The dragon-headed god rode wind and thunder toward its next target. Su Yan slipped into the immortal palace.
The structure was larger inside than it had appeared from afar. Spirit roots connected the palace to the void above, and the air hummed with residual immortal power. Other cultivators had already arrived, hunting for fortunes.
Su Yan collided with Cui Dongli almost immediately. The Cui family's young master had lost most of his entourage to the dangers of Minor Xuantian, but his aura had grown stronger. Behind him, a dao diagram of an ancient immortal battling heavenly tribulation flickered with golden light.
"Demon King Su!" Cui Dongli's eyes lit up. He summoned his golden core. "I refined the essence of two spirit roots and comprehended an ascension diagram. I want a rematch—"
Su Yan ran past him.
Yuan Qi shot from his shoulder, his serpent body expanding. Three moves later, Cui Dongli was pinned to a wall, spitting blood, his ascension diagram shattered.
"I can't even beat his pet snake," Cui Dongli whispered, sliding to the floor.
Yuan Qi shrank and chased after Su Yan. Ahead, the melody of a guqin drifted from a courtyard. Gao Xingqian sat in white robes, playing with manic energy — first mournful, then fierce, as if begging for battle.
"Demon King Su, I've waited so long—" he began.
Yuan Qi slammed into him. "Stop playing and fight!"
Gao Xingqian summoned his Thousand-Armed God to meet the serpent's charge. The impact shattered half the courtyard walls. A golden core clash flattened the remaining garden. Gao Xingqian knelt, then collapsed face-first, unconscious.
Yuan Qi hurried on.
In the next hall, Li Tingshu was studying an ascension mural. Yuan Qi struck before the crown prince could react, bashing him into the far wall.
"You want to challenge A-Ying?" Yuan Qi sneered. "Pass me first!"
The Li family guards rushed forward. Yuan Qi bared his fangs. "Gang fight? Bring it!"
Su Yan scanned the room. "Not here, Qi! Move!"
They burst into another chamber. Zhao Xianghai, Zhao Ling, and Chai Wuyong were analyzing ancient immortal inscriptions. Yuan Qi summoned his golden core to suppress them all.
"Bell!"
The great bell flew from Su Yan's head. Its toll pinned the entire group to the floor. Su Yan swept past the walls.
"Wrong place again!"
In the next hall, dozens of four-armed cultivators sat in meditation before a massive mural. Su Yan sprinted toward it. The bell dropped a wall of light, immobilizing the foreigners.
"Move and die!" Yuan Qi hissed.
Among the pinned cultivators, Yue Hongzhu spotted Su Yan. "Uncle-Master Yun Fan! It's him!"
Yun Fan's gaze locked onto Su Yan. "Sacrifice to Dragon Abyss. Break this bell!"
The four-armed cultivators planted stakes topped with living severed heads. Blood runes crawled across the wood. The bell felt something pierce through it, connecting to another world.
Su Yan ignored them. He reached into the mural — his hand passed through the paint — and plucked a gourd from the painted sword immortal's waist.
The painted immortal turned. His face was hidden behind a gaudy mask, but his eyes were unmistakably human.
Su Yan understood everything. "The person behind the artifact was here all along."
"Bell! Retreat!"
The bell scooped up Yuan Qi and fled. Behind them, the Dragon Abyss God's power tore through the void. In the sky above, the dragon-headed god returned.
A voice cracked across the heavens. "Who dares impersonate the Heavenly Dao?"
The painted swordsman stepped from the wall. "You did it first. I'm only using your discarded toys."