Realm consolidated, Divine Soul initially understood. Tang Xiaoqi did not linger at Qingxu Temple, parting from Mu Xue and Senior Brother, explaining he needed to personally investigate the three suspicious areas. Everyone knew he had now reached Spirit Transformation, strength worlds apart from before, though still worried, did not strongly urge against it as before, merely urging caution repeatedly.
Xiao Qi stepped out, his form already appearing ten thousand li outside Qingxu Temple in high altitude. After Spirit Transformation, comprehension and utilization of space were no longer comparable to Nascent Soul realm—ordinary travel, wherever his thought moved, could cross mountains and rivers, speed far exceeding any flying treasure or escape technique.
He did not directly perform ultra-long distance spatial jumping, but chose this near-strolling method to traverse. On one hand, to further familiarize Spirit Transformation power's interaction with heaven and earth laws; on the other hand, most importantly—to use his essentially transformed spiritual sense and Divine Soul perception to re-scan those three locked areas.
Though the Void Dragon Crystal and Zhou Tian Star Compass had roughly locked the three locations of "Abyss Sea Eye,""Extinction Nebula," and "Shadow Plane Rift" back then, limited by his cultivation and means at the time, perception was ultimately fuzzy, unable to confirm exactly where the demonic entity lurked, even unable to be one hundred percent certain the demonic entity was among these three.
But now, things were different.
He first targeted that area at the bottom of the endless ocean, even the Dragon Clan regarded as forbidden—"Abyss Sea Eye."
His form flickered a few times, already crossing endless distances, arriving above that violent sea area. Below was a vortex so massive it could swallow an entire continent! Seawater here rotated toward center collapse, emitting thunderous roars, tearing at everything around, even light seeming devoured, making the vortex center pitch black, as if leading straight to the. Chaotic spatial forces and devouring laws intertwined here, forming an absolute death forbidden zone.
At Nascent Soul realm, Xiaoqi's spiritual sense probing this place was like a stone dropped into the sea, only able to feel chaotic danger, difficult to penetrate the core.
At this moment, he hovered at the vortex's edge, chaotic-colored eyes calmly observing that destructive wonder. Powerful spiritual sense like the finest net, not brutally impacting, but in a way of integration and resonance, slowly infiltrating toward the vortex's depths.
Spirit Transformation's spiritual sense carried a trace of law's authority and tolerance. That violent devouring force and spatial chaos, upon contacting this spiritual sense, unlike before, no longer shattered or rejected it, but became "docile" as if encountering a higher-level existence, allowing it to penetrate.
Spiritual sense chaotic energy, constantly downward, downward... perceiving the terrifying pressure at the vortex core sufficient to annihilate stars and the twisted-to-extremity spatial structure.
One incense stick's time passed.
Xiao Qi furrowed his brow. Deep in the Abyss Sea Eye, besides the naturally formed, vast destructive energy and spatial traps, he sensed no traces of the demonic entity's unique original demonic aura. Though dangerous, this area seemed more like a purely natural forbidden zone, without traces of long-term habitation or transformation by external force.
"Not here." He knew in his heart, spiritual sense like a tide withdrawing without the slightest reluctance.
The next moment, his form faded, directly integrating into. This time, he utilized true spatial traversal.
As if merely blinking, surrounding scenery transformed from violent ocean to dead silent starry sky. Before him, a vast, endless, dim-colored nebula—"Extinction Nebula." Here seemed like a forgotten cosmic graveyard, floating countless planet remnants, massive dust belts slowly rotating, yet emanating a soul-freezing meaning. Laws here leaned toward "death" and "ending," spiritual energy so scarce as to be nearly nonexistent, extremely unfriendly to living beings.
Xiaoqi's spiritual sense spread again. This time, his perception was more cautious. The Extinction Nebula's special environment made any external, active energy or thought as conspicuous as a lamp in darkness.
His spiritual sense like, passing cold planet fragments, through diffuse interstellar dust, probing into the nebula's core even light seemed absorbed absolute darkness area.
Here, he perceived extremely dense "ending" Dao resonance, as if all things here would proceed to final annihilation. He even caught some residual, long-deactivated extinction law fragments from ancient times.
Yet still, nothing.
No trace of that familiar, corruption-filled malicious demonic entity's original aura. This nebula also seemed not the demonic entity's choice. It was too "dead"—so dead that even an otherworldly demon existing on negative emotions and energy would find it difficult to long sustain recovery-required "nourishment."
Xiaoqi's heart held little disappointment, but instead greater. Ruling out two wrong options, then the answer was nearly self-evident.
His gaze turned to the last, also strangest, most difficult to investigate area—"Shadow Plane Rift."
The so-called Shadow Plane was not an independent with fixed coordinates, but adhered to the main world's rules, derived from the world's negative emotions, dark thoughts, and light-dark laws intertwining—a special dimensional layer. Its entrance was erratic, difficult to capture; the internal environment even more grotesque, full of uncertainty.
Back then, locating the entrance also relied on Shadow Serpent Pavilion's clues and that special resentment environment of the Western Desert ancient battlefield.
Xiao Qi closed his eyes, not finding that erratic entrance. Instead, he raised his vast spiritual sense and Divine Soul perception power to the extreme!
What he was doing was not entering the Shadow Plane, but standing at the main world's height, using Spirit Transformation Honorable's perception touching law's origin, to "listen" and "catch" extremely faint "anomalies" that the Shadow Plane adhering to the main world's rules might leak into the main world!
His spiritual sense no longer concretized, but transformed into an even more essential "fluctuation," conducting deep resonance and scanning with the main world's laws. He filtered out the negative emotional fluctuations normally produced by the world's billions of living beings, ignored those naturally forming dark energy areas...
Like the most skilled hunter, patiently seeking in an infinite forest that single "scent" not belonging to this forest, unique and subtle.
Time passed slowly.
Suddenly!
As his spiritual sense fluctuation swept past the Western Desert edge, near that ancient battlefield ruin's certain spatial node, an extremely faint, nearly non-existent fluctuation yet carrying an terrifying, extremely high-level "coldness" and "filthiness," like a tiny pebble dropped into a still lake, instinctively alarmed his Divine Soul!
Found!
Xiao Qi abruptly opened his eyes, chaotic-colored eyes bursting with sharp light!
That fluctuation was not the demonic entity actively emanating aura, but traces left on the main world laws level by its long-term lurking, its original power unconsciously penetrating the Shadow Plane's barrier, nearly ground smooth by time! This trace was so hidden, so subtle, that had he not been in Spirit Transformation realm, his Divine Soul perception highly matching heaven and earth laws, it would have been absolutely impossible to catch!
Moreover, this trace's directionality was extremely clear! It was not evenly distributed throughout the Shadow Plane, but like a barely-visible thread, with that spatial node as starting point, extending toward the Shadow Plane's certain specific "depth" and "direction"!
The demonic entity was indeed hidden within the Shadow Plane! And deep within that direction's extension!
Xiao Qi did not hesitate even slightly, locking onto the direction indicated by that trace, his form again integrating into.
This time, he would directly tear space and enter that grotesque Shadow Plane, striking at the dragon's lair!
The long-hidden demonic entity—your hiding place has been exposed!
The final battle is about to commence in this Shadow World adhering to reality!