Chapter 681: Nascent Soul Demon Sealing

In the sky.

As Elder Gan's Golden Core exploded, a cataclysmic shockwave swept outward in all directions.

It also marked the death of Elder Gan, a Golden Core cultivator of great renown in the Great Jin.

One of Hua Tianxiong's major patrons had now fallen. "Blood An, you dare kill an elder of Li Huo Palace? I swear to you—I will not rest until you are dead!"

Li Huo Shangren watched helplessly as Elder Gan's Golden Core detonated and perished, his eyes bulging, golden beard and hair whipping wildly.

Cultivating a cultivator like Elder Gan had cost Li Huo Palace countless resources and years of effort.

Moreover, Elder Gan's contributions to Li Huo Palace were indispensable.

Li Huo Shangren had planned to nurture him further.

Yet Blood An, without warning, had already secretly struck at Elder Gan and cast the Soul-Hosting Great Art upon him.

"Hehe! Old Li Huo, you'll soon be reunited with your disciples and grand-disciples."

As a chilling voice echoed.

From the lingering waves of the Golden Core explosion, a mass of pitch-black demonic energy drifted slowly forth, then coalesced into the figure of Blood An, his aura terrifying beyond measure.

Blood An wore a blood-patterned python robe; he was a middle-aged man with a stern, cold face, naturally commanding, radiating the aura of Nascent Soul early stage.

Yet his magic power clearly surpassed that of Li Huo Shangren by a wide margin.

He was just a hair's breadth from reaching Nascent Soul mid-stage, and the demonic art he cultivated was exceptionally ruthless and tyrannical.

His very appearance brought an oppressive, suffocating pressure.

I originally intended to lure out those few demon clan bastards, but instead I pulled out you—a big fish. This Blood Soul-Hosting Art was certainly not wasted.

"After all, planting the Soul-Seeding Demonic Art on your dead disciple without detection took considerable effort."

"So it was a trap?!"

Without hesitation, Li Huo Shangren pulled out a blue talisman and slapped it onto his body; his figure blurred, then vanished instantly.

Not a single moment wasted.

"Hahaha! Brother Li Huo, where are you running to?"

At that moment.

In another part of the void, a figure appeared—emaciated, clad in a yellow robe.

In his hand, a yellow-skin gourd magic treasure materialized; he gestured with his fingers toward the southwest void.

Whooosh! Whooosh! Whooosh! Several dark, eerie gales surged forth, howling like wailing ghosts and wolves.

Li Huo Shangren's disheveled figure reappeared from the void.

"It's you! You Sha the Old Ghost!"

"You've allied with the demonic sects of Xuehuan Realm?!"

"Do you mean to make war against the entire mortal realm?!"

Li Huo Shangren's face turned grim; he had been secretly struck again by You Sha Zhenjun and suffered minor internal injuries.

"Hehe! Only your own foolishness is to blame. I sincerely invited you to join me against that brat, but you hesitated—so I had no choice but to find another partner."

"Our original target was Wang Yue Zhenjun, but by accident, it became you."

"It's simply your fate."

"My Yinming Divine Sand can blow away souls and sever spirits—it specifically breaks escape techniques and talisman treasures. Brother Li Huo, don't even think of fleeing with such methods."

"Yinming Divine Sand? You've actually completed the Yinming Heavy Water Scripture?!" Li Huo Shangren stared in disbelief.

You Sha Zhenjun's face twitched with a strange smile: "Almost there. But if I capture you, Blood An has promised me a favor."

"Completing it will only be a matter of time."

"Brother Li Huo, under our combined assault, even you have no chance of escape. Surrender now."

Upon finishing, You Sha Zhenjun's gaze turned icy; his yellow-skin gourd magic treasure suddenly blazed with light, swelling to two zhang in size.

A gust of yin wind erupted, carrying countless dark crystal grains, forming several massive tornadoes that converged upon Li Huo Shangren from all sides.

Beside him, Blood An raised his hand; a fourth-rank early-stage Blood-Scale Demon Snake instantly appeared, over three hundred zhang long, radiating terrifying power, its crimson tongue flickering as it roared and lunged toward Li Huo Shangren with its gaping maw.

Seeing this, Li Huo Shangren's face turned deathly pale. "How could there be such a high-rank demonic beast?"

He gritted his teeth, pointed a finger.

Hum! An ancient, ink-black spiritual ruler flew out, instantly multiplying into countless ink-light ruler shadows, each dozens of zhang in size, radiating terrifying power as they swept outward.

After summoning this treasure, Li Huo Shangren's face grew even paler—activating this ancient ruler demanded a heavy toll; even a Nascent Soul True Person's magic power struggled to sustain it.

"That's a fourth-rank mid-grade magic treasure—the Eight Extremes Ruler!"

"Li Huo Palace's reserves truly are immense!"

You Sha Zhenjun gasped and immediately recalled his gourd; with both hands forming seals.

The gourd's color abruptly changed, turning black.

