Wielding the Plume

The Nine Lives Mysterious Turtle had been the first to claim the Heavenly Phoenix Plume, and his ties to the Four Sages Palace ran deep. Everyone present understood that attempting to snatch the plume from him now was completely unrealistic. Internal strife would only allow the ancient demon to pick them off one by one until they all perished here. All that mattered was ensuring the Heavenly Phoenix Plume did not fall into demonic hands. Every one of them was a veteran of a hundred battles. Without needing a single word of discussion, they tacitly shifted their targets, intercepting the ancient demon's pursuing split soul to cover the Nine Lives Mysterious Turtle's retreat. Seeing that the opportunity was lost, the ancient demon's split soul wheeled around and darted to Demonic Qingzhu's side. The two demons joined forces to completely overpower the Flood Dragon King. *Rip!* The Flood Dragon King was torn in two alive by the pair. Blood rained across the sky before he could even utter a dying shriek. At this sight, every onlooker's eyelids twitched violently, horrified by the ancient demon's gruesome brutality. The flood dragon's essence soul was seized as well. With a cold snort, Demonic Qingzhu clenched his fist. The essence soul and all the shattered flesh were squeezed together, condensing into an enormous sphere of blood as he refined it into its purest essence. *Whoosh!* Without wasting a single drop of the Flood Dragon King's vital energy, the sphere was hurled into the blood coffin. Crimson runes flickered across the coffin's surface, and the faint outline of a profound formation emerged. The sword qi took on a hazy tinge of blood. Meanwhile, the blood coffin's menacing aura surged dramatically. The storm grew even more violent. As one waned, the other waxed. Chilled to the marrow by this spectacle, everyone realized the ancient demon's grim intent: it meant to sacrifice the blood and souls of every living being here to grind down the sword qi and release its true body! "This is an ancient treasure of the Demon Sea's Phoenix clan, supposedly refined from a Heavenly Phoenix Plume..." The Nine Lives Mysterious Turtle flashed to Fairy Nangui's side, obediently surrendering the plume and recounting everything he knew in detail. Fairy Nangui activated the Demon-Suppressing Stele to keep watch. The elderly man took the Heavenly Phoenix Plume. After probing it with his divine sense, his expression turned grave. "Although this treasure was refined into something akin to a magic treasure, it still carries the aura of a Heavenly Phoenix. It requires a unique treasure-refining secret art to be refined and claimed for personal use. Do you know the Phoenix clan's art of controlling treasures?" His final question was directed at the Nine Lives Mysterious Turtle. The turtle shook his head with an embarrassed chuckle. "We were merely cooperating. The Flood Dragon King and King Nine Phoenix were always wary of us; they would never entrust such a crucial art to me." "Perhaps we could use our patriarch's treasure-refining secret art to forcibly wield it, but its power would inevitably be drastically reduced. I fear it could only send one person out..." the old man said heavily. Fairy Nangui relayed this to the others via divine sense. "We do not know how much longer the sword qi can hold out. Once the ancient demon breaks its seal, not only will we die without a burial place, but all life in the Canglang Sea will be plunged into ruin. Our only option is to repair the ancient restrictions and restore the seal's power, allowing it to work alongside the sword qi to reseal the ancient demon. There is discord between the ancient demon's true body and its split soul, preventing the soul from controlling the demonic puppet. Without the true body directing it, the puppet's strength will surely plummet." By "demonic puppet," she meant Demonic Qingzhu. They had already discerned that the split soul and the true body harbored their own separate motives. Though forced by circumstances to join hands, they remained deeply wary of one another. Upon hearing her transmission, the experts displayed varied expressions. The struggle at the center of the storm was growing increasingly intense, to the point where the blood coffin and the sword qi could barely be distinguished through the tempest. Yet the tremendous presence of the blood coffin was terrifying to behold. Conversely, the sword qi lacked a source, leaving everyone uncertain how much longer it could suppress the coffin. Moreover, Demonic Qingzhu and the split soul radiated such overwhelming demonic might that they might not even survive until the blood coffin broke free. "Do you two Daoists intend for us to risk our lives covering your escape?" Old Devil Fang had taken the form of a dead-leaf cicada, making his