68: Death of Yin Yue, Tai Shi Sealing Technique

As the bronze giant door rumbled upwards, a chilling, bone-piercing Devilish Qi, subtly mixed with an eerie heat, surged out from behind it like the breath of an awakening behemoth!

Xiao Zhuo quietly activated his Soul Perception.

“As expected, it’s hidden here!” In the black-and-white interwoven perceptual vision, an extremely weak Divine Soul, curled in the shadow behind the door, trembled slightly.

The moment the bronze giant door fully opened, that Divine Soul transformed into a dim streak of light, flashing like lightning into the brow of a ferocious beast-head statue beside the rock wall.

Xiao Zhuo suppressed the coldness at the corner of his mouth, his boot crushing gravel as he stepped into this mysterious cave.

The scene behind the door was breathtaking.

In the center of the cave, roughly a hundred zhang in circumference, six incomparably thick stone pillars, inscribed with golden, profound runes, stood like prison-guarding divine soldiers, encircling a bottomless, gigantic black hole!

Bowl-thick black chains coiled around the pillars, clanging and sparking as they vibrated with the heart-pounding, muffled tremors emanating from the depths of the black hole.

A colossal sealing barrier/boundary, shimmering with sacred golden light, covered the entrance like a canopy.

Devilish Qi, thick as ink and ceaselessly churning, frantically gushed from the bottomless abyss, crashing against the golden barrier/boundary again and again!

Each impact unleashed a muffled roar, shaking the entire cave's rock walls, causing dust to fall like rain, as if it could collapse at any moment.

The runes on the stone pillars flickered on and off, clearly drawing Spiritual Qi from the earth pulse to stubbornly sustain themselves.

Even so, wisps of pure Devilish Qi penetrated the gaps in the Seal, permeating the cave—this was the source of the faint Devilish Qi perceived outside.

Xiao Zhuo gazed at the churning black Devilish Qi in the abyss, and the hairs on the back of his neck instantly stood on end!

A chilling aura, enough to freeze the Soul and filled with endless malice, emanated from the deepest part of the abyss, as if billions of invisible claws were trying to tear at his Divine Soul!

“Great terror!” Xiao Zhuo’s pupils contracted sharply.

His intuition screamed a warning—whatever was sealed beneath this, he absolutely could not touch it! Once unleashed, the consequences would be unimaginable, possibly leading to widespread devastation!

At this moment, he also completely understood Silver Moon’s reliance—the Devilish Qi leaking from this place was the Origin for him to reshape his demonic body, recover, and even Breakthrough to Dominator Rank!

“Silver Moon Venerable King!” Xiao Zhuo pinched a wisp of pure Devilish Qi that rushed towards him, his voice, laden with cold killing intent, reverberated, shaking dust from the cave ceiling like rain, “Will you roll out yourself, or shall I drag you out?”

Silence. Only the clanging of chains and the muffled thud of Devilish Qi hitting the Seal echoed.

Silver Moon’s Divine Soul within the statue was extremely nervous.

“It seems you don’t want this last bit of dignity.” Xiao Zhuo’s lips curved into a cruel arc, his gaze like a sharp blade fixed on the beast-head statue.

Silver Moon’s Divine Soul trembled violently: “Not good! He can really pinpoint me!”

The thought had barely surfaced when Xiao Zhuo pointed his single arm into the air!

“Buzz—!”

A twenty-four-sided Soul Prison, shimmering with chilling light, instantly condensed, tightly imprisoning the beast-head statue along with its internal space!

With a thought, Xiao Zhuo caused the Soul Prison to fly back towards him as if pulled by an unseen force.

Within the cage, a dim silver Divine Soul was forcibly stripped from the statue by an invisible power and manifested, revealing the ashen-faced Silver Moon Venerable King!

“Human Race! You...how did you find this place?!” Silver Moon’s Divine Soul flickered erratically, his voice filled with shock and unwillingness, “Did you go to Hundred Demon Mountain?! What about Meiji and the others...”

“You guessed correctly.” Xiao Zhuo interrupted him, his eyes as cold as ice, “Hundred Demon Mountain has been erased from the world. Now, answer my question. This is your last chance.”

Silver Moon’s Divine Soul fluctuated violently, residual pride and despair intertwined in his eyes. He understood that the person before him was decisive in killing and spoke no empty words.

“You’re not killing me immediately because you want to know the secret of this Seal and the Devilish Qi passage?” Silver Moon feigned composure, but a subtle cunning flashed in his eyes.

Xiao Zhuo walked to the sealing barrier/boundary with his hands behind his back, his back to the Soul Prison, his tone indifferent, without a ripple: “Speak.”

