"As for whether the judgment was wrong, Tianqing couldn't be certain either. It was merely conjecture based on a few clues. Not having witnessed it personally, how could one definitively say this person must be Hanyan's son—"

Listening quietly, the gaze of the middle-aged man in purple robes sharpened like a blade, sweeping over him.

Lu Tianqing felt as if his entire body was being scorched. His pupils constricted, finally revealing a trace of fear.

Yet, his expression remained composed as he spoke calmly, "As to the truth, the Holy Venerable shall know upon seeing. Why ask Tianqing? Regardless, this person could compel a Supreme Realm Holy Venerable to act on their behalf. Their origin must be extraordinary. The Holy Venerable would hardly have made this trip in vain."

The middle-aged man in purple robes frowned, let out a soft snort, and his expression finally softened slightly.

"This person is truly adept at the art of instantaneous spatial shifting, such that even you, Lu Tianqing, were helpless against him?"

"Indeed. He can traverse hundreds of miles in an instant. Even for us Saints, although we can achieve this, we are much farther above him, and it still requires considerable effort. However, this person's instantaneous spatial ability seems utterly effortless. Furthermore, observing his swordsmanship, even an ordinary initial-stage Divine Realm expert might not be his match. Besides this, there must be another person skilled in array formations concealing his aura."

At this point, Lu Tianqing smiled again, "It's not that I was helpless, merely that it would have consumed some time. Moreover, since I have already surmised his origin, then simply lying in wait at Lu Hanyan's location will suffice. But this person, regardless of his identity, is of paramount importance. Hence, I came to seek the Holy Venerable's instruction!"

The middle-aged man in purple robes nodded slightly, deep in thought. After a moment of contemplation, he let out a soft laugh.

"You are quite astute! Possessing deep cunning. Very well, it is no matter to delay for a moment for this individual."

He continued, "That Supreme Realm expert's aura is strangely unfamiliar, yet also somewhat familiar. It piques my curiosity! It is a good opportunity to meet them as well, to see exactly which world's figure managed to achieve the status of a Holy Realm Venerable so silently—"

As his voice fell, the countless layers of void before his eyes began to twist and fold.

The space that Lu Tianqing had spent a full half an hour crossing,

In the presence of the middle-aged man in purple robes, the concept of 'distance' ceased to exist.

With a single step, he arrived outside the Nine Desolations Death Prison, within the Starfire Dust Array.

His gaze was profound as he peered into the distant void.

At this moment, Lin Xuanshuang, hidden dozens of worlds away, suddenly felt a premonition.

In the Jun Tian Palace, she abruptly stood up, then raised a hand to gently stroke her forehead, sighing softly.

Why did she alarm this particular figure?

In her current condition, against someone so prepared, she was utterly powerless.

She couldn't help but worry. Must she now only pray that her disciple remains safe and sound, left to his own devices?

The brilliance in her beautiful eyes flowed, and then, in her peripheral vision, she saw Jingyin beside her, pale-faced, eyes tightly shut, hands clasped in prayer, muttering incantations.

After listening to just a few words, Lin Xuanshuang realized it was a scripture of blessing. She let out a cold laugh, "What sort of place is the Nine Desolations Death Prison? Even your power of prophecy from your previous life might be of no use there, let alone now, before you have awakened the wisdom of your past life."

Jingyin started, her expression growing even more distraught.

"Holy Venerable Xuanshuang, is Zongshi Buddha in danger now? Jingyin just felt a terrifying palpitation in her heart, without knowing the cause, only that it must be related to Zongshi Buddha. There might be a threat to his life, and perhaps some unforeseen variables—"

"Hmph! Your memories from your past life haven't awakened, yet this divine ability has already gathered eighty percent of its power."

Hearing this, Lin Xuanshuang curled her lips in disdain, "His life is not in peril, only that there are some troubles. After all, he is the only disciple in my entire life who truly satisfies me. If I were not entirely certain, why would I send him to the Death Prison to court death?"

Jingyin, however, looked dubious and unconvinced.

She had already experienced the unreliability of this Holy Venerable Xuanshuang once before.

How could she be someone who digs pits and harms others? To this day, whenever she recalls that day's events, she still feels an inexplicable urge—a desire strong enough to strangle Holy Venerable Xuanshuang right there and then.

Driven by instinct, she had almost lost control several times.

Lin Xuanshuang remained oblivious and, seeing Jingyin's expression, became even more displeased.

"Do you know of the Lu Family's Marrow-Burning Blood Spirit Curse?"

"Marrow-Burning Blood Spirit?" Jingyin raised her delicate eyebrows. Why hadn't she heard of it? Zongshou seemed to have been tortured terribly by this curse recently.

When he fell into dire straits and fled to the Azure Spirit World, it seemed to be because of this.

"The forbidden technique of the Lu Family's Nine Desolations Death Prison shares much in common with the Marrow-Burning Blood Spirit Curse; they can almost be considered born from the same source. Furthermore, of the nearly three thousand disciples who perish in the Death Prison for the Lu Family every year, more than half of their Blood-Marrow Primal Spirits are absorbed by the Death Prison's forbidden array. And Zongshou currently bears the Blood Spirit Curse—"

Saying this, Lin Xuanshuang felt something was amiss again and shook her head slightly, "Why am I telling you this? You won't understand even if I tell you. Just know this: although he is currently in danger, within this desperate situation, there is still a glimmer of hope for survival. Perhaps he can even master the most potent bloodline of the Sky-Burning Lu Family."

Although she spoke this way, she felt some uncertainty inside.

How difficult was it to elevate the Sky-Burning Blood to its absolute peak?

Zongshou's journey within the Nine Desolations Death Prison would be incomparably arduous compared to others.

Simply surviving without going mad would already be incredibly rare.

She couldn't help but wonder if she should invite an assistant to summon Zongshou's other master.

With two of them present, the other party wouldn't dare to act recklessly... At the same time, inside the Nine Desolations Death Prison, Zongshou, who was rapidly teleporting,

Suddenly frowned and glanced towards the heavens.

He was still on the sixth level, a world entirely covered in ice and snow, known as the Ice Wheel Death Prison.

Yin energy permeated the air, and chilling cold radiated outward. It was again the hour of Zi-Wu, the time when the forbidden technique would manifest.

It was an endless cold that seeped into his body.

It felt as if countless wheels of ice and cold were cutting and grinding within his Primal Soul, directly attacking his consciousness. In terms of pain, it surpassed the fifth level.

Zongshou had experienced it once before; his entire consciousness had been frozen, rendering him completely incapable of thought.

What was most bothersome, however, was not the pain in his Primal Soul.

To him, this torment might not be much worse than the Marrow-Burning Blood Spirit Curse.

Yet, when this forbidden technique struck him, although the energy entering his body was cold and icy, it still triggered the power of the Blood Spirit, causing his Qi and Blood to surge backward and rush directly into his pupils.

And the Marrow Blood Essence was burning. Despite being surrounded by Yin Cold energy, it had no effect on him.

Even the efficacy of the Ice Wheel forbidden technique seemed to have weakened considerably.

"This surge of Qi and Blood reversal must be related to the forbidden techniques of the Nine Desolations Death Prison. The first time it happened was in the Thousand Blade Death Prison, triggered by this very phenomenon. Afterwards, except for the time Hanxi consumed the cores of mutated beasts and fed back anomalous Primal Energy, every instance was triggered by a forbidden technique."

Zongshou faintly felt that he was grasping some of the underlying pattern of this Qi and Blood reversal.

But the origin of this Blood Spirit power remained unknown to him.