The power of the Demon-Suppressing Stele was nearly exhausted. Fairy Nangui placed the stele into the elder's hands and charged forward herself to join the battle against Demonic Qingzhu.
Carrying the Demon-Suppressing Stele, the elder departed through the gap cleaved open by the Heavenly Phoenix Plume.
Without pausing for an instant, he sped straight toward the ancient hall on the precipice.
Within the blood-colored space.
The great battle raged on.
The elder's successful breach and departure gave the ancient demon a sense of foreboding. Trapped in this space, everyone had initially been lambs awaiting slaughter. With the two demons joining forces, cutting them down one by one should not have posed much difficulty.
Yet the Heavenly Phoenix Plume, along with the unyielding resistance of Qingzhu and Su Nü, had introduced all manner of variables.
Lingzhuzi's Daoist robe was torn to shreds, his hair disheveled, and the horsetail whisk in his hand was in utter disarray.
The star sand was scattered and fading.
Rumbles of thunder echoed within the Grand Shaman. Her figure had vanished, replaced by the illusory silhouette of the Spring Thunder Silkworm—she seemed to have fused completely into one with her natal insect gu.
Old Devil Fang moved like lightning, his figure nearly impossible to track, yet a shrill, piercing cicada cry resonated constantly, drilling into the mind like a demonic cadence that made anyone who heard it dizzy and disoriented.
Tangible sound waves shattered true demonic qi like sharp blades, besieging Demonic Qingzhu.
Fairy Nangui had used a secret art to forcefully elevate her cultivation, and after parting with the Demon-Suppressing Stele, her strength was slightly inferior to the other three.
She summoned her magic treasure: a slender, elegant spirit sword.
Sword qi wound around her body as she executed various sword techniques, focusing primarily on defense and coordinating with Lingzhuzi's trio to prevent them from being picked off one by one.
The four encircled Demonic Qingzhu. Strange lights of every hue erupted as profound Daoist arts unfolded in succession, each boasting extraordinary grandeur and might, dazzling the eyes of any onlooker.
Facing four great cultivators, Demonic Qingzhu did not fall into a disadvantage in the slightest. In the end, the Nine Lives Mysterious Turtle was also forced to join this side of the battlefield.
Had it not been for Qingzhu's true soul resisting relentlessly from within, they likely would have suffered defeat already, and the elder could never have escaped so smoothly.
Qingzhu's willpower exceeded imagination. He had never once given up, hindering Demonic Qingzhu at every turn. Possessing keen, ruthless discernment, the four great cultivators seized every opportunity to turn the tables and claw back ground.
Meanwhile, the Demon Lord manipulated the ghostly patterns through the ghost seal, entangling the ancient demon's split soul.
By now, the ghost seal bore no resemblance to its original form, resembling instead a Myriad Ghost Soul Seal that exerted an ever-growing influence over the ancient demon's split soul.
To all appearances, the situation seemed to be turning favorable. They were even secretly conferring through voice transmissions, seeking an opportunity to combine their might to destroy the ancient demon's split soul before turning to slowly wear down Demonic Qingzhu.
As long as they held out until the elder repaired the ancient restrictions, resealed the blood coffin, and perhaps even slew the ancient demon in concert with the sword qi, they would be saved.
The ancient demon saw through this just as clearly. Very little time remained for him.
Right then, the ancient demon's split soul suddenly heard a murmuring voice transmission from his true body. A sharp gleam flashed in his eyes. "You want me to fuse with the demonic puppet and execute Split-Essence God-Slashing?"
Split-Essence God-Slashing was an immensely powerful secret art, but the price it extracted was exorbitant.
The true body needed to contend with the sword qi while barely controlling the demonic puppet through the demonic restriction. Moreover, the puppet's original primordial spirit was perpetually restless, making it impossible for the true body to cast such an esoteric secret art through the puppet.
As for the split soul, his strength alone was insufficient.
Thus, the true body had no choice but to release the demonic restriction on Demonic Qingzhu and hand control to the split soul, allowing him to fuse with Demonic Qingzhu and cast Split-Essence God-Slashing to bring about a swift resolution.
Before the seal was restored, they had to wipe out all the immortal cultivators, complete the Blood River Formation, and release the true body into the world.
The ancient demon's split soul saw through the true body's intentions with absolute clarity.
From the moment he, a mere split soul, had developed independent thoughts, the two had become rivals. The true body had constantly been on guard against him, which was why Demonic Qingzhu had remained under the true body's control all along.
