Initially, the Cultivators had been worried about Zhang Chi’s bold plan. After all, there were bound to be many Tier Five Demon Fiends here, and this was their home turf.
However, once they remembered that Zhang Chi was a Divinity Transformation Middle Stage Cultivator with immense Combat Power and an Upper Grade Spirit Treasure—the Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion—their confidence surged. They then played along with Zhang Chi’s act, leading to the situation from before.
Otherwise, the first Demon Fiend wouldn’t have had any chance to escape.
Besides, with the help of an Upper Grade Spirit Treasure like the Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion, these Demon Fiends couldn’t have threatened the humans in the slightest, no matter how powerful they were. Putting the humans in a precarious situation was out of the question.
Of course, this was also because these Demon Fiends were, at most, at the Tier Five Early Stage. They were incapable of creating miracles.
BOOM BOOM BOOM...
At that moment, starlight rained down from the distant void. The Sword Array spun violently, and resplendent Sword Light formed into raging storms. In the blink of an eye, the numerous Tier Five Demon Fiends were cut down, unable even to perform a Primordial Spirit Emergence before they died.
A few breaths later, all the Demon Fiends were reduced to corpses. With a wave of his hand, Zhang Chi collected their bodies and the other spoils of war into the Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion.
"Excellent!"
"Senior Brother Zhang is incredible!"
The other Cultivators watched in awe, cheering enthusiastically.
They had assumed that even with Zhang Chi’s high Cultivation, wiping out the enemy would take considerable effort and would certainly require their assistance.
But now, they realized they had greatly underestimated him.
It turned out that Zhang Chi alone was more than enough.
In fact, it seemed like there weren’t even enough Demon Fiends to keep Zhang Chi busy.
Immediately, they all rushed forward to lend a hand, helping Zhang Chi process the Demon Fiend corpses.
These Demon Fiends were not human. Upon death, they reverted to their true forms, their bodies veritable treasure troves.
Their Primordial Spirits were especially valuable. Not only could they be used in the Refining of Divine Essence Pills, but they also contained a wealth of useful information.
If their Divine Souls were extracted, they could serve as Artifact Spirits for Spirit Treasures or be used to refine artifacts like a Demon Soul Banner.
Just then, Zhang Chi immediately performed a Soul Search on the Demon Fiends’ Primordial Spirits.
As a result, Zhang Chi quickly acquired the Demon Fiends’ inherited knowledge and Cultivation Experience. He also gained a clearer understanding of the situation in the Demon Abyss and learned many of its secrets.
The Soul Search revealed that the deepest part of the Demon Abyss was indeed connected to the Demon Realm.
However, the Demon Realm’s situation was much like the Immortal Cultivation Realm’s; it too was divided into an Upper and Lower Realm.
The Demon Realm’s Upper Realm was called the True Demon Realm, while the Lower Realm was the Pseudo-Demon Realm. There was only one True Demon Realm, but many Pseudo-Demon Realms. The one connected to this Human Realm was a Pseudo-Demon Realm, with a world Level identical to the Human Realm where Zhang Chi and his group resided.
However, the overall strength of that Pseudo-Demon Realm was far greater, with a much larger population of Tier Five Demon Fiends.
Even so, the strongest beings in that Pseudo-Demon Realm were only at Tier Five.
The Demon Fiends in the Demon Abyss were at most at the Tier Five Early Stage, and Zhang Chi had just killed nearly all of them.
The reason they were only at the Tier Five Early Stage was because this was the border between two realms. Compared to the Pseudo-Demon Realm, the Demonic Qi was less abundant and the territory less vast.
The fact that there were so many Tier Five Early Stage Demon Fiends here at all was due to the unstable space at the confluence of the two realms. Spatial Nodes leading to other worlds frequently appeared, and it was rumored that some even led to the Spirit Realm or the True Demon Realm.
Evidently, these Tier Five Demon Fiends all wanted to sneak across to the True Demon Realm. If that wasn’t possible, getting to the Spirit Realm would be the next best thing.
After all, the Spirit Realm was the same Level as the True Demon Realm, so its resources were bound to be more plentiful. Furthermore, traveling from the Spirit Realm to the True Demon Realm would surely be easier than Ascending from a Lower Realm.
This was precisely why the Demon Fiends had mobilized in full force to besiege Zhang Chi and the others.
In their eyes, the appearance of Zhang Chi’s group meant they had found a Spatial Node and were planning to sneak into the Upper Realm.
What they never expected, however, was that Zhang Chi was a Divinity Transformation Middle Stage Cultivator who possessed an Upper Grade Spirit Treasure. His Sword Array was also incomparably powerful, seemingly completely unaffected by the Demonic Qi here.
’So that’s how it is!’
Zhang Chi finished the Soul Search, and the doubts in his mind finally vanished.
However, this knowledge also brought him a measure of regret.
He had originally planned to find a way to destroy the Demon Abyss, which would have ensured the permanent safety of the Great Abyss Human Race.
But the confluence of the two realms was simply too vast; he lacked the Cultivation and Combat Power to destroy it.
Fortunately, with these Tier Five Demon Fiends slain, the Great Abyss would surely enjoy a long period of peace. This could be considered a parting gift to the Great Abyss Human Race.
Beyond that, he had wiped out the Tier Five Demon Fiends to prevent them from interfering with his own passage at a critical moment, as well as to seize the opportunity to gather more loot.
Along with this intelligence, he also learned the locations of the Demon Fiends’ lairs.
He immediately piloted the Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion on a tour through the depths of the Demon Abyss, plundering all the Spirit Medicines and other valuables from the lairs of the Tier Five Demon Fiends.
