Smashing the golden sword light, the red-and-blue swirling sword shadow only revealed its magnificent power when some of the overflow struck the ground. Hundreds of yards in every direction became a wasteland of flying sand and rolling stones. A deep fissure, wide enough to span a dozen yards, crazily stretched forward, bottomless as if the earth had split open.

But the sword momentum was still changing, splitting into more than ten spirals that remained subtly connected, locking down the entire expanse of space.

Jin Buhui was slightly startled and dared not meet the attack head-on again. Almost without hesitation, a peculiar golden talisman suddenly flew out from his sleeve.

In one-sixtieth of a blink, it burned to ash. Then, Jin Buhui’s figure completely vanished, causing the dozen sword lights to slash empty air. Several dozen more flying ants fell to the ground. When Jin Buhui reappeared, he was behind Zong Shou.

“A Teleportation Talisman?”

Zong Shou’s brow flicked up, and with a thought, the sword momentum suddenly halted. Things were different now compared to half a year ago; his control over this Grand Spiral Sword technique was far beyond what it had been then.

The sword light retracted, and he turned to slash back without the slightest effort. Although the imposing momentum was far less than before, the sword intent was sharper and even swifter. Jin Buhui quickly flashed aside, hurriedly waving his hands: “Stop! Stop! Stop! You can cease, Your Highness. What you learn is the Imperial Path Secret Martial Art, and what you unleash is the Emperor’s Sword. The sword energy is righteous and imbued with vast, upright intent. You certainly aren't a villainous and treacherous sort. It must be that Old Jin misunderstood!”

Zong Shou’s expression froze, followed immediately by a surge of anger. You want to stop fighting just like that? It’s not that easy!

Then he felt his internal energy and blood becoming unstable, and he remembered that outside, countless Molten Crystal Fire Ants still remained—the formidable enemy had not yet departed.

Now was certainly not the time to dwell on such matters. He could only snort coldly and curb his descending posture.

He was also puzzled. He did indeed learn the Imperial Path Secret Martial Art, but what exactly did this ‘Emperor’s Sword’ mean?

While deeply perplexed, a cold glint suddenly flashed in Zong Shou’s eyes. A streak of blade light flashed in his hand—a Cloud Flame Flying Dagger, flickering in and out of visibility, shot directly towards where Jin Buhui stood.

Jin Buhui registered the danger instantly. His pupils constricted, and a wave of mortal terror washed over him. He roared, “Despicable!”

While flashing sideways, he swung his sword again fiercely. This time, fifty talismans sprang from his sleeve in a snap, transforming into five colossal swords.

As the golden sword light flashed, merging the five sword shadows into one torrent, the sword energy immediately blazed fiercely. With power utterly equal to Zong Shou’s earlier Grand Spiral Sword technique, it slashed down! The sword speed was even three parts faster!

Zong Shou was also slightly startled. An unprecedented sense of crisis suddenly welled up in his heart.

At the last possible moment, he urged forth the fully manifested Shocking Cloud Divine Extinguishing Sword Intent within his Dantian, and the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox totem within his Sea of Consciousness suddenly shone.

Then, in the next instant, his entire body was cleaved in two by the golden sword light!

However, just as everyone assumed Zong Shou was certainly dead, they saw the lean figure reappear atop the stone pillar. His face was pale, swaying as if about to fall, and a sword gash deep enough to expose bone adorned his left arm.

And Jin Buhui was frozen mid-air. Only then did he realize the flying dagger had not been aimed at him. About two yards beside him, a black, four-winged flying ant had been pierced through the head by the dagger and was plummeting.

No one knew when this ant had approached. While he and Zong Shou were locked in fierce battle, it had silently crept nearby, invisible, without sound or any fluctuation in aura.

Its hideous, sharp mouthparts were barely a yard away from him.

With a wry smile, Jin Buhui descended again on his sword, landing on the stone platform: “I was mistaken. This time, I, Jin Buhui, owe you a life, and I owe you a favor!”

The life debt was for the rescue just now; the favor was for the sanctuary Zong Shou had provided.

Zong Yuan stared at Jin Buhui with cold, furious eyes. If Zong Shou hadn't intervened, he would have drawn his spear the moment this man returned, ready to fight him to the death. This was the first time since they first met in Cloud Saint City that he had seen Zong Shou injured so severely.

Jin Buhui seemed aware of his own error. He bowed deeply and apologized again with a sincere tone, which somewhat calmed Zong Yuan’s anger.

Zong Shou dared not let his mind wander in the slightest. The fierce battle had loosened the foundation of the spiritual array here. While pouring all his effort into calculating and mending it, he cursed inwardly—this fellow indeed kept a trump card in reserve! If he hadn't been prepared, he might have been instantly cut down by that strike. He knew that people like them couldn't possibly survive to this day without several hidden capabilities. If both had fought with full power in that exchange, it likely would have ended in mutual destruction, with neither surviving.

After apologizing, Jin Buhui still felt uneasy and quickly offered assistance. His Spirit Master realm had reached the Reversion stage, possessing eight True Talismans, and his mastery of formations was surprisingly good. Helping Zong Shou, in just over a hundred breaths of time, he completely repaired the spiritual array, adding a few spiritual artifacts and more than a dozen talismans, which surprisingly didn't conflict but instead brought further benefits.

Zong Shou didn't bother to intervene. The moment the spiritual array stabilized, he took out a healing elixir from the supplies left by Wei Xu, swallowed it, and then sat cross-legged, gradually entering meditation.

This breath adjustment lasted for an hour before stopping. More than half of his injuries had recovered, and his agitated blood and qi were suppressed. However, the wound on his left arm, though bleeding had stopped and the sword intent repelled, would still require several days to fully heal.

When Zong Shou opened his eyes again, he saw that the bonfire, shattered by their fierce battle, had been relit. And around the large rock lay the corpses of countless Molten Crystal Fire Ants. There was no doubt that they had been killed by Zong Yuan and Jin Buhui. By their numbers, there were at least three thousand, several times more than the pile near the massive rock a hundred yards away.

At this moment, those Molten Crystal Fire Ants seemed to have learned their lesson. They stopped focusing on the side with fewer people and instead charged wave after wave toward the stone pillar occupied by the Lin Hai Academy. That side was struggling to cope, running around in a panic, having used an unknown number of spirit talismans.

However, during occasional moments of extreme danger, Zong Yuan and Jin Buhui did not stand idly by, stepping in promptly to alleviate the pressure there.

When Zong Shou awoke, it was just as an ant tide was receding, with countless Molten Crystal Fire Ants withdrawing to regroup.

Seeing him awaken, Jin Buhui’s face lit up, and he let out a long sigh of relief: “You’re finally alright. Otherwise, I, Jin Buhui, would surely regret it for life…”

Zong Shou’s expression turned serious, and he asked directly, “What exactly is this situation with that Utter Yin Place you mentioned earlier?”

“Your Highness truly knows nothing?”

Jin Buhui probed cautiously. Seeing Zong Shou’s confused look, he explained, “It is the burial site you found for that Gong Xinran!”

Hearing this, the ominous feeling in Zong Shou’s heart intensified several notches. He had vaguely sensed something back then, but he hadn't paid much attention, assuming there would be no severe consequences.

Then he heard Jin Buhui click his tongue: “If it was truly unintentional, then Your Highness’s luck is quite terrible. The place you selected seems like a superb Yin residence, but beneath it, there are actually nine lines of Utter Yin energy. Your senior sister must have experienced something extremely tragic in life, harboring intense resentment. Yet her soul was pure and serene, as if her final wish was fulfilled. But she died too early; the residual hatred clinging to her flesh could perfectly communicate with heaven and earth, drawing upon the Yin lines…”

Gong Yue, standing nearby, suddenly clenched his fists tightly upon hearing the part about ‘experiencing something extremely tragic in life,’ his eyes bloodshot as if recalling something.

Zong Shou was not surprised. Since Gong Xinran often corresponded with him, she must have mentioned that beast’s matter. However, at this moment, he had no mind to offer comfort. The more he listened, the colder sweat streamed down his back. A Nine Yin Absolute Land, and Gong Xinran’s corpse was in that state—!

“If it were only that, it might be manageable. But didn’t you notice the aura was somewhat wrong back then? You set up some kind of Bright Light Evil Dispelling Array. With your half-baked skill, you managed to invert the purpose, turning evil dispelling into evil gathering, and Bright Light into Dark Moon…”

A jolt went through Zong Shou’s heart. He hesitated, “Is it a Nine Yin Spiritual Corpse? No, could it end up being a Nine Yin Nether Empress…”

“A Nether Empress, my foot!”

Jin Buhui couldn't help but curse loudly, “Even Spirit Masters specializing in Yin arts would never be as perfect as you. If you said you were the reincarnation of the Nine Yin Nether Emperor, I’d believe it! In short, once this Gong Xinran awakens, no living creature will remain within a thousand-mile radius. That place is destined to undergo a great calamity!”

Zong Shou, however, calmed down internally. No wonder Jin Buhui misunderstood. The vicinity of Gong Xinran’s burial site was near Dan Ling Mountain. It was understandable that he would be deeply suspicious of Zong Shou’s intentions.

“Actually, the Lord of Cloud Saint City has long secretly pledged allegiance; they are one of the vassal states of my Qiantian Mountain…”

Jin Buhui froze, looking at Zong Shou in disbelief. He truly hadn't expected that this Qiantian Demon King had actually planted a mole targeting the Lingyun Sect. This meant that Gong Xinran’s reincarnation was, to Zong Shou, more harmful than beneficial.

Zong Shou also looked helpless. He had already cast an illusionary spell while speaking; he wasn't afraid of others overhearing. Frowning deeply, he asked, “Brother Jin, can this Feng Shui configuration be broken?”

“Break it? What nonsense! Do you think I haven’t tried to find a solution these past few months?”

Confirming that this matter was not intentionally done by Zong Shou, Jin Buhui breathed a sigh of relief, yet felt a sense of dejection. “Over these past months, I invited every Daoist priest and bald monk skilled in ghost expulsion and evil warding to break the formation, but they all returned severely injured. Two Spirit Masters in the Roaming Realm suffered terrible misfortune, and no one dared to interfere afterward. Later, the Lingyun Sect was alerted, and in the end, they also couldn't manage it. Now they are discussing relocating their mountain sect headquarters on the East Lin Yun Continent.”