Li Jingyu didn’t stay long in the cave.
She walked along the corridor, her shadow elongated by the swaying lanterns.
Her aura suddenly became unfathomable, revealing a cold and dangerous side in the dark night as she shed her disguise.
However, at a corner, the fierce aura around her suddenly retracted, like a raging sea turning into a calm stream.
She looked up at the tall figure standing in the courtyard, remaining silent for a long time.
Ji Yutang met Li Jingyu’s gaze and felt a bit strange.
Why was Li Jingyu still outside at this time? But then she remembered that Li Jingyu’s cultivation method involved the North Star’s light, and she immediately understood.
The rustling of grass and trees in the night wind and the intermittent chirping of insects hidden in the forest filled the air.
Ji Yutang lowered her eyes, wanting to turn and leave, but under the persistent gaze that clung to her, she couldn’t take the first step.
The restlessness in her heart surged again; her “fiancée” was her inner demon! If she couldn’t dispel such distractions before forming her Golden Core, her path would not be pure and clear.
“Do you have something to say to me?” Li Jingyu finally broke the silence, her heavy gaze shifting away from Ji Yutang.
Ji Yutang opened her mouth but couldn’t let go of the knot in her heart or become honest.
The words stuck in her throat, and after a while, she shook her head and said softly, “No.”
Li Jingyu gave Ji Yutang a deep look, not believing her words.
She could see the turmoil in Ji Yutang’s heart, and every time she looked at her, her gaze was incredibly complex.
Was it because of the “good sister”? But such a situation probably wouldn’t last long.
She chuckled lightly, brushed her sleeve, and said, “If it were just an ordinary altar, Senior Sister Yan and Sister Shen would have returned by now.
The lack of news indicates something unusual.
If there’s still no news tomorrow, we’ll go and take a look.”
The “official business” overshadowed Ji Yutang’s “personal matters,” and she let out a long breath, temporarily freeing herself from the indescribable emotions.
She looked at Li Jingyu calmly and nodded, “Okay.”
For cultivators, a night isn’t too long.
After hastily leaving Li Jingyu’s deep gaze, it seemed like only a moment had passed before the Golden Crow rose from the east, tearing open the gray sky and painting it with a layer of brilliant and magnificent colors.
Yesterday’s torrential rain drenched the entire Dong’e City, washing away the panic brought by drought and red soil.
It seemed that after that downpour, the dark situation would gradually become clear, and the hidden evils would be driven away by the righteous cultivators.
But those called “immortals” weren’t as optimistic.
From dawn until noon, there was still no news from Yan Shouxia and Shen Zao, and those who had been meditating peacefully could no longer sit still.
“The altar might have changed; we should go and take a look.” Lin Heng’s expression was serious, and he didn’t hide his concern for Yan Shouxia and Shen Zao.
No one refused his suggestion.
The words “Earth Mother” felt like a mountain pressing on their backs.
It seemed nonexistent in the world, yet looking at the vast red soil, it felt omnipresent.
Earth Altar.
Nine coiling dragon pillars supported a torch, burning fiercely.
The scorching waves rolled, as if the flames hidden underground were being unearthed, ready to burn the entire world to ashes.
Gao Cang stood not far away.
After building his foundation, he shouldn’t feel the heat, but the fiery waves near the altar made sweat continuously drip from his forehead.
His Life-Bound Artifact was a ball of ghostly fire, shrinking under the pressure of the heat, unable to exert even half its power.
Fortunately, he could draw other forces from the altar to deal with the two Confucian Sect cultivators.
Thinking of this, Gao Cang let out a long breath.
The firelight intensified, and a mass of shadowy mist hovered in mid-air.
It had no form and could transform into any shape, but when it swooped down, it suddenly revealed twelve pale faces with lifeless eyes and long red tongues.
As the mist twisted, these faces contorted, their dislocated features piling together, looking sticky and disgusting.
