Sea of Blood Awakens Soul, Asura Appears, Eternal Grudges Begin

Within the Sea of Blood's secret valley, Chaos Fire silently burned the dark red Blood Soul Pearl. On the pearl's surface, countless tiny soul fragments writhed and wailed like living things, emitting the pure essence of the Sea of Blood and overwhelming resentment.

Tongtian sat cross-legged, his expression solemn, forming arcane and complex hand seals while chanting ancient and obscure soul-summoning incantations. This was not from the Chaos Derivation Scripture, but a heaven-defying technique he had personally deduced by combining his understanding of the law of karma, the creation power of the Chaos Bead, and the secret Sea of Blood methods provided by Old Ancestor Minghe—the Chaos Blood Soul Summoning!

What he aimed to do was not ordinary soul summoning, but to use this Blood Soul Pearl as a guide and Chaos power as a bridge to forcefully summon a highly special remnant soul, crucial to the current situation, from the endless river of time and the rifts of Reincarnation!

His target was none other than the leader of the attendant immortals during the War of Investiture of the Gods, who was "fished" to the West by Saint Zhunti with the Six Roots Pure Bamboo, only to inexplicably perish and not even have his True Spirit listed. It was Wuyun Xian!

Wuyun Xian's true form was a Golden-Tusk Ao Fish, with profound cultivation. He was also a key figure in the Myriad Immortals Formation of the Jie Teachings. The truth of his demise in the West was unknown, and his resentment was immense. If his remnant soul could be summoned back, it would not only add a combat force to the Jie Teachings but also allow them to uncover many secrets of the Western Teachings from his memories, potentially becoming a sharp sword to attack the Western Teachings at the upcoming Reincarnation Protection Association!

This act went against the heavens, was extremely difficult, and could easily alert the Saints of the West.

But as Tongtian completed the last hand seal, the Blood Soul Pearl erupted with a blinding blood-red light!

"With blood as the guide, Chaos as the pledge, across the eons of time, heroic souls return! Wuyun Xian, if not now, when will you awaken!"

Tongtian let out a low roar, and the Chaos Bead shone brightly, injecting a gray beam of light into the Blood Soul Pearl!

BOOM! The Blood Soul Pearl exploded! Countless soul fragments and the essence of the Sea of Blood mixed with Chaos energy, spinning wildly in the air to form a massive blood-colored vortex! Deep within the vortex, it seemed to connect to the distant shores of time and space, and countless piercing shrieks and unwilling roars echoed!

Tongtian maintained the vortex with all his might, fine beads of sweat appearing on his forehead, his primordial spirit's power being consumed at an alarming rate.

Gradually, at the deepest part of the vortex, a faint spiritual light of a remnant soul, carrying a familiar aura, seemed to receive a powerful summons. It struggled, resisted some unknown restraint, and arduously emerged!

Within the spiritual light, the phantom of a golden Ao Fish could vaguely be seen—Wuyun Xian's true form! However, his soul body was entwined with several golden Buddhist shackles, constantly eroding his spiritual consciousness. It was clear that after being "converted" to the West, he had suffered inhuman torture and control!

"Western bald donkeys! How dare you!" Seeing this, Tongtian's eyes blazed with fury. Without hesitation, he pointed his fingers like a sword, unleashing a precise blast of Chaos Sword Qi that instantly severed the Buddhist shackles!

The moment the shackles broke, the remnant soul's spiritual light trembled violently, letting out a cry of liberation mixed with endless hatred!

"ROAR!" The remnant soul transformed into a blood-red light, charging out of the vortex and landing before Tongtian. It coalesced into a blurry, yet malevolent aura-filled, black-robed Daoist phantom—Wuyun Xian! His eyes were blood-red, filled with violence and chaos, clearly indicating severe damage to his soul and fragmented memories, leaving only an ingrained hatred for the Western Teachings.

"Wuyun Xian!" Tongtian's low roar, infused with the Daoist sound of Chaos, shook his soul.

Wuyun Xian's remnant soul trembled. A flicker of confusion flashed in his blood-red eyes as he looked at Tongtian and hoarsely uttered, "Sect Master?" He was then engulfed by overwhelming hatred, "Kill! Kill all the Western bald donkeys!"

Tongtian sighed inwardly, knowing Wuyun Xian was in a terrible state and difficult to communicate with. He immediately unleashed a wisp of Chaos Pure Qi to temporarily stabilize his remnant soul and took it into the Chaos Bead to nurture.

