In the Boundless Sea, roughly a day's journey from the coast of Xi Kingdom.
More than twenty men in assorted attire stood on a reef, discussing the strange phenomenon ten li away.
A hazy white mass of light shimmered above the nearby sea. Vast swathes of five-colored radiance slowly gathered and revolved overhead, resembling a gigantic inverted funnel. A faint white current connected its tip to the mass of light below, forming an exceedingly peculiar spectacle.
Suddenly, a Daoist wearing a gray Daoist robe with a long sword on his back spoke to the black-robed young man beside him.
"Fellow Daoist Xiao, the spiritual energy vortex is just ahead. Its appearance was most suspicious. Fellow Daoist Wei and I have already investigated the vicinity and found this. Please take a look!"
With that, the Daoist took an iron fragment wreathed in black qi from his storage bag.
"Is this a demon artifact?" The black-robed young man accepted the fragment and examined it for a moment before asking with some uncertainty.
"You have a discerning eye, Fellow Daoist Xiao. Ahem, ahem. This is indeed a fragment of a demon artifact. A cultivation family in Tian Luo Kingdom possessed a demon artifact as its clan-protecting treasure, and this fragment was part of it. Later, that family was wiped out by the Ancient Demon, so..." An elderly man with green hair and blue robes spoke up. His face was rather pale, and he coughed intermittently as he spoke.
"So this spiritual energy vortex really was the Ancient Demon's doing," the black-robed young man finished.
"Indeed!" the Daoist confirmed.
The three fell silent.
These three were none other than Xiao Yu, Perfected Zhiyang, and Wei Wuya. Another month had passed since Xiao Yu's return to the Yue Alliance.
Not long ago, the Demon-Slaying Team