Facing the Holy Maiden's furious close-range strike, her fingertips wreathed in sinister baleful energy that corroded the soul, Mo Yuan felt an unprecedented threat of death. The gap between the seventh level of Qi Refinement and half-step Foundation Establishment was laid bare at that moment. If he took it head-on, he would surely die!
In that split second, Mo Yuan pushed his Primordial Comprehension to its limit, and his battle instincts surpassed thought. Rather than block or retreat, he made an extremely risky move—his body bent sharply backward as though boneless, narrowly evading the claw aimed at the crown of his head. At the same time, Ghost Shadow Footwork surged to its limit beneath his feet, and he slipped diagonally backward like a loach!
"Rip!"
The Holy Maiden's claws grazed across Mo Yuan's chest, instantly tearing apart his Daoist robe and leaving five bone-deep bloody wounds. The attached baleful energy burrowed into the wounds like living creatures.
Agonizing pain struck, and Mo Yuan grunted, but his gaze only grew colder and sharper. As he used the momentum to retreat, the Golden Light Talisman already clutched in his left hand activated instantly!
"Buzz!"
Dazzling golden light erupted like a tiny sun exploding between them! The talisman was not of a high grade, but its supremely yang and rigid aura strongly interfered with yin-based evil arts. Caught off guard, the Holy Maiden narrowed her eyes against the piercing light, and her movements stalled.
That instant of hesitation was enough!
Suppressing the agony and the erosion of the baleful energy, Mo Yuan drove the Thunder Dragon Evil-Slaying Spear viciously into the ground with his right hand!
"Earth veins, heed the thunder!"
He frantically circulated the faint affinity with the earth veins he had gained from the Thunderglory Dragon King, as well as his recent perception of the mine's yin veins. He forcibly drew upon a wisp of thin lightning energy deep beneath the ground, suppressed by the evil formation, and directed it through the spear toward the pursuing Holy Maiden!
"Crackle!"
A tiny yet unusually condensed earthen-yellow bolt shot out of the ground and struck at the Holy Maiden's ankle! It was not powerful enough to seriously injure her, but it successfully interrupted her pursuit and made her halt.
"Cunning brat!" The Holy Maiden was furious and was about to lunge again when Uncle Nine's furious shout rang out behind her!
"Demoness, do not run rampant!"
It turned out that during the few short breaths in which Mo Yuan had risked his life to hold back the Holy Maiden, Uncle Nine had already erupted into action! Golden light on his Peach Wood Sword shone almost tangibly as he stepped in the pattern of the Seven Stars and chanted, "The five stars suppress their radiance, their light illuminates the dark mystery... By the law, swiftly obey!"
Maoshan's secret Five Thunder Incantation appeared once more!
But this time, wielded by Foundation Establishment Uncle Nine, its power was incomparable to before! Five silver heavenly lightning bolts as thick as bowls did not appear from nowhere. Instead, they drew upon the weak thunder energy contained in the rock strata above the cave, descending like punishment from a thunder god with vast heavenly might as they smashed toward the three Golden Armored Corpses and the Blood Pool formation!
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!"
The thunder was deafening, and the entire cavern seemed on the verge of collapse! The three Golden Armored Corpses were restrained by the supremely yang heavenly lightning. They let out shrill howls as their heavy armor shattered and black smoke poured from their bodies. In an instant, they suffered severe damage, and their movements slowed.
The soul-refining formation around the Blood Pool was struck so hard by the supremely rigid, supremely yang lightning that it teetered on the verge of collapse. Its glow rapidly dimmed, and the remaining seven elders all spat blood as the formation nearly fell apart! The phantom of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner also became extremely unstable, as though it might shatter at any moment.
The Holy Maiden's expression changed drastically. She had not expected Uncle Nine's lightning arts to become so powerful after his breakthrough to Foundation Establishment! If the formation were destroyed and the Ten Thousand Souls Banner failed to be refined, not only would all their prior investment go to waste, she would also face severe punishment from the sect.
"Protect the formation!" the Holy Maiden shrieked. No longer able to spare any thought for Mo Yuan, she flashed back to the platform and sacrificed the bone urn in her hand. She spat a mouthful of essence blood onto it, and black light burst from the urn, forming a black barrier that barely protected the swaying core of the soul-refining formation. The seven wounded elders also desperately suppressed their injuries and frantically poured in evil power to stabilize the formation.
The pressure on Mo Yuan greatly eased. He immediately took the chance to retreat, quickly swallowed medicinal pills to suppress the baleful energy in his wounds, and circulated spiritual power to heal himself. Looking at Uncle Nine, who was confronting the Golden Armored Corpses and the formation's light barrier, he was deeply shaken by the power of a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
"Mo Yuan!" While controlling the Peach Wood Sword to draw down lightning that continually bombarded the barrier, Uncle Nine urgently said, "The core of this evil formation is connected to the underground yin vein. It will be difficult to break quickly through brute force! You possess unusual treasures and keen perception. Find the weak point in its energy flow or the key point where it connects to the yin vein! Only by severing its foundation can we completely destroy this banner!"
"Understood!" Mo Yuan forcibly steadied himself, closed his eyes, and spread his divine sense with all his strength. At the same time, he connected with the Soul Cleansing Banner in his sea of consciousness and the Thunder Dragon Evil-Slaying Spear in his hand.
The Soul Cleansing Banner was sensitive to soul power and resentment, while the Thunder Dragon Evil-Slaying Spear was keenly aware of energy fluctuations, especially yin and evil energy.