"Though his intellect is incomplete, it is sufficient," Tongtian's gaze was icy. Wuyun Xian's remnant soul itself was the greatest indictment against the Western Teachings! However, the moment he put away Wuyun Xian's remnant soul, an anomaly occurred!

The blood-colored vortex, which was about to dissipate, seemed to lose control and began to frantically devour the surrounding Sea of Blood energy and Chaos energy, expanding rapidly! Within the vortex, the passage connecting to time and space had not completely closed. Instead, a more violent, more terrifying roar, like that of a ferocious beast from the Great Desolation, echoed!

"ROAR!!!" A terrifying malevolent aura, far exceeding Wuyun Xian's, that made one's soul tremble, erupted from the other end of the vortex! Immediately after, a giant claw covered in pitch-black scales, crackling with destructive lightning, fiercely gripped the edge of the vortex, attempting to forcibly cross over!

The aura emanating from the giant claw was of the same origin as Old Ancestor Minghe, but it was more ancient, purer, and more brutal!

"What is that?!" Tongtian's expression drastically changed. He could feel that he seemed to have inadvertently communicated with an ancient, extremely terrifying existence forgotten by the Sea of Blood! This was definitely not his intended target!

"This is bad!" Deep within the Sea of Blood, Old Ancestor Minghe also sensed this terrifying aura of the same origin but filled with threat. He was shocked and enraged, "It's the remnant soul of that Primordial Asura King that I suppressed at the depths of the Sea of Blood's eye! It was actually provoked by your technique!"

Primordial Asura King? The original overlord of the Sea of Blood before Old Ancestor Minghe created the Asura race?

Tongtian's heart tightened. He immediately urged the Chaos Bead to its limit, attempting to forcefully close the passage!

But it was too late! The Primordial Asura King's remnant soul had accumulated grievances and power from countless eons. Now that it had found an outlet, how could it be willing to stop?

"ROAR! Minghe! Ant! Release this King!"

BOOM! The entire Sea of Blood boiled! The blood-colored vortex was forcibly enlarged, and a colossal, ferocious Primordial Asura phantom struggled to climb out of the passage! Its power was so immense that it faintly approached the peak of a Quasi-Saint!

The terrifying malevolent aura impacted Tongtian's Chaos domain, even alarming Old Ancestor Minghe's true form in the distance. Blood waves surged, manifesting his form, his expression extremely grim!

"Tongtian! Stop it quickly! If it completely breaks free and devours the Sea of Blood's essence, its strength will instantly recover, even surpassing ancient times. By then, even I will have difficulty dealing with it!" Old Ancestor Minghe shouted urgently, simultaneously activating the Yuantu and Abi twin swords, slashing at the Asura phantom!

Tongtian also knew he had caused trouble. Without hesitation, he unleashed the Qingping Sword, Chaos Sword Qi crisscrossing, cooperating with Old Ancestor Minghe to fully suppress the Primordial Asura King's remnant soul! However, the Asura King's remnant soul was incredibly powerful. It withstood the attacks of two Quasi-Saint great powers single-handedly. Although its phantom dimmed and its black scales were shattered, it still roared and continued to crawl out!

"As long as the Sea of Blood does not dry up, this King will not perish! Minghe, you thief, who stole my Sea of Blood, today this King shall reclaim everything!"

At this moment of extreme chaos, Tongtian suddenly had an inspiration, a ruthless glint flashing in his eyes!

He fiercely mobilized the remnant soul of Wuyun Xian, filled with hatred and violence, which he had just collected into the Chaos Bead. He mixed it with his own vital blood and, using the Chaos Bead as the core, launched it towards the Primordial Asura King!

"You want power? Here you go!"

That wisp of remnant soul power, containing the endless resentment of the Jie Teachings immortals and the aura of Chaos, acted like the most venomous bait, instantly entering the Asura King's phantom!

The Asura King's remnant soul instinctively devoured this power, intending to use it to strengthen itself and break through the blockade.

However, "Ah! What is this?! Damned resentment! The aura of Chaos! No!"

The remnant soul's resentment and the Asura King's remnant soul were already incompatible in nature. Now, being forcibly merged and eroded by Chaos energy, a violent conflict and backlash occurred!

It was as if countless bombs exploded within the Asura King's phantom, emitting incredibly piercing screams. Its massive body contorted and expanded violently. The half-crawled-out body began to shatter inch by inch!

