Chapter 677: The Immortal Maiden Crosses Realms

Li Yi patrolled his assigned stretch of the frontline three times, expanding his search radius from within a hundred kilometers to three hundred kilometers, effectively clearing out all remaining enemies.

He also rescued several severely wounded evolvers.

After confirming there was nothing left to do, he turned back—he too was injured and needed rest.

But when he returned, Xuan Yuezi and the Bald Daoist were gone, nowhere to be found.

Li Yi paid no mind; after all, masters of the Three Flowers Realm could do as they pleased—no one could stop them. As long as all the great demons who crossed over from the Demon God Realm were dead, the immediate crisis had been resolved.

He entered Tianyi Hall, intending to rest.

There he saw Su Mu stepping out of the Life Restoration Chamber; though drenched in blood, her life was no longer in danger thanks to the chamber's healing, yet her body was severely depleted, leaving her pale and weak.

"Didn't expect you to have a restoration chamber—I just used it. You don't mind, do you?" Su Mu said.

"No," Li Yi replied. "Your injuries are severe. Even if your life is no longer at risk, your strength is greatly diminished. I advise you to leave the frontline and return to a safe place to fully recover—otherwise, you'll die here."

As the frontline commander, he gave his warning.

Su Mu said, "You're right. I'm useless in this state. Just surviving this battle is already a miracle. After this is over, I'll report the situation to Xiao Jianguo. I can't just walk away without following procedure—that'd be irresponsible to the frontline."

"Good that you have such awareness," Li Yi nodded slightly. "I'll also rest for a few days. If anything happens, call me."

Then he walked toward a road sealed by talismans.

As Li Yi approached, the talismans before him vanished instantly; once he passed, they flared again, sealing the path shut.

He had only opened access to the hall itself—all other areas remained locked, as they were his private quarters.

Su Mu, seeing this, simply found a spot to sit and began absorbing cosmic energy to nourish her body, stimulating cellular regeneration and healing her wounds as much as possible.

After entering his room, Li Yi wasted no time—he activated the Heaven and Earth Qi Absorption Art, took an elixir, replenished his blood and qi, and began healing his injuries.

After the battle ended,

many evolvers like him immediately began resting—no one knew when the next battle would start, so they had to restore their condition as much as possible for future threats.

Thus, after the Demon God Realm's enemies withdrew, the entire frontline fell into a deathly silence, with only a few evolvers assigned to clean up the battlefield.

Though losses were heavy, the fragile frontline had held.

Meanwhile, in the Demon God Realm,

five great demons, accompanied by nearly thirty heavenly demons and one or two hundred earth demons, returned in defeat—all five great demons were slain, the heavenly demons suffered catastrophic losses, and though fewer earth demons perished, it made no difference.

Their top-tier forces had been devastated—this battle was an utter disaster.

When they retreated to the Demon God Realm's frontline, not a single great demon emerged to take charge; only a dozen or so heavenly demons gathered to discuss strategy.

Inside the Demon Assembly Hall, the atmosphere was grim.

The dozen or so heavenly demons all wore solemn expressions; some even looked anxious and uneasy.

The five great demons had crossed over to kill enemies—and all had died.

If this became known, who knew what chaos it would spark? They themselves could hardly accept it—they had never regarded Earth's evolvers as worthy opponents.

Now, they'd been nearly annihilated by such foes—it was a disgrace.

"This matter must be reported to the Moon Demon King," one heavenly demon finally spoke.

"Who will report it? How? Do we say Yuan Cang was defeated and slain, and the other four supporting great demons were also killed by human elites? I dare not say that—I fear the Moon Demon King will kill me for speaking it."

"Can you really hide something this big? Better to tell him early—he can prepare. After this, the Demon King may come himself. Then all those human elites will be finished."

"Send an earth demon first. We must stay on the frontline to prevent Earth's forces from counterattacking."

"This isn't just for the Moon Demon King—it must reach the other Demon Kings too. Let them understand Earth's elites are no ordinary foes. If it stirs their caution, it might even be beneficial."

