You don't want your secret to be revealed by others, right?

"Unfortunately, although the Flying Spirit Chasing Sun has powerful capabilities, it's merely for self-preservation..."

Lin Yue reflected quietly to himself, "If the Divine Artifact Battle Saber were to unleash its true power, it could perhaps threaten the life of an ordinary Saint..."

...

The night was deep, and the storm obscured the darkness.

Suddenly, figures with hidden auras appeared in the sky above the desolate mountain.

Cloaked in black, Duanmu Yan stood suspended in the air, holding a piece of the Yin Yang Heavenly Mechanism Jade in one hand and taking out the sparkling jade-like Primordial Spirit Token with the other.

After activating the Primordial Spirit Token, Duanmu Yan couldn't help but transmit his joy: "The Seventeenth Prince is indeed here!"

The Yin Yang Heavenly Mechanism Jade could locate the position of the other half of the jade, while the Primordial Spirit Token could accurately determine the location of the Seventeenth Prince.

Beside him stood an incarnation of the Golden Feather Demon Saint, wearing a dark golden crown, with eyes of gold that flickered with lightning,

and behind him... those five disguised as members of the Human Clan, all Demon Saints.

"This went smoother than expected; another plan can be spared."

Duanmu Yan revealed a hint of a smile, "Yan Yue has not yet transformed into a member of the Demon Clan; her use in Great Yong is still significant. To expend this opportunity now would truly be a pity."

"Yan Yue must be planning to take Baili Fengzhi to the Demon Clan," the Golden Feather Demon Saint said indifferently, "She doesn't concern herself with our Demon Clan affairs."

"After all, Baili Fengzhi is the granddaughter of the Nirvana Demon God of the Fire Phoenix Clan," Duanmu Yan said with a smile.

He said no more, immediately scanning his gaze over everyone, he solemnly said, "Gentlemen, we have only one objective in this venture—we must force the Seventeenth Prince into a desperate situation, the Golden Feather Demon Saint can make a move later."

"I understand," the Golden Feather Demon Saint slowly nodded.

This incarnation was created using endless treasures and a Dao Feather refined from profound efforts by the Golden Winged Demon God, possessing thirty-five percent of the original body's strength.

Equipped with the Semi-Divine Artifact 'Instantaneous Crown', his incarnation's strength was even slightly superior to some extraordinary Saintly opponents.

If he were to strike with full force, he might kill the Seventeenth Prince instantly.

But that was not the purpose of this trip, so he couldn't strike directly.

"Eh?"

Duanmu Yan suddenly spoke, "This seems to be the palace of the Undying Sage? It seems the Seventeenth Prince is disguised and hidden here, a cunning strategy. For a Prince to willingly disguise himself as a servant, who would expect that? Without the Primordial Spirit Token, it would be hard to confirm..."

"The Undying Sage?" The Golden Feather Demon Saint asked, "Should we wait and seek another opportunity?"

"No matter, if the Undying Sage dares to interfere, we'll kill him as well."

Duanmu Yan swept his gaze, speaking in a low tone, "Let's begin, everyone, be prepared to fight for your lives."

During his speech, he flipped his hand, and a green tree trunk appeared in his grasp, its aura enveloping the surroundings, almost creating a realm of its own.

"This is..."

The Golden Feather Demon Saint watched the green tree trunk in astonishment and couldn't help saying, "The Branch of the Celestial Builder… a branch of the World Tree?"

"Correct, this is the World Tree," Duanmu Yan smiled and nodded, "Only the legendary World Tree, capable of isolating itself from the world, can prevent Saints and even incarnations of the Proven from descending."

The Golden Feather Demon Saint finally understood.

Why, knowing that the Seventeenth Prince might carry objects allowing the descent of the Fifth Prince and the Main Hall Master's incarnations, was Duanmu Yan still daring to confront the Seventeenth Prince?

It turned out... the Demon Ancestor had produced a segment of the World Tree's branch!

In a sense, incarnation is akin to manipulating a puppet through Divine Thought.

However, once Divine Thought is thoroughly blocked, incarnation cannot descend.

For instance, the National Guardian Array of Great Yong separates Great Yong into its realm from Eternal Night, thus even Saintly figures cannot send their incarnations into Eternal Night.

