The pressure emanating from the depths of the Demon-Sealing Abyss bore down like Mount Tai. Lin Wudao felt his breath catch, and even the Chaos Sword in his hand began to tremble faintly. The shattered core fragments of the fallen immortal ancient devil eerily gathered together again in midair, forming a cracked star chart that resonated with the palace coordinates in his sea of consciousness. Greed flashed in Tianxuzi's eyes, and the golden light shooting from the Xuantian Mirror abruptly changed direction, heading straight for the floating star chart fragments.
"Tianxuzi, you dare!" True Person Baixuan roared. Great Void Azure Firmament, the Jade Void Palace's sect-guarding immortal sword, shot through the air. Sword Qi collided with golden light, erupting in a blinding glare. Amid the chaos, the mysterious cultivators concealed in the clouds finally lost their patience. Twelve of them formed a bizarre formation, and an enormous blood-colored compass appeared in the sky, enveloping the entire battlefield.
"This is bad! It's the Ancient Witch Clan's Blood-Devouring Dragon-Trapping Formation!" The holy maiden's expression changed drastically. The sound waves from her jade flute clashed violently with the formation. "They want to trap everyone here and take the star chart all for themselves!"
Lin Wudao had no time to ponder the mysterious faction's purpose. The image of the Star Palace in his sea of consciousness grew ever clearer, and the runes on its great gates actually seemed to align faintly with the patterns of the Blood-Devouring Dragon-Trapping Formation. He suddenly realized that these seemingly opposing factions might all be paving the way for some hidden mastermind.
"Su Yao, hold the formation eye!" Lin Wudao tossed the Star Spirit-Guiding Formation Diagram into the air. The diagram transformed into a protective barrier that enveloped everyone from the Jade Void Palace. He circulated the Chaos Heaven-Devouring Instruction, driving its devouring power furiously as he attempted to take the Blood-Devouring Dragon-Trapping Formation's power for his own use. Yet the formation's backlash far exceeded his expectations. A tearing agony shot through his meridians, and blood seeped from the corner of his mouth.
Just then, an enormous hand that blotted out the sun and sky reached through the fissure in the Demon-Sealing Abyss, purple lightning coiling around its pitch-black nails. It grasped the edge of the Blood-Devouring Dragon-Trapping Formation and gave a gentle tug, tearing the formation apart like thin paper. Lin Wudao's pupils abruptly contracted-engraved on the enormous wrist were the very same dark gold runes as those between the immortal corpse's brows!
"It's the Lord of the Devil-Sealing Abyss!" Tianxuzi's voice carried unprecedented terror. "Legend says it's a monster formed from countless devil souls during the great war between Gods and Devils in High Antiquity!"
The enormous hand swept through the air, sending countless black chains shooting toward everyone. Lin Wudao swung the Chaos Sword, shattering the chains hurtling toward him, and caught sight of the star chart fragments flying toward the enormous hand out of the corner of his eye. Gritting his teeth, he unleashed Phantom Bewildering Steps, his figure flitting like a ghost as he raced through the gaps between the chains. When he was only ten zhang from the star chart, a blood-colored sword light suddenly struck, forcing him back.
"Lin Wudao, this star chart belongs to the Yellow Springs Demon Sect!" A black-robed old man stepped out of the void, a pungent, bloody stench emanating from the blood blade in his hand. Behind him, dozens of Yellow Springs Demon Sect disciples formed the Yellow Springs Myriad Tribulations Formation, and dense black mist instantly spread across the battlefield.
Su Yao broke through the black mist, her gilded whip coiling around the blood blade. "Old bastard, get past me first!" Her attacks were exceptionally fierce, the whip's afterimages turning into golden snakes that filled the sky, only to be corroded by strange Devil Qi upon touching the black-robed old man. Seizing the opportunity, Lin Wudao gathered the power of lightning and fire in the Chaos Sword and unleashed Thunder Dragon Burns the Heavens. An enormous thunder dragon roared as it slammed into the Yellow Springs Myriad Tribulations Formation.
The instant the formation shattered with a thunderous crash, the star chart fragments finally landed in the enormous hand. The Lord of the Devil-Sealing Abyss let out a deafening roar. Dark clouds churned overhead, and countless meteors streaked across the sky. Lin Wudao suddenly discovered that their trajectories were exactly like the Star Palace's runes.
System! What's going on with these meteors? he asked urgently in his mind.
"Ding! Detected: the Lord of the Devil-Sealing Abyss is forcibly activating the Star Palace's destruction sequence. Unless stopped, everything within ten thousand li will become ruins devastated by falling stars!" The system's notification carried a rare urgency.
Horror filled Lin Wudao's heart as he looked at the fused Star Spirit-Guiding Formation Diagram in his hand. Fine cracks appeared across its surface, seemingly answering the strange changes in the sky. He suddenly recalled a scene from the immortal corpse's memory fragments-the figure guarding the Star Palace had ultimately used the power of their own Primordial Spirit to repair the seal.
"Could it be..." Lin Wudao clenched his fists. "That only by sacrificing my own spiritual power can I turn things around?"
Before he could decide, Tianxuzi suddenly manipulated the Xuantian Mirror, concentrating all its power into a golden pillar of light that shot toward the Lord of the Devil-Sealing Abyss. The instant it struck the enormous hand, the star chart fragments shook violently, and the meteors overhead plummeted faster. Lin Wudao understood that Tianxuzi's strike had not only failed to stop the destruction sequence but had instead accelerated the Star Palace's collapse.
"Everyone, pour your spiritual power into the formation diagram!" True Person Baixuan acted decisively, and the Supreme Void Azure Nether Sword flew into the formation diagram first. The Jade Void Palace disciples responded one after another, their spiritual power surging into it like a tide. Lin Wudao bit through the tip of his tongue and spat Essence Blood onto the diagram, circulating the Mystic Heaven Creation Instruction to forcibly establish a resonance with it.
The formation diagram blazed with light, resonating with the trajectories of the falling stars overhead. Under everyone's despairing gazes, Lin Wudao's figure gradually grew transparent-his spiritual power was being drawn out by the diagram at a rate visible to the naked eye. Seemingly sensing the threat, the Lord of the Devil-Sealing Abyss brought its enormous hand crashing down toward him...