“Three months ago, the Blue-Parasol Ancient-Abyss began showing strange disturbances,” the blood-covered figure explained slowly.

“I came here to investigate, but I didn’t expect that the Evil Spirit Ghost God had already broken through the seal. It had set up a trap beforehand and imprisoned me within it. I was careless, and now I’ve ended up like this.”

The blood-colored figure was full of regret. As Xu Zimo tore apart the iron chains, the figure weakly sat on the ground.

“Why did he pretend to be you?” Xu Zimo asked.

“Because by doing so, he could deceive the Ghost God Collegium,” the blood-colored figure replied with a bitter smile. “If the academy discovered that he had broken the seal, they would have immediately sent several Grand Emperors to capture him.”

“Then why didn’t he kill you?” Xie Changliu asked in confusion.

“My life lamp is kept within the Ghost God Collegium,” the man explained. “If I die, the lamp would extinguish instantly, and his disguise would be exposed. He didn’t dare take that risk.”

The man wiped the blood from his face, revealing his true appearance, it was exactly the same as the elder from the Celestial Sage Academy.

“I am Jiang Mozi,” the elder said with a weak bow. “I owe you my life. That Ghost God is now controlling the entire Celestial Sage Academy. I must immediately contact the Ghost God Collegium. Changliu, I hope you both can help me.”

Xie Changliu said nothing. His gaze turned toward the depths above them. The path they had entered through was now completely sealed.

“That Ghost God brought us here, clearly, he never intended to let us leave,” he said calmly.

As if confirming his words, the entire Blue-Parasol Ancient-Abyss began to tremble violently.

Dark energy surged, black mist spread everywhere, and the sound of grinding gears echoed as if something ancient was awakening. The abyss itself began to rotate.

The heavens shook; the world dimmed; everything seemed to sink into ruin.

“This is bad, the sealing formation of the Blue-Parasol Ancient-Abyss has been activated!” Jiang Mozi’s expression turned grim.

“This is the same formation we once used to imprison the Evil Spirit Ghost God. Now it intends to use the same seal against us. We must escape, or we’ll never get another chance!”

“I’m afraid it’s already too late,” Xu Zimo said, shaking his head.

The formation’s activation was incredibly fast. In the blink of an eye, it had covered the entire abyss.

Above them, a vast sigil appeared, inscribed with the patterns of the heavenly stars.

The sigil projected an awe-inspiring radiance, sealing off every exit.

“I’ll give it a try,” Xie Changliu said.

He stepped into the air and shot upward from the valley, his sword radiating an overwhelming aura.

“Sword that tilts ten thousand miles!” he roared.

A boundless surge of sword intent condensed into his blade. When he swung it, a thunderous explosion erupted, shaking the sky.

But the sigil did not move, it was completely unaffected.

“This formation is no simple thing,” Jiang Mozi sighed. “Even a Saint Sovereign wouldn’t be able to break it.”

“When Lord Kui created this seal, he combined the power of the other eight Ghost Gods, along with the core strength of the Nine Saint Sovereigns from the Ghost God Collegium. Only then were we able to imprison that Evil Spirit Ghost God. For us to break it now… it’s impossible.”

“Then how did the Ghost God escape in the first place?” Xu Zimo asked. “Could it have already attained the Infinite Dao?”

“Impossible,” Jiang Mozi said immediately. “I’ve never seen anyone in my life who truly reached the Infinite Dao Realm. If he had achieved that level, he would’ve destroyed the Ghost God Collegium outright. Why bother impersonating me and hiding in the Celestial Sage Academy? Clearly, he still fears the academy’s power and dares not face them head-on.”

Hearing this, Xu Zimo nodded, Jiang Mozi’s reasoning made sense.

Above, Xie Changliu continued to attack the sigil again and again, but no matter how much force he unleashed, it was all in vain.

The sigil was far too powerful for them to break.

Meanwhile, the energies in the abyss continued to gather, gold, wood, water, fire, and earth, the five elemental forces each manifesting at different directions, pouring endlessly into the formation.

“There must be another way,” Xu Zimo said.

“For now, that’s all we can hope for,” Jiang Mozi sighed, clearly with little confidence.

He was, after all, just a crippled man now. In this deadly place, even a single demonic vine could easily tear him apart.

Xu Zimo looked around. The valley had already been split in half by his previous strike.

He found a relatively stable spot and sat down cross-legged.

Since he had already acquired the Nine-Nether God-Grass, it was time to awaken the Red-Blade Bull Demon, then he could worry about the rest.

As his consciousness entered his True Life World, he saw the Dragon Maiden still forging the weapon.

Shadow Tyrant and the Grand-Pivot God-Sword were now half-fused, radiating a divine power that was awe-inspiring.

The auras of blade and sword, once opposed, now seemed to be complementing each other, wind and thunder intertwined, water and fire harmonized.

The Dragon Maiden was clearly keeping her promise; she was earnestly refining the weapon.

“My Lord,” said Paimon and the others who had been standing guard. When they saw Xu Zimo, they bowed deeply.

“I’ve obtained the Nine-Nether God-Grass. Let’s heal the old bull first,” Xu Zimo said, nodding.

Seven-Face nodded slightly. He took the divine grass, it even tried to flee, but with a turn of his demonic lotus, he suppressed it completely.

The group approached the Red-Blade Bull Demon.

Without the prior torment of flame chains, the creature’s massive body had already begun self-repairing, healing its injuries.

Two new horns had even grown from its head.

To awaken its soul, however, the Nine-Nether God-Grass alone wasn’t enough, they needed other ingredients as well.

Fortunately, Seven-Face had everything required.

“Imperial Devil Flower, Purple Gourd Vine, Eight-Tomb Demon Needle Fruit, Sky-Jade Leaf, Nine-Nether God-Grass…”

One after another, rare spiritual herbs were tossed into the air.

Flames erupted from Seven-Face’s hand, wrapping all the herbs together, he was refining something.

Within the blazing fire, the process was hidden from view.

After a long while, he plucked a single petal from his demonic lotus and cast it into the flames.

At once, the fire surged violently, transforming its shape again and again, sometimes like a deer, sometimes like a beast, leaping and running wildly.

After three minutes, the flames gradually died down.

Floating in the air was a thick, translucent liquid, shimmering faintly.

“This is the Heaven-Demon Tear,” said Seven-Face with a smile. “It has immense restorative power for the soul.”

The Red-Blade Bull Demon lay atop a stone tablet. The Infernal Archon guided the liquid, letting it flow gently into the creature’s mouth.

Instantly, a vast surge of demonic energy burst forth from the Bull Demon’s body.

That aura was overwhelming, bestial, ancient, and mighty.

Within it, faint sounds of deep, resonant “mooing” could be heard.

Lines of molten cracks lit up across its body, glowing like rivers of magma.

Flames erupted from its skin, and from its two great horns, a terrifying force exploded outward, lifting its colossal body into the air.