Inside the Heaven-Reaching Hall, the Profound Yin Legacy

"Boom!"

The enormous black seal, driven by the Black Fiend Cult's young master's blood essence, carried a towering surge of demonic qi as it slammed into the wavering barrier across the gateway of light! The barrier gave a piercing wail, cracks spreading across it like a spiderweb. It was on the verge of total collapse!

"Mighty indeed, young master!"

"The legacy is ours!"

The two remaining Black Fiend Cult guards wore expressions of wild delight as they risked their lives to hold off the furious attacks of Feng Yue, the green-robed elder, and the others.

"Stop him!" Nangong Wan cried sharply. Her jade ruler became a sky-piercing rainbow, thrusting straight toward the young master's back! Han Yunzhi's emerald rings wound toward his legs like two green flood dragons! Dugu Jian became one with his sword, a slash of sword qi that tore through space overtaking the other attacks despite being launched last!

Han Li's gaze was icy. Suppressing the weakness brought on by the Fiend-Burning Art, he pushed Shadow Step to its limit and slipped around to the flank like a ghost. Pseudo core flame coated the Shadow Blade as he delivered a silent backstab straight at the young master's waist, striking where he would have to defend!

Yet faced with four powerful opponents, the Black Fiend Cult's young master broke into a savage laugh. "Too late! Get out of my way!"

He neither dodged nor evaded. Dense blood-red light erupted around him! A terrifying pressure far beyond the false core early stage burst outward! At this critical moment, he had actually burned his vital essence to force his cultivation up to the false core middle stage!

"Blood Fiend Demon Shield!"

A blood-red dome, condensed almost into solid matter, burst outward from him! Nangong Wan's jade-ruler rainbow, Han Yunzhi's rings, and Dugu Jian's sword qi struck it, only to vanish like clay oxen sinking into the sea. They stirred violent ripples but failed to break through! Han Li's Shadow Blade pierced the dome, its pseudo core flame burning furiously, yet it penetrated only three inches before becoming firmly trapped!

"Urgh!" The recoil struck Han Li. Blood rose in his throat, and he staggered back several steps, aghast. The false core middle stage-the gulf in strength was too great!

"Hahaha! A mantis trying to stop a chariot!" The Black Fiend Cult's young master laughed wildly and thrust both hands forward!

"Break open!"

The enormous black seal blazed with dark light and crashed into the gateway one final time like a falling star!

Crack!

The sound of shattering glass rang through the hall! The gateway's barrier broke apart completely, dissolving into countless motes of light! Beyond it lay an unfathomably deep passage radiating boundless, mysterious power! Profound yin fiend qi of extreme purity surged out like a tide!

"The passage to the legacy!" Blazing light flared in everyone's eyes!

"Let's go!" Overjoyed, the Black Fiend Cult's young master took his two trusted guards and rushed into the passage ahead of everyone else, the three of them becoming streaks of blood-red light!

"After him!"

"We can't let him take it!"

Feng Yue, the green-robed elder, and the Ghost King Sect youth all had bloodshot eyes. They broke free of their opponents at any cost and charged madly toward the passage! Without a word, Dugu Jian transformed into sword light, moving fastest of all!

Nangong Wan and Han Yunzhi exchanged a glance and followed without hesitation.

Han Li hesitated briefly, swallowed several pills to suppress his injuries, and swept into the passage as a black shadow. He had a vague sense that this passage was no safe place, but with an opportunity before his eyes, how could he retreat?

The passage was not straight but wound downward. Its walls were smooth as mirrors, inscribed with countless intricate, ancient runes that exuded a desolate aura of ages past. The deeper they went, the purer the fiend qi became, and the greater the pressure, as though countless eyes were watching the intruders from the darkness.

They had traveled barely a hundred zhang when fierce fighting and angry roars sounded ahead!

Han Li quickened his pace and rounded a bend. The sight before him made his pupils contract!

At the end of the passage stood an enormous circular altar. At its center floated a dark-golden sphere of light whose shape shifted constantly. Within it, an ancient token and a rolled jade slip could faintly be seen rising and sinking! The vast aura of the legacy emanated from this sphere!

