Fellow Daoist, Please Reconsider

"How dare you!" The moment Jade Bone returned to the blood altar, the sight before it threw it into a towering rage. Above the blood altar, the sky was gloomy and dark. The void seemed to have been torn apart by some colossal force, churning with visible spatial turbulence. A mysterious formation diagram composed of coalesced cyan light rotated slowly. The blood altar was also affected. Chaotic energies formed a tempest, with the formation diagram resting right at its center. Old Demon Ye hovered beneath the diagram. Even with cultivation as formidable as his, he appeared unsteady in the face of the raging storm. Strange lights flickered across his body as he was forced to channel a defensive secret art just to hold his ground within the tempest. At this moment, another figure had appeared across from Old Demon Ye—occupying the exact spot where Jade Bone had stood moments earlier. It was none other than Bai! This time, he was no longer peeping from the sidelines; he had revealed himself openly! Bai floated in midair, seemingly oblivious to Old Demon Ye's presence as he focused entirely on his own task. His fingers flitted like fluttering butterflies, sending one bizarre, unimaginably intricate seal after another flying from his hands, sinking into the blood altar like running water. As he moved, anomalies repeatedly surfaced across the altar. The most conspicuous was the formation diagram. Its cyan radiance grew increasingly dazzling, illuminating the surroundings down to the finest detail. Even the ghost mist and yin souls were tinted with a layer of cyan. The formation diagram spun rapidly, its runes turning ever clearer and more complete. Magnificent and enigmatic! A vast, ancient aura radiated from the formation diagram, soaring straight toward the heavens! Bai tilted his head slightly to gaze at the diagram, the joy in his eyes growing deeper by the second. Old Demon Ye stood motionless where he was, making no move to strike, quietly observing Bai's actions. Witnessing the transformations within the diagram, an unusual look flashed through Old Demon Ye's eyes. Filled with deep astonishment, he sized up this mysterious stranger who had appeared out of nowhere. Never in his wildest dreams had he imagined that in this day and age, someone other than that lingering ancient fiend would actually know how to activate the restrictions upon the altar. Bai made no attempt to conceal his aura. Old Demon Ye easily discerned that Bai possessed the body of a corpse king. Bai's cultivation was likely inferior to his own, yet for reasons unknown, Old Demon Ye sensed a faint thread of threat from him—one that stirred a measure of wary apprehension in his heart. He racked his brains, but could not recall when such an individual had ever emerged in the Beichen Realm. Demonic cultivators walking the corpse dao were not rare in the Beichen Realm, but those who had broken through to the Nascent Soul stage were few and far between. After all, the righteous dao had long held the upper hand across the various domains. Old Demon Ye had dealt with nearly all of them, yet none matched the person before him. *Where on earth did a corpse king suddenly pop up from? Could he be another old monster from antiquity? Just how many such beings are still lurking in the cultivation world, biding their time in hiding?* For the first time, Old Demon Ye realized that the Beichen Realm harbored many secrets of which even he was completely ignorant. Jade Bone had been using this very secret to force his compliance. If Bai could activate the altar, it might not be a bad thing. After a moment of thought, Old Demon Ye did nothing, letting Bai proceed while he watched quietly to see how things would unfold. Yet the corner of his eye remained fixed on the direction in which Jade Bone had departed. Sure enough, the instant Bai took action, Jade Bone sensed it. "Die!" Consumed by fury, Jade Bone pounced toward the altar with vicious ferocity. Bai calmly drew his gaze away from the formation diagram and cast a glance at Jade Bone, only to turn his eyes toward Old Demon Ye in the end. Meaningfully, he said, "Fellow Daoist, please reconsider!" These words were an unmistakable reminder for Old Demon Ye to assess the situation clearly. Old Demon Ye sneered. Yet he truly made no move to intervene, clasping his hands together and adopting an attitude of aiding neither side. Having delivered his warning to Old Demon Ye, Bai shifted his gaze, glaring coldly at Jade Bone. *Whoosh!