Summoning the Gods: Start by creating the Eternal Night.

The Black Emperor's words made everyone cautious. Just then, a piercing scream suddenly came from ahead.

Immediately following was the sound of weapons clashing, then silence fell, as if nothing had ever happened.

"What's going on?" Qingguo asked in a low voice, a hint of unease on her face.

Yang Guo frowned and said in a deep voice, "Let's go take a look!"

The group quickened their pace, passing through layers of mist, and the view ahead gradually became clearer.

There were four passages ahead, each dark and emanating an ominous aura, their destinations unknown.

"Which passage is the sound coming from?" Qingguo listened intently, only to find that there were sounds coming from all four passages.

No sooner had the words left his mouth than a piercing scream suddenly echoed from the middle of the passageway, then abruptly ceased, as if it had never happened.

The crowd's expressions changed slightly; the screams were incredibly realistic, clearly indicating that someone had been murdered.

"What should we do?" Qingcheng clenched her fists. "Should we choose a different route?"

Yang Guo glanced at the four passages and said in a deep voice, "Let's take the middle passage."

Zhang Wuji nodded: "Alright, let's go in and see what's inside."

The four people and one dog walked into the central passage.

"Where is he?" Qingcheng looked around in surprise and uncertainty. "I clearly heard his voice nearby, how could he suddenly disappear?"

Zhang Wuji crouched down, his fingertip touching a drop of blood on the ground. His brows furrowed even more: "The blood is still very fresh, which means they just had an accident!"

"Heh, heh, heh."

From deep within the passage came hoarse, labored breathing, like a broken bellows leaking air.

"Wait a minute, something's coming from ahead."

Zhang Wuji stopped the group.

His Nirvana Realm divine sense clearly detected that a group of unidentified creatures were attacking them from ahead.

Yang Guo and the others immediately stopped and cautiously stared ahead.

The hoarse, labored breathing from deep within the passage grew closer, carrying a chilling, eerie rhythm.

Zhang Wuji focused his divine sense on what was ahead and said in a deep voice, "They're here, and there's more than one!"

Yang Guo gripped the heavy sword tightly, the chill of the black iron pendant passing through his palm, calming his chaotic mind slightly.

Both the beauty of the nation and the beauty of the city held their breath and assumed defensive stances.

From the mist, several figures staggered out; they were the rogue cultivators who had rushed into the palace earlier.

But at this moment, they no longer possessed any trace of human life.

His eyes were bloodshot, his face was filled with madness and bloodlust, and dark red bloodstains hung from the corners of his mouth.

Its limbs twisted at unnatural angles, and it lunged at the four people like a marionette.

"Ha... kill..."

They let out incomprehensible roars, and the spiritual energy in their dantian was in complete chaos, clearly indicating that their minds had been thoroughly corrupted by the blood mist.

"They've been taken into custody!"

"No need to hold back!"

Zhang Wuji's heart sank. He instantly activated the Nine Yang Divine Skill, and a ball of blazing energy rose from his palm.

"Watch me!"

With a furious roar, Qingguo charged forward like a raging bull, her large, fan-like hand slamming down on the foremost rogue cultivator with a whooshing sound.

"Bang!"

With a muffled thud, the rogue cultivator's head shattered like a rotten watermelon, splattering red and white fragments all over the ground.

But the others following behind seemed oblivious, still rushing forward madly, their fingernails turning black and sharp, emitting a foul stench as they clawed at Qingguo's throat.

"court death!"

Qingcheng's figure flashed like a ghost, and two short blades appeared in her hands without her noticing. With a flash of cold light, she severed the necks of two rogue cultivators.

Yang Guo and Zhang Wuji also made their move at the same time.

Yang Guo swept his Xuan Tie Heavy Sword horizontally, and the sword energy cut through like a bolt of lightning, instantly splitting several rogue cultivators in two.

Zhang Wuji then used Tai Chi, his palm strikes gentle yet concealing hidden power, each strike landing precisely on several rogue cultivators.

In a short while, all the rogue cultivators who had rushed at him were lying on the ground.

"These people... are completely beyond saving."

Zhang Wuji looked at the corpse on the ground, his brows furrowed.

"The blood mist not only corroded their physical bodies, but also polluted their consciousness, turning them into mindless zombies who only knew how to kill."

Black King cowered to one side, covering his nose with his little paws:

"I told you this place was dangerous, now you believe me? If we go any further, who knows how many more of these monsters there will be."

"There's no use talking about this now." Yang Guo wiped the blood from his sword and turned his gaze to the depths of the passage.

