Chapter 874: Tianling Daoist

Yan Buji hid in the shadows of the cavern, the Dao pattern on his bronze arm flickering faintly, perfectly concealing his aura.

He watched the melee before the altar with cold eyes, his gaze sweeping between Gu Yue, Nan Gong Ping, and the strange coffin.

Boom!

The Fang family patriarch, whose body was possessed by a Heavenly Demon, clasped his hands in a seal; the eerie green flames on the twelve stone pillars surged suddenly, turning into twelve chains that coiled around Gu Yue and the others.

The bronze ancient mirror in Nan Gong Ping's hand shattered with a Crack!, and he spat a spray of fresh blood, his face turning as pale as paper in an instant.

"Heavenly Demon Soul‑Lock Formation?!" Nan Gong Ping's pupils contracted sharply, clearly recognizing the array.

Gu Yue gritted his teeth and activated the Divine Wood Cauldron, its body radiating emerald patterns, but a pale hand suddenly emerged from the coffin and clawed upward!

Bang!

The Divine Wood Cauldron was forcibly snatched away!

"No!" Gu Yue shouted, but the coffin lid burst open, and a figure slowly sat up.

Yan Buji's blood nearly solidified throughout his body.

It was a man clad in an ancient Dao robe, his face gaunt, eyes tightly shut, a fierce scar bisecting his brow as if pierced by a blade. Even stranger, a jet‑black bone spike was lodged in his celestial spirit cap, its tip constantly dripping viscous black blood.

"Hahaha, the host of my king, awaken, awaken!" the Fang family patriarch shouted, laughing wildly.

Yan Buji, hidden in the darkness, froze for a moment.

The host of the Heavenly Demon King?

"The one in the Boundless Trench is already the true Heavenly Demon, not a Heavenly Demon merely possessing a cultivator's body… so this one… could it be the great cultivator who created the Dragon People?"

The few Elders behind Gu Yue trembled uncontrollably, terror flashing in their eyes, whispering, "Tianling Daoist!"

Nan Gong Ping furrowed his brows, a hint of worry flashing in his eyes.

Gu Yue clenched his silver teeth, his whole body trembling uncontrollably.

"So that's it…" Yan Buji suddenly realized.

Combining what he had seen earlier, Yan Buji formed a rough hypothesis.

Back then, the Blood Daoist had teamed up with the Tianling Daoist to steal the twelve Emperor corpses, but the Tianling Daoist, as the original host of the Heavenly Demon King, may have already struck a deal with the King during that collaboration. He had long foreseen that he would eventually be completely devoured, so he set a seal here, suppressing himself for hundreds of thousands of years, merely to claw at a sliver of survival!

"Perhaps after stealing the Emperor corpses, this secret realm was actually prepared by the Tianling Daoist for his resurrection?!"

Yan Buji sensed a faint demonic aura on the Tianling Daoist, indicating that he might have also cultivated the demonic clan's secret techniques?

The ancient ferocious beasts in the secret realm could well be descendants of his spirit‑pet lineage, which is plausible.

But why did the Gu Family Gu‑Cultivator come to reinforce the seal and prevent the Tianling Daoist's revival?

Could it be that the Tianling Daoist bears a grudge against the gu‑cultivator? That seems unlikely; among the gu‑cultivators there appear to be Great Vehicle Stage practitioners, and with the Heavenly Demon…

Rumble—

The entire cavern shuddered violently, the Tianling Daoist's corpse slowly rose, the black light from the bone spike on his celestial spirit cap flaring intensely. His eyes snapped open, pupils a chaotic void, utterly irrational.

"Kill… kill everyone…" a hoarse voice rasped from deep within his throat, laced with boundless madness.

The red‑robed elder laughed wildly: "Hahaha! The Tianling Daoist awakened early; he will slaughter every living being here! Gu Yue, you fear that the Dragon Dao Immortal Gu will be taken after the Tianling Daoist revives; you spent tens of thousands of years reinforcing his seal, and now, before his time, we forced his awakening—didn't expect that, huh? Hahaha!!"

However, at the moment the Tianling Daoist was about to go berserk!

"Nan Gong, fellow cultivator!" Gu Yue suddenly bellowed.

Nan Gong Ping's eyes hardened, his hands swiftly forming seals; black qi surged around him, shaping into a three‑headed, six‑armed true form of a Heavenly Demon!

