Chapter 1133: A Land Laid Waste

The spatial storm around the Time Tower raged for a while, then began to rapidly weaken and dissipate, vanishing completely within a few breaths.

Everything around returned to calm, as if nothing had happened, except for a massive, pitch-black pit on the ground that bore witness to what had just occurred.

The pit was pitch-black, its depth unknown.

Han Li's eyes suddenly brightened, as if he had discovered something. His figure shot out like lightning and plunged into the black pit.

After a few breaths, he flew out from within, holding an object in his hand—it was none other than the Time Lamp.

Having weathered that spatial storm, the lamp's body bore not a single scratch, but its flame had gone out, and the fluctuations of time law it emitted had weakened considerably compared to before.

“Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Han, on recovering the Time Lamp. However, judging by its condition, it seems to have sustained some damage,” Jiao San said, cupping her hands and glancing at the Time Lamp.

“Being able to retrieve this lamp is already more than enough for Han,” Han Li said, flipping his hand to put away the Time Lamp.

At that moment, Black Heaven Demon Ancestor had also finished beating Qu Lin to his satisfaction and flew back contentedly, with Qu Lin, bruised and swollen-faced, following behind, wearing a look of grievance.

"Fellow Daoists, although we have now emerged from the Time Tower, we are still within the Tai Sui Immortal Mansion. Judging by the state of the mansion's space, it likely cannot hold out much longer. If a single Time Tower collapse had such power, the destruction would be even greater if the entire Time Immortal Mansion collapses. We should leave as soon as possible." Jiao San looked at the others and spoke.

The others heard this and nodded in agreement.

"We naturally agree to leave this place. It has imprisoned us for countless ages, and we cannot bear to stay another moment. But how do we leave? Your cultivation is insufficient, so you may not sense it, but the entire Tai Sui Immortal Mansion is now enveloped by a tremendous spatial force. Breaking through will not be easy." Liu Ziyi glanced at everyone and said.

Jiao San smiled faintly and was about to speak.

At that moment, the figures watching from afar suddenly flew over. There were only twenty or thirty of them; the others had either perished or gone elsewhere.

These people were of diverse races—human, demon, and devil. Most were ragged and gaunt, like starving refugees, appearing quite pitiful.

Han Li looked at them and furrowed his brow slightly.

Their auras were immense, comparable to Tai Yi realm cultivators, but strangely, none of them possessed the power of laws.

Although the newcomers lacked the power of laws, they were still twenty or thirty Tai Yi realm cultivators, a considerable pressure. Li Qima and the others showed wary expressions.

"Fellow Daoists, you too were sealed in the Time Tower, I presume. May I ask what business you have?" Jiao San's expression remained calm as he cupped his hands and said.

"If you have a way to leave this place, could you take us with you? We have been imprisoned for countless years, and now that we have finally managed to escape, we do not wish to die here." A gaunt, red-haired man of the human race pleaded.

The others also begged one after another.

"Rest assured, everyone. Meeting here is fate, and we will not abandon you." Jiao San said in a loud voice.

"That's wonderful, thank you, sir." The red-haired man said with immense gratitude.

The others also bowed and thanked Jiao San.

"Daoist Jiao San, from what you say, do you have a way to leave this place?" Liu Zizai asked.

"I came here to carry out a mission for the Reincarnation Hall; how could I not have a way to leave? However, setting it up will take some time." Jiao San turned his hand and took out a stack of silver formation flags and plates, each emitting a powerful fluctuation of spatial energy.

"The Great Teleportation Array! The Reincarnation Hall is indeed wealthy and generous." Liu Zizai's eyes lit up as he praised.

Jiao San smiled faintly and was about to begin setting up.

At that moment, the entire immortal mansion space shook violently. The cracks in the sky rapidly widened, and dazzling golden light burst forth from them, growing brighter and brighter.

The ground also rumbled and shook, ten times more violently than when the Age Tower collapsed earlier. Huge cracks appeared, and the whole area began to disintegrate!

Han Li and the others changed color and quickly flew a distance into the air.

"How is this possible? Although the immortal mansion space was beginning to collapse, it should have held for at least two or three days. Could someone be tampering with it?" Jiao San exclaimed, then changed expression as she spoke.

"Never mind the reason! Set up the grand formation quickly. We'll withstand the surrounding tremors and keep them from affecting you!" Liu Zizai urged.

"Alright!"

Jiao San acknowledged and immediately began to set up, her hands moving like wheels as she formed hand seals and waved them.

The formation flags and plates in her hand shot out, inserting into the nearby void, vaguely forming a silver formation.

Streams of silver light burst forth from it, forming a thick silver pillar of light that shot toward the sky.

Meanwhile, everyone else flew nearby, surrounding Jiao San in the middle.

At this moment, in the distant void, three figures could be faintly seen standing there, completely unaffected by the fluctuations in the surrounding void, gazing from afar at Han Li and the others.

