Summoning the Gods: Start by creating the Eternal Night.

Outside the barrier, in the void, Yan Guiren, his two companions, and their dog watched the three-way battle within the barrier.

"Blood Demon Ancestor, Demon Heavenly Hatred, Blood Without Heaven... the top combat forces of the Nine Nether Demon Sect have all appeared."

"Judging from this, the Nine Nether Demon Sect has quite a few Celestial Realm experts!"

Black Emperor sat crouching to one side, swishing its tail: "This grand formation continuously provides blood and spiritual energy; it won't be easy for the Demon-Slaying Alliance to win!"

Yan Shisan spoke up, "Should we break through the formation now and go in?"

Li Xunhuan shook his head: "Wait a little longer. It's not time to make a move yet."

"Let them hurt each other first, whether it's the Demon-Slaying Alliance or the Nine Nether Demon Sect."

"If either side loses even one Celestial Realm expert, it will be entirely beneficial to our Eternal Night Heaven."

"Besides, we're here to investigate, why should we go through the trouble of helping them when it's thankless!"

Yan Guiren and Yan Shisan nodded in agreement, "That's right!"

....

At this moment, the Blood Soul Array had already become a living hell.

Dense demonic energy and blood energy permeated the air like a tidal wave.

An invisible suction force surged from all directions, constantly devouring the spiritual power of the allied cultivators.

Those with lower cultivation levels were the first to suffer, their faces turning ashen, their bodies visibly shriveling up.

“Cough… cough…”

A cultivator at the Void Realm leaned on his longsword, his face as pale as paper, his lips cracked, and each breath he took was a weak gasp.

"It's over...we're all going to die here..."

He looked at his fallen comrade beside him, his eyes filled with despair.

"I shouldn't have come to join this fun! This isn't demon slaying, it's just suicide!"

Someone collapsed to the ground, their voice hoarse and filled with remorse.

"Sir! Think of something!"

A rogue cultivator cried out towards the Great Qian Temple's revered elder not far away.

"I don't want to die! My wife and children are waiting for me at home!"

"If I die, the Li family line will end, and Old Wang next door will definitely be after my wife!"

Another voice, choked with sobs, spoke incoherently.

"Da Qian is the leader of the alliance! We can't just stand by and watch us die!"

....

More and more people turned their gazes toward the cultivators of the Great Qian Dynasty, their eyes filled with pleading.

"Shut up, all of you!"

A high-ranking official of the Qianlong Emperor shouted sternly.

"The three alliance leaders have already led their men to break the formation. Just hold on a little longer, and the formation will surely be broken!"

"Preserving our spiritual power is our only hope for survival!"

His words, though tinged with forced composure, offered a small measure of comfort to everyone.

However, this solace was soon shattered by the harsh reality.

"Kill! Drink the lifeblood of these righteous cultivators!"

A shout came from the depths of the demonic energy.

The protectors of the Nine Nether Demon Sect, Hei Feng, Chi Meng, and Bai Ye, led tens of thousands of outer disciples and elders out to fight their way out.

Unaffected by the formation, each of them possessed abundant energy, their eyes gleaming with a bloodthirsty light.

"It's the Nine Nether Demon Sect! They've attacked!"

"It's over...it's completely over..."

The allied cultivators' expressions changed drastically. Already lacking in spiritual energy, they were instantly plunged into a desperate situation when faced with the menacing demonic cultivators.

"Let's give it our all!"

Someone shouted, and the remaining cultivators mustered their spiritual power, picked up their weapons, and charged forward.

However, the gap in strength between the two sides is too vast.

Affected by the formation, the spiritual energy of the allied cultivators was sluggish, and the power of their moves was greatly reduced.

Meanwhile, the demonic cultivators thrived, continuously absorbing the essence and spiritual power of the allied cultivators as they activated their techniques, growing stronger with each battle.

"Awesome! The taste of this essence is wonderful!"

Black Wind smashed the head of a Void Realm cultivator with a single punch, then laughed wildly as he absorbed the gushing blood essence, his aura subtly increasing.

"Hehehe... The essence and blood of these righteous cultivators are far more pure than those of ordinary people. How much better can my cultivation be now!"

Chi Meng traced the blood from a female cultivator's neck with her fingertips, licked the blood off her fingertips, and looked on with satisfaction.

Baiye went even further, with countless bat phantoms appearing around his body.

Wherever it passed, the cultivators' life essence was instantly drained, leaving only empty shells.

The allied monks fell in droves, their screams and pleas for mercy echoing throughout the land.

"Spare me!"

"I don't want to die!"

The demonic cultivators killed and absorbed the energy, their aura growing stronger and stronger, their faces displaying a morbid excitement.

