Within Coldwind Valley, the Boundary Gate hung in midair like an enormous curtain raised high. The portal through the void connected two Grotto-Heavens that should have had nothing to do with each other. It had continued opening and closing as time passed, until today, when it finally opened fully.
Demons poured into the Void Gate by the hundreds and thousands, like an army marching out. Everywhere, demonic heads surged in a throng, heels on heels and shoulders rubbing shoulders.
Mingling among them, Li Chen could almost feel vast quantities of Heaven and Earth Vital Energy rushing in from every direction. Demonic Baleful Energy churned into invisible waves, like currents swallowed by an ocean's abyss.
The instant he crossed the Boundary Gate, a shrill, whistle-like sound rang in his ears. It was the wind howling through the gorge.
Expressionless, Li Chen followed the Demons forward. He knew that a few miles ahead lay the exit on the Octagonal Fort side.
This place was long, narrow, and cramped. Moving through it amid so many Demons left him almost nowhere to dodge.
Demons surrounded Li Chen on every side. Had this been more than a year ago, his aura would surely have given him away, ruining his disguise.
But over that year and more, he had personally slain a hundred Demons, dissecting and studying them, and had managed and controlled no fewer than a thousand Host Insects. His disguising skills, his own aura, and even his state of mind when facing these Demons had long since been honed until they were flawless.
None of the Demons present could detect that a human cultivator had slipped among their kind. Like a bustling crowd, they continued pressing and jostling against each other as they moved forward.
Over slopes, across scattered rocks, and through one gully