Splash! Splash! Splash! A torrent of black water surged forth, forming a vast black river cascading down from the sky, crashing into the sea of ruler shadows! Boom! Boom! Boom! Instantly, the two cultivators and the beast surrounded Li Huo Shangren—the heavens trembled, the earth cracked, the winds and clouds churned.

Li Huo Shangren's escape routes were cut off; he entered a desperate, all-out battle mode.

Yet despite unleashing every technique he possessed, he gradually fell under pressure from Blood An and You Sha Zhenjun's coordinated assault.

…

…

Meanwhile.

The battle between Nascent Soul experts shook the earth and heavens, disrupting spiritual energy across the land—its tremors reached Qin Ming's ears not long after he had departed.

He unleashed his spiritual sense, equivalent to Nascent Soul late-stage, and immediately detected the three cultivators and one beast locked in furious combat.

"A Nascent Soul demon lord from Xuelian Demon Sect?"

"And You Sha Zhenjun of the Western You Desert Sect!"

"Brother Li Huo… he seems ambushed?"

Qin Ming's mind shifted; he ordered the Xuan Shui Crocodile pulling his carriage to halt.

"Master, what's wrong?" The Shi Tian Rat, lying on the table, sensed something amiss and instantly woke up.

"There's a Nascent Soul battle occurring where the void anomaly appeared," Qin Ming replied.

"Huh? Nascent Soul fighting? Let's run! Avoid such trouble at all costs!" The Shi Tian Rat shuddered instinctively.

Since joining Qin Ming, the Shi Tian Rat had fully embraced the Art of Survival—no matter how capable he was of resolving the situation,

he preferred to avoid karmic entanglements entirely.

Yet Qin Ming's expression darkened and brightened uncertainly; he paused to deliberate.

"Brother Li Huo is in peril. He must have been lured into an ambush while clearing the void anomaly."

"If Brother Li Huo truly perishes, the Wei Dao Alliance will collapse—without Great Jin bearing the brunt of Da Li's demonic sects and Xuehuan Realm's incursions, the next target will surely be the Southern Wastes."

"Wait—so it's that old man Li Huo Shangren? He's really unlucky! We just left, and he gets ambushed." The Shi Tian Rat sighed.

"So should we…?"

"Forget it. Two against two—let's save him," Qin Ming decided.

But at that moment.

His expression changed slightly; he corrected himself: "No. Too late."

"Brother Li Huo… is unlikely to escape this fate."

…On the other side…

Under the combined pressure of Blood An and You Sha Zhenjun, Li Huo Shangren was retreating step by step.

Hiss! Boom! The Blood-Scale Demon Snake spat a jet of black demonic light, instantly corroding the surrounding space; Li Huo Shangren hurled several magic treasures.

All were struck by the demonic light and gradually dissolved.

Bang! Li Huo Shangren's magic power was severely depleted; he couldn't dodge in time as the blood-colored tail swept him, sending him flying like a ragged sack, crashing hard into the ground.

He cratered a massive hole.

He spat out several mouthfuls of blood, his aura withering.

"Still struggling in your final moments? Let me show you what true despair feels like before you die!" Blood An sneered, no longer willing to delay.

He formed a strange hand seal; demonic energy surged violently across his body, engulfing him entirely.

Moments later.

Blood An transformed into a three-headed, six-armed demon form with blue face and fangs, towering over two hundred zhang.

With a devastating, wind-charged strike, he instantly obliterated Li Huo Shangren's physical body and his defensive treasures—amidst a cloud of blood mist, a faint Nascent Soul shadow fled out, unmistakably resembling Li Huo Shangren.

As soon as his Nascent Soul emerged, Li Huo Shangren immediately activated his teleportation technique, desperately fleeing.

After several teleportations, he had reached a thousand li away.

"Old Li Huo really is ruthless—but it's too late," You Sha Zhenjun murmured, gazing at his escape direction.

The next instant.

Blood An retracted his demon form, now holding a crimson cage—bird-like, covered in demonic runes, radiating an eerie aura.

Then.

He pulled out a straw doll resembling a witchcraft effigy, infused it with the blood essence from Li Huo Shangren's corpse, chanted incantations, and began casting a distant spell.

When the incantation ended, crimson light flared! The witchcraft effigy was placed inside the crimson cage.

Meanwhile, the fleeing Li Huo Shangren's Nascent Soul, its tiny face, twisted in terror.

Yet suddenly, an inexplicable sense of dread pierced his spirit.

Just as he prepared to teleport again.

Above his Nascent Soul, a crimson cage materialized out of thin air—a prison-like cage—that instantly enclosed him.

The Nascent Soul of Li Huo Shiren, no matter how he teleported, could not escape the blood cage's bounds, utterly imprisoned.

Waves of crimson demonic light surged from within the cage, beginning to erode his Nascent Soul's spiritual essence.

Li Huo Shiren's Nascent Soul grew confused, his vision gradually blurring until he sank into endless darkness. Moments later.

