At this moment, Zhu Yiming gathered his strength, and a fire dragon shot into the sky, burning fiercely, its immense power sweeping down.
But it was easily neutralized by the elder.
"Is the Temple of Fire also colluding with demons now?"
The elder asked coldly, having immediately recognized Zhu Yiming as someone from the Temple of Fire.
Zhu Yiming then said, "I only wish to understand the secrets within. I hope senior can accommodate me!"
But the elder retorted dismissively, "Demons are abhorred by gods and men alike. Since you are from the Temple of Fire, you should not associate with them!"
"If that is the case, then junior can only offend you!"
Zhu Yiming said with a cold voice.
"Such arrogant words!"
The elder sneered, "Since you are so deluded, then this old man will ferry you to the next life today!"
In an instant, an invisible force struck, clashing with Zhu Yiming's power.
"Crack!"
With a sharp crack, the surrounding ice shattered, and Zhu Yiming was forced to retreat repeatedly. It was clear that with his strength, he was no match for the elder.
The next moment, the elder attacked directly, his killing intent fully revealed, intending to deliver a fatal blow.
Seeing this, Zhu Yiming held nothing back and fought with all his might.
Yun Fan was not idle either and joined the fray. He could tell that the elder had lived for a very long time and had been trapped beneath the ice for years. It seemed there was an unknown secret here.
With the perfect coordination between the two, they were able to fight the elder to a standstill, achieving a fifty-fifty balance.
The elder snorted, "After this battle, I will surely report to the Zen Master about the Temple of Fire colluding with demons!"
"You won't have the chance!"
The flames within Zhu Yiming were burning, and with their augmentation, he entered his prime.
This powerful burst of strength even made Yun Fan lament his inferiority.
At this time, Yun Fan also unleashed his demonic powers. They knew that if they did not kill the elder, they would not only fail to uncover the secrets but might also face grave danger. Therefore, at this moment, neither of them held back.
Zhu Yiming engaged in a frontal assault, while Yun Fan attacked from the flank. With their combined efforts, the elder was clearly at a disadvantage.
But he stubbornly declared, "With just the two of you juniors, you think you can subdue me? Who gave you such courage?"
Saying this, he summoned the power of the surrounding ice to protect himself and adopted a tactic of evasion.
"We must end this quickly, or we will alert others!"
Zhu Yiming warned Yun Fan. In his opinion, the elder surely had a way to contact the outside world, and they had to deal with him before he could.
"Alright!"
Yun Fan nodded and attacked with full force. Empowered by the demonic path, he seemed to resonate with the demonic energy behind the door.
At this moment, he briefly reached the Soul Refinement realm. Although still some distance from the elder, with the augmentation of demonic power, he felt no fatigue. Clearly, he had reached a fever pitch.
Seeing this, Zhu Yiming secretly marveled at the terrifying nature of demonic power. If it were him, he would never dare to squander his strength as carelessly as Yun Fan.
The elder was also startled because he realized that Yun Fan's demonic power was extraordinary, perhaps even exceeding the secrets within.
"Demon, perish!"
The elder abandoned Zhu Yiming and lunged directly at Yun Fan. At this moment, he had only one objective: to eliminate Yun Fan.
"Break!"
Yun Fan roared, sending the elder flying back.
"Slash!"
At this critical juncture, a powerful force from Zhu Yiming descended, piercing directly through the elder.
"Ah!"
The elder let out a scream, never imagining that he would one day fall at the hands of two juniors.
Seeing this, Yun Fan delivered a punch, shattering the elder's head.
At this point, the two breathed a sigh of relief. Had it not been for their seamless cooperation, they might not have been able to defeat the elder.
It could only be said that the elder's strength was monstrous.
Zhu Yiming then said, "This battle will surely alert the Zen Master's lineage. Our time is running out!"
Yun Fan asked, "How much time do we have?"
"Measured in worldly terms, probably about an hour!"
He explained to Yun Fan.
"Only an hour?"
At this moment, Yun Fan felt an immense sense of urgency. Thus, the two opened the door and entered the realm beyond.
Demonic energy permeated the area, and Zhu Yiming felt somewhat uncomfortable, as this demonic aura could suppress his flames.
No wonder Yun Fan could draw upon the demonic energy here to empower himself earlier.
As they ventured deeper, the two discovered that this place appeared to be a modified laboratory.
As they went further, they uncovered more secrets.
For example, there were containers for refining demonic blood and corpses that had been drained of their blood.
These corpses looked very ancient. Due to being in this frozen land, they had not decayed.
It seemed no one had been here for more than a decade, as the containers were covered in dust.
Zhu Yiming then said, "This must be a secret research site for the Zen Master's lineage to study demonic blood!"
"It seems that for millennia, I haven't been the only demonic martial artist!"
Yun Fan spoke, noting from the corpses that there was one from each era, and the time intervals were not too long.
