Ye Xiu, wreathed in the ethereal blue light of his illusory body, leaped upwards with blistering speed. He planted a foot onto the colossal hand of Dizang Wang, riding the blue aura upward in an attempt to reach the giant's head. "I never expected the Star Serpent to grant such an advantage in speed. If I can just shatter that head, it should solve the problem."

"Swish, crackle!" At that moment, stones erupted from Dizang Wang's arm, and suddenly, spectral soldiers bearing blades and halberds materialized before Ye Xiu, blocking his ascent.

"Get out of the way!" Ye Xiu surged forward, transforming into nothingness as he approached the soldiers. Once their downward chopping attacks met empty air, he extended a finger, which instantly sharpened into a lethal sword. That blade pierced through, shattering the spectral troops into dust.

"Hoo..." Just then, Dizang Wang’s other massive palm swung across to strike. It seemed to operate without much conscious thought; its only palpable sensation was the Death Qi flowing within Ye Xiu. "Die!"

"Rumble, boom!" With another barrage of cracking stone and debris, Dizang Wang disregarded its own structural damage, determined only to crush Ye Xiu beneath its grasp.

"Now's the chance!" Ye Xiu had already planned this. He sprang high, evading the massive blow. In that instant, his body dissolved into a streak of blue light, violently piercing straight into Dizang Wang’s head. That head, formed of immense, colossal rock, was enveloped by the blue radiance, which continued to weave through it for several moments before completely surrounding it. "Forgive my trespass!"

"Spurt!" In a flash, the entire world was choked with heavy dust and grit. Endless stones collapsed and rained down from Dizang Wang’s head. The blue light that had bound the giant instantly emitted tens of thousands of razor-sharp edges—attacks so fierce that even the hardest stone could not resist them.

Ye Xiu solidified his form and landed softly. The falling stone fragments, shaped like flying hammers, crashed around him but failed to inflict the slightest harm. At this very moment, the Star Serpent's blue light instantly transmuted into a rich golden hue. He felt a wave of warmth wash over his chest, and the surrounding environment began to ripple with water-like patterns amidst this comfortable sensation.

"Soul Energy!" Su Su clenched her fist, recognizing the imminent crisis. She pointed at Ye Xiu, "This cultivation realm is transforming. I finally understand the terrifying power behind that strike from the Ten Thousand Demon Saint Empress."

"What?" Ye Xiu staggered back a few steps. The entire world had grown dim and oppressive. A vivid crimson blood began to spread from beneath his feet, and streaks of scarlet appeared at the source. The feeling was profoundly ominous. "The Dizang Wang inheritance within me, the Nether River Blood-Rung, and the previous Heavenly Canopy Sword Soul? Are they about to turn against me?"

Su Su nodded and explained, "This is a Dao Realm where abilities become chaotic. You can possess them, and you can lose them, much like the Star Serpent's power. I believe the Ten Thousand Demon Saint Empress’s strike scattered all the power within you. What you must do now is conquer yourself and reforge those disparate energies!"

"Damn it, it’s the Blood Sea!" Ye Xiu heard a sound like rushing tides. At the source ahead, a deep crimson river was already surging forward. The viscous, churning blood-plasma could only be the Nether River. "Must I pass through the Blood Sea with my own body once more?"

"Kill!" A cold word was uttered, followed by a flash of a blade. A figure clad in red and white shot out from the source of the Blood Sea. He brought his sword down in a single strike, hitting Ye Xiu squarely in the chest. The man’s face bore a bloody mark; it was Ming Luo Sheng, who had fled that day.

"Ming Luo Sheng! Ah..." Struck by the blade, Ye Xiu recoiled several paces. He violently seized Ming Luo Sheng's hand, deliberately allowing his own blood, dyed by the glowing crimson blade, to stain the attacker's clothes. "How are you here?"

Ming Luo Sheng’s features were handsome, but his eyes held no spark of recognition. He only kept mumbling a single word: "Kill!"

"This isn't Ming Luo Sheng's feeling; this isn't the real Ming Luo Sheng!" Su Su knew the flow of Ming Luo Sheng’s actual Soul Energy, yet the figure before them bore the exact appearance of the man from before. "Master, this is the memory embedded in your Blood-Rung heritage—this is the Ming Luo Sheng from memory!"

Ye Xiu cared nothing for memories. Ming Luo Sheng's crimson blade was truly embedded in his chest. He tried to utilize the Star Serpent's power to conceal his body, but no matter how hard he struggled, the blue light refused to appear. "Where is my power? Where is the Star Serpent?"

"Try changing your focus. Can you summon the abilities of the Moon Crocodile?" Su Su urged anxiously. "Your powers are chaotic right now. Try to recall the capabilities of other foreign entities. The Moon Crocodile can attack and shapeshift using its chained tail."

"Hah!" Ye Xiu focused his mind on the ethereal grace of the Moon Halo. Instantly, his fingers elongated, and sickle-like hooks appeared at their tips. He lunged towards the hand holding the blade, clamping down on it. "You imposter!"

"Swoosh, swoosh!" Following the attack of the chained scythes, Ming Luo Sheng’s single hand separated from his body. He twisted backward, completely ignoring his severed limb. As the waves of the Nether River Blood Sea rolled in, he stood firmly upon them. "Kill!"