“If I tell you, will you let me live? Let my Divine Soul depart?” Silver Moon tried to grasp the last shred of hope; this was his biggest bargaining chip.

“No.” Xiao Zhuo said decisively, without even turning his head, “You will die. But, if your answer satisfies me, I might allow your Soul to Reincarnation!”

The cold refusal pronounced his death but left him a glimmer of hope.

He was silent for a moment, his Divine Soul seeming even dimmer, then finally hissed: “...Alright! I’ll tell you!”

“This place was accidentally discovered by this King a hundred years ago when I was still Nightmare Grade. This sealing array has existed for a long time, set by some unknown powerful being. This King does not know where the abyss below leads! I only know that the Devilish Qi within is pure and vast, far beyond imagination! This King relied on the Devilish Qi overflowing from the cracks in this Seal to Cultivate, which allowed me to advance quickly, and even... recover and Breakthrough to Dominator Rank after being severely injured thirty years ago!”

He paused, then continued with a hint of unwilling malice: “This King also tried to investigate deeper, but that sealing barrier/boundary is indestructible; even with this King’s full power, I couldn’t shake it in the slightest! And the aura from the depths of that abyss... made this King’s Divine Soul feel fear! Therefore, I only dared to absorb Devilish Qi from the periphery and never truly dared to touch the core of the Seal. This is all this King knows!”

Xiao Zhuo slowly turned around, his deep gaze seemingly able to penetrate the Soul Prison and look directly into Silver Moon’s Divine Soul Origin.

He remained silent, seemingly judging the truthfulness of the words.

Inside the cave, only the muffled thud of Devilish Qi impacting the Seal remained.

A moment later, Xiao Zhuo frowned slightly: “Is that all?”

Silver Moon’s Divine Soul tensed: “That’s all!”

“Then, you can die!” Xiao Zhuo’s icy voice interrupted him, and the platinum patterns in his eyes suddenly blazed brightly! A wave of Soul Power rippled out!

“You! Human Race! You broke your word!!!” Silver Moon’s Divine Soul’s expression changed, and he let out a desperate shriek, frantically crashing against the Soul Prison walls! The Soul Power Xiao Zhuo unleashed was clearly intended to completely annihilate him!

“I only said ‘might,’ not ‘definitely’!” Xiao Zhuo’s tone was as chilling as the winds of the Nine Nether, “You slaughtered my Yuyang Sect, your blood debt is immense; complete annihilation of body and spirit is your only destination!”

Before his words finished, Xiao Zhuo’s left hand suddenly clenched in the air!

“No—!!!” Silver Moon let out a Soul-shattering shriek!

“Boom!!!”

The twenty-four-sided Soul Prison suddenly erupted with blinding destructive light! There was no process of contraction; instead, it instantly collapsed inward and annihilated!

Silver Moon’s dim silver Divine Soul, like residual snow cast into a purgatorial furnace, failed to even stir a ripple before being completely decomposed, pulverized, and transformed into the most primordial Soul Power particles in the purest destructive energy!

His Soul’s core spiritual imprint was also completely extinguished and erased under this destructive light, like a flickering candle in the wind!

“Killed one Dominator Rank Wolf Demon, gained Attribute Points 64874.” The panel notification flashed coldly.

Inside the cave, there was no longer any trace of Silver Moon Venerable King. Only the abyss Devilish Qi tirelessly continued to impact the golden Seal.

Xiao Zhuo expressionlessly withdrew his gaze, as if he had merely crushed an insignificant insect.

His attention was entirely focused on the six sealing stone pillars that exuded an ancient and profound aura.

For this Seal to be able to contain such a terrifying source of Devilish Qi, the technique itself was an supreme Opportunity!

If he could comprehend even a little and integrate it into himself, it would undoubtedly become a powerful trump card.

Moreover, the pure Devilish Qi here would be of great benefit to his Cultivation of the Purgatory Demonic Body!

Xiao Zhuo immediately sat cross-legged, his gaze like lightning, and began to analyze and deduce the complex runes on the six stone pillars.

Time flowed by in the silence and the low growl of Devilish Qi. Three days passed in a flash.

Xiao Zhuo sat motionless like a stone sculpture, demonic patterns faintly appearing around his body, greedily absorbing the pure Devilish Qi emanating within the cave, storing and refining it.

The Cultivation progress of his Purgatory Demonic Body steadily advanced under the nourishment of the Devilish Qi.

His gaze finally locked firmly onto the first stone pillar on the left.

“The beginning of the array core!” After three days of comprehension, he had glimpsed a hint of the method, confirming that the runes on this pillar were the Foundation and starting point of the entire sealing array!

