Staying in the sect, controlling beasts and cultivating immortals

The towering "Wall of Sighs" stretches across the end of the Burial Bone Plain; it is a desperate barrier forged by the Blood River Ancestor, who poured out the power of his entire sect and burned countless souls to create it.

Filthy, viscous blood writhed on the towering wall, and countless twisted faces rose and fell in the blood waves, shrieking and converging into a wave of mournful cries that froze the soul. Even the momentum of the Demon Slayer Army, empowered by the Chaos Emperor Array, was momentarily halted.

The Blood River Ancestor stood atop the wall, his withered body almost merging with the decaying pole of the Myriad Souls Blood River Banner. His turbid old eyes were fixed on the dark gray Sword of Annihilation in Yu Changsheng's hand, and he roared with laughter: "Return to the Void? Chaos? Before this sigh built of the blood and tears of ten thousand spirits, all are illusions! Today, let the bones of the Qingzhou Emperor lay the foundation for my Blood River Sect!"

Yu Changsheng stood alone before the chaotic pillar of light manifested by the Imperial Array, the Sword of Annihilation trembling slightly, its blade pointing towards him.

"Wow—!"

A piercing shriek that tore through the sky was the first to respond.

The enormous figure of the Golden Roc soared upwards from the pillar of chaotic light, its wings spread wide, and the edges of each golden feather flowed with the gray light of returning to the void that cut through space.

It transformed into a golden-gray lightning bolt that tore through the twilight, crashing with unparalleled speed into the top node of the Wall of Sighs, where the energy flow was most violent and chaotic!

"Boom!" A deafening roar, like the clash of metal, shook the earth and cracked it.

With its sharp claws imbued with the power of the Void, the Golden Roc tore open a churning wave of blood, and the dark red protective blood aura melted away like snow being splashed with boiling water.

The immense impact caused the entire Wall of Sighs to shake violently. Blood River Ancestor staggered, his blood banner waving rapidly. More viscous blood and vengeful spirits howled and rushed towards Golden Roc, attempting to drag him into the abyss of blood from which there was no return.

"Roar—!" A dragon's roar that shook the heavens resounded.

The massive crimson body of the Fiery Dragon, wreathed in the chaotic true fire that could incinerate the eight wastelands, charged in from the other side.

The scorching dragon breath surged like a reversed celestial river, instantly vaporizing the filthy blood wherever it passed. Countless vengeful spirits let out their final mournful howls in the chaotic flames before dissipating into wisps of black smoke.

The Fiery Dragon's robust body, carrying the power to incinerate all things, slammed into the gap torn open by the Golden Roc. The Chaotic True Fire and the filthy blood waves collided violently, emitting a terrifying sizzling sound, forcefully widening and stabilizing the crack!
The foundation of the Wall of Sighs was shaking. The Blood River Ancestor was filled with shock and anger, and frantically shook the Blood River Banner of Ten Thousand Souls, trying to stir up the foul energy accumulated deep in the earth's veins to launch a counterattack.

However, a deep and dark barrier silently unfolded from the core area of ​​the battlefield, like the purest night falling—the Evil Beast's "Eternal Night·Return to the Void Barrier"!
This barrier not only forcefully pushed away the pervasive foul air and resentful blood, but also disrupted the connection between the Blood River Ancestor and the corrupting power of the earth. Like removing the fuel from under a cauldron, the evil power of the Wall of Sighs that devoured life was immediately weakened.

"Now! All troops—break through the wall!" Wang Cheng's roar, like a chaotic war drum, resounded across the battlefield. He led the charge, his chaotic bone arm surging with dark golden light, his Overlord Blood Burning Heaven Domain fully activated. He transformed into a burning crimson-gold meteor, carrying with him the hundred-foot-tall blood-red wolf phantom formed from boundless baleful energy and chaotic battle intent—a manifestation of the thirty thousand Demon Slayers behind him. With the force of shattering mountains and splitting seas, they slammed into the massive breach jointly opened by the Flame Dragon and the Golden Roc, and stabilized by the barrier of the Evil Beast!