"The Zen Master's lineage is truly ambitious. They preach about eradicating demons on the surface, yet they engage in such illicit activities behind closed doors!"
Zhu Yiming's eyes were filled with disdain. The actions of the Zen Master's lineage greatly displeased him.
At this moment, Yun Fan said, "It's probably not that simple. Although we've learned some things, how did this demonic energy originate?"
He could tell that this demonic energy did not originate from these corpses, and there might be even greater secrets involved.
"Let's go in and see!"
"Agreed!"
Subsequently, the two arrived at the deepest part of the research facility and discovered a crevice from which sparse demonic energy seeped out.
So, this was the source of the demonic energy.
Simultaneously, they found some records. Upon seeing these records, both of their expressions changed drastically.
From these writings, they also uncovered a secret sealed for a thousand years.
It turned out that the birth of a powerful demonic martial artist a thousand years ago had made the Zen Master's lineage very wary. However, while wary, they also coveted the power of the demonic path.
Unfortunately, they could not control the power of the demonic path, so they built this research facility. Anyone possessing demonic power would be captured and brought here for study.
Initially, the research involved directly injecting demonic blood into test subjects. However, too much would cause them to explode and die.
Too little had little effect, similar to the research of the Great Void Sacred Land, only enhancing physique and nothing more.
But the Zen Master's lineage did not give up. For a thousand years, they had been searching for demonic martial artists in every era.
On one hand, they aimed to eliminate the threat posed by demonic martial artists, as their rate of improvement was too rapid.
They feared that these demonic martial artists, like the one from a thousand years ago, would directly threaten their position.
On the other hand, they sought to research the secrets of the demonic path and obtain its power.
However, judging from the research, they had clearly failed. As for the area beneath the crevice, it contained the corpses of demonic martial artists. So many bodies piled together naturally generated wisps of demonic energy, though Yun Fan believed this energy would eventually dissipate.
This time, to their disappointment, they still could not find the origin of demonic martial artists, nor the reason for the emergence of such powerful beings.
For example, Yun Fan and Zhu Yiming's sister, their relatives and elders did not seem to possess demonic constitutions.
Could it be that their birth was random?
At this moment, Zhu Yiming struck the crevice with a palm, tearing it open completely. The two saw dozens of corpses.
One of the corpses was very young, around five or six years old, a girl's body. She was cute and charming but lay in eternal slumber.
Upon seeing this little girl who had died so many years ago, Zhu Yiming immediately knelt down and wept.
Because this corpse was none other than his younger sister, who had been killed when he was young. He had fainted after her death.
He never expected her body to be brought here by the Zen Master's lineage for research. At this moment, his grief and rage could no longer be contained.
"Sister, I'm sorry. I failed to protect you!"
He wept with great sorrow. Yun Fan stood by, silent, for he could understand Zhu Yiming's feelings.
At this moment, Zhu Yiming's belief completely collapsed. All along, he had believed that the Sealed Zen Land maintained the balance of the world and was a place of faith for all beings.
He never imagined that this place of faith would commit such heinous acts, and his sister was one of its victims.
His poor sister could not rest even in death, and her body was brought here by the Zen Master's lineage for research.
At this moment, he embraced the little girl's corpse.
"Sister, I'll take you home!"
Zhu Yiming said with great sorrow.
Yun Fan sighed. They all said demons harm people, but were they truly demons? In his opinion, not entirely.
It was simply that some people did not want individuals like them to live.
Therefore, he patted Zhu Yiming's shoulder and said, "My condolences."
Then, the two departed. Before leaving, Yun Fan unleashed a power, completely destroying the experimental base.
However, as soon as they emerged from the Kunlun Peak, they discovered that two individuals were already waiting for them.
Compared to the elder, these two were even more terrifying. One black and one white, their emitted power made Yun Fan's heart tremble.
It appeared they had both reached the peak of Soul Refinement, perhaps not far from the Dao Seeking realm, otherwise, they would not possess such terrifying auras.
"Black and White Fiends!"
Zhu Yiming recognized their identities. They were the most powerful protectors of the Zen Master's lineage, their strength indeed formidable.
Such powerful beings, even with Yun Fan in his demonic state, would be no match for them.
"Zhu Yiming, you shouldn't have entered the mountain, and you shouldn't have known the secret!"
The Black and White Fiends said coldly, staring at Zhu Yiming.
Zhu Yiming retorted, "If I hadn't entered the mountain, I wouldn't have known your sordid methods. You mouth platitudes about eradicating demons, yet you are more wicked than any demon!"
The two did not offer further explanation but said, "Surrender yourselves, and we will refrain from using force!"
"Hmph!"
Zhu Yiming sneered, "From this moment on, it is an unending feud between me and your Zen Master's lineage!"
"Don't even mention you; even the Temple of Fire is not qualified!"
