Li Chen zoomed backward and settled on a flat rock, waving his hand to release dozens of Heavenly Jades to stabilize his depleted essence. "Brother Gu, we will occupy this area for two days. Stabilize yourself; I shall do the same for me."

  Zhi Xuan nodded in silence, a movement so slow it was as if every joint were made of frozen heavy metal. He stepped toward the center of the dead valley, where the limestone ground had been leveled by the previous energy explosions. He sat cross-legged, letting his tattered robes touch the ground which still hummed with the heat of his silver blood.

  "Guard the perimeter, Brother Li. Do not let a single insect approach," Zhi Xuan said, his voice sounding lonely, like an echo from the bottom of an ancient well.

  With a sweep of his wide sleeves, five hundred pieces of Heavenly Jade poured out from his storage bag. Instantly, the Dead Limestone Peak—previously dark and smelling of blood—was illuminated by a milky-white glow so pure that the clouds in the sky seemed to part. The heavenly essence contained within the jades was so dense it created ripples of aura that looked like snowflakes falling in the middle of summer.

  Zhi Xuan formed the Heaven-Absorbing Mudra before his chest. With his eyes closed, a vortex of energy immediately appeared at his Divine Wheel point.

  "Purify!" he hissed.

  The five hundred Heavenly Jades vibrated in unison, then one by one shattered into fine jade dust, releasing a torrent of spiritual essence so fierce it formed small dragons of light that scrambled to enter Zhi Xuan’s pores.

  Inside his Sea of Consciousness, a storm was raging. Zhi Xuan’s Divine Spirit, which had appeared dim and wounded by the corrosive poison, was now enveloped in an ocean of white light. The Heavenly Samsara Wheel spun at a terrifying speed, grinding every drop of Heavenly Jade essence and transforming it into pure nourishment to wash his cracked meridians.

  "Sssshhh..."

  A brownish-black steam began to seep from Zhi Xuan’s skin—the residue of the Shadow Union’s poison being forced out by the pressure of the majestic heavenly essence. Each time the steam escaped, the color slowly returned to Zhi Xuan’s face, and his essence began to show the solidification of a stabilized mid-stage Soul Transformation realm.

  The silence of the limestone valley had turned into a grand furnace of purification. The milky-white light from the five hundred shattered Heavenly Jades created a pillar of light that pierced the horizon, making the night sky of the southern Yao Gu region appear pale.

  Li Chen, standing at the edge of the formation, could only watch intently while swallowing hard. He had never seen a Soul Transformation cultivator absorb heavenly essence in such a greedy and crude manner, as if Zhi Xuan’s body were a bottomless pit intended to swallow the entire energy of the universe.

  Time seemed to freeze beneath the pillar of light. In the midst of the roaring energy vortex, Zhi Xuan’s body no longer looked like mortal flesh and blood, but rather like a jade vessel being tempered by heavenly fire.

  As the Heavenly Jade dust fell away, the previously cracked meridians within his body reconnected. They were no longer mere energy pathways; they had transformed into shimmering silver channels, sturdier and wider than ever before.

  "Crazy... this is absolutely insane," Li Chen whispered during his meditation. He was forced to move further to the edge of the valley because the spiritual gravitational pressure emitted by Zhi Xuan began to interfere with his own blood circulation. "He’s not just healing wounds; he’s restructuring the very foundation of his soul!"

  In the depths of the Sea of Consciousness, Zhi Xuan’s Divine Spirit opened its eyes. This time, its gaze held no anger, only absolute clarity. With the help of the five hundred Heavenly Jades, the Heavenly Samsara Wheel radiated sharper ripples of Law.

  Fragments of past memories, forbidden techniques he once studied, and understandings of the Dao merged, solidifying into an unshakable spiritual core.

  Two days passed in the blink of an eye for those in a state of cultivation trance. The sun had risen and set twice, but at Dead Limestone Peak, time seemed to stop at its nadir. As the dawn of the third day broke, the milky-white light enveloping Zhi Xuan was suddenly sucked into his body in a single, powerful breath.