Within his perception, the entire cavern seemed to transform into a massive energy vortex. Countless streams of yin baleful energy were being drawn in from every direction, especially from deep underground, flowing into the Blood Pool before being injected through the seven elders and the Holy Maiden into the phantom of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.
Directly beneath the Blood Pool was a point that pulsed like a heart, exuding the purest and densest aura of the yin vein—there lay the core where the formation eye connected to the underground yin vein!
"Master! Three zhang directly beneath the Blood Pool!" Mo Yuan suddenly opened his eyes and pointed toward the bottom of the pool.
Uncle Nine's eyes flashed brightly. "Good!"
He abruptly tossed the Peach Wood Sword into the air, formed hand seals with both hands, and spiritual power surged around him like a vast sea. "Heaven and earth are boundless, the universe lends me its power! Break!"
The Peach Wood Sword transformed into a golden rainbow. Rather than attacking the black barrier, it drilled toward the bottom of the Blood Pool indicated by Mo Yuan, carrying unstoppable pure yang righteous energy and lingering lightning power!
"No!!" The Holy Maiden let out a despairing scream, but it was already too late to stop him!
"BOOM—!!!"
A muffled yet earth-shaking roar seemed to rise from the depths of the ground! The Peach Wood Sword struck the core of the formation eye with perfect accuracy!
The entire cavern shook violently. The rock walls cracked apart, and the Blood Pool boiled and surged backward! The black barrier maintaining the formation shattered inch by inch like glass. The bone urn gave a mournful cry and flew back into the Holy Maiden's hand with its light greatly dimmed.
The seven elders suffered a terrifying backlash and screamed in unison. Their bodies were flung away like rag dolls, crashing against the rock walls. Whether they lived or died was unknown.
The phantom of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner released an unwilling shriek, violently twisting and fluctuating before finally bursting apart with a "Bang!", dispersing into black mist that slowly faded away!
The evil formation was broken! The Ten Thousand Souls Banner was destroyed!
"Pfft!" The Holy Maiden coughed up a large mouthful of blood from the damage to her artifact and the formation's backlash. Her face turned deathly pale, and her aura weakened to the extreme.
She glared venomously at Uncle Nine and Mo Yuan. Knowing that the situation was beyond saving, she did not hesitate to crush a blood-red jade talisman engraved with intricate skull patterns!
"Blood Shadow Escape!"
Dense blood light wrapped around her, instantly tearing through space and transforming into a streak of blood that fled toward the mine entrance at an unimaginable speed! She even abandoned the three injured Golden Armored Corpses.
"Trying to run?" Uncle Nine snorted coldly and was about to give chase, but the blood escape technique was too strange and swift. In the blink of an eye, she had reached the cave entrance. If he forcibly intercepted her, the aftershock might injure Mo Yuan or cause an even greater disturbance, so he could only let her go.
The three uncontrolled Golden Armored Corpses were then reduced to charred husks by a few lightning talismans Uncle Nine casually cast.
The cavern was a complete mess, and the evil aura began to slowly disperse. Mo Yuan walked to Uncle Nine's side and looked at the place where the Ten Thousand Souls Banner had vanished. Relieved, he said, "Master, we succeeded."
Uncle Nine nodded, but there was little joy on his face. Staring in the direction where the Holy Maiden had fled, he said gravely, "It is a pity that the demoness escaped.
"The Blood Shadow Escape she used is a secret demonic art. The cost is enormous, but its speed is extremely fast. It seems her status within the Black Fiend Sect is far from ordinary. This enmity now runs deep. She will surely become a grave threat in the future."
After a pause, he looked at Mo Yuan's still-bleeding wounds, and his tone became concerned. "How are your injuries?"
"The baleful energy has already been forced out. They are only flesh wounds and nothing serious." Mo Yuan circulated his spiritual power, and the wounds had already begun to heal.
"This time, we have you to thank for locating the formation eye so precisely." Uncle Nine praised him. "Otherwise, even if I could have won, I would have had to pay a tremendous price. The Ten Thousand Souls Banner might even have been refined with part of its power."
The two quickly cleaned up the battlefield, burning the corpses of the Black Robe Cultists and the remains of the destroyed Golden Armored Corpses with true fire, thoroughly erasing all traces. As for the yin baleful energy filling the depths of the cavern, it could not be purified in a short time and would have to be dealt with later.
By the time they left the Profound Yin Mine, dawn was near. Although they had successfully destroyed the Ten Thousand Souls Banner and severely crippled the Black Fiend Sect in this fierce battle, the Holy Maiden's escape meant that the turmoil was far from over. The undercurrents within the Provincial City and the wider world might only just have begun to stir.
Mo Yuan followed Uncle Nine back to their residence in the Provincial City through the morning dew. This battle had allowed him to experience firsthand a life-and-death struggle against high-level cultivators, giving him a deeper understanding of artifact use and the timing of battle.
He touched the Soul Cleansing Banner being nurtured in his robes, feeling the power of merit within it grow a little stronger. His path of future cultivation became clearer and firmer in his heart.
After returning to the small courtyard, Uncle Nine set down restrictions and said to Mo Yuan with a grave expression, "We cannot remain here for long. The Black Fiend Sect suffered a major loss and will surely retaliate madly.
"We must leave the Provincial City as soon as possible. On one hand, we need to avoid their edge for now. On the other, we must inform the Maoshan main sect of this matter and make preparations early."
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