Dozens of spiritual talismans were cast out, hovering around the corners of the ritual altar. Following this, silver needles were steadily ejected one after another from Zong Shou's sleeves, shooting out in all directions to weave a dense network covering a full ten thousand zhang radius around the area.

Once everything was meticulously arranged, Zong Shou began to wait in stillness.

At this time, quite a few ferocious beasts still lingered around the altar. Zong Shou paid them no mind, allowing Zong Yuan and the others, alongside the few Silver Fire Ants, to dispatch them one by one.

Zhao Yanran glanced over, couldn't help but let out another derisive scoff: "Still the same as ever. You make your subordinates toil while you sit back and reap the rewards. Grand Martial-Uncle Zong, you truly are quite the idler—"

Zong Shou pursed his lips, thinking to himself, What do you know? This is called conserving energy.

The highest tier of combat strength available here was him. When he wielded his Primordial Spirit as a sword, it was equivalent to half of a Ninth Tier being.

However, he had walked the path of the Dharma Aspect, and though he could temporarily summon a True Form of his Dharma Body, it wouldn't last long. He had tested it before; even with sufficient soul power, sustaining it for five or six hours was the absolute limit.

It was stronger than his physical stamina, but only marginally so.

As for the Dharma Aspects of the Black and White Caves, deploying them consumed even more massive reserves. Although, even to this day, he didn't know the full extent of his Dharma Aspect's might.

He only knew that the commotion that day seemed rather significant.

He had also heard about the great snowstorm in the Cloud Realm three days before his breakthrough. But since it wasn't on the same day, that celestial omen was likely unrelated to him; one shouldn't be so conceited.

In any case, conserving soul power now meant he could cope with any unforeseen situation that might arise later.

Waiting silently, it took but a moment before a tide of beasts suddenly surged through the void from the distance.

They galloped like thunder, their momentum immense. While not quite reaching the level of the avian tide temporarily summoned by the Crimson Fire Golden Phoenix previously, it was still a considerable force.

Observing from afar, there were seven Eighth Tier Lion-Tiger Beasts. And the number of other Seventh Tier beasts reached a full two hundred. Below them, the Sixth Tier beasts were countless, a dense, teeming mass.

At this point, even Zong Yuan, who could watch a mountain collapse before him without changing expression, had his eyes narrow slightly, a look of gravity in their depths.

And Han Xi immediately recalled her six Holy Fire Silver Ants back into the confines of the altar.

Zong Shou, meanwhile, kept his eyes half-lidded, murmuring true incantations. Only when the beast tide drew near did he give a soft shout:

"Sky Burn!"

In an instant, the dozens of spiritual talismans scattered around exploded simultaneously, unleashing torrents of supremely pure fire-element spiritual energy. Following this, from within the altar, centered on Zong Shou, countless scarlet and white flames surged outward in all directions.

The Sky Burn Flame of the Lu family instantly permeated a full ten thousand zhang of space, engulfing the majority of the beast tide.

One after another, mournful cries from the spirit beasts rang out from within the crimson flames. Some low-tier spirit beasts possessed absolutely no power to resist; the moment the white flames entered their bodies, they dissolved into ashes.

"Sky Burn? That’s the Sky Burn Bloodline of the Lu family!"

Zhao Yanran's pupils contracted. Just as a flicker of surprise crossed her face, a phantom image of a purple avian beast rose behind Zong Shou.

It was unmistakably a Thunder Luan, and as soon as it manifested, it erupted with countless deep violet arcs of lightning.

The Thunder Winged Flood Dragon beside him was not to be outdone; its body was similarly wreathed in electrical arcs, filling the altar space with a purple radiance.

Zong Shou gathered the clusters of wildly darting purple lightning before him, slowly coalescing them into a massive sphere of thunder.

When he felt that no more could be gathered and he was beginning to lose control, he tossed it directly upwards.

Then, streams of purple lightning flashed everywhere, jumping continuously along the silver needles distributed around the area.

In a short while, the surrounding space was entirely enveloped. As the fire and lightning intertwined, layering upon each other and integrating the power of thunder, the Sky Burn Flame instantly grew fiercer. Its might surged dramatically, turning directly black.

And wherever the purple lightning flashed, the spirit beasts, even the Eighth Tier ones, suffered significant injuries.

The Seventh Tier beasts were almost all critically wounded on the spot.

Standing on the altar, the onlookers could only see black flames raging and thunderbolts running wild. Although beast howls continued to rise, not a single creature managed to break through to the front of the altar.

And when a full quarter of an hour had passed, and the Crimson Sky Burn Flame completely vanished, nearly ninety percent of the massive beast group was gone.

Only six barely surviving Eighth Tier Lion-Tiger Beasts remained, along with some lower-tier spirit beasts on the periphery that had fortunately avoided being drawn into the immediate vicinity.

In the spiritual river spanning ten thousand zhang, various beast cores and crystalline skeletal remains floated everywhere. Those around the Fifth Tier were completely incinerated. The ones that fortunately survived the devastation of the Sky Burn Flame and purple lightning were all Sixth Tier or higher.

Zhao Yanran was left speechless by the sight, and Zong Yuan, Xuan Yunlan, and the others also stood in silent contemplation.

Zong Shou, however, muttered in feigned surprise, "So strong! Truly monstrous. I never expected Spirit Masters to be this formidable; I truly underestimated them before—"

Zhao Yanran nearly went mad, thinking to herself, Not every Spirit Master is as freakishly powerful as you! A single large-scale spirit art could effortlessly wipe out a beast tide numbering in the tens of thousands!

