Indra

Not a blade of grass grew here; the place was steeped in deathly stillness.

Xuanqing stood at the edge of the Blood Sea, gazing at the boundless dark-red ocean before him with a slight frown.

Merely standing here, wave after wave of negative energy constantly tried to invade his body. Fortunately, his Merit Golden Wheel automatically protected its master, keeping all that foul qi at bay.

Just as he was preparing to set off and cross the Blood Sea.

"Roar!"

Several roars unlike anything a living creature could make came from ahead.

More than a dozen figures wreathed in black Demon Qi burst out from beneath the ground.

Their forms varied wildly. Some had three heads and six arms, while others had blue faces and protruding fangs. Yet without exception, their eyes were scarlet, filled with a desire for chaos and slaughter.

"Demon soldiers left behind by Demon Ancestor Luo Hou?"

Xuanqing's gaze sharpened.

These demon soldiers possessed no intelligence, leaving them with only the instinct to kill. Sensing the pure aura of a living being upon Xuanqing, they immediately charged at him with hoarse roars.

"Perfect. I can test my new divine ability."

Rather than retreating, Xuanqing advanced. With a thought, the Jing Shi Sword instantly left its sheath, transforming into a streak of azure radiance that slashed toward the demon soldiers.

At the same time, Xuan Qi surged within him as the spiritual qi of heaven and earth around him gathered frantically, turning into several sharp azure qi blades that shot forth with shrill whistles.

"Pfft!"

Sword light and qi blades crisscrossed.

The demon soldiers' tough bodies were instantly carved into pieces under the combined assault of the Jing Shi Sword and Xuan Qi.

Yet at the instant the demon soldiers were slain, an exceedingly faint sensation of resonance suddenly rose in Xuanqing's mind.

It was as though the demon soldiers' energy shared a trace of common origin with something within his body.

"What is this?"

Xuanqing was dazed for a moment.

Before he could figure it out, an even stranger scene unfolded.

The Xuan Qi he had released did not disperse after destroying the demon soldiers. Instead, as if it had come alive, it actively coiled around the shattered remains of those demon soldiers.

Threads of black Demon Qi were forcibly stripped from the remnants.

The violent, chaotic Demon Qi began to be transformed and purified at a visible speed the moment it came into contact with the Xuan Qi!

In the end, all the Demon Qi vanished. In its place, streams of incomparably pure spiritual qi of Honghuang Heaven and Earth flowed back to nourish this defiled land.

Purifying Demon Qi, returning to the origin!

"Rumble!"

From above the Nine Heavens, a thick beam of Mystic Yellow Merit light descended, instantly enveloping Xuanqing.

An ocean of merit poured into his body. The Merit Golden Wheel within him spun madly, becoming ever more solid as its golden radiance blazed brilliantly.

The bottleneck in his cultivation was instantly shattered beneath the push of that immense merit!

Mid-stage Golden Immortal... peak mid-stage Golden Immortal...

Only one step remained before he could enter late-stage Golden Immortal!

Feeling the surging magical power within his body, Xuanqing's face was filled with delight.

He had never imagined that purifying these demon soldiers would earn him such an enormous amount of Heavenly Dao Merit!

This was practically a treasure ground tailor-made for grinding merit!

However, such an immense pillar of merit light was like a lantern ten thousand zhang high in the dark night within this dim Nether Blood Sea—impossible to miss.

The instant the merit light faded, an oppressive aura soared into the sky from the depths of the Blood Sea and rapidly swept toward his location.

"Who dares run wild in the Blood Sea?!"

A cold, bewitching voice exploded beside Xuanqing's ears.

Xuanqing's heart tightened as he looked up.

In the distant sky, a streak of blood-colored light tore through the air, reaching him in an instant.

As the light dispersed, a figure emerged.

The newcomer was an exceptionally handsome man with an alluringly sinister face and pale skin. His long blood-red hair stirred despite the absence of wind. He wore an elaborate suit of Blood-colored War Armor, and four arms extended from his back, each clutching a different weapon.

