“Jian Xiong intended to discuss this matter personally, but as the Dragon Lord knows, the Lower Spring Ghost Abyss erupts frequently. When ghost energy leaks, it’s impossible for people within a hundred miles to survive. He simply can’t leave. This time, a hundred thousand evil ghosts are simultaneously assaulting the seal. If Xuan Zai hadn’t dispatched three Dao Tian High Masters to assist in suppression, Wei State would likely face catastrophe.”
After sending Mu Zhanting to the Hall of Righteousness, Ao Guanghan didn’t leave. He stayed in Dao Sheng Tian, intending to continue waiting for Nan Yan.
“What about that little brat Song Zhu?” he asked.
“I heard Jian Xiong has already dealt with him.”
“Go tell Meng Xiaolou it’s impossible. It will never happen in this lifetime.”
“Yes…”
As they spoke, the teleportation array in the square flared up again. An evil female cultivator stumbled out.
“Father Marquis, save me! I’ve been poisoned by a beast. My brother, to save me, has already…”
The people of Si State immediately surrounded her. Moments later, fear etched their faces.
“Damn those beasts! They killed our Si State’s Imperial Son. How will we explain this to the Marquis?”
Amidst the chaos, Ao Guanghan seemed indifferent. However, the unusual expressions of the Dao Sheng Tian High Masters caught his attention, putting him on alert.
“The Imperial Throne has fallen to Chen State. Why isn’t the Dragon Lord attending the ceremony at the Hall of Righteousness?” The Six Monarchs’ High Master couldn’t seal the entrance to the mountain and sea realm with Ao Guanghan present. “Your disciple has already emerged, and Chen State’s cultivators haven’t diminished. What concerns the Dragon Lord?”
Ao Guanghan sneered, “This seat’s ambitions encompass the world. Wouldn’t caring only for my children make me seem petty?”
The Six Monarchs’ High Master was speechless.
A Dao disciple from Dao Sheng Tian approached and whispered something to the Six Monarchs’ High Master. His eyes flashed, and he stepped forward, “Dragon Lord, would you please accompany us to the back mountain for a moment?”
Ao Guanghan coldly replied, “Why?”
The Six Monarchs’ High Master said something Ao Guanghan couldn’t refuse:
“The spiritual energy of the Soul River Waterfall is imbalanced. With Xuan Zai absent, we need the Dragon Lord to temporarily serve as a spiritual source… to maintain Lady Nan Fang’s residual soul.”
Ao Guanghan’s gaze instantly turned fierce and filled with rage. He gritted his teeth, “What a coincidence.”
The Six Monarchs’ High Master responded, “The Dragon Lord can continue to care for the younger generation here, or I can set aside the greater matters and go protect Lady Nan Fang myself.”
…How could he possibly entrust Nan Rang to someone else?
Ao Guanghan turned back, “Watch the teleportation array. If Nan Yan appears, bring her back to Chen State immediately.”
“Yes.”
Shortly after Ao Guanghan left, the three Dao Tian High Masters overseeing the Mountain Sea Forbidden Trial exchanged glances and suddenly acted in unison:
“The Mountain Sea Forbidden Trial’s space is anomalous. We’ll temporarily seal the entrance until Xuan Zai returns.”
“High Masters, please wait!” Mo Xingzheng flashed over to block them. “There might still be people inside—”
“Xingzheng, you’re overstepping!”
Suddenly, an explosion sounded from within the teleportation array, and a fire-red figure burst out.
The three Dao Tian High Masters looked over and exclaimed in shock, “Lady Nan Fang!!!”
The resemblance of the face indeed caused great shock, but they quickly recovered.
The Six Monarchs’ High Master roared, “What demon dares to impersonate Lady Nan Fang!”
Of course, it was Nan Yan who had emerged. Now at the Nascent Soul stage, she could maintain her composure even when Huashen cultivators shouted at her. She looked around, seeing all eyes on her—some shocked, some burning with intensity. She quickly feigned panic:
“Seniors, save me! That demon is about to come out!”
Mo Xingzheng was puzzled, but the Six Monarchs’ High Master and others immediately assumed she meant the Dao Venerable’s statue was emerging. With a wave of his sleeve, he swept all the cultivators, including Nan Yan, to the edge of the square.
“This is Dao Sheng Tian’s internal affair. Outsiders must not pry! Brothers, join me in sealing the space!!”
The three Dao Tian High Masters acted together. In an instant, the sky darkened, and an overwhelming pressure descended upon the Mountain Sea Forbidden Trial’s teleportation array.
The space quickly stabilized, but the Six Monarchs’ High Master sensed something odd.
“Why is primordial spiritual energy seeping out?”
A Dao Tian High Master beside him laughed, “This little girl is talking nonsense. It’s probably just a common spatial storm passing by. This primordial spiritual energy is rare. I’d like to collect some for my grand-nephew.”
The Six Monarchs’ High Master warned, “Brother, don’t act rashly!”
But before he finished speaking, several chains suddenly surged out from the enticing primordial spiritual energy in the teleportation array. They wrapped around the nearest Dao Tian High Master and dragged him into the array. Immediately, the laws of the mountain and sea realm triggered a spatial storm, and the Dao Tian High Master’s screams echoed from within.
“Brother!!” The second Dao Tian High Master rushed forward to rescue the escaping primordial spirit, but a second set of chains emerged ominously, like soul-collecting ghost officials, and dragged the spirit back in.
“Don’t make any rash moves!” The Six Sovereign Master roared, hurling his wooden staff into the air. Instantly, it transformed into a vast landscape of mountains and rivers, its immense power restraining the pulling force in the void.
