Chapter 967: Blood Curse

"Aunt Nine!"Fairy Caiyi waved her hand, her voice sweet and full of anticipation. "Are there any supreme treasures inside?"King Nine Phoenix smiled, clearly having had a fruitful expedition.

"This was originally a medicinal garden, but there were no magic treasures. The garden was quite large, though in ruins. However, I found a few spirit herbs there that can help heal my injuries. Once refined back home, my injuries should fully recover..."The demons were secretly surprised, wondering how severe King Nine Phoenix's injuries had been, as she hadn't recovered even after such a long time.

King Nine Phoenix landed in front of the demons. She was spotless, looking no different from when she left. "I have already checked; there are no other hidden treasures here. Without further ado, it's time to attend to our main objective."They exited the moon gate. King Nine Phoenix lightly swiped with her square seal and led the demons away. After the restrictions on the wall rippled, a flash of light restored the wall to its original state, and the moon gate vanished.

At the entrance to Flower Fairy Lake, the demons descended the wooden bridge. King Nine Phoenix flew to a high peak, gazing into the distance to observe the terrain of the Seven Kills Hall. Inside the Seven Kills Hall, several prominent locations were faintly visible even from here, such as the Sky Tower, the Immortal Platform, and the mysterious inner hall in the deepest part, shrouded by immortal restrictions.

"Spirit Pearl and the Great Shaman are over there!" Fairy Caiyi pointed at the Sky Tower. "When we entered Flower Fairy Lake, they still hadn't left the Seven Kills Hall. Since everything is normal in the Seven Kills Hall now, they should still be inside the Sky Tower. Last time, the Demon Lord and the Great Shaman battled over treasures, turning the Seven Kills Hall upside down..."

King Nine Phoenix's gaze was like lightning as she stared at the Sky Tower for a long time, then coldly said, "It's not yet time to confront the Nascent Souls of the two races. You all, guard me." With that, King Nine Phoenix landed in an open space and sat down cross-legged. The demons, not understanding why, silently spread out, standing around King Nine Phoenix and maintaining vigilance.

King Nine Phoenix waved her hand, setting up several restrictions around them. She took out a glazed pearl the size of a baby's fist, raised her palm, and the pearl floated before her. Then, King Nine Phoenix rapidly changed her hand seals, her fingers moving like a wheel, swiftly casting one incantation after another into the glazed pearl. The glazed pearl vibrated, humming, and shone with light. The restrictions isolated the pearl's unusual fluctuations.

An astonishing sight appeared: King Nine Phoenix opened her delicate mouth and spat out a mouthful of vital essence blood onto the glazed pearl. In an instant, the vital essence blood was completely absorbed by the glazed pearl. Then, the runes within the pearl danced wildly, dazzling the eyes. Staring at it for a moment gave one the feeling of their mind being drawn in. From the corner of his eye, Qin Sang glanced at the glazed pearl and noticed a faint spiritual connection between the artifact's interior and King Nine Phoenix. Even if it wasn't a life-bound magic treasure, it must have been nurtured by King Nine Phoenix for many years to have such a deep connection.

A moment later, the glazed pearl gradually stopped vibrating, and its internal appearance transformed significantly. Inside the glazed pearl, a drop of golden liquid now floated, seemingly the condensed power of King Nine Phoenix's vital essence blood, yet it was golden instead of vibrant red. At this moment, King Nine Phoenix's aura was significantly weaker than before. She hurriedly swallowed a pill, her expression solemn as she watched the glazed pearl, then suddenly flicked her finger, sending a stream of light onto the pearl.

With a crisp clang, the glazed pearl suddenly transformed into a streak of golden light and shot out. The demons, caught off guard, changed their expressions slightly and were about to intervene. King Nine Phoenix waved her hand, her red lips moving slightly as she murmured an unknown incantation. The glazed pearl abruptly halted in mid-air and was caught in King Nine Phoenix's palm. The glazed pearl continued to struggle.