“Sacrificial Ghost.” Yan Shouxia’s expression wasn’t good.
A book emitting golden light floated in her hand, and as the clear energy surged, it clashed with the black mist.
Not only did it fail to gain the upper hand, but the clear light was gradually tainted by the black mist.
When she and Shen Zao arrived, it was already too late.
The twelve people sacrificed to the earth were only left with blood-drained bodies.
They didn’t even have time to collect the poor souls before the ground, like a wriggling worm, opened its maw and swallowed the corpses.
Immediately, a mass of bloodthirsty and malevolent black mist gathered in the firelight.
Shen Zao stood shoulder to shoulder with Yan Shouxia, looking at the strange black mist, her stomach churning.
A sharp sword light briefly cut through the black mist, severing the part connected to the clear energy.
Shen Zao turned to Yan Shouxia and said, “Didn’t White Palace Master give us a page of the book?” Yan Shouxia responded with a “hmm,” and a page of the golden book floated out from her sleeve, hovering in mid-air like a canopy.
One by one, talismans floated down from the golden book, forming a scripture imbued with immense power: “To sacrifice to a ghost that is not its own is flattery.①” The golden book contained the power of a Golden Core cultivator, and anything outside the “rites” needed to be eradicated!
The scripture transformed into golden chains, binding the formless black mist.
No matter how it changed, the mist couldn’t break through the golden light and escape.
Piercing shrieks echoed, and the earth trembled as if trying to vent all its anger!
Gao Cang had been watching the battle closely.
Seeing Yan Shouxia and Shen Zao about to break free, his expression changed suddenly.
He pushed his palms forward, and pale ghostly fire fell from the sky like meteors.
He suddenly shouted towards an empty spot, “Fellow sisters, won’t you come to my aid quickly?!”
At night, Gao Cang received a response from the Huoxin Palace disciples.
They wanted the White Cang Yin Wood Seed on him, and without much thought, he knew it was Ji Yue’s idea.
Gao Cang didn’t have a good impression of her and didn’t want her to benefit, but compared to contacting others, this price was much smaller.
After weighing his options, he swallowed his reluctance and chose to cooperate with Huoxin Palace.
“There are other demons ambushing here!” Yan Shouxia’s eyelid twitched.
Before this, she hadn’t sensed any other presence.
Was Huoxin Palace’s group of female cultivators so adept at concealing their aura?
“We might fall here, but no matter what, we must get the message—” Before she could finish saying “out,” four beams of clear light appeared in the sky.
Shen Zao’s face showed a hint of surprise, her eyelid twitched, and she clapped her hands, laughing heartily.
She reached for her waist, but the wine jug was empty, so she had to temporarily suppress her craving for “wine.”
“The altar is filled with a strong smell of blood.
Is the Demon Sect using people as sacrifices?” Qin Ruoshui sensed the lingering aura, his face darkening as anger surged like a raging sea.
“Is this the Earth Altar? Can we find traces of Earth Mother here?” Lin Heng suppressed his anger and turned to Li Jingyu for answers.
Regarding the Earth Altar and Earth Mother, none of them knew more than Li Jingyu.
Li Jingyu said, “When the earth cracks open, the Earth Mother sleeping beneath the red soil will be awakened.” Gao Cang’s actions were swift; the altar was completed, and the sacrifices were already offered.
Now, they just had to wait for Earth Mother to digest the sacrifices, break free from her restraints, and descend upon the world.
She discreetly glanced at the female cultivator alongside Gao Cang, hiding her deep thoughts.
“Let’s deal with these demon cultivators first, then destroy this altar!” Qin Ruoshui made a decisive decision, his sword light slicing through the burning flames, aiming at Gao Cang.
Qin Ruoshui’s sword shattered the delicate balance, and both sides immediately started fighting, eager to completely annihilate each other.
As the magical powers clashed, sand and stones flew, raising a cloud of dust.
The nine standing pillars were broken in the chaos, and the torches they supported suddenly tilted downward.