……

Half a day later.

The turmoil in the Jinyuan Mountains finally began to subside, and the entire mountain range gradually settled down.

Dao Yin and his companions hovered hundreds of thousands of miles away, looking down at the earth below, their expressions grim and unbearable to behold.

Below, the Jinyuan Mountains stretched out: on the left, the peaks wound sinuously, layer upon layer, appearing full of life; on the right, at a glance, the mountain roots were severed, rivers had changed course, peaks toppled, all things dead and silent, a scene of utter devastation.

"Living beings suffer, what a sin!" Dao Yin said, his eyes filled with deep pain, letting out a long sigh.

"Master, this is not our fault. It was the decree of the Heavenly Court, and we could not disobey. Besides, we tried our best but failed," Chen Chuan said, frowning, trying to console him.

At that moment, everyone looked into the distance and saw a figure in the void far away, piercing through layers of smoke and dust, flying toward them.

"Senior Brother Lei..." Chen Chuan's eyes flashed with joy as he spoke.

The newcomer was none other than Lei Yuce, but he too was covered in dust, looking somewhat dejected.

Everyone knew the reason and said no more.

Su Quanxi, seeing this, simply stood by his side without saying anything.

……

Just then, above the original Qingsi Hollow, the void suddenly stirred, and a crack split open.

A silver light flashed, and over forty figures emerged one after another.

The first to appear was a man in tattered clothes, hair disheveled, looking somewhat slovenly and mad. As soon as he appeared, he shouted loudly, "Good heavens, even with just a wisp of remnant soul, you have to make such a big commotion..."

This man was none other than the Great Black Heaven Demon Ancestor.

Those who appeared behind him were also covered in dust and dirt, looking utterly disheveled. Besides Han Li and Jiao San, there were also the thirty-plus Taiyi-stage cultivators who had been imprisoned.

"After so many years... finally... finally out!"

"Freedom... we are free!"

Han Li and the others were not particularly moved, but the thirty-plus Taiyi-stage cultivators from various races were filled with excitement, some even weeping uncontrollably.

"Thank you, benefactor, for saving us from the depths of misery!"

"Thank you, benefactor, for saving us from the depths of misery!"

Someone shouted first, and then the others bowed to Jiao San one after another.

"No need for such formality, it was just a small effort. What are your plans from here?" Jiao San waved his hand and said.

"Having been imprisoned for so long, we don't know the current situation outside, nor whether our former sects still exist... Most likely, there is nowhere to go," the red-haired, gaunt man said with a bitter smile.

The others also sighed.

"If any of you have a place to go, you may leave now. If not, you can follow me later, and I will arrange a place for you," Jiao San added.

Thereupon, seven or eight people took their leave of Jiao San, while the remaining twenty-plus chose to stay.

Han Li paid no attention to the conversation between the imprisoned cultivators and Jiao San.

At that moment, he hovered high in the sky, his gaze sweeping over the earth below, his expression very grim. As far as the eye could see, everything was scorched earth, with no trace of the lush green mountains that had been there before.

The original Baishou Valley had been completely blown open, turned into a huge pit hundreds of miles in diameter.

Inside the pit, ravines crisscrossed, radiating outward, and black powder from shattered rocks could be seen. Within a thousand miles, there was no sign of any living creature.

The massive mountain range that had once stretched across the area was gone, almost completely leveled, leaving only a slightly raised black ridge no more than a few dozen yards high, from which thick smoke rose and a scorching smell emanated.

Lan Yan, standing beside him, now deeply understood what it meant to survive a disaster. Her face turned pale, and she covered her mouth, unable to speak.

"The entire secret realm was completely destroyed, and this mountain range was nearly wiped out. Who could have done this?" Jiao San came to Han Li's side, looking at the thousands of miles of scorched earth, and couldn't help asking.

"Judging from what happened earlier, this is most likely related to the Tongtian Sword Sect. But do they really need to be so ruthless?" Han Li was also deeply puzzled and murmured to himself.

"Unlikely. The Tongtian Sword Sect itself is based in the Jinyuan Mountains. Although their sect is not here, any moderately powerful immortal cultivation force in this area, even if not a subordinate sect, has some connection to them. They wouldn't be so crazy as to do something so reckless," Hu San thought for a moment and shook his head.

"Not necessarily. The reason the Tongtian Sword Sect and the Tianshui Sect have grown so large in the Jinyuan Immortal Domain, besides their own strength, is their unwavering loyalty to the Heavenly Court. Otherwise, how could a medium-sized immortal domain like Jinyuan be entrusted to someone like Dongfang Bai, a Taiyi peak cultivator?" Jiao San's eyes narrowed as she spoke.

"Even so, it's not easy to be so ruthless. I suspect the Heavenly Court may have been involved," Han Li said after a moment of deliberation.