The strange phenomenon in the sky gradually subsided, and the single eye that had been peering at the mortal world slowly closed, but the oppressive might it left behind pressed down heavily on the hearts of every living being, like an invisible mountain range.
The darkness before dawn is the deepest.
Inside the main hall, a bonfire burned fiercely, its crackling sparks occasionally flying up, illuminating the silhouettes of two people sitting opposite each other.
“That Talisman from last night… is not a technique of the mortal realm.” The Traveling Taoist was the first to break the silence. His eyes, sharpened by years of wind and dust, were fixed intently on Gu Xuan, as if trying to see straight through him.
He wore a faded, washed-out Taoist robe, carried a Peach Wood Sword on his back, and his finger joints were thick and calloused, clearly indicating he was a cultivator whose external martial arts were not weak.
Gu Xuan appeared calm, using a pair of wooden chopsticks to stir the churning tea in the ceramic pot. The mist rising from the boiling water blurred his handsome face.
“If the Taoist master does not believe me, he may inspect it himself.”
Before the words had fully faded, he took something out from his sleeve and flicked it with his finger.
It was the charred remains of a Talisman that had been completely burned, already reduced to a piece of blackened ash. Yet, bizarrely, it did not scatter but instead condensed into a thin, hard shell.
The Traveling Taoist’s gaze sharpened; this level of Talisman Power, capable of gathering instead of dispersing after being burned, was certainly no ordinary item.
Without the slightest hesitation, he reached out to take it.
He was confident that with his years of cultivation, even if some malevolent energy remained on the Talisman ash, he could instantly dissolve it.
However, the moment his fingertips were about to touch the Talisman ash, a needle-like stinging pain suddenly shot up from his fingertip!
“Not good!” The Traveling Taoist was greatly alarmed. He swiftly retreated half a step, rapidly tapping his right arm several times with his left hand. His powerful internal energy surged like a rushing river, attempting to force out the foreign substance that had invaded his body.
He saw clearly: a black thread, thinner than a strand of hair, had just drilled out of the Talisman ash and entered the skin of his fingertip!
But strangely, after circulating his energy for several cycles, the stinging sensation vanished into thin air.
That extremely Yin-cold black thread seemed never to have appeared, dissipating without a trace within his meridians, leaving no mark behind.
“It’s just a bit of residual poison left after the Wūzhòu died; it’s nothing significant, the Taoist master need not be nervous.” Gu Xuan’s voice drifted over as he retrieved the piece of Talisman ash, his tone as flat as if he were discussing the weather.
The Traveling Taoist’s face cycled through shades of green and white, but inside, a monstrous wave was churning.
He wasn't worried about the small amount of poison, but about the other party’s methods!
This young man could control a wisp of Yin Energy with such exquisite precision—sharp as a needle upon entry, yet capable of dissipating on its own afterward. This level of control was unheard of!
Little did he know that the moment he touched the Talisman ash, Gu Xuan had used the wisp of Black Water Pool Yin Energy implanted in his body to complete the final ‘probe.’
The opponent’s meridians were pure, his Soul stable, showing no signs of any strange entity parasitizing him.
This person could be of use.
“I know what the Taoist master is investigating.” Gu Xuan stopped beating around the bush, moved the tea pot away from the fire, and looked directly into the other’s eyes, stating word by word: “The unrest in the Bei Jing, correct? Unfortunately for you, I just saw four words from the residual memory of a Wūzhòu—‘The Northern Altar General awakens.’”
The Traveling Taoist’s pupils contracted sharply!
The four words, ‘The Northern Altar General awakens,’ were the greatest crisis his sect elders had deduced from divination—it was top secret!
How did this young man know?
“I can tell you how to safely pass through that black fog area and reach the core zone.” Gu Xuan threw out a bait the other could not refuse, “In exchange, I need you to share all intelligence regarding the Bei Jing.”
“Why should I trust you?” The Traveling Taoist suppressed the shock in his heart and sneered, his vigilance deepening.
He would rather believe this was a meticulously planned deception.
Gu Xuan did not answer directly, instead asking a seemingly unrelated question: “How many people did your sect send to investigate the black fog area? And how many returned alive?”
This question struck the Traveling Taoist’s heart like a heavy hammer.
His face instantly turned extremely ugly. He moved his lips for a long time before finally squeezing out a few words through clenched teeth: “…Seven entered, three returned.” He paused, his voice laced with uncontrollable pain and fear, “But they all went mad, only repeating two words—‘Lighting Ritual.’”
