64: Chapter 64 Blood River Blade Shatters, Igniting Killing Intent; Heavenly Compass Conceals Heavenly Prison

The blood and tears seeping from those hollow eye sockets carved two striking red marks onto the small, pale face.

"A Li."

Chen Xuanji struggled to rise, but instead coughed up a mouthful of stagnant blood.

"Benefactor, children say things without thinking..."

A blood-gold light flickered in Gu Han's eyes. He suddenly crouched down and gripped Chen Xuanji's wrist.

Eighteen heavenly prison chains emerged through his body, burrowing into the old man like spirit snakes.

"Don't move."

Chen Xuanji's whole body shuddered violently, his murky pupils suddenly contracting.

He felt an unprecedented power of suppression rampaging through his Meridians.

Those backlash forces that had plagued him for many years were actually being forced out of his body.

"This is..."

"Shut up and Cultivate."

Gu Han coldly commanded.

A moment later, Chen Xuanji's aura stabilized.

"Grandpa."

A Li threw herself onto Chen Xuanji, her small hands frantically wiping the bloodstains from his face.

As they touched, a faint, almost imperceptible starlight suddenly lit up at the girl's fingertips.

Gu Han's gaze narrowed.

He saw that deep within A Li's hollow eye sockets, specks of starlight were flowing.

Those specks of starlight seeped into Chen Xuanji's skin, and the old man's ashen complexion began to improve at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Origin of the Spirit Pupil?"

Gu Han gasped.

This girl was actually burning away her remaining Spirit Pupil power.

He pulled A Li away and injected True Qi into her to regulate her breathing.

"A Li, do you not want to live anymore?"

"Once the Origin of the Spirit Pupil is exhausted, you will surely die!"

Gu Han gripped A Li's frail wrist, his blood-gold True Qi surging into her body like an angry Dragon, forcefully suppressing the restless starlight.

In the girl's hollow eye sockets, the specks of starlight were forced back into the depths, and a look of pain appeared on her small, pale face.

Seeing this, Chen Xuanji struggled to crawl up, his withered palm trembling as he pressed it against A Li's back.

"Benefactor, let this old man..."

"Shut up!"

"Your Meridians are completely shattered; to continue Cultivating now is just asking for death."

He formed a seal with one hand, causing the phantom of the heavenly prison within his Dantian to vibrate. Nine chains emerged from his body, sealing all the vital acupoints around A Li.

The boiling Spirit Pupil power within the girl was forcefully suppressed, eventually turning into a faint star mark that vanished into her brow.

"Big Brother, A Li doesn't hurt anymore."

The girl weakly opened her hollow eye sockets, but her small hands gripped tightly onto the corner of Gu Han's clothes, as if clutching at the last straw for survival.

Only after A Li had stabilized did Gu Han withdraw his True Qi.

At this moment, Chen Xuanji spoke.

"I never expected that Benefactor had already Cultivated the Heavenly Prison Demon Suppression Scripture to this level."

"Elder Chen, since you have already noticed..."

"You must also know that I am about to fall into a situation where I have no subsequent Cultivation Technique to Cultivate."

"Could you please tell me the whereabouts of the Heavenly Prison Demon Suppression Scripture?"

Gu Han couldn't help but plead.

"I do indeed know what you seek, Benefactor."

Chen Xuanji coughed twice, his withered fingers stroking the bronze compass.

"But before that, I would like to ask one question."

"Does Benefactor have the core of the blood river netherworld blade inside your body?"

Gu Han's pupils constricted slightly, and he fell silent for a moment.

"Senior, I will not hide it from you."

Immediately, he revealed the hilt mark on his chest.

Chen Xuanji's murky pupils suddenly contracted, his withered fingers gripping the edge of the offering table tightly.

"As expected... the blood river has accepted a master!"

Chen Xuanji's voice trembled.

Chen Xuanji coughed violently and pulled a yellowed animal hide from his bosom.

The dark red patches on the skin were clearly dried bloodstains, outlining a bizarre pattern: the Nine Heavens heavenly prison suppressing ten thousand demons, with a blood blade piercing through it.

"Benefactor, do you know that the blood river netherworld blade was originally the key to the heavenly prison?"

"It is also the blade worn by the Lord of the heavenly prison."

"What?"

Gu Han's pupils constricted sharply.

The heavenly prison phantom in his Dantian suddenly vibrated, resonating with the blade mark on his chest.

The old man spoke rapidly.

"In ancient times, the Heavenly Prison Demon Suppression Scripture was divided into nine scrolls and carved into the Nine Heavens heavenly prison."

"And the blood river netherworld blade was a Sharp Weapon that suppressed countless demons."

"The Nine Heavens of the heavenly prison are suppressed by the heavenly prison blade."

