Three years later.
After learning of Lin Li's impending departure, the Ninth Princess grew even more attached to him.
Following a period of blissful days together, a Foundation Establishment cultivator finally delivered the news that Lin Li had long been waiting for: the ancient teleportation array had been found!
...
Now, the entire vast ocean was under the rule of Baixing Kingdom. On a desolate and uninhabited island within the former Sacred Holy Empire territory, an ancient teleportation array lay hidden deep within a forest cave.
Without Lin Li's order, this teleportation array might never have been discovered.
At present, ships and cultivators gathered around the island.
"Is this the ancient teleportation array that the Blood-handed Butcher of Hailan Kingdom ordered us to find?"
"I wonder why the Butcher Lord is so keen on finding this ancient array."
"Maybe he's after some ancient inheritance. After all, it's said that the reason he became so powerful was because of the ancient inheritance he gained from Sky City."
"Rubbish! That ancient inheritance was the ancient puppet technique! The Butcher Lord earned his power through countless battles, fighting his way out of mountains of corpses and seas of blood!"
As the crowd whispered among themselves, a golden streak of light shot across the sky from the distant horizon.
Moments later, Lin Li appeared before everyone, gripping a terrified Foundation Establishment cultivator by the collar.
Lin Li released the cultivator, who collapsed to the ground, gasping for air. "S-So fast!" he stammered between breaths.
Without wasting a moment, Lin Li coldly asked, "Where is the array?"
The man known as the Blood-handed Butcher, Lin Li, was now a name feared by all under heaven. His reputation from the Baixing Holy War had spread far and wide.
Now that they saw the legendary Butcher in person, everyone trembled in fear.
Only the cultivators of Hailan Kingdom dared to muster the courage to speak. "Lord Ancestor, please follow me."
Moments later.
Inside the cave.
For the first time in years, Lin Li stood before the ancient teleportation array, feeling both anxious and excited.
"This is it!" Lin Li exclaimed with joy.
Although the previous teleportation array had been destroyed by Lin Li, he never believed that it was the only ancient array in the vast sea.
Now, standing before this array, Lin Li could see that it was almost identical to the one he had used before, except for a few minor differences.
These small differences made sense to Lin Li: the corresponding array had been destroyed, and the slight variations were due to the differing destination coordinates. Nonetheless, Lin Li was confident that this array would lead him back to somewhere within the Zhao Kingdom, most likely near the Blood Sacrificial Altar of the Demonic Sect.
"Listen well!" Lin Li declared. "This ancient teleportation array leads to a mystical realm you have never heard of. It is my homeland."
"Now, I am going to use this array to return home for ten years. During this time, no one is to use this array. If anyone dares, they will be killed without mercy!"
As Lin Li uttered the words "killed without mercy," a terrifying killing intent exploded from him. The aura he had accumulated from slaughtering countless cultivators and beasts, coupled with the passive effects of his "Slaughter" and "Butcher" skills, emanated from him with overwhelming force. Although Lin Li hadn't even drawn his magic sword, the sheer pressure he exerted caused the surrounding low-level cultivators to turn pale with fear.
"Yes!" The Hailan Kingdom cultivators all shouted in unison, "We will guard this array and await your return, Lord Ancestor!"
Satisfied, Lin Li nodded. He then reached into his storage bag and pulled out 108 spirit stones. The stones floated into the spirit stone sockets of the ancient teleportation array, guided by Lin Li's spiritual energy.
With the array activated, Lin Li stepped inside.
A flash of light engulfed him, and in the next instant, Lin Li was gone.
...
Zhao Kingdom, Demonic Sect Headquarters.
At this moment, after more than twenty years of conflict, the great cultivation war in Zhao Kingdom was nearing its end.
The three great Daoist sects and the four major clans, after years of infighting, had finally realized that their internal conflicts had been manipulated by the Demonic Sect all along.
Unfortunately, after so many years of battle, the enmity between the two factions had become irreconcilable. The once-united seven righteous sects could never return to their former alliance.
But now, to deal with the Demonic Sect, the Nascent Soul ancestors from the seven sects had all joined forces. Their goal was to suppress the Demonic Sect Patriarch, who had broken free from his seal.
"For the world!"
"For Zhao Kingdom!"
"For the common people!"
"Fight!"
Twenty Nascent Soul cultivators from the seven sects roared in unison as they launched a fatal attack on the newly unsealed Demonic Patriarch, a cultivator at the Zhaozhao Stage.
The Zhaozhao Stage was two great realms above the Nascent Soul Stage, granting a lifespan of up to ten thousand years. However, the Demonic Patriarch had just broken free and was still in a weakened state. Otherwise, even the combined assault of twenty Nascent Soul cultivators would have been futile against him.
Now.
In his weakened state, the Demonic Patriarch retaliated in a fury.
Boom!
The clash between the attacks of twenty Nascent Soul cultivators and the retaliatory strike of a Zhaozhao Stage master erupted in a cataclysmic explosion.
A massive ball of light appeared where the attacks collided, followed by a giant mushroom cloud rising into the sky.
The Demonic Patriarch was annihilated!
However...
The twenty Nascent Soul cultivators were also blasted backward, coughing up blood!
In the rear.
The Core Formation elders from the seven sects rushed forward, shouting "Grandmaster!" as they hurried to support the injured Nascent Soul ancestors.
Meanwhile, at the Demonic Sect's headquarters, the Nascent Soul Sect Leader, the Vice Sect Leader, and two Nascent Soul protectors of the Demonic Sect gritted their teeth and shouted, "Strike while they're down!"
"Kill them!"
Leading their followers, they launched an attack on the seven sects.
Though the Demonic Sect was no match for the seven sects overall...
After years of infighting, the seven sects were gravely weakened.
Moreover, all twenty Nascent Soul ancestors were seriously injured, coughing up blood, with their Core Formation elders desperately trying to heal them.
Though the Demonic Sect had fewer Core Formation cultivators than the seven sects, with their four fully-powered Nascent Soul leaders leading the charge, they surged forward like an unstoppable tide, overwhelming the seven sects.
At the front of the battle lines of the Xuantian Sect, the leaders of both the Qi Sect and the Sword Sect looked pale and defeated.
Elder Zou and the Xuantian Sect Master both had anxious expressions as they worked to heal the two Nascent Soul ancestors.
Meanwhile, Qinglian Immortal and several other Core Formation elders stood grimly, watching as a Nascent Soul protector of the Demonic Sect led his forces toward them.
In mere moments, several Core Formation elders from the Qi, Talisman, and Alchemy Sects had already been slaughtered by the Nascent Soul protector.
Now, there were no reinforcements.
As the Demonic Sect's Nascent Soul protector turned his bloodthirsty gaze toward Qinglian Immortal, she thought her end had come.
...
In the darkness underground.
A flash of light suddenly appeared.
Lin Li's figure emerged from the teleportation array deep beneath the surface.
As the light faded, complete darkness surrounded him.
Without hesitation, Lin Li unleashed his Jinghong Sword, slashing upward with a mighty strike!