Backstab! Fighting the Ninth Destiny of the Evil King Pavilion!

The night grew deep, and the forest, engulfed in flames, became a purgatory. Soaring flames painted half the sky a terrifying blood red.

"You forced me to do this!"

Ninth Destiny hovered in mid-air, staring intently at Gu Cheng as she concentrated on activating the 'Blood Soul Bead' in her hand.

In the next moment, the Blood Soul Bead in her hand pulsed with a sinister light, like an evil heart beating.

A terrifying blood-red light shot into the sky. The thick scent of blood mingled with the wails of wronged souls, echoing between heaven and earth, even overpowering the raging inferno below.

The spirits that had been lingering around the Wuchang Ghost Lock greedily devoured the blood-red light, transforming into grotesque, terrifying crimson evil spirits.

The originally pitch-black chains were also stained by the blood-red light, turning a shocking scarlet. The terrifying aura they emitted was several times stronger than before!

"It actually evolved?"

Gu Cheng felt the suffocating pressure and his expression sank. Even with his current strength, he still felt a deadly threat from those chains. The pressure emanating from these wicked chains had clearly reached the level of a Spirit Sea Realm venerable!

"Tonight, you will surely die!"

Seeing this, Ninth Destiny's heart settled, a trace of ferocity flashing in her eyes. Her hand seals shifted as she controlled the Wuchang Ghost Lock, like manipulating a bloodthirsty giant python, intending to obliterate Gu Cheng.

Buzz—

The Wuchang Ghost Lock's sinister light surged, its aura reaching its peak, as if it were about to pounce on the enemy in the next second.

Gu Cheng gripped the Pagoda Slayer Saber in his hand, concentrating and guarding, ready to summon his Flood Dragon Demon Servant to assist.

However, at this moment, an unexpected change occurred!

Instead of attacking Gu Cheng, the blood-red chains, like a master-killing python, coiled around its owner—Ninth Destiny—with lightning speed!

"!!!"

Everything happened too suddenly. Even with Ninth Destiny's exceptional movement techniques, she couldn't have predicted her natal artifact would betray her. She was instantly bound tightly, unable to move, just like Gu Cheng had been earlier.

In the next moment.

Accompanied by a piercing scream, countless blood-red evil spirits surged into Ninth Destiny's body one after another. The blood-red chains pulsed with intense sinister light, and under Gu Cheng's astonished gaze, they continuously lengthened and intertwined, wrapping Ninth Destiny into a massive blood-red iron cocoon, layer by layer.

A moment later, the iron cocoon shattered with a boom, and a three-zhang-tall ugly monster appeared in its place. The monster was entirely blood-red, covered in disgusting flesh tumors, with bone spurs piercing through its flesh, exposed to the outside. Its face was hideously terrifying. It looked like an evil spirit crawled out of hell, with no trace of the original Ninth Destiny left.

"Roar—"

A heaven-shattering roar echoed through the clouds. The demon let out a long howl, filled with resentment and pain, deafeningly loud, as if it wanted to tear the very world apart. The sound waves rolled like giant waves, kicking up dust and stones. The surrounding burning trees were shaken and toppled, and under the backdrop of the soaring flames, the scene appeared particularly terrifying.

"We both do the big transformation, why do you have to look so ugly?"

Gu Cheng coldly watched the scene unfold, his figure standing unmoving amidst the surging air currents. Although he didn't know what had happened, he vaguely guessed that Ninth Destiny had likely been tricked by some old schemer, which was why she had transformed into this grotesque, neither-human-nor-ghost appearance.

"Roar—"

The ugly demon's eyes were a chaotic mess, leaving only pure destructive instinct. Its scarlet gaze locked onto Gu Cheng, as if it had found a target for its seething rage. In the next instant, it lunged with explosive power!

As the demon swung its massive palm, its bloody, mangled palm split into countless blood-red chains, shooting out like venomous snakes! Each chain was as sharp as a poisoned spearhead, carrying an unstoppable momentum, coiling towards the figure clad in demon armor! It seemed the bizarre chains had merged with the demon!

