Chapter 752: New Crisis

Soon.

A auspicious cloud rose from the Chishan Mountains, then swiftly flew toward the north.

Li Yi, Jiang Yue, and Zhao Fangji sat atop the auspicious cloud, gazing calmly at the distance, while beside them, a Mountain Lord–ranked beast named Qiongqi lay curled up, licking its claws and fangs.

For this return to Earth, Jiang Yue naturally brought along his tamed beast Qiongqi; with this Mountain Lord–ranked beast at his side, he could rise faster upon returning to Earth.

After all, this beast Qiongqi was a Ten Mountain Lord–level entity, and in terms of strength, it should be equivalent to a Two Flower Realm cultivation expert.

But if Jiang Yue taught Qiongqi the path of cultivation, the beast's power would surge dramatically in a short time.

In contrast, Zhao Fangji was much poorer—he lacked Jiang Yue's ability to tame beasts from the Wildlands, yet he had gained his own fortune, becoming a Divine Blood Warrior.

Moreover, the Divine Blood flowing in his body was identical to Li Yi's.

After all, both had once eaten the silver Divine Fruit; back then, Zhao Fangji's bloodline had not yet awakened, but during his time in the Chishan Mountains, his bloodline was instead triggered.

As long as he persists in cultivating the Evolution Method and unlocks the power within his bloodline, his future achievements will be equally boundless.

"Once my strength grows further, I'll tame several more Mountain Lord–ranked beasts. This Wildland is an endless treasure trove—I'll always find my own fortune."

Jiang Yue gazed at this ancient world and couldn't help but sigh.

"Indeed. Recently, I further diluted the Divine Blood and bathed in it, and found my physique much stronger than before—even my bloodline power increased… If I used up all the Divine Blood, my strength would climb another level." Zhao Fangji clenched his fist, and silver lightning crackled around him.

"Inside the belly of the Chishan Mountains, there's still a piece of Divine Flesh. I suspect we can extract even more Divine Blood. But now isn't the right time to dig it out—wait a while longer, it won't be too late." Li Yi said.

"I must admit, we owe this entirely to you, Li Yi. If you hadn't seized the Chishan Mountains, neither of us would have gained so much." Jiang Yue thanked him again.

Li Yi waved his hand. "We all contributed to seizing the Chishan Mountains. Besides, the world is vast and fortune is endless—I can't claim it all. We'll likely fight side by side again in the future; there's no need to let cultivation resources cause friction. Besides, we're here in the Wildlands thanks to Zhao Fangji—if not for him, we never could have crossed over."

Zhao Fangji awkwardly rubbed his nose. Though he had discovered the crossover point to the Wildlands long ago, his strength was too weak to thrive here—otherwise, he wouldn't have been sold like a slave.

As the three chatted, they soon spotted a towering city rising from the desolate land ahead.

That was Beihuang City.

Seeing Beihuang City, Li Yi's gaze flickered—he recalled unpleasant memories.

Once, he had been relentlessly hunted by Beihuang City's Divine Blood Warrior, Daze, barely escaping death at the man's hands. Now, returning with his current strength, eliminating Daze would be effortless.

"I'll settle the score with him next time." Li Yi, eager to return home, didn't want unnecessary trouble—he merely glanced at Beihuang City from afar, then veered away.

After flying farther north, he saw again the ruined Shoucun Village, and near it, a vast valley.

This was the Valley of the Divine Burial.

And it wasn't legend—the valley truly contained the remains of a Divine Being, whose corpse, even after countless years of death, still radiated immense power.

Li Yi remembered: when he first came to this world, he planted a seed of the Golden Apple Tree atop the Divine Remains, hoping to extract the last vestiges of power within the corpse and harvest a few fruits.

Li Yi remembered that when he came to this world, he had planted a golden apple tree seed atop the divine remains, hoping to exploit the tree's properties to extract the last vestige of power from the divine remains and see if it could bear a few fruits.

A bizarre sight appeared.

The entire valley was covered in dense, vein-like red networks. These were not lifeless—they pulsed rhythmically, breathing like living things, as if nurturing something profoundly evil.

"What… what happened here?" Jiang Yue and Zhao Fangji were stunned.

They had visited this valley before, to harvest the silver fruits within.

But now, it was strange and alien.

Li Yi's gaze flickered. "I did this. I obtained a malevolent seed from the Dark World and planted it here, hoping to draw power from the Divine Remains. I never expected it to become this."

He spoke casually, then followed the red vein-like networks, searching.

At last, halfway up a cliff, he saw a silver fruit tree.

The tree was enormous, wrapped in crackling lightning, and on its trunk, a human face had faintly formed—a face of an ancient warrior, powerful and majestic, yet entwined with countless veins, making it deeply eerie.

The silver tree had already bloomed, filling the valley with an odd fragrance, radiating a deadly allure. Li Yi saw many beasts drawn into the valley.

