The instant the Sword of the Falling Star pierced the blood-colored sphere, the entire altar shook violently. The power erupting from the nine sect-guarding treasures collided thunderously with the Power of the Falling Star, unleashing a blaze of light that left everyone unable to open their eyes. The Ancient Witch Clan's great shamans frantically formed hand seals, trying to steady their formation, but the Devil Qi in the earth veins beneath their feet actually began surging backward, following the Sword of the Falling Star's path to lash back at the altar.
"Impossible! This power... why does it share the formation's origin?" The lead great shaman's voice carried unprecedented terror. He did not know that Lin Wudao's Power of the Falling Star had originated from the Star Palace's essence in the first place. Now, resonating with the Jade Slip fragment, it had awakened a power deep within the palace that countered the Ancient Witch Clan's formation.
Lin Wudao gritted his teeth and drove the Sword of the Falling Star with all his strength. Runes identical to those on the Star Palace's gates emerged amid the patterns on the blade. Wherever it passed, the blood-colored sphere crumbled inch by inch, like melting ice and snow. Su Yao seized the opportunity, her gilded whip transforming into golden chains that coiled around the scattered sect-guarding treasures and dragged them out of the formation. Yet the instant the treasures left the altar, an earth-shaking roar came from underground. The twelve black stone pillars exploded with a thunderous crash, and countless vengeful spirits poured out of the rubble, forming a black mist that blotted out the sky and sun.
"This is bad! The formation's backlash has triggered an uprising of ten thousand souls!" Su Yao's voice was drowned out by the vengeful spirits' shrieks. She swung her whip, and wherever its flames reached, the spirits dissipated. Yet the black mist gathered ever thicker, gradually enveloping them both. Lin Wudao circulated the Chaos Heaven-Devouring Instruction and devoured it frantically, only to discover that these vengeful spirits were steeped in Devil Qi. Every wisp he absorbed was like swallowing scalding iron sand, scorching his meridians.
"Lin Wudao! Die!" The Ancient Witch Clan's great shamans seized the opportunity to attack, nine blood-colored incantation runes transforming into hideous ghost faces that lunged at him. Lin Wudao struggled to raise his sword and block. The Sword of the Falling Star collided with the ghost faces, and the resulting impact numbed the webbing between his thumb and forefinger. More deadly still, the Devil Master's remnant soul in his sea of consciousness grew increasingly active amid the upheaval, resonating with the vengeful spirits and churning his consciousness to the brink of collapse.
At that critical moment, the lilting sound of a xiao suddenly drifted from the direction of the Jade Void Palace. The holy maiden came soaring through the air atop seven-colored auspicious clouds. The Clear Heart Incantation played on her jade xiao turned into golden sound waves, and wherever they passed, the black mist receded like a tide. "Junior Brother, catch!" She tossed out a jade token engraved all over with stars. It was none other than the Jade Void Palace's secret sect-guarding treasure, the Great Void Star Jade.
The instant Lin Wudao caught the jade token, the Power of the Falling Star resonated with it, forming an enormous star chart that shrouded the battlefield. He seized the opportunity to circulate the Mystic Heaven Creation Instruction, merging the Power of the Falling Star, the Chaos Heaven-Devouring Instruction, and the Great Void Star Jade's power into one to unleash the forbidden secret technique, Falling Star Samsara. In the sky, countless phantom stars condensed into a gigantic vortex, sucking in every vengeful spirit and all the Ancient Witch Clan's attacks.
"No! We cannot fail!" In desperation, the lead great shaman pressed the Jade Slip fragment against his chest, attempting to force the ritual to completion. His body began swelling, and runes identical to those in the Star Palace emerged beneath his skin. Clearly, he intended to sacrifice himself to become the key that opened the second level. Lin Wudao's pupils abruptly contracted, and he immediately directed the Sword of the Falling Star to shoot toward the great shaman. But the instant its tip touched him, an abyss suddenly split open beneath the altar, and a massive, scale-covered hand reached out-it was actually the arm of the Lord of the Devil-Sealing Abyss!
The massive hand seized the great shaman and dragged him into the abyss along with the Jade Slip fragment. At the same time, the Devil Qi it swept up formed a barrier, blocking Lin Wudao's attack. "Hahahaha! The Star Palace's second level... I will have it!" The Devil Master's voice came from the abyss, making everyone's eardrums ache. Lin Wudao felt the Power of the Falling Star within him roiling wildly. The phantom palace in his sea of consciousness resonated with the abyss, as though it meant to drag him inside as well.
"Wudao, use this!" Su Yao suddenly thrust something cold into his hand. Lin Wudao looked down. It was actually the chain fragment they had obtained from the immortal corpse's remains. A thought stirred in his mind, and he tossed the fragment out. The chain instantly turned into a streak of light and vanished into the abyss. The ancient incantation script on the chain answered the Power of the Falling Star, actually forming a seal above the abyss that temporarily trapped the Devil Master.
But this seal could only last a moment. Lin Wudao knew full well that he had to seize this opportunity to resolve the crisis completely. He took a deep breath and fused the Great Void Star Jade, the Jade Slip fragment, and the chain fragment into the Sword of the Falling Star. The light erupting from its blade illuminated the entire Immortal Burial Valley. "Falling Star Final Chapter!" He swung his sword down at the abyss. Containing the Star Palace's essence and the power of the three supreme treasures, this strike cleaved straight toward the Lord of the Devil-Sealing Abyss with the might to split heaven and earth...