"Awesome! This essence blood is so pure!"

"A few more! I'm about to break through!"

"The essence and blood of these righteous cultivators are truly exceptional!"

The entire formation had become a feast for demonic cultivators.

……

Meanwhile, within the Nine Nether Demon Sect

A dozen or so figures moved through the buildings like ghosts.

They were following Qian Tian's instructions, bypassing the battlefield between heaven and man, to find the shadow of the array eye, the array master Chen Lao, and more than ten shadow guards.

They avoided the demonic cultivators patrolling the sect and stopped in front of a grand hall exuding a strong aura of blood.

"Old Chen, is that the core of the formation inside?"

"Shadow asked in a low voice."

Old Chen carefully examined the aura within the main hall and nodded:

"That should be right, the core spiritual energy of the formation is gathered here."

"only…"

"There are eight cultivators' auras inside the hall; they should be the demonic sect cultivators guarding the array's core."

"Leave it to me!"

The shadow flickered and darted into the hall like a ghost.

"Who?!"

The eight elders from the outer sect of the Void Realm inside the hall immediately became alert and rose to their feet, intending to resist.

But the shadows were too fast; they didn't even see each other's movements before their throats were slashed by the sharp daggers.

"Splash...splash..."

Eight corpses fell to the ground one after another, their blood staining the floor of the main hall.

"Old Chen, come quick!"

Old Chen dared not delay and quickly walked to the center of the array in the stone chamber.

It was a black crystal exuding a strong blood aura, and its surroundings were engraved with complex runes. It was one of the core elements of the Blood Soul Array.

"This is the key point of the formation!"

A glint flashed in Old Chen's eyes. He took out a magic ruler engraved with Dao patterns, infused it with spiritual power, and smashed it fiercely towards the black crystal.

"break!"

"clang!"

The ruler struck the crystal, producing a crisp sound.

The black crystal trembled violently, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on its surface. The array patterns around the stone chamber instantly dimmed.

"It's done?" A hint of joy flashed in Shadow's eyes.

But the next moment, he discovered that the red light shield enveloping the entire abyss...

It only trembled slightly before returning to calm, and did not shatter as expected.

"What's going on?" Shadow asked, frowning.

Old Chen examined the array's core with a solemn expression.

"So that's how it is! This is just one of the key points in the grand formation!"

"Although it was damaged, the entire grand formation cannot be completely destroyed!"

"This great formation should have multiple key points that are interconnected and interdependent."

"Destroying just one place won't make any difference!"

Shadow's expression darkened: "Then how can we completely break the formation?"

Old Chen shook his head:

"This formation is extremely powerful and connected to the earth's veins throughout the entire Nine Nether Abyss."

"To break through, at least six experts at the Celestial Realm level would need to attack the red barrier simultaneously! Only then would it be possible to create an opening!"

"Either... a powerful expert forces their way through the barrier from the outside! Otherwise, it's absolutely impossible for us alone!"

Shadow's face darkened, a sense of helplessness welling up inside him: "So, our actions just now were all in vain?"

Old Chen sighed, "It can't be said that it was all in vain!"

"Destroying this virgin array core will at least weaken the power of the array slightly, buying some time for those outside."

……

In the central battlefield, Qian Tian and Blood Demon Ancestor are locked in a fierce battle that has reached a fever pitch.

The moment the light shield of the Blood Soul Array trembled, the Blood Demon Ancestor sensed it, and he grinned maliciously at Qian Tian:

"Hehehe... Junior, it seems you've prepared a backup plan?"

"Too bad, you think you can break my Blood Soul Formation with such meager skills?"

"This great formation has nine key points, which are interdependent. Even if you destroy one of them, it can still operate on its own."

"You'd better stay inside and become nourishment for the great formation!"

Qian Tian's heart sank. Just then, the communication jade pendant at his waist became slightly hot.

With a sweep of his divine sense, he learned of the discovery made by Shadow and Elder Chen, which was exactly as the Blood Demon Ancestor had said.

I secretly said:

"As expected, this ancient monster that has lived for thousands of years is not easy to deal with..."

"It seems we have no choice but to resort to our last resort."

He forcefully pushed back the Blood Demon Ancestor with a palm strike, his body retreating rapidly backward.

He took out a dragon talisman, tossed it into the air, formed hand seals, and silently chanted an obscure incantation.

"There are forty-four stone lions in front of Shishi Temple, and forty-four astringent persimmons grow on the trees in front of the temple. The forty-four stone lions do not eat the forty-four astringent persimmons, but the forty-four astringent persimmons eat the forty-four stone lions."

The dragon talisman suddenly burst forth with dazzling golden light, then flew through the red boundary at an extremely fast speed and flew into the distance!

….