Mountain Venerable and Sea Immortal

The tense atmosphere in the Taiqing Palace's council hall hadn't yet dissipated, but was now enveloped by an even deeper chill. When Lin Yan placed the yellowed blueprint before everyone, the expressions of the members of the three sects became solemn. The sharp tone of their earlier argument over the mine had completely transformed into a suppressed gloom. Shen Qinghan abandoned his usual arrogance, his fingers tightening slightly beneath his moon-white Daoist robe. His narrow eyes swept over the two characters "Blood Shadow" on the blueprint, and his tone was icy: "Although Blood Shadow is dead, Bone Demon is cunning and will never let this go. Since he dared to send spies to investigate, he must have already prepared a backup plan. This surprise attack was merely a test."

The mockery of the past was gone from Su Wanli's icy blue eyes, replaced only by apprehension towards the evil spirits. She raised a hand to brush away the stray hairs at her temple, her tone grave: "If the seal of Guixu is broken, my Shuiyue Pavilion's Yanshui Marsh will be the first to suffer. The spiritual energy of the water veins will be contaminated by the evil spirits, and the entire cultivation world of the East Sea will be plunged into chaos. Although the three sects have old grudges, now is not the time for internal strife. We must unite to defend." As soon as she finished speaking, Elder Xuanzhen, the leader of Laoshan, slowly nodded, a wisp of spiritual light condensing in his palm, reflecting a map of Lingxian Valley: "Lingxian Valley is the core of the spiritual veins and the key to the seal of Guixu. Lin Yan's ability to hold the key point was already a stroke of luck. However, the Bone Demon has many evil cultivators under his command, and the next attack will surely be a full-scale assault. We need to divide our forces and deploy defenses to guard every entrance to Lingxian Valley."

Lin Yan stood to one side, the inkstone on his shoulder still trembling slightly, its dark light flickering as if sensing the distant malevolent energy. He stepped forward, spreading the map in his hand more evenly, his fingertip pointing to an unmarked canyon in the corner: "Elders, this is Black Wind Gorge, west of the Spirit Immortal Herb Valley. Its terrain is treacherous, easy to defend and difficult to attack, but it's also the weakest point in the spiritual veins, and the most likely shortcut for the Blood Fiend Sect to launch a surprise attack. The sentries we just killed carried not only the map but also a Black Wind Gorge token, so they must have already figured out the defensive weaknesses here."

All eyes turned to Black Wind Gorge, their expressions growing increasingly grave. The honest and valiant Chen Dagang gripped his stone hammer tightly and said in a deep voice, "Senior Brother Lin, rest assured, I will lead the Laoshan disciples to guard Black Wind Gorge and prevent the evil cultivators from advancing an inch!" The calm and meticulous Ye Qing immediately responded, "I will use the spiritual energy of the Azure Wood to set up a maze, which, combined with the defensive formation, can slow down the evil cultivators' attack and buy you all time."

Shen Qinghan pondered for a moment before speaking, "The disciples of Qingyun Sect are skilled in swordsmanship. I will lead twenty elite sword cultivators to guard Yunxi Cliff on the east side of Lingxian Valley. There, the view is wide, allowing us to detect the movements of evil cultivators in time and provide support to various locations at any time." Su Wanli added, "The disciples of Shuiyue Pavilion are proficient in water vein magic. They can use the streams of Lingxian Grass Valley to set up water pattern barriers, which can not only defend against evil spirits but also nourish the spiritual veins and stabilize the Guixu Seal."

Once the agreement was reached, the disciples of the three sects immediately took action, each fulfilling their duties and swiftly heading to their respective defensive positions. Lin Yan did not immediately head to the Spirit Immortal Herb Valley, but instead returned to the Profound Water Cave. Although Su Lingyue's breathing was stable, the residual poison of the Returning Void Evil Qi had not been completely eliminated. He took out a pill condensed with innate pill fire and gently fed it to Su Lingyue, whispering instructions to Yun Xi and Qing Yao: "Today is dangerous. You two must guard the Profound Water Cave well. No matter what happens outside, do not leave easily. If any evil cultivators break in, use the spiritual light of the inkstone as a guide to send a message to me."

Yunxi and Qingyao nodded heavily, their eyes filled with determination: "Don't worry, Senior Brother Lin, we will definitely protect Senior Sister Su and never let any evil spirits get close." Lin Yan nodded slightly, turned around and stepped out of Xuan Shui Cave. Suddenly, the inkstone on his shoulder burst out with a dense black spiritual light, and the sense of malevolent energy became stronger and stronger—from the direction of Black Abyss Mist Island, an overwhelming evil aura was rapidly approaching, carrying the Bone Demon's raging fury, like a tide in the darkness, sweeping towards Laoshan.

With a flash, he transformed into a streak of light, swiftly heading towards the stone altar in the Spirit Immortal Herb Valley. At this moment, the disciples of the three sects had already set up their defensive formations. The sword cultivators of the Azure Cloud Sect hovered in the air on their swords, their sword energy crisscrossing, forming a solid sword net; the disciples of the Water Moon Pavilion stood above the stream, their water-ripple barriers layered upon each other, radiating a cool, spiritual light; the disciples of the Laoshan Sect, wielding magical artifacts, guarded each entrance, ready for battle. Elder Xuanzhen stood in the center of the stone altar, his hands forming a hand seal, continuously infusing spiritual energy to stabilize the Returning Void Seal. The spiritual light on the stone altar grew increasingly intense, yet it still could not completely withstand the erosion of the malevolent energy emanating from afar.

