Half a month later, Song Wanníng finally arrived at the demon clan's territory. She hadn't dared waste even a moment these past days, traveling at full speed the entire way. The moment she reached the border, Baili Shang came out to greet her.
After years apart, they'd both stepped into higher realms.
When he saw the person he'd been longing for, his eyes lit up with brilliance. He gave her a slight nod, keeping his face calm, but inside his heart was bursting with joy.
Song Wanníng, however, only nodded back with a serious look. She went straight to the point. "Did you catch the monster?"
She didn't notice the trace of disappointment in his eyes. All she cared about was the monster.
Although he was used to it by now, her attitude still stung.
"Father was right, this really was just one-sided love."
Suppressing his feelings, he led her toward the place where the monster had been spotted.
"This is a long story. Since we got the news, we've kept people stationed here nonstop. Just a few days ago, I saw it show itself. But the moment it noticed people outside, it retreated. When we searched the area, we couldn't find a single opening. We don't know where it came from or where it went."
The more he talked about it, the heavier his unease grew. His talent in formations was high, plus he had Senior Feng's inheritance. If there had been a formation, he would've noticed. But strangely, he hadn't sensed even the faintest trace of one. There was no way the monster vanished into thin air. He was sure there was something he hadn't discovered.
With Song Wanníng here, maybe she could uncover the source.
"What does the monster look like?"
Her face grew even graver, that uneasy feeling pressing harder on her heart.
Baili Shang waved his hand. A projection appeared in midair, showing the monster.
Seeing that small black mass with its signature blood-red eyes, her heart sank like a stone.
"So it really is that thing…"
The monster that once brought the Immortal Realm to collapse had actually appeared in the Spirit Realm.
"You've seen it before?"
Baili Shang looked at her in shock, disbelief in his eyes.
She nodded. "When I was in the lower realm, I already encountered one. Back then, a monster like this almost snatched away my little disciple. Later, when I tracked it down, I found its lair, filled with countless hearts!!"
At those words, one of his trusted men couldn't hold back and quickly cut in. "Exactly, hearts! Our demon clan disciples had their hearts dug out!"
Everyone's faces twisted with rage. The monster was too cunning. It always ran the moment they approached, making it impossible to catch.
"So it really is the same kind of monster."
Baili Shang frowned deeply. Back in the Central Region, the situation had been dire, but she'd never looked this serious.
That alone showed this monster wasn't simple.
"This thing's terrifyingly fast, and the scariest part is that there are endless numbers of them…"
Song Wanníng's chest tightened. If these monsters appeared both in the Spirit Realm and the lower realm, would the ending be as tragic as the golden dragon clan's?
Her family and friends were here. She refused to face such a disaster. She had to speed up merging the two realms. Otherwise, if chaos broke out in the lower realm, she wouldn't even be able to help.
"What?"
Baili Shang froze. One look at her expression told him there was more she couldn't say in front of others. He immediately dismissed his men.
"Wanníng, what did you mean just now, endless?"
That wasn't something you could say lightly. If it was true, then they were in enormous trouble.
She pressed her lips together, then told him everything about the golden dragon clan.
By the time she finished, his face was as black as the bottom of a pot.
The golden dragon clan, a legendary ancient beast clan, had perished. And they weren't the only ones. Several divine beast clans had been wiped out the same way. His heart sank deeper with every word.
Seeing his expression, she gave a small smile. "Don't worry. Maybe it's just this one monster. Maybe I'm overthinking it. For now, let's focus on finding its lair."
She patted his shoulder, but the smile never reached her eyes.
He finally exhaled and nodded. In front of her, there was no point hiding his real feelings.
"I'll take you there first. I'll also need to report this to my father later. If it's as you say, this isn't something we can face alone. The entire Spirit Realm will have to deal with it."
He sped up the flying treasure, carrying her quickly toward the cave.
Half an hour later, they stopped at the edge of a cliff.
Dense demonic qi pooled below, where clusters of violet flowers bloomed in the haze, dreamlike and unreal. At the base of the cliff, a cave jutted out, its entrance already cleared of weeds.
They landed and stepped inside together.
The cave reeked of blood, the smell mixed with a faint medicinal scent.
Song Wanníng wrinkled her nose, carefully sniffing. It was the fragrance of a certain herb. She released her divine sense, but found no trace of the herb nearby. She quietly made note of it. The deeper they went, the narrower the cave became, pressing on their chests. Fragments of human hearts littered the ground.
Even though he'd seen this more than once, Baili Shang's face still twisted with rage. These were his demon clan disciples, killed without a trace of dignity. If not for the disciple who'd witnessed the monster and reported it in time, they would still be in the dark.
They searched the cave again and again, but found nothing suspicious.
The monster seemed to appear out of nowhere and vanish just as strangely.
"Let's step out for now."
She hadn't found any clues, so she followed him out of the stifling cave.
Once outside, she pulled out a herb from her storage ring.
"Do you know where this grows in the demon clan?"
The herb was mainly used for refining spiritual pills. It shouldn't be common in the demon clan.
"I've never seen it here. We'll have to ask back at the Demon Palace."
He studied it carefully. He was skilled in alchemy himself, so he recognized the plant. But in all his years, he'd never seen it growing in their lands.
"Does it have something to do with the monster?" he asked with a raised brow.
"You don't refine many pills, so you probably didn't notice the scent." She nodded and explained. "That cave was full of this herb's aura. But since no plants were growing there, I suspect the scent was coming from the monster itself."