The two chuckled playfully.
Zhu Yiming did not waste further time on them. Instead, he said to Yun Fan, "You leave! Remember to bury my sister."
"Let one of us distract one of them. We still have a chance!"
Yun Fan said to Zhu Yiming.
Of course, Zhu Yiming had a greater chance, but Yun Fan was not without hope. As long as he pushed his demonic power to its peak, he also had a chance.
However, if they were to force a fight, there would be no possibility of a comeback.
But Zhu Yiming handed the little girl's corpse to him.
"Less nonsense. I said I would guarantee your safety, and I will ensure it!"
Zhu Yiming stated, "Leave the Sealed Zen Land. If I survive, we will be comrades fighting side-by-side in the future. If I don't, do not bear any ill will!"
"Alright!"
Finally, Yun Fan nodded, holding the little girl's corpse, and departed.
As the Black and White Fiends were about to pursue, Zhu Yiming unleashed a blast of energy that engulfed an area of ten li, surrounding everything in a sea of fire.
"Two, your opponent is me!"
Zhu Yiming roared.
"Overestimating yourself!"
The Black and White Fiends engaged, intending to deal with Zhu Yiming first before chasing Yun Fan. In their minds, with their combined strength, defeating Zhu Yiming would only take a moment.
As for Yun Fan, a mere cultivator in the mid-stage of the Soul Transformation realm, where could he possibly escape?
However, the next moment, the two were stunned, for Zhu Yiming had unleashed his trump card.
"Fire God Bloodline!"
Zhu Yiming burned his own body. Empowered by the flames, he became incredibly powerful, even stepping one foot into the Dao Seeking realm.
But the price for this was self-evident.
Even the Black and White Fiends thought Zhu Yiming had gone mad, as they could see he was fighting with all his might.
At this moment, Zhu Yiming, who was originally weaker than either of them, was now suppressing them.
"He's gone mad, he's truly gone mad!"
The Black and White Fiends trembled. They were intimidated by Zhu Yiming's aura, and at this moment, they wanted to flee.
But alas, Zhu Yiming gave them no chance to escape, sealing off their retreat routes.
"Seeking death!"
The two were enraged. Although they were intimidated by Zhu Yiming's aura, it did not mean they were weaker than him.
Subsequently, the three engaged in a desperate battle within the sea of fire.
This battle was so epic it caused gods and demons to change their expressions.
After this battle, both the Temple of Fire and the Zen Master's lineage sent people to search, but unfortunately, they found no trace, not even a corpse.
All they knew was that after this battle, the three vanished, their fates becoming a mystery.
...
Upon arriving in the small world, Yun Fan buried the little girl's corpse in the forbidden grounds of the Jade Pool Sacred Land, thus fulfilling Zhu Yiming's dying wish.
Thinking of Zhu Yiming, he felt an indescribable sadness, for even he knew that Zhu Yiming was likely doomed.
Fighting one opponent, Zhu Yiming might have had a chance to win, but against two, in his analysis, Zhu Yiming had no hope of a comeback.
He knew the reason Zhu Yiming stayed was simple: Zhu Yiming had lost his will and motivation to live.
Perhaps Zhu Yiming himself wanted to be freed from his suffering.
It could only be said that Zhu Yiming's experience was too tragic.
At this moment, Yun Fan composed himself and left the Jade Pool Sacred Land, for he knew his future situation would only become more arduous.
The circumstances were beyond his control, and he was aware that the Sealed Zen Land would not let him go.
Just then, Yun Fan saw a peerless fairy ahead. Upon seeing the fairy, Yun Fan felt a sense of familiarity.
"Junior disciple!"
Linglong rushed over and fell into Yun Fan's embrace.
"Second Senior Sister?"
Yun Fan stood frozen, surprised that this peerless fairy was his Second Senior Sister.
"Junior disciple, I've finally found you!"
At this moment, Linglong's eyes were filled with joy and excitement.
Yun Fan also said with emotion, "Second Senior Sister, we, fellow disciples, are finally reunited!"
"Mm-hmm!"
Linglong said, "If that old fellow hadn't stopped me, I would have seen you long ago. By the way, did Zhu Yiming give you any trouble?"
"No!"
Yun Fan replied, "He is probably dead."
"What?"
Linglong looked at Yun Fan in disbelief. Then, Yun Fan recounted his experiences, and Linglong was stunned.
She, who had originally disliked Zhu Yiming intensely, no longer felt that way.
Just then, the sense of familiarity surged within Yun Fan again, and he asked Linglong, "Second Senior Sister, have we met before?"
"You ungrateful wretch, you've forgotten me!"
Linglong expressed her grievance.
Yun Fan's head began to ache. Grievance aside, judging by his Senior Sister's tone, they seemed to have met before, but he had no recollection whatsoever. What was going on?