Around the altar, however, loomed an enormous, bizarre formation made up of countless pallid skulls! It radiated a chilling aura of deathly stillness, forming a sturdy barrier! The Black Fiend Cult's young master and his two guards were attacking the skull formation frantically. Its light flickered and its skulls shrieked miserably, yet it was extraordinarily resilient and would not be broken anytime soon!

After Feng Yue, the green-robed elder, and the others arrived, they did not join forces to break the formation. Instead, a melee erupted over who would approach the altar first! Dugu Jian's sword qi swept in all directions as he tried to force his way through, but the Ghost King Sect youth's Ten-Thousand-Soul Banner and the curly-bearded burly man from Heavenly Tower Fort's fist shadows joined forces to drive him back! The scene was utter chaos!

"You pack of idiots! Break the formation first!" the Black Fiend Cult's young master cursed furiously, but no one paid him any attention. Faced with the temptation of the true legacy, their fragile alliance had shattered in an instant!

Nangong Wan and Han Yunzhi arrived and frowned deeply at the scene. Nangong Wan called sharply, "Everyone! Break this formation first, then decide who gets the legacy! Otherwise, none of us will obtain it!"

Her voice carried spiritual power, making everyone's eardrums ring. The melee faltered briefly.

"Fairy Nangong is right!" Feng Yue was the first to stop, glaring at the Ghost King Sect youth. "Let's break this damned formation first!"

The others also managed to suppress their greed, realizing that without breaking the formation, everything else was empty talk.

"Attack together! Focus on a single point!" the green-robed elder proposed.

Having reached a temporary agreement, everyone unleashed their strongest methods against one corner of the skull formation!

Rumble!

The radiance of spells and magical treasures interwove, erupting into a deafening roar! The skull formation shuddered violently, its light rapidly dimming as the skulls on its surface burst apart one after another!

Han Li did not join the attack. Hidden in the shadows of the passage, he drove the Profound Yin Spirit Eye at full power, carefully examining the altar and the dark-golden sphere. System notifications sounded in his mind:

[Warning! High-intensity resentful soul aggregation formation detected. Its core contains a trace of true demon qi. Forcibly breaking the formation may trigger a backlash.]

[Analyzing the sphere's energy structure... suspected core legacy token and cultivation method of the Profound Yin Sect. Energy tier too high. Forced retrieval carries extreme risk.]

True demon qi? The Profound Yin Sect's core legacy? Han Li's heart chilled. This legacy would probably not be so easy to claim!

Just then, under everyone's combined assault, the skull formation finally gave way and collapsed completely with a bang! Dense death qi from the resentful souls scattered outward, making everyone's soul tremble!

"The legacy is mine!" The Black Fiend Cult's young master was the first to rush toward the altar, reaching for the dark-golden sphere!

"Dream on!" Feng Yue, Dugu Jian, and the others charged forward with bloodshot eyes!

Then, without warning, disaster struck!

Just as the young master's palm was about to touch the sphere, it erupted with blinding dark-golden light! An indescribably terrifying suction arose within it, instantly enveloping the entire altar!

"Aah!"

"What's happening?!"

Everyone who had rushed onto the altar-the Black Fiend Cult's young master, Feng Yue, the green-robed elder, the Ghost King Sect youth, Dugu Jian, and even Nangong Wan and Han Yunzhi, who had arrived a moment later-froze. They felt their spiritual power, blood and vitality, and even their souls being drawn uncontrollably toward the sphere!

"No! This isn't a legacy! It's a trap!" the Black Fiend Cult's young master screamed in terror. He struggled desperately but could not escape the suction! His cultivation was the highest, so the force pulling at him was also the strongest. His body shriveled at a speed visible to the naked eye!

Feng Yue, the green-robed elder, and the others screamed repeatedly as their cultivation drained away at frightening speed!

Nangong Wan and Han Yunzhi's lovely faces paled. They circulated their cultivation methods with all their strength to resist, but they too were hanging by a thread!

Because Han Li was farther away and had kept his aura concealed, the suction affecting him was weaker. To his horror, he saw the dark-golden sphere swell as it absorbed everyone's cultivation and life force, its color growing deeper. The phantom images of the token and jade slip within it became increasingly distinct! More terrifying still, a huge, indistinct face-cold and filled with greed-began to emerge at the sphere's center!

Possession?! The legacy is bait! It's meant to nourish the soul of some ancient being! Han Li understood in an instant! This was nothing but an elaborate trap!