Xiao Zhuo’s hands rapidly formed Seals like butterflies flitting through flowers, his True Essence and Divine Thought intermingling and circulating within his body. A profound rune Seal, shimmering with dark golden light and bearing a ninety percent resemblance to the stone pillar’s runes, slowly condensed and appeared in mid-air at his fingertips!

The rune Seal trembled slightly, its light flickering erratically.

“Still a little bit off...” Xiao Zhuo frowned slightly.

This was his hundredth-plus attempt in three days.

Just as the rune Seal was about to dissipate again, Xiao Zhuo’s gaze suddenly swept over the other five stone pillars!

In a flash of inspiration, his hand Seals abruptly changed, and a pure Divine Thought shot from his glabella, precisely integrating into the core of the floating rune Seal!

“Buzz—!”

The dark golden rune Seal, which had been on the verge of collapsing, suddenly stabilized and burst into brilliant light!

An ethereal ripple, visible to the naked eye, emanated from the center of the rune Seal!

“Zheng! Zheng! Zheng! Zheng! Zheng! Zheng!”

The six stone pillars seemed to awaken instantly, their pillar runes lighting up in sequence, emitting clear and melodious resonance sounds! The light of the entire sealing barrier/boundary also intensified!

“It’s done!” Xiao Zhuo’s lips finally curved into a long-awaited smile of accomplishment! After three days of solitary Cultivation, the key to entering this sealing technique was finally in his grasp!

He immediately called up his panel:

Name: Xiao Zhuo.

Race: Human Race.

Realm: Divine Sea Realm Triple Stage;

Physical Body: King Grade Early Stage

Divine Soul: Third Stage (Seven-Colored primordial elixir);

Divine Sense: Intermediate Stage (Coverage: 300 li radius);

Divine Thought Bonus: 274 times;

Sea of Consciousness Range: 10,000 li;

Physique: Devouring Dao Body;

Cultivation Technique: Nine Revolutions Profound Essence Art (Seventh Layer) (64/100); Purgatory Demonic Body (Seventh Layer) (27/100); True Explanation of Soul Refining Perfection (300 years of cultivation); Great Void Bright Palm Profound (MAX); Heavenly Dipper Transformation to Zenith Saber Technique Profound (MAX); Instantaneous Art Profound (MAX); Heaven-Shattering Finger Profound (MAX); Great Beginning Sealing Art Entry (1/100); Remaining Cultivation Techniques folded (can be expanded for viewing)

Unique Skills: Extreme Tiger Killing Fist; Eight Extremes Return to Void Slash; Heavenly Demon Hegemon Body; Space Shattering Mark; Tiangang Saber Domain; Instant Flash; Heaven-Shattering Finger;

Secret Arts: Purple Extreme Burning True Method Triple Stage;

Divine Ability: Divine Thunder (Innate) (Profound Nether Divine Thunder); Soul Extinguishing Divine Ability; Soul Sealing Divine Ability; Soul Splitting Divine Ability;

Traits: True Essence Enhancement LV57; Qi Recovery Speed Boost LV9; Blood Qi Enhancement LV5; Heterogeneous Energy Resistance LV10; Physical Body Enhancement LV7;

Talents: Danger Perception; Innate Divine Strength; Soul Perception;

Concept: Saber Intent First Stage;

Attribute Points: 99750.

However, the moment Xiao Zhuo checked his panel—

“Rumble—!!!”

A terrifying roar, as if from the deepest depths of the Nine Nether, suddenly erupted from the depths of the marsh less than ten li away from him!

A thick, incomparably massive black demonic light, imbued with destructive and ominous aura, like a Heaven-Shattering Spear, violently tore through the heavy poisonous miasma that had enveloped Cloud Dream Marsh for ten thousand years, shooting straight into the sky!

An extremely violent energy shockwave, centered on the demonic light, swept out in all directions like a tsunami!

The entire Cloud Dream Marsh trembled violently!

The perpetually lingering poisonous miasma was forcefully ripped open, creating a huge, hideous gap!

This sudden and drastic change in heaven and earth, with its terrifying might, instantly alarmed the entire Jing Prefecture!

Even the neighboring Jing Prefecture and Yu Prefecture had countless top-tier powerhouses looking up in horror, their gazes filled with uncertainty directed towards Cloud Dream Marsh!

Xiao Zhuo suddenly looked up, his eyes blazing with sharp light!

Without hesitation, his figure flashed out of the rock cave like lightning.

The heavy bronze giant door slammed shut behind him, cutting off the view of the cave’s interior.

And Xiao Zhuo’s figure had already transformed into a golden streak of light tearing through the sky, rushing towards the source of the demonic light’s eruption!