```

Ancient Di Jiang stared intently at the figure of his old friend, the Ancient Qiongqi, daring not to take anything lightly.

Although it was just a backup plan, he could already feel the pressure the Ancient Qiongqi was exerting on him.

Still, he was unafraid; both being Semi-Immortals, who could be inferior to whom? He had not feared the living Qiongqi, let alone the dead.

"What if I refuse to give it?"

Boom—

Without a second word, Qiongqi’s claw came down, flattening as if to smash a watermelon, creating a terrifying whirlwind that swept across the Qiongqi tomb.

"Dare to control my Qiongqi Clan, it seems you are tired of living!"

Under that claw strike from the Ancient Qiongqi, the Transcendence Tribulation Stage demon emperors within the token exploded one after another, merely leaving behind a sense of pressure within the token, how could they withstand such a blow from the Ancient Qiongqi?

Ancient Di Jiang, utterly fearless, flapped his wings to meet the attack head-on.

The Ancient Qiongqi had long since perished, and the Ancient Di Jiang was far away in the eastern side of the Demon Territory. The two Semi-Immortals clashed across time and space, and the entire Qiongqi Clan felt this palpitation.

Outside the Qiongqi tomb, the massive Qiongqis bowed solemnly in the direction of the tomb, as if heeding a call of their bloodline, falling like hills.

Inside the Qiongqi tomb, Ancient Di Jiang laughed heartily and ceased his attacks.

"Gold Clan Leader, you and I are as close as brothers. The one I wanted to see most upon awakening was you. Today, having seen you, I am overjoyed that Gold Clan Leader’s might is just as imposing as in the old days. My sending an envoy to your noble clan was to visit you. Now that my purpose has been achieved, I wish you a good sleep, farewell!"

The methodical unification of the Demon Territory was in progress; there was no need to provoke such a formidable enemy for no reason. The presence or absence of the Qiongqi Clan made little difference.

This visit served to test the depths of the Qiongqi Clan.

Click, the token fell to the ground and then turned into powder.

Ancient Qiongqi looked coldly at his old rival, Ancient Di Jiang, snorted dismissively, and dissipated into the air.

"Fairy, is this what you meant by ’giving face’?"

Lu Yang swallowed hard; no wonder they said this feather could compel any demon race to do something, turns out if they don’t agree, Ancient Qiongqi just goes ahead and takes action.

"Yes, was there anything incorrect about my description?"

Fairy Eternity naturally inquired, with a tone that was off; the old Qiongqi was always polite and seeking face when speaking to her, but the tone was a bit harsher when speaking to others.

"...There’s nothing incorrect."

"Would you like to chat with Ancient Qiongqi? It seems like he isn’t entirely dead; his movements are just like those of the living."

Fairy Eternity waved her hand: "He’s completely dead, at most what’s left is a divine will. After just now’s clash, the divine will and consciousness within the feather are completely drained."

"What if Ancient Di Jiang attacks again?"

"He won’t be able to. This is the flaw of the Survival Of The Fittest Dao Fruit. Since in the battle just now Di Jiang voluntarily withdrew, no longer occupying the ’strong’ position, he can no longer control the Qiongqi Clan."

"Fairy, Ancient Di Jiang mentioned he awoke from a deep sleep, does that mean he has been asleep since ancient times to become an Immortal?"

"If he says so, then it is so. Probably used some block of ice to freeze himself into an icicle which just melted now, or maybe he was soaking in something. There are many methods; essentially, all are imitating a standstill in time."

Not long ago, Lu Yang had encountered a Semi-Immortal from ancient times who had been in deep slumber—the Imperial Teacher of Great Yu.

"However, the higher the cultivation level, the rarer the heavenly and earthly treasures required for the deep slumber. One could say that the treasures used by a Semi-Immortal are the most precious. Moreover, during the slumber, as the Dao Fruit is still in its outline, its power will gradually dissipate, leaving only an empty shell.

After awakening, there will be a lengthy recovery period before returning to the peak of one’s power."

Immortals have infinite lifespans and don’t need to undergo deep slumber.

"Shall we go looking for Ancient Di Jiang?"

This was the second ancient character to make an appearance after Fairy Eternity and was likely to know many things.

Fairy Eternity displayed a look of disdain: "Tch, that old fellow is nothing good, extremely sly and well-hidden, hard to find. If we let Miss Yun come and turn the Demon Territory upside down, we could probably locate him."

