397: Green Destiny Sword

On the ice table in the Hanyue Valley Underground Palace, the Qingming jade core emitted a deep blue luster.

Ouyezi was using Kunwu Divine Fire to polish it carefully. Intricate sword patterns gradually appeared on the surface of the jade core—this was the "qingming immortal sword" custom-built for Ye Gucheng. Once completed, it could draw upon the Spiritual Qi of the mineral vein to amplify Sword Qi.

Jun Xiaoyao brushed his fingertips over the sword patterns, and a disturbance suddenly came from the water mirror.

At the entrance to the mineral vein guarded by the Sweeping Monk, dozens of blood-colored figures appeared outside the Buddha-light barrier. They trod on eerie footwork, their forms flickering in the light and shadow; they were the assassins of the Blood Demon Hall.

"Blood Shadow Great Technique," Jun Xiaoyao said in a low voice, a trace of coldness flashing in his eyes. In the water mirror, the corner of the Blood Demon Hall Master's mouth curled into a ferocious grin. As his hands formed seals, the blood-colored figure actually penetrated the edge of the Buddha-light barrier, grabbing toward a patrolling Luowang Assassin.

Blood Shadow Emerges, Buddha-light Confrontation

The Sweeping Monk opened his eyes. The broom swept a semicircle on the ground, and the Buddha-light spread like ripples, shaking the blood-colored figure back. "Benefactor, turn back before it is too late." His voice was calm but carried unquestionable majesty.

The Blood Demon Hall Master sneered, "Old monk, stop putting on an act! We of the Blood Demon Hall are determined to take this Qingming Jade Mine today!" He waved his hand, and dozens of blood shadows lunged at the Buddha-light barrier simultaneously. The blood needles ejected from their fingertips pierced the light wall, brushing past the Sweeping Monk's kasaya and leaving faint scorch marks.

[Blood Demon Hall Secret Technique: Blood Shadow Clone (Condenses a Clone using essence blood, can penetrate certain energy barriers)]

[Weakness: Fears supreme Yang Spiritual Qi and Buddha-light; the main body suffers backlash if the Clone is dispersed.]

In front of the water mirror, Zhao Gao quickly retrieved the intelligence: "Young Lord, the Blood Demon Hall Master is at the Mid-stage Land Immortal Realm. The Blood Shadow Great Technique he practices has reached the Transcendent state, allowing him to travel through shadows, making him impossible to guard against."

Jun Xiaoyao looked at the summoning array. Due to the continuous nourishment of the jade core, the Spiritual Qi in the array had risen to 95%. As the runes circulated, a phantom holding a long sword became increasingly clear. "Is there still no movement from Ye Gucheng?"

"Ye Gucheng has already breached the Pill King Valley and is on his way back. He is expected to arrive at the mineral vein in half an hour," Zhao Gao added. "The newly acquired qingming immortal sword is perfectly suited to counter the Blood Shadow Great Technique. The jade patterns on the sword can draw out Yang Qi to break the Blood Shadow Clone."

The Sharpness of the qingming immortal sword

In the water mirror, the main body of the Blood Demon Hall Master suddenly appeared inside the Buddha-light barrier, and a blood-colored whip coiled toward the Sweeping Monk's neck like a poisonous snake. Just then, a green light arrived, breaking through the air. The Sword Qi of the qingming immortal sword severed the whip in two, and Ye Gucheng's white-clad figure landed beside the Sweeping Monk.

"Scum of the Blood Demon Hall, you dare to run wild in the Young Lord's territory?" Ye Gucheng pointed his long sword diagonally. The qingming jade patterns on the sword lit up under the sunlight, causing the surrounding blood shadows to sizzle as if being scorched.

The Blood Demon Hall Master looked at the broken whip, shock and rage flashing in his eyes: "Qingming Jade! You actually used this stuff to forge a sword!"

Ye Gucheng couldn't be bothered with idle talk. He initiated the Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens. The qingming immortal sword turned into a stream of light, and the masculine Spiritual Qi contained within the Sword Qi surged toward the Blood Shadow Clones like a tide. Those originally intangible blood shadows revealed physical forms within the Sword Qi and were slashed to pieces. The main bodies in the distance spewed blood mist, clearly having suffered heavy damage.

