"Have you reached your limit?" Mei Lengshuang traced an arc in the air with her hand. The ice crystals above her head followed suit, unfolding into five long, slender icicles that swayed up and down like serpent heads searching for prey. As Mei Lengshuang dropped her hand, the five icicles shot out simultaneously, aiming directly for Old Liu.

For the first time, Old Liu felt the sharp peril of life hanging by a thread. He desperately wanted to leap away, but the Demon-Breaking Sword dragged him and his right hand back to his original spot. Indeed, the sword was more vicious than the man; evasion was impossible. Seeing the icy lances arrive, Old Liu casually tossed out two pentagonal ice crystals, hoping to freeze them mid-air to block the attack. Who knew that in a contest of identical elements, strength would prevail? Mei Lengshuang's ice blades shattered Old Liu’s crystals in an instant, and the five icicles plunged straight down, now inches from Old Liu.

"Clang!" Old Liu's speed and power had reached a certain level through the Meridian Path, but due to the Demon-Breaking Sword, he had no way to control his body. At the critical moment, he swung the sword upward, knocking away three of the icicles. However, the remaining two seemed to have eyes, deliberately dodging the sword’s path.

Mei Lengshuang herself was not idle. Following the trajectory of her ice spears, she instantaneously moved behind Old Liu. At her command, the remaining two icicles circled Old Liu a few times before striking toward his back. "Worthy of the Netherworld Holy Sword. To shatter my ten-thousand-year ice crystals so easily... but you cannot wield it yet."

"Aaaargh!" Old Liu’s body was extremely unnatural, his center of gravity pulled entirely to his right hand by the Demon-Breaking Sword. Just as he twisted around to counter the attack from behind, Mei Lengshuang was already closing in, her hand seizing the blade of the Demon-Breaking Sword.

"Swish, swish..." The last two ice crystals pierced through as if through empty air, sinking deep into Old Liu’s back. They settled like animals finding their den, and thorny spikes immediately erupted from all directions, impaling Old Liu’s back.

"Ah... Wah..." Old Liu collapsed onto the snow, wracked with agonizing pain. His right hand was twisted behind him, as Mei Lengshuang held the sword blade firmly with her bare hand. Seeing the blood gushing from his back, Old Liu struggled, "How did you do that? To restrain my Demon-Breaking Sword with just your hand."

"Killing you is as easy as turning my palm!" Heavy frost coated Mei Lengshuang’s hand. The edge of the Demon-Breaking Sword could only slice away the ice shards floating on her palm, failing to harm her essence in the slightest. She stared coldly at the sword and sighed mournfully, "Netherworld Holy Sword, Abi. Why would you allow a mere mortal to grasp you? Have you forgotten the glory of the Asura race?"

As if sensing Mei Lengshuang's mockery, the Demon-Breaking Sword trembled slightly, emitting a deep, sonorous cry. A blood-red light gradually spread across the blade, threatening to extend threads of crimson across the entire snowy realm.

"Oh? Are you still unwilling? But you have chosen the wrong master." Mei Lengshuang looked somewhat perplexed. She retracted the ice crystals embedded in Old Liu’s back, holding them in her palm. At that moment, white snowflakes on the crystals began to approach the Demon-Breaking Sword, attempting to envelop it entirely.

"Hoo..." With the departure of the ice crystals, Old Liu’s pain lessened considerably, but he was completely restrained by one of Mei Lengshuang's hands and could exert no strength. At this point, the power of the Meridian Path talismans completely dissipated. He had truly become fish on the chopping block, fit only for slaughter—what a disgrace to the ancient Mystical Path.

The blood-red light on the Demon-Breaking Sword continued to surge. Starting as faint gleams, it gradually evolved into an infinite radiation of line-like rays. Finally, that single spot of crimson light broke through the encirclement of pure white snow and sunlight, splashing across every corner of this domain.

"Hmph!" Even Mei Lengshuang could not withstand this radiant blood-light. She let out a soft sigh and drew back from the Demon-Breaking Sword. Gazing at the sky full of scarlet, terror and memories flooded her heart. "Why does this blood-light resemble the Blood Sea of the Styx so much? It is the essence of a high-level sea of blood—how can it appear here?"

Old Liu was also stunned by the strange phenomenon emanating from the Demon-Breaking Sword. He felt his ability to move gradually drain away, and his consciousness began to blur. All he could see was the sword’s black dragon tail slowly coiling around his arm. As it climbed towards his shoulder, the entire world suddenly erupted with a deafening sound. The surrounding snow instantly transformed into an ocean of blood, a crimson far more vivid than the waters of the Styx.

"The sword is more vicious than the man!" Mei Lengshuang’s eyes widened. Before she could retreat far enough, a beam of bloody light swept over her. The entirely crimson Demon-Breaking Sword, dragging Old Liu’s body, bore down on her.

"Clang!" With a dull thud, her magical ice crystals pulverized the moment they touched the Demon-Breaking Sword. She threw her hands backward, manifesting countless ice knives from the surrounding frigid air to assault the sword.

The Demon-Breaking Sword, cloaked in blood-red light, weaved through the storm of ice blades and snowflakes. Blades like needles, life drifting away; the sword like a torch, reflecting blood-red. Driven by the Demon-Breaking Sword, Old Liu’s body, using only a single move in the style of the Soaring Dragon, passed straight through Mei Lengshuang’s form. The sight was akin to a giant black dragon wreathed in flames blazing past, leaving behind devastation.

"Why can’t I move my whole body?" Mei Lengshuang wasn't shocked by the sword's power; what puzzled her was that when the sword's crimson light fully radiated, she became completely immobilized. Her heartbeat accelerated, accompanied by a pain she had never before experienced—a pain suppressed for millennia, yet why manifest now? Did the Demon-Breaking Sword awaken ancient memories, or did Old Liu ignite the story buried within her heart? Mei Lengshuang hesitated. She sank heavily onto one knee, her once pristine white gown stained crimson by the mouthful of fresh blood she coughed up.

"Wuuu..." The Demon-Breaking Sword cried out mournfully, its lamenting sound trailing off as the fierce, blood-red energy gradually faded. Old Liu shuddered and regained consciousness. Looking at the severely wounded Mei Lengshuang opposite him, he remembered nothing. He glanced at his right hand; the black dragon tail had retreated into the hilt. All he could do now was lean on the Demon-Breaking Sword to support his body, as his own injuries were just as grievous. "What in the world happened? Did the sword control my body?"

"Ah! Ah!" At this moment, a point of red light pierced through Mei Lengshuang's chest. Starting as a pinpoint, it slowly expanded into a sphere of light. This light mass projected directly onto the earth, acting like a mirror that reflected every mountain, river, tree, and blade of grass.

"Damn, what place is this now!" Old Liu quickly scrambled backward several paces. He knew his own strength; crippled as he was, he had no capacity left to fight. Yet, the scene within the light sphere before him shifted from the familiar landscape to a churning sea of blood. The long, winding river and the murals on its banks could only convey one thing: this was the true, undeniable Netherworld Blood Sea.