The halo, nourished by streams of crimson blood, seemed to awaken some strange spirit; every ring pulsed with a thick, malevolent aura, spinning around Ji Changkong and completely sealing off all escape routes for Zhang Yueqin and Huangfu Yue.
At the center of the seven-colored halo, Ji Changkong’s expression was serene and natural; not a trace of blood energy emanated from him, a stark contrast to the power unleashed by the blood dragon from the halo. Yet, viewed from afar, he and the halo merged into a scene of profound harmony, as inevitable and natural as wind flowing or fire burning, conforming to the fundamental laws of the universe.
The seven-colored halos suddenly clashed, emitting a sharp, metallic ringing. Rings of intensely sharp light waves instantly burst outwards in all directions!
Zhang Yueqin and Huangfu Yue’s faces shifted in alarm. They instantly perceived the tyrannical power contained within those light waves. They exchanged a glance, inwardly crying out that things were not good, and hastily converged their strengths, preparing to jointly deal with the onslaught of the oscillating light waves.
“Heh heh!”
Ji Changkong sneered. A surge of condensed celestial blood energy shot heavenward from his hand. His long saber, Longyao, transformed into a colossal blood dragon, surging out with destructive force, as if tearing through space. In an instant, it was before Zhang Yueqin and Huangfu Yue.
The blood dragon was vividly lifelike; every scale was clearly visible. The light waves that had previously struck Zhang Yueqin and Huangfu Yue dissolved like smoke into the blood dragon’s scales, feeding its ferocity. The dragon doubled in size, reared its head with a furious roar, and slammed directly toward the two women.
A dazzling golden light tore across the sky. The Golden Heaven-Shattering Cone, resembling a pillar of stone reaching the heavens, moved to meet the blood dragon, guided by Huangfu Yue’s hand seals.
Roar!
Amidst the blood dragon’s enraged cry, the charge of the Golden Heaven-Shattering Cone suddenly halted, effectively blocked by the monstrous tide of blood spat forth from the dragon’s maw.
Rumble!
The blood dragon clawed and fanged, lunging at the Golden Heaven-Shattering Cone. Amidst the deafening roar, the Cone, instead of advancing, was forced back, abruptly careening toward Huangfu Yue and Zhang Yueqin.
Thud! Thud!
Huangfu Yue’s chest felt as if struck by a heavy blow; her face instantly turned as pale as paper. Her body recoiled uncontrollably, step after step, her phoenix eyes filled with utter horror.
Zhang Yueqin also looked aghast, staring at the surging blood dragon with disbelief, her movements pausing for a fleeting moment.
That single instant of daze meant Zhang Yueqin could no longer evade the dragon’s charge. The blood dragon, showing a spark of sentience, bypassed the already distant Huangfu Yue and lunged straight for Zhang Yueqin.
As the dragon claws swept toward her, Zhang Yueqin panicked. The moonlight energy around her flared brilliantly, desperately defending her small sphere of space.
Alas, under the dragon’s ferocious assault, Zhang Yueqin’s defense of the Sea of Moonlight was clearly outmatched. The dragon claws tore through, shattering the ocean-like defensive layer condensed from moonlight into pieces instantly. As the blood dragon ripped through her defenses and descended upon Zhang Yueqin, all her resistance proved futile.
Bang! Bang! Bang!
Several dull, heavy impacts sounded. Zhang Yueqin’s body was hurled high into the air. A mouthful of fresh blood, no longer containable, finally shot out like an arrow of crimson.
“Go!” Huangfu Yue appeared eerily, grabbing the injured Zhang Yueqin. She shot heavenward, soaring over the defensive barrier above, and instantly landed beside the corpse of Huangfu Tong.
She glanced at Huangfu Tong’s body with a complex expression. There was little overt grief in Huangfu Yue’s eyes, only regret over the failure of their grand mission. Without further hesitation, she shouted loudly, “Look out for yourselves, everyone!”
As her words faded, Huangfu Yue, clutching Zhang Yueqin, prepared to depart.
At that very moment!
Wisps of dim, faint smoke slowly converged. In just an instant, the expressionless face of the Ghost Demon King reformed. The Ghost Demon King, now reduced to just a face, suddenly opened his maw, and the power of the souls lingering within the Dead Water Prison was instantly devoured.
The soul power released after the deaths of the two old eunuchs and Huangfu Tong fell effortlessly into the Ghost Demon King’s mouth. His previously vanished body began to coalesce again. He glanced at Huangfu Yue and said, “It’s not over yet.”
Huangfu Yue froze. She stared intently at the Ghost Demon King and asked uncertainly, “Can you handle that one?” She gestured toward Gu Ya. She showed no reaction to the absorption of the souls of the two eunuchs and Huangfu Tong, as if those three deceased figures had no connection to her whatsoever.
“No one can kill me,” the Ghost Demon King’s gaze returned to Gu Ya. His eyes, devoid of any human emotion, held only infinite, bone-deep hatred. “When I reigned supreme across the world, you hadn't even been born. I will turn your Tianshan into what the Ji family became—I will make everyone my spectral servants.”
Gu Ya frowned. He found this strange entity with its peculiar life form rather difficult to manage. As a Nine Palace Heavenly Master, he sensed the Ghost Demon King’s life essence was bizarre, like flowing wind, capable of reassembling at any moment. He had clearly destroyed everything belonging to the Ghost Demon King just moments before, yet the Demon King’s aura still permeated the entire Dead Water Prison.