  WHUUMMM!

  A colorless explosion of spiritual pressure swept through the entire valley, leveling the remaining limestone pillars into fine dust. Zhi Xuan slowly opened his eyes. His sapphire pupils no longer glowed wildly but were as calm as the ocean at night—deep, dark, and harboring unfathomable mysteries. His divine body was now fully stabilized at the mid-stage of Soul Transformation. Zhi Xuan stood up, his movements so light he seemed to float above the ground.

  "Is it finished, Brother Li?" Zhi Xuan’s voice broke the silence, clear and authoritative, without a trace of fatigue.

  Li Chen stood up, patting the limestone dust from his blue robes. Although he looked refreshed, his eyes couldn't hide a hint of dread as he looked at Zhi Xuan. "You... you look like a different person, Brother Gu. You’ve achieved true stability at this stage."

  Zhi Xuan only offered a thin smile that didn't reach his eyes. "The Ancient Demon Lands require an abyss to match its darkness. Are you ready? Master Taixuan must be waiting at the South Gate."

  "Of course," Li Chen snapped his jade fan open, returning to his relaxed demeanor although his vigilance had doubled. "Let’s see what kind of show that old fox has prepared for us."

  The two streaked away like two bolts of light, leaving the Dead Limestone Peak, which had now become a silent field of dust. It took only a short time to reach the outskirts of Dragon Lotus City. There, in front of the grand South Gate, the atmosphere had become extremely tense.

  One by one, the invited Soul Transformation experts had gathered. Master Taixuan stood in the center, his saffron robes radiating ripples of natural law; Ba Yan appeared more silent than usual; and several foreign figures stood with equally powerful auras.

  The moment their feet touched the stone floor before the South Gate, dozens of pairs of eyes turned toward Zhi Xuan and Li Chen. Their presence no longer brought the leaking energy ripples of two days ago; instead, Zhi Xuan appeared with an aura so suppressed he looked like a black hole absorbing the surrounding light.

  Master Taixuan, who was conversing with a hunched old cultivator, immediately stopped mid-sentence. His sharp eyes narrowed, scanning Zhi Xuan’s body with predatory precision. He felt a stark contrast—the youth’s foundation had hardened like eternal marble, with not a single flaw remaining.

  "Welcome back, Brother Gu, Brother Li," Master Taixuan’s voice boomed, though a deep note of caution was tucked within. "Seeing your spirit, I am sure your preparations are complete. Especially you, Brother Gu... you seem to have washed away all mortal dust in these two days."

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  Zhi Xuan merely bowed formally, a minimalist movement yet full of inner pressure. "Master Taixuan need not worry. This Gu is ready to fulfill the promise."

  Beside Master Taixuan stood a middle-aged man wearing bronze armor covered in ancient scratches. This was General Tie Feng, a mid-stage Soul Transformation expert from the southern military faction known for having a physical defense that was nearly impossible to pierce. He sized up Zhi Xuan, his large hand gripping the hilt of a heavy sword at his waist.

  "So, this is the youth Master Taixuan spoke of?" Tie Feng’s voice sounded like the scraping of metal plates. "Attaining Soul Transformation while appearing so young and inexperienced. However, your aura is indeed quite tough. I, General Tie Feng, greet this younger generation."

  Zhi Xuan did not turn his head, his voice remaining flat, but he clasped his hands. "Gu Fengyan greets the General. It is an honor to be noticed by a general of such a powerful military."

  General Tie Feng snorted, a sound that rumbled from his chest like steam released from an iron furnace. He wasn't offended, but he could feel that behind Gu Fengyan’s formal politeness lay an abyss that refused to be measured.

