Chapter 5917
“Now!” Kai mustered his last strength to stand up. “Follow me!”
He charged into the waterfall first, his Dragon-Slaying Sword creating a chaotic vortex in front of him, temporarily deflecting the surging lava and lava beasts.
Huo Ling’er followed closely behind, her Earth Fire True Flame forming a protective shield. Behind the Crimson Cloud Demon Lord, demonic energy surged, desperately holding back the opening that was trying to close.
The three of them pierced through the waterfall like arrows, and a breathtaking view opened up before them.
It was a small cave, no more than ten zhang square, yet breathtakingly beautiful.
Countless stalactite-like jade-colored crystal pillars hung from the cave ceiling, each flowing with a warm, jade-like light.
In the center of the cave, a pool of milky-white water, no bigger than a washbasin, lay quietly, its surface shimmering with seven-colored light, an intense, almost palpable vitality and Daoist aura permeating it.
Earth Core Jade Marrow Milk!
Around the pool, nine slender jade-colored stalagmites were arranged in a ring, each topped with a drop of solidified, undispersing jade marrow milk, like stars surrounding the moon.
An invisible force field intertwined between the stalagmites, forming the final natural barrier.
“The Nine Star Spirit-Nourishing Array, naturally formed by heaven and earth,”
Kai gasped, his eyes burning brightly. “This array is unsolvable; only by using pure life force to resonate with the jade marrow milk can its approval be gained.”
He looked at Huo Ling’er: “Miss Ling’er, may I lend you a drop of your primordial essence blood?”
Huo Ling’er didn’t hesitate, forcing out a drop of blood, crimson gold tinged with pale blue, a symbol of the Earth Fire Pavilion’s direct lineage and the Earth Fire True Scripture reaching a high level of cultivation.
Kai took the drop, then pricked his palm with his finger, forcing out a drop of golden-red blood containing chaotic energy and the Golden Dragon bloodline.
The two drops of blood merged in his palm, transforming into a seven-colored, glass-like blood bead.
He gently flicked the bead towards the jade marrow milk pool.
As the blood droplet passed through the invisible force field, ripples appeared, but it did not impede the flow.
The instant the blood droplet fell into the milky white pool,
“Buzz…”
The jade-colored crystal pillars throughout the cave resonated simultaneously, playing a heavenly melody.
The pool water rippled, and a fist-sized, condensed jade essence, as smooth as cream, slowly rose from the center. Its seven-colored radiance subsided, transforming into a pure, warm white jade luster.
Kai reached out and guided the jade essence, which obediently flew over and fell into the cold jade bottle he had prepared beforehand.
Just as the jade essence left the pool, jade droplets from the tips of the nine surrounding stalagmites simultaneously dripped down, merging into the pool. The pool water visibly replenished itself, though the radiance dimmed slightly. The spiritual treasures of heaven and earth, when obtained through proper means, have an inexhaustible source.
“It’s done.”
Kai let out a long sigh, unable to support himself any longer, and staggered backward, supported by Huo Ling’er.
The Crimson Cloud Demon Lord looked at the cold jade bottle, and his eyes, which had been calm for ten thousand years, finally showed a surge of excitement.
He opened his mouth, but only managed to utter, “Boy, this favor…”
“Senior, saving your Daoist companion is the priority.”
Kai smiled weakly and handed over the jade bottle. “We need to leave the Earth Core Demon Abyss immediately. Although the Soul Devourer has been defeated and fled, this place is not safe to stay for long.”
The Crimson Cloud Demon Lord nodded emphatically, carefully putting away the jade bottle.
The three returned by the same route, their journey much smoother now that the formation was broken.
Two hours later, they finally saw the entrance to the Demon Abyss, guarded by the Earth Fire Pavilion.
The moment Kai stepped out of the Demon Abyss, he looked back at the bottomless darkness, his eyes deep and profound.
The Soul Devourer had fled to the Twelfth Heaven, the shadow of the Gate of Reincarnation, the threat of the Evil Path Palace… all of this would face its final showdown in that vaster and more perilous realm.
He gripped the Dragon-Slaying Sword tightly; though the wound in his left chest still throbbed with pain, the Chaos Immortal Power was gradually gaining the upper hand.
The road ahead was fraught with peril, but the sword was in his hand.
He would carve a path through it.
…
In the Twelfth Heaven, the main altar of the Evil Path Palace stood majestically deep in the void.
The entire palace complex was constructed from countless black bones, with eternal lamps centered on the fire of souls hanging from the eaves, their eerie green light flickering in the void, like the silent wails of billions of dead souls.
Nine streaks of grayish-white cyclical energy, like colossal pythons reaching the heavens, coiled around the palace. Each breath caused the surrounding spatial rules to distort and tremble, emitting a groan of unbearable strain.
Deep within the main hall, a hundred-foot-high dome hung with densely packed bone chains, each chain ending in a still-pulsating core of a divine soul.
These were the last fragments of consciousness of powerful beings captured by the Evil Path Palace, providing the energy to sustain the palace’s operation amidst eternal torment.
At this moment, in the center of the hall,
the Soul Devourer knelt on the cold, bone-like surface. His six tattered wings drooped limply, their edges charred and curled, dark red demonic blood dripping from the broken ends.
His left arm was severed at the shoulder, the wound wreathed in wisps of grayish-white sword energy—the chaotic sword intent left by Kai, clinging like maggots to his demonic body, relentlessly eroding his demonic body and preventing the wound from healing.
His aura was utterly depleted; the once surging, sea-like Soul-Devouring Demonic Flame was now reduced to a faint, flickering dark red flame on his skin, even the pained faces formed from the countless souls he had devoured on his scales were blurred. He was a completely different person from
the arrogant and domineering figure he had been in the Abyss of the Earth’s Core just days before.
On his throne, Zhan E slowly opened his greyish-white pupils.
His face was withered like an ancient corpse, his skin clinging tightly to his bones, displaying an unnatural bluish-gray hue.
His long, dark robe was embroidered with intricate runes of reincarnation, flickering with his breath. When he gazed at the Soul-Devouring Lord, a barely perceptible hint of amusement flashed in his pupil-less, greyish-white eyes.
“Soul-Devouring Lord…”
Zhan E began, his voice dry and hoarse, like two pieces of withered bone rubbing against each other, each syllable carrying a tremor that made one’s soul uneasy.
“Ten thousand years have passed. The Soul-Devouring Demon Lord, who once devoured millions of souls and whose ferocity shook the nine heavens, is now like a stray dog, groveling before my throne, begging for mercy.”
He slowly rose, his robes billowing without wind, the aura of reincarnation around him flowing like a living thing, stirring up silent vortices in the hall.
“Having his arm severed by a mere Celestial Immortal junior, his demonic flames dissipating, he fled in a sorry state to this place…”
Zhan E strode down the steps of the throne, his bone-soled shoes striking the ground with a crisp “click.” “Tsk tsk, if those old guys who died from the Soul-Devouring Demon Art ten thousand years ago saw him like this, even the Pool of Reincarnation would laugh ripples.”