A sea of blood, of unknown origin, suddenly tore a gaping maw in space, stretching for thousands of zhang. Wave after wave of scarlet surges erupted, extinguishing the sky-filling flames that Zhurong had manifested almost instantaneously. Zhurong, Tianwu, and Nanjuma were all swept into the crimson deluge, and even Hān Bā was forced to revert to its true form. The blood was so thick, so overwhelmingly foul, that not just Zhurong and the others, but even Hān Bā, usually fond of sanguine sustenance, paled drastically.

It felt as if they had been plunged into a colossal cesspool—a sensation beyond measure disgusting. Hou Yi’s—or perhaps Hu Yanqi’s—Divine Arrow of the Setting Sun shot forth like a bolt of black lightning across the firmament. Yet, the arrow, usually unstoppable, lacked its customary imposing aura. Caught in the swirling scarlet tide, it lost its trajectory, dissolving into countless streaks of black radiance.

The immense tide surged outward, engulfing Zhurong and the others. A corrosive power relentlessly gnawed at their bodies—a force a hundred times more malicious than Hān Bā’s own dark arts. Every soldier, whether from Zhurong’s ranks or the Blood Demon Legion, that touched the scarlet water instantly liquefied into a puddle of putrid fluid, merging with the sea. In the blink of an eye, hundreds were dragged into the blood ocean, leaving behind no trace of bone or spirit.

Seeing the churning blood water rush directly toward the soldiers of the Blood Demon Legion, Ye Jingyu’s eyes flashed crimson. This was the first force he had managed to secure; it could not be annihilated like this. He shook the Chiyou Banner repeatedly, causing the formation array to shift and mutate. However, the sheer magnitude of the blood water’s power made the entire array creak and groan, sounding as if it were on the verge of shattering at any moment.

Ye Jingyu’s brow furrowed deeply. The scarlet sea now churned high above him, directly over the tens of thousands of Blood Demon Legionnaires below. Kuang, Yan, Yue, Wu, and the other demons displayed expressions of utter despair. Faced with this terrifying force, they knew they could not resist.

Even with the combined strength of the four demons, once submerged in the blood sea, they could hold out for only a fleeting moment at best. As for Mu, his face was equally grim. This large bowl had been bestowed upon him by his father during a period of secluded cultivation. It was supposedly a supreme artifact discovered when the Demon Army had stormed the Demon Realm and broken into the mortal world.

Despite possessing it for years, Mu had never truly mastered it. Now, even though this artifact was turning the tide of battle, his own soldiers were the first to be annihilated. These were the elite of his forces, and now... Yet, catching sight of the despair in Kuang and the others' eyes brought a spark of exhilaration to Mu.

As long as he killed them and avenged his son, what did a few lost soldiers matter? You forced me! You forced me! Mu roared internally, tearing at his own spirit.

The blood-red bowl above his head intensified its blinding crimson glare, the power of the blood sea amplifying once more. He refused to believe Ye Jingyu’s Twelve Heavenly Witches Annihilation Array could withstand this. At this critical juncture, Zhurong and the others, caught within the blood sea, struggled desperately against its malevolent spiritual energy. Ye Jingyu made a swift decision.

Since he had already deployed the Twelve Heavenly Witches Annihilation Array, he would hold nothing back. He shifted his body, and the bronze Eastern Emperor Bell materialized above his head. With a cold snort, he commanded, “Fix!” A cascade of azure light spread outward. The violently churning blood sea was instantly arrested, as if frozen solid into ice.

All the demons were stunned, especially Mu. Upon seeing the Eastern Emperor Bell, his long-held suspicions were confirmed: this youth was indeed that person, the one who had foolishly attempted to halt the Demon Army’s advance back then. But was his artifact truly so terrifying? Could it actually immobilize the Sea of Yellow Springs, accumulated over eons?

While the Eastern Emperor Bell possessed the power to stabilize the Three Realms, that was in its prime, wielded by Donghuang Taiyi. Ye Jingyu’s current strength, though formidable, was far inferior to Taiyi’s past might, rendering him unable to unleash the Bell’s full potential. At his current level, he could only maintain the stasis for a few blinks of an eye. But that sliver of time was enough.

With one hand, he summoned the black Overturning Heaven Seal and, while Mu was momentarily paralyzed by shock, instantly appeared above Mu’s head, bringing the Seal down heavily toward his skull… In an instant, the Overturning Heaven Seal swelled to the size of a small mountain. The four fundamental forces of Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire churned within it, purple lightning crackled around the edges, and silver-white starlight flickered faintly. Under Mu’s gaze of terror, the colossal Seal slammed onto his crown. It was only the protection of the immensely powerful blood bowl above his head that prevented him from being crushed into paste.

However, the massive rebound shock forced blood to spout from his seven orifices simultaneously, and his head swam dizzily. The myriad energies impacted the great bowl, which, moments before radiating brilliant scarlet light, dimmed considerably. The paralyzed blood sea instantly fractured, dispersing to the sides, no longer posing a threat to the Blood Demon Legion, while Zhurong and the others managed to break free from its grip. Seizing this moment, Ye Jingyu lunged directly toward Mu.

Judging by the recoil from the Overturning Heaven Seal, the blood bowl had to be another supreme artifact. As Ye Jingyu charged, the remaining twelve War Generals struck out simultaneously. But Ye Jingyu utilized the Void Shadow Star Step, reaching Mu in a single stride. They could not even brush the edge of his robes.

“Die for me…” Ye Jingyu eschewed any formal technique, lowering the Eastern Emperor Bell and slamming it headfirst into Mu. Mu, reeling from the impact of the Overturning Heaven Seal, was utterly disoriented and incapable of evasion. He took the full force of the Eastern Emperor Bell’s collision. The blood bowl, already cracked nearly to breaking by the Seal, could not withstand this full-force impact from the Bell; a clear fissure spiderwebbed across its surface.

Being struck simultaneously by two supreme treasures—the Overturning Heaven Seal and the Eastern Emperor Bell—could almost be considered Mu’s strange fortune. Ye Jingyu immediately capitalized on this opening to unleash his most profound technique realized to date: the Seal of All Life (Cangsheng Yin)... However, within the confines of the Twelve Heavenly Witches Annihilation Array, this deployment of the Seal of All Life harnessed the collective power of the entire formation, striking out with cold, impartial force... With a sharp CRACK, the blood bowl finally succumbed to the strain and shattered completely.

The observers watched as a sphere of blood-black light burst through the void, emitting an intensely frigid aura…