Outside the black mist, Lu Hanyan's body trembled slightly, then she looked at her own hand with a vacant expression.

A scarlet-white flame ignited on her body without any external fire.

She pressed her left chest again; her heart was pounding fiercely, forcefully pumping blood into every corner of her physique.

The power of the bloodline was clearly strengthening and purifying, and countless Lu Clan inherited seals were being broken open layer by layer.

A bloodline advancement?

Inexplicably, she could feel this surging, immense power.

Endless and unfathomable—

It was a Bloodline Tracing!

She recalled experiencing something similar a few years prior.

The sensation then was intense, but nowhere near what it was today.

Perhaps some figure in a certain clan had ascended to the Saint Realm.

But today, which individual could cause such a disturbance?

She tilted her head back to look at the grey, vast sky, feeling the entire world around her vibrating slightly.

Through the power of her bloodline, she could sense unseen flames burning in almost every corner of this realm.

Consuming the fundamental origin of the Netherworld—

It was the World-Burning Flame, the highest-grade bloodline of the Lu family!

Could it be that some Venerable from the clan has stepped into the Ultimate Realm?

No! This person must be inside the Netherworld.

Currently using the World-Burning Flame to impact and scour this very existence!

A wave of panic surged in Lu Hanyan’s chest, and she instinctively turned her gaze toward the direction of the black mist.

A Holy Venerable was indeed within that black mist. But that presence would not cause her bloodline purification power to reach the level of the Absolute Flame.

To garner such serious attention from a Holy Venerable... Could it be him?

The feeling was also incredibly intimate; he clearly hadn't yet advanced to fully manifest the true World-Burning Flame. Yet the power of this bloodline tracing was already this potent.

Could it be Shou'er?

The thought struck Lu Hanyan, causing a wave of dizziness to wash over her mind. When she awoke, her eyes held only confusion; she could no longer recall what she had been thinking about just moments before.

Beside the dark abyss gate of the black mist, amidst the violent oscillations of Gang Jin, Jue Yan sucked in a sharp breath.

When the bloody sword light pierced towards him, the massive Gang Wheel before him shattered instantly.

All Laws become One, the sea embraces a thousand rivers.

A hundred streams of different origins, yet all dangers flow into the Sea!

That Unity Sword Intent channeled more than a dozen disparate Daos into a single blade.

It bored through, the sword intent utterly oppressive!

Jue Yan reacted in the final moment, rapidly forming several hand seals.

In an instant, several spinning wheels materialized before him, varying in size, some aligned correctly, others reversing.

Zong Shou’s expression remained wooden; he paid them no heed. The blood-red color in his eyes intensified, and the runes flickered and jumped like flames.

He only knew to swing the sword in his hand: Slash! Thrust! Chop! Slice!

Utilizing every possible maneuver, leaving no opportunity unseized.

He shattered those great and small spinning wheels one by one, crushing through them relentlessly.

He moved like a fierce tiger, charging forward with an irresistible momentum, violently and relentlessly!

One step, two steps, three steps!

Gradually, he drew closer to the location of the abyss gate. However, at this moment, for some unknown reason, the entire space around him began to fluctuate.

Signs of imminent collapse started to appear. Countless spiritual energies, due to the fracturing of the foundational structure of the laws, were released.

The impact of this immense power was destroying everything in its path.

Only when he reached the abyss gate did Zong Shou realize what was happening, pausing in stunned bewilderment, wondering why this was occurring.

He vaguely sensed a connection to himself, and then in the next instant, the pain in his pupils erupted once more.

The severe pain, long suppressed, instantly overwhelmed all defenses and flooded his mind, threatening to submerge him. He could no longer focus on anything else—

Immediately after, he heard Jue Yan sigh again: "A fine Unity Sword Intent, three thousand Great Daos merging into one. What a pity, you truly shouldn't have lost focus at this critical juncture!"

Just as Zong Shou’s consciousness was scattered by the agonizing pain, making it impossible to sustain the sword movements,

A single finger suddenly pierced through, breaking through the dense sword light, aiming straight for Zong Shou's brow.

Zong Shou frowned slightly, but the intense pain made it impossible for him to effectively counter.

At the critical juncture, he managed to intercept the strike with his Primordial Unity Soul Sword held before him.

With a faint ding, the Second Primordial Soul vibrated first, and then the shock wave directly struck the main body of the Primordial Soul.

Under the tremendous impact, Zong Shou was flung backward, and his consciousness once again became hazy.

Fortunately, the sharp pain in his eyes receded along with the impact. Jue Yan’s figure did not press the attack.

In a daze, Zong Shou used the Illusory Heart Mirror to look ahead. He found that he had once again been forced out beyond the black mist, positioned next to the demonic tree and that woman.

He couldn't help but let out a bitter laugh, and then his consciousness once again plunged into darkness... "You cheated just now!"

Within the dense black fog, a sphere of crimson fire rose once more. In an instant, it condensed into the shape of a young girl.

"Using such means against a junior, don't you feel ashamed?"

Jue Yan maintained the posture of a single finger extended. Hearing this, he merely smiled dismissively.

"How can you call it cheating? I said if he could force his way into the Abyss Gate, the remainder of Lu Hanyan’s sentence would be lifted. Since he accomplished it, I naturally won't go back on my word. Merely delayed by a few days—"

As he spoke, Jue Yan was looking down. Strictly speaking, Zong Shou had already managed to step inside the Abyss Gate.

The decision to remit Lu Hanyan’s punishment had been made several days ago, and it was long out of his mind.

Therefore, what truly occupied his attention now were those final few moves.