"A-ha!" Although Ye Xiu was severely wounded, the injury was only from a conventional blade, not one that involved Soul Energy. He spread his hands and swung repeatedly, charging toward Ming Luo Sheng above the Blood Sea.

"Whoosh!" Ming Luo Sheng descended, catching the blood-red, glowing sword that had been flung into the air with his left hand. At that moment, one eye burned red, and he slashed out to meet Ye Xiu's charge.

"Clack, clack, clang, clang!" Countless sword flashes collided with myriad chains. The two danced back and forth across the surface of the Blood Sea, causing the crimson liquid below to surge wildly.

"Is this all the Ming Luo Sheng in my body's memory amounts to?" Ye Xiu thought smugly. He currently held the upper hand; Ming Luo Sheng's sword speed and the power of the blood-red blade were exponentially weaker than in reality. At the final moment, his chains shot out from all directions—up, down, left, and right. "I don't have time to play with you for long!"

"Clang..." With a final sound, the crimson blade in Ming Luo Sheng's hand was once again entangled by the chains and plunged into the Blood Sea, vanishing without a trace. However, he did not surrender. His eyes were unfocused, but his will remained resolute. He propelled himself to the crest of the Blood Sea, performed a series of complex hand signs, and the sea beside him erupted like a charging tiger, surging toward Ye Xiu in a devastating tide.

"Tch!" Ye Xiu scoffed internally, but his body had already retreated significantly. Once again facing the advancing Blood Sea, he unleashed every latent Moon Crocodile ability within him. In an instant, dense, writhing chains materialized before him. "Let's see the power of the Moon Crocodile’s chains woven into a massive net."

"Whoa!" Su Su watched the battle from behind Ye Xiu. She could feel the might of the Moon Halo's radiance. The chaotic chains blocked Ye Xiu’s front, interlacing and crossing in every direction, transforming from a wide net into a tightly woven, seamless demonic mesh.

"Swish, swish..." Ming Luo Sheng, stepping on the surging Blood Sea, slammed directly into the demonic net beneath the Moon Halo’s glow. At that moment, the Blood Sea seemed to be contained within some vessel, beginning to churn violently. The demonic net's power was continuously amplifying, shrinking steadily, like a sponge absorbing all moisture.

"This power can actually counter the Blood Sea!" Ye Xiu had witnessed the Blood Sea several times and knew its true terror. Seeing this spectacle, he couldn't help but feel a grudging respect. "Truly, for everything in this world, there is something that restrains it. Let me kill you, Ming Luo Sheng, right here, once and for all. Hmph!"

"Aooo..." The water level of the Blood Sea rapidly dropped, and Ming Luo Sheng let out a monstrous shriek. At that instant, the entire scene flickered with another ripple of water, signaling the arrival of the next Dao Realm.

"Ah!" Ye Xiu regained his senses, realizing blood was pouring from his chest. He knelt down halfway, only to find that the ground beneath him was no longer a desolate wilderness but a hall paved with polished metal. When he looked up, a heavy yet intricately carved grand door stood before him. "Where is this..."

Su Su, startled by the sight of the door, retreated into Ye Xiu's hand and whispered, "Master, is this… the Gate of the Death Realm?"

Hearing this, Ye Xiu instantly forgot the pain in his chest. He sucked in a sharp breath. He was inside a deep, solemn palace—or rather, a courtyard. The courtyard was square, enveloped in a hazy, ethereal mist. Intricate carvings of strange beasts lined the surroundings, but the most arresting feature was the handle-less, imposing door suspended in mid-air. Above the door hovered a faint, ghostly halo, within which materialized four characters: "Gate of the Death Realm."

...

"The first phase is complete. What will the content of the second phase, the Three Talents Fusion, entail?" Mei Yi waited outside the Fourfold Tower, growing anxious as Ye Xiu remained inside for so long. "Senior Blade Maniac, if Bing Ao and Yan Luo could successfully enter to forge divine weapons, why couldn't you and Senior Sword Obsessed?"

When questioned, Blade Maniac replied with disdain, "Because of a woman!"

"A woman?" Old Liu perked up instantly upon hearing the word. He had heard from Bing Ao that a woman had transformed the initial smith, Ou Ye Zi, into Yan Luo, the leader of the Yu-Yu Blade Sealing Alliance. "You mean the woman who granted you eternal life? Right, Senior Blade Maniac, what did she do to you all?"

"Sword Obsessed and I were devoted solely to the blade and the sword, but Yan Luo—in his desire to forge divine weapons—fell to the point of becoming that woman's slave. Without that woman, there would be no Blade Sealing Alliance today, nor any divine weapons." Blade Maniac's words were contradictory, betraying both hatred and a lingering attachment to the woman. "Yan Luo achieved true eternal life, but the three of us merely gained a dependency on the materials of the Sun, Moon, and Stars. Once we leave the ruins of the Blade Sealing Alliance, we too face death!"

"You’ve seen that woman?" Mei Yi frowned, a new layer of confusion coloring her expression when she brought up the topic of this woman. "Who exactly is she? To possess such power!"