The heavenly demons began serious deliberations.

Soon, they reached consensus.

They would exaggerate the strength of Earth's evolvers—to lessen their own blame for the defeat, and to urge other Demon Kings to set aside old grudges and unite against Earth as a common enemy.

But no matter how they argued, they were now powerless to cross over again—even fearing Earth's elites might strike back.

In fact,

their fears were unnecessary.

Earth's frontline had no strength to attack, and Xuan Yuezi, the Bald Daoist, and the other three Three Flowers Realm masters had no interest in invading the Demon God Realm to bully its heavenly and earth demons.

This meant a period of peace would follow for some time.

Time passed swiftly—five days went by.

After five days of rest, wounded evolvers began returning to the frontline.

They also began tallying casualties, repairing defenses, and preparing for the next battle.

Of course, some, like Su Mu, were too severely injured to remain on the frontline and had to leave for safer places to recover—so a group of wounded evolvers departed.

The frontline, already short-staffed, grew even emptier.

Li Yi's stretch of the frontline fared worse—after Su Mu left, he was the only one left.

He now sat atop Tianyi Hall, gazing toward the Demon God Realm, alert for any great demon crossing over.

And on this day,

Xuan Yuezi, who had vanished earlier, reappeared—stepping on a white cloud, she swiftly found Li Yi.

"Tai Yi, I must cross over to visit Xiang Xiangzi. I've handled the essentials here—if new enemies appear, notify me. I'll come at once to support you."

Xuan Yuezi spoke with a tone of earnest request.

Clearly, reviving the three Immortal Maidens was of great importance.

"Alright," Li Yi nodded. "I'll open the cross-realm gate for the Immortal Maiden—let you journey to the world of incense and divine power."

Xuan Yuezi added, "After I leave, you needn't worry—Bald Daoist, Wu Lao Dao, and Feiyunzi will remain here for a while, until you depart."

"If anyone refuses to obey, don't be merciful—use the Self-Sacrifice Spell to kill them. We brought them across not for comfort, but for duty. If they won't fight, what use are they?"

She reminded Li Yi: when the Self-Sacrifice Spell was needed, use it—don't hesitate.

There were so many Three Flowers Realm masters in the End-Dharma Daoist world; losing a few didn't matter—just recruit more if needed.

Li Yi merely smiled, saying nothing.

After all, Xuan Yuezi was a top-tier Three Flowers Realm master—she could order the Self-Sacrifice Spell without concern; no one could challenge her. But he couldn't.

He was only at Five Qi Realm—he had to act with caution, mindful of consequences.

If he ever did something like eliminating loyal followers, other Three Flowers Realm masters would surely grow distant.

Of course,

Xuan Yuezi said this because she believed there was hope to revive the other three Immortal Maidens. Once all five united, Li Yi wouldn't need any other masters—he'd have enough with them alone.

"Immortal Maiden, follow me to Tianyi Hall—I'll open the cross-realm gate there."

Li Yi then led Xuan Yuezi to Tianyi Hall.

He skillfully retrieved the cross-realm device, assembled it, and with the combined energy of the World Heart Gem, the Dragon Scale, and the Phoenix Feather, the cross-realm gate opened once more.

As soon as it opened, Li Yi felt a surging torrent of incense-belief power flooding through the gate toward him.

Hm?

Li Yi's expression changed.

Is this possible?

Just opening the cross-realm gate lets me absorb incense-belief power?

And this incense-belief power was even greater than before he returned.

Clearly, incense devotion across the world had grown further.

"Is this incense-belief power?" Xuan Yuezi was startled, but wasted no time—she immediately stepped on her white cloud and rushed into the world of incense and divine power.

Li Yi waited until she was gone, yet did not close the gate—he wanted to absorb more of the incense-belief power.

Perhaps with this immense incense power, I can break through to the fifth layer of Five Qi Realm in one go on Earth.