The blood-red pillar of light that pierced the night sky shot straight up, possessing unparalleled penetrating power, and established a connection with a certain forbidden existence above the nine heavens! A force far more ancient, terrifying, and evil than the Bloodfiend Corpse King, or even the Blood Butcher himself, surged down from the top of the light pillar, its momentum overwhelming and unstoppable! The moment this aura appeared, the entire Hidden Profound Sect mountain range, along with the Yangtze River waters below, experienced a sudden, freezing drop in temperature. The air was filled with a soul-chilling dryness and death; plants rapidly lost their moisture, and an invisible layer of frost formed on the surface of the rocks.
"Roar——!!!"
In the forest, the Bloodfiend Corpse King, which had been blasted away and severely injured by the golden pillar of light earlier, roared with a sound that shook mountains and rivers! That roar was no longer purely ferocious, but was filled with the wild joy of breaking free from an invisible shackle, and boundless resentment towards all things! Its huge body trembled violently, every inch of muscle spasming. The dark red keratin on its surface peeled off inch by inch, revealing the shriveled, withered, and deeply cracked black skin beneath, every trace of moisture completely drained. Behind its bloodied back, two huge, gray-white bone wings covered with jagged bone spurs suddenly pierced through flesh and blood, spreading out with dripping filth and shredded flesh, almost obscuring half the sky! The flapping of the bone wings brought gusts of stench, swirling withered leaves and sand. The skull on its head exploded, and two thick, curved horns, resembling those of a goat, broke through the skull, their tips flashing with an ominous, dim light, making people shudder in fear. Within a few breaths, the Bloodfiend Corpse King had vanished without a trace. In its place was a terrifying monster nearly two meters tall, half-human, half-corpse, with hideous bone wings on its back, ominous horns on its head, and emanating an overwhelming aura of drought and a pure desire for destruction! The air around it was distorted by the intense heat, and the ground beneath its feet quickly turned black and cracked. The Drought Demon's True Form!
The Blood Butcher had, at the cost of a large amount of his own essence blood and an unknown secret treasure, forcibly awakened the ancient Drought Demon's remnant soul sealed within this Corpse King's body and allowed this wisp of a soul to completely occupy this already powerful shell!
"Jie jie jie jie... Feel this ancient anger and despair!" The Blood Butcher at the foot of the mountain was as pale as paper, his mouth bleeding. Obviously, using this kind of secret technique had cost him a great deal, but his eyes were flashing with a morbid frenzy and anticipation, staring fixedly at the newly born Drought Demon.
As soon as the Drought Demon's true form was formed, it immediately displayed its world-destroying power. Its eyes, burning with dark red flames, indifferently swept across its surroundings. Wherever its gaze passed, plants burst into flames, and rocks shattered. Then, it opened its mouth, filled with rows of sharp fangs, and fiercely inhaled towards the swiftly flowing Yangtze River below!
Boom!
An unimaginable, irresistible, terrifying suction force suddenly erupted! The surface of the Yangtze River, which had been surging and rolling below the mountain, was rapidly decreasing at a shocking speed visible to the naked eye! Large patches of river water were forcibly drawn away, turning into white mist that evaporated upwards. However, when it approached within a hundred feet of the Drought Demon's body, it was instantly and completely vaporized by the terrifying high temperature emanating from it, not even leaving a trace of mist! In just a moment, the wide river surface had shrunk significantly, revealing large areas of wet, and then rapidly drying and cracking, riverbeds. Countless fish and shrimp that were too late to escape were frantically jumping in the mud, and were instantly roasted to charcoal!
It wasn't over yet! After the Drought Demon's true form had drained that section of the Yangtze River, it opened its massive maw once more. This time, instead of drawing in, it abruptly spewed forth! From its mouth erupted a torrential downpour of crimson-black fire, carrying a destructive heat and the scent of withering decay! This fire wasn't ordinary; each droplet was incredibly condensed, imbued with pure Drought Demon power. Not only could it incinerate all physical matter, but it could also corrupt spiritual veins, evaporate all life, and devastate an entire region! The sky rained crimson-black fire, emitting a piercing shriek as it hurtled towards the Hidden Profound Sect's mountain gate array!
***
Chh chh chh! Chh chh chh!
The seventy-two layers of the Earth Fiend Tortoise Shell Formation, which enveloped the Hidden Profound Sect's mountain gate, were usually exceptionally sturdy, thanks to the continuous reinforcement from the earth's veins. However, facing this fire, which contained the terrifying power of the Drought Demon, it began to tremble violently. The emerald light on the surface of the protective barrier rapidly evaporated, turning into plumes of white smoke, and the rate at which the array's spiritual energy was consumed soared once more!
The disciples maintaining the array all looked ashen, desperately trying to hold it together. What made Chen Changqing, the main array master, feel his heart sink even further was that an alarm bell was ringing in his mind, and a strong sense of crisis surged through him. He clearly felt that, in the direction of the forbidden area behind the mountain, the entrance to the Earth Vein Spirit Realm, which he had just activated, was also experiencing violent spatial tremors under the impact of the Drought Demon's fire rain and the influence of that evil aura! The originally stable light at the entrance flickered uncertainly, and wisps of black qi even began to coil around its edges, threatening to be completely corrupted by this filthy Drought Demon power at any moment, possibly even causing the entire entrance to collapse!
