Above in the Heavens, Down on the Mountain

In the sky above. After receiving the Demon Sealing Stake, Saint Huiguang sent a voice transmission to Old Devil Fan and the others. Then, a lotus throne manifested beneath him; he sat cross-legged upon it, raising a single palm upright. In an instant, an ocean of light seemed to spread beneath the lotus throne, imbued with the boundless, unfathomable depth of Buddhist dharma. Traced to its source, it emanated from the halo behind Saint Huiguang's head. At the center of the halo, a Buddhist silhouette emerged, majestic and solemn, resembling a Buddha incarnate. As the sea of light rippled, the faint sound of chanting sutras resonated within everyone's hearts. They all knew this was no illusion. The halos behind their own heads were taking on a wondrous cadence, echoing Saint Huiguang from afar and producing identical undulations. This resonance was the very foundation of the Meditative Arhat Array. Saint Huiguang remained the master of the array, but he had too much to attend to now to devote his full attention to the battle formation, so he had let the Buddhist silhouette in the halo take his place. The Buddhist silhouette could be seen as a sliver of Saint Huiguang's divided spirit or an avatar body born solely for the battle array, retaining only the instincts of combat to sustain the array's operation. Though Saint Huiguang could no longer act personally, weakening the array's overall power, the auras of those within could still converge around the Buddhist silhouette, uniting them to confront the ancient demon as one rather than scattering like loose sand. Saint Huiguang could not stray too far from the battlefield. Riding his lotus throne, he flew to a relatively safe spot on the periphery, where his true body entered meditative contemplation and slowly closed his eyes. His other hand held the Demon Sealing Stake. The two severed halves of the stake had been pieced together seamlessly, leaving no visible flaw on the surface, yet repairing this treasure would not be so simple. Saint Huiguang's white brows twitched slightly, and his cassock billowed gently. Immediately afterward, attentive onlookers noticed a speck of glistening light slowly drifting out of Saint Huiguang's chest. Only upon closer inspection could one tell it was an infinitesimally tiny flame. The Azure Fox Saint King's expression shifted slightly in quiet surprise. Within her perception, this flame seemed nonexistent; it could be seen with the eyes, yet her spiritual sense could detect no fluctuations, nor any heat. To the naked eye, the flame did not seem real either, its form translucent, almost ethereal. *Is this the old bald donkey's heart fire?* *It does not resemble true spiritual fire. Could it be some Buddhist divine ability?* The thought flashed through the Azure Fox Saint King's mind, only to be cut short by a piercing screech of rending air. A beam of five-colored radiance stabbed toward her like lightning. Driven by bloodthirsty instinct, the demon body was drawn to the pure, vibrant vital energy coursing through her. Unaffected by the outside world, Saint Huiguang allowed his heart fire to expand. A pillar of flame tens of feet high rose before him. Though still translucent and ethereal, it radiated an immense aura. An astonishing scene unfolded: the heart fire continued to swell, engulfing both the old monk and the Demon Sealing Stake before the astonished eyes of the onlookers. The heart fire blazed furiously. Saint Huiguang's figure blurred, seemingly merging with the heart fire, leaving only the lotus throne beneath him unchanged. In this moment, the old monk had transformed into a furnace. Within the flames, the Demon Sealing Stake had also vanished, replaced by an even denser cluster of heart fire displaying endless permutations as time passed. Using himself as the cauldron and his heart as the fire, he was refining the Demon Sealing Stake! Above and below, in every corner of the legacy abode, any cultivator watching the battlefield could see this blaze, their hearts in their throats for Saint Huiguang. The outcome of this battle rested on his shoulders alone, an unimaginably crushing burden. On top of that, Saint Huiguang had to sustain the True Wheel of Dharmic Splendor to protect the Poison King, dividing his mind three ways. The toll on his mental faculties was horrifying. Even for a Deity Transformation cultivator, this pushed him to his limits, let alone with his preexisting injuries. Directly facing the ancient demon, the Azure