“Then that’s right,” Gu Xuan nodded, seemingly having expected this result. “Because that Altar doesn't need living people at all. What it wants is the ‘Igniter.’”
He wasted no more words, taking out the tattered leather scroll obtained from the Wūzhòu nest and slowly unfolding it before the Traveling Taoist.
On the scroll, the four distorted characters written in blood carried a fierce aura that rushed out—"Destroy its Eye Quickly!"
“These Wūzhòu are merely outer sentinels and Nutrient,” Gu Xuan spoke slowly, but every word hammered into the Traveling Taoist’s mind like a nail. “The true core is thirty li north at ‘Broken Spine Ridge.’ They are not trying to build a nest there, but conducting an… awakening ritual. As for the ‘Lighting Ritual,’” he paused, a cold glint flashing in his eyes, “that is not for illumination, but sacrifice! Using the Soul of living people as fuel to light the sleeping ‘Eye’ of the Altar!”
He stared intently at the Traveling Taoist, his tone chilling: “If you go back now and report the intelligence you gathered, and they send more people, the result will be the same—they will all be sent to die. It’s better to cooperate with me. I will handle breaking the formation, and you will lead the way. After it’s done, we each get what we need.”
His words struck the Traveling Taoist like a thunderclap, completely shattering his final psychological defense.
He recalled the three deranged fellow disciples, remembering the expressions of terror mixed with fanaticism on their faces.
It turned out that was not madness, but the precursor to the Soul being sacrificed!
“Fine… I agree to it!” After a long silence, the Traveling Taoist finally made up his mind.
The two wasted no more time. After making brief preparations, they set off immediately.
They strictly adhered to the principle of resting by day and traveling by night, avoiding all areas where they might encounter Wūzhòu.
Gu Xuan seemed to know this land like the back of his hand, always finding the most hidden paths.
On the third day, during the darkest hour before dawn, they finally reached the edge of Broken Spine Ridge.
The sight before them made even the well-traveled Traveling Taoist gasp in shock.
The entire mountain range looked as if it had been cleaved in two by a giant axe from beyond the heavens, forming a massive, bottomless rift valley.
At the entrance of the rift valley stood a single, broken stone pillar, covered in strange Fu Wen that writhed and twisted as if alive.
More chilling than this was the scene scattered across the ground surrounding the rift.
Dozens of long-dried corpses were scattered everywhere, resembling eerie statues.
Without exception, they all faced the pitch-black rift valley, maintaining an extremely strange posture—hands raised high, palms facing the sky, as if silently supporting something unseen.
“This is… the final destination of those who went missing…” The Traveling Taoist’s voice was dry. He recognized the tattered clothing on several of the corpses as belonging to his missing sect members. “They… really came to perform the ‘Lighting Ritual.’”
Gu Xuan ignored his lament. His eyes narrowed slightly, and a faint, eerie light flashed deep within his pupils.
In his perception, although life force had ceased in these corpses, an extremely faint Resonance Frequency remained in their brain areas.
This frequency was exactly consistent with the energy fluctuations of the crystal cores he had seen in the Wūzhòu memories!
A terrifying thought exploded in Gu Xuan’s mind! He suddenly realized.
So that’s how it is!
The so-called ‘Lighting Ritual’ was not about making living people light some flame at all, but about positioning them in predetermined spots to use their bodies as nodes for energy conduction!
These dried corpses were the ‘Lamp Stands’ already in place!
Once enough were gathered, nine converging into one, the entire Altar Formation would be fully activated, and the sleeping ‘Eye’ would awaken completely!
He quickly scanned the area, counting silently.
One, two, three… eight!
A total of eight main nodes, plus dozens of surrounding auxiliary nodes, were all in position!
Only the last core vacancy remained!
Gu Xuan’s gaze slowly shifted to his side, landing on the Traveling Taoist.
As if sensing his thoughts, the Traveling Taoist also turned to look at him, his eyes incredibly complex—containing fear, resolve, and a hint of inquiry: “You want to… stop it?”
Gu Xuan slowly nodded, but a cold arc curved his lips: “Of course. But I need one last ‘Igniter.’”
The moment the words fell, he moved!
His entire body snapped taut like a fully drawn bow, his figure transforming into a blurred afterimage, moving faster than the limits of human vision!