* Jade Bone was completely enveloped in purple light, resembling a radiant cocoon. Its true form was obscured beneath the glow, but its aura could be felt climbing higher and higher as an astonishing pressure erupted from within. In an instant, Jade Bone closed the distance, hurling a massive purple palm straight toward Bai. Bai seemed rooted to the spot as though stunned, making no move to resist. Old Demon Ye frowned slightly, wondering if his judgment had been mistaken. Even if Bai had concealed his strength, he should not be so careless before Jade Bone. Otherwise, why would Old Demon Ye himself hold Jade Bone in such regard? In the blink of an eye, Jade Bone was right before him. Suddenly, an ethereal burst of starlight flared beneath the altar. At first, the starlight was exceptionally dim, but in an instant, a colossal pillar of light erupted and shot toward the heavens. Jade Bone happened to fly right into its path, its figure swallowed whole by the beam. Within the pillar of light, specks of starlight twinkled, resembling a miniature night sky. Those twinkling specks were astral essence stones. At the base of the pillar, amidst the astral essence stones, a slender silhouette shifted from illusion to reality, revealing the face of Qingjun, who had been missing for so long! With lowered eyelids, Qingjun hooked strands of light with her jade-like fingers, arranging the stars! The astral essence stones became like chess pieces in her hands, shifting back and forth like true celestial bodies. While seemingly chaotic, their movements followed a singular, profound pattern. These astral essence stones were the very ones Qin Sang had retrieved from Zhitian Peak back then. The Yuanshen Sect had collected numerous ancient formations, some of which required astral essence stones to be laid down; this spirit formation was one of them. In a sense, Qingzhu's tragedy had also been triggered by the astral essence stones. Having claimed the Yuanshen Sect, Qingjun had perused its ancient tomes and comprehended this spirit formation. When Bai flew up to the altar to activate the diagram, she had concealed herself here, laying the formation in secret and waiting for Jade Bone's return. Enraged by Bai, Jade Bone had acted rashly and fallen straight into the trap! *Boom!* The starlight trembled violently. Inside the pillar of light, beams of starlight crisscrossed to form a cage, trapping Jade Bone firmly within. This formation possessed formidable sealing power! Unfortunately, Qingjun's opponent was simply too powerful. Trapped by the spirit formation, Jade Bone retaliated with frenzy. The thick purple light threatened to drown out the starlight, causing beam after beam to shatter. The cage seemed on the verge of collapse. *Bang! Bang! Bang!* Under the relentless impact, the astral essence stones shattered one after another. Jade Bone's demonic flames raged furiously. A trace of surprise flashed through Qingjun's serene gaze. She had not expected Jade Bone's strength to be this formidable, nor had she anticipated how exceedingly experienced it was. Every time it struck, it targeted the formation's weakest points, leaving her no time to compensate. If this continued, Jade Bone would break free of the cage in just a few breaths. *Boom!* A patch of starlight was snuffed out. The purple qi grew increasingly ferocious. Since Qingjun had to anchor the formation personally, she would likely have no time to escape. At this critical juncture, a chain ripped through the air, flashing into the spirit formation and piercing through the purple qi like a spiritual serpent. *Whoosh!* Qin Sang arrived right behind it, barely making it in time, his breath ragged and hurried. Even after exerting all his strength, he had nearly missed the moment. Fortunately, he had arrived just in time. Daring not delay, he pinched an incantation seal. A formation diagram tailored to the Demon Binding Rope manifested above his head, drifting through the air to hover over Jade Bone at the direction of his finger. *Crash!* The purple light collapsed, exposing Jade Bone's true form. Around its body, chains were tightly wound—none other than the Demon Binding Rope! The Demon Binding Rope constricted inward, releasing countless fine threads of black lightning that stabbed into Jade Bone like needles.