Gu Ya hesitated to press the attack after killing Huangfu Tong precisely because he sensed the Ghost Demon King’s aura was everywhere, guarding against a sudden maneuver. Even for a Heavenly Master like him, dealing with this seemingly immortal creature was highly troublesome.
Gu Ya’s intuition proved correct. After his divine soul dissipated, the Ghost Demon King seized the opportunity to ensnare the souls of the two old eunuchs and Huangfu Tong, successfully absorbing the soul power of the three Eight Trigram Heavenly Masters. Not only did his strength instantly restore itself, but it even showed a slight increase.
“Ghost Demon King, do you really believe no one can kill you? What a joke!” Ji Changkong laughed loudly and swung his Longyao saber toward the sky. A flash of blood light sliced through the green veil of clouds—which had lost its control following Huangfu Tong’s death—cutting it neatly in two.
Moving like lightning, Ji Changkong finally emerged from the bottom of the Dead Water Prison. With a thought, the Tianyuan Pearl, hidden inside him, slowly floated out of his body.
As the Tianyuan Pearl manifested, every Heavenly Master inside the Dead Water Prison sensed a power capable of influencing their very essence, spirit, and mind. The Tianyuan Pearl remained stationary, yet it acted like a colossal, invisible vortex, seemingly poised to drag everyone’s souls into its depths.
The tangible Eight Trigram Heavenly Masters, while feeling the mysterious pull of the Tianyuan Pearl, could still manage to resist it, albeit with effort. Only the strangely formed Ghost Demon King, despite possessing far greater strength than most present, appeared to be in extreme agony.
This was the first time the Ghost Demon King had shown any sign of panic since his appearance.
Under the intense influence of the Tianyuan Pearl, the Demon King’s body writhed and distorted like layers of superimposed, shimmering curtains. Everyone could see his pain and struggle!
The Tianyuan Pearl hung high above, affecting no one else significantly. Only the Ghost Demon King, despite his desperate struggle, found his semi-physical, semi-ethereal form involuntarily moving toward the Pearl; it was clear to all that he was completely passive in this movement.
Even Gu Ya, who had been preparing to act, stopped now, watching the Ghost Demon King quietly.
The Tianyuan Pearl seemed to be a miraculous object created specifically to deal with the Ghost Demon King.
“No! Don’t let him get close! I can feel his power is enough to absorb all the soul power within the Tianyuan Pearl!”
Suddenly, a person barely the size of a palm materialized before Ji Changkong, shaking his body and shouting incessantly.
Although he shouted with great fervor, his voice was pitifully small. However, with everyone present possessing refined cultivation, they heard him clearly.
“Quickly recall the Pearl! That fellow—I can sense his true objective is to enter the Pearl! He doesn’t fear the Pearl; he is different from the one already inside!” the little man cried out anxiously.
The Ghost Demon King, who had been slowly drifting toward the Tianyuan Pearl, suddenly had his eyes flare with astonishingly fierce light. His speed abruptly increased beyond lightning speed, charging straight for the Tianyuan Pearl.
Not good!
Ji Changkong and Gu Ya inwardly cried out simultaneously. Without a word, Gu Ya attacked, causing layers of crystalline, severe ice to materialize out of thin air, blocking the Ghost Demon King’s path.
Ji Changkong immediately summoned the Tianyuan Pearl with his consciousness and flew toward it with all his might. He knew the Source Poison had been inside the Pearl recently, and he understood the Source Poison’s meaning, immediately realizing this Ghost Demon King was different from the one previously sealed within the Tianyuan Pearl.
This Ghost Demon King clearly did not fear the Tianyuan Pearl’s influence over souls.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
As the Ghost Demon King charged, the ice barriers released by Gu Ya shattered piece by piece, scattering ice shards amidst chilling air.
Huangfu Yue, Murong Tuo, and the others, who were preparing to flee, were jolted by this turn of events. They all struck out, targeting Ji Changkong in an attempt to prevent him from reuniting with the Tianyuan Pearl.
The Ghost Demon King moved like lightning, shattering over a dozen layers of ice defense in rapid succession, arriving almost instantly before the Tianyuan Pearl.
The Demon King’s body suddenly blurred, transforming into a faint wisp of black smoke, which violently attempted to drill into the Tianyuan Pearl.
Damn it!
Ji Changkong cried out inwardly. He was still some distance from the Tianyuan Pearl, and various secret techniques assailed him from all sides, forcing him to divert his focus to defense. According to the Source Poison’s warning, if the Ghost Demon King managed to absorb all the power contained within the Tianyuan Pearl, his strength would once again see a massive enhancement.
At that point, nothing might be able to restrain him.
Watching the black smoke that was the Ghost Demon King about to merge with the Tianyuan Pearl, Ji Changkong felt utterly helpless and intensely desperate.
Suddenly, Ji Changkong’s eyes lit up.
Unnoticed by anyone, the Source Poison had somehow managed to arrive before the Tianyuan Pearl. To everyone’s surprise, the Source Poison, resembling a blob of mucus, instantly enveloped the black smoke that was the Ghost Demon King.
The black smoke, ensnared by the viscous Source Poison, struggled violently. The sticky body of the Source Poison convulsed, constantly shifting shapes—stretching, contracting, swelling up as if on the verge of bursting.
“Changkong, take back the Pearl!” Gu Ya commanded sharply, his hand effortlessly neutralizing all incoming attacks into nothingness.