The lava of the Dragon Abyss's earth pulse glowed with strange golden patterns. Lu Qingyang retreated seven steps, evading the whip shadow of Chijiao Guard Commander Ao Lie. The charred rhino hide on his soles left snake-like burn marks on the rock surface.
The taotie patterns on the nine Dragon Suppression Pillars, having absorbed enough blood Qi, now gleamed with a metallic luster like bronze scales. Ancient Wu Clan blood, seeping from the pillar's cracks, carried the scent of decaying grass, mixing with the sulfur smell of the magma to form a pungent, poisonous mist that even caused ripples in a Nascent Soul Cultivator's Protective Aura.
"What a slippery little thief!" Ao Lie declared, sweeping his arm. The long whip in his hand shot out like a spiritual snake leaving its Hole, striking fiercely with a sharp Aura at the three inverted stalactites.
With a crisp "crack," the three stalactites shattered, turning into countless flying fragments. However, these fragments were no ordinary stones; as they scattered, they shone with points of fire like shooting stars. It turned out that Ao Lie's Dragon Breath fire seeds were hidden within them!
Lu Qingyang rolled to the southeast Zhen position, his Qingming Sword deflecting a bronze fragment engraved with the characters "Tianxuan." As the fragment grazed Wanbao Louzhu Su Meiniang's ear, the nine-headed snake ring on her chest suddenly grew hot, and the hair-thin inscriptions on the ring body resonated with the fragment's cracks.
Third Prince Ao Qin's Skyflame Halberd arrived, tearing through the Void Realm. The purple lightning at the halberd's tip ripped Lu Qingyang's left shoulder Dao robe, revealing the Stinky Tofu Talisman stick to his inner lining.
"The Third Prince's welcoming gift is quite unique!" he inwardly sighed. This xuanming heavy water was a rare item in the world, not only bone-chillingly cold but also possessing powerful corrosive properties. However, to complete his mission, he had no choice but to endure the intense pain and unhesitatingly splash this precious xuanming heavy water onto the halberd's Dragon pattern.
In an instant, the extreme cold Qi met the halberd's lightning and fire, triggering an astonishing explosion. Ice mist permeated the air, as if the entire space had been frozen. He seized this chaotic moment to quickly insert half of a jade pendant into the Dragon Suppression Pillar's groove.
The pillar rotated three inches with a rumble. The River Luo Star Map projected from the dome enveloped everyone in a Formation. Seventy-two star trajectories materialized into chains, ensnaring Ao Lie's second whip, which he was about to unleash.
A muffled thud of a bone staff hitting the ground came from the northwest corner, as Wu Clan Elder Yin Jiuyou led twelve bronze corpse puppets bursting from the earth.
Just as that rotting hand, like a ghost, snatched at Lu Qingyang's ankle with astonishing speed, a cold light shot forth like lightning!
This cold light was precisely Su Meiniang's Flow Splitting Thorn, which, with the force of thunder, directly pierced through the corpse puppet's skull!
With a muffled "thud," the Flow Splitting Thorn embedded itself deeply into the corpse puppet's head, splattering a pool of black pus and blood.
At the same time, Su Meiniang cried out, "This little brother's life is already reserved by me!" Her voice was clear and sharp, as if containing endless authority.
She smilingly flung out her Immortal Binding Rope, but the golden silk chain was deflected by a Dragon scale fragment picked up by the Qingming Sword—that fragment was engraved with the Chijiao Guard's troop deployment runes. As the runes lit up, they actually drew the earth pulse's magma to surge backward, and crimson fire waves, like the claws of a giant beast, lunged towards Lu Qingyang at the center of the Formation's eye.
Suddenly, a furious roar, like a clap of thunder, exploded: "Everyone, stop!"
Everyone looked in astonishment, only to see a grey figure slowly emerge from the shadows like a ghost. He wore a long grey robe, its sleeves fluttering in the wind, as if merging with the surrounding darkness. However, what truly drew attention was the blood-red lotus pattern beneath his feet; the vibrant red was exceptionally striking in the darkness, like an eerie flower blooming in Hell.
The Mysterious Grey Robed Man held a bone flute, its body as white as jade, yet subtly emanating a chilling Aura. He placed the bone flute to his lips and began to play softly. A melodious yet eerie tune immediately filled the air—this was the legendary 'Requiem.'
As the 'Requiem' played, the previously rampaging corpse puppets instantly froze in place, as if under a 'Stasis' spell. Their grotesque faces and twisted bodies were all fixed at this moment, as if time itself had paused for this melody.