"Now that we're here, we can't just give up halfway."

"Everyone be careful, try not to get entangled by these 'living zombies,' and save your energy to deal with something more troublesome."

The four people and their dog continued on their way. The passage was winding and twisting, sometimes narrow enough for only one person to pass at a time, and sometimes as spacious as a hall.

The blood-red patterns on the stone wall became clearer and clearer, with blood faintly flowing within them, exuding a chilling aura.

Along the way, they encountered several groups of controlled cultivators, and even teams from several small factions, the strongest of whom had reached the Void Realm.

These people were fearless and relentless, and although they were not individually strong, their numerical advantage caused the four a lot of trouble.

"When will this awful place ever end?"

Qingcheng kicked a zombie away, panting heavily, and said, "My hands are sore from killing so many!"

Yang Guo suddenly stopped and stared at the patterns on the stone wall:

"Look at these patterns... they look like they're absorbing blood."

He reached out and touched the patterns, only to feel a cold, sucking force, as if it were trying to draw his life essence away.

"Watch out!" Zhang Wuji quickly grabbed him. "There's something wrong with these patterns!"

Just then, the fog ahead suddenly thinned out, and a faint light shone through.

"There's an exit ahead!" Qingcheng's eyes lit up as she pointed ahead.

The group perked up and quickened their pace to pass through the last stretch of thick fog, where a clear view suddenly appeared before them.

This is a huge stone chamber, large enough to hold thousands of people.

In the center of the stone chamber, a huge pool of blood was bubbling and steaming, the source of the crimson mist.

In the center of the blood pool floated three strange flowers. The flowers were entirely crimson, with wisps of black lightning crackling around the edges of their petals, emanating an aura that was both violent and eerie.

At this moment, a number of people had already gathered in the stone chamber.

Members of top-tier forces such as the Xuanming Sect, Xuanqing Taoism, Wanfo Temple, and Xingchen Pavilion were prominently featured.

Each occupied a corner, their eyes fixed on the Blood Thunder Flower in the Blood Pool, their expressions filled with vigilance and greed.

Besides these, there were also some second-rate forces and rogue cultivators, crowding on the edge, their eyes full of longing but not daring to step forward.

"It really is the Blood Thunder Flower!" An old Taoist priest with a white beard stroked his beard, his eyes gleaming.

"Legend has it that this flower appears only once every three thousand years, grows in the most yin and evil places, and needs to be watered with the essence and blood of thousands of living beings to bloom."

"Igniting the flower's stamen during tribulation allows one to draw upon soul fire to temper the physical body and spirit, transforming the power of the tribulation lightning into one's own, thus increasing the success rate of tribulation by a full 50%!"

"What a pity..." sighed a cultivator nearby.

"How dare we lay a finger on such a divine object?"

"Look at the scale of those top powers, we'll be lucky to even get out of this stone chamber alive."

Upon hearing this, many cultivators from smaller factions looked disheartened.

They had risked their lives to get here, only to be left helplessly watching the treasure right before their eyes. It was a truly frustrating feeling.

Yang Guo and his companions stood at the edge of the stone chamber, listening to the surrounding discussions, and their hearts stirred.

"Blood Thunder Flower? It's beneficial for tribulation?" Qingguo's eyes widened, and she rubbed her hands together. "I absolutely have to get one to take home!"

Black Emperor also poked his head out, staring at the Blood Thunder Flower in the Blood Pool, and sniffed it with his little nose:

"This flower is quite interesting; it contains the power of thunder and the aura of bloodlust. It's a good thing."

"But didn't you feel it? The aura in this blood pool is extremely malevolent, containing a heavy amount of baleful energy."

"Forget about the evil aura, let's get our hands on it first!" Qingguo clearly didn't take the Black Emperor's words to heart; her eyes were only on the blood-red lightning flower.

A flicker of interest flashed in Zhang Wuji's eyes: "But all the major powers are here, so it might not be easy to rob."

Yang Guo's gaze swept over the Xuanming Sect, the Xuanqing Daoist Sect, and the Wanfo Temple, but he did not see any of the Nine Nether Demon Sect or the people from the Daqian Dynasty.

He pondered for a moment and said, "We definitely can't miss out on this Blood Thunder Flower."

"It's just that the Nine Nether Demon Sect and the Great Qian Dynasty are missing from the scene, which is a bit strange. Let's assess the situation first and not act rashly. Let's play it safe for now!"

"Alright!" Zhang Wuji and the other two glanced around upon hearing this.