No! Absolutely cannot let the Drought Demon destroy the Earth Vein Spirit Realm!
Chen Changqing made his decision instantly, his eyes becoming sharp. The Earth Vein Spirit Realm was not only his last trump card for dealing with powerful enemies, but it also likely concealed important secrets about the rise and fall of the Hidden Profound Sect, and even the mysterious End of Dharma Curse. He couldn't afford to lose it!
The only way, at this moment, was to immediately enter the Earth Vein Spirit Realm and find a way to stabilize the entrance from the inside, even attempting to mobilize the power of the Spirit Realm itself to confront this terrifying ancient Drought Demon!
"Senior brother..." Lin Wanqing had been watching Chen Changqing closely. Seeing his suddenly grave expression, and the resolve that flashed in his eyes, her heart tightened. She instinctively gripped his arm, her voice trembling uncontrollably. "What are you going to do? That place... it must be very dangerous..." The scorched black wound on her left arm, caused by the previous attack from the Bloodfiend Corpse King, was still shocking, and constantly reminded her of just how terrifying the enemy before them was.
Chen Changqing turned his head, his gaze softening as he looked at his junior sister's pale but worried face. He reached out his right hand and gently patted the back of her hand, which was tightly gripping his arm. His voice was as gentle as he could make it. "Wanqing, don't worry. Senior brother knows what he's doing."
He solemnly placed the [River-Calming Jade], which was radiating a gentle, jade-green light, into Lin Wanqing's cold hands. "Hold onto this. It will help you share some of the pressure. Focus on maintaining the formation. Remember, no matter what happens, you absolutely must not leave the formation's boundaries! Wait for me to return!"
As soon as he finished speaking, Chen Changqing didn't hesitate. His form shot out like a streak of green lightning, directly towards the forbidden area on the back mountain. After a few flashes, he disappeared into the depths of the dense forest.
"Senior brother!" Lin Wanqing watched his disappearing figure, her eyes uncontrollably reddening slightly. In the end, she clenched the still-warm [River-Calming Jade] tightly in her hand. She forced all her worries and fears deep down into her heart, and refocused all her attention on controlling the formation in front of her. She knew that the only thing she could do now was to hold her ground here, and not let her senior brother be distracted by the affairs of the sect.
The Blood Butcher below the mountain naturally noticed Chen Changqing's movements. Seeing that he hadn't chosen to defend, but instead was charging towards the back mountain, the Blood Butcher was momentarily stunned. Then, a ferocious grin spread across his face, his eyes filled with undisguised mockery and contempt. "Hmph, what a fool! Thinking he can escape by hiding in that so-called broken place? He's just asking for death!"
He thought that even if there was some hidden space in the Hidden Profound Sect's back mountain, it would surely be a dilapidated and dangerous wasteland. For Chen Changqing to enter it so proactively was no different than walking into a trap, which would save him the trouble of searching.
However, just as the Blood Butcher was gloating with a cold laugh, imagining Chen Changqing's miserable end, a sudden change occurred!
The space fluctuations, which had been violently shaking and flickering in the direction of the Hidden Profound Sect's back mountain's forbidden area due to the Drought Demon's fire rain, abruptly contracted inwards after Chen Changqing's figure disappeared into that area. Subsequently, all the shaking and light completely subsided!
That entrance to the unknown space closed the instant Chen Changqing entered!
At the same time, the Blood Butcher's heart skipped a beat, and a chill surged through him. He was horrified to discover that the already tenuous connection he had with the Drought Demon's true form – a connection weakened by distance and the limitations of the secret technique – had become even weaker and more blurred!
An invisible yet resilient barrier had separated them, making his perception and control over the Drought Demon significantly slower!
"What's going on?! This is impossible!" The Blood Butcher's smile froze, his eyes flashing with disbelief and unease. He tried to strengthen his connection with the Drought Demon, but the barrier's force was exceptionally strong.
On the other side, Chen Changqing felt the scene before him violently twist and blur, and the next moment, he found himself in a completely unfamiliar environment.
The expected scene of lush spiritual energy, fields of immortal herbs, and singing birds and fragrant flowers was nowhere to be seen. What lay before his eyes was only a vast, endless wasteland. Ruins were everywhere: half-collapsed grand palaces, broken and fallen giant stone pillars, and the dim, dust-covered foundations of magic arrays… All he could see was desolation and decay.
The air was thick with an unbreakable sense of decay and decline, even mixed with a faint, lingering scent of blood. The sky was eternally gray, devoid of the sun, moon, or stars, only a depressing darkness enveloping this silent land. The concentration of spiritual energy here was indeed several times higher than the outside world, but it was chaotic and violent, mixed with strange energies that made one uneasy from the depths of their soul.
This… is the Earth Vein Spirit Realm?
Chen Changqing frowned, his unease, which had already been present outside, intensified. The situation here was far more complex and dangerous than he had imagined! This was not a shelter at all, but more like the ruins of an ancient battlefield.
At this moment, from the deepest part of the ruins, a low, strange roar, full of repression and violence, faintly echoed. The sound did not seem to be made by any creature he knew. It was more like some unknown thing, imprisoned for countless years, having long lost its sanity, slowly awakening in endless darkness and solitude, uttering its first proclamation of returning to the world.
The roar carried a deep-seated hatred for all living beings.
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