Darkness receded like a tide, and the suffocating, ferocious pressure rapidly dissipated. The sky once again revealed its lead-gray backdrop, though it was covered in countless intertwined spatial rifts that still stubbornly and slowly mended themselves.
Although Taotie had retreated, Ancestor Qilin's towering Jade Kirin Dharma Image did not immediately disperse. He lowered his head, his gaze piercing through the void and falling upon an inconspicuous bead suspended in midair below.
Ancestor Qilin raised a forehoof and tapped lightly.
A point of warm, gentle pale-gold light containing endless life force drifted down from his hoof. In an instant, it arrived above the Heaven and Earth Bead, then gently merged into its body.
The Heaven and Earth Bead trembled slightly. The dull gray sheen on its surface seemed to brighten a little, while faint life force flowed within.
Having done all this, Ancestor Qilin turned his gaze toward the Kunyuan Mystic Realm millions of miles away. His voice rang out separately within the minds of Elder Xuan Yue and Daoist Yue Qing:
"Yue Qing, Xuan Yue."
"Your disciples are here!" The two immediately responded respectfully in their minds.
"A great war is about to begin. Taotie's arrival was by no means for the sake of one person and one treasure alone. It was the prelude to war. Convey my decree: have the first, third, and fifth legions of the Kirin Imperial Guard, all war divisions under the Western Expedition Envoy, and the elite forces of the seventy-two battle-ready races affiliated with our clan, including the Stone Spirits and Mountain Giant Apes, proceed to this battlefield at once. Establish defenses within three million miles of the Kunyuan Mystic Realm and set up the Primordial Pure Land Chain Array!"
"Also send word to the Dragon Clan and Phoenix Clan. Make the situation here