Chapter 1124: Remnant Spirit of Tai Sui

Han Li and the others had never seen such a scene before: a Great Luo realm cultivator chasing after a huge golden beetle and beating it like a common street thug.

Qu Lin tried several times to beg for mercy, but before he could even finish half a sentence, the Black Heaven Demon Ancestor would suddenly descend and give him a thorough thrashing without any explanation.

The crowd stared dumbfounded, hurriedly dodging left and right to avoid being caught in the crossfire.

Since the Black Heaven Demon Ancestor had previously said they could not leave, they dared not go too far, lest they displease him. They could only dodge awkwardly, looking utterly ridiculous.

Just then, a white light whistled over from afar. The light converged, revealing the green-robed middle-aged man they had seen on the sixth floor, riding a Lich horse.

Seeing this person appear, Han Li, Hu San, and Jiao San’s faces lit up with joy.

Qi Mozi’s expression, however, darkened, and his eyes flickered.

“Fellow Daoist Black Heaven, please show mercy.” The green-robed middle-aged man waved his hand, sending a gray-white light to support the golden beetle, which had been sent flying once again.

But the force behind the golden beetle’s flight was too great. With a tearing sound, it shattered the gray-white light and crashed heavily into an already damaged wall, causing the entire wall to collapse.

“Liu Zizai, why have you old fellow come? Don’t tell me you want to meddle in my affairs?” The Black Heaven Demon Ancestor, having thoroughly beaten Qu Lin, seemed in a much better mood. He glanced at the green-robed middle-aged man, and the two appeared to know each other.

“Hehe, Fellow Daoist Shi has finally broken free. Liu has come specially to congratulate you. Moreover, my life tablet is here, and now that the restrictions of the Time Lamp have been broken, I have come to retrieve it.” Liu Zizai cupped his hands in salute, then looked toward the five-colored altar in the hall, his expression suddenly freezing.

The five-colored altar was already beyond recognition, now nothing but a pile of rubble.

Liu Zizai’s gaze swept over the others in the hall and soon landed on Qi Mozi, his expression darkening slightly.

The Lich horse beneath him also scanned the crowd, but its brow furrowed—it could not detect the location of the life tablet.

“I still have matters to attend to here. If you want to find something, first come, first served. Out of consideration for your being the severed corpse of that old fellow Liu Qi, I’ll let you search later. Don’t cause trouble now!” The Black Heaven Demon Ancestor snorted.

“Liu Qi Ancestor’s severed corpse…” Han Li, standing with Hu San and Jiao San, was startled by the Black Heaven Demon Ancestor’s words, but then everything became clear.

No wonder he had associated Liu Zizai with Liu Qi Ancestor when they first met, and the laws they used were identical. It seemed this person was one of the three corpses Liu Qi Ancestor had severed back then.

Han Li then shook his head slightly, putting aside these trivial matters, and focused on finding a way to deal with the current situation.

His eyes soon flickered as if he had thought of something. He quietly nudged Hu San beside him and moved his lips slightly.

Hu San looked at Han Li and gave an almost imperceptible nod.

“Hehe, thank you, Fellow Daoist Shi.” Liu Zizai nodded to the Black Heaven Demon Ancestor and was about to step aside.

“Fellow Daoist Liu, save me…” Just then, a weak voice came from the side, from the golden beetle.

Although its body was nearly indestructible, the Black Heaven Demon Ancestor’s cultivation and physical strength were not to be taken lightly. After this beating, the beetle’s body was covered with fist prints, bumpy and uneven, with multiple cracks from which golden blood gushed out. Even its seven orifices bled golden blood, making it look utterly miserable.

“Fellow Daoist Shi, you are a Great Luo pinnacle existence, far stronger than us. Why bother with Qu Lin? He only spied on the Time Hall earlier for his own life tablet. Please forgive him this once.” Liu Zizai hesitated briefly, then cupped his hands and addressed the Black Heaven Demon Ancestor again.

“Having slept for so long, I felt uncomfortable all over. Loosening my bones has made me much more comfortable. Take him away for now. I’ll find him again next time.” The Black Heaven Demon Ancestor waved his hand casually.

Hearing that there would be a next time, the golden beetle trembled as if shivering.

“Thank you for your magnanimity, Fellow Daoist Shi.” Liu Zizai’s face lit up with joy. He bowed again, waved his hand, and sent a gray-white light to wrap around the golden beetle.

The golden beetle’s body flashed with golden light as it transformed back into human form, his face swollen and bruised, looking somewhat comical.

Liu Zizai was about to step away again, but his foot suddenly stopped. He glanced at Hu San, a hint of surprise flashing in his eyes, and then halted.

“Fellow Daoist Shi, being sealed here together by that wretch Tai Sui Immortal Venerable is a kind of fate. Now that the restrictions of the Time Lamp have been broken, we are completely free. What are your plans next? Would you be interested in visiting my Celestial Fox Clan?” Liu Zizai’s eyes flickered as he asked.

“Heh, no need. I’ve already found the whereabouts of my wife and son. Next, I’ll go rescue them and enjoy some family bliss. Your fox den must stink to high heaven; I can’t be bothered to go.” The Black Heaven Demon Ancestor rubbed his hands together, his face showing excitement as he chuckled.