King Nine Phoenix slowly closed her eyes, carefully sensed for a moment, then a hint of joy appeared on her face. She suddenly turned her head to look into the distance and said, "Follow me!" With that, King Nine Phoenix summoned her escape light and headed straight in that direction, slowing down to accommodate the demons.

They traveled over mountains and across ridges. Before long, the demons arrived before a mountain wall. The glazed pearl in King Nine Phoenix's hand vibrated wildly, seemingly drawn by something within the mountain wall. The mountain wall was damp, covered in moss and overgrown with weeds. There were even a few old pine trees growing stubbornly from the rock crevices.

"What are you looking for, Aunt Nine?" Fairy Caiyi asked."Caiyi, both of you, attack that spot with all your might." King Nine Phoenix didn't answer. Her gaze swept over the wall, pointing to a specific spot.

Fairy Caiyi and Gu Heng stepped forward, flew to the spot King Nine Phoenix indicated, and simultaneously let out a low roar. Fairy Caiyi's body shimmered with colorful light, transforming into a seven-colored phoenix shadow. Inside Gu Heng's body, bones audibly cracked, and sharp dragon horns suddenly grew from his head. The two demons exchanged glances, then simultaneously launched their full-power attacks at the stone wall.

Ordinary rock, subjected to such fierce attacks, would undoubtedly shatter into pieces. Yet, this mountain wall did not crack. Only the moss and weeds were swept away, turning into dust. The true appearance of the mountain wall was revealed, a faint glow emanating from its surface, its core completely intact. Just then, King Nine Phoenix's figure flickered, appearing before the stone wall. She lightly pressed her jade-like hand against it and bellowed, "Open!" The mountain wall shook violently, and a cave entrance appeared out of thin air.

A moment later, the demons found themselves in an empty cave, filled with confusion. King Nine Phoenix, still holding the glazed pearl, stood before one of the cave walls, her head slightly tilted back, gazing in contemplation at the seemingly blank stone wall. Fairy Caiyi stood beside her, seemingly sensing something as well, but unsure, she hesitated to speak.

"Do you feel a sense of familiarity with these restrictions? This is a unique blood restriction of our Phoenix Clan," King Nine Phoenix told Caiyi. "The senior who left this blood restriction had a cultivation far surpassing ours. If not for the restrictions greatly weakening due to the passage of time and having been previously broken by brute force, it would have been very difficult for me to sense it, even with secret techniques."

"A Phoenix Clan blood restriction!" Fairy Caiyi was shocked. "Could this be the cave dwelling of a Phoenix Clan ancestor?"King Nine Phoenix nodded. "It's possible. There are certainly more places like this. There must be other demon cultivator ruins within the Seven Kills Hall. They could have been spirit beasts tamed by immortal cultivators, or perhaps they belonged to the same sect as the immortal cultivators, part of the same faction."

"Demon cultivators from the same sect as immortal cultivators?" Fairy Caiyi and the others found such a scene hard to imagine, as the demon race and immortal cultivators from the two great seas had always been at odds.King Nine Phoenix said calmly, "What's so strange about that? The ancient cultivation world wasn't always peaceful, and demon cultivators and immortal cultivators weren't necessarily always in opposition."

Fairy Caiyi suddenly thought of something and excitedly said, "Aunt Nine, does this mean the Seven Kills Hall isn't a human sacred land as the human race claims? Is this actually a sacred land for our demon race as well?"King Nine Phoenix hummed in affirmation, then sighed, "That may be true, but the human and shaman races in the Canglang Sea are prosperous, while the demon race is in decline. We can only live at their mercy, struggling to survive, with no ability to contend for the Seven Kills Hall. Who knows how many treasures left behind by demon race ancestors have fallen into the hands of immortal cultivators, like pearls cast before swine. If we could obtain these treasures, we might even gain the opportunity for Soul Transformation."The demons felt a pang of resignation. Frustratingly, the Seven Kills Hall is in the Canglang Sea, not the Demon Sea. They had gone through countless hardships just to infiltrate it. It would be impossible for them to launch a full-scale invasion of the Canglang Sea, making them utterly powerless to contend with the immortal cultivators.