"Who are you?" Agent Firebane asked nervously.
"Me? Why don't you guess?" The voice laughed again.
In the Immortal Realm, just a voice was enough to frighten Agent Firebane and Darkbane. They quickly guessed who it was. Agent Firebane probed, "Are you Elder Woodspirit?"
"Not bad, you aren't lazy—so quick to guess." Elder Woodspirit's voice chuckled.
"What do you want?" Agent Firebane asked.
"You two are trying to control the Immortal Realm. Shouldn't I be the one questioning you?" Elder Woodspirit laughed.
Agent Firebane said unwillingly, "Elder Woodspirit, you should know our Otherworld Progenitor is awakening early. I advise you to surrender soon—then I'll plead for you before the Progenitor and spare your life."
Darkbane added, "That's right. You'd better surrender."
"Still thinking like that at this point? You two have guts, but it doesn't change your fate. You'll stay frozen." Elder Woodspirit laughed. As the two tried to resist, ice instantly formed from their feet to their heads, sealing them solid.
"I hoped you'd come around, but you're so stubborn. I have no choice but to freeze you." Elder Woodspirit sighed.
In the Demon-Beast Realm, the cloaked Greenclaw man—known as Lord Greenguard by Agent Firebane—was stalemated with the ten demon-beast sovereigns. The ten had set up a massive demon formation, trapping Greenguard inside and preventing his escape.
But Greenguard refused to give up. He remained inside the formation, forcibly attacking it every day, confident that once it broke, he would slaughter all ten demon-beast sovereigns.
He thought Agent Firebane and Darkbane would quickly take control of the Immortal Realm, but unexpectedly, Elder Woodspirit had already stopped them in advance. Meanwhile, Evan Yang was cultivating in a secret place, focused solely on growing stronger to prepare for the Otherworld.
Actually, the most frustrated was Titus Skyflood. Every day he sought out Damon Darklord for news about Evan Yang, knowing Damon had agents in the Immortal Realm. But every time, he got nothing—until one day, Damon Darklord frowned and said, "Something's happened."
"What happened?" Titus Skyflood asked suspiciously.
"My helpers in the Immortal Realm." Damon Darklord didn't name names, but he could no longer contact Agent Firebane or Darkbane. That could mean only one thing—they'd run into trouble.
"What do we do now? What about Evan Yang?" Titus Skyflood cared most about Evan. Whether training or in seclusion, every time he closed his eyes, he saw Evan's terrifying smile, so maddening he couldn't focus and was nearly driven insane.
"No idea. No news." Damon Darklord shook his head.
Hearing this, Titus Skyflood nearly lost his mind. "I have to find a way into the Immortal Realm—even if I can't rule it, I will destroy Evan Yang!" He stormed back to Demon Mountain in fury.
As for Damon Darklord, after much thought, he decided to pass the news to Greenguard in the Demon-Beast Realm.
When Greenguard learned Agent Firebane and Darkbane had gone silent, he frowned. "What's going on? What are those two up to?"
But he couldn't leave now, nor could he enter the Immortal Realm.
So he immediately ordered Nero Netherfiend to find a way into the Immortal Realm and figure out what had happened. Receiving the command, Nero's first thought was Titus Skyflood—bring him along as muscle. So he headed to Demon Mountain to find Titus.
Seeing Damon Darklord come looking for him, Titus Skyflood asked suspiciously, "Do you have news about Evan Yang?"
"No," said Nero Netherfiend.
"No? Then why are you here?" Titus Skyflood was nearly losing his mind.
"But I have a way into the Immortal Realm—and I can guarantee your power won't be weakened there." Nero Netherfiend said, making Titus Skyflood light up with excitement.
The reason Titus Skyflood never dared enter the Immortal Realm alone was that, when the Immortal-Devil Gate wasn't open, both devil and immortal cultivators would be weakened in foreign realms. Hearing this, he was thrilled—once inside, as long as he kept a low profile, he could search for Evan Yang however he wanted.
"Really?" Titus Skyflood switched instantly from madness to excitement.
"Mm. Want to come with me?" Nero Netherfiend asked.
"Isn't that obvious? I've wanted to go for ages. Tell me how!" Titus Skyflood exclaimed, delighted.
"If you want to enter the Immortal Realm without being weakened, you have to shed the Devil Realm's law imprint. There are two ways—one is to remove it completely, which isn't possible right now. The other is to trick the laws by overlaying another law on yourself." Nero Netherfiend explained.
"I don't really get it, but if you have a way, just do it." Titus Skyflood replied.
"Here, this pill will temporarily mask your Devil Realm aura. That way, you won't be weakened in the Immortal Realm—but it only lasts a hundred years." Nero Netherfiend said.
"A hundred years? That's plenty." Titus Skyflood laughed, took the pill, and swallowed it. He soon felt drowsy and collapsed. Nero Netherfiend smiled, "Sleep. When you wake up, we'll be in the Immortal Realm—and I'll need your help with a lot of things."
So Titus Skyflood fell unconscious. When he woke up, he found himself in the void, puzzled at his surroundings until he realized this wasn't the Devil Realm—it looked like the Immortal Realm. He exclaimed joyfully, "We're here?"
"Yes, we're here. Test your strength," Nero Netherfiend said.
Titus Skyflood tried it and found his strength unchanged. Overjoyed, he said, "Perfect! Let's go find Evan Yang."
"Mm." Nero Netherfiend nodded.
Using the last known location of Agent Firebane, Nero Netherfiend headed to the Earth Temple. Arriving there, he told Titus Skyflood, "Evan Yang was last seen here. Where he went after that, I don't know."