expression unreadable, but his tone dripped with clear displeasure. "To repair the ancient restrictions, the Demon-Suppressing Stele must be returned, and only we know how to wield it. You need not worry—only my senior brother will leave. I will remain behind!" Fairy Nangui stated coldly. "Junior Sister..." The old man tried to object, but she cut him off. "Senior Brother, although you cast the Yuan Sacrifice Great Technique after I did, your grave injuries have yet to heal, and you cannot hold out for much longer. If you repair the ancient restrictions as quickly as possible and seal the ancient demon, you will save us all..." Fairy Nangui allowed their divine senses to sweep over the Heavenly Phoenix Plume. Everyone could tell she spoke the truth. As matters stood, there was truly no other way. No sooner said than done. Exchanging divine sense messages, they assessed the situation and made their decision in the span of a single breath. None among them lacked resolve. The Nine Lives Mysterious Turtle and the Grand Shaman both transmitted everything they knew regarding the two clans' ancient restrictions to the elderly man. In truth, they had never completely broken the seal, merely unraveling a small portion of it, meaning there was still a chance to restore it. By then, the ancient demon's split soul and Demonic Qingzhu had just finished tearing the Flood Dragon King apart. Watching the remains cast into the blood coffin, the split soul wore a greedy, bloodthirsty look, subconsciously licking its lips, though it did not dare overstep. Demonic Qingzhu's blood-red eyes shifted, locking straight onto the elderly man holding the Heavenly Phoenix Plume. "Kill!" he barked coldly. They, too, understood that if anyone escaped through the crimson crystal barrier and repaired the seal, the ancient demon's true body would have no hope of turning the tables. The old man's position was far better than the Flood Dragon King's had been; he had numerous allies. "Block them!" Lingzhuzi shouted. Fully prepared, the group immediately positioned themselves in front of the old man to buy him time. Their division of labor was clear. The Grand Shaman, Old Devil Fang, Lingzhuzi, and the Nine Lives Mysterious Turtle besieged Demonic Qingzhu. Having clashed with the ancient demon's split soul multiple times, the Demon Lord understood it best. Fairy Nangui covered the old man while assisting the Demon Lord in holding off the split soul. They had already treated Demonic Qingzhu with the utmost vigilance. Yet the moment blows were exchanged, chaos erupted. Demonic Qingzhu crossed the void toward them. True demonic qi blotted out the sky, and Demonic Qingzhu's figure became elusive. His movement technique was so extraordinary that none of them could pinpoint his true location for a time. Fortunately, none of them were ordinary cultivators, and their coordination was seamless. Thunder, star sand, and a phantom turtle shell merged into a formidable barrier to resist the true demonic qi. Amidst it, a yellow beam of light darted back and forth, leaving behind afterimages of dead-leaf cicadas to patch any vulnerabilities—Old Devil Fang at work. All manner of anomalous phenomena manifested at once, crashing violently into the true demonic qi. Demonic Qingzhu's silhouette surfaced within the dark haze, only to vanish an instant later. *Rip!* Under everyone's stunned gaze, a hand tore straight through their meticulously woven barrier, reaching for the Nine Lives Mysterious Turtle like a bolt of lightning. With a ruthless eye, Demonic Qingzhu had instantly identified the slightly weaker Nine Lives Mysterious Turtle as the vulnerable link. His divine ability thwarted once more, and seeing Demonic Qingzhu tear through the barrier and close in rapidly, the Nine Lives Mysterious Turtle felt his soul almost leap from his skin. The others did not hesitate for a second, launching an all-out effort to rescue him. At the critical juncture, the Demon-Suppressing Stele appeared once again, joining forces with the Nine Lives Mysterious Turtle's true carapace to block the lethal blow. *Crack!* His heart pounding with terror, the Nine Lives Mysterious Turtle recalled his carapace. Seeing the glaring finger holes punched through it, his face drained of all color. He had refined that carapace day and night until its defensive power surpassed even a cultivator's magic treasure, yet the demonic claws had pierced clean through it. Even with four great masters besieging Demonic Qingzhu, they had failed to stop him and nearly cost the Nine Lives Mysterious Turtle his life. Only now did they truly grasp the terrifying extent of Demonic Qingzhu's power. "Go deal with the ancient demon's split soul!" Seeing this, Fairy Nangui had no choice but to transmit an order to the Nine Lives Mysterious Turtle, adjusting their formation.