Furthermore, the many Demon Fiend corpses were processed. Between their Primordial Spirits and the treasures they carried, Zhang Chi had made a massive haul.
His only regret was that this realm lacked any High Tier Spiritual Veins, even within the Demon Abyss. Otherwise, with all these resources, Zhang Chi could have continued his Cultivation in Seclusion here for some time.
Of course, Zhang Chi did have another option: he could slip into the other side of the Demon Abyss and practice Cultivation in the Pseudo-Demon Realm.
Since that place had Tier Five Demon Fiends of higher Cultivation, it most likely also had High Tier Spiritual Veins. To be precise, they would be Demon Caves, but Zhang Chi’s protective Jade Pendant would allow him to use them all the same.
However, this choice was clearly inferior to seizing the opportunity to go directly to the Spirit Realm.
"Open!"
Zhang Chi and the others returned to their original location, but this time, no one came to disturb them.
First, Zhang Chi laid out an Array. Then, all the Divinity Transformation Cultivators poured their Spiritual Power into it. With a great shout from Zhang Chi, the Array activated violently, instantly tearing space asunder. A spatial passage, pitch-black within, appeared before them.
"This should be it! I can feel the aura of the Spirit Realm through my Secret Technique!"
"That’s right, this is it! We really opened a temporary spatial passage! This is great!"
The Cultivators gazed at the spatial passage, their hearts pounding with excitement.
"But it looks very dangerous inside. Should we really go in?"
But their excitement quickly cooled, and hesitation appeared on many of their faces.
"That’s right. This isn’t an ordinary spatial passage. If a Divinity Transformation Early Stage Cultivator enters, even with a powerful Spirit Treasure, their chances of survival are slim, let alone successfully reaching the Spirit Realm."
"So, you all had better think this through before making a decision. If you’re determined to go, you can come with me. I’ll use the Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion to carry you. However, I can’t guarantee you’ll survive. If it comes down to it, my own safety will be my priority. Furthermore, you must obey my commands and help me operate the Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion..." Zhang Chi said, nodding slightly.
The inside of this spatial passage was indeed more dangerous than he had expected.
Fortunately, his Cultivation had greatly advanced, and he now possessed an Upper Grade Spirit Treasure.
Even so, he wasn’t completely certain of success.
That was precisely why he had decided to bring some of the other Divinity Transformation Cultivators along.
For one, everyone had contributed to opening the spatial passage.
For another, he needed more Divinity Transformation Cultivators to help operate the Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion to make the journey as safe as possible.
If they successfully reached the Spirit Realm, these Divinity Transformation Cultivators would be people from his home world. It was possible they could help each other out in the future.
"Really? That’s great!"
"Yes! If you lead us, Senior Brother Zhang, we’ll feel much more at ease. Of course, we won’t ask you to help for free. We’ll pay you. And once we get to the Spirit Realm, we’ll find a way to give you even more."
The Cultivators were overjoyed.
They had clearly underestimated the difficulty of making the crossing.
But now, with Zhang Chi’s help, many of those who had been hesitating finally made their decision.
They offered payment for two reasons. First, they hoped it would encourage Zhang Chi to look out for them. Second, it was a way to build a better relationship with him.
After all, a figure like Zhang Chi was bound to have a limitless future, even in the Spirit Realm.
While they were top figures in the Human Realm, they would likely be nobodies in the Spirit Realm. Therefore, finding a powerful backer in advance and sticking together to develop as a group was a much more promising path than going it alone.
Shortly after, the group finished their discussion.
In the end, however, only half of the Divinity Transformation Cultivators were willing to leave with Zhang Chi.
It wasn’t that the remaining Divinity Transformation Cultivators didn’t want to leave, but the sense of danger emanating from the passage was simply too intense. Even with Zhang Chi’s help, they feared failure.
Rather than risk failure and death, they preferred to stay behind and enjoy what life they had left, only attempting such a dangerous venture when their Lifespans were nearly exhausted.
"Senior Brother Zhang, could you sell us the other information you obtained about the Spatial Nodes?"
The Cultivators who were staying behind immediately began to negotiate with Zhang Chi.
Considering he was about to leave anyway, Zhang Chi didn’t hold anything back. He completed the transaction, signed a Spirit Contract, and left both parties happy with the outcome.
"Farewell, everyone!"
"Senior Brother Zhang, take care!"
"May you have a swift and successful journey!"
"Don’t worry! Once we reach the Spirit Realm, we’ll find a way to contact you. Maybe by then, you won’t have to sneak across, and we’ll be able to open the original Great Qian Ascension Passage normally!"
After that, the two groups said their farewells.
SWOOSH!
Then, the Cultivators who had decided to leave followed Zhang Chi, and together they piloted the Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion. Transforming into a dazzling golden streak of light, it plunged resolutely into the spatial passage.
RUMBLE!
The next moment, the Supreme Profound Immortal Mansion was engulfed by chaotic spatial turbulence.
As the Power of Space raged, the entrance to the passage quickly vanished. Even the Spatial Node that had existed in the Demon Abyss disappeared along with it.
Of course, with the passage of time, the Spatial Node here would eventually reappear, but that would certainly not be for many, many years.
"Let’s go."
"Yes, I hope they succeed!"
The remaining Divinity Transformation Cultivators watched from where they stood. Only after the passage disappeared did they turn and leave the depths of the Demon Abyss together.
"Such powerful void turbulence!"
"Luckily we have Senior Brother Zhang’s help. Otherwise, we would have been killed instantly. Even with the help of a Middle Grade Spirit Treasure, I’m afraid it would have been useless."
Meanwhile, inside the spatial passage—its entrance now gone—Zhang Chi and the others could no longer sense the spatial coordinates of their point of origin. With no way back, they could only press on toward the Spirit Realm.