  "Enough with the pleasantries," Master Taixuan interrupted, stepping forward so the shadow of his saffron robes covered the gate’s stone tiles. "The sun has reached its nadir. The gate between the mortal world and the Ancient Demon Lands will soon loosen. We are the ten souls chosen to pierce that mist."

  Zhi Xuan swept his gaze over the group. Aside from Master Taixuan, General Tie Feng, Li Chen, and Ba Yan, five other figures stood in silence. Two were twin elders from the Whirlwind Sect with synchronized auras; an old woman with a black wooden staff emitting the scent of bitter medicine; and a mysterious man whose face was completely covered by an iron mask—only his cold eyes radiated an unusual purple glow.

  These were the ten Soul Transformation cultivators, ranging from early to mid-stage, who would serve as both pawns and players on Taixuan’s chessboard.

  "Before we depart," Master Taixuan raised his hand, and a small bronze bell appeared in his palm. The bell vibrated, emitting a chiming sound that strangely dampened the noise around the South Gate. "This bell will be the guide to the Rusted Sword Tomb for us all. Thus, I hope these comrades will protect me fully so this bell does not fall into the Ancient Demon Lands."

  The atmosphere shifted. Zhi Xuan narrowed his eyes; his Heavenly Eyes caught that the bell was not merely a guide. Beneath its corroded bronze surface were carvings of red lines resembling human nerves that pulsed subtly.

  "The Spirit-Guiding Bell," Zhi Xuan thought coldly. He recognized that the artifact required spiritual essence from ten directions to keep chiming. Master Taixuan wasn't just asking for protection; he was tethering the energy of ten Soul Transformation experts into a single centralized control.

  Li Chen, standing beside Zhi Xuan, snapped his jade fan against his palm. He whispered via a voice transmission only Zhi Xuan could hear, "Be careful, Brother Gu. That bell has a binding aura. Once you channel energy to 'protect' it, you become part of Taixuan's internal machinery."

  Zhi Xuan did not answer, but the corner of his lips curled into a nearly invisible line. He had purified five hundred Heavenly Jades; his mental foundation was now far sturdier than anyone here imagined. If Taixuan tried to pull his energy, the bell would instead swallow lethal dusky-grey poison.

  "If the Master has prepared everything, then delaying will only rot our luck," General Tie Feng declared, his voice thundering as he stomped on the stone floor. "Open the gate!"

  Master Taixuan nodded. He tossed the bronze bell into the air, where it hovered and grew to the size of a human head. Its chiming turned into a long shriek that sliced through the dawn mist. Simultaneously, Master Taixuan moved a giant mudra, striking his palm toward the void in front of the gate.

  DUUUUMMM—!

  The space before them tore like silk pulled too hard. A black rift filled with purple lightning and a cold air carrying the scent of ancient rust slowly widened. This was the path to the Ancient Demon Lands—a territory long erased from the maps of mortal life.

  "Depart!" Master Taixuan cried.

  One by one, ten streaks of light shot into the spatial rift. Zhi Xuan was the last to step through. The moment they crossed the threshold, Zhi Xuan’s senses were assaulted by the thick stench of death. The Ancient Demon Lands were not a green landscape; they were an expanse of black swamps filled with petrified tree carcasses.

  The sky above was a coppery red, where black clouds moved sluggishly, carrying a crushing aura capable of instantly obliterating low-level cultivators.

  Zhi Xuan set foot on ground that felt spongy and unstable, like walking on hardened, rotten flesh. An intense Yin chill immediately crept up through his soles, trying to seep into his meridians to freeze his spiritual essence flow.

  However, Zhi Xuan’s divine body—just solidified by five hundred Heavenly Jades—reacted immediately; a thin dusky-grey glow appeared on his skin, repelling the cold with authority. Ahead, Master Taixuan hovered low, the bronze bell above his head chiming with an accelerating rhythm. Each chime released a wave of yellow light that formed a thin protective dome around the ten cultivators.

