Chapter 205

The cauldron body trembled violently, the twisted runes on its surface flashing frantically, and the gushing black smoke decreased sharply. Below, the core soul tubes, under the peerless sword lightning that Mei Ruoxue slashed out while bracing to take a remnant wave from a blood banner head-on, shattered with a boom — several snapped at once!

The entire "Resentful Soul Blood Cliff" resentful soul extraction array fell into a brief, localized stagnation and disorder!

However, almost at the same time.

At the valley bottom, above the Blood Lake Central Cauldron, that dripping-blood "keyhole" phantom at the rim suddenly became several times clearer! From the depths of the phantom came a sound like tens of millions of tons of blood churning and scouring, and like countless world barriers being corroded and pierced — a glugging sound that shattered one's body and soul!

Venerable Youquan, standing on the Black Jade Palace terrace, suddenly clenched his outstretched palm tight!

"Primordial Ancient lingering echo? A dying struggle!" The mockery in his voice vanished, replaced by a bone-chilling killing intent and a hint of... fanaticism, not easily detected.

"The keyhole has appeared, the Blood Sea Gate will open! Your struggles merely add a few more vivid blood-colored offerings to this final feast!"

He no longer paid attention to the localized chaos at the "Resentful Soul Blood Cliff"; his entire focus was poured into stabilizing and expanding the "keyhole." The power of the Waning Moon had reached its peak; though the power of the Four Cauldrons suffered slight disturbance, the general trend could not be reversed!

Boom—!

From the mouth of the Blood Lake Central Cauldron, a beam of indescribable color, viscous, shot into the sky, completely piercing through that dripping-blood "keyhole" phantom!

The sky over the entire Weeping Blood Valley — the thick blood mist was torn apart by an invisible force, revealing the true outside night sky with the Waning Moon hanging high. But that Waning Moon, at this moment, also seemed to have been stained with a layer of eerie dark red halo.

"Striking the lock... begins."

Venerable Youquan's low murmur was like a declaration of final judgment.

Inside the "Resentful Soul Blood Cliff," Mei Ruoxue, who had just severed the core soul tubes and turned pale, using the power of the Xuntian Token to temporarily suppress the auxiliary cauldron and the tottering Shi Ran, as well as Gu Yusheng who was barely maintaining the defensive array with his breath flagging, all simultaneously felt a burst of icy palpitation originating from the depths of their souls, irresistible.

They looked up in unison, as if able to see through the thick rock layers, to "see" above that blood lake the viscous light pillar connecting heaven and earth, and at the end of the light pillar, that dripping-blood "keyhole" currently being "struck" from the outside by some indescribable "existence."

【15】 They looked up in unison, as if able to see through the thick rock layers, to "see" above that blood lake the viscous light pillar connecting heaven and earth, and at the end of the light pillar, that dripping-blood "keyhole" currently being "struck" from the outside by some indescribable "existence."

The lingering echo of the Primordial Ancient Exorcism Horn still reverberated between the rock walls, but the crystal tentacles' offensive had already regrouped. The pain flickering in those blood eyes was swiftly replaced by even denser malice.

"Not much time bought by Master!" Gu Yusheng's mouth corner bloodstains were not yet dry, yet his hands did not stop forming the last set of array flags, "We must completely paralyze this auxiliary cauldron!"

Mei Ruoxue's sword momentum was spent; she staggered to the ground, her left shoulder torn open by the blood banner's resentful souls into a deep wound exposing bone, purple lightning crackling at the wound's edge, barely holding back the corrosion of blood fiend qi. Yet her gaze remained sharp, looking at Shi Ran:

"How much longer can you hold?"

Shi Ran's face was pale as paper; the Xuntian Token's light pillar was visibly shrinking at a speed visible to the naked eye, the auxiliary cauldron's trembling weakening — not because it was suppressed, but because it was adapting to this degree of suppression. "Thirty breaths... at most."

Thirty breaths.

Gu Yusheng's brain spun rapidly. The defensive array was on the verge of collapse; the two red-robed cultivators, though temporarily weakened by the Primordial Ancient Exorcism Horn, still possessed mid-stage Nascent Soul strength. The crystal tentacles' second wave of attack was about to descend.