"Indeed…" Yan Buji narrowed his eyes: "Nan Gong Ping is also a Heavenly Demon host!"

Since just now, the Heavenly Demon aura within Nan Gong Ping has grown heavier; Yan Buji initially thought it was the Heavenly Demon Command, but increasingly sensed something amiss.

Unexpectedly, Nan Gong Ping did not attack Gu Yue; instead he lunged at the Tianling Daoist, all six arms extending to press firmly against his shoulder.

"Senior Tianling! Wake up!" Nan Gong Ping's voice carried a hint of urgency.

The Tianling Daoist's chaotic pupils quivered slightly, a fleeting moment of clarity, then were quickly devoured by madness. He let out a roar, terrifying dragon aura erupting around him, shocking Nan Gong Ping back several steps!

"Can't… he's already been too deeply corroded by Heavenly Demon aura!" Nan Gong Ping gritted his teeth, turned to Gu Yue, "We must send him into the Burial Sky Abyss!"

Having said that, the Heavenly Demon aura on Nan Gong Ping surged again, and it seemed that the Tianling Daoist still struggled to resist, though it was unclear whether it was because the Heavenly Demon King had once possessed him or his strength had not fully recovered.

But at this moment, Nan Gong Ping's power had surged to the Late Refinement of Void stage!

Yan Buji, witnessing the scene, was also rather startled.

Can this Heavenly Demon possession… actually leap across great realms to boost combat power?

Even if the Tianling Daoist's strength hasn't fully recovered, he is still not weaker than a Hehe Dao Stage cultivator. So bullying the Tianling Daoist is already insane, lacking any wisdom; otherwise, how could brute force alone restrain him?

Seeing Nan Gong Ping bleeding from his seven orifices in a terrifying sight, Yan Buji knew he couldn't hold out much longer.

Gu Yue's face turned ashen, yet he nodded without hesitation: "I'll open the passage!"

She bit her fingertip, letting blood drip onto the altar, and the ancient runes lit up one by one.

The red‑robed elder roared, "Don't even think!" He waved his hand, unleashing a blood spear that struck directly at Gu Yue's back heart!

Yan Buji's gaze hardened as he remained hidden. In the end, they fought to the death just to give him a good show, but the Tianling Daoist couldn't be left unsaved.

"But there is currently no way to awaken the Tianling Daoist, so we have no means to act; it's better to keep him sealed, and later we can try again to see if we can awaken him."

Clang!

What?!

The waning Gu Yue once again employed a mysterious gu technique; her whole body brimmed with ancient Dragon lineage aura, and within moments she showed signs of transforming into a dragon!

Yan Buji was instantly stunned—was that not…

The Dragon People transformation method?!

That's not it!

She must have used some kind of Immortal Gu?

"Dragon Dao Immortal Gu?" Yan Buji looked at the red‑robed elder beside him, recalling that he had mentioned it earlier.

"How dare they employ the Jade Dragon Immortal Gu? Seeking death!"

The red-robed elder looked at Gu Yue, whose whole body had transformed into a jade dragon, and attacked again. However, Gu Yue, while employing gu techniques, used her half-dragonized flesh to control the runes and open the altar, while from her palm flew a sky-filling swarm of Gu Worms, forming a circular moon wheel in midair!

"Dragon Chant Moon!!"

"Roar!!"

Within the circular moon wheel, a jade dragon surged forth, cooperating with the desperate Gu family Elders around, and in a moment blocked the red-robed elder's attack!

On the other side, Gu Yue had successfully activated the altar, and a pitch-black vortex slowly formed.

"The Burial Heaven Abyss passage... is open!" she shouted weakly.

Seeing this, Nan Gongping extended all six arms, firmly gripping Daoist Tianling and dragging him toward the vortex.

"Senior Tianling, I'm sorry!"

Daoist Tianling struggled wildly, his dragon might erupting, and the entire cavern began to collapse.

Nan Gongping gave Gu Yue a resolute glance; Gu Yue's eyes brimmed with hot tears as she watched Nan Gongping drag Daoist Tianling into the vortex.

Daoist Tianling let out an unwilling roar, and was finally dragged completely into the Burial Heaven Abyss……

"Boom!"

The vortex closed, and the cavern collapsed completely.