"Boom—crash—!!!"

An indescribable sound of shattering echoed throughout the heavens and earth.

The combined power of the three great beast-taming formations and the strongest military formation of the Divine Dynasty in this desperate attack became the final straw that broke the Wall of Sighs.

That despairing, filthy barrier that had devoured countless lives shattered like glass struck by a giant hammer under the blood river ancestor's bloodshot gaze!

Billions of drops of filthy blood, mixed with fragments of vengeful spirits, poured down like a burst dam of the Styx, instantly turning a vast area below into a filthy sea of ​​blood churning with death and despair.

An intensely pungent, foul stench of resentment soared into the sky, and countless remnant souls struggled and sank in the sea of ​​blood, emitting heart-wrenching cries, forming a vicious force field powerful enough to erode the primordial spirit of a cultivator at the Void Refinement stage.

"The Azure Lotus purifies the world, cleansing the universe!" Chen Xueqing's clear voice pierced through the mournful cries of the departed souls. She sat cross-legged on the jade lotus platform, and the Azure Lotus that purified the world bloomed with unprecedented brilliance above her head.

The pure and vast power of life purification, like the gentlest blue waves, spread rapidly outwards in concentric circles from her center.

Wherever the azure light reached, the churning filth and blood seemed to have met its nemesis. The pungent stench was replaced by the fresh fragrance of grass and trees, and the viscous blood was purified and diluted layer by layer. The extreme pain and resentment on the faces of the struggling remnant souls gradually subsided and relaxed under the azure light, letting out a sigh of relief.

A huge, relatively clear passage was forcibly carved out in the filthy sea of ​​blood, pointing directly to the main body of the Myriad Souls Blood River Banner, which still exudes evil fluctuations deep within the Blood River Sect's mountain gate.

"Stop them! Fill them with your own lives, fill them to death!" The Blood River Ancestor went completely mad. As the blood banner fluttered, the last elites of the Blood River Sect surged out like locusts being driven away, from the ruins of the collapsed mountain gate, from the depths of the filthy blood, and from the distorted spatial rifts.

Countless elders and disciples who cultivated the Blood River Evil Art, their bodies shrouded in filthy blood and evil energy, burning their essence and lifespan, charged towards the Emperor's Army with bloodshot eyes. They used self-destruction, poisonous curses, and every vicious method imaginable to relentlessly attack the Demon Slaughter Army's battle formation, all in an attempt to delay the path of purification that led to the Blood Banner.

Furthermore, several powerful Nascent Soul elders, their bodies covered in blood scabs, formed a bizarre Blood River Killing Array. The filthy blood light condensed into a huge shackle, fiercely binding Chen Xueqing, who was maintaining the purification channel in mid-air!

"You petty scoundrels, stop your arrogance!" Wang Cheng roared, and his Chaos Bone Arm suddenly expanded, the dark gold and gray light condensing into a solid fist aura.

He took a step forward, and his Overlord Blood Domain contracted and condensed at the tip of his fist. "Breaking Law and Returning to Nothingness!" With a punch, space cracked like fragile glass, leaving spiderweb-like gray marks.

The blood-stained shackles that were binding Chen Xueqing, along with the several Nascent Soul elders who had set up the formation, were instantly crushed into a cloud of blood mist by an invisible force before the absolute power and the will to break the law. They didn't even have time to scream! He stood firmly in front of Chen Xueqing like a pillar of strength. With a swing of his fists, the chaotic light of breaking the law swept across the sky, blasting all evil cultivators who dared to approach into dust, clearing obstacles for the purification path of the Pure Lotus.

Seeing the final barrier crumbling, a resolute madness flashed in the eyes of the Blood River Ancestor. He suddenly bit his tongue, spitting a mouthful of foul blood mixed with his life essence onto the surface of the Myriad Souls Blood River Banner.