"Now!" Old Ancestor Minghe's eyes shot out blood-red light as he seized this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!

"Sea of Blood Unites, Suppress!"

He roared, and the power of the entire Sea of Blood seemed to condense, transforming into a blood-colored rune spanning heaven and earth, which was fiercely branded onto the collapsing Primordial Asura King's remnant soul!

Tongtian also fully activated the Chaos Bead, its Chaos energy like a grinding mill, crushing down!

RUMBLE! Amidst a series of earth-shattering explosions, the Primordial Asura King's remnant soul let out a final roar of unwillingness, finally shattering completely, transforming into the purest Sea of Blood essence and chaotic Soul Power, dissipating into the Sea of Blood.

The crisis was averted.

The Sea of Blood slowly returned to calm.

Old Ancestor Minghe looked at Tongtian with a grim expression. After a long while, he snorted coldly, "Next time you use such forbidden techniques, give me a heads-up! You almost caused a catastrophe!"

Tongtian felt a bit awkward and cupped his hands, saying, "My apologies, it was indeed rash of me." He hadn't expected to summon such a terrifying entity.

Old Ancestor Minghe waved his hand. Despite his displeasure, Tongtian had ultimately helped him immensely by completely eliminating a major threat. He sensed the Sea of Blood, noting that its essence had become even purer with the complete dissipation of the Primordial Asura King.

"Enough!" Old Ancestor Minghe's tone softened. "How are things on your end? Is that remnant soul useful?"

Tongtian nodded, "Although its intellect is damaged, it is sufficient as evidence."

"That's good." Old Ancestor Minghe's gaze shifted towards the Netherworld and the Underworld. "Empress Pingxin's notice has been issued, and all the forces of the Great Desolation are stirring. According to my investigation, on the Western Teachings' side, Ksitigarbha seems to be accelerating his actions, frequently contacting those stubborn old shamans. I fear he's up to no good."

Upon hearing this, Tongtian's eyes sharpened. "The shamans... It seems the Western Teachings intend to dismantle Empress Pingxin's foundation from within."

"Most likely." Old Ancestor Minghe sneered. "Those shamans are single-minded. A few words from the Western Teachings might actually convince them of their lies."

Tongtian pondered for a moment, then said, "Perhaps we should help Ksitigarbha, speed up his process."

"Oh?" Old Ancestor Minghe's interest was piqued. "How will you help?"

A cold curve formed on Tongtian's lips. "He wants the shamans' support, doesn't he? Then we shall give him a 'grand gift,' one he cannot refuse, yet one that will ignite everything."

Within his heart, an extremely audacious, even vicious, plan slowly took shape.

He would forge "evidence," evidence sufficient to sow discord between the shamans and Empress Pingxin, and even make the shamans grateful to the Western Teachings! Then, at the crucial moment, he would completely expose it!

At that time, the Western Teachings would not only fail to win over the shamans but would also become the target of universal condemnation!

"This matter requires careful planning to be flawless," Tongtian looked at Minghe. "Perhaps your Asura subordinates will need to cooperate in a performance..."

Deep within the Sea of Blood, the whispers of two Great Desolation powerhouses were destined to stir up further turmoil.

Meanwhile, far away on Kunlun Mountain, Guangchengzi received a new imperial decree from Venerable Lord of Primordial Beginning.

Its contents made his expression instantly turn extremely solemn and... with a hint of excitement.

The decree contained only one sentence: "The time has come, you may activate the 'Supplementary Book of Investiture of the Gods' and 'cleanse' some of the restless True Spirits. Especially those connected to Tongtian."

Guangchengzi put away the decree, a cold glint flashing in his eyes.

"Master, rest assured, your disciple knows what to do."

He rose and headed in the direction of the Heavenly Court.

The storm had never ceased; instead, fueled by the machinations of various factions, it raged even more fiercely.

Tongtian and Minghe's whispers, Guangchengzi's actions, Ksitigarbha's schemes, Empress Pingxin's waiting... all eyes were focused on the upcoming "Reincarnation Protection Association" meeting.

There, the ultimate eye of the storm would be. And no one knew that at the very moment the remnant soul of the Primordial Asura King completely disintegrated and returned to the essence of the Sea of Blood, a trace of its purest destructive essence, not fully assimilated, had silently merged into a Chaos Thunder Bead that Tongtian had refined but not yet used.

The color of that bead had become even deeper and darker, faintly emitting a destructive purplish-black luster.