That white flame burned fiercely, yet vanished just as the vitality of the Demon Lotus neared extinction.

The Demon Lotus seethed within, glaring at Zong Shou with venomous hatred. Just moments ago, all she had wished for was to perish in the searing white flames. Yet, Zongshou had stopped at the precise moment, even using the Yuan Sheng Ling Xi Jue to help mend her injuries.

But this was no act of 'kindness'; it was merely preparation to torture her anew once her strength returned.

The warm spiritual energy coursed through her meridians, akin to the first clear spring water nourishing drought-stricken earth. The Demon Lotus, however, felt no warmth, only terror and dread.

"Zong Shou, you demon! You madman! One day, just one day, I swear I will kill you! Consume your flesh, annihilate your entire clan—"

Her curses were wild and indiscriminate; all she sought now was to enrage Zong Shou enough to grant her death. This Saint Monarch, who appeared fragile and gentle, possessed torturous methods that seemed endless, even more fiendish than those of the demonic path.

Zong Shou paid her no mind. He temporarily ignored the Demon Lotus and turned to the figure slumped nearby, as limp as clay—the one clad in crimson.

"How does one undo the Mo Shi Lian Yu Yin?"

"The Mo Shi Lian Yu Yin was brought to the Cloud Realm by Li Biexue and Xing Xie from the Outer Regions. Though there are many variations, the core remains the same. To undo this technique, you must either slay the Supreme Primal Demon, reducing it to nothingness, or reconstruct Su Xiaoxiao’s Primordial Spirit foundation, breaking it to establish the new. The final method is to seek out the original Mo Shi Lian Yu Yin scripture taught by Li Biexue seventeen thousand years ago, and then study its depths in detail."

The Crimson Robe’s expression was calm. Despite the immense torture, she retained her composure, unlike the madness of the Demon Lotus.

"I know that is all there is. If you have any grit, grant me a swift end!"

Zong Shou remained silent for a moment, then plunged his sword forward again, the white flame following it into the Crimson Robe’s body. A scream, vast as a collapsed heaven and earth, echoed down the corridor, causing loose stones to rain down in continuous collapse.

Chu Xue watched from the side, chilled to the bone. She felt these two deserved their fate for what they did to Su Xiaoxiao. Yet, she sensed something amiss with Zong Shou’s state. If this continued, his Primordial Spirit and Dao Heart would surely suffer damage, creating fatal flaws.

A sudden thought struck her, and Chu Xue tentatively persuaded him, "Young Master, torturing the three of them now is useless. Sister Su’s condition is dire. I believe it is urgent we return to the Azure Vault Realm and seek Master Xuan Shuang’s aid."

Zong Shou finally showed a flicker of emotion, a hint of struggle crossing his eyes. Then, he immediately stabbed Han Qing again, eliciting another howl of agony. Towards Han Qing, he hadn't even bothered to ask a single question, proceeding directly to torture.

At that moment, Chu Xue’s expression suddenly shifted again. With a slight wave of her hand, a five-colored brilliance shielded the profound ice. Then, her gaze grew anxious. "Young Master, this Minor Thousand World seems on the verge of collapse! If we don't leave now, it will be too late! Even I may not be able to protect Sister Su then."

In that brief instant, countless black fissures tore through the void, spreading wildly. More debris rained down into the underground corridor.

Zong Shou hesitated once more, his gaze slowly clearing. With a cold snort, the light of his sword swept around, cleanly severing the heads of the three figures surrounding him. Then, a roar shook the surroundings, venting the residual hatred and savage energy in his chest.

At that instant, the color drained from Chu Xue’s face: "Something seems wrong—"

Zong Shou also sensed it. He intended to use Void Shift with Chu Xue and Su Xiaoxiao to forcibly escape this Minor Thousand World, swiftly leaving the Qin Emperor’s Tomb via the Outer Realm River to avoid the spatial storm caused by the world’s destruction.

However, the moment he made the attempt, he found Su Xiaoxiao being powerfully dragged by an inexplicable force, unable to move. Moreover, the space of the underground corridor had become abnormally stable. Even exerting his full strength, he could only tear open the narrowest of rents.

It must be noted that at this time, his instantaneous spatial technique had the enhancement of the Zeng Xuan Chi Fa Wing, increasing his spatial control by nearly double! It was not much weaker than that of the Supreme Realm Saints. Furthermore, the Liang Yi Ju Long Formation had already been destroyed, losing its ability to lock down time and space. Yet, even so, he could not shift all three out together.

"Why is this?"

Zong Shou felt a vague sense of regret; spending too much time torturing the Demon Lotus and Han Qing to vent his rage had cost him dearly.

Suddenly, he was startled again, gazing into the distance. Faintly visible, several spectral dragon auras were spiraling toward them, carrying vital essence energy comparable to surging tides and vast seas.

Zong Shou froze, grasping the general reason. This immense vital essence that should have poured into the lowest level—the Qin Emperor’s burial chamber—had now had nearly seventy percent diverted toward Su Xiaoxiao’s direction. Even the remaining thirty percent was turning aside, influenced by the inertial push of the surging tide.

The Azure Flame Mystic Turtle yelped in alarm, hastily retracting its head and limbs into its shell. Chu Xue’s beautiful face paled; the aura opposite them rivaled the full power of a Supreme Realm strike, and she knew intervening now would be useless.