Naturally, the split soul would not obey the true body blindly, yet the circumstances forced his hand.
For one, his strength was far inferior to the demonic puppet controlled by the true body.
Secondly, he could sense that the true body was not lying—that sword qi was extraordinary, left behind specifically to slay the ancient demon. He and the true body were two souls of a single entity, their qi and vital mechanisms inextricably intertwined.
Once the sacred coffin succumbed to the sword qi and the true body was slain, all the split souls would share the same doom, their spirits extinguished together.
Yet nobody had anticipated so many consecutive accidents.
The descendant of the Four Sages Palace had broken free with the Heavenly Phoenix Plume, and the pressing lack of time forced the true body into compromise.
This was precisely the opportunity the ancient demon's split soul had dreamed of. "I can do as you say, but you must agree to one condition! Once unsealed, grant me my freedom, and swear an oath never to pursue or kill me by any means for a thousand years. Otherwise, whether I save you or not, only death awaits me. I would rather devour the nascent souls and flee, taking my chances on whether the sword qi will slay me along with you!"
The ancient demon's split soul stated his terms outright.
Without the slightest hesitation, the true body replied, "A thousand years? Fine! I grant you a thousand years! Neither shall interfere with the other within that millennium. A thousand years from now, we will see who is master and who is servant!"
The two demons reached a pact.
Meanwhile, Lingzhuzi and the others were completely oblivious to this exchange, their nerves strung taut without the slightest lapse in vigilance.
***
Upon Yitian Peak.
The elder had already returned to the ancient hall on the precipice.
A massive fissure split through the ancient hall, leaving the place in shambles.
Channeling his true essence, the elder inspected the ancient restrictions and set the Demon-Suppressing Stele back in its original position.
*Hum!*
The Demon-Suppressing Stele let out a soft drone, and the power of the ancient restrictions was restored.
Without resting his feet for a moment, the elder darted toward the mountain hollow. Seeing the ruined altar, he retrieved various spiritual materials from his mustard seed bag and restored the altar to its pristine state.
To fully restore the seal, Madame Li and her companions would still need to repair the entire sealing formation.
However, Madame Li had already set out quite some time ago; it would not take much longer.
Moreover, with the Demon-Suppressing Stele returned, the power of the ancient restrictions had surged, capable of suppressing the ancient demon.
The elder glanced outside before hurriedly rushing toward the ancient restrictions of the other two races.
***
Just as the elder completed these actions.
The light of the blood coffin dimmed abruptly, suppressed by the seal, and the sword qi seized the opportunity to surge forward.
At the sight, everyone rejoiced, knowing that Fairy Nangui's scheme had taken effect.
Yet at that very moment, rather than flying into a rage, the ancient demon's split soul was overjoyed, throwing his head back in wild laughter.
Simultaneously, Demonic Qingzhu and the ancient demon's split soul abruptly changed their course, turning and charging straight toward each other.
"Not good!"
"Stop them!"
Lingzhuzi and the others were caught completely off guard. A foreboding premonition surged in their hearts, and they shouted in unison. Though they did not know what plot the ancient demon had hatched, they knew full well that whatever he sought to do had to be thwarted.
The Demon Lord activated the ghost seal, and the other experts strove with all their might to block them.
Ignoring the Demon Lord, the ancient demon's split soul shielded himself with true demonic qi and charged directly toward the other battlefield. Then, a plume of black qi suddenly erupted from his body, sinister, cackling laughter ringing from within it as it flashed and plunged into Demonic Qingzhu's body.
As the split soul vacated the vessel, ghostly patterns instantly covered Su Nü from head to toe.
Su Nü's face went blank, eerily bizarre.
At this moment, Su Nü had truly become the Demon Lord's soul slave.
However, Su Nü's own cultivation was far too weak. Such a soul slave was of little use to the Demon Lord, and without the ability to use her to restrain the ancient demon's split soul, she had essentially lost her greatest value.
The ancient demon's split soul fused with Demonic Qingzhu.
Within Qingzhu's body, utter turmoil broke out, and his face twisted into a grotesque grimace.
Agony, frenzy, bloodlust, murderous intent...
At this moment, Qingzhu retained none of the refined, scholarly demeanor he had displayed when his true form was first revealed; he had transformed into a true devil.
The true body released the demonic restriction, and the split soul instantly seized dominion.
The eerie cackling grew louder and increasingly piercing. The true demonic qi drifting around Qingzhu's body snapped back in an instant, receding entirely into him.
Chapter 1086