The hall was filled with smoke and foul air.

Xuan Ji could only sense that Sheng Lingyuan was nearby, but he couldn't find him or hear his voice. As soon as he entered the Return to One Formation, before he could even reach the bottom, the formation immediately reacted to the intruder.

Out of nowhere, dozens of steel knives appeared in the air and came at him from all directions!

The formation master laughed and said, "We have a new guest... Sheng Xiao, your prison guard has come to find you. Why are you still hiding?"

With a loud clang, Xuan Ji's coins flew out of his hand and turned into shadows in the air, blocking the incoming knives and swords with ease.

The task of breaking the formation was entrusted to Sheng Lingyuan.

Due to their innate limitations, the human race had to rely on talismans and formations to fight against other races in war. They excelled in these two areas, with the Emperor of Humanity being particularly skilled in formations.

Xuan Ji automatically took on the role of a thug, keeping an eye on everything and joining the battle with his sharp tongue.

"I don't know which formation you're trying to copy to impersonate the Demon King. Are you a tree spirit from some backwater mountain, so confident? Why don't you go into telecom fraud instead?"

As he spoke, he landed on the exposed roots of the big tree.

As the a fire bird ancestor, how could the enemy expect to send attacks over using wood without being burned?

So Xuan Ji, like a giant fireball, left flames wherever he stepped.

The fire quickly cleared the mist in the battlefield and even engulfed the entire trunk of a tree. The hall became a sea of fire, just like the fiery abyss of the past.

But Xuan Ji couldn't help but curse under his breath, "Damn it!"

Suddenly, he turned his head and realized that the surroundings had changed. He was now immersed in a sea of fire, and this was no longer the first floor of the Bureau, but the fiery Chiyuan that still burned from years ago.

How could this be the Heart Demon Illusion Realm all over again?

It was the number one trick in the top ten despicable tricks of the cultivation world - the authoritative selection of this Fire-keeper.

From somewhere came a mournful bird cry, causing Xuan Ji to look up.

His pupils shrank sharply from the glare of the flames. He saw a figure leap from the high cliff of Chiyuan. It was the nightmare he had tried to wash away more than thirty times in three thousand years.

He dared not think about it or even look at it, as it would tear him apart.

The person turned into a fireball in mid-air and fell like a meteor, smashing into the hard shell on the surface of the magma.

The familiar aura was conveyed to the "Fire-keeper" by Chiyuan in detail.

Xuan Ji's rationality was burned to ashes in an instant.

One second ago, he knew clearly that it was an illusion, but the next moment, he rushed towards the person without hesitation.

Three thousand years ago, Xuan Ji had no physical body. Although he was close enough to touch, his hands passed through Sheng Lingyuan's body in vain, and he watched him being repeatedly swallowed and thrown up by the magma with his own eyes.

This time, he finally caught the person he had been longing for. The face that haunted his dreams had been burned beyond recognition by the flames of the Chiyuan, with all the bones seemingly out of place.

The charred flesh stuck to him as he struggled to open his mouth, as if he still had something to say.

Xuan Ji gathered Sheng Lingyuan in front of him, his hands not enough to hold him, and even his wings had to be used. He wished he could flatten himself and become a barrier...

Then, he heard the person in his arms whisper, "Have you ever tasted the pear and honey of the witch clan... or experienced their techniques to enter dreams and cause harm?"

Xuan Ji was suddenly startled, and the next moment, he felt a chill in his chest.

The 'person' in his arms wrapped their 'hands' around his back and reached through the gaps in his wings, piercing his heart. The 'hand' transformed into a vine and writhed in his chest and abdomen, before grabbing onto his spine.

"Ah," a voice resembling that of a demon king sighed as it identified, "genuine Vermilion Bird bones, so hot."

Suddenly, Xuan Ji's hands went limp and the illusory world of the Chiyuan shattered around him. He was thrown into the air, with the vine piercing through his back, drilling out of his chest, and then entering his dantian and throat, sewing him tightly in place.

Red feathers fell like snowflakes, and Xuan Ji's face was blank.

It all happened in an instant, leaving no time for reaction. A figure shrouded in black mist rushed forward, crazily tearing at the demon vine 'stitches' on Xuan Ji's body.

The white figure revealed itself and softly chuckled, "Finally willing to show your face, Your Majesty the Emperor of Humanity."

As soon as the words fell, countless small branches sprouted from the roots of the tree, like snakes approaching Sheng Lingyuan.

But just then, a burst of fire suddenly erupted under the feet of the white figure.

"Are you ready to confess, you scoundrel?"

Another Xuan Ji suddenly appeared behind the white figure, and at the same time, the 'Xuan Ji' that had been nailed to the tree vines in mid-air began to melt from the beginning, turning into a steel coin that clattered down and connected into an iron chain, firmly binding the struggling white figure in the fire ring.

The black mist around Sheng Lingyuan, who had been desperately tearing at the tree vines, dissipated, revealing an empty space - it was just a phantom condensed from demonic energy.

"I hope you remember one thing," Xuan Ji tightened the chain and spoke slowly and deliberately, "I have 'died' 35 times, and never once have I dropped a single feather!"

Suddenly, someone muttered, "Break."

Sheng Lingyuan, who had been missing for a long time, locked onto the formation eye the moment Xuan Ji trapped the white figure.

The black mist in his hand condensed into a long spike, piercing through the formation eye.

The Return to One Formation shook the earth and turned the sky upside down.

The huge tree roots rolled over, countless bricks and tiles fell from the building of the Bureau, and the smoke dissipated, revealing the Curse of Subjugation formation that had been hidden on the tree roots for a long time.

The black mist sword in Sheng Lingyuan's hand did not lose momentum.

......

Skye: Translator here. Thank you to everyone who has been reading to this point, and hope you've enjoyed it so far! Unfortunately there are some issues I'm dealing with in my life, and it's gotten quite hard to keep the same pace of translations while maintaining the current quality of translations! I'm thinking of breaking up the chapters so I still release something in the meantime, instead of waiting till I finish up the full chapter to upload. But let me know what you prefer in the comments below please!