Fox Saint King faced immense pressure as well. The five-colored radiance had condensed to the absolute limit, forming an incomparably sharp needle of light. Locked onto by the five-colored needle, the Azure Fox Saint King felt a mortal threat. Her dark brows twitched; not daring to meet it head-on, her figure vanished in an instant. In the next breath, water pillars surged across the Floating Lake, each morphing into an Azure Fox Saint King with varied expressions and a grace no lesser than her true self. Dividing her true self into thousands of indistinguishable figures—this was the Heavenly Fox Phantom Incarnation divine ability, renowned across the Eastern Sea. Unexpectedly, the five-colored needle was far more troublesome than imagined. Undiverted by the phantom incarnations, it jerked around, darting straight toward the empty space between two of them. *Swish!* A lithe figure flashed into view; the Azure Fox Saint King's true body was indeed concealed there. Had they not known the demon body's current condition, they would have assumed it had retained its sanity and wielded a grand divine ability to see through illusions. Knowing this was likely the innate power of the spirit treasure, the Azure Fox Saint King gave up trying to dodge. She traced a circle with her jade finger, manifesting a water mirror out of thin air. *Poof!* The five-colored needle pierced into the water mirror. Right then, a bronze alms bowl, profound qi, flowing jade smoke, and a three-legged cauldron arrived together, merging into a single streak of flowing light descending from the heavens. The time the Azure Fox Saint King had bought was enough for the cultivators in the Meditative Arhat Array to react and strike in unison. The water mirror flipped abruptly. Facing upward, it met the converging light beam perfectly, carrying the five-colored needle with it. *Boom!* The five-colored needle was instantly submerged beneath the combined assault. Before anyone could see whether the needle had shattered, a piercing shriek rang out, and demonic sounds poured into their minds. Their nascent spirits felt pierced by countless needles, racking them with splitting headaches. A deafening roar erupted. The void darkened violently as countless demonic claws blotted out the sky, threatening to smother the Floating Lake. Black light flared wildly, leaving claw marks gouged across the void. Resembling spatial rifts, the marks bore a terrifying intensity. Confronted with such demonic might, Old Devil Fan and the others felt their hearts leap into their throats; their first impulse was to dodge. The Azure Fox Saint King also drifted backward to evade the brunt of the assault. A flicker of suspicion crossed her eyes as she stared at the demon body amidst the storm of claw shadows, and she silently cried out in alarm. In the next moment, a savage snarl twisted the demon body's face. Howling furiously, it thrust out its right arm; billows of demonic qi coalesced into a ten-foot demonic claw. *Swish!* Flashing with black light, the demonic claw appeared right beside the grey cocoon. At the same time, the Five Elements Coronet unleashed a beam of five-colored spiritual light onto the claw. Now bathed in variegated colors, the demonic claw slapped down viciously against the cocoon where the Poison King was sheltered! Within the grey cocoon, the Poison King was struggling to hold on. Only with Saint Huiguang's protection had he survived this long without ending up as a meal in the ancient demon's belly. They had not expected the demon body to employ a feint, still not fully consumed by madness! If the cocoon ruptured and the demon body devoured the Poison King's Nascent Soul, restoring even one-tenth of its power, the consequences would be catastrophic for them. Little did they know, this was the demon spirit's last sliver of sanity making a desperate gamble. Having devoured the Demon Seed that birthed her, the demonic voice of the Heavenly Dao had found an opening to infiltrate her mind. She had been struggling against that dreadful madness, but in the end, she had succumbed. The Azure Fox Saint King reacted swiftly, bowing deeply toward the bright moon to focus the moonlight onto the grey cocoon, but the demonic claw was faster! *Bang!