"Form the array!" the Blood Demon Hall Master roared. The remaining blood shadow assassins quickly formed a blood-colored circle, chanting incantations. Blood seeped from the ground in the center of the circle, transforming into a massive blood array. A pulsing blood bead appeared at the center of the array, emitting a nauseating aura.

[Blood Demon Hall Forbidden Technique: Blood God Transformation (Burns the essence blood of a hundred assassins to temporarily raise the main body's Realm to the Late Stage Land Immortal Realm)]

The Sweeping Monk pressed his palms together: "This array has too much baleful Qi. If it succeeds, the mineral vein will be polluted." His Buddha-light surged, forming a pincer attack with Ye Gucheng's Sword Qi. "Benefactor Ye, let us join forces to break the array!"

The Encirclement of The Net

Zhao Gao adjusted the markers in front of the sand table and bowed to Jun Xiaoyao: "As the Young Lord commanded, the 'Three-Ring Array' has been set up—"

"The outer ring is blocked by Yue Fei's spearman array around the valley. The seven star begonia nectar on the poison spears can temporarily disable the Blood Shadow Great Technique, preventing them from escaping." On the edge of the sand table, red spearman markers formed a huge circle, with small flags inserted next to each marker, representing the coverage of the nectar.

"The middle ring is The Unruly of the Marshal of the Unruly. They are carrying the 'Blood Breaking Pill' refined by Cheng Lingsu, which can neutralize blood poison. Combined with the golden light of the Tiangang Art, it is specially designed to clean up any escaped Blood Shadow Clones." On the middle layer of the sand table, golden markers (Marshal of the Unruly) and green markers (Blood Breaking Pill) were distributed in an interlaced pattern, forming the second line of defense.

"The inner ring is garrisoned by Ye Gucheng and the Sweeping Monk. The qingming immortal sword breaks the array, and the Buddha-light purifies the baleful Qi, using both methods simultaneously." At the center of the sand table, white (Ye Gucheng) and golden (Sweeping Monk) markers echoed each other, pointing directly at the core of the blood array.

Jun Xiaoyao pointed his fingertip at the blood array marker in the center of the sand table: "The price of the Blood God Transformation is the burning of essence blood; it won't last long. Tell Yue Fei to set off a signal flare on the perimeter and tell them that the battle must end within half an hour."

In the water mirror, Yue Fei's spearman array was already deployed in the valley. The tips of the poison spears were pointed at the sky; as soon as any blood shadow tried to break through, it would be stained by the nectar and reveal its tracks. The Unruly were patrolling the entrance of the mineral vein, occasionally throwing Blood Breaking Pills toward the ground eroded by blood poison. The white Medicinal Pills dissolved upon hitting the ground, emitting a fragrance that neutralized the blood poison.

The Destruction of the Blood Array and the Secret

The Blood Demon Hall's blood array had condensed into form. The aura of the Blood Demon Hall Master surged, and he had actually stepped into the Late Stage Land Immortal Realm. The barbs on the blood-colored whip shone with a black luster, clearly quenched with potent poison.

"Die!" He brandished the whip and lashed it at Ye Gucheng. The whip shadows carried the pressure of the Blood God Transformation, actually causing cracks to appear in the Sword Qi of the Flying Immortal from Beyond the Heavens.

Ye Gucheng retreated by borrowing the force, and cracks appeared on the body of the qingming immortal sword: "This forbidden technique does have some merit." He looked at the Sweeping Monk, "Great Master, use the Vajra Wall to block his frontal attack, and I will flank him to destroy the array eye!"

The Sweeping Monk nodded, and the Buddha-light condensed into a golden barrier, forcefully taking the lash of the whip. Ye Gucheng seized the opportunity to perform the Flowing Cloud Sword Technique, his figure moving like a ghost among the blood shadows. The Sword Qi of the qingming immortal sword avoided the entanglement of the blood shadows and pierced straight at the blood bead at the array eye.

