Upon the boundless golden net stood four Core Condensation masters, each gripping a magic weapon, glaring fiercely. Leading them was Master Wulei, clad in white monk's robes. He stared intently at the dark, gleaming Emei thorn in Huo Zhongguang's hand, his surprise evident.

Huo Zhongguang scoffed, ignoring the question. He tilted his head back, surveying the four figures around him.

"Monster! Was it you who secretly harmed my disciple, Miao Yuchun?"

Elder Chiyuan, with his fiery red beard, cared nothing for the Sky Serpent Blood Thorn. His eyes bulged with rage, glaring murderously at Huo Zhongguang, still burning over the disappearance of his beloved apprentice.

Huo Zhongguang sneered, "And if it was? So what if it wasn't?"

He looked down upon them all with utter disdain. "I never expected that I, Huo Zhongguang alone, would warrant the dispatch of four Core Condensation masters. What an honor indeed!"

Having his identity exposed, Huo Zhongguang no longer needed to maintain a respectful façade before his seniors. He straightened his back, demonic energy swirling around him, his aura more imposing than before. His eyes shot forth brilliant light—certainly not the look of the timid, unremarkable disciple he once was.

"Audacious renegade! To act so arrogantly within the Ten Directions Ambush Formation?" Among the four Core Condensation masters was a short man clad in gray armor, sporting a long beard—Elder Lihuer of Sunset Peak, master to Meng Qinglu. He was smiling now, rather than raging. "Do you know that even the Overlord, whose cultivation was peerless, found no room for resistance under this massive net and was utterly annihilated?"

"Ten Directions Ambush?"

Huo Zhongguang's expression shifted slightly. He drew the Sky Serpent Blood Thorn across a golden thread before him. A sharp zheng sound echoed, yet the golden strand did not break.

"These three thousand zhang of dark gold thread were forged from the essence of the sun, tempered by the killing intent of a hundred-thousand victorious armies. Though you hold the demonic artifact, the Sky Serpent Blood Thorn, what can you do against this?"

Huo Zhongguang regained his composure and chuckled derisively. "This is indeed the Ten Directions Ambush formation, a masterpiece of ingenuity, invincible under heaven! But you gentlemen are not the War Gods of yore; trapping me will not be so simple!"

"Insolence! Disperse the formation! Capture him, and let's see how hard-mouthed this wicked disciple can be!"

Elder Chiyuan roared, his bushy beard bristling. His disciple had died at the hands of this fiend, and his hatred was paramount; he could no longer restrain his fury. His grip tightened, drawing in the dark gold silk net.

The other three shifted and moved in concert with his action.

Seeing the surrounding golden nets closing in on all sides, Huo Zhongguang’s expression darkened. He bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood foam, and his entire aura surged violently. His robes ripped apart, revealing muscles crisscrossed with bizarre, uncanny black markings.

The surrounding demonic energy poured into him like air into a balloon, inflating his body to nearly twice its size!

"Wicked disciple! To use the Great Demonic Body Dissolution Art in a place saturated with demonic energy—aren't you afraid of death?"

Elder Chiyuan sneered coldly. Feng Zikang, who had been feigning unconsciousness, was also startled. He hadn't expected Huo Zhongguang's Heavenly Demonic Dissolution Divine Ability to reach such a realm of fundamental restoration. While the dense demonic energy at the entrance to the Demon Realm certainly boosted his power instantly, it would cause immense trouble for him later.

What was he planning?

The four masters—Elder Chiyuan and the others—naturally assumed Huo Zhongguang was fighting a losing battle out of desperation. But Feng Zikang knew it wasn't that simple. Huo Zhongguang had been living in seclusion for the past year, becoming unfathomably mysterious, especially since reaching the Foundation Establishment stage; he was completely changed. He must have had some profound encounter. To deploy a self-destructive technique before even showing his true hand seemed peculiar.

"Submit yourself!"

Master Wulei shouted softly, rapidly drawing his hands inward. The dark gold threads retracted swiftly, and the golden nets from all directions descended to engulf Huo Zhongguang’s head!

Huo Zhongguang roared with laughter, spitting out a ball of cyan flame that instantly ignited whatever it touched, shielding his body. He waved his hands repeatedly, and dozens of dark cyan thunder orbs scattered outward, smashing into the dark gold net. With deafening crashes, amidst a cloud of black filth, several sections of the golden net were actually shaken loose, their once brilliant golden luster somewhat dimmed.

"Vile Fire Swift Thunder! I never imagined you had cultivated such a demonic art! Heh heh, it’s a pity that while this object can tarnish treasures, it’s still far too weak to deal with the Ten Directions Ambush Formation!"

Huo Zhongguang, at the entrance to the Demon Realm, applying the Great Demonic Body Dissolution Art, amplified the power of this Vile Fire Swift Thunder by more than tenfold compared to normal. Yet, it could only slightly repel the dark gold net. Seeing the four masters maneuvering and deploying the array, with hundreds and thousands of inexhaustible golden nets surging forth, how many more thunderbolts could he launch in defense?

Huo Zhongguang gave a bitter laugh. Holding the Sky Serpent Blood Thorn in both hands, he held it vertically before him, closed his eyes, concentrated his spirit, and stood calmly.

"Fellow Daoists, be careful! This wicked disciple is about to unleash the Primordial Unity Boundless Sunder strike! This is a desperate, final gamble. With the demonic energy so abundant here, its power will not be small; do not let him seize an opportunity to escape!"

Elder Chiyuan recognized the technique and called out a warning.

Then, Huo Zhongguang burst into loud laughter. He swept the Sky Serpent Blood Thorn downward. His entire essence, spirit, and vitality coalesced into a single dark shadow of a blade, slashing directly toward Elder Chiyuan!

Chiyuan hadn't anticipated a counterattack and laughed in shock and fury. He waved his hands, and heavy layers of the golden net materialized before him, blocking the surging blade shadow.

Huo Zhongguang merged man and blade, charging violently into the dark gold silk net. The golden threads sliced open gash after gash across his body, splattering black blood that poured forth, leaving a bloody silhouette trailing behind him.

"Huo Zhongguang, do you seek death?"

His physical body should have been sliced into fragments, enduring torture by forcing his way through the net. Only now, while executing the Primordial Unity Boundless Sunder strike, where his essence, spirit, and vitality were unified, did he prevent his body from scattering. But the agony of being rent apart was unimaginable. Even Elder Chiyuan was momentarily stunned, failing to react.

"Be careful, Daoist Chiyuan!"

Amidst Master Wulei’s alarmed cry, the black blade shadow pierced through hundreds of layers of the dark gold net, actually breaking past the perimeter of the Ten Directions Ambush Formation and reaching Elder Chiyuan!

The might of that single strike shifted heaven and earth!

"Do you think this Venerable One fears you!" Elder Chiyuan was equally incensed. He shook his hands, and a bronze mirror appeared, radiating blazing light to meet the force of the overwhelming blade shadow!

Unfortunately, that earth-shattering collision never fully materialized.

Just three steps from Elder Chiyuan, the black blade shadow suddenly disintegrated. The Primordial Unity Boundless Sunder strike had finally reached its limit and could no longer sustain itself.

As the shadow vanished, Huo Zhongguang’s battered, wounded form was revealed.

His face was pale, yet a strange smile played on his lips. He suddenly opened his mouth and spat a mouthful of saliva directly onto Elder Chiyuan’s face.

"What worth has a mere Core Condensation master?"

As Huo Zhongguang laughed loudly, his body shattered into countless pieces of flesh and blood, scattering in all directions!

A shower of blood rained down, drenching Elder Chiyuan’s face once more!