The qingmu spirit pearl in Lu Qingyang's palm erupted with a myriad of emerald light, and countless jade vines suddenly grew from the rock layers within a hundred-zhang radius.
The Yin Qi of the Nether Abyss was transformed into qingmu Spiritual Qi by the spirit pearl, actually condensing into green leaves above the sea of lava, with ancient runes flowing through every vein of each leaf.
"Do the running dogs of Taiyi Pavilion also deserve to speak of Karma?" The Nether River Old Ancestor, stepping on the Blood River Stele, flew through the air, and nine skull prayer beads shot out from his hair, transforming into nine hundred-zhang Blood Flood Dragons in mid-air.
Between the scales of these Flood Dragons, the faces of resentful spirits surged, and what they spat out were the standardized Flying Swords of Taiyi Pavilion Disciples—clearly, the Immortal Sect Cultivators he had slain back then had been refined into living puppets.
Lu Qingyang's two fingers swept across his Storage Pouch at his waist, and thirty-six Dragon Scale Grass seeds rapidly grew against the wind.
These spiritual plants, cultivated from the inverse scales of a Three-Headed Flood Dragon, transformed into jade green chains, pinning the three Blood Flood Dragons to the rock wall.
Where the chains touched the Flood Dragon's body, green smoke rose, and amidst the Flood Dragons' wails, the remnant souls of Cultivators broke free from their restraints, turning to bite at the Nether River Old Ancestor's protective blood light.
"I underestimated the inheritor of the Azure Emperor." The Nether River Old Ancestor flicked his finger on the surface of the Blood River Stele, and the ancient Seal script of "Burial Sword Valley" appeared on the inscription.
The sea of lava suddenly boiled as if being cooked, and seven rusty bronze mirrors broke through the waves, the chains wrapped around their handles clearly being the demon-sealing chains unique to Taiyi Pavilion's Forbidden Land.
Su Li's scorched-tail zither suddenly played by itself, and she bit her tongue to spray out a mist of blood: "Daoist Lu, this is the natal sword array of the first Pavilion Master of Taiyi Pavilion!"
The moment the zither strings snapped, seven sound waves transformed into white rainbows piercing the sun, accurately striking the Seal talismans on the giant sword's guard.
Lu Qingyang seized the opportunity to press the spirit pearl into the lava, and the dragon blood grass in the pearl's medicine field frantically absorbed the essence of the earth's fire, actually blooming into a thousand golden lotuses in the sea of fire.
"What a clever use of power to transform!" The Nether River Old Ancestor, enraged, laughed, and the Blood River Stele exploded into a sky full of blood rain.
In every drop of blood, a distorted human face appeared, and upon closer inspection, they were the Elders of Immortal Doctor Valley who had disappeared a hundred years ago.
The blood rain fell on the golden lotuses, making corrosive sounds, and Su Li suddenly clutched her heart—those refined innocent souls of Immortal Doctor Valley were eroding her Golden Core through Bloodline resonance.
Lu Qingyang flipped his palm, offering up a broken Medicine Cauldron, and the taotie patterns on the cauldron's body suddenly moved as if alive.
He threw three Lifespan Medicinal Pills into the cauldron, and the pill flames actually appeared in two colors, green and black: "Old ghost, do you know what this is?"
After the Medicine Cauldron devoured the Medicinal Pills, it expanded tenfold, and what spewed from its mouth was not the fragrance of Medicinal Pills, but the thousand-year drunken immortal brew treasured by the Old Drunkard back then.
The moment the wine mist touched the blood rain, countless innocent souls suddenly paused in mid-air, then let out moans of relief.
The Nether River Old Ancestor's glabella split open, revealing a third blood-colored eye, and wherever its gaze passed, space collapsed.
Lu Qingyang's jade pendant on his chest shattered in response, revealing half a talisman paper hidden within—it was precisely the life-saving sword talisman Ye Wuchen had given him back then.
When the sword light rose, the Dragon Qi of the entire Nether Abyss's earth 脈 was stirred, and the lava condensed into a ten-thousand-zhang sword edge, cleaving towards the blood-colored eye.
"Taiyi Demon-Slaying Sword!" The Nether River Old Ancestor roared, tearing off his left arm, and the severed limb transformed into a blood-colored shield, blocking the sword's edge.
During this interval, seventy-two golden silkworm threads flew out from Lu Qingyang's sleeve, each thread entwined with an Exploding Flame Talisman purchased from the black market.
Su Li, suppressing the backlash, plucked the last three zither strings, and the sound waves wove the golden silkworm threads into an immortal-trapping net, simultaneously enveloping the blood shield and the sword light.
The airwave generated by the explosion overturned a hundred li of rock layers, and the Pang Daoshi, transformed from a Treasure Seeking Rat, suddenly emerged from a crack in the ground, holding a fragmented bronze mirror in his arms: "Young Lu, shine it on his Tianmen acupoint!"
The moment the mirror reflected the Nether River Old Ancestor's true form, everyone finally saw that what was embedded in his Dantian was actually the Taiyi Pavilion Enforcement Elder's token—this person was clearly Li Wujiu, the Hall Master of the Punishment Hall who had betrayed the Sect a hundred years ago!
The qingmu spirit pearl suddenly broke free from his control, and the Old Drunkard's phantom appeared within the pearl: "Wicked Disciple, do you still recognize your master?"
Li Wujiu's protective blood light dissipated in response, and Lu Qingyang seized the opportunity to inject all his Spiritual Qi into the Medicine Cauldron.
The moment the cauldron lid was lifted, the Profound Yin True Water collected in the Burial Dragon Abyss back then poured out, forming a Yin and Yang millstone upon contact with the lava, crushing Li Wujiu's Physical Body inch by inch.
"Do you think this is over?" Li Wujiu's remnant soul suddenly burrowed into the fragments of the Blood River Stele, and all the innocent souls followed, surging into it.
The miniature blood stele reassembled from the fragments tried to escape through the air, but was intercepted by the Five Elements sword array that had been set up at some unknown time—Ye Wuchen, his white robes stained with blood, stood at the core of the array, his feet stepping on the corpses of seven Elders from the Nine Nether Hall.
Lu Qingyang coughed up blood foam and slumped to the ground, but in his hand, there was an additional blood-colored Jade Slip: "Many thanks for Elder Li's gift, Mr. Lu will gladly accept this 'Blood Sutra'."
The Restriction remaining on the Jade Slip suddenly erupted, but was neutralized by the essence of plants and trees overflowing from the spirit pearl's space.
Su Li gazed at the dissipating innocent souls of Immortal Doctor Valley, and silently crushed half a jade pendant into powder—what was engraved on it was precisely Li Wujiu's Daoist name from his youth.