* The silver ring on the cocoon's surface shattered at the impact, bursting within the demonic claw's grip. The True Wheel of Dharmic Splendor hummed overhead, reconstituting the silver ring. Yet the demonic claw had already struck the grey cocoon with a muffled thud, immediately crushing a deep, palm-shaped indentation into its surface. Its five fingers hooked inward like five swords piercing into the cocoon, producing a sound like tearing silk. In this critical moment, a phantom black thread surfaced on the cocoon—the sacred relic of Myriad Poison Mountain. Every bristle on the gu worm stood on end as its entire body tensed, its mouth stretching wide in a soundless screech as it frantically spewed grey smoke. Had it been any other Great Cultivator present, they likely would have perished here. Through the desperate overexertion of the Poison King and the sacred relic, the grey cocoon gained an added layer of thickness, miraculously holding out against the demonic claw until reinforcements arrived. *Swish!* Moonlight enveloped the grey cocoon, surging relentlessly against the demonic claw. Following Saint Huiguang's will, the True Wheel of Dharmic Splendor reformed the silver ring to shield the Poison King once more. Wincing in pain, the demon body violently wrenched back its claw. Its roar morphed into a grotesque shriek midway through, and with that cry, the last shreds of the demon spirit's sanity dissolved completely. *Whoosh!* Demonic qi and five-colored spiritual light fused into one, turning the demon body into a horrifying monstrosity whose demonic might surged thirty percent stronger than before. Gazing into the demon body's eyes, brimming with infinite madness, chills ran down everyone's spines. Yet a look of delight appeared on the Azure Fox Saint King's face. Without sanity, no matter how powerful the ancient demon became, it was driven solely by brute force and was easier to manipulate; at the very least, stalling for time would not be an issue. She immediately sent voice transmissions to brief everyone, reorganizing the formation to confront the demon body. ... Dishou Mountain. The figure of Qin Sang's avatar vanished into the Five Elements Divine Restrictions. Qin Sang planned to wait until Saint Huiguang began repairing the Demon Sealing Stake and the battle reached a stalemate, preventing the Deity Transformation cultivators from sparing any attention, before immediately fleeing the Wuxiang Immortal Sect. Furthermore, without the treasure anchoring the seal, the cycle of mutual generation had broken. The conflict among the Five Elements Divine Restrictions escalated sharply over time. The expanding aftershocks detonated and tore through other restrictions elsewhere; the entire Dishou Mountain had descended into chaos, hurtling toward destruction. Such tumultuous aura was the perfect smokescreen. With the Deity Transformation cultivators pinned down by the demon body, they could no longer keep control over this place. Unexpectedly, someone else had shared the same thought—and had set their sights on him! Upon entering the Seven Mansions Division Sword Array, the avatar was just about to check himself for any hidden tracking marks when he suddenly sensed an abnormality. This was thanks to the golden sword he had obtained earlier. From it, Qin Sang had gained the *Seven Mansions Division Sword Array* passed down by the Metal Aspect Hall. Though he could not yet command the entire array, he knew its inner conduits like the back of his hand. Even amidst the array's rampant turbulence, his perception of its shifts—especially the surrounding auras—was exceptionally keen. Having entered the sword array, the avatar suddenly felt something amiss behind him. He was being followed! To his alarm, the pursuer's aura was exceedingly faint and concealed. The pursuer had drawn so close before the avatar noticed him. Had Qin Sang not been attuned to the sword array's internal flow, the enemy might have closed right in without him realizing! Both avatar and true body blanched. With a frantic flap of his phoenix wings, Qin Sang's true body turned into lightning, leaving behind a furious snort. The avatar did not hesitate in the slightest. His eyes turned stark white as he swept the Ice Soul Divine Light ruthlessly behind him. The Fourfold Tengshe Seal soared up, yet the Tengshe did not attack, circling tightly around the avatar instead while he hurled himself straight toward one of the sword stars in the array. In the Seven Mansions Division Sword Array, each sword star was a node of sword intent. Although Qin Sang could not control the entire array, manipulating the pure sword intent within a single sword star to mobilize a fraction of the array's power was well within his capabilities. *Whoosh!