A fair and slender hand, accompanied by a sharp whistle tearing through the air, lunged directly for the vital point at the back of the Traveling Taoist’s neck!
The Traveling Taoist was, after all, a battle-hardened cultivator; he had sensed danger the instant Gu Xuan spoke.
He roared, stomping the ground hard. While retreating rapidly, he thrust his sword back toward Gu Xuan!
However, he was fast, but Gu Xuan’s follow-up was faster!
The moment he mobilized his internal energy, a chilling Yin Energy that had long lain dormant deep within his meridians suddenly erupted!
It was the black thread Gu Xuan had quietly implanted in his body during the ‘test’ using the Talisman ash, the one he had mistakenly believed had dissipated on its own!
The Yin Energy backfired, causing the Traveling Taoist’s body to stiffen, resulting in a fatal delay in his movement.
It was this momentary pause that decided life or death!
Gu Xuan’s figure was already ghost-like close. The hand aimed at the back of the neck feinted, and the true killing move—the other hand—smashed fiercely into the Traveling Taoist’s chest!
A specially made Talisman embedded with a Mayfly Remnant Core was accurately and flawlessly pressed into the *Danzhong* acupoint on his chest!
“You shouldn’t have… followed me for so long.” Gu Xuan’s voice was like a cold, bone-chilling sound from the Nine Hells.
The Talisman activated instantly. The vast spiritual energy contained within the Mayfly Remnant Core, mixed with the bizarre power of the Black Water Pool, violently surged into the Traveling Taoist’s Spirit Sea!
An illusion instantly manifested!
The focus in the Traveling Taoist’s eyes vanished, replaced by a fanatical, ultimate sacred light.
In his world, he saw himself walking proudly to the center of the Altar. Facing overwhelming demons, he resolutely raised the torch in his hand, personally igniting the blazing holy fire of salvation, saving the entire city behind him as the masses cheered for him!
In reality, he merely smiled maniacally, like a puppet controlled by strings, staggering toward the last empty spot before the rift valley, and then slowly… raising his hands high.
The ninth ‘Point-lighter’ was in position!
Buzz—!
The moment the nine core corpses and the Traveling Taoist took their positions, the entire Broken Spine Ridge emitted a dull roar!
Nine invisible pillars of energy shot into the sky, converging in mid-air, and a massive, complex formation pattern was about to fully take shape!
“Now is the time!” A sharp light burst from Gu Xuan’s eyes.
He did not retreat; instead, he stepped forward, sinking his consciousness into his Spirit Sea, and roared: “Demon Suppression Hall, open! Collect!”
Instantly, a suction force far more terrifying and domineering than the Altar’s awakening erupted violently from Gu Xuan’s Spirit Sea!
In the depths of his pitch-black Spirit Sea, the phantom image of an ancient and majestic palace—the Demon Suppression Hall—suddenly manifested!
That suction force locked onto the crystal core projections in the brains of all nine dried corpses, as well as the Talisman core frantically burning inside the Traveling Taoist, across the distance with precision!
Rumble!!
Amidst a deafening sound seemingly originating from the soul level, the nine dried corpses, along with the not-yet-fully-condensed crystal core projections in their brains, instantly turned to dust!
The Traveling Taoist couldn't even utter a scream; his body was drained of all energy, turning into a new dried corpse, and he fell straight down!
Nine massive and pure streams of energy, mixed with countless shattered soul fragments, were forcibly plundered and devoured by the Demon Suppression Hall, all sucked into Gu Xuan’s Spirit Sea!
Inside the Spirit Sea, that dead-silent Black Water Pool instantly boiled!
The pool water churned, waves rolled, and at the deepest bottom of the boiling pool, the phantom image of an ancient stone door, which had been tightly shut, actually let out a loud creak under the impact of this massive energy, opening a barely perceptible crack!
A line of eerie light shone through the gap, and an ancient, hoarse, low murmur that seemed to span eons sounded directly in the depths of Gu Xuan’s soul:
“Welcome back… Gatekeeper.”
Pfft—!
In reality, Gu Xuan suddenly knelt on one knee, spitting out a large mouthful of blood as black as ink.
The blood fell onto the withered yellow ground, possessing strong corrosive properties, sizzling and winding away like little black snakes come to life.
His face was pale as paper, and his body trembled violently from enduring the excessively massive energy impact, but in his lowered eyes, an unprecedented, dazzling light ignited.