But all of them lay dead on the ground, dried husks, entangled with dense crimson rootlets.

It seemed the power of the Divine Remains alone was insufficient to satisfy the silver tree's growth—or perhaps this evil thing was inherently greedy, seeking to absorb and consume everything in the world to fuel its own expansion.

"This thing looks deeply wrong, Li Yi. Don't mess this up," Jiang Yue warned.

Li Yi said: "This area is deserted. Shoucun Village is already gone—no living soul remains. Even if it goes out of control, it won't reach beyond. I plan to harvest some fruit, then destroy it."

He knew the danger of this thing and dared not let it grow unchecked.

"That's best," Jiang Yue nodded.

"Let's go. This valley has become a forbidden zone—any beast entering dies. I'll have to figure out how to harvest the fruit later." Li Yi didn't linger—he observed briefly, then turned away.

"Let's go. Judging by this, the valley has become a forbidden zone—any beast that enters won't survive. I'll probably have trouble figuring out how to harvest the fruits later." Li Yi didn't linger, observed for a moment, then turned and left.

But then—

A sci-fi-style Thunder Warplane suddenly deactivated its stealth from nearby woods, rose into the air, and sped straight toward them.

A sci-fi-style Thunder fighter jet suddenly deactivated its stealth from nearby woods, rose into the air, and sped straight toward the group.

Li Yi's auspicious cloud halted. He was startled, then quickly understood.

They were already close to Earth.

And many knew of the crossover point's existence. Perhaps Earth's evolved ones had come here seeking fortune—Thunder Warplanes were now widespread on Earth.

Jiang Yue's eyes narrowed sharply. He immediately went on alert, summoning a magic sword in hand, while the massive beast Qiongqi growled low, eager to tear the warplane apart.

But the Thunder Warplane did not fire. Instead, it halted mid-flight.

But the Thunder fighter jet did not open fire on the group; instead, it halted midway.

A young man in battle armor flew out.

"Hu Fei? Is that you?" Jiang Yue and Zhao Fangji were shocked.

"You escaped too? I thought you were still a slave in the Wildlands."

Hu Fei's appearance was unexpected, yet Li Yi wasn't surprised—he had notified Hu Fei when he came to the Wildlands, but Hu Fei, for some reason, hadn't joined them immediately.

Otherwise, he might have joined them at Chishan Mountain—unfortunately, he missed a great fortune.

Hu Fei, seeing them, smiled with relief: "I knew you'd succeed in rescuing them. Last time I told you to come with me to the Wildlands was precisely to tell you where Jiang Yue and Zhao Fangji were—I wanted you to find them. I didn't expect you'd manage it without me."

"Sorry," Hu Fei said. "When you notified me, I was delayed by some matters. By the time I reached Beihuang City, it was too late. And this world is vast—I dared not act recklessly, so I returned here to the crossover point and waited, using its abundant cosmic energy to cultivate."

Li Yi nodded. "Much has happened since I came to the Wildlands. I couldn't stay in one place—things changed rapidly. You were right not to search for me."

"Since we're all safe and reunited, why wait? Let's return to Earth. I wonder how things are at the Golden Academy now—has my cultivation chamber been reclaimed?" Jiang Yue said.

"Since everyone's safe and we've reunited again, what are we waiting for? Let's go back to Earth. I wonder how things are at the Golden Academy now—has my cultivation hut been reclaimed?"

"Wait." Hu Fei now looked uneasy.

"Hu Fei, what's wrong?" Jiang Yue asked.

Hu Fei took a deep breath. "Actually, I didn't come to the Wildlands just to cultivate—I also came to escape. Earth's situation… is bad."

Hu Fei took a slow breath and said, "Actually, my reason for coming to the Wildlands isn't just cultivation—I also came partly to escape. To be honest, the situation on Earth right now… is bad."

Earth's situation was bad?

He remembered when he left Earth, things were still manageable—the War of the Demon Gods had temporarily subsided. Though the Tianqing crisis kept emerging, Earth's powerful cultivators were growing in number.

As long as they survived the initial hardship, once the evolved ones grew stronger, the future would be full of hope.

But only if Earth could survive this difficult early phase.

"What exactly happened?" Li Yi asked again. "Did the Demon Gods' Kings invade?"

Hu Fei shook his head. "I don't know much, but before coming here, I heard rumors that three Demon God Kings had joined forces to invade Earth. But the most critical news is—the Immortal Continent's cultivators have decided to officially settle on Earth."

Hu Fei shook his head and said, "I don't know much, but before coming to the Wildlands, I did hear rumors that the Demon King Realm's demon kings had invaded Earth—three of them acting together. But more importantly, the cultivators of the Xuan Immortal Continent have decided to officially take up residence on Earth."

Just a few words, yet the danger they implied moved Li Yi and the others.