"All souls unite as one, the Blood River buries the gods!" Countless pained faces on the banner instantly twisted and merged, emitting inhuman shrieks. A dark red energy torrent, surpassing even the early stage of the Void Refinement realm and purely condensed from annihilating resentment, tore through space like a blood-red dragon from the Netherworld, carrying a destructive will to annihilate everything, rushing straight towards Yu Changsheng! This was the Blood River Sect's last trump card, a fatal strike formed from the resentful soul essence accumulated within the banner over countless years!
Facing this devastating torrent of filth, Yu Changsheng's eyes remained calm and undisturbed. He slowly raised the Sword of Annihilation, its dark gray hue, like cosmic dust, swirling and accelerating. At its tip, a point of utter nothingness was forming. "Chaotic Tribulation Domain, Devour!"

The Chaos Tribulation Domain is ultimately one of the supreme manifestations of the universe's origin. The blood-red monstrous dragon was swallowed and eroded by the vortex at a speed visible to the naked eye, eventually transforming into a pure chaotic energy carrying an aura of desolation and annihilation, which was forcibly absorbed and temporarily sealed by the Sword of Annihilation.

On the sword, a new, deeper, dark red divine rune quietly emerged, emanating a terrifying Daoist aura that could cause all things to wither.

"No—! My Blood River Banner! My Dao Foundation!" The Blood River Ancestor let out a desperate wail. The light of the Myriad Souls Blood River Banner dimmed rapidly, and even tiny cracks appeared on the banner surface.

This all-consuming, soul-sacrificing attack, which was forcibly devoured and refined, caused him to suffer an unprecedented backlash, and his aura instantly weakened to the extreme.

"Your path has come to an end." Yu Changsheng's voice was like a chilling wind from the depths of hell, proclaiming the final judgment. He did not move, but the Sword of Annihilation in his hand had vanished.

The next instant, a sword beam, so dark it seemed capable of ending all time and space, appeared out of thin air before the Blood River Ancestor's brow! There was no process, ignoring the distance of space; this was the ultimate manifestation of the "annihilation" true meaning of the Returning Void Sword Dao—the sword arrives instantly, and all laws return to nothingness!

The last madness in Blood River Ancestor's eyes was replaced by boundless fear. He instinctively burned all the remaining essence, blood, and life force, and layers of filthy, sticky blood scabs instantly covered his entire body in a final, death throes.

"puff!"

The sound was as soft as tearing silk. The gray light of the end, like a hot knife cutting into solidified grease, pierced through the layers of blood scab defense without any resistance and entered the Blood River Ancestor's brow.

Time seemed to freeze at that moment. The Blood River Ancestor's ferocious expression remained unchanged, and the life force in his turbid eyes dissipated rapidly like the receding tide.

Immediately afterwards, centered on the gray light between his brows, a Daoist aura of returning to nothingness, capable of ending all things, silently erupted!
There was no gruesome carnage, only utter annihilation.

The Blood River Ancestor's body, along with his shattered primordial spirit, disintegrated and vanished inch by inch under everyone's watchful eyes, like a sand sculpture weathered over millions of years. It turned into the most primitive, grayish-white dust, which was blown away by the battlefield breeze, leaving no trace in the world.

The Blood River Banner of Ten Thousand Souls, which was bound to him by life and death, let out a long and mournful cry. The banner pole broke into pieces, and the huge banner instantly lost all its luster, turning into a rotten, filthy rag full of holes, which helplessly drifted down into the surging sea of ​​blood below.

With the evil cultivator leader executed, the remaining Blood River Sect disciples utterly collapsed, scattering and screaming like headless flies. At Wang Cheng's roar, the Demon Slaughtering Army and the Sky Patrol Army, like tigers released from their cages, launched their final mopping-up operation, the clash of swords and the roar of the Void Crossbows echoing through the sea of ​​blood.

Yu Changsheng stood alone in the void. The Sword of Annihilation had returned to his hand at some point. The newly formed dark red divine rune on the sword shimmered slightly, exuding a desolate aura that made one's heart tremble.

He gazed down at the filthy sea of ​​blood below, which had been continuously purified by Chen Xueqing's Pure Lotus but still contained countless bewildered remnants of souls, his eyes deep and thoughtful.

