The three remained hidden on the isolated island, staring at the intelligence in their hands. Their faces were pale, caught between anger and unease.

Truthfully, fear weighed heavily on them.

Against Jiang Chen's current strength, there was only one possible outcome—instant death.

Even so, their orders were clear. They were not to retreat yet. They were to hold their position a little longer. Reinforcements were on the way.

More importantly, Jiang Chen still hadn't found them.

That was why Bao Rui and the other two stayed where they were.

Otherwise, they would have long since activated the interstellar teleportation array, escaped the immortal star, and destroyed the array behind them, completely cutting Prosperous Stone Immortal Star off from the outside.

To calm their nerves, Bao Rui, Kou Zhong, and Xu Ziling kept talking among themselves, trying to distract each other.

"When do you think the reinforcements will arrive?"

"And even if they do, how strong will they really be?"

"Jiang Chen wiped out the top combat forces of Prosperous Stone Immortal Star by himself. Sending ordinary Nirvana Cleansing realm cultivators would just be suicide."

"There's no point stressing over it," another said after a pause. "This is already beyond us. All we can do now is wait and see how the Alliance's higher-ups plan to deal with him."

Just then, the void transmission jade token began to hum.

All three straightened at once.

There's new information.

They quickly checked the message in the void transmission jade token.

"Reinforcements are arriving. Peak-stage Nirvana Cleansing realm powerhouse — Devil Saber Shen Xin."

"Devil Saber Shen Xin?!" Kou Zhong's eyes widened. "That monster who once fought all the top geniuses from three major immortal stars by himself?"

"So it's really him…" Xu Ziling frowned. "Wasn't he openly opposing the Profound Jade Immortal Alliance? How did he end up becoming our reinforcement?"

"Don't dig into it," Bao Rui said, cutting him off. "Right now, Shen Xin is on our side. That's all that matters."

He paused, then added, "He's no ordinary Nirvana Cleansing realm cultivator. Even I wouldn't last long against him."

"And despite his title, what he truly excels at isn't the saber," Bao Rui continued. "It's concealment."

With that, he let out a slow breath. A faint trace of relief finally appeared on his face.

"With Devil Saber Shen Xin involved, we finally have something to work with against Jiang Chen."

"That's great. The Alliance will definitely back Shen Xin in other ways too—weapons, pills, all of it," Kou Zhong said, unable to hide his excitement.

"With proper support, his strength will be pushed even further."

"At least we can finally breathe," Xu Ziling added.

The tension that had been hanging over them eased at last, and smiles appeared on the faces of the two younger cultivators.

Just then, a loud boom shook the ground beneath their feet. A dazzling beam of light burst out from the earth behind them.

Bao Rui turned sharply. "The interstellar teleportation array."

"Devil Saber Shen Xin is here!" Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling said at the same time, eyes lighting up.

Moments later, the ground slowly split apart. A young man stepped out, clad in black armored robes. His black hair was unkempt, his features plain, and his presence strangely unremarkable.

It was Shen Xin.

"Daoist Shen Xin," Bao Rui said, bringing his hands together in greeting.

"Senior Shen Xin," Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling followed, bowing slightly. Relief showed plainly on their faces.

"Daoist friends," Shen Xin replied, returning the gesture. He didn't waste time on pleasantries. "What's the situation? And where is Jiang Chen?"

"It's bad," Bao Rui said. His expression darkened. "Jiang Chen is running wild—sect after sect, city after city. He kills anyone in his way. Prosperous Stone Immortal Star is in chaos. It's a disaster."

"What about the demon army?" Shen Xin asked as his divine sense spread outward.

"They haven't shown up," Bao Rui said. "So far, it's only been Jiang Chen. He's acting alone."

"The Compassionate Sword Immortal Palace, the Purple Crest Immortal Sect, and every other well-known sect or city are gone," he continued. "Across the entire Prosperous Stone Immortal Star, aside from us, there are probably no Nirvana Peering realm cultivators left."

Shen Xin frowned. "The demon army hasn't appeared at all?"

"And it's really just Jiang Chen doing all this?"

His brows knit tighter. "If he's working with the demons, the first thing he should do is seize the interstellar teleportation array."

"And he should be opening a spatial channel to the Immortal Martial Continent as soon as possible, letting the demon army strike the Alliance's rear."

He fell silent for a moment, eyes narrowing.

"This kind of slaughter looks brutal," he said at last, "but it doesn't actually help the demons' larger plan."

Bao Rui and the other two froze, their expressions shifting.

They had been so focused on fear that they hadn't thought about any of this.

"W-well…" Bao Rui hesitated. "Maybe… there are other reasons."

"There's something off," Shen Xin said, waving it aside. "Never mind. I'll find Jiang Chen myself. Give me his location."

"Alright!" Bao Rui nodded quickly. "Based on our informants' reports, Jiang Chen was last seen in Martial Virtue Heavenly City. The exact position is—"

"Guard the interstellar teleportation array," Shen Xin said, already turning away.

Following the direction Bao Rui had indicated, he left the arctic isolated island in a flash.

Once the formation settled, Kou Zhong let out a breath. "This Devil Saber is surprisingly easy to deal with. He's nothing like the rumors make him out to be."

Xu Ziling glanced after Shen Xin's departing figure. "It's usually the quiet, unassuming ones who are the most dangerous."

...

Meanwhile, neither Shen Xin nor Bao Rui and the others realized that the island's protective formation was nothing more than a toy in Jiang Chen's eyes.

Their movements—and even their conversations—were fully exposed under his divine sense.

"Oh? Reinforcements?"

Jiang Chen was in the middle of relocating a massive city when his expression shifted. He immediately activated the Villain Eye and pulled up Shen Xin's information panel.

[Name: Shen Xin

Status: Supporting Character

Fate Value: 83,562

Aptitude: Perfect Grade

Innate Talent: Saber Heart Heavenly Body

Realm: Peak-stage Nirvana Cleansing

Cultivation Methods: Divine Wind Clear Void Scripture (Void Tribulation, Core Technique), Slashing Sea Burning Heaven Saber Technique, Parting Hate Absolute Path Scroll, Heavenly Battle-ax Subduing Heart Art (Nirvana Cleansing, Perfection)...

Main Equipment: Sky Illuminating Moon Suppressing Saber, Black Wave Cloud Surge Robe, No Regrets in Death Diagram (Nirvana Cleansing, Top-Grade), White Deer Moonlit Boots (Nirvana Cleansing, Upper-Grade)

True Combat Power: Peak-stage Nirvana Cleansing (++)

Trust Level: 0]

A Supporting Character? Jiang Chen's eyes flickered. And one with over eighty thousand Fate Value.

He glanced over the list again. Every piece of equipment is Nirvana Cleansing rank…

Tsk. This Shen Xin definitely has deep ties to some extraordinary protagonist.

His thoughts began to race as he considered the newcomer, already weighing how best to deal with him.