In his eyes was a lush green, the fragrance of grass and trees flowing in his nose. He lay in the soft grass, and from this vantage point, the grass seemed about shoulder-high, densely packed, extending all the way to the foot of the mountain.

The mountains and rivers were majestic, with strange peaks rising abruptly like screens and barriers, towering into the clouds.

At the edge of the sky, seven-colored mist flowed, light and dark, with ever-changing hues, overlapping like colorful ribbons, dazzling to the extreme.

It wasn't that he had never seen mountain and wilderness scenery before, but there was an indescribable strangeness to everything before his eyes, a sense of familiarity yet utter unfamiliarity.

Zhou Yin rubbed his temple, not hurrying to get up, but instead first reaching for his chest.

His bosom was empty, with nothing inside.

Looking around, there were only grass clusters blocking his view, with no sign of that small figure.

He frowned slightly, recalling the situation when he arrived.

Yu Nuo had chosen the Vast Sea Star Chart and disappeared first, while he had picked the Sumeru Ring.

At present, the Sumeru Ring seemed to be just a storage ring with not much capacity, at most a mid-grade magic treasure. And according to the Flood Dragon's description, the lower the grade of the magic treasure, the simpler the test set by the residence's owner.

So, had he arrived in another illusion?

But everything before his eyes was too real. Not to mention anything else, just these mountains, rivers, grass and trees, and the vast world, were not something an illusion could create. If someone could create such an illusion, their cultivation level would probably be comparable to the gods of the upper realm.

Zhou Yin activated his spiritual sense to search for Zhou Chen's whereabouts.

Early on, when he found the demon beast egg underwater and used blood to make a contract for the other party to accept him, a natural connection was established between him and the furball. This connection was not a heart-to-heart one where he knew what the other was thinking, but it allowed him to know whether the other was safe and if there was any life-threatening danger when necessary.

The result of the probe was that Zhou Chen was very safe. Although his whereabouts were still unknown, the lively signs of life were continuously transmitted through the sea of consciousness.

His spiritual power had not disappeared. He simply rode his flying magic treasure, skimming over the grass.

As far as the eye could see, it was a vast grass sea. The wind blew head-on, lifting his clothes and also bringing faint movements from afar.

On the other side of the mountain, the airflow surged, vaguely stirring up a considerable wind and waves. Red light illuminated half the horizon, the culprit causing the seven-colored mist in the sky.

This extreme splendor was the result of human magical combat.

Zhou Yin didn't know how deep the other party's cultivation had to be to use spiritual power to the extent of causing celestial phenomena. From the resulting effect, although a Foundation Establishment cultivator certainly couldn't do it, three or four people evenly matched and restraining each other could still achieve this effect.

He slowed down his speed. The closer he got, the more he could feel the overwhelming pressure coming at him, almost suffocating. With his current early Foundation Establishment cultivation, when encountering a truly high-level cultivator, he still had to avoid their edge.

"You're already panting like this, yet you still want to protect the thing in your hand?" A cold voice devoid of any emotion rang out, the words full of indifference. "For the sake of our past relationship, if you're willing to hand it over, I'll spare your life."

"You and I have long severed our ties. How can you be worthy of the words 'past relationship', Kui Hao!" The other party spat out a mouthful of blood and laughed coldly a few times. "You don't dare to make a move, not because of some past relationship, but because you're wary of the Heaven Opening Mirror in my hand, right?"

Kui Hao frowned, "Fei Lan, don't be stubborn. You have already committed a great crime by defecting from the immortal race. If you return with me now and release this young demon, it will be enough to offset your crime. Not to mention restoring your Star Lord status, even the position of Emperor Lord is not impossible to try for."

The person called Fei Lan shook his head, "Why say more? You and I have different paths and cannot plan together. I only regret that our past life-and-death friendship has come to the point where you have to arrest me."

Kui Hao coldly said, "I'm loyally performing my duty, what wrong is there in that?"

Fei Lan mocked, "That's it then. I'm being true to my heart, so what wrong is there in that?"

The two were at loggerheads. The two people standing behind Kui Hao couldn't hold back anymore, "Sir, why bother saying more to an immortal realm traitor? Just capture him!"

"Since I was ordered to do this, I have full authority. What need is there for you to say more?" Kui Hao gave them a cold look, then said to Fei Lan, "I won't argue with you. Have you thought it through? Instead of being a proper immortal lord of the upper realm, from now on, you'll be neither immortal nor demon. Don't tell me you want to become part of the human race?"

"Enough nonsense, make your move!" Fei Lan wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and protected the little thing in his arms. But unexpectedly, at this moment, it suddenly struggled, desperately trying to crawl out, accompanied by shrill chirps, causing Zhou Yin, who was hiding not far away, to change his expression.

"Chirp chirp chirp chirp--!"

Listening to the two people's conversation was already very strange, but how did Zhou Chen appear here?

Zhou Chen had obviously sensed Zhou Yin's aura and was using all his strength to pounce in Zhou Yin's direction. The few people who were originally in a standoff and not paying attention to their surroundings also discovered Zhou Yin's whereabouts.

"Who's there, come out!" Kui Hao's face was full of murderous intent. With a wave of his hand, a golden light chopped down towards Zhou Yin's head.

The Lingyin Sword instantly transformed from a jade hairpin into a sword light, blocking the incoming force, allowing Zhou Yin to appear at ease.