Instead of extinguishing on the ground, they transformed into a sea of fire, the flickering flames illuminating everyone’s faces present.
“The nine pillars are broken, yet the sacrificial fire in the Earth Altar hasn’t gone out.
Can this Earth Altar be destroyed?” Ji Yutang frowned, looking down with concern.
Just as she was pondering, a loud noise suddenly reached her ears, followed by a ground-shaking tremor.
It was as if the earth dragon had turned over, tearing deep ravines into the endless red soil, and a strange, powerful force surged upward like a torrent, with countless flames falling, engulfing everyone.
“What is this—” Ji Yutang was shocked, her body covered in scales, and the instinct to summon wind and rain caused water to swirl around her, dispersing the overwhelming flames.
Taking advantage of her opponent’s stunned moment, she looked down into the crevice, her pupils shrinking suddenly, and she unconsciously swallowed.
The ground continued to tremble, as if thousands of horses were galloping.
A pale hand reached up from the crevice, and with each forceful grab, it crushed the ground into rubble, shooting upward with powerful energy! No one spoke at this moment, but the words “Earth Mother” surfaced in everyone’s mind! “We can’t let it come out—” Ji Yutang murmured to herself, although she didn’t know the full appearance of the thing underground, she suddenly had this awareness.
The sound of Dragon Thunder drowned out the earthquake, and purple-red lightning flashed in the air, shattering flying boulders, but that hand continued to climb steadily and slowly, seemingly unaware of pain.
“We can’t let it come out!” Qin Ruoshui shouted the same words, losing his usual composure, his trembling voice tinged with shock and fear.
He was the first to transform into a swift light and dive into the crevice! “Senior Brother Qin!” Lin Heng’s eyelid twitched, hurriedly chasing after him.
This crevice was the place of Earth Mother’s return, leading straight to the earth’s core.
If one fell without mastering the escape technique, they might be left with no remains! Moreover, the horror of this crevice was not just that; it hid a terrifying monster inside!
Compared to the panic of the Immortal Sect, Gao Cang’s face showed a smug expression.
What if the other side discovered the Earth Altar? Wasn’t the Demon Sect still superior? The firelight reflected Gao Cang’s pale smile, and a talisman flew out from his sleeve.
The talisman turned into a swift light, rushing towards the huge, hideous hand, only to be swallowed by a dark-glowing flame in an instant.
The “Earth Mother Demon God” was different from the Shebi Corpse; it was now in its complete form, the spell had been planted, and next, it would crush these ants from the Immortal Sect into dust.
The airwave hit head-on, the scorching breath seemingly about to roast people.
Gao Cang didn’t like this environment; this place no longer needed him.
He glanced indifferently at the female cultivator from Huoxin Palace who came to assist, suddenly throwing a brocade bag containing the White Cang Yin Wood Seed, then turned and left without a word.
“Sister? Should we stay or leave?” A clear voice sounded.
The female cultivator called “Sister” decisively said, “Leave!” Although Gao Cang left satisfied, looking confident, she had buried something here according to the instructions of the senior sister, and how things would evolve was unknown! They were just here to assist, and since the master had left, why stay?
The Demon Sect cultivators left completely, leaving only the Immortal Sect disciples and the true form of Earth Mother.
Ji Yutang actually didn’t want to jump into the crevice, but Qin Ruoshui went down, and Lin Heng, Senior Sister Yan, and Sister Shen followed! She frowned and jumped in as well! The wind roared in her ears, the rumbling sound as if the world was exploding.
Ji Yutang’s eyes were fixed on a hand—it had an extremely long arm, like an abyss with no end.
Rocks flew, hitting her body with sharp pain.
The fierce wind was like a blade scraping her face.
Ji Yutang took a deep breath, transforming into a small White Dragon less than a zhang long, diving towards the abyss below! After about half an hour, she finally saw the crimson bottom.