The taotie pattern on his sleeve exhaled black mist, and the bronze door's illusory image that emerged from the mist caused Ao Lie's pupils to constrict: "This is... the Wu Clan's Gate of Guixu!" A skeletal hand reaching out from the door's crack wore a nine-headed snake ring, identical to the ornament on Su Meiniang's chest.
Lu Qingyang seized the opportunity to leap to the Kan position's Formation eye. His Nascent Soul, clutching a remnant page of the 'Wu Canon,' pressed the spring palace map towards the earth pulse. The magma river instantly froze into an ink-black ice field. As Ao Lie pursued, weak water Sword Qi, like a venomous snake's tongue, shot from the ice cracks he shattered.
Yin Jiuyou's bone staff pointed at the ice surface, but the summoned corpse poison was condensed into ice shards by the xuanming heavy water and rebounded: "How dare you, impudent boy!" The old man's withered face twisted with rage. His life-bound corpse insects crawled out from beneath his black robe, only to be shattered into dust by the golden bell Su Meiniang flicked out.
"You all are so enthusiastic..." Lu Qingyang coughed up blood foam and crashed towards the Li position, three bone-piercing nails from his back flying off to pin down Yin Jiuyou's Soul Summoning Banner. "How about we bet on who can feed these taotie first?" He tore open his blood-stained clothes; the Wu Clan blood talisman on his chest resonated with the Dragon Suppression Pillars, and all nine giant pillars simultaneously burst forth with blood-red light.
Su Meiniang suddenly removed her ring and flicked it towards the pillar's top. A nine-headed snake's illusion swallowed Ao Qin's ice shield. The snake's eyes reflected a second skeletal hand reaching out from the door's crack, and the bronze key held in its palm fit perfectly with the fragment in Lu Qingyang's embrace.
The bone flute in the Mysterious Grey Robed Man's hand suddenly emitted an eerie, discordant note. The previously melodious 'Soul Guiding Song' now became sharp and piercing, as if wailing ghosts from Hell. With this discordant note, the Mysterious Grey Robed Man's steps also became strange; each step seemed to tread in the Void Realm, leaving a trail of blood-red footprints.
Seeing this, Su Meiniang's face drastically changed. She immediately used her lightness skill to try and escape, but the Mysterious Grey Robed Man pursued her like a shadow, always close behind. As the Mysterious Grey Robed Man got closer and closer, Su Meiniang's heart grew increasingly panicked.
Just then, the Mysterious Grey Robed Man suddenly stopped. His voice, like a ghost's, echoed in Su Meiniang's ear: "This door requires the Saintess's essence blood as a guide!"
Su Meiniang was startled by this. She turned to look, only to see the Mysterious Grey Robed Man standing before a giant bronze door. Ancient and mysterious runes were carved on the door, emanating a chilling Aura.
Su Meiniang hesitated, unsure if what the Mysterious Grey Robed Man said was true, but she also didn't dare to try it lightly. While she hesitated, Lu Qingyang suddenly acted. He fiercely pulled Su Meiniang's wrist, then unhesitatingly pressed her hand towards the bronze door's crack.
Su Meiniang felt a sharp pain. A drop of blood instantly seeped from her fingertip. The blood drop fell onto the bronze door with a soft "pat," then was miraculously absorbed by the bronze door.
As the blood drop merged, the previously blurry bronze door gradually solidified, and the runes on the door began to glow faintly.
From within the door, an ancient chant emerged. The ring on the skeletal hand was of the same origin as Su Meiniang's, and the ancient Wu Clan character 'wizard' engraved on it glowed faintly.
"Thanks for the help, Big Sister!" Lu Qingyang seized the opportunity to insert half of the jade pendant into the keyhole. Embedded in the bronze shards picked off by the Qingming Sword was half of a snake's tooth—it was the Drunken Old Man of the South Sea's gambling losses to him three days ago.
Ao Lie's Dragon scale whip, coiling with a fire Dragon, struck, but he redirected it towards the Mysterious Grey Robed Man's lotus pattern Formation. As the explosion's airwave knocked everyone back, the bronze door burst open, and the Chaos Qi rushing out from behind the door enveloped Lu Qingyang, dragging him towards the unknown depths of Guixu.
In his last glimpse, he saw the blood-red light erupting from Su Meiniang's ring transform into threads, simultaneously entangling Ao Lie, Yin Jiuyou, and the Mysterious Grey Robed Man, pulling them all into the door...