And more fatally, that "striking the lock" palpitation coming from the blood lake grew stronger and stronger, as if the entire Weeping Blood Valley was groaning under the squeeze of some colossal thing.

"Plan changes again." Gu Yusheng's voice was extraordinarily calm, so calm it made Mei Ruoxue and Shi Ran both feel a chill of alarm, "We're not destroying the auxiliary cauldron anymore."

"What?" Shi Ran almost thought she had misheard.

"We're seizing it."

As Gu Yusheng spoke, he took out three spindle-shaped tokens from his bosom — neither gold nor jade, their surfaces flowing with chaotic mist. The moment the tokens appeared, the surrounding space developed subtle distortions.

"Void Anchor Tokens?!" Mei Ruoxue recognized these treasures seen almost only in ancient texts, "Where did you get them—"

"No time to explain." Gu Yusheng tossed two tokens respectively to the two of them, "Refine with essence blood, three breaths! Then do as I say!"

He was the first to bite his tongue tip, spraying a mouthful of essence blood onto the token. The chaotic mist suddenly boiled, transforming into countless tiny runes that burrowed into his palm. Mei Ruoxue and Shi Ran exchanged a glance, then did the same without hesitation.

The instant the essence blood fused, the three simultaneously felt their consciousness tugged — not outward, but inward, sinking into a strange dimension between the virtual and the real. They "saw" each other, not through eyes, but through some deeper connection.

"The Void Anchor Tokens can temporarily 'anchor' a portion of our consciousness in the auxiliary cauldron's control core." Gu Yusheng's thought transmitted directly among the three, ten times faster than speech, "But the auxiliary cauldron has already been refined by Youquan; the core must have protections. I need you to cover me — Ruoxue, use thunder arts to hard-shake the protective layer; Shi Ran, use the Xuntian Token's 'Decree True Words' to interfere with the core's master-recognition mark."

"Then what do you do?" Mei Ruoxue's thought carried doubt.

"I infiltrate the core, modify its energy flow." Gu Yusheng replied calmly, "Reverse-extract the energy originally supplied to the Blood Lake Central Cauldron."

This plan was crazy enough to make Mei Ruoxue's divine sense fluctuate for an instant: "You can't possibly do it! That was laid down by a Spirit Severing cultivator—"

"It can be done." Gu Yusheng cut her off, "Because the refiner of this auxiliary cauldron, three hundred years ago, was once a guest elder of my Gu clan. I know its back door."

A brief silence.

A light laugh came from Mei Ruoxue's thought: "Should've said you had this connection earlier."

"Let's begin."

In the real world, only two breaths had passed.

The two red-robed cultivators had fully recovered from the Primordial Ancient Exorcism Horn's intimidation; the blood banner cultivator grinned savagely, waving his banner: "Dying struggle! The Saint Cauldron has activated; you all become offerings!"

The white bone awl cultivator lunged straight at Shi Ran — he had seen that the female cultivator controlling the Xuntian Token was the weakest link at this moment.

But just when he was still three zhang from Shi Ran —

Mei Ruoxue opened her eyes.

In the depths of her pupils, purple lightning and chaotic mist intertwined. Her left hand raised a sword finger, not forward, but upward.

"Heavenly Pivot Summons Lightning, Shatter Illusion."

There was no thunderclap.

Only a beam of white light, pure to the ultimate degree, appeared out of thin air from the cave dome — no, that wasn't light, it was highly condensed lightning essence, transcending the concepts of sound and color. It struck directly onto the crystal above the auxiliary cauldron, striking the center of that huge malicious face.

The crystal emitted a teeth-aching cracking sound. The face twisted, revealing a genuine expression of pain for the first time.

"You dare—!"

At the same time, Shi Ran also opened her eyes. The Xuntian Token flew up from her crown; the clear light no longer spread outward but instead contracted inward, condensing into nine ancient golden characters that slowly revolved around her. Those were the "Decree True Words" of the Xuntian Office's heaven-patrolling guardianship; each character heavy as a mountain.

She spoke, her voice no longer gentle, but carrying an undeniable majesty:

"Evil instrument covered in dust, true spirit ought to awaken."

