"It's you, Patriarch Minghe!"
Li Xuanji, regaining a trace of memory, recognized the other party's identity, her pretty face turning pale.
It is said that beneath the Nine Nether Yellow Springs, there is an eternally flowing Nether Blood Sea, which gave birth to an innate being, Patriarch Minghe.
Back then, in order to achieve sainthood, Patriarch Minghe did not hesitate to betray Huaxia and throw himself into darkness.
Ultimately, he incurred the wrath of Li Er, who intended to obliterate him completely.
However, Patriarch Minghe was symbiotic with the Nether Blood Sea; as long as the Blood Sea did not dry up, Minghe was immortal and indestructible, making it impossible to kill him entirely.
In the end, Li Er could only cripple Patriarch Minghe and seal him beneath Dragon Tiger Mountain.
As Dragon Tiger Mountain ascended to these Nine Heavens, with the passage of time, the sealing power continuously weakened, and Patriarch Minghe gradually recovered.
Now, intending to break through the seal and escape to the heavens, he caused the anomaly in the Tiger's Lair.
"Xuanji, be sensible and surrender. In remembrance of our past affections, this old ancestor can spare your life. You know my methods, and I hope you won't be ungrateful."
Patriarch Minghe's voice was incredibly cold. If Li Xuanji were not valuable for helping him escape, he would not have wasted so many words and would have killed her directly.
Besides the seal laid by Li Er, there was also that detestable Heavenly Book suppressing him, which was extremely troublesome. In his current state, he indeed needed help.
"You traitor, you dream of me surrendering!"
Li Xuanji would never compromise. Her voice was sonorous, and her body erupted with dazzling light, prepared to fight to the death.
At the same time, she warned those around her of Patriarch Minghe's terror, stating that if they did not wish to be devoured, they could only fight desperately.
"Fight desperately? A few ants, they don't even have the right to struggle."
Patriarch Minghe's tone was filled with disdain.
The cultivation of the Immortal God realm might allow one to command the elements in this small world, but before him, it was simply not enough.
Although he was still injured and not fully recovered, dealing with a few people was as easy as crushing ants.
"Xuanji, I gave you a chance, and you didn't cherish it. Then don't blame this old ancestor for bullying the young. Your true form is of great use to me. I will erase your consciousness and refine you into a Blood God Child under my control."
Patriarch Minghe let out a chilling laugh and began to attack.
The blood sea surged, and pillars of water shot up into the sky.
Within them, incredibly sinister black shadows emerged, attacking Li Xuanji and the others.
Li Xuanji faced them as if confronting a great enemy, forming seals with her hands. The halos surrounding her body circulated madly, protecting her and preventing the black shadows from getting close.
The other cultivators, however, were unaware of the terror of the black shadows. As the shadows attached themselves to their bodies, they burrowed within.
"Ah..."
Piercing screams echoed one after another.
Those cultivators could not hold on for more than a few rounds. They were all struck, their bodies suddenly exploding into a sky full of blood mist.
Finally, all of it was absorbed by the blood sea, becoming a part of the Nether Blood Sea.
Li Xuanji resisted desperately but was also surrounded by countless black shadows, gradually being pulled into the blood sea.
If Patriarch Minghe had not intended to preserve her body, he would have already blown her apart.
The gap between them was simply too vast.
Just then.
A calling voice rang out: "Miss Xuanji, where are you?"
Ji Hanhan also jumped into the abyss, continuously calling out Li Xuanji's name as he fell.
Ji Mo held a good impression of this girl who dared to stand in front of him when trouble arose. After seeing the murals in the cave and learning that Patriarch Minghe was sealed beneath Dragon Tiger Mountain, he rushed to rescue her.
"It's him! Why is that fool here? What an idiot."
Li Xuanji recognized Ji Mo's voice and couldn't help but curse.
Coming at this time was clearly a suicide mission.
However, hearing the worry in Ji Mo's voice as he called her name warmed her heart, and she was immensely touched.
She truly hadn't expected that there was such a great fool in the world who would rush to save her without regard for his own life.
"Young Master Ji, it's dangerous here. Escape, quickly escape and save yourself, don't mind me."
Li Xuanji shouted a warning, and at the same time, she began to fight desperately, intending to carve out a sliver of hope for Ji Mo.
Her body erupted in blazing flames, like a burning meteor, instantly incinerating the countless black shadows into ashes.
Amidst the scorching flames, her body slowly faded, revealing her true form.
Li Xuanji transformed into a star core the size of a chicken egg, emitting ten thousand rays of light, illuminating the entire blood sea and guiding Ji Mo.
Simultaneously, a point of light shot out, falling into Ji Mo's palm, marking the coordinates of the exit for him.
She believed that with Ji Mo's superb formation cultivation, he still had a chance to break through the restrictions and escape.
"Xuanji, Xuanji, I never thought you would burn yourself for a man. But it's all in vain. No living being that has tried to escape from this ancestor's grasp has ever succeeded."
Patriarch Minghe sneered, not taking Ji Mo seriously at all.
With a thought, the turbid waves surged into the air, layer upon layer, instantly engulfing the burning star core, extinguishing the raging flames, and dragging it towards the seabed.
Seeing this, Ji Mo roared, "Patriarch Minghe, release this girl, or I will overturn your Nether Blood Sea!"
His fury erupted. Seeing Li Xuanji, transformed into a star core, in mortal peril, he went berserk.
Patriarch Minghe seemed to have heard the funniest joke in the world, sneering, "You, overturn my Blood Sea? You truly don't know the immensity of heaven and earth..."
He stopped midway through his sentence, shocked by what he saw.
Without a word, Ji Mo pulled out a very large... section of a stone sword!
In an instant, sword intent surged in all directions, and brilliant sword light, like the great sun, illuminated the entire void.
"Zhuxian! Who is Tongtian to you, boy?"
Patriarch Minghe's tone carried a hint of apprehension. The Zhuxian Sword was the possession of Patriarch Tongtian, and that old fellow Tongtian was fond of protecting his own.
If he offended Patriarch Tongtian, he likely wouldn't fare well.
However, he quickly remembered that Patriarch Tongtian had apparently died in the starry sky long ago, leaving nothing behind. What was there to fear?
Instantly, he became smug again.
Ji Mo raised the Zhuxian Sword and began to slash.
The terrifying sword light pierced the heavens and the earth, as if it could cleave everything, tearing through the void and slashing towards the Nether Blood Sea.
A terrifying crack appeared. This single sword almost split the Blood Sea in half.
A large amount of seawater instantly evaporated, directly annihilated into nothingness.
Patriarch Minghe couldn't help but let out a cry of pain. He was symbiotic with the Nether Blood Sea, and this sword strike was equivalent to hitting him directly.
"Hand her over!"
Ji Mo threatened, brandishing the Zhuxian Sword again and continuing to slash.
The Nether Blood Sea was like a shattered mirror, broken into pieces.
But this could only injure Patriarch Minghe's superficial layers. As long as the Blood Sea did not dry up, Minghe would not die.
"Heh, you wield your sword well, but it's only tickling this ancestor. Kid, you're still too young."
Patriarch Minghe mocked, quite pleased with himself.
He stood in an invincible position, not fearing the Zhuxian Sword at all, and launched a counterattack.
Countless streams of blood poured in, flooding the void and sweeping towards Ji Mo.
Patriarch Minghe greedily sized up Ji Mo, sensing the peculiarity of his body, and was eager to devour him.
Ji Mo put away the Zhuxian Sword, pulled down the Chaos Bell from his hair, and began to ring it.
In an instant, karmic fire raged...