  "Stay in formation!" Master Taixuan shouted, his voice sounding distorted by the atmosphere. "The air here contains 'Ancient Demon Breath.' Do not let your shields crack, or your souls will be dragged into eternal darkness before you even see the Sword Tomb."

  Zhi Xuan surveyed the vast black swamps. Behind the coppery-red mist, he saw giant silhouettes that looked like the skeletal remains of ancient dragons protruding from the mud. What disturbed him most was the silence; no wind, no water, only the heartbeats of ten Soul Transformation experts sounding like echoes in a vacuum.

  "Brother Gu, look down," Li Chen whispered from right behind him. His jade fan no longer radiated bright blue light but glowed dimly to avoid attracting the attention of entities that might inhabit the swamp.

  Zhi Xuan looked down. Beneath the surface of the pitch-black, oily swamp water, he saw thousands of human faces frozen in expressions of extreme terror. Pale, skeletal hands occasionally breached the surface, trying to grab the robes of the cultivators passing above.

  "Souls trapped in the karma of slaughter for thousands of years," Zhi Xuan muttered. "This land is not just cursed; it is a prison for those who failed to cross the sea of samsara."

  The bronze bell above Master Taixuan’s head suddenly let out a heavier chime—TING—BOOM—. The sound was no longer a shriek but a low thud like a funeral bell. The yellow light forming the protective dome rippled violently as it made contact with the thickening copper-red mist.

  "Be careful! We are entering the Mire of Regret," Master Taixuan’s voice was strained, veins popping on his forehead as he struggled to stabilize the bell. "Do not let your gaze fix on the faces beneath the water! Those are 'Illusions of the Fallen'; they will pull your Divine Spirit if your Dao Heart wavers by even a hair's breadth!"

  Zhi Xuan continued to walk calmly, each step on the empty air creating a dusky-grey ripple that shattered the skeletal hands trying to reach him. His hidden Heavenly Eyes throbbed; he saw that the swamp was not just a puddle of foul water, but a massive natural formation absorbing life essence to feed the core of the Ancient Demon Lands.

  Suddenly, Ba Yan on the left side of the formation let out a low groan. His once-sharp eyes went blank, fixed on the face of a woman appearing on the swamp’s surface—a face he seemingly recognized from his buried past.

  "Mother...?" Ba Yan murmured, his feet faltering as his essence shield began to crack.

  "Fool! Wake up!" General Tie Feng roared, slamming his bronze-essence-wrapped fist into Ba Yan’s back.

  The impact snapped Ba Yan out of it, but before he could fully regain his senses, the black swamp water exploded. A creature resembling a dragon but skinless—consisting only of piles of rotting muscle and thousands of moaning faces—shot out with a speed that defied mortal logic.

  "Yin Corpse Dragon!" the old woman with the black staff screamed. She struck her staff down, releasing a green medicinal mist to repel the creature’s foul stench.

  The creature roared, a sound that did not come from a throat but from the thousands of mouths lining its body. The roar created a shockwave that made Taixuan’s bronze bell vibrate violently.

  Zhi Xuan narrowed his eyes; his Heavenly Eyes caught that this Yin Corpse Dragon was not a living thing, but an accumulation of tens of thousands of souls that had failed to reincarnate, fused with contaminated earthly Yin energy. Every movement of the dragon left a trail of black slime that scorched the space around it.

  "Do not scatter!" Master Taixuan roared, his hands forming a binding mudra to hold the Spirit-Guiding Bell from being blown away by the shockwave. "Prepare a combined attack! General Tie Feng, hold its head!"

  General Tie Feng wasted no time. His body suddenly doubled in size, his armor glowing a blinding bronze-gold. He shot forward like a cannonball, slamming his shoulder directly into the dragon’s jaw filled with moaning faces.

  DUAAAMM!

  The collision created an energy ripple that shook the swamp surface, but the Yin Corpse Dragon was only thrown back a few zhang before whipping its body around and lashing General Tie Feng with its bone-spiked tail.