The nine golden characters flew out in sequence, imprinting onto the auxiliary cauldron's surface. Those twisted runes on the cauldron body curled and convulsed like living things touched by a branding iron. Dark purple light flashed intensely, struggling violently between obeying Youquan's mark and some deeper instinct.

Right now!

Gu Yusheng's body sat cross-legged in the real world, his seven orifices beginning to seep fresh blood — consciousness-level invasion was far more perilous than physical injury. His thought had already followed the passage opened by the Void Anchor Token, burrowing into the auxiliary cauldron's core.

It was an ocean constructed of blood-colored runes. In the center of the ocean, a phantom of Venerable Youquan sat cross-legged — precisely the master-recognition mark he had left. The phantom sensed the intruder and slowly opened its eyes.

"Junior, good courage."

Merely a sweep of thought nearly caused Gu Yusheng's consciousness to collapse. A Spirit Severing cultivator's mark, even just a wisp, was not something a Golden Core cultivator could contend with.

But he had long been prepared.

At the edge of consciousness dissolving, Gu Yusheng awakened three formation diagrams from deep within his memory—these were the "parting gifts" left by a guest elder of the Gu family three hundred years ago when he departed, given to his grandfather. The guest elder had said: "If one day, a descendant of the Gu family encounters my crafted artifact and cannot overcome it, they may unfold this diagram."

The first diagram unfolded.

In the ocean of blood-red runes, seven blue points of light suddenly ignited, forming the shape of the Big Dipper. The points connected, transforming into a sword of starlight that slashed toward the phantom of Youquan.

The phantom raised its hand and easily crushed the tip of the sword.

But the second diagram had already unfolded.

The ocean churned, countless blood-red runes reversed their flow, instead wrapping around the phantom of Youquan. This was the "reverse mechanism" buried during the forging of the auxiliary cauldron, originally intended to prevent the artifact smith from suffering backlash, but now activated by Gu Yusheng.

The phantom showed a solemn expression for the first time: "So you are a descendant of the Gu family."

He formed seals with both hands; the blood-red runes in his palms shattered and reassembled, gradually suppressing the reverse force.

The third diagram unfolded.

This one was completely different from the first two—it was not a formation diagram at all, but a letter.

On the letter paper was only a single line, the handwriting vigorous and ancient:

"Daoist friend of Youquan, if you see this letter, it means the agreement from years ago has come time for fulfillment."

The signature was a name: Chu Jinglan.

The phantom of Youquan froze in its movements.

This name seemed to stir some distant memory. The phantom's expression shifted from solemn to complex, then from complex into a long sigh, as if crossing three hundred years.

"So... that is how it is."

He offered no further resistance.

Gu Yusheng seized this rare opportunity with his consciousness, forcefully penetrating the deepest core, locating the control node of the energy flow. His thoughts became like the most dexterous fingers, beginning to alter the connections of those blood-red runes—

From "output" to "extraction."

From "supplying the heart cauldron" to "nourishing oneself in return."

In the real world, the vibrations of the auxiliary cauldron reached their peak.

Dark purple light flashed violently, then—went completely dark for an instant.

Then it flared back to life.

But this time, the light's color had changed. No longer Youquan's dark purple, but a chaotic hue mixed with purple lightning and clear light—a grayish-white.

The surging pillars of black smoke reversed their flow.

Not dissipating, but being sucked back into the auxiliary cauldron. The soul tubes connected to the prison cage on the cauldron's body, which had originally drawn soul power, now began to reverse transmission—gently returning the previously drawn, yet-untransformed soul power into the barely-living soul entities within.

Though weak, this was a reversal!

"No—!" the blood banner cultivator's eyes nearly burst from their sockets as he felt the shift in control of the auxiliary cauldron, "What have you done?!"

The face in the crystal above let out a mad roar; all tentacles smashed down without restraint, blood eyes wide open, firing beams of extremely corrosive dark red light.

But it was too late.

Gu Yusheng opened his eyes. In the real world, only fifteen breaths had passed.

He raised his hand and made a grasping motion toward the auxiliary cauldron.

The auxiliary cauldron rose in response, its mouth aimed at the incoming tentacles and the two red-robed cultivators.