However, this seemingly imposing attack lacked accuracy. Gu Cheng's figure flickered like a phantom, and with a few evasive maneuvers, he neutralized the storm-like onslaught. He knew that this monster had just broken free and its consciousness was not yet fully clear, nor could it flexibly control these bizarre chain artifacts. If it regained its senses, it would likely become truly troublesome.

With this thought, Gu Cheng's eyes sharpened. He held back no longer and decisively unleashed his strongest killing move.

Buzz—

In an instant, the surrounding air emitted an uneasy humming sound. A chilling demonic aura surged upwards, transforming into rolling black mist that spread out like ripples.

Black mist churned, and two Flood Dragon claws, as dark as ink, shot out with the might to tear the sky, grabbing fiercely at the ugly demon!

"Roar—"

The demon seemed devoid of fear. Facing this world-ending strike, it neither dodged nor evaded. Its back flesh exploded, spewing countless chains that attempted to entangle the fearsome dragon claws.

However, how could the power of this Spirit Sea Flood Dragon be resisted by a mere quasi-Spirit Sea monster?

The dragon claws directly ignored the chains that wrapped around them like vines. They secured the demon firmly in mid-air, left and right, rendering its struggles futile.

"It's time to settle this!"

Gu Cheng flew through the air, arriving before the demon. The Pagoda Slayer Saber in his hand slowly dissipated.

Since he was avenging the Xiao siblings, for the sake of ceremony, he naturally had to end it with the ultimate technique of the Chongshan Xiao family!

Gu Cheng's eyes were filled with an endless, deathly stillness. His gaze, like a falcon's, was locked onto the monster before him.

The next moment, he thrust out a single finger, casually poking at the demon's forehead.

—King of Hell Finger!

With a single poke, a dense, deathly stillness erupted, surging into the demon's body like a breaking dam.

The demon's massive body trembled violently, as if its vital point had been struck. Its life force dissipated at a visible rate.

In its final moments, the chaos in its eyes gradually faded, replaced by a sense of release and... gratitude?

Finally, its massive body completely lost all vitality, transforming into a sky full of blood mist and vanishing into the world.

This executioner of the Evil King Pavilion, once stained with blood and guilty of heinous crimes, had finally met her deserved end.

[Killed peak Innate Realm evil cultivator, gained lifespan: nine hundred and thirty-one years, Soul Remnant (three hundred years)]

"Oh? It actually dropped a Soul Remnant?"

Gu Cheng removed the Asura Demon Armor, and the Flood Dragon claws also dissipated into black smoke. His gaze swept across the panel's record, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.

Activating this Soul Remnant alone required six hundred years of lifespan from Tang Yuan!

He figured this remnant soul of the Evil King Pavilion's Ninth Destiny must know quite a few good things.

Intense curiosity churned within Gu Cheng's heart.

But he quickly suppressed it. With a thought, his vast divine sense surged out like a tsunami, instantly extinguishing the raging forest fire around them.

The battlefield was a mess. The Ninth Destiny was utterly annihilated, and her storage pouch had turned to ash.

Only two items lay quietly on the scorched earth, emitting an eerie glow under the moonlight:

A chain as black as ink, and a blood-red, perfectly round bead.

Gu Cheng's heart tightened. The terrifying scene of these two artifacts backfiring on their master had not yet faded from his mind.

If not for that, with the Ninth Destiny's methods, it would have taken him more effort to kill her.

"However, these two artifacts are wicked, but their power is undeniable..."

With a thought, Gu Cheng beckoned, drawing the Wuchang Ghost Lock and the Blood Soul Bead into his hands.

Before he could examine these two spoils of war closely.

Boom—

An even more powerful and evil aura swept in from afar like a storm.

Gu Cheng looked up sharply. In the distant sky, a pillar of blood-red light, like a colossal blood-red sword connecting heaven and earth, shot up from the direction of Iron Cloud City, dyeing the dark night sky an eerie hue.

"It's finally starting?"

A cold smile touched Gu Cheng's lips.

Since the Rebirth Sect's evil cultivators had made their move, it was time for him to enter the fray and reap the rewards.

He stored the Wuchang Ghost Lock and the Blood Soul Bead into his storage pouch, then shot into the sky, transforming into a black streak of light, speeding towards Iron Cloud City.

All that remained was the devastated battlefield, whispering a mournful ballad of slaughter and death in the night wind