The energy storm caused by the Demon Nest's collapse raged through the void for several days before finally subsiding, leaving behind only scattered stardust drifting like blood droplets from a cosmic wound. The Heavenly Stems Star Formation had long since dimmed, and the three hundred and sixty-five Nascent Soul cultivators who had exhausted their spiritual power lay in various states of collapse, rescued and protected by the alliance fleet that arrived on the scene. Cleanup operations began immediately, with dozens of specially modified patrol ships inscribed with purification runes, like meticulous cleaners, weaving through the dangerous energy ripples still lingering among the ruins, searching for valuable clues, survivors, and—most importantly—evidence confirming the Demonic Entity's death.
Yet as the search expanded, the atmosphere in the joint command center grew heavier rather than lighter.
Nothing.
No direct evidence could prove that the Demonic Entity, which had ravaged the Three Realms and unleashed this apocalyptic demonic catastrophe, had been annihilated along with its nest.
The search fleet employed the most advanced spiritual sense scanning formations, karma-tracing compasses, and even invited several masters of celestial divination to assist remotely. They examined every larger fragment left by the Demon Nest's destruction, every wisp of residual energy, repeatedly. They found countless minerals twisted and eroded by demonic energy, fragments of deactivated flesh tissue, shattered remnants of demonic artifacts, and even captured some faint and chaotic soul fluctuations... but they did not capture even a single strand of that unique, utterly dark and evil aura that belonged exclusively to the Demonic Entity's origin.
It had simply vanished. In that final moment before the Demon Nest's complete collapse, after Tang Xiaoqi's world-shaking sword strike had severely wounded its core, as the Heavenly Stems Star Formation's devastating bombardment fell—the Demonic Entity had evaporated as if it had never existed, leaving no trace whatsoever for pursuit.
"Report! Area K7 search complete. No high-concentration demonic source detected!"
"Report! Karma compass readings are fuzzy. The target's karmic thread... snapped at the final moment?"
"Celestial divination is experiencing severe interference. The backlash is extreme. Cannot perceive its life or death..."
Tidings of unease flooded the temporary void command platform one after another. Sitting in the main seat, temporarily acting as alliance leader, Senior Brother Mu Qingfeng's brow was tightly furrowed, his knuckles white from tension. The holographic display before him showed the energy distribution map of the Demon Nest's collapse zone. Where the Demonic Entity's origin should have been, there was only an alarming void.
"It's not dead." Third Senior Sister Liu Yun's voice carried the hoarseness of post-battle exhaustion and absolute certainty. She stood at the platform's edge, gazing at the void beyond gradually returning to dead silence, her eyes sharp as blades. "I can feel it. That nauseating malicious intent hasn't completely dissipated—it's just become extremely faint and scattered."
Zhao Tiezhu slammed his fist against the nearby metal wall with a dull thud. His physique was robust and his recovery was swift, yet his face was full of fury and indignation: "Did we pay such a tremendous price? Is Xiao Qi in that state right now... and yet that damned thing still escaped?!"
Second Brother Luo Feng, who had been connected to the command system in soul form and responsible for data analysis, had his virtual image flicker as he spoke with unprecedented seriousness. "Based on comprehensive data model analysis, the most probable scenario is this: the Demonic Entity, at the moment its core suffered Xiao Qi's devastating blow and it sensed the imminent complete destruction of the Demon Nest, employed some unknown—extremely brutal yet equally effective—life-preservation technique."
Complex energy flow projections appeared on the screen.
"It likely voluntarily discarded over ninety percent of its demonic body and accumulated power, possibly even tearing away part of its damaged origin, to create a massive energy 'smoke screen' that disrupted all detection and tracking. Its most core and essential spark of true spirit, carrying the remaining origin—severely wounded but of extremely high metaphysical status—was concealed through a method beyond our current understanding—perhaps some forbidden spatial escape technique, possibly merging with certain underlying cosmic laws, or perhaps... parasitism or reincarnation."
"Abandoning most of its power..." Senior Brother Mu Qingfeng repeated softly, his expression growing even grimmer. This meant the Demonic Entity was far more cunning and decisive than they'd imagined. An enemy that knew when to endure and when to sacrifice was far more terrifying than one that only knew mindless destruction.
"Where could it have escaped to?" Mu Xue's voice rang out. She had somehow arrived at the command platform. Her face was still pale, but her eyes had regained their composure—though within those ice-blue depths lurked bone-deep cold and worry. She had just sent the unconscious Xiao Qi into the medical vessel's most critical life-sustaining formation, where the alliance's top medical cultivators and pill refinement masters were working together desperately.
Second Brother's virtual image turned toward her, shaking his head. "Cannot be certain. The void is infinite, planes are as numerous as grains of sand. It might be hiding in some undiscovered, remote corner, licking its wounds. It might have used its remaining power to forcibly open a passage to some unknown secondary plane or shadow dimension. What's most troubling is... if it truly mastered some technique of merging with laws or reincarnation, it might be hiding right beside us, in some corner of the Three Realms, within... all living beings."
"Within all living beings..." These four words made everyone on the command platform feel a chill rise from the base of their spines. A Demonic Entity that had lost most of its power but retained its unchanged nature and infinite malicious intent, lying in hiding, subtly influencing hearts and fostering darkness—its harm might not be as violent as direct destruction, but in the long run, could prove far more deadly and impossible to eradicate.
The Demon Nest was destroyed, the main demonic army annihilated. This was undoubtedly a major strategic victory, buying the Three Realms precious breathing room.
But the Demonic Entity was not dead—its fate unknown, its whereabouts a mystery.
This was like a sword of Damocles hanging over the alliance that had just glimpsed the dawn of victory, over every person who knew the truth. Joy was shrouded in heavy shadow, the uncertainty of the future, and the threat lurking in unknown corners made this hard-won victory seem especially somber.
All eyes unconsciously turned toward the medical vessel.
The hero of the alliance, the key figure who had severely wounded the Demonic Entity, was fighting for his life between life and death. And the path ahead seemed even more shrouded in fog than before. The Demonic Entity missing, life and death unknown—this in itself was the worst possible news.