the puzzle, a massive, booming shockwave heralded the arrival of reinforcements. Liang Jianqiu's imposing figure tore through the clouds, landing squarely beside him.
After a frantic, brief exchange of tactical data, the two powerhouses pivoted and rocketed back toward Niguang City at maximum velocity, prepared to trigger a bloodbath.
However, the scene that awaited them when they breached the city limits left Li Xuanxiao completely frozen in mid-air.
The dense, pulsing ocean of crimson light was entirely gone. In fact, the entire sprawling city below was completely, utterly hollow. Let alone a garrison of the Devil Race, there wasn't so much as a single stray dog or living insect left within the walls. It was a ghost town.
Li Xuanxiao's jaw dropped. "This... how is this even physically possible?"