Chapter 461: The Essence of Huangquan Temple

Dongji Jing, located in the giant deep pit, was completely engulfed by purple divine flames. Cultivators weaker than the Nascent Soul stage were almost instantly reduced to black powder.

Even Nascent Soul cultivators found it difficult. The power of these purple divine flames was no weaker than the concentrated burst from the Immortal Official's Medicine Vault, and perhaps even of higher quality.

Old Demon Scorching Sun, who escaped as a Nascent Soul, saw his Nascent Soul flicker erratically from the purple flames, appearing like a soul on the verge of dissipation; he could only be described as utterly weakened.

In this state, any Nascent Soul cultivator could easily capture him alive.

Seeing this, Wang Yu couldn't help but add insult to injury.

Unfortunately, he couldn't find him for the moment.

Meanwhile, in the Imperial Palace, the epicenter of the purple divine flame eruption, all sorts of strange restrictions were simultaneously triggered. Various storms and multicolored spiritual lights filled that small enclosed space.

This completely disrupted the space.

Under these circumstances, Nascent Soul teleportation techniques had become ineffective. Red Sky Demonic Venerable's situation was no better; the restrictions on flight had reached an unprecedented level.

Even Fifth-Rank escape methods couldn't lift one off the ground by an inch.

The curse of the Great Demon of the Yellow Springs left him extremely weak. The Demonic Essence of his Soul Transformation stage was greatly diminished as soon as it left his sea of qi. In this state, the Yellow Springs Temple Master's battle power surpassed his own realm.

This implicitly created a balanced confrontation.

As the Blood Fury Intent spread unrestrained, Red Sky Demonic Venerable's mind quickly regained its calm. Normally, a Soul Transformation cultivator would utterly crush a Nascent Soul cultivator.

There were only four exceptions: the Joyful Union Saint Lord, the Blood Demon Hall Master, the Yellow Springs Temple Master, and the Nether Mountain Sect Master.

This applied even to the Taihu Spirit Domain, including the Sword Sect and other seven orthodox sects, none of which had half-step Soul Transformation cultivators. This clearly showed a significant gap between the orthodox and demonic factions.

The reason the demonic path consisted of five sects was largely due to the combat power of their sect masters. The reputation of being a half-step Soul Transformation cultivator wasn't something one could claim and have it immediately acknowledged.

Red Sky's attitude towards those Nascent Soul cultivators could almost be described as inhumane; he could find any reason to torture and kill them.

Applying this attitude to the Yellow Springs Temple Master, however, naturally led to problems.

Since breaking through his shackles, Red Sky had barely cultivated to the second layer of the Soul Transformation stage, making him one of the weakest at that level. Now, facing the purple flames engulfing the capital and the Yellow Springs Temple Master's watchful gaze...

...he had already considered seeking assistance.

However...

Since Dongji Jing had appeared, no powerful cultivators from Taihu had arrived, partly due to the efforts of some Refinement Sky Demonic Sect Venerables. Moreover, no one had expected that an underground ruin, explored countless times before...

...would reveal a vast number of opportunities for Soul Transformation upon its full manifestation.

Only the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect and the Yellow Springs Temple could confirm this.

Others could not.

There was also a reason why Soul Transformation Venerables didn't act arbitrarily. Besides their duty to guard, a bigger reason was that the Ice Prison Realm's limit could only accommodate Soul Transformation cultivators.

Just like Wang Yu previously exhausted his demonic essence in the Heavenly Star Pagoda; without the aid of a Fourth-Rank spiritual vein, foolishly meditating to recover would take years.

Soul Transformation cultivators faced an even graver situation. Upon their Nascent Soul transforming into a Soul Transformation stage, it fully merged with their soul, forming a primordial spirit core. Their divine sense effect dramatically increased, allowing them to manipulate the spiritual energy of heaven and earth within a certain range.

Whether augmenting their own divine abilities or for other uses, they could achieve significant improvements upon their original capabilities.

However, immortals from the upper realm had once altered the rules of the Ice Prison Realm.