[Emergency warning! Signs of an ancient remnant soul awakening detected! Energy tier: late core formation stage! Host advised to evacuate immediately!]

The system sounded a shrill alarm!

Run! I have to run now!

But seeing Nangong Wan and Han Yunzhi on the verge of being drained dry, a flicker of conflict crossed Han Li's eyes. Both had shown him kindness, especially Nangong Wan...

At that hairbreadth moment, Han Li's gaze swept over the shattered skulls around the altar's edge and the phantom token inside the sphere. Inspiration flashed through his mind!

The Mysterious Bone Token! He remembered the token he had obtained from Venerable Xuan Gu's cave abode! It was a token of the Profound Yin Sect. Perhaps it was worth a try!

Without further hesitation, he burst out of the shadows, taking out the Mysterious Bone Token and pouring his pure spiritual power of profound fiend power into it!

Hum!

The Mysterious Bone Token trembled violently and erupted with intense dark-red light. The indistinct rune on its surface suddenly blazed! An aura of the same origin, yet far more commanding, spread outward!

Strangely, when the Mysterious Bone Token's light fell upon the dark-golden sphere, the terrifying suction abruptly faltered! The phantom face within the sphere let out a startled, uncertain roar, as though deeply wary of the token!

Seizing the chance, Han Li shouted, "Martial Aunt Nangong! Miss Han! Retreat!"

Nangong Wan and Han Yunzhi reacted swiftly, immediately breaking free of the remaining suction and staggering off the altar! Feng Yue, the green-robed elder, and the others also seized the chance to escape and fled in disarray, but their cultivation had suffered greatly. The Black Fiend Cult's young master was barely clinging to life!

The being within the sphere seemed enraged. The phantom face roared, firing a concentrated dark-golden beam at Han Li! The power within it was enough to instantly kill any Foundation Establishment cultivator!

Han Li's scalp prickled. Without thinking, he held the Mysterious Bone Token before him while driving his pseudo core flame and every defense to their limits!

Boom!

The dark-golden beam struck the Mysterious Bone Token! The token gave a groan under the unbearable strain, cracks appearing across its surface, but it ultimately blocked the fatal blow! Han Li was struck as though by a massive hammer, spraying blood as he flew backward!

"Go!" Nangong Wan caught the gravely injured Han Li, and Han Yunzhi followed close behind. Without looking back, the three flew for their lives along the way they had come! Feng Yue and the others had already been scared out of their wits and scattered in flight!

On the altar, the dark-golden sphere churned violently, and the phantom face roared in frustration. Yet it seemed bound by some restriction, unable to leave the altar's confines to pursue them.

Inside the passage, Han Li endured his grave injuries as Nangong Wan carried him along at full speed. He glanced back at the terrifying altar, his heart filled with lingering fear. This time, he had truly snatched food from a tiger's jaws and nearly died for it.

"What was that thing?" Han Yunzhi asked, still shaken.

"Probably the remnant soul of some fallen mighty figure from the Profound Yin Sect, using a legacy as a pretext to possess someone." Nangong Wan's tone was grave. She glanced at the crack-covered Mysterious Bone Token in her hand and the severely injured Han Li, a complicated emotion flickering in her beautiful eyes. "We owe you our thanks this time."

Han Li gave a bitter smile. He had just opened his mouth to speak when he began coughing violently and spat out another mouthful of blood. His internal injuries were severe, and the Mysterious Bone Token was nearly ruined.

"Let's get out of here first!" Nangong Wan increased her speed.

The three rushed out of the passage and returned to the main hall, only to find that it too had begun shaking violently. Chunks of stone fell from the vaulted ceiling. Clearly, the remnant soul's awakening had destabilized the restrictions here.

"We can't stay here! Hurry!"

With no time to tend to their injuries, everyone used whatever means they had to flee desperately out of the hall! Behind them, amid thunderous rumbling, the Heaven-Reaching Hall slowly began to collapse...

Their journey into the Buried Demon Abyss approached its end in this brutal and bizarre fashion. They had gained no legacy and had nearly been wiped out instead. Through his actions, Han Li had also left an indelible impression on Nangong Wan's heart.

The storm in the Blood-Colored Forbidden Land was about to subside. But the true upheaval might only just have begun.