```

Lu Yang: "..."

The dust settled after the clash between the two semi-immortals, and the Gold Clan Leader’s eyes were cold as he stared at the Di Jiang Clan Envoy, who knelt on the ground, trembling with fear.

"Envoy, will you roll out of the Qiongqi Clan yourself, or shall I have someone carry you out?"

"I’ll leave right now!"

The Di Jiang Clan Envoy had never imagined that the Qiongqi Clan’s foundations were so robust, and with the Ancient Ancestor himself leaving, what was he, a mere envoy, still doing here?

The Di Jiang Clan typically had six legs, and at this moment, he wished he could sprout six more to scuttle and scramble out of the Qiongqi tomb, to flee from the Qiongqi Clan.

Third Senior Sister had listened to the entire event, perfectly reenacting the brief combat exchange inside the main tomb, just like ventriloquism.

Meng Jingzhou was flabbergasted; they were only there to conduct archaeological research, so how had they stumbled into such events, with the Ancient Di Jiang awakening and talk of unifying the Demon Territory?

Third Senior Sister wasn’t doing much better; she had descended into the tomb countless times but had never before encountered such a situation.

The unification of the Demon Territory was a shocking mega-event, yet not a whisper of it had been leaked. It must have been the Ancient Di Jiang controlling the upper echelons of the major clans using the rudimentary form of the Survival Of The Fittest Dao Fruit. The extent of this control was absolute, ensuring secrecy.

It was only today, through a series of coincidences, that the Di Jiang Clan’s schemes were exposed.

She took out a piece of fine paper from her Identity Jade to report the changes in the Demon Territory to Eldest Senior Sister, while Lu Yang ground ink beside her,

Eldest Senior Sister replied rapidly on the other side.

𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Ask the junior brother how capable the Ancient Di Jiang is in battle?"

Third Senior Sister was quite surprised; how could the junior brother know about such things?

After pondering for a moment, Lu Yang replied to Eldest Senior Sister.

"He can’t withstand a semi-immortal’s self-destruction ten times."

"Then there’s no need to bother."

The exchange ended.

Fairy Eternity, seeing there was nothing left for her to do, yawned out of boredom, climbed a tree, and hugged the trunk as she settled to sleep.

Before drifting off, she kindly reminded Lu Yang.

"Oh, by the way, there’s a little something you should pay attention to."

"What is it?"

"The Qiongqi Clan Leader has noticed you."

Lu Yang was shocked and before he could warn Old Meng and Third Senior Sister, he saw the door to the chamber slowly open, and the immense tiger head of the Gold Clan Leader poke inside, with his cold pupils reflecting the silhouettes of the three people.

"If it wasn’t for the ancient ancestor’s reminder, I would never have thought to find three little thieves hiding here."

"Let’s see, Demon Voice Heavenly Maiden, Lu Yang... from the Seek Dao Sect, and you’re Meng Jingzhou from the Meng Family, are you trying to imitate your father?"

Meng Jingzhou: "..."

Why did that sound so much like an insult?

Once the identities of the three were confirmed, Gold Clan Leader’s expression softened, and he put on a pleasant smile.

"Please come out of here, the three of you, and follow me. We wouldn’t want others to say that the Qiongqi Clan lacks hospitality."

Although these three had a suspicion of tomb raiding, the Demon Voice Heavenly Maiden had many enemies in the Demon Territory, and the Seek Dao Sect had a notorious reputation; none of them were particularly good people.

But considering the Qiongqi Clan’s recent financial strain and the need to borrow money from the Meng Family,

He decided it was best to be gracious to these three.