When Soul Transformation cultivators exerted their full power, their vital essence would be forced to burn. The longer they fought, the more severe the loss, and after exerting their full power, this depletion could even affect their lifespan.

Therefore, the idea of Red Sky seeking assistance was merely a fleeting thought.

He knew that Blood Pill Child of the Refinement Sky Demonic Sect was also in Dongji Jing, and with the two late-stage Nascent Soul grand cultivators from the Yin-Yang Gate Master, they could certainly help him.

However, seeking help from juniors would be a blow to his pride.

He couldn't bring himself to do it.

In a short time, numerous thoughts flashed through his mind, and the idea of going all out surged. Having comprehended the 'Blood Fury Intent,' Red Sky himself was not an emotionally stable person.

A fiery temper and a propensity for violent outbursts had been the impression and label others had for him for most of his life. These were also two major characteristics of Soul Transformation cultivators.

Besides the Intent, there was also an ability granted by the primordial spirit.

With the primordial spirit as the core,

and coupled with supreme magical power, it formed a divine body.

“—Red Sky's Blood Fury Dharma Idol!”

With a single step, a golden-red primordial spirit, identical in appearance to Red Sky Demonic Venerable, suddenly flew out from the top of his head.

A vast amount of demonic essence surged out from his limbs and bones, expelling all the curse power injected by the Great Demon of the Yellow Springs.

In an instant,

a golden-red giant rose from the sea of purple flames, its hair and beard flying, a look of furious rage on its face. A crimson blood-god ring, seemingly formed from flowing blood, floated behind its head.

As its Intent spread, it enveloped the entire Dongji Jing.

This... was the Cosmic Dharma Body.

A unique power constructed by Soul Transformation cultivators with their primordial spirit as the core. Each Soul Transformation cultivator's Dharma Idol was different, yet cultivation techniques for powerful Dharma Idols had also been created.

For example, the Dharma Idol inheritance of the Yellow Springs Temple, derived from the White Bone Path:

The White Bone Demonic God Dharma Idol!

As the saying goes, 'Those who learn from me live, those who imitate me die.' The purpose of Dharma Idol inheritance was primarily to provide successors with experience and reference points, allowing them to condense stronger Dharma Idols.

Simply copying a template, however, was not feasible.

But for Nascent Soul cultivators, directly imitating the power they could obtain allowed them to experience the might of a Soul Transformation cultivator's Dharma Idol in advance.

Only when they truly reached the breakthrough stage would they consider reshaping their Dharma Idol and forging their own path.

As Red Sky Demonic Venerable unleashed his full power, the Yellow Springs Temple Master's face grew solemn. The loss of his internal organs had already severely wounded him, making it perilous to directly contend with a Dharma Idol in this state.

He admitted he was no match, but reaching this point was enough.

From the corner of his eye, he glanced at Red Sky's five followers: the three black Jiao dragons and two 'old' child attendants. They posed little threat, as none had reached the late Nascent Soul stage.

They were simply unable to join this battle.

However, when they previously entered the Longevity Medicine Vault, they had collected at least a dozen Fifth-Rank precious pills. When the vault collapsed, they too had barely escaped, in disarray.

They were not far from this location.

Moreover, with restrictions running rampant throughout the Imperial Palace area, the stable ground where they could stand was very small.

The thought of 'fortune favors the bold' entered his mind.

He had already offended Red Sky to this extent, so offending him further seemed insignificant.

With a thought,

a massive White Bone Demonic God, half a head shorter than Red Sky's Blood Fury Dharma Idol, rose from the ground. Like two world-ending giants, they fiercely clashed against each other, illuminated by the purple divine flames.

One could see that every punch from the Blood Fury Dharma Idol gathered the spiritual energy of heaven and earth. It was like an endless barrage of heavy blows, capable of shattering the White Bone Dharma Idol's bones with each impact.

The latter's strength lay in its inexhaustible Yellow Springs power. Even if its intensity was inferior to the Blood Fury Dharma Idol, and its counterattacks were soft and weak, its recovery ability was formidable.

Red Sky Demonic Venerable soon discovered the problem.

