Chapter 204

Outside the fissure was a huge, inverted-bowl-shaped underground space. At the center of the space stood the "Auxiliary Cauldron"—much smaller than the Heart Cauldron, but still three zhang tall, its body dark purple, covered in twisting runes that seemed like living things struggling. From its mouth continuously gushed black smoke pillars, within which countless pained, twisted faces flickered in and out, emitting silent screams. Beneath the cauldron, countless transparent soul-tubes connected, their other ends sinking into numerous cage-like holes in the surrounding rock walls, each hole imprisoning a dimly glowing, constantly trembling soul. This was the "Resentful Soul Blood Cliff," true to its name.

What made their hearts sink further was that beside the Auxiliary Cauldron, it was not empty. Two cultivators in dark red robes, with mysterious auras, were operating at the cauldron's edge, throwing some materials flashing with evil light into it, seemingly adjusting the formation. Both were at mid Nascent Soul stage, clearly elite disciples specifically in charge of this cauldron.

And above the Auxiliary Cauldron, at the highest point of the space, floated a huge, slowly rotating dark red crystal, beating like a heart, emitting strong blood-slaughter fluctuations, and resonating distantly with the direction of the central blood lake. This was the energy hub of the cauldron formation, and also the key node connecting the other three cauldrons and the main cauldron.

Launching a strong attack on the two mid Nascent Soul cultivators would immediately alert the entire situation.

Gu Yusheng's eyes exchanged rapidly, sending a mental message: "I have the 'Micro Void Displacement Formation Disk,' which can instantly teleport us three near that crystal, but only for three breaths of concealment time. Within three breaths, we must complete the destruction and withdraw. Xue, you must, at the fastest speed, inscribe the 'Nine Heavens Thunderbolt Reverse Life Symbol' on the crystal's core; Ran, the Heaven-Patrol Order may suppress the crystal's evil aura for a moment, buying me time; I will interfere with those two's perception and set up temporary formation patterns to disrupt the earth vein connection."

Mei Ruoxue and Shi Ran nodded heavily. This was a risky move, but the only possible way to achieve the goal silently.

Gu Yusheng took out a formation disk neither gold nor jade, covered in spatial ripples, took a deep breath, and linked the three of their auras with the disk.

"Go!"

The formation disk flashed with light, and space twisted imperceptibly for a moment.

The next instant, the three appeared in the high air, diagonally behind the huge dark red crystal. Mei Ruoxue's eyes surged with thunder light, her fingertips condensing a point of extreme compression, containing the Dao rhythm of destruction and rebirth, purple thunder light, silently pointing at the crystal's core. Shi Ran hesitated not, throwing out the Heaven-Patrol Order, which hovered above her head, warm and moist clear light pouring down like a waterfall, enveloping the three, and attempting to spread toward the crystal; wherever it passed, the blood-slaughter fluctuations emitted by the crystal indeed stagnated slightly.

The two red-robed cultivators below seemed to sense something, doubtfully lifting their heads to look toward the crystal's direction.

Just as Mei Ruoxue's thunder-light fingertip was about to touch the crystal's surface—

An anomaly suddenly arose!

Inside the dark red crystal, a blurred, malicious huge face suddenly appeared, silently roaring at the three! A terrifying will far surpassing Nascent Soul stage swept over, not coming from the crystal itself, but transmitted through the crystal, from the blood lake's Heart Cauldron, from Lord Youquan—a warning and locking on!

"Ants, dare to touch the holy artifact?" Lord Youquan's icy voice seemed to directly echo in their seas of consciousness.

They were exposed! Not because of their actions, but because this crystal, or rather the core of the entire Four Symbols Guide Nether Formation, had already been implanted by Lord Youquan with a concealed warning prohibition!

"Retreat!" Gu Yusheng shouted fiercely, instantly detonating several interference talismans in his hand, while fully activating the formation disk, trying to teleport again.

"Too late." Lord Youquan's voice carried the teasing of a cat playing with a mouse.

The crystal violently vibrated, surface cracks spreading, not to shatter, but from within extending countless dark red tentacles condensed from blood-slaughter and resentful souls, covered in barbs, wildly sweeping toward the three! The two red-robed cultivators below also screamed and shot upward, their treasures glowing with blood light.

At the same time, deep in the valley bottom, in the Black Jade Palace.

Lord Youquan slowly rose from the black jade throne. His figure was tall and thin, enveloped in a robe seemingly woven from night and blood light, his face blurred, only a pair of eyes, like two deep wells leading to an endless blood sea. He did not immediately go to the "Resentful Soul Blood Cliff," but walked to the edge of the palace's terrace, looking down at the surging vast blood lake below, and at the lake's center, that towering mountain-like, with runes flowing faster and faster "Blood Lake Heart Cauldron."

The blood water in the cauldron was nearly overflowing, countless faces sinking and floating, melting in the blood water, releasing the purest soul power and blood qi. Above the firmament, the invisible power of the waning moon was passing through the thick blood mist, becoming increasingly clear as it descended, resonating with the heart cauldron.