His eyes were a pure blood-red, devoid of the slightest emotion, as they fixed unblinkingly on Xuanqing.

A member of the Asura Clan, one of the Four Great Demon Generals—Indra!

Indra's blood-red eyes stared at Xuanqing, yet he could not suppress the shock in his heart.

Those demon soldiers had not been defeated by Xuanqing.

They had been forcibly stripped of their demonic nature by a divine ability of a higher order, restored to the most primordial spiritual qi of heaven and earth.

He had never heard of such a method.

The Blood Sea was called the Blood Sea because its filth and Demon Qi had remained undying since time immemorial.

Yet this Golden Immortal Daoist before him could actually reverse that process?

This was practically shaking the very foundations of the Asura Clan!

"Who are you? Where do you come from?" Indra's voice was icy.

He did not attack at once.

The Jade Clarity Immortal Light on this man was pure to the extreme, while his Merit Golden Wheel was solid to a terrifying degree.

With such foundations, such fortune, there had to be some great deity standing behind him—one Indra could not afford to provoke.

Xuanqing did not answer Indra's question. Instead, his mind raced as he calculated.

It seemed this experience package in the Nether Blood Sea would not be so easy to farm after all.

When Xuanqing remained silent, Indra's suspicions deepened.

Why had an Eastern Loose Immortal cultivator come to the Blood Sea? And why did he happen to possess a divine ability that countered the Blood Sea's Demon Qi?

This matter was far from simple.

He had to report to the Patriarch immediately.

Indra remained outwardly impassive, but the hand hidden behind his back quietly crushed a blood-red Jade Talisman.

A streak of Blood Light instantly vanished into the void, flying toward the deepest reaches of the Blood Sea.

"Daoist, what business brings you to my Blood Sea?"

Indra asked again.

Xuanqing saw his little movement perfectly clearly and laughed inwardly.

"Nothing in particular. I was passing through this place and saw Demon Qi running rampant. I could not bear it, so I cleansed it in passing—doing my small part for Honghuang Heaven and Earth."

Xuanqing spoke with a face full of righteous conviction, as though he truly were some Merit Saint concerned for all under heaven.

The corner of Indra's eye twitched.

Cleansed it in passing?

With that little passing gesture of yours, you nearly cleansed away the Asura Clan's nest!

Though curses boiled in his heart, he did not dare speak recklessly.

If some great figure truly stood behind Xuanqing, it would only invite needless trouble.

Patriarch Styx was known for lying flat, and precisely because of this, he had warned his disciples to always ask about a person's origins when they encountered one, lest they bring disaster upon themselves.

"Daoist, your compassion is admirable. However, this place is the territory of my Asura Clan. Though these demon soldiers possess no intelligence, they are used by my clan to guard our gates. Is it not somewhat improper for Daoist to act in such a manner?"

Indra began reasoning with him, trying to persuade Xuanqing to leave.

For now, he only wanted to stall for time and await Patriarch Styx's decree.

If necessary, he would strike in an instant and erase Xuanqing. No matter how deep Xuanqing's foundations might be, he was ultimately only a Mystic Immortal cultivator.

But Xuanqing did not take the bait. He looked around and sighed. "The resentment here pierces the heavens, and Sha Qi fills the air. If this continues, it may become a great calamity. Since this poor Daoist has encountered it, I cannot simply stand by and do nothing."

With that, he looked at Indra and flashed a mouthful of white teeth.

"How about this, Daoist? Why not cleanse this Blood Sea together with me? This is boundless merit; the Heavenly Dao will surely bestow its reward."

"..."

Indra was somewhat speechless.

Cleanse the Blood Sea with you?

Was he insane? Would that not be tearing down his own home?

Was there something wrong with this guy's head?

Meanwhile.

Mount Sumeru in the Western Lands.

This place and the vibrant Eastern Lands were like two entirely different worlds.

The earth was cracked, Spiritual Veins withered, ash-gray clouds drifted across the sky, and the air carried a faint lingering trace of the Demon Path.