"Returning to the Void is also the beginning of reincarnation."

He slowly raised his hand, and the Sword of Annihilation lightly touched the void. A will far greater and gentler than before descended, a decree that combined the true meaning of returning to nothingness and the all-encompassing origin of chaos.

"In the name of the First Emperor of the Chaos Divine Dynasty, I hereby command the vengeful souls of this sea of ​​blood—" Yu Changsheng's voice was not loud, yet it was clearly imprinted deep within the consciousness of every remnant soul, carrying an irresistible majesty and a trace of compassion, "Past sins, avenged in this sea of ​​blood. Souls return to the void, cleansed of all worldly dust. True spirits, though not obscured, may re-enter the cycle of reincarnation! Forgiveness!"

The moment the last word "pardon" was uttered, heaven and earth resonated!
The dark red divine runes on the Sword of Annihilation suddenly lit up, but instead of bringing destruction, they emitted a strange, hazy halo that soothed all wounds.

The halo, like a gentle tide, instantly covered the entire filthy blood domain. At the same time, the Pure Lotus above Chen Xueqing's head erupted with an unprecedented emerald divine radiance. The power of life purification was guided and harmonized by the hazy halo, becoming even more profound and vast.

A strange scene happened.

The churning, filthy blood, under the combined influence of the hazy gray halo and the emerald divine light, settled and purified rapidly. The filth quickly receded, revealing the ravaged yet beginning-to-renew, faintly life-giving earth beneath. Meanwhile, the countless bewildered, struggling, and agonizing souls within the sea of ​​blood, enveloped in the halo, quickly calmed and relaxed their狰狞怨恶 (zhengning, meaning ferocious and resentful) faces. The hatred, pain, and resentment that had tormented them for countless years… were washed away as if by invisible cleansing water. Strands of black resentment were peeled from their souls, dissolving and dissipating in the hazy gray halo.

The lingering souls' transparent bodies became pure and light. They stopped crying, and blankly raised their heads, gazing at the figure in the void radiating a hazy, emerald light. Gradually, light returned to their numb eyes—a light of liberation, gratitude, and a faint hope for rebirth.

"Thank you... Emperor... for your grace..." A faint, countless thoughts of liberation gathered into a silent torrent, surging into Yu Changsheng's sea of ​​consciousness.

The pure souls began to emit a soft glow, like fireflies dancing in a summer night field. They no longer sank into the filthy blood, but floated lightly upwards, like a river of starlight flowing against the current in the passage where gray halo and emerald divine light intertwined, heading towards the unknowable yet peaceful depths of the Ruins of Return—there, would be the starting point for them to cleanse themselves of their past and re-enter the cycle of reincarnation.

As the last ray of pure soul light disappeared into the hazy void passage, the overwhelming resentment and pungent stench that had permeated the entire battlefield vanished.

Yu Changsheng slowly sheathed the Sword of Annihilation, the dark red divine rune on its blade swirling slightly, seemingly becoming even more restrained and profound. He surveyed the revitalized battlefield, his gaze sweeping over the weary yet spirited Divine Dynasty army, over Chen Xueqing, whose strength was exhausted but whose eyes remained resolute, over Wang Cheng, whose fighting spirit had not yet faded but whose sharpness had been tempered, and finally towards the more distant depths of the Eastern Territory, shrouded in decay and war.

The invisible boundary of the Guixu Sword Domain seemed to have quietly extended outward by tens of thousands of miles.

"Take stock of the battle losses and collect the remains of the fallen heroes." His voice was calm, yet carried the majesty of an imperial edict, resounding through the now silent world.

"Based on this former site of the Blood River, establish the 'Soul-Suppressing Protectorate' of the Eastern Territory of the Divine Dynasty." He paused, his gaze like cold lightning, piercing the deeper, more oppressive grayness at the edge of the Eastern Territory. "Rest for three days. Three days later, our forces will be directed towards—the Ancient Ruins of the Burial of Gods!" (End of Chapter)