Just as the sword tip was about to touch the blood bead, it suddenly exploded, and countless blood needles shot toward Ye Gucheng. He had been prepared; the sword body drew a circle in front of him, the qingming jade patterns lit up, blocking all the blood needles. At the same time, he backhanded a sword strike, shattering the core of the blood bead—the Blood Demon Hall Master's natal essence blood.

The blood array collapsed instantly. The Blood Demon Hall Master let out a shrill scream, his aura plummeting back to the Mid-stage Land Immortal Realm, and his body slumped to the ground. Ye Gucheng held his long sword against his throat: "Speak, what exactly does Tianshu Hall want to do by sending you here to seize the Qingming Jade Mine?"

The Blood Demon Hall Master coughed up blood, a trace of madness flashing in his eyes: "You... you are all going to die! The Spirit Devouring Beast is about to break out of the hall. When that time comes, the entire continent will be devoured, and you of Beyond Heaven won't be able to escape either!"

The Threat of the Spirit Devouring Beast

In the Hanyue Valley Underground Palace, Jun Xiaoyao watched the mad words of the Blood Demon Hall Master in the water mirror and tapped his fingertip heavily on the ice table. Wang Chongyang's message talisman lit up at this moment: [The Spirit Devouring Beast of Tianshu Hall is indeed stirring. Its aura has already affected the surrounding Spiritual Veins, which is why the Spiritual Qi fluctuations in the Qingming Jade Mine arose.]

"It seems Tianshu Hall wants to use the Spiritual Qi of the Qingming Jade Mine to appease the beast." Jun Xiaoyao nodded to Zhao Gao, "Have the Marshal of the Unruly interrogate the Blood Demon Hall Master; be sure to find out the weakness of the Spirit Devouring Beast. In addition, have Ouyezi speed up the progress and forge a 'soul suppressing sword' using the purest jade core to restrain the beast's baleful Qi."

Ouyezi's voice came from the message talisman: "Young Lord, rest assured. The jade core has been purified. Within three days, the soul suppressing sword will be complete!" In the water mirror, he was placing a pure green jade core the size of a pigeon egg into the furnace, and the flame color of the Kunwu Divine Fire turned pure white, clearly pushed to the limit.

The Undercurrents After the Dust Settles

In the water mirror, the remaining assassins of the Blood Demon Hall had been cleared away by The Net, and the traces of the blood array had been completely eliminated by Cheng Lingsu's purifying medicinal powder. The Spiritual Qi of the mineral vein became pure again. Ye Gucheng handed the Blood Demon Hall Master over to The Unruly for interrogation and continued to guard the entrance of the mineral vein with the qingming immortal sword.

The Sweeping Monk sat cross-legged in front of the mine cave, the Buddha-light gradually converging, forming only a faint light shield around him to prevent the remaining baleful Qi from invading. He looked into the depths of the Qingming Jade Mine and said in a low voice: "This place is rich in Spiritual Qi. If it can be purified for a long time, it may become a pure land."

Jun Xiaoyao watched this scene and nodded to Zhao Gao: "Have the 'Dark' Hall send more manpower to speed up the mining progress. In addition, the Spiritual Qi of the summoning array is almost full. Prepare the offerings for the next summoning. This time, aim for the Spirit Devouring Beast and find some Materials that are supreme Yang and supreme rigid."

Zhao Gao bowed and agreed, turning to go to the treasury to count the supplies. On the ice wall of the underground palace, the image on the water mirror gradually switched, revealing the huge black shadow deep in Tianshu Hall—the nine heads of the Spirit Devouring Beast were hitting the cage. Every impact caused rubble to fall from the top of the hall, as if it would break out of the cage at any moment.

The runes of the summoning array slowly circulated on the ice table, and the Spiritual Qi was approaching full value. The opportunity for the next summoning seemed to be closely related to the restlessness of the Spirit Devouring Beast.

Jun Xiaoyao knew that the calm was only temporary. When the conspiracy of Tianshu Hall was completely uncovered, a storm sweeping across the entire continent would be inevitable.

And Beyond Heaven was already prepared. The Spiritual Qi of the Qingming Jade Mine would turn into the sharpest weapon to clear away all obstacles for the Young Lord.