At the core of the White Bone Demonic God Dharma Idol was not the Yellow Springs Temple Master, but a Fifth-Rank spiritual treasure... the Yellow Springs Treasure Vase!

This was one of the inherited spiritual treasures of the Yellow Springs White Bone Path.

After being obtained by the Yellow Springs Temple, it had always been in the Temple Master's possession. Green Water Demonic Lord's innate magic treasure was of the same type, but its rank was not high enough.

One of this treasure's greatest characteristics was its ability to accumulate what seemed like inexhaustible Yellow Springs Netherworld power, provided it had been refined by its owner.

It was like an external storage sea of qi.

It could be slowly accumulated during ordinary times and then taken out for use during battles. Both its effect and significance were tremendous.

As for the Yellow Springs Temple Master's true body, he used the Cicada Shedding Shell technique,

and suddenly escaped.

His target was directly the three Jiao dragons and two child attendants.

“—How dare you!”

Apart from the piece of Dragon Gold of Fortune, almost all of Red Sky Demonic Venerable's gains from this trip to Dongji Jing were in the hands of his servants. If the Yellow Springs Temple Master seized them,

this journey would be meaningless.

The Yellow Springs Temple Master's expression was stern; he showed no fear of the so-called Soul Transformation pressure.

“Since you killed my junior brother Youmingzi, you should have expected that I could also kill your child attendants and lackeys to avenge him!”

With one punch, the Blood Fury Dharma Idol shattered the White Bone Demonic God.

Then it lifted its foot and stepped towards the Yellow Springs Temple Master.

“I am one of the leaders of the demonic path. Even if I deceive you or oppress you, you, an ant, should simply endure it.”

“Absurd!”

How could the Yellow Springs Temple Master accept such words?

His innate magic treasure was insufficient for battle at this level, so he once again resorted to using a profound item from his sect's heritage.

His second Fifth-Rank spiritual treasure—the Azure Netherworld Purifying Demonic Sword!

If the White Bone Demonic God Dharma Idol was primarily sustained by the Yellow Springs Treasure Vase, then the consumption required to activate this spiritual treasure would have to be borne by him personally.

Facing the Blood Fury Dharma Idol's stomp, he angrily drew his sword.

Daring to make all who scorned him pay a bloody price.

“In the past, I was merely a beggar. The reason I could climb to my current position was never cunning schemes, but the sword in my hand!”

His fighting spirit ignited.

Fighting desperately against Red Sky did not align with his position or interests.

But forced by the situation, and with no other choice, the Yellow Springs Temple Master was mentally prepared to fight to the bitter end.

The upward slash of the Azure Netherworld Purifying Demonic Sword severed half of the Blood Fury Dharma Idol's foot. The Azure Netherworld Purifying power, emanating a verdant green light, was an extremely formidable force.

Moreover, Azure Netherworld power specifically countered primordial spirits, and a Dharma Idol's divine body was shaped with the primordial spirit as its core. Thus, this sword strike truly made Red Sky Demonic Venerable feel pain.

It had damaged the foundation of his primordial spirit.

With this, the three Jiao dragons and two child attendants were caught in the Yellow Springs Temple Master's grasp. A casual Yellow Springs Grand Hand Seal scattered them, sending them fleeing in all directions. However, restrictions frequently erupted in the Imperial Palace area.

It concealed numerous small-scale Fifth-Rank restrictions. It was fine if one stayed out, but accidentally touching one meant instant death.

Calling it a death trap would not be an exaggeration. The omnipresent purple divine flames were an even greater predicament; divine sense perception was difficult to extend, making it like being trapped in a labyrinth.

Looking around, it was hard to find any chance of survival.

As Red Sky wailed, the two 'old' child attendants suffered first. One was instantly torn to shreds by an Imperial Palace restriction, while the other was extinguished by a single sword strike from the Yellow Springs Temple Master.

It purified into a small sphere of flesh and blood essence.

The Temple Master immediately consumed it. His depleted demonic essence and damaged internal organs visibly recovered at a rapid pace. At this point in the battle,

neither side could truly overpower the other.

