Return to His Homeland!

Shi Jian traveled westward without encountering any further obstacles.

For convenience, Shi Jian deliberately revealed the aura of the Giant Bear Clan.

Along the way, he passed through several Spirit Transformation clans. Upon sensing his aura, the old monsters of those clans all bowed respectfully, not daring to show the slightest negligence.

Such is the power of royalty.

After an unknown amount of time, a vast and boundless lake slowly emerged on the distant horizon—that was the Boundless Lake.

Shi Jian paused, and the lightning around him subsided; he stood high in the sky, looking down at the extremely familiar lake.

The lake surface shimmered and stretched endlessly, just as it had in the past.

Shi Jian stood high in the sky, his Divine Sense spreading out to take in the entire body of water.

The Boundless Lake, spanning millions of miles, is as vast as the sea; its waters are unfathomably deep, shimmering with a pale blue light.

This body of water was once vast and boundless, like a boundless ocean; but now it looks like nothing more than a large lake.

The Divine Sense the Spirit Transformation cultivator swept across the lake, revealing the entire scene.

The once numerous Golden Core Beasts are now nowhere to be found; even the Foundation Establishment Realm demons are few and far between.

The entire body of water was eerily quiet, as if it had been swept clean by something.

Shi Jian's gaze fell on the center of the lake.

That island floating on the water was the ancient Profound Spirit Continent.

Profound Spirit Island is crisscrossed by mountains and rivers, and densely covered with Spirit Vein; the Spiritual Qi on the island has not diminished, but has become even more concentrated.

Clearly, a new Spirit Transformation cultivator has taken charge and has reorganized the Spirit Vein.

Shi Jian probed the island with his Divine Sense.

Three auras of Spirit Transformation appeared and disappeared.

They were all cultivators of the Space Dao, cultivating immortal Immortal Foundation below the [Spaceless] fruit level; their Daoist aura was extremely restrained, as if hidden in the cracks of the void, something that ordinary Nascent Soul probably couldn't even perceive.

"Three Nascent Spirit Transformation..."

Shi Jian Dao of Darkness, "The foundation of Profound Spirit Island is not weak at all."

He made no attempt to conceal his aura; purple-gold lightning arcs flickered around his body, and the might of the Spirit Transformation emanated outwards; that vast aura of Dao of Lightning instantly enveloped the entire Profound Spirit Island.

On the island, the three auras simultaneously froze.

A few breaths later, a streak of azure light shot out from the center of the island; the space within the light was distorted and unstable, clearly the work of a cultivator of the Space Dao.

The beam of light stopped in front of Shi Jian and transformed into a fox demon with a bluish-gray body.

The fox demon was not large, only about ten feet tall when it transformed into human form, with extremely smooth bluish-gray fur all over its body; its vertical pupils held a hint of wariness, but it was not impolite.

"Is the visitor a fellow Daoist from the Giant Bear Clan?"

The fox demon flexed its paws, its voice slightly hoarse.

Shi Jian nodded. "The Giant Bear Clan, Shi Jian."

The fox demon's expression changed slightly, a hint of surprise flashing in his vertical pupils; he looked Shi Jian up and down, then bowed respectfully.

"So it's Fellow Shi Jian, my apologies for not recognizing you."

He paused, then continued, "I am Qing Jian from the Azure Fox Clan; two other elders of my clan are currently cultivating in seclusion on the island."

"Fellow Daoist, you've come from afar, is there something you need?"

Shi Jian scanned the island with his Divine Sense, his gaze utterly calm as he said, "Search for old friends, and retrieve some things from our homeland."

Qing Jian was taken aback, then realized what he meant. "Fellow Daoist, are you referring to those native demons who used to live here?"

"Um."

Qing Jian remained silent for a moment, a complex expression flashing in his vertical pupils.

"Those native Demon Race left hundreds of years ago; now, only my Azure Fox Clan remains on the island."

Shi Jian frowned slightly. "Left? Where did they go?"

I don't know.

Qing Jian shook his head. "When my clan first arrived here, those Demon Beast had already disappeared; only some cave abode ruins and abandoned old dwellings remained."