"Little mouse of the Heaven-Patrol Office, you do know how to pick a time." Lord Youquan's voice was hoarse and low, "Unfortunately, the waning moon will be full, the 'keyhole' will appear, the situation is already set, how can you few ants stop it? Good, use your flesh and soul, especially that little girl with the Heaven-Patrol Order's aura, as the final 'soul guide,' to help me completely knock open the 'Gate of Blood Sea,' welcoming the descent of the 'Key to Unsealing'!"

He raised his withered palm and pressed it empty-handed toward the Blood Lake Heart Cauldron.

Hum—

The entire Weeping Blood Valley violently trembled! The blood lake boiled, the heart cauldron roared, the other three auxiliary cauldrons (including the Resentful Soul Blood Cliff) simultaneously shot blood light into the sky! Four blood-colored light pillars poured into the heart cauldron, above its mouth, space began to twist and blur, a "hole" shadow endlessly dripping sticky blood drops, deep and bottomless, gradually emerging and solidifying!

The waning moon sacrifice was about to enter its final, most crucial stage—"Knocking the Lock"!

And while Shi Ran and the three were entangled by tentacles and the two red-robed cultivators at the "Resentful Soul Blood Cliff," and Lingxiao was fighting and retreating in the valley, luring the four great protectors deeper into a trap direction, they simultaneously felt a terrifying pressure that made heaven and earth change color, emanating from the blood lake's center, from that forming "keyhole" shadow, spreading out.

This was not merely power, but a pure "hunger" and "negation" of the existing order of all things.

The Key to Unsealing is coming.

Just as the dark red tentacles were about to entangle the three, the interference talismans detonated by Gu Yusheng turned into a cluster of chaotic colored light, mixed with sharp spatial noise, though unable to completely block the tentacles, it delayed them by half a beat. It was this lightning-fast gap, Gu Yusheng's hand that "Micro Void Displacement Formation Disk" again burst forth light, but this light appeared extremely chaotic and unstable.

"The teleportation is interfered with, only short-distance random!" Gu Yusheng growled low, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth, obviously suffering backlash from forcibly activating the interfered disk.

Light enveloped the three, space twisted and stretched, but in the next moment threw them to the edge of the "Resentful Soul Blood Cliff," a place near the rock wall piled with discarded soul tubes and skeletons, nearly a hundred zhang from the Auxiliary Cauldron.

"Pfft!" Just as the three steadied, their qi and blood surged, Mei Ruoxue's face turned pale, forcibly suppressing the thunder light about to lose control at her fingertips. Shi Ran's Heaven-Patrol Order clear light above her head also violently trembled, barely stabilizing.

Below, the two red-robed cultivators had already come lunging with killing intent, one throwing out a blood-colored banner, its surface rolling, countless resentful souls screaming and rushing out; the other had in hand a white bone chisel, its tip entwined with black air of soul-destroying and bone-corroding. Above, the crystal's tentacles, though not pursuing, still had that huge malicious face firmly locked on this side, obviously able to launch a more terrifying attack at any moment.

"The plan has changed!" Gu Yusheng's eyes were sharp as knives, "The crystal's warning is directly connected to Lord Youquan, forceful breaking is now impossible. But destroying the Auxiliary Cauldron, weakening the formation, remains key!"

He spoke extremely fast, while saying, he threw out dozens of formation flags, inserting them into the surrounding ground, forming a small defensive formation. "Xue, protect Ran, using the Heaven-Patrol Order's power, maximum range purification, severing the soul tubes connected to the prison cages! This can weaken the Auxiliary Cauldron's energy source! I will hold those two!"

No time to hesitate. Mei Ruoxue nodded, purple lightning crackling around her body, instantly transforming into three true-false-indistinguishable sword shadows, all containing fierce sword intent, actively meeting the two lunging red-robed cultivators. Her sword light no longer pursued silence, but opened wide, thunder roaring, striving to temporarily restrain the enemy with the fiercest offensive.

Shi Ran took a deep breath, sat cross-legged, formed hand seals, all her mind sinking into the Heaven-Patrol Order above her head. The warm and moist clear light was no longer just protecting her body, but like a tide, carrying some ancient and solemn decree meaning, centered on her, spreading toward the dense prison-cage holes on the rock wall.

Where the clear light reached, those transparent soul tubes connected to dim souls violently trembled, emitting a "hissing" sound, like cold water poured on a red-hot iron plate. Evil runes appeared on the soul tube surfaces, trying to resist, but under the scouring of the Heaven-Patrol Order's clear light representing some "orthodox order," they quickly dimmed and collapsed. The souls in the prison cages seemed to sense something, trembling even more fiercely, but no longer purely painful; some of the clearer soul shadows even emitted a weak, almost grateful fluctuation.

"Running dog of the Heaven-Patrol Office! How dare you destroy my holy sect's foundation!" The cultivator controlling the blood banner roared angrily, the banner unfurling, more solid like blood pythons resentful souls lunging toward Mei Ruoxue's sword shadows; the other strangely flickered, bypassing the sword shadow net, the white bone chisel carrying a hint of sinister dark light, straight stabbing the back heart of Shi Ran, who was casting spells.

