Summoning the Gods: Start by creating the Eternal Night.

As soon as Yang Guo finished speaking, deep within the four passages connecting the stone chamber,

"Squeak, squeak, squeak!"

Suddenly, a chilling scream rang out, like countless sharp fingernails scraping against the stone wall.

"What's that sound?" Qingguo looked warily toward the entrance of the passage.

The next moment, a dark mass of shadows surged out from the four passages and rushed towards the cultivator in the stone chamber.

Those were countless fist-sized bats, entirely crimson, with their eyes gleaming with a bloodthirsty green light.

"It's a blood bat!"

The cultivators on the periphery instantly erupted in chaos, their faces drained of color.

"How come there are so many blood bats in this godforsaken place?"

The blood bats were incredibly fast, and in the blink of an eye they were upon them, their sharp fangs snapping at the nearest cultivator.

"ah--!"

"My butt!"

"ah--!"

"My younger brother!"

Screams rose and fell as several slow-reacting rogue cultivators were instantly engulfed by blood bats in a matter of mere breaths.

It was then devoured until only a skeleton remained, with blood flowing along the lines of the ground, emitting a strong, fishy smell.

"Everyone be careful!" Yang Guo shouted in a low voice, and the Xuan Tie Heavy Sword was instantly drawn, his body surging with spiritual energy.

Zhang Wuji, Qingguo, and Qingcheng also simultaneously entered battle mode.

Zhang Wuji was the first to meet the onrushing swarm of blood bats. He activated his Nirvana Realm spiritual power to its fullest extent, and a surge of energy gathered in his palm:

"Tai Chi!"

He drew circles with both arms, and the seemingly gentle palm wind contained unparalleled power, sweeping away all the blood bats in front of him like a whirlwind sweeping away fallen leaves.

"Bang! Bang!"

"Hiss! Squeak!"

The blood bat struck by the palm strike instantly turned into a blood mist, its mournful screech echoing throughout the stone chamber.

The powerful aura of the Nirvana Realm spread out, forcefully overturning a swarm of blood bats.

"Greatsword Technique!"

Yang Guo shouted and swung his Xuan Tie Heavy Sword horizontally, a condensed sword aura slashing towards the dense swarm of bats like a bolt of lightning.

"Pfft—"

Wherever the sword energy passed, the blood bats were all cut in half, instantly creating a vacuum zone.

"Why did these blood bats suddenly appear?"

While fending off the bats' attacks, Zhang Wuji asked in confusion,

"These things weren't in the passage when we came in."

Yang Guo swept away hundreds of blood bats with a single sword strike and said in a deep voice:

"It should be hidden at the top of the passage. The blood mist was too thick before, so we didn't notice it."

He glanced at the swarming blood bats, his brow furrowed.

"These blood bats are not strong individually, but there are too many of them. They will eventually tire out if the battle goes on for too long."

"We'll find an opportunity to seize the Blood Thunder Flower, then leave immediately!"

"Alright!" Zhang Wuji, Qingguo, and Qingcheng responded in unison.

Black King huddled in a corner, occasionally swatting away any blood bats that dared to approach with his claws, muttering to himself:

"A bunch of little bastards, how dare you be so insolent before me... If I didn't find the food so unpalatable, I would have swallowed you all whole, one bite at a time..."

In the center of the stone chamber, the battle between the various factions was interrupted by the blood bats' sudden attack.

After the previous battles, all factions lost a lot of manpower, leaving only some high-ranking members to hold on.

Faced with the overwhelming swarm of blood bats, they had no choice but to temporarily halt their attack and join forces to deal with them.

At the bottom of the blood pool, the Blood Demon Ancestor greedily absorbed the essence blood of the fallen cultivators. Feeling his power continuously recovering, he let out a sinister laugh:

"Hehehe... Wonderful blood! Once the Ancestor has fully recovered, he will surely savor the essence and blood of all the masters in this world!"

He looked down at the unconscious young cultivator beside him—it was the Holy Son of the Nine Nether Demon Sect.

This holy son possesses remarkable talent and a rare "blood spirit body," making him the most suitable vessel for possession.

"Young man, although your talent is not as good as that of your ancestor back then, you are still considered one of the best among these people."

The Blood Demon Ancestor murmured, and his remnant soul suddenly flew out from the mist and rushed directly into the Holy Son's body.

A blood-red figure suddenly appeared deep within the Holy Son's soul.

"Ancestor? What are you going to do?" the Holy Son's soul screamed in terror.

"Haha, it's your good fortune that your body has been chosen by the Ancestor."

The Blood Demon Ancestor's voice carried a cruel laugh, "Be a good boy and merge with the Ancestor!"

As he spoke, his remnant soul lunged toward the soul of the Holy Son.

"No! I am the Holy Son of the Nine Nether Demon Sect, your grand-disciple! You cannot do this!" The Holy Son's soul resisted desperately.

"Hehehe, precisely because you are a member of the Nine Nether Demon Sect, you should make even greater contributions to the restoration of our ancestor."

The remnant soul of the Blood Demon Ancestor sneered, "Don't worry, I will use this body of yours to make a name for myself throughout the world."

Before he could finish speaking, the remnant soul of the Blood Demon Ancestor devoured the Holy Son's soul in one gulp, and at the same time read all of his memories.

It turns out that when the people from the Nine Nether Demon Sect found him, he had already taken a liking to the Holy Son's physique, and then knocked him unconscious, preparing to use him as the body for his rebirth.

Then he sent the Black Wind Protector and others who had come in to spread the news that "there is a legacy in the center of the secret realm".

He lured various powerful forces here so that he could use their life essence to nourish his remnant soul and complete this perfect possession.

A moment later, the body of the holy son slowly opened its eyes.

His eyes no longer held any trace of youthful innocence; instead, they were filled with the same crimson and brutality as the Blood Demon Ancestor.

He stretched his limbs, feeling the power surging within him, and a strange smile curled at the corner of his mouth.

"Hehehe, it feels so good to have a physical body!"

He raised his head, his gaze piercing through the churning pool of blood, landing on the cultivators still fighting the blood bats on the ground, his eyes filled with disdain:

"A bunch of juniors, how dare you covet my Blood Thunder Flower?"

A hoarse and chilling voice suddenly echoed from the depths of the blood pool to the surface.

The cultivators who were fighting the blood bats changed their expressions drastically, stopped what they were doing, and looked at the blood pool with surprise and uncertainty.

"Who?!" Yao Xing shouted sharply, looking warily at the blood pool. "Who's playing tricks?!"

The voice slowly rose again, filled with endless resentment and greed.

"...Three thousand years..."

"I, the Blood Demon Ancestor, have finally been resurrected! Hahaha—!"

Upon hearing this, the cultivators in the stone chamber immediately erupted in chaos, their faces turning pale as they retreated in disarray.

"The Blood Demon Ancestor?!"

"That legendary demon, who cultivates using the essence of living beings and kills without hesitation, is actually here?!"

"It's over...we've all been fooled! This isn't some place of inheritance at all, it's this demon's lair!"

Fear spread like a plague, and even experts at the peak of Nirvana, such as Yao Xing and Dao Xuan, felt a tremor from the depths of their souls.

The infamous name of the Blood Demon Ancestor is already etched in the hearts of every cultivator in the Eastern Region. It is a dark history that lasts for thousands of years and is the nightmare of countless cultivators!

"boom!"

With a deafening roar, the blood in the center of the blood pool suddenly exploded, and a blood-red figure shot into the sky from the pool.

Surrounded by a thick blood mist, the oppressive aura emanating from him was several times stronger than that of Yao Xing and the others, making it difficult for them to breathe.