Qin Ruoshui held his sword, with a few cracks on his robe.
He stood with Lin Heng and the others, his eyes falling on a wriggling mass of flesh, deeply buried underground, with only a small part exposed, and that endless arm extending from it.
“Is this the true form of Earth Mother?” Ji Yutang frowned at the mass of flesh, a sense of absurdity suddenly rising in her heart.
“It seems it hasn’t been successfully born—” Qin Ruoshui frowned, “It has the aura of Three Light Divine Water on it, did someone injure it before us?” When he reached the abyss, he attacked the mass of flesh, but it had a strange soft armor that couldn’t be broken.
Yan Shouxia suddenly asked, “Where is Junior Sister Ran?”
Ji Yutang was stunned, shook her head, and said, “I don’t know.” When she jumped down, Li Jingyu was still standing in the flames, pondering something.
She didn’t want to think about anything related to Li Jingyu, her gaze falling on the mass of flesh, she asked again, “Can’t it be destroyed?”
“Maybe we need to find its weak point?” Lin Heng suggested.
Only a part was exposed, the huge body was buried underground, perhaps its weak point was also hidden.
“Should we split up?” Lin Heng proposed.
The mass of flesh posed little threat to them, unless the hand climbing upward fell again, but that hand was focused on climbing, constantly destroying the ground, trying to free itself, with no time to care about them.
Standing here doing nothing was indeed not a solution, after pondering for a moment, everyone nodded in agreement, leaving each other a communication talisman for emergencies, then began to use their magic to open a path in the earth’s abyss.
Ji Yutang chose the south side.
Her pace wasn’t fast.
The deeper she went, the more she could feel a scorching heat, as if something terrifying was hidden in the earth’s core.
She didn’t know if others felt the same, leaving a few words in the communication talisman, she didn’t stop moving forward.
The crevice in the ground continued to expand, chunks of scorched earth falling, and in some places, flames suddenly burst out like roaring dragons.
Ji Yutang’s eyelid twitched, a dragon shadow coiled behind her, casting boundless clear light, blocking the flames outside.
She didn’t know how long she walked, but her vision suddenly opened up, not because the crevice had split open, but because of the earth’s natural power forming a cave in the core.
The black-brown scorched earth was full of web-like cracks, and at the center of the spreading web was a ghostly face imprinted on the ground.
However, what shocked Ji Yutang at this moment was not the terrifying, twisting face, but the white figure standing with support.
Black smoke like ropes tightly bound her body—she stood on the forehead of the ghostly face, but as the face twisted, she slowly approached the mouth, as if she was about to be swallowed whole by the ghostly face.
“Why are you here?” Ji Yutang suddenly stopped her steps, deeply looking at the calm Li Jingyu, unable to suppress the astonishment in her voice.
“You all came down, so naturally I had to follow, but unfortunately, I was a bit unlucky.” Li Jingyu met Ji Yutang’s gaze, smiling faintly.
Ji Yutang felt a chill, an inexplicable coldness rising in her heart, her hand hidden in her sleeve suddenly clenched, taking a deep breath, she said, “This ghostly face is?”
Li Jingyu calmly replied, “It’s the head of Earth Mother.” The clear light falling from her body slowly cut through the black smoke tightly binding her, but each time it was cut, the black smoke returned, her struggle was futile, yet she maintained a composed demeanor, as if unaware of the imminent danger of being swallowed by Earth Mother.
Ji Yutang knew that what she should do now was to take a step forward and rescue Li Jingyu from the black smoke’s grip, but chaotic thoughts surged like a tide, replaying past scenes before her eyes, her pupils unknowingly tinged with red.
Of course, she despised herself, but now only she could help her.
If she bowed her head to her—Ji Yutang could feel a strange thrill just imagining this possibility, shaking her spirit.
“You—” Ji Yutang paused, staring at Li Jingyu, she asked again, “Is there nothing you want to say to me?”