As the stalemate continued, the Six Sovereign Master spotted a pair of blood-red eyes emerging from the dark depths of the void. The Dao Sky Master, who had been dragged in by chains earlier, was immediately shredded and devoured upon entering the darkness. Simultaneously, the aura of those blood-red eyes grew stronger with each passing moment.
Devouring—the hallmark of the most unforgivable evil demons.
“Who are you?” the Six Sovereign Master demanded, struggling to save the remaining Dao Sky Master.
“…It’s been a while. That year in the Mingyuan Great Hall, 133 fellow disciples, masters, and righteous people—67 of whom Uncle Six Sovereign graciously granted death. I, Ji Shaocang… remember it vividly.”
“It’s you—”
In his disbelieving rage, the Six Sovereign Master felt a flicker of fear. His cultivation drained rapidly as he activated the Dao Life Sky Sealing Mountain Formation. Despite temporarily isolating the ghostly energy’s impact, he could only hold out for half a cup of tea’s time. Within moments, their floating mountain had already sunk several feet due to the massive loss of spiritual energy.
“Quickly, activate the Heavenly Talisman to send a message to Xuanzai! If he devours another Five Declines cultivator, I won’t be able to stop him!”
Just as he was about to order someone to send the message, a silvery laugh rang out from the clamoring crowd.
“Without Xuanzai, you’re in such disarray. You’re truly a bunch of old, decrepit wastes…”
Not everyone could hear this voice, but those who did felt their spirits waver, yearning to follow its owner.
“Miss Nan, what’s wrong?”
Nan Yan, who should have left during the chaos, halted abruptly upon hearing the voice. She scanned the crowd intently, finally spotting a black-robed woman in a sparsely populated area.
This woman’s face was identical to Nan Rao’s, down to the minutest detail in her movements. Only her demeanor harbored a chilling malevolence.
Twirling a paper umbrella that had appeared on her shoulder, she turned to face the increasingly angry Nan Yan.
“Old Six Sovereign, what are a few cultivators worth? If you let go of this Buddhist bone and Zen heart, see if Yingze will punish you.” The Heart Demon Woman, having fully stabilized her form, covered her mouth and chuckled softly. However, her expression quickly changed as she lowered her umbrella to block a Buddhist light that struck at her face, as fiercely as a demon.
Nan Yan pushed aside those blocking her way and stepped forward, blood-colored lotus flowers blooming beneath her feet.
“Stop using my mother’s face to say such disgusting things!”
The Six Sovereign Master perked up upon hearing the Heart Demon Woman mention the Buddhist bone and Zen heart. Although still maintaining the formation and unable to break free, he locked onto Nan Yan as she pursued the Heart Demon Woman.
“Unable to distinguish between Buddha and demon, such a monster. I’ll subdue you first and then hand you over to Xuanzai for judgment.”
The Six Sovereign Master snorted coldly, and his shadow detached from his body, condensing into a black humanoid figure. This figure raised its hand and called out, “Brush, come!”
A clear light descended from the third floating mountain. The Six Sovereign Master’s shadow grabbed it, revealing a bamboo brush. A sheet of paper appeared before him.
“That’s Master’s left-behind technique, ‘Drawing a Prison’…” Mo Xingzhi’s face changed drastically. “Run quickly!”
Nan Yan had sensed the danger even before Mo Xingzhi’s warning. The lotus shadow beneath her feet appeared a hundred feet away, and her form flickered as she instantly moved. However, she collided head-on with other cultivators’ formations.
The Heart Demon Woman’s form floated lightly away from this floating mountain, giggling, “Good daughter, your hits hurt. But soon, I’ll truly be your mother. Aren’t you happy?”
“I don’t know much else, but I do know that if a heart demon is destroyed before it’s resolved, it’s a severe blow to its master. Want to try?” Nan Yan raised her hand, her originally silver-white true fire now blood-red at its core since her Core Formation.
The Heart Demon Woman’s smile faded. “Don’t forget, this is Dao Life Sky.”
The others couldn’t see the Heart Demon Woman and thought Nan Yan had gone mad. They surrounded her.
“Don’t be reckless in Dao Life Sky! Even Mao State can’t protect you!”
Nan Yan watched helplessly as the Heart Demon Woman turned and disappeared into the sea of people. Her expression is cold, she shook off the blocking disciples.
“Trading my life to cripple the cultivation world’s number one, Yongri… worth it. Anyone who obstructs me today will be given last rites!”
Buddhist fire manifested before the world in an unprecedented manner. Whether it was dan, equipment, talismans, formations, or weapons and peculiar techniques, all were crushed mercilessly before the overwhelming Buddhist flames.
“What kind of Buddha is this?!”
“I remember… Master’s master once said this is the lineage passed down by the Venerable One from Mao State who slew the Demon Teacher Senluo!”
The Heart Demon Woman, as if facing her nemesis, screamed and dispersed into black mist, fleeing.
“What Buddhist sect! This is clearly against the Dao!”
The Six Sovereign Master’s authoritative voice rang out. Nan Yan felt the air around her freeze instantly. The bamboo brush pointed from afar, and the red on her clothes flew out, merging into the paper. As the brush continued to draw on the paper, Nan Yan felt dizzy, her head heavy and her feet light. Her entire being transformed into strands of ink light, absorbed into the painting.
“Send this scroll to Xuanzai. We’ll deal with this ghost first…”
“Not good! This ghostly energy is about to seal off the entire floating mountain. Run!”