"However, tens of thousands of years ago, the Great Yin Imperial Dynasty collapsed."

"The heavenly prison vanished, and the heavenly prison blade was also shattered."

"Eventually, the Old Ancestor of the Blood God Cult obtained a part of the core, tempered it, and it became the current blood river netherworld blade."

"It became a Saint-grade weapon of the Demonic Path, no longer possessing the power of the ancient heavenly prison blade."

"At the same time, the Heavenly Prison Demon Suppression Scripture is the primary Cultivation Technique of every generation of the Lord of the heavenly prison."

After finishing, inside the dilapidated Earth Temple, the bronze compass suddenly burst forth with dazzling cyan light.

Chen Xuanji's withered fingers swept rapidly across the compass face, the hexagrams moving like living creatures.

"Benefactor, please look."

The old man suddenly spat out a mouthful of vital blood, and nine phantoms of blood-colored prisons appeared on the compass.

"This is the location of the other Heavenly Prison Demon Suppression Scripture scrolls."

"It is rumored that whoever collects the complete Heavenly Prison Demon Suppression Scripture and the heavenly prison blade can recreate the power of the Lord of the heavenly prison from back then."

At this moment, A Li suddenly tugged at Gu Han's clothes, her hollow eye sockets turning toward the temple door.

"Big Brother, bad people are coming."

Gu Han instantly released his Divine Sense, his expression changing abruptly.

Three miles away, over a dozen powerful auras were approaching the dilapidated temple.

Leading them was Li Tianxing, followed by three Blood God Cult members.

"The Fifth, Seventh, and Eleventh Elders of the Blood God Cult have actually all come."

"It's too late."

Chen Xuanji ripped open the gray robe on his chest, revealing a glowing pattern over his heart.

"Benefactor, the 《Heavenly Secret Strategy》 that I condensed with my life's Cultivation is right here."

Just as Chen Xuanji was preparing to extract it, Gu Han gripped his hand tightly.

"Senior, we can just escape together."

"A Li still needs you to take care of her."

"I am used to wandering alone; I cannot take care of her."

After saying this, Gu Han supported Chen Xuanji with one hand and picked up A Li with the other.

Seeing this, Chen Xuanji used his withered fingers to firmly grip Gu Han's wrist, with astonishing strength.

With his other hand, he tremblingly shoved the bronze compass into Gu Han's palm, his voice hoarse.

"Drip your blood to recognize it as master, quickly!"

"With the coverage of the compass, they will not be able to sense your aura."

"And they won't keep chasing after you."

Gu Han did not hesitate; he drew his fingertip across the blade's edge, and a bead of bright red blood dripped onto the center of the compass.

"Hum."

The compass emitted a clear, resonant sound, and the complex patterns on its surface lit up one by one, with cyan light flowing like water.

The blood river blade mark on Gu Han's chest suddenly throbbed violently, creating a strange resonance with the compass.

"This is..."

Gu Han's pupils constricted sharply.

Chen Xuanji said urgently.

"This compass was obtained by me in the Dragon Fall Abyss; it is likely related to the heavenly prison."

"The compass can conceal your aura; even if a Saint were to arrive in person, it would be difficult to detect."

"But it can only last for half an hour at most, we must..."

Before he could finish speaking, the roof of the dilapidated temple exploded.

"Found you, little mouse."

"Hand over the fragments of the blood river netherworld blade."

"This Saint can give you a quick death."

"Otherwise, this Saint has plenty of methods to make you wish for death."

Li Tianxing stood in the air, stepping on a blood cloud, the vertical eye on his forehead glowing a piercing scarlet.

Behind him, three old men in blood robes formed a triangular formation, blocking all escape routes, their Heavenly Human Realm pressure pouring down like a tidal wave.

At this moment, Li Tianxing's cultivation had also become the fifth level of the Heavenly Human Realm.

He was no longer as imposing as before.

At this moment, Li Tianxing turned his gaze toward Chen Xuanji.

"The Heavenly Secret Old Man, Chen Xuanji?!"

Li Tianxing's scarlet vertical pupils suddenly constricted, and a look of wild joy appeared on his face.

The blood cloud around him churned, his aura rising steadily, and he actually broke through directly to the seventh level of the Heavenly Human Realm!

"Hahaha, it really takes no effort to find what one is looking for!"

Li Tianxing laughed wildly.

"Tonight, not only can I take back the fragments of the blood river netherworld blade, but I can also obtain the Natural Spirit Pupil."

He stared at A Li's hollow eye sockets, the greed in his eyes almost becoming tangible.

"Natural Spirit Pupil! If this Saint obtains this item, I will surely be able to forge a supreme Foundation."