97: Blood Sacrifice Countdown, Eye of the Council

Inside the Chaos Opening Heaven Sword Domain, all things were swords.

The might of Lu Qingxuan wounding the three Apostles ignited the Battle Intent of the entire Eastern Domain Coalition Army. However, as the Shadow of the Ruined Market forcibly activated the key fragment, the scarlet triangular Formation diagram suddenly contracted, completely enveloping the front line Star Domain, including Broken Blade Star.

The world changed color.

The Void Realm was stained dark red, as if the entire Star Domain was submerged in a sea of blood. The previously stable Spiritual Qi began to run rampant, the Law became chaotic, and countless low-level Cultivators felt their vitality and blood surging, seemingly about to be forcibly extracted.

"The Blood Sacrifice Great Formation... has started running!" On Broken Blade Star, Ling Tian's face was pale. He could feel his own Sword Intent weakening by 30% under the suppression of the Formation.

What was more terrifying was that the remnants of the slain Void Abyss Coalition Army now turned into thick blood mist, rising and merging into the Formation diagram. With every enemy killed, the Formation diagram's power grew stronger.

"We can't let them die on our lines!" Snow Maiden shouted sharply. The Ice Spirit Guards formed a Formation, and the cold air froze large areas of blood mist, but the blood mist was endless; as one layer froze, another surged forth.

"All forces, heed the order—switch from defense to offense, and push them out of the Formation diagram's range!" Vajra Elder shone with Buddhist light. The Eighteen Arhats formed the Demon Subduing Formation, forcibly pushing a tide of corrupted Star Beasts back into the starry sky.

But the Void Abyss Coalition Army was simply too numerous.

Two million against eight hundred thousand, and the enemies possessed no reason, only the instinct for slaughter and sacrifice. The front line instantly plunged into a brutal meat grinder battle.

Lu Qingxuan stood at the center of the Domain of Swords, his gaze fixed on the key fragment in the Shadow of the Ruined Market's hand.

The fragment had now turned from pitch black to dark red, with dense, vein-like patterns appearing on its surface, "pulsing" with the deaths of the coalition forces behind them. Each pulse caused the Formation diagram to contract slightly.

"We must seize the fragment first." Lu Qingxuan's mind raced.

But the three Apostles had changed their strategy.

Star Curse and Soul Devourer no longer launched frontal assaults. Instead, they retreated behind the Shadow of the Ruined Market. One used the Art of Curses and Grudges to interfere with the Domain of Swords' operation, while the other used tentacles to frantically devour the vitality and blood of the coalition forces, continuously injecting energy into the fragment.

The Shadow of the Ruined Market, meanwhile, completely transformed into a mass of wriggling gray mist, wrapping the fragment at its core, constantly moving and evading within the Domain of Swords.

"Trying to stall for time?" Lu Qingxuan sneered. "Domain of Swords—Contract."

The ten-thousand-mile Domain of Swords suddenly compressed to a thousand miles!

The concentration of Sword Intent within the Domain surged tenfold. The moving gray mist was like being trapped in a swamp, its speed dropping sharply. Countless physical small swords condensed from Sword Intent stabbed out from the Void Realm, frantically slicing the gray mist.

Chii Chii Chii—!

The gray mist was peeled away layer after layer. The Shadow of the Ruined Market let out a painful shriek, but it desperately protected the core fragment, even actively "discarding" parts of the gray mist to form shields for resistance.

"Lu Qingxuan... you cannot take it..." Star Curse's withered voice came through. "This fragment is already bound to the Great Sacrifice Formation... unless you kill all two million coalition forces... otherwise, it will only grow stronger..."

Before the words finished, it waved its staff, and a twisted spell crossed the Void Realm, directly imprinting itself on Lu Qingxuan's left shoulder.

[Warning! High-level Curse [Blood Soul Shackles] detected]

[Effect: Continuously extracts the vitality and blood and Soul Power of the cursed target, converting it into sacrificial energy, and weakening the target's resistance to the Blood Sacrifice Great Formation]

[System purification initiating... 3 million Dao Rhyme value consumed]

[Purification failed! The Curse is connected to the Origin of the Great Sacrifice Formation. Requires severing the Formation diagram connection or killing the caster]

A dark red brand appeared on Lu Qingxuan's left shoulder, and his vitality and blood began to drain slowly. Although not fatal, any slight weakening could be deadly in a battle of this caliber.

His eyes turned cold as he looked toward Star Curse.

"Then I'll kill you first."

His figure exploded like sword light, ignoring the obstruction of the gray mist ahead, and lunged straight for Star Curse!

"Soul Devourer, stop him!" Star Curse quickly retreated, simultaneously tapping its staff repeatedly. Dozens of spells coiled toward Lu Qingxuan like chains.

Soul Devourer's mass of flesh burst open, transforming into billions of tiny red worms. Each one carried the characteristic of devouring life force, forming a sea of insects that swept over.

Lu Qingxuan neither dodged nor avoided.

"Domain of Swords: Transformation of Life."

The Chaos Opening Heaven Sword Domain suddenly changed. From the originally gray and deathly silent Sword Intent, a thread of vitality burst forth—this was the power of [Chaos: Life-and-Death Flesh Embryo]! When death reaches its extreme, life arises. The moment the incoming red worms touched the Sword Intent, they first became rigid in "death." Then, a thread of Chaos vitality was injected into them, causing them to turn hostile and rush back toward Soul Devourer!

"What?!" Soul Devourer was horrified, frantically recalling the red worms, but nearly half of them were already out of control, biting back at it. Countless holes were chewed out of its flesh mass, spewing pus and blood.

Meanwhile, Lu Qingxuan had already arrived in front of Star Curse.

Star Curse's seven eyeballs had already burst. Now, ghastly green soul fire burned in its eye sockets, and it shrieked: "Curse of Grudge: Mutual Destruction!"

It actually burned its Divine Soul directly, transforming into a pillar of green fire, carrying thousands of vengeful spirits, and slammed into Lu Qingxuan!

This was a method of mutual destruction.

Lu Qingxuan's eyes were calm. The Chaos Sword God Body shone brightly, and bronze-colored Dao patterns appeared on his body surface—that was the power of the Tomb Keeper's [Bronze Suppression of the Void].

"Suppress."

As the single word was uttered, the green pillar of fire hit an invisible barrier and exploded with a bang. Star Curse's withered body shattered inch by inch, but the vengeful spirits did not dissipate. Instead, they clung to Lu Qingxuan like maggots on a bone.

"It's useless." The radiance of Lu Qingxuan's Exquisite Dao Heart flowed at his brow, and a Soul Fire Heart Protection Barrier appeared. The vengeful spirits touched the barrier like moths flying into a flame, screaming as they turned into green smoke.

He reached out and grabbed, pulling a dark red fragment from Star Curse's remnants—it was the key fragment inside its body!

[Acquired: Key Fragment (Two)]

As the fragment entered his hand, a surge of violent resentment and blood-soul energy rushed forth, attempting to erode Lu Qingxuan's Divine Soul.

"Mere residual consciousness dares to cause trouble." Lu Qingxuan's Chaos Dao Principle vibrated, completely crushing the remaining consciousness within the fragment, and he casually sealed and put it away.

Star Curse, fallen!

But at this very moment—

From the core of the Shadow of the Ruined Market's gray mist, the fragment suddenly erupted with dazzling blood light!

"Use Star Curse's death... to accelerate the sacrifice!"

The sharp shout of the Shadow of the Ruined Market came from the gray mist.

The residual energy after Star Curse's demise was forcibly extracted by the Formation diagram, turning into a blood rainbow and injecting into the fragment. The vein patterns on the fragment's surface instantly spread, as if alive, pulsing like a heart.

[Warning! Great Sacrifice Formation completion: 40% → 55%!]

[Estimated time remaining: Three days → One and a half days!]

"It's using the Apostles' deaths to accelerate!" Mo Yuan, watching from afar, was shocked. "Every time an Apostle dies, the Formation diagram's completion skyrockets!"

Jin Wanxiang gritted his teeth. "In other words... the faster we kill them, the faster the Formation is completed?"

"No." Lu Qingxuan's gaze was cold. "As long as we seize all the fragments before the Formation is complete, the sacrifice will naturally be interrupted."

He turned and locked onto the Shadow of the Ruined Market once more.

Soul Devourer was severely wounded and currently frantically devouring the rear coalition forces to recover, posing no immediate threat.

The only one left to deal with was the Shadow of the Ruined Market.

But the Shadow of the Ruined Market clearly understood this too. The gray mist suddenly dispersed, directly merging into the scarlet light curtain of the Blood Sacrifice Great Formation, disappearing from sight.

"It fled?" Lu Qingxuan's Divine Sense swept out, yet he couldn't detect the opponent's exact location.

[System, scan the Formation diagram structure and locate the fragment's fluctuations]

[Scanning... Fragment energy detected to be highly fused with the Formation diagram. Localization difficulty: Extremely high]

[Initiating Chaos Sword God Body resonance... Initiating Tomb Keeper Brand perception...]

[Localization successful! Target is hidden in the Formation diagram's "Triangular Convergence Point"—a Void Realm interlayer thirty thousand zhang directly above the Heavenly Meteor Star Gorge!]

Found it.

Lu Qingxuan did not hesitate. His figure transformed into a sword light and shot straight into the sky.

But the instant he moved—

From the direction of the Hall of Rebirth, a purple-gold light pillar, piercing heaven and earth, suddenly erupted!

The pressure contained within that light pillar actually caused the entire battlefield to momentarily freeze.

"Ling'er?!" Lu Qingxuan's mind shook.

---

Inside the Hall of Rebirth.

Su Linger sat cross-legged beneath the reincarnation sapling. The radiance of her Purple Firmament Reincarnation Body had solidified into substance. Behind her, the phantom of the Purple Firmament Sovereign Lord was almost completely solid, with clear features, looking exactly like an Immortal Master.

"Senior, have your memories recovered this far?" Su Linger communicated with the Prime Sovereign's residual consciousness using her Divine Sense.

"Almost." The Purple Firmament Sovereign Lord's voice was ethereal and ancient. "Of those three traitors back then... the one who governed fate was named 'Heavenly Fate Child.' His current identity is the Seventh Seat of the Star Alliance Council—the 'Fate Arbiter.'"

The Seventh Seat of the Star Alliance Council!

Su Linger gasped. The Star Alliance Council governs all heavens, possessing nine seats in total. Each seat represents a supreme power with boundless authority. The Seventh Seat, the "Fate Arbiter," was especially known for mystery and impartiality, having adjudicated countless Star Domain disputes over millions of years.

Who would have thought that he was a traitorous Ancient God?

"The one who governs devouring is nicknamed 'Taotie.' He lurks in the deepest parts of the Void Abyss, proclaiming himself the 'Abyssal Dominator.' The seven Void Abyss Apostles are all his Puppets." The Purple Firmament Sovereign Lord continued, "And the one who governs decay... is the most dangerous."

She paused: "His name is 'Rotten Destruction.' It was he who proposed the eternal suppression of Yin back then. Where he hides now, I also do not know. But one thing is certain... he must be secretly observing this war, waiting for the most opportune moment to strike."

Su Linger firmly memorized this information.

Just then, the reincarnation sapling suddenly trembled violently!

Above the tree crown, a rift appeared in the Void Realm, and a pure golden eye emerged from the rift. Within the eye, the stars of all heavens and the birth and destruction of myriad worlds were reflected.

The moment she was gazed upon, Su Linger felt as if all her secrets, Karma, and fate were laid bare before that eye.

"The Star Alliance Council's... Heavenly Fate Child's 'Eye of Fate'!" The Purple Firmament Sovereign Lord's voice suddenly turned cold. "He detected the recovery of my memories!"

The golden eye rotated slightly, and an indifferent, supreme, and seemingly Heavenly Dao-like merciless voice echoed directly through Su Linger's Divine Soul:

"Purple Firmament Sovereign Lord... residual consciousness not yet extinguished, should be executed."

As the voice fell, a golden beam of light shot out from the eye, ignoring spatial distance, aiming directly at Su Linger's glabella!

This strike contained the Law of Fate. If it hit, Su Linger's "existence" would be completely erased from the level of Karma, preventing even Reincarnation!

The Purple Firmament Sovereign Lord phantom suddenly blocked in front of Su Linger. The Purple Firmament Reincarnation Body erupted to its limit, transforming into a purple light shield.

Boom!

The golden beam of light collided with the light shield. There was no explosion, only silent annihilation. The light shield quickly dimmed, and the Purple Firmament Sovereign Lord phantom began to blur.

"Senior!" Su Linger cried out urgently.

"It's fine... this is just a projection of a thread of his gaze..." The Purple Firmament Sovereign Lord's voice was weak. "But you must immediately interrupt the memory resonance... otherwise, if his main body descends... no one can stop him..."

Su Linger gritted her teeth, forcibly cutting off the deep connection with the reincarnation sapling, and the purple-gold light pillar suddenly dissipated.

The golden eye lingered in the Void Realm for a moment, indifferently sweeping across the entire Eastern Domain battlefield, before slowly closing, and the rift disappeared.

But Su Linger could feel that an invisible "Mark of Fate" had been branded onto her.

Heavenly Fate Child... had already noticed her.

She suppressed the chill in her heart and immediately transmitted the acquired information to Lu Qingxuan via the Blood Pact Dao Seal.

At this moment, above the battlefield.

Lu Qingxuan had broken through the Void Realm interlayer, and the scene before him caused his pupils to contract sharply.

The Shadow of the Ruined Market had not fled. Instead, it used its own gray mist as a foundation to construct a massive Flesh-and-Blood Altar! Above the altar, the key fragment floated in the center. Below it, blood-soul energy continuously poured in. The fragment had swelled to the size of ten feet, its surface veins bulging, pulsing like the heart of a living creature.

What was even more terrifying was that three figures were suspended around the altar—

They were precisely the residual souls of the four Apostles previously slain by Lu Qingxuan (including the Mourner of the Departed)! They were forcibly restrained by the Blood Sacrifice Great Formation and transformed into "Blood Soul Guards" protecting the altar.

"Lu Qingxuan... you came at the perfect time..." The Shadow of the Ruined Market's voice came from deep within the altar. "The residual souls of the four Apostles... plus Soul Devourer... plus myself... and the blood-souls of two million coalition forces..."

"This sacrifice... is enough to push the Formation diagram's completion... to ninety percent!"

"By then... even if you seize the fragment... you won't be able to stop His Majesty Yin... from awakening one moment early!"

It laughed maniacally. The gray mist completely burned, merging into the altar.

The altar erupted with towering blood light. The residual souls of the four Apostles and the severely wounded Soul Devourer screamed simultaneously, their bodies devoured and refined by the blood light, turning into five blood pillars injected into the key fragment!

The fragment trembled violently, its volume expanding once more. Veins on the surface burst open, spewing dark red liquid that was viscous and substantial. Billions of tormented faces emerged in the liquid, letting out silent wails.

[Warning! Great Sacrifice Formation completion: 55% → 85%!]

[Estimated time remaining: One and a half days → Three hours!]

Three hours!

Lu Qingxuan's eyes became utterly cold.

He held nothing back. The Chaos Sword God Body erupted with full power. The Chaos Opening Heaven Sword Domain compressed to its extreme, transforming into a massive gray sword spanning the starry sky, its edge pointing directly at the altar!

"This sword—will cleave your altar, seize your fragment, and shatter your Great Formation!"

The massive sword slashed down.

The altar's blood light condensed, transforming into a colossal blood shield to meet it.

The instant the sword and shield collided—

On the edge of the Eastern Domain, deep within a long-dead star, a bronze coffin forgotten by time had its lid quietly slide open a crack.

A hand covered in grayish-white mold slowly reached out of the coffin.

The moment the hand closed into a fist, the entire dead star silently turned into ash.

In the ashes, a hoarse, decayed whisper, seemingly from the end of time, quietly echoed:

"The time... has come..."