He paused, then continued, "However, my elders once mentioned that a great upheaval seemed to have occurred here in the past; many cultivators perished in that upheaval, and the survivors either fled or joined the surrounding Spirit Transformation clans."

Shi Jian's heart sank.

Big changes?

He's only been gone a few hundred years, and yet such a thing has happened here?

Do you know the details of that incident?

Qing Jian hesitated for a moment, then extended his Divine Sense and sent a message to the island.

A moment later, two beams of light flew out from the island; one was azure and the other was dark gray, both exuding the aura of Spirit Transformation.

The two fox demons transformed into human form and landed beside Qing Jian. Both were at the Early Spirit Transformation. The blue fox demon had a more profound Dao aura, suggesting that it had likely remained at the early stage for quite some time.

"Greetings, Fellow Shi Jian."

The two fox demons simultaneously cupped their hands, their tone becoming much more respectful.

Shi Jian nodded in acknowledgment, his gaze falling on the azure fox demon. "May I ask, fellow Daoist, do you still remember the events that occurred here in the past?"

The azure fox demon pondered for a moment before slowly speaking.

That happened two hundred years ago.

"At that time, the local Demon Race was self-reliant and relatively stable; but for some reason, one day, a black dragon at the Spirit Transformation stage suddenly descended upon this place."

"That black dragon cultivated the [Spring of Rebirth] Immortal Foundation, which is below the Northern Water Dao Fruit. Its strength is extremely formidable. As soon as the black dragon arrived, it massacred the entire continent."

"Large numbers of native Demon Race were wiped out; even the Sea Race in this Boundless Lake were completely slaughtered."

"The rest, including those at the Golden Core and Foundation Establishment stages, suffered countless casualties."

Finally, the black dragon vanished without a trace.

Shi Jian narrowed his vertical pupils slightly. "Is that black dragon still here?"

The azure fox demon shook its head. "They left long ago, supposedly heading to the Eastern Territory Abyss; our clan only moved here after the black dragon departed."

"Our clan only settled here about 170 or 180 years ago."

Shi Jian remained silent for a moment, his heart filled with complex emotions.

He simply wanted to know where Shi Pan and Shi Yin's old subordinates were now; he feared that those old comrades had all been killed or wounded.

"Fellow Daoist, do you know where those native tribes have gone?"

The Azure Fox Demon pondered for a moment, "Since that upheaval, most of these clans have been wiped out or scattered and fled; my clan has heard that a Bear Race fled north and sought refuge with a Spirit Transformation clan called Frost Wing."

"This clan is not very strong, and they live a million miles Boundless Lake. Perhaps you could go and search for them."

Shi Jian understood immediately, memorized the two pieces of information, and then raised his hand, a purple-gold Jade Slip condensing in his palm.

"This Jade Slip contains a wisp of my Divine Sense; if any Bear Race Demon Cultivator come here to find me in the future, give them this item."

The Jade Slip flew to Qing Jian, Qing Jian quickly caught it and bowed, saying, "Fellow Daoist, rest assured, I will take good care of it."

Shi Jian nodded, said nothing more, and then turned into a purple-gold lightning bolt, rushing northward.

Behind them, the three-headed fox demon watched the lightning bolt disappear into the distance, and it took a long time for it to come back to its senses.

Qing Jian whispered, "He's a Nascent Spirit Transformation from the White Bone Giant Bear Imperial Clan. This Fellow Shi Jian is truly someone of great importance."

The azure fox demon nodded slightly, a hint of solemnity flashing in its vertical pupils.

"An old friend who would make a Nascent Spirit Transformation personally come to seek me out must be no ordinary person; if any Bear Race cultivators ever come here in the future, we must treat them with the utmost hospitality."

The dark gray fox demon muttered to himself, "I'm afraid those lesser Bear Race demons are all dead by now. Who knows how many survived the black dragon's massacre back then?"

The azure fox demon glared at him, and the dark gray fox demon shut its mouth.

The three foxes exchanged a glance, then transformed into light and returned to the island.

Above the Boundless Lake, only the clouds stirred by the Dao of Lightning energy remained, lingering for a long time, with lightning flashing and Lei Ming incessantly.