"They're here!" Lin Yan shouted, and his inkstone soared into the air, its dark light surging, transforming into a gigantic inkstone phantom that enveloped the sky above Lingxian Valley. Looking up, everyone saw the distant horizon shrouded in a layer of black mist, within which countless figures of evil cultivators could be vaguely seen. Their roars and the putrid aura of malevolent energy, even from miles away, were chilling. The Bone Demon hadn't come personally, but had dispatched his three great protectors, leading over a thousand evil cultivators in a three-pronged attack on Lingxian Valley. Black Wind Gorge, Cloud Dwelling Cliff, and Sunset Slope south of Lingxian Grass Valley were all under attack simultaneously.

"Hold the formation, don't panic!" Elder Xuanzhen's voice echoed throughout Lingxian Valley, and the speed at which spiritual energy flowed into the seal increased even further. In the direction of Black Wind Gorge, Chen Dagang led the Laoshan disciples in a fierce resistance. His body was covered in rock armor, and with each swing of his stone hammer, he could send several evil cultivators flying. However, the evil cultivators were numerous and kept pouring in, causing his arms to gradually ache, and cracks appeared on his rock armor. Although Ye Qing's Azure Wood Maze Formation could trap some of the evil cultivators, it was constantly eroded by their malevolent energy, and the formation's spiritual light grew increasingly faint.

On Yunqi Cliff, Shen Qinghan led the sword cultivators of Qingyun Sect to attack with their swords. Their sword energy was as cold as frost, and they killed a large number of evil cultivators. However, Xueya, one of the protectors of Xuesha Sect, was wielding a spiked club stained with evil energy. He was very powerful and fought with Shen Qinghan. The sword energy and evil energy collided and produced a piercing roar. Shen Qinghan gradually fell into a disadvantageous position. His shoulder was hit by the spiked club and blood seeped out, staining his moon-white Taoist robe dark red.

On the slope of Sunset Glow, Su Wanli's water-patterned barrier, though able to withstand the attacks of the evil cultivators, was corroded by the poisonous mist of Xue Ji, another protector of the Blood Fiend Sect, causing multiple breaches in the barrier. Xue Ji was skilled in using poison, and her body was surrounded by a pale purple poisonous mist. Any disciple who came into contact with the poisonous mist would convulse and experience disordered spiritual energy. The casualties among the disciples of the Water Moon Pavilion were gradually increasing. Although Su Wanli tried her best to activate the spiritual energy of the water veins to detoxify, she was gradually becoming powerless.

Lin Yan stood atop the stone altar, his ink-ink phantom continuously unleashing ink blades to slay the evil cultivators who approached. However, he knew that such passive defense was not a long-term solution; the number of evil cultivators was too great, and even with the united efforts of the three sects' disciples, they were still unable to withstand them. His gaze swept across the battlefield, noticing that although the three Blood Fiend Sect's three protectors were powerful, they were deliberately avoiding the direction of the stone altar, as if waiting for something.

"Not good, their target isn't the spiritual vein node, it's the core of the Guixu Seal!" Lin Yan's heart tightened, and he instantly understood. The Bone Demon's dispatch of a large number of evil cultivators for a surprise attack seemed to be aimed at destroying the spiritual vein node, but in reality, it was to restrain the experts of the three sects, preventing them from having time to deal with the core of the Guixu Seal. The real killing move might still be waiting for them.

He immediately sent a message to the experts of the three sects: "Everyone, the evil cultivators are holding us back. Their target is the core of the Guixu Seal. Quickly send disciples to support the stone altar!" As soon as he finished speaking, the ground beneath the stone altar suddenly trembled violently, and a huge crack split open from the ground. Dense, sinister energy surged out from the crack, and a giant hand covered in black scales slowly reached out from the crack, grabbing towards the Guixu Seal on the stone altar—it was the Bone Demon's clone. He had already secretly eroded the Guixu crack and took advantage of the gap in the evil cultivators' distraction to make his own move!

Elder Xuanzhen's expression changed drastically. He exerted all his strength to activate his spiritual energy and stabilize the seal, but the power of the Bone Demon clone was too overwhelming, and the seal's spiritual light instantly dimmed. Lin Yan's figure flashed, landing in the center of the stone altar. His inkstone and ink pearl treasures simultaneously erupted with spiritual light, and innate alchemical fire ignited at his fingertips, transforming into a massive flame barrier that blocked the giant hand. The flames collided with the baleful energy, producing a sizzling sound. The flame barrier was continuously eroded by the baleful energy, gradually thinning.

Seeing this, Shen Qinghan struggled to break free from Xueya's entanglement, and charged towards the stone altar on his sword. His sword energy condensed into a huge blade, slashing towards the giant hand. Su Wanli also abandoned the defense of Luoxia Slope and led the remaining Shuiyue Pavilion disciples to the scene. The spiritual energy of the water veins condensed into a water dragon, which wrapped around the giant hand. Chen Dