Journey to the West: A clone sacrifices to the heavens, possessing boundless magical power.

With a dull creak of machinery turning, a narrow side door, barely wide enough for one person to pass through, slowly opened on one side of the massive black stone gate, revealing the free and cold air of Huangfeng Ridge outside.

Huang Mao'er was burning with anxiety, but he knew he couldn't reveal the slightest flaw at this moment.

He lowered his head and, together with several other lesser demons, carried a wooden bucket filled with leftovers and filth, mingling in the procession as they walked out of the small door.

The moment his feet touched the ground outside the cave, his entire body was completely exposed to the world.

High in the sky, within that seemingly ordinary thin cloud, a gaze that had been hidden for a long time suddenly became as sharp as a knife.

The patrol officer, who was ordered to investigate, suddenly narrowed his silver pupils, and all his attention instantly focused on the yellow-haired weasel imp in the garbage-collecting team below.

"Found it!"

The Wind Guardian silently declared in its heart, but it did not act immediately. Instead, it locked its divine sense firmly onto the little demon.

Despite his weak cultivation level, he was incredibly audacious, setting his sights on a Buddhist treasure.

What's even more interesting is that, judging from the direction it fled, it was orderly and showed no sign of panic, clearly indicating that it was premeditated, or rather, there was another mastermind behind this ant.

The Wind Chaser's eyes flickered; he had made up his mind. He continued to remain hidden above the clouds.

……

The garbage dumping area outside the cave is located beside an inconspicuous mountain ravine.

After Huang Mao emptied the filth from the wooden bucket in his hand, the few little demons around him did not return immediately. Instead, they took advantage of this rare opportunity to huddle together in twos and threes and whisper among themselves.

Huang Mao knew he couldn't wait any longer; every moment he lingered there increased the danger.

He straightened up, as if trying to stretch his stiff back, but just as he turned around, he seemed to trip over a pebble, let out a short cry of surprise, and stumbled forward and fell to the ground.

The wooden bucket that had just been emptied flew out of his hand and tumbled down the steep hillside.

"oops!"

He scrambled to his feet, brushing the dust off himself, and gave the few demons who were staring at him a frustrated look. Pointing at the wooden barrel that was rolling further and further away, he exclaimed, "What... what should we do! I have to retrieve it quickly, or the foreman will punish me again!"

Having said that, he didn't give the other little demons a chance to react at all, and scrambled down the hillside in the direction the wooden barrel had rolled down.

Just as Huang Mao'er disappeared from the team's sight and turned into a pile of rocks, this clone, which was already exhausted, suddenly burst out with an astonishing speed that was completely inconsistent with his current state.

He no longer tried to hide anything.

He ignited all the remaining demonic power in an instant, not seeking to prolong it, but only the ultimate moment.

Evil winds swirled around his legs, and he transformed into a gray afterimage that clung to the ground, frantically fleeing towards the cave where Fan Yuan's true form was.

However, just as he suddenly accelerated and fled in a blur, far above in the clouds, the Wind Patrolman who had been circling like an eagle transformed into a silver demonic wind and silently followed Huang Mao'er.

"Interesting..." The Wind Patrol Envoy sneered inwardly. "A mere demon who hasn't even stabilized his transformation stage dares to steal such a Buddhist treasure. I naturally don't believe there's no one behind him instructing him."

"I'd like to see just who's behind you, you little devil, with such audacity!"

……

On the outskirts of Huangfeng Ridge, inside a hidden cave.

Fan Yuan, who was sitting cross-legged, suddenly opened his eyes.

"It's a success!"

A surge of joy welled up in his heart, and without further delay, he appeared at the cave entrance in a flash.

He discerned the direction, and his entire body transformed into a blur, speeding towards a safe, secluded place on the edge of Huangfeng Ridge.

After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn.

In a secluded crevice naturally formed by three giant rocks, the two figures finally met.

The last glimmer of light in Huang Mao'er's eyes quickly faded the moment he saw Fan Yuan's true form appear.

He staggered forward, and with his last bit of strength, took out a fragment of a glass lamp, which was wrapped in layers of demonic power and emitted a seven-colored light, from his tattered sleeve, and handed it to Fan Yuan.

The moment his fingertips touched the physical fragment, a Daoist aura far clearer than that felt through his clone surged into Fan Yuan's soul.

He could even feel that the Weak Water True Meaning within his body was becoming more active under the stimulation of this Daoist rhythm.

Just as Fan Yuan was immersed in this excitement, a terrifying pressure so powerful it suffocated him suddenly crashed down from above without warning.

This small space made of giant rocks was instantly and completely sealed off by an invisible force.

The air seemed to solidify into a block of iron at that moment. Fan Yuan felt as if he had been trapped in a deep-sea whirlpool, and even moving a finger became extremely difficult.

At the same time, a cold and mocking voice rang clearly in his ears: "You little thief, you stole Buddhist treasures, where do you think you're going?!"

Without the slightest hesitation, or even the thought of considering it, they did not hesitate.

The instant that voice fell, Fan Yuan had already made the most decisive choice in his heart.

"burst!"

With a furious roar, the already exhausted blond clone suddenly burst forth with a dazzling light from its empty eyes.

All the remaining demonic power within him, as well as the flesh, blood essence, and soul fragments that constituted this clone, were instantly detonated under Fan Yuan's command.

This was not an ordinary self-destruction, but rather the compression of the entire existence of a demon cultivator in the Transformation stage into a single point, and then its complete release.

boom!

A violent energy shockwave exploded outwards from Huang Mao'er's body within the confined, sealed space.

The Wind Guardian hidden in the shadows clearly hadn't expected that this little demon, whom he considered like an ant, would be so ruthless and choose the most extreme method.

Under the impact of this self-destruction, the solidified space, which was like an iron plate, showed a very brief loosening and ripple.

It's now!

For Fan Yuan, who had already stretched his mind to the limit, this slight relaxation was like a ray of light in the darkness, his only chance of survival.

Just as the energy torrent from the clone's self-destruction was about to touch his main body, an earth-yellow talisman that he had been holding between his fingers suddenly lit up with golden light.

Vajra Talisman!

The talisman spontaneously combusted without fire, transforming into a thick, solid golden light curtain, like an inverted golden bell, completely protecting Fan Yuan's body within it.