The Big Ghost didn't care whether the scene here was an illusion or not, he flew towards the locust forest.
Meanwhile, the powerful ones from Dali stopped at a place tens of miles from the locust forest.
This was their first time getting so close to the forbidden area of Jinlan Mountain.
Many people could already feel the strange alien power pervading Jinlan Mountain that affected them slightly even from here.
Although various Dharma Methods could still be performed, their consumption inexplicably increased a bit.
Wen Lingyou dared not approach rashly, as the scene before them was somewhat different from what they had imagined.
A few of the Great Devils, with heads as big as mountains burning with Black Fire, were seated in the locust forest.
Some of the Great Devils didn't actually have heads; the heads seemed to be forcibly condensed by some power, standing there like formed heads.
Even from afar, one could see that gigantic white bone arm with a hint of power floating on it, clearly not something a Ninth Tier should possess.
That arm definitely could not have come from a Ninth Tier Devil.
The Big Ghost flew into Jinlan Mountain without encountering any obstacles, even seeing a hungry ghost poking its head out from a locust tree to take a look.
After confirming it was the Big Ghost, it burrowed back without asking anything.
"This can't possibly be an illusion created by a Great Devil," Wen Lingyou muttered to himself.
The others exchanged glances, no one thinking this was a pointless statement.
In fact, they somewhat doubted that everything here was caused by the power of a Great Devil.
With Wen Lingyou's affirmation, they at least felt reassured it wasn't their issue.
"Let's wait for a while."
Wen Lingyou led the group back a bit, retreating to a distance a hundred miles from the locust forest to show sufficient respect.
According to tradition, entering such a forbidden land uninvited risked being killed without reprieve.
A formal visit by strangers also required procedure, sending a greeting card and waiting outside.
By the unspoken rules everyone adhered to, a hundred miles was a reasonable distance.
At this distance, both sides would feel safer.
Even if a conflict arose, this distance provided enough time to react.
After retreating a bit, Wen Lingyou glanced at the others.
"After meeting with the people from Jinlan Mountain, you should head back. The Abyssal Rift conflict is still ongoing.
There are few strong guardians there now; we must prevent a counterattack by the Devil, or the arrival of another Great Devil.
Here, it should be alright."
The strong ones from Dali exchanged glances and looked once more in the direction of Jinlan Mountain, where they could still hear the shrill screams of the Great Devil's head, sending chills down their spine.
They had no idea what had occurred; the Great Devils and the Yin Devils that had arrived had all perished.
However, Wen Lingyou wasn't wrong; the current focus remained the Abyssal Rift.
Everyone did not oppose, knowing that Wen Lingyou was meticulous. Even though it seemed calm here, he provided them the chance to show their faces, get acquainted.
Regardless of whether they contributed or why they came, they had at least arrived to support Jinlan Mountain.
Getting acquainted could facilitate future purchases of sweet rain or other items from Jinlan Mountain.
They hadn't waited long before Yu Ziqing leisurely flew out from inside.
"Thank you, seniors, for coming thousands of miles to . It must have been hard. How is the situation at the Abyssal Rift?"
Yu Ziqing greeted courteously, addressing everyone as seniors.
At least on the surface, nobody felt discomfort.
"The situation at the Abyssal Rift is stable. Although there are many Devils, the general situation is settled." Wen Lingyou glanced towards the locust forest and continued to ask,
"Everything should be alright here, right?"
"Thank you, senior, for your concern. All invading Devils have been subdued, though it's a pity a particularly powerful Abyssal entity manifested its consciousness and escaped."
Hearing this, Wen Lingyou's heart skipped a beat.
The consciousness manifestation indicated at least a Tenth Tier Great Devil.
"As long as it's alright. That Yin Devil used the Blood Sacrifice Method to make way; we couldn't stop him. As long as it's alright, we should hurry back. After all, the Abyssal Rift battle continues."
"Thank you, seniors, for your hard work."
Yu Ziqing courteously lobbied with the accompanying strong ones, even asking unknown names openly.
After chatting for a while, he sent them off.
Watching them leave, Yu Ziqing was puzzled, thinking that Wen Lingyou would surely ask about the Great Devil's head and that arm.
How could he resist such excellent research material?
On the way back, the matter wasn't urgent, and the situation at the Abyssal Rift was smooth. Wen Lingyou flew in his Jade Chariot, seated inside flipping through a book.
The book consisted entirely of lists of various items.
Wen Lingyou skimmed through, disregarding those that couldn't be extracted, leaving the rest for a while before sighing.
"I'll need to reach out to His Majesty again..."
He indeed couldn't resist, his hands itching for quite a while but finally held back.
Those Great Devil heads belonged to different Devil Clans; each had very high research value.
Most crucially, those Great Devils were alive; a living Great Devil differed entirely from a corpse, possessing numerous mysteries only when alive.
Some Devils had bodies like Fine Steel Profound Iron when alive, but their flesh crumbled like sand after death.
Other Devils, when dead, had bodies that petrified instantly, leaving nothing to research.