The Yellow Springs Temple Master possessed an endless array of Fifth-Rank spiritual treasures, all of them top-grade or supreme quality. Although Red Sky Demonic Venerable's innate spiritual treasure was also Fifth-Rank, it was merely low-grade.

Considering the influence of cultivation realm on the spiritual treasures' performance,

if they were truly to compare the power of their spiritual treasures, the level of power they could unleash was comparable.

The problem was that in the Yellow Springs Temple, the Temple Master was the highest-ranking existence; all the profound heritage treasures were in his possession.

However, in the Refinement Sky Demonic Sect, Red Sky, despite being a Venerable,

found it utterly impossible to access those profound heritage spiritual treasures. They were instead wielded by his elder and more powerful senior brothers. Consequently, his responsibilities were not as heavy, leaving him with ample time to explore.

Therefore,

upon hearing news of opportunities for Soul Transformation, he had hastily rushed here.

Meanwhile, in the interval of their battle, many Nascent Soul cultivators had successfully fled Dongji Jing. A significant portion of these were Nascent Soul Old Ancestors from the Yellow Springs Temple.

They looked back to find their Temple Master locked in a deathmatch with the Demonic Venerable.

Their hearts cried out in alarm.

Their first thought was to seal off the news, but there were too many Nascent Soul cultivators in the area. They accounted for, at most, half, with the other half occupied by scattered Nascent Soul cultivators from the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect's territory.

There were also a very small number of rogue cultivators, cultivators from outside the Red Kite Demonic Domain, and so on, many of whom were powerful figures in the Mid or Late Nascent Soul stage.

Attempting to seal off the news would be nothing short of a pipe dream.

Once the situation here spread, the internal conflict among the Red Kite demonic factions would undergo earth-shattering changes, and the Yunling State battlefield would be even more affected.

Furthermore... could their Temple Master possibly win?!!

The outcome was extremely important.

At the same time,

Wang Yu had also flown to the end of the underground river, emerging from the outskirts of Dongji Jing's outer city. Although the river was large, it wasn't naturally formed; it was still a Feng Shui layout created by the Ancestor of Geomancy.

Its patterns and characteristics had long been fully understood by Wang Yu.

At this moment, he suddenly looked back.

He saw the struggle between the two colossal Dharma Idols and that astonishing sword light slicing upwards, and he couldn't help but murmur,

“To be able to fight to this extent, it seems I underestimated the Yellow Springs Temple Master. There’s indeed a reason why he can be ranked among the Five Demonic Sects.”

Upon realizing this, Wang Yu did not regret his departure. Even with the aid of the Coiling Dragon Ring's authority, Red Sky Demonic Venerable was very likely to perish.

However, regardless of success or failure, this battle's outcome would plunge him into an abyss, and the situation in Red Kite would become even more confusing.

Immediately, Wang Yu began to deduce the current situation.

He realized that regardless of the outcome, both the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect and the Yellow Springs Temple were highly likely to be targeted by the Refinement Sky Demonic Sect, and his own existence was no secret.

To ensure complete safety,

it was best to temporarily leave the Spirit Reversal Blood Sect and the Red Kite Demonic Domain.

As for participating in the war,

the original intention was to acquire cultivation resources for the Nascent Soul stage. Now, the trip to Dongji Jing was a prime example of striking it rich. The tens of thousands of tons of Heavenly Yin Divine Water alone could help him advance significantly.

Entering seclusion to assimilate these gains was his next cultivation goal.

Thus, his requirements for a location were not high; even an environment without spiritual veins was acceptable, as the placement panel could help him with daily cultivation issues.

He wouldn't break through a major realm in the short term, so spiritual veins posed very little restriction on him.

Thinking this way, perhaps he could pull off something drastic.

Whether it succeeded or not, it would at least be a fight for what was destined.

Of course,

being able to permanently keep both Red Sky Demonic Venerable and the Yellow Springs Temple Master in Dongji Jing would be even more gratifying~

Wang Yu grinned sinisterly. The Coiling Dragon Ring in his hand transformed into its second form: a staff, approximately one meter long!