Only incarnations that exist independently from the original body can be unaffected by the separation.

"Even if Proven Masters dare to forcefully break through the realm, the World Tree might self-destruct, annihilating everything within the realm with it. With such a world-destroying power, even most extraordinary Saints would likely perish."

Duanmu Yan spoke confidently, "Even if the Main Hall Master has some ingenious way to sneak into the realm of the World Tree, there's still a surprise prepared by the Heavenly Demon Ancestor waiting for him..."

Subsequently, he took out a dark stone pot and said, "Eternal Night Mountain is also ready; over in Di Hong City, someone has gone to find the Fifth Prince. The Fifth Prince will be in seclusion for at least a day..."

"Go!"

With a wave of his sleeve, Duanmu Yan let the greenish branch drop, quietly embedding it into the top of the mountain.

...

In the storm, a group of people arrived at the mansion on the desolate mountain. After enduring the storm and the hardships of climbing, they were thoroughly drenched, covered in mud, and utterly disheveled.

In front of this vast mansion, one could see a human-height stele.

On the stele were eight large characters—

[Prostrate nine times, and enter the mansion.]

The group hesitated as they read the characters on the stele.

As cultivators, especially those from outside Jingzhou, being a cultivator of the Four Symbols Heaven Barrier was already an elite status.

Accustomed to being esteemed, when had they ever suffered such humiliation?

Even if pursued as sinful cultivators, most were forced onto this path because they could not suppress the pride in their hearts.

And now, just to enter a mansion, they had to kneel and kowtow?

Even if it was known that they were to be servants, not all servants needed to kneel; many servants in the mansions of high officials only needed to bow respectfully with a bent waist.

Lin Yue also slightly raised his eyebrows.

This Immortal was quite adept at understanding the human heart.

If he had just directly asked people to kneel at the beginning, perhaps many would not have been willing.

But having descended the mountain to become mortals, walking in the mud under the rain had already made the pursued cultivators completely let go of their pride.

Coming down the mountain was originally to become household slaves; at this point, disheveled as they were, prostrating did not seem unacceptable.

It was like lowering their baseline step by step, akin to boiling frogs in warm water.

"Thud."

"Thud."

After a good while, a cultivator finally knelt. Once one did, one after another, cultivators began to kneel.

Except for Lin Yue.

He was constantly paying attention to the Yin Yang Heavenly Mechanism Jade in his storage space.

Just now, this half piece of Heavenly Mechanism Jade had already shown a slight reaction, indicating... the enemy had arrived!

Although he had been a beggar before, begging on the streets, the life he was experiencing at this moment was not one beset with selling one's dignity.

Moreover, not even an Immortal deserved to make him kneel.

"You're the only one left."

A deep and gentle voice suddenly emanated from inside the mansion: "Since you are a domestic slave in my mansion, why do you not kneel?"

This was evidently the voice of the Immortal.

Lin Yue did not speak, nor did he trouble himself with needless words.

"If you don't kneel, you will die here now. Will you kneel or not?"

The Immortal's voice rose with a hint of a smile: "Let me give you a test... Do you choose to stand and die or kneel and live?"

The next moment, a terrifying pressure emanated from the mansion, instantly enveloping all the cultivators present, making everyone uncontrollably tremble with fear.

The immense disparity in life levels instinctively made it impossible to resist.

"Choose, kneel or die?"

The relaxed voice of the Immortal sounded, as if he had encountered a fun game.

For him, this was just a game to relax his mood.

From his elevated position, watching a group of ants scrounge for their lives was his greatest joy.

"Hahaha..."

Suddenly, a mocking laugh boomed from the sky, and at the same time, a green tree trunk descended from the heavens, crashing into the mountain's peak.

"Immortal, if you can make the Seventeenth Prince kneel and kowtow to you, then I will truly admire you a bit!"

Amidst the laughter echoing through the heavens and earth, the green tree trunk took root at the mountain's peak, and immediately boundless vitality spread, causing the tree trunk to grow wildly.

In the blink of an eye, the green tree trunk had transformed into a massive tree that blotted out the sun.

The layers of drooping leaves seemed to isolate heaven and earth.