"It's the spirit array!"

Zong Shou realized it instantly. This must be due to the array maintaining Su Xiaoxiao's life force. If the Liang Yi Ju Long Formation had not been ruined, this situation would never have occurred. But now, with the Minor Thousand World collapsing, these dragon auras, having lost their guide, naturally converged toward the nearest ‘artifact formation’—Su Xiaoxiao.

Cold sweat immediately drenched Zong Shou’s face. The nine supreme immortal artifacts were the foundation keeping Su Xiaoxiao’s heart meridian stable; they absolutely could not be moved lightly. Yet, if he allowed these dragon auras to impact her, Su Xiaoxiao would inevitably succumb, exploding from within.

A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, each one dismissed. Every solution he could conceive failed to resolve the current crisis. At this moment, he hated the person who destroyed the Mountain River Palace to the core!

Finally, a sudden thought struck him, causing Zong Shou to hesitate. After a full half-breath, he fiercely gritted his teeth and flashed over to the Azure Flame Mystic Turtle.

"Xue'er, watch over her carefully!"

With a sweep of his sleeve, he released all of Xiao Ri, Xiao Yue, and Little Jin Han Xi. In the next moment, he might be unable to spare any attention, relying solely on his spirit beasts and Chu Xue for protection.

Zong Shou then struck the profound ice, dissolving it, and lifted Su Xiaoxiao’s delicate body. He then sat cross-legged within the artifact formation himself. Subsequently, he placed the unconscious Xiaoxiao directly onto his lap, facing him.

Chu Xue understood immediately as she watched. Zong Shou was clearly employing a technique akin to dual cultivation. Using himself as a barrier to buffer and screen out other anomalous energies, he was guiding the pure vital life force into Su Xiaoxiao’s body. Though she knew she shouldn't watch, Xue'er still stole a glance at their intertwined forms.

At this moment, Zong Shou had already pressed his lips to Su Xiaoxiao’s. There was no trace of carnal desire, yet Chu Xue’s face still flushed crimson. Truly intoxicating...

However, realizing that Su Xiaoxiao’s condition was temporarily stable, Chu Xue breathed a sigh of relief. But immediately, worry returned for Zong Shou. Something was wrong! Such boundless vital essence was impossible for an ordinary cultivator to withstand!

Her gaze shifted sharply. Chu Xue saw Zong Shou’s skin rupture, blood spraying out and staining an area dozens of feet wide. Zong Shou, too, felt a pain like being flayed alive throughout his body. The essence energy flooding into him was astonishingly pure and incredibly stubborn. Even with the enhancement of the Zeng Xuan Chi Fa Wing, elevating his cultivation directly to the Saint Tier and transforming his entire Qi circulation into immortal power, he could not expel this essence from his body.

If he could smelt it, it would be excellent, saving him countless years of arduous cultivation. This pure vital essence required no refinement and could be used directly, essentially doubling his current cultivation speed. In this Netherworld Lair, although much death qi had infiltrated, the vital essence contained within the five top-tier immortal artifacts had already neutralized the majority of it. Coupled with the surrounding nine resurgence array artifacts, it was scarcely a threat.

Zong Shou, who controlled the law of life and death transformation—life into death, death into life—was generally unconcerned with such things. However, the sheer volume of this essence was simply too immense. It was causing Zong Shou’s body to swell like a balloon, and his Primordial Soul within was equally saturated. Zong Shou deliberately tore over a dozen wounds on himself to prevent the possibility of him swelling and exploding entirely.

But the situation remained critical. The essence was slowly squeezing inward, the pain in his head becoming excruciating. Vaguely, he could see within his Sea of Consciousness, around the Primordial One Soul Sword, a dozen dragon shadows seemingly locked in a desperate battle, tearing at each other.

However, Su Xiaoxiao was in a worse state. Nearly half of the vital energy supplied by the Nine Aperture Life Stone and the eight resurgence array artifacts was constantly struggling against and neutralizing the death qi mixed within the pure essence. The energy reaching Su Xiaoxiao was less than five or six tenths of what it was before, causing her stabilized heart meridian to dim once more.

Zong Shou felt a deep tightness in his chest, unable to find a solution at the moment. But he knew regret was useless now. He tried to concentrate his thoughts, but the essence energy, compressed to the point of near explosion, along with the accompanying extreme pain, constantly dragged his attention away, preventing deep contemplation.

"Damn it!"

Zong Shou cursed, wishing he could shatter his own meridian channels to expel all this essence. Then, inspiration suddenly struck.

"Expel it all? With essence this dense, it would be easy to destroy eight or nine worlds—one could achieve anything. Break and then rebuild?"

Zong Shou fell into deep thought, sending a sliver of intent into his own body.

"Is this the Myriad Spirit Primordial Embryo?"

Su Xiaoxiao's constitution was clearly different from ordinary women; she was like a naturally formed array. This conferred little direct benefit to her, but an infant within her body could better sense spiritual energy and absorb innate qi.

An idea began to form in Zong Shou’s consciousness. Since the goal was 'break and rebuild,' the Demonic Heart Seven Emotions Art was out. Then, what about Lin Xuan Shuang’s Yuan Sheng Ling Xi Jue?