“Oh, is that so? Fellow Daoist Shi has finally found the whereabouts of Lady Golden Bell and your son. That is wonderful news. Liu offers his congratulations. But how did you find their whereabouts?” Liu Zizai asked with a hint of a smile.

Seeing the expression on Liu Zizai’s face, Qi Mozi’s heart skipped a beat for some reason, and he quietly slipped his right hand into his sleeve.

"It was this fellow cultivator Qimozi who told me, and he will later take me to find Jinling and the others." The Black Heavenly Demon Ancestor pointed at Qimozi and said.

"Ah! How could Fellow Daoist Shi let this man lead the way? Do you not know that this person is the current Lord of the Immortal Prison?" Liu Zizai raised an eyebrow and said with a look of surprise.

"What? You also say he is the Lord of the Immortal Prison? Hey, who exactly are you?" The Black Heavenly Demon Ancestor seemed to trust Liu Zizai quite a bit, and as he looked at Qimozi, there was no longer any warmth in his eyes.

"Fellow Daoist Shi, do not listen to their nonsense. I am definitely not a person of the Heavenly Court..." Qimozi hurriedly argued.

"Whether you are the Lord of the Immortal Prison or not, there is actually no need for much talk. Just look at this and you will understand." Liu Zizai had already raised his hand and waved, and a mass of gray-white light shot out, transforming into a gray-white sphere.

An image appeared on the sphere, exactly the scene of Qimozi earlier recruiting the Bone Demon and the Bronze Lion Demon. The image of Qimozi taking out the prison lord token was clearly visible, and the voices of the three people's conversation came from within the light sphere, not a single word missing.

"You brat, you dare to deceive me?"

The Black Heavenly Demon Ancestor's expression instantly turned cold as iron, and he suddenly looked at Qimozi.

But at that moment, a golden light rose from Qimozi's body, instantly spreading out to form a golden domain. Within the domain, spiritual light like flames rippled everywhere—it was the Time-Severing Fire Realm, enveloping everyone within it.

Everything within the Time-Severing Fire Realm suddenly became frozen, and all bodies were unable to move.

Meanwhile, Qimozi's form transformed into a streak of golden light, instantly flying out of the ruins of the Tai Sui Hall and shooting rapidly into the distance.

"A mere Time-Severing Fire Realm, and you think it can imprison me!" The Black Heavenly Demon Ancestor roared, and black light burst forth from his body, spreading out like angry waves in all directions, instantly tearing apart the Time-Severing Fire Realm.

He grabbed with one hand in the air, and with a thunderous roar from the sky outside the hall, a terrifying black giant hand covering half the sky appeared again, grabbing fiercely down at Qimozi.

A tremendous force pressed in from all directions, and Qimozi's speed immediately dropped sharply, on the verge of being caught by the black giant hand.

At that moment, golden light flashed on his body, suddenly blazing brightly, sweeping open in all directions, illuminating the nearby void as if it were daylight.

The next moment, a golden mass of light several hundred zhang in size emerged. The mass was covered everywhere with gilded flames, like a golden sun, meeting the black giant hand.

With a thunderous, earth-shattering roar!

The enormous black hand was abruptly blocked by a golden mass of light. As the two collided, the nearby void trembled violently before shattering and collapsing entirely.

Qimozi's figure fell from within the golden light mass, blood streaming from all seven orifices, and he plummeted sharply toward the ground below.

His hands still clutched the lotus-shaped Lamp of Time, whose spiritual light had dimmed considerably compared to before.

Qimozi muttered a few words, and with a flash of golden light on his body, he instantly steadied himself and, without looking back, continued shooting into the distance like lightning.

But the golden light mass did not vanish or dim; it still hovered there, then suddenly swelled again.

Slender golden flames burst forth from within the light mass, instantly piercing the enormous black hand with countless tiny holes.

The once formidable black hand, riddled with holes in the blink of an eye, dissipated and vanished into nothing.

The Black Heavenly Demon Ancestor gazed at the golden light mass, a look of excitement on his face, paying no heed to the fleeing Qimozi, as if he had forgotten him entirely.

The golden light mass suddenly contracted, transforming into a golden figure wearing a tall crown. Though his features were unclear, he still exuded an imposing aura.

Lei Yuce and the others, who were hiding in a corner of the ruined hall, were greatly encouraged upon seeing this figure appear.

"It's the Patriarch!"

"So all these years, the Patriarch never truly left this tower that suppresses the myriad demons and hordes of evil!"

As they spoke, Lei Yuce and the others began kowtowing from afar toward the golden figure.

"So that's it. I was wondering why the Lamp of Time, with no one controlling it, was still so powerful. So it housed a sliver of your remnant spirit, Wen Taisui!" The Black Heavenly Demon Ancestor's expression was now devoid of any trace of frivolity or mania, replaced by a stern coldness.

The golden figure looked at the Black Heavenly Demon Ancestor with a solemn countenance, one hand forming a sword seal, and said nothing.

The next moment, black and golden light burst forth from the two figures almost simultaneously, and two immense auras collided with a roar in the void.

The already damaged Hall of Time collapsed and scattered like paper, though the floor of the hall remained intact, perhaps due to the Five Elements Void Annihilation Array.

Han Li and the others were all sent flying by the two colossal auras, taking the opportunity to retreat far away, distancing themselves from the Black Heavenly Demon Ancestor and the other figure.