“What words?” Li Jingyu tilted her head, looking at Ji Yutang with interest.
In the abyss, where the body of the Earth Mother Demon God was buried, the earth’s evil and turbid air rolled, most easily breeding mind-disturbing demons.
Ji Yutang’s current demeanor was different from the past, probably due to a flaw in her mind, stirred by the demons, making her emotions extreme and uncontrollable.
“Go, leave her here.
She looks down on you, so why should you help her?” The bewitching voice echoed in Ji Yutang’s mind, and soon her thoughts were consumed by this idea.
She stared at Li Jingyu for a moment before finally choosing to turn away.
In the abyss, life and death have their own destinies.
If Li Jingyu were to fall, wouldn’t that mean she was less capable? Then everything she had said in the past would be wrong! Who said a Scattered Spirit Body could only be useless? Who said she couldn’t enter the path? Who said she wasn’t worthy of possessing the “Heart of the Great Dao”? The “True Dragon Transformation Scripture” is, after all, a power method of the demon race, inherently containing some of the unique wickedness of the dragon race.
The red in Ji Yutang’s eyes grew more intense, and she could hardly control her transformation.
Dragon scales climbed up her neck, and silver-glowing scales appeared on half of her face, with a pair of beautiful small antlers suddenly sprouting on her forehead.
Li Jingyu watched Ji Yutang, observing the changes in her.
When the dragon horns emerged, her gaze deepened.
The black aura entwined around her seemed to be intimidated by something, suddenly shrinking back, trembling, and only hovering faintly over Li Jingyu.
As for the twisted face on the ground, it seemed to be struck by a great force, its features dislocated, becoming even more hideous and ugly.
Was her inner demon herself? No, it should be her good sister.
Did the annulment of the engagement affect her that much? Li Jingyu smiled slightly, feeling a desire to touch the dragon horns, but she suppressed it immediately.
Her mind was not perfect either, and she was somewhat influenced by the dark demon’s incitement.
The technique she practiced was the “Power of the Taiyin,” without the supreme Daode Heavenly Book to suppress the dark demon! Seeing Ji Yutang about to turn and leave, Li Jingyu suddenly spoke, “Xiao Tang, where are you going?” This form of address was more intimate than the usual “Yutang,” like a soft breeze wrapping around the ear, causing Ji Yutang’s mind to tremble.
The voice that had been urging her temporarily fell silent, and she uncontrollably turned back for a glance— the sudden vision seemed like a blow, sweeping away all her obsessions!
The rolling earth fiend energy was extremely dense, and the black smoke entwined around Li Jingyu had disappeared.
She initially thought Li Jingyu was a prisoner of the Earth Mother, but now, hearing the heart-wrenching wails and seeing the twisted face, she suddenly realized that the reality was vastly different from what she imagined! She was stepping on the Earth Mother’s head, not about to be devoured, but rather refining the Earth Mother’s remaining power!
No, how could she be entwined with fiend energy, refining the Earth Mother? Wasn’t she a true disciple of the Taiyuan Dao Palace? Ji Yutang was shocked, her gaze glued to Li Jingyu, unable to look away.
The white robe, like clouds and snow, was gradually swallowed by the fiend energy, turning into a red and black cloak, with golden threads on the hem outlining the sun, moon, and stars, as if celestial phenomena were manifesting.
The exotic, enchanting patterns climbed up her neck, like a fleeting flower, then vanished.
But even if it disappeared, Ji Yutang could discern the anomaly; it was clearly a demonic mark condensed from turbid fiend energy!
“Ran Guzhu?” Ji Yutang murmured to herself, stepping back in shock, then shook her head, saying, “No, it’s not Ran Guzhu! She couldn’t possibly choose the demonic path!”
As soon as she finished speaking, Ji Yutang’s body suddenly froze.
The person who appeared before her, raising a red and black shadow, she, she, she actually grabbed her yet-to-retreat dragon horns!
