Because we had begun changing course eastward, the divine beasts, already at death's door, were no longer of any use, including Fu Tianxiao's disciples. After all, they could not even be counted as combat power. The recovered immortals, grateful to us, also planned to escort the divine beasts back north at a steady pace to recuperate, then pack up their belongings before turning south toward Tiannan. After all, they had originally been Dongfang Nian's subordinates, and with Dongfang Nian dead, they might not receive good treatment if they returned. It would be better to go to the Northern Immortal Alliance and see how things stood.
Thus, our party heading east this time was much smaller: Dongfang Fu, Fu Tianxiao, Li Poxiao, and Dongfang Jin. On my side, there were only Jinglian and Ruxue. Once everyone gathered on the Blood-Violence Lotus, our speed became astonishingly fast. The distance we covered in a day far exceeded twice what we usually managed. Of course, to Dongfang Fu, this speed was unbearably slow.
I also seized every moment to refine the Profound-Heaven Gourd and increase the layers of the Deriving-Heaven Art. I was continually hatching the "deriving heaven" ability of the Deriving-Heaven Art as well. After all, this ability required the constant coordination and synchronization of the two meridians before it could create new functions. Simply stacking ordinary energy could only count as learning the Deriving-Heaven Art, not mastering it. That was also the reason Dongfang Fu had always criticized me.
Along the way, we also began encountering Black Demon Soldiers without end. Some of these immortals hunted and infected ordinary immortal cultivators in groups, while others drifted aimlessly in twos and threes. But whenever they caught a strong aura, they would swoop over. At first, we naturally beat them up without hesitation, then