Even many Spirit Masters facing Eighth Tier beasts would have to flee immediately and go as far away as possible.

And that tone of voice—it sounded all wrong. It was as if Zong Shou didn't consider himself part of the general rank of Spirit Masters.

She was secretly startled again; this spirit art, which seemed to combine the abilities of two bloodlines, was terrifyingly powerful.

Given enough time, Zong Shou might even be capable of destroying an army of a million.

"It must be the Dual-Character Art, a legendary composite spirit technique. Xuan Yunlan saw it in the sect records before—"

Xuan Yunlan spoke thoughtfully, then turned a curious gaze toward Zong Shou.

"What is this spirit art called?"

Zong Shou paused. This spirit art was the result of a flash of inspiration after he had awakened his Sky Burn Bloodline. As for a name, he truly hadn't given it much thought. After pondering for a moment, Zong Shou smiled faintly, "Thunder Blaze Thousand Blooms—"

"Thunder Blaze Thousand Blooms?"

Zhao Yanran murmured the name, about to mock Zong Shou's taste in names again. But in the very next instant, she felt Zong Shou's peculiar gaze bore down on her.

Looking around, she saw that Zong Yuan and Ruo Shui and the others had already begun pursuing the few Eighth Tier Lion-Tiger Beasts that were preparing to flee. Even Xuan Yunlan had joined the chase.

Her fair face flushed red. With a cold snort, she tossed the four juvenile Lion-Tiger Beasts she held toward Zong Shou.

Then, she dumped a large pile of beast core ores from her Qiankun Pouch.

However, just as she was about to join the pursuit, a roar echoed again from the distance, filled with profound sorrow.

A formidable soul pressure pierced the void, carrying with it violent killing intent. Moments before, it had been a hundred thousand zhang away; moments later, it was at their doorstep.

"Ninth Tier?"

Zhao Yanran’s face paled slightly, her color draining away. It wasn't the fear of death that troubled her, but the wry realization that all the treasures she had just acquired would probably remain cold in her grasp.

Zong Yuan and the others immediately abandoned their chase, cautiously closing ranks toward the direction of the altar.

And in just half a breath, a snow-white Lion-Tiger Beast stepped out from a fog bank ahead.

Its form was not overly massive, only ten zhang tall, but it possessed wings on its back and a large horn centered on its forehead, radiating supreme majesty.

It stared remotely at the figures on the altar, its tiger eyes filled with explosive rage, hatred, disdain, sorrow, and killing intent!

The intensity of the killing intent even woke up Chu Xue. She stirred drowsily, rubbing her eyes.

"Young Master, what's wrong? Huh? Fighting again? Why didn't you wake Xue'er up?"

Zong Shou didn't have the spare attention for the girl right then. His expression was grave as he fixed his gaze on the Lion-Tiger Beast, focusing intently.

He sighed inwardly; this time, he had really been severely harmed by that woman, Zhao Yanran—the loss was immense.

If he had known a Ninth Tier spirit beast was trailing them, he would have demanded at least seventy percent of the spoils; that would have been a fair trade.

But fighting spirit surged in his chest, and a faint sword aura leaked out from his body.

The Ninth Tier Lion-Tiger Beast seemed to sense Zong Shou as the greatest threat among them, and its pair of tiger eyes turned to fix upon him coldly.

Zong Shou took a deep breath, no longer hesitating. He condensed his Primordial Spirit into the True Form of his Dharma Body and abruptly burst from his physical form, hovering above the altar, looking down indifferently at the spirit beast in the distance.

"Zhao Yanran, weren't you curious about the extraordinary abilities possessed by the Black and White Cave Dharma Aspects I projected into your Sea of Souls?"

Zhao Yanran raised an eyebrow in surprise, looking up at Zong Shou's soul body in mid-air. She was indeed curious about that matter.

What kind of trajectory could project itself into her spiritual sense so early?

"Let's test them out now!"

The moment the words fell, a heart-stopping aura erupted continuously from Zong Shou's body.

It was so powerful and terrifying that even the Ninth Tier Lion-Tiger Beast involuntarily shrank back slightly, its eyes showing intense caution.

It seemed to wonder why this human cultivator, whose aura suggested a Seventh or Eighth Tier at most, possessed such a dreadful presence.

Zong Yuan and the others also felt a tremor in their hearts, an instinctive sense of immense dread.

Zhao Yanran's perception, however, was different again. The black and white dots within her Primordial Spirit suddenly expanded. Countless stars shone brightly, illuminating her entire consciousness.

With a 'clang' of sword resonance, a spiritual sword faintly imbued with blue light suddenly shot out from Zong Shou’s physical sleeve and flew into his hand. It was merely an ordinary Seventh Tier spirit sword, which Zong Shou was using as a substitute after his Fire Yin Sword was destroyed.

Now, it gradually began to emit a black light, resembling a bottomless abyss.

"This strike shall be named the Primordial One Black Sword!"

As the sword light flashed, an entire expanse of the boundary river transformed into absolute darkness. All light in the vicinity vanished; all spirit essence was consumed.

Zong Yuan and the others only felt their vision dim, unable to see anything.

The Ninth Tier Lion-Tiger Beast let out a furious roar that shook the boundary river. In that moment, it only knew that it had to resist with all its might, or its very existence would be in peril!