Two streaks of light arrived instantly, revealing the figures of Xue Yan Mojun and You Sha Zhenjun.

"Xue Yan, your Nascent Soul demonic imprisonment technique is truly devastating—it can even restrict a Nascent Soul's spatial teleportation."

You Sha Zhenjun forced a faint smile, flattering the nearby Xue Yan Mojun.

Even though he had long known the man possessed demonic arts targeting Nascent Souls, witnessing it firsthand sent a chill down his spine.

With merely a drop of blood, he could directly lock and imprison a Nascent Soul—such a method utterly surpassed his understanding, beyond comprehension.

If this were used on himself, You Sha Zhenjun knew he had no chance of escape. "I wonder, Xue Yan Daofriend, how will you deal with this Nascent Soul? Shall we destroy it outright?"

Xue Yan Mojun waved his hand, casually retrieving the blood cage containing Li Huo Shiren's Nascent Soul.

"Hehehe! This Nascent Soul is of great use to me for cultivating demonic arts and forging demonic treasures."

"You Sha Daofriend, I know you're worried that if this Nascent Soul isn't destroyed, word of your defection to my sect will leak out, making you a target."

"You needn't worry at all. The moment Li Huo Shiren's Nascent Soul entered the Blood Spirit Cage, its spiritual essence and consciousness were utterly extinguished—there is no possibility of possession or rebirth."

Upon hearing this, You Sha Zhenjun's heart froze instantly. He bowed deeply, awestruck: "Xue Yan Daofriend, your demonic power is truly supreme!"

Xue Yan Mojun merely waved his hand slightly, unimpressed, his cold face saying only:

"One down, one left."

"Though you joined me to kill Li Huo Shiren and have thus offered your allegiance to our Sacred Sect, you must still accompany me on one more mission."

"After it's done, I won't forget the promise I made to you."

You Sha Zhenjun's face lit up immediately. "You mean… you've already locked onto the location of that boy from the Southern Wastes?"

"Hehe! When I used my host body, Gan Yue, to enter Wei Yuan City, I noticed this Wang Yue Zhenjun bore an extremely potent 'Blood Ring Curse Seal'!"

"My sect's Sacred Son was almost certainly killed by him. Perfect—we'll settle this grudge together, torture his Nascent Soul, burn him alive as a sky lamp for a thousand years, and let all under heaven know the fate of crossing the Blood Refining Demon Sect!"

"As long as the Blood Ring Curse Seal remains, no matter how far he flees, he cannot escape my grasp!"

You Sha Zhenjun shuddered at these words, yet his expression bloomed with joy. "Hah! Then let's hurry after him!"

"Ride my demonic pet. In terms of speed, it's unmatched among peers—equivalent to the full speed of a mid-stage Nascent Soul," Xue Yan Mojun said coolly.

"No matter how powerful that boy is, he won't escape my hands this time."

Xue Yan Mojun waved his hand, retrieving Li Huo Shiren's fourth-rank mid-grade spirit treasure and storage pouch, showing no intention to share anything with You Sha Zhenjun.

You Sha Zhenjun stared at the treasures, envious, yet dared not speak.

After all, this ambush on Li Huo Shiren relied almost entirely on Xue Yan Mojun—he had merely stood guard.

Then.

The fourth-rank Blood-Scaled Demon Serpent descended from the sky, landing before them, its massive crimson-scaled flesh-wings unfolding, shimmering with demonic radiance.

The two flew onto its back.

A thunderous roar echoed through the void; the serpent's colossal body instantly dissolved into a phantom, vanishing as it raced toward Qin Ming's direction.

…

Meanwhile, Qin Ming had seen everything that had just transpired.

He hadn't expected Xue Yan Mojun's methods to be so cruel and ruthless—capable of directly targeting a cultivator's Nascent Soul.

Before Qin Ming could even arrive to assist, Li Huo Shiren was already dead.

Though Qin Ming wasn't afraid of the two, a battle might draw reinforcements from other Demon Lords.

Even if he had to fight them, he must draw them far away from this place.

For safety, he retracted Lingxiao Bao Nian and unleashed his full Nascent Soul-level flight technique, flying determinedly in one direction.

During this time, Qin Ming repeatedly used True Demon Illusions to alter his appearance.

Yet no matter how he disguised or evaded, Xue Yan Mojun behind him always locked onto his position.

This confirmed his suspicion.

"It seems Nascent Soul Demon Lords can sense the 'Blood Ring Curse Seal' from extreme distances," Qin Ming thought grimly.

Even after he repeatedly used Blood Dash techniques, the enemy still tracked him down like following a map.

Half a day later.

Qin Ming's figure suddenly halted, ceasing flight and coming to a stop.

His face remained utterly calm, unruffled, revealing a faint serenity.

"This auspicious spot will do. I'll have to drain your blood first."

"I hope Xue Yan Mojun's Nascent Soul holds the key to dispelling this curse."

…

(End of Chapter)