Utterly devoid of superfluous action, concise to the extreme, yet incredibly dominant and exquisitely crafted, leaving one amazed.

If he hadn't employed that little trick just now, this avatar would truly have been forced back by Zong Shou's sword.

"This child’s swordsmanship just now possessed seven parts of my own past brilliance, Jue Yan."

After speaking, Jue Yan laughed again. "Besides, I couldn't just stand by and watch him destroy this Netherworld. With Lu Tianqing absent, handling this situation would be troublesome—"

The young girl named Huang’er wrinkled her delicate nose, seeming disdainful of Jue Yan's shamelessness. She then said, "What's so difficult? Just move Zong Shou to another world."

Jue Yan narrowed his eyes, smiling, offering no reply.

The suggestion sounded simple enough. But Zong Shou's bloodline anomaly was clearly connected to this Netherworld.

If he were moved, and some unforeseen complication arose, what if the bloodline anomaly halted?

The loss would far outweigh the gain!

To him, even if the entire Nine Absolute Death Prison were annihilated,

It wouldn't be worth as much as a single finger of Zong Shou at this moment.

Upon hearing Huang'er suggest moving Zong Shou, she knew the method was flawed and shook her head slightly. "But your Lu family bloodline, the World-Burning Eye—once unleashed, it is extremely difficult to control. Unless in the outer void, or under the personal watch of a Holy Venerable like yourself, it will inevitably destroy a realm. This layer of the Netherworld isn't a normal spacetime to begin with; I fear it won't sustain the strain."

Jue Yan nodded slightly, deeply agreeing. "So we must wait for Tianqing to return. This Venerable is rather missing him—"

The red-robed girl started, then took a moment to process his words.

"You plan to make this person take the blame?"

Seeing Jue Yan’s expression of having taught a promising student, the girl felt both exasperated and amused.

"You truly are extraordinarily despicable and shameless."

"Huang'er, you’ve been with me a long time; it’s not the first time you've learned of my character."

Jue Yan also let out a light chuckle. He said calmly, "I can't allow a junior to mock me, a Holy Venerable, for being so incompetent as to fail guarding a mere Death Prison."

'Huang'er' shook her head repeatedly, yet she knew Jue Yan was simply thinking this way. She couldn't help but feel a silent pity for Lu Tianqing.

Jue Yan then conjured another ball of crimson flame in his hand.

Looking intently at the flame in his grasp, Jue Yan spoke in a low, resonant voice, "Do you know what I sensed when he performed that 'Pupil Convergence'?"

'Huang'er' raised an eyebrow. She too had felt something was amiss with Jue Yan during that moment.

He should have been prepared for Zong Shou's bloodline advancement and the awakening of the World-Burning Blood Eye.

However, at that precise time, both Jue Yan's main body and his avatar were in a state of distraction.

It seemed to be due to the sheer shock caused by Zong Shou's transformation.

If not for that, Jue Yan's avatar would not have been driven into such a desperate predicament by Zong Shou’s sword.

Even for a sword at the mid-stage of the Sword Intent Soul Realm, the Unity Sword, Jue Yan had numerous ways to contend with it.

"It was Subversion!"

Jue Yan smiled. "Truly interesting. It’s not Fusion after all, but Subversion! How could that not be a pleasant surprise—"

Upon hearing the word 'Subversion,' the girl felt as if a great bell was struck within her Sea of Consciousness, its reverberation ceaseless.

She didn't hear the words that followed.

It wasn't Fusion, as she had imagined: the integration of the Sky-Burning Blood with the three bloodlines of the Nine-Tailed Mystic Fox, the Thunder Roc, and the Water Qilin.

It was Subversion—

Subversion? What does it mean to overturn, to reverse entirely? It meant reverting from the very foundation of the bloodline, reversing it, and reconstructing the lineage.

A faint light shimmered in her eyes as she turned her gaze back to Jue Yan.

Before reaching the Ultimate Realm, bloodline power was a precious asset. It granted powerful divine abilities and the aid of bloodline imprints, allowing cultivation at hundreds of times the speed of an ordinary person.

But for a Holy Venerable already established in the Ultimate Realm, it was not an aid, but a constraint.

For Jue Yan, this was also the case.

The Sky-Burning Fire, the technique of rotation—these alone were enough to make him peer over the myriad worlds of this domain.

However, he was also bound by the constraints of the Sky-Burning Blood, making further progress arduous.

Generally, there were two methods of liberation: one was to surpass the very source of the bloodline at the level of the Sky-Burning Blood itself.

The other was to completely subvert and reverse the bloodline from its origin, rebuilding it anew.

Jue Yan, however, shook his head slightly, letting out a wry chuckle. "He is still far from that level himself; it was merely a hint, a prelude. How could he possibly assist this Venerable?"

The red-robed girl’s gaze dimmed slightly, showing a hint of disappointment.

At this point, Jue Yan’s smile also faded. He looked out into the void, his expression inscrutable. "That fellow has finally arrived."

'Huang'er' reacted instantly, her brow furrowing as well, watching the void with vigilance.

That fellow, if nothing went wrong, must be the other Ultimate Realm expert of the Sky-Burning Lu family—Venerable Yan Yuan!

Calculating the time, it had been about a moment since Zong Shou touched the critical threshold of the Blood Eye anomaly.

This Holy Venerable, whose bloodline was closest to Zong Shou’s, should have reacted long ago.

A fierce wind instantly swept away more than half of the black mist.

The boundary of spacetime was silently torn open slightly, then quietly restored.

A cold voice drifted over.

"Jue Yan!"

The corner of Jue Yan's lips curled into a silent smile. "Yan Yuan!"

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