"You are my opponent!" Gu Yusheng coldly shouted, he did not leave the defensive formation's core, but with fingers together like a sword, he slashed through the air. The formation flags on the ground simultaneously lit up, spiritual light intertwining, actually forming, in an instant behind Shi Ran, several layers of overlapping, constantly rotating spiritual power shields. At the same time, from his sleeve flew a string of silver needles as fine as cow hair, silently shooting toward the major acupoints all over the body of the cultivator holding the white bone chisel.

The white bone chisel struck the rotating shield, emitting a grating sound that made teeth sore, momentarily unable to penetrate. The cultivator had to swing the bone chisel back, knocking the silver needles flying. However, the silver needles, seemingly knocked flying, suddenly exploded in mid-air, turning into clusters of sticky silver-white gelatinous substance, adhering to the opponent's protective spiritual light, greatly delaying his movements.

On the other side, Mei Ruoxue's three sword shadows were already entangled with the blood banner's resentful souls, thunder light and blood light constantly exploding. Her true body, however, ghostlike appeared beside the blood banner cultivator, her long sword drawing out a thread of purple heavenly thunder refined to the extreme, chopping straight down!

"Carving insects' trick!" The blood banner cultivator sneered, the blood banner rolled up, actually swallowing the falling thunder into the banner surface, the banner surface bulging, then spewing out a foul blood thunder mixed with thunder and resentful soul power, blasting toward Mei Ruoxue!

Mei Ruoxue's pupils slightly contracted, her body hastily retreating, sword tip tapping, laying down layers of thunder nets to dissipate the impact, but still shaken until her qi and blood surged. Mid Nascent Soul, and proficient in evil arts, indeed hard to deal with.

At this moment, Shi Ran's purification had initial effects. Large areas of soul tubes broke and withered, the souls in the prison cages, though still dim, the forced extraction trembling had stopped. The Auxiliary Cauldron's black smoke pillars obviously thinned somewhat, the dark purple light on its body also showing unstable flickering.

"Courting death!" The huge face in the crystal above the Auxiliary Cauldron let out an angry roar, more dark red tentacles, and on the tentacles began to open one by one eyes full of malice, like a violent storm, no longer limited to attacking Shi Ran, but sweeping to cover the three within the defensive formation's range! The two red-robed cultivators also intensified their offense.

Pressure suddenly increased! Gu Yusheng's defensive formation flags began to crack under the tentacles' bombardment, his face turned pale, continuously replenishing spirit stones and replacing formation flags. Mei Ruoxue's sword light like a dragon, strenuously blocking, she already had several wounds corroded by blood-slaughter on her body. Shi Ran's mouth corner bled, the Heaven-Patrol Order's clear light began to flicker unstably, but she gritted her teeth and persisted, the purification range still stubbornly expanding.

Just as the three were in peril—

"Ooo—!"

A low, desolate horn sound, seeming to come from ancient barbaric wilds, suddenly echoed throughout the "Resentful Soul Blood Cliff," even penetrating rock layers, faintly reverberating in the entire Weeping Blood Valley!

This horn sound was not a physical sound, but directly acted on the divine soul, carrying a primitive power to dispel evil and invigorate the spirit!

The dark red tentacles attacking the three violently trembled, surface blood eyes showing pain, the offensive stalled for a moment. The two red-robed cultivators were even more violently shaken, faces showing doubtful expressions, the spiritual light of the blood banner and white bone chisel dimmed somewhat.

"This is... the 'Ancient Evil-Dispelling Horn'? Senior Brother Lingxiao!" Shi Ran's spirit lifted, instantly understanding this was Lingxiao, who was sparring with the four great protectors, activating a pressure-box treasure pre-arranged in the deeper trap! This treasure is said to be taken from the horn of an ancient strange beast, refined with difficulty, having extremely strong restraint and deterrence against evil things, but its range and time are limited.

Lingxiao's move undoubtedly told them, and also told the enemy—his side had already successfully lured the four great protectors into the trap area and temporarily trapped them, thus freeing his hands to use such treasure for remote support! This is also one of their pre-planned support plans in case of exposure and forced strong attack.

Opportunity!

Gu Yusheng's eyes shot out sharp light, disregarding his own consumption, he spat a mouthful of essence blood onto the formation disk, shouting fiercely: "Now! Xue, sever the main soul tube hub! Ran, Heaven-Patrol Order, suppress the Auxiliary Cauldron's body for a moment!"

Mei Ruoxue let out a long cry, human and sword as one, transforming into a purple thunder dragon tearing through space, no longer entangled with the two red-robed cultivators, with decisive momentum, straight charging toward the thickest few core soul tube connection points beneath the Auxiliary Cauldron! Wherever she passed, remaining tentacles scattered in the exploding thunder light.

Shi Ran also exerted all her strength, throwing out the Heaven-Patrol Order, the clear light condensing into a thick light pillar, not for attack, but carrying a heavy "suppress" meaning, remotely covering that dark purple Auxiliary Cauldron!

I've been on a business trip these past two days, thank you all for your recommendation tickets, thank you so much, and in advance I wish you all smooth sailing and great fortune and beauty in 2026.