"Now," Gu Yusheng's voice hoarse and terrifying, yet edged with unprecedented sharpness, "it's your turn to taste the flavor of being sacrificed for refinement."

What spewed from the cauldron's mouth was no longer black smoke, but a pillar of grayish-white light condensed from the power of three—Meiruoxue's purple light, Shiran's clear light, and Gu Yusheng's void formation power—mixed with the reversed power of resentful souls.

The light pillar collided with the tentacles.

There was no explosion, only dissolution.

The tentacles melted within the light pillar like snow meeting boiling water. The blood eyes emitted a silent scream before closing and withering. The residual force of the light pillar did not diminish, surging toward the two red-robed cultivators.

The blood banner cultivator tried to block with his banner, but the resentful souls on it, upon touching the light pillar, instantly turned against him, backlashing their master. He let out a miserable cry, was devoured by his own artifact, and his entire body exploded into a mist of blood.

Seeing the situation turn dire, the white bone drill cultivator retreated hastily, hoping to flee. But Meiruoxue had been waiting long.

"You were having quite fun just now," she said, her sword light flashing as lightning transformed into a prison, sealing off all escape routes.

Shiran's Heaven-Patrolling Order struck from the side, the true words "suppress" imprinting on the opponent's brow. The white bone drill cultivator's movement stalled, and Meiruoxue's sword had already pierced his dantian.

As his Nascent Infant tried to escape, Gu Yusheng controlled the auxiliary cauldron to suck it in, suppressing it within the cauldron—becoming the first "fuel" after the auxiliary cauldron's reversal.

The battle ended within twenty breaths.

The three panted, supporting each other. Each had reached their limit. Gu Yusheng's appearance—bleeding from seven orifices—was especially horrifying; Meiruoxue's shoulder wound was deep enough to see bone; Shiran's Heaven-Patrolling Order light had dimmed to near extinction.

But the auxiliary cauldron had been taken.

However, the joy of victory had not yet risen when the throbbing from the valley's depths suddenly intensified tenfold.

The entire resentful blood cliff began to tremble violently. On the cliff walls, the unpurified prison cages shattered one after another; the souls within, amid piercing screams, turned into pure energy, forcibly extracted and hurled toward the blood lake.

"He is accelerating..." Shiran felt the flow of soul power, her face ashen, "Youquan is forcibly extracting all reserve soul power, accelerating the locking process."

Gu Yusheng controlled the auxiliary cauldron, attempting to intercept these soul powers, but succeeded in capturing less than thirty percent—more soul power seemed to have received a higher-priority summons, breaking through the cauldron's control.

The resonance of the "lock hole" had already become so intense that even here it could be clearly felt. That gurgling, like blood washing against a barrier, had turned into drum-like impacts.

Dong.

Dong.

Dong.

Each beat made the three's hearts falter in rhythm.

"Master's side..." Meiruoxue looked toward the direction the horn sound came from; there, all was silent now.

Gu Yusheng wiped blood from his face and quickly said: "The effect of the Ancient Demon-Dispelling Horn has worn off; Master either has already escaped successfully, or in any case, he will get out of danger..." He paused, "The only thing we can do now is to make Youquan's ritual incomplete."

He pointed to the transformed auxiliary cauldron: "This auxiliary cauldron originally was meant to provide thirty percent of the energy needed for the locking. Now it not only provides none, but is extracting in reverse. The gap will cause the ritual to show a flaw."

"But the gap will be made up by the other three auxiliary cauldrons." Shiran tried to analyze calmly, "Unless—"

"Unless we also take down the other auxiliary cauldrons." Meiruoxue interjected, lightning flashing in her eyes, "Or, go straight to the blood lake."

The three exchanged glances.

Face the Mystic Spring Venerable directly? Face a Spirit Transformation cultivator who is in the process of knocking open the "Gate of the Blood Sea"?

That would be no different from suicide.

But staying behind, waiting for the Mystic Spring to complete the unlocking and open that so-called "Gate of the Blood Sea," the outcome would not be any better.

"To the Blood Lake," Gu Yusheng made his decision, "but not for a direct confrontation—to destroy the 'keyhole'."