Kui Hao narrowed his eyes, then sneered, "A human race rogue cultivator."

"Squeak!" Zhou Chen was incredibly excited. He mustered all his strength, trying to break free from Fei Lan's grasp and pounce over. Fei Lan, heavily injured, was given a headache by its fussing, yet he dared not loosen his restraint.

On the other side, Kui Hao had already seen the connection between the young beast in Fei Lan's arms and this inexplicably appearing person. But he didn't take it to heart.

Zhou Yin's cultivation level was evidently very low at a glance, considered low-tier even among human cultivators, let alone entering the eyes of a high-ranking immortal lord like Kui Hao.

"Just in time, saves me the trouble of dealing with you one by one."

He gave a cold laugh, wielding the Subduing Dragon Halberd, his eyes indifferent and emotionless, looking at them as if looking at a group of ants.

"Kui Hao, don't go too far!" Fei Lan let out a low shout. The exquisite Heaven Opening Mirror in his hand grew from small to large, half-suspended in the air, slowly rotating. At the same time, the celestial phenomena above his head changed along with it.

The clouds directly facing the Heaven Opening Mirror slowly swirled, forming a tiny vortex. As Fei Lan silently recited the incantation, the vortex grew larger and larger, drawing in all the colorful rosy clouds, turning into a huge vortex with bizarre colors, as if various paints had been spilled.

Kui Hao's face changed. "Fei Lan, are you going to defy the Heavenly Dao?"

Fei Lan looked at him and said sternly, "What is the Heavenly Dao? The Heavenly Dao should be equality for all things, mutually restraining each other. But is it to let you exterminate and eradicate everything?! The alliance covenant jointly established by the immortal and demon races in front of the Nuwa Stone back then, do you dare say you've forgotten it?!"

The wind and clouds instantly changed color. The originally beautiful sky suddenly surged with dark clouds, wind and thunder rolled, the vortex whipped up a hurricane, as if it would destroy everything between heaven and earth.

Even though the three people on Kui Hao's side temporarily set up a defensive barrier, they still had a sense of impending doom.

At the same time, Fei Lan's defensive barrier also enveloped Zhou Yin, allowing him to avoid being pulverized under the might of the Heaven Opening Mirror.

"What is your relationship with this demon beast?" Fei Lan took a breath and asked rapidly. He glanced at Zhou Yin, but still had the presence of mind to restrain the Heaven Opening Mirror. His face quickly showed signs of fatigue, his black hair at the temples turning white in an instant.

Zhou Yin said, "I am its caretaker."

The little Zhou Chen kept calling out in a soft, innocent voice, its joy upon seeing Zhou Yin was undisguised.

A demon beast's behavior cannot be faked. Fei Lan took another look at the furball and said, "You go over then."

Zhou Chen excitedly squeaked and turned into a gray shadow, pouncing into Zhou Yin's arms.

"Mummy, mummy!" It nuzzled against Zhou Yin's neck, then rubbed his chin, going higher and higher...

The bit of joy from being reunited was successfully destroyed. Zhou Yin stuffed it into his arms with a blank expression.

"Go to sleep."

"Controlling the Heaven Opening Mirror is taxing on the mind and spirit. I can't hold on for long. But I have a way for us to escape. However, the other party's strength is not much weaker than mine. The instant the barrier is removed, there must be an offensive formation to distract them, only then will we have a chance to run. Can you do it?"

His originally young and handsome face began to be shrouded in a layer of gray mist, fine wrinkles appearing at the corners of his eyes.

Zhou Yin said, "I'll try."

So the two stopped talking. Fei Lan focused on gathering strength to prepare to escape, while Zhou Yin took out cinnabar and a talisman brush and began to set up a formation.

Half a cup of tea later, outside was already another scene. The originally lush grass had been destroyed by eighty to ninety percent. To the naked eye, the sky and earth were a expanse of gray, with flying sand and rocks, ghostly wails and wolf howls.

Fei Lan opened his eyes. "How is it?"

Zhou Yin stopped the last stroke, his complexion also not looking good. "It's ready."

Fei Lan sighed, nodded, summoned back the Heaven Opening Mirror, and removed the barrier.

Almost at the same time, the formation Zhou Yin had laid down suddenly exploded with dazzling brilliance, while the menacing golden light from the opposite side also happened to come surging over, covering the sky.

"Go!" Fei Lan shouted.

The two landed at the edge of a swamp. To prevent pursuers from catching up, they deliberately laid down many misleading trails and walked for a long time before they could stop to catch their breath.

Zhou Yin had blood coming from his mouth and nose, wounds all over his body, and had expended a lot of spiritual power, in urgent need of rest.

The disparity in strength between the two sides was too great. Even with Fei Lan's help and the timing just right, the other party's offensive power, although not truly landing on his body, still caused damage due to the oppressive spiritual energy.

Fei Lan was not much better off. He now looked to be in his forties, showing signs of aging, exuding an ominous aura.

Zhou Yin: "Where is this place?"

Fei Lan: "This should be near Mount Tonglan."

Indeed, there was a Mount Tonglan in the southwest of the primordial continent.

He asked again, "What year is it now?"

Fei Lan found it strange. "Although you are a mortal, the calendar system is used throughout the continent. How can you not know? It is now around the 40,000th year of the Primordial Era."

Zhou Yin's expression changed slightly. He finally understood why he felt everything here was very strange from the beginning.