* Merging with the Tengshe, the avatar darted like lightning. At the same time, a soft exclamation of surprise sounded from behind. The void rippled as a figure emerged, abruptly splitting into three: Su Zinan in the center, flanked by Old Wu and Old Man Yanshan. "Su Zinan!" Qin Sang was incensed—it truly was him! The reason he had not had the avatar flee into the distance right away, but had him enter the sword array to close in on his true body instead, was precisely to guard against this eventuality. Along the way, he had kept the avatar on high alert, his spirit treasure and divine light primed for battle. To reassure everyone, Saint Huiguang had conducted all promises and transactions out in the open; outside Dishou Mountain, countless eyes were undoubtedly watching. Armed with a spirit treasure, the avatar possessed substantial strength and had little to fear from ordinary cultivators, but Su Zinan was an exception. Qin Sang had not forgotten that ever since the Deity Transformation cultivators appeared, Su Zinan had vanished without a trace, eluding even Saint Huiguang's efforts to flush him out. Naturally, Qin Sang had to guard against this demon fishing in troubled waters. Even so, Qin Sang had assumed it unlikely that Su Zinan would dare strike under the noses of the Deity Transformation cultivators—at least not this quickly, before the battle had reached a complete stalemate. Yet this demon was audaciously bold and utterly decisive. Evidently, the temptation of the Five Elements Pill was too great, driving Su Zinan to take such a risk. Targeted repeatedly by Su Zinan, even Qin Sang burned with fury, having long harbored murderous intent. Yet the utmost priority was safeguarding his avatar and the Five Elements Pill. Qin Sang had witnessed Su Zinan's prowess before. Leaving aside his personal divine abilities, the demonic banner enslaving two Great Cultivators alone could unquestionably be hailed as the foremost demonic weapon beneath the Deity Transformation stage. Even Mo Xingdao, aided by a late Nascent Soul puppet, had failed to gain the upper hand against Su Zinan. Confronted with such a foe, the avatar's first instinct was not to retaliate, but to use the sword star to preserve his life. *Swish!* The Ice Soul Divine Light swept forward, its blinding white brilliance carrying a bizarre, chilling fiendish qi. Su Zinan flicked his finger, and a thumb-sized black ruler flew out, swelling with the wind into a massive ruler before splitting into several silhouettes. With a resounding boom, an invisible barrier formed between the ruler silhouettes. Obstructed by it, the fiendish chill slowed the divine light's advance for an instant before it swept down fiercely once more. Yet Su Zinan had no intention of clashing with it directly. To either side, Old Wu and Old Man Yanshan had already bypassed the light, pouncing straight toward the avatar. Having been detected by the avatar was entirely unexpected for Su Zinan, catching him off guard. His Heart Phase Yin-Transforming Escape Talisman could deceive even Deity Transformation cultivators, yet it had failed him here. Blood-red light flared around Su Zinan. His body abruptly turned into a bloody shadow that was instantly frozen solid by the Ice Soul Divine Light, while his true self materialized ahead of the shadow, charging forward without hesitation. Qin Sang's decisiveness saved the avatar. In the span of a thought, the avatar merged into the nearest sword star, his figure engulfed by dazzling sword radiance. Simultaneously, the demonic souls of Old Wu and Old Man Yanshan bore down in pursuit. *Roar!* Chilling light blazed from the sword star as the Tengshe roared into the open, lashing its long tail violently toward the two demonic souls. At the same time, the array's sword power converged around the sword star, poised to erect a barrier of sword intent. Old Wu raised his demonic dagger-axe with both hands, while Old Man Yanshan's demonic soul raised a hand to flick out a droplet of spiritual water—the One Primal Heavy Water he had refined over decades. Formidable as the Fourfold Tengshe Seal was, it was no match for the demonic souls of two Great Cultivators acting together; the Tengshe was repelled by their combined force. By then, Su Zinan's true self had arrived. Casting a glance at the sword star, he brandished his demonic banner, forming a triangle with the two demonic souls as waves of blood surged wildly between them, coalescing into an imposing blood array. *Crack!* No sooner had the blood array formed than a bolt of heavenly thunder struck down from above!