On the fifteenth day of the seventh month, a blood moon hung overhead.
The Myriad Demon Valley's Heavenly Water World-Cleansing Formation shone ever more brilliantly beneath the blood-colored moonlight. Thirty-six Water Spirit Crystal Pillars stood embedded in the skeletal altar, their azure radiance mingling with the blood moon's crimson glow.
Han Li sat cross-legged at the formation's central node. The Pure Water Source Heart in his palm merged with its core. [System notification: Heavenly Water World-Cleansing Formation fully activated. Fiendish energy purification rate: 100%. Can withstand a full-strength strike from an early-stage Deity Transformation cultivator.] Within his Dantian, the Big Dipper pattern on his Golden Core star chart gleamed. His Water-Magnetic Unity fusion had reached 30%, and the phantom heart-protecting mirror hovered silently in his sea of consciousness.
Zi Ling stood beside the formation. The Big Dipper markings on her Star-Illusion Maze Formation flag resonated with it, and a pale silver halo from the flag enveloped the entire altar. Sixty Cloud-Chasing Guards and Demon-Subduing Guards lined the valley entrance, their silver armor glinting coldly beneath the blood moon.
Captain Chen tightened his grip on his cloud-chasing whip. "The Grand Elder sent word: the Blood Lotus Cult's main force has assembled ten li outside the valley. Blood-Bearded Ancestor is personally leading five hundred cultists here, with three late-stage Core Formation elders supporting him."
His words had barely fallen when earthshaking battle cries erupted outside the valley. Riding a Blood-Winged Demon Eagle, Blood-Bearded Ancestor charged at the head of a dense swarm of Blood Lotus cultists. Each carried a Blood Soul Banner, their Spiritual Power impure and berserk.
More terrifying still were the three black-robed elders accompanying them-the Blood Lotus Cult's three elders, Blood Fiend, Blood Soul, and Blood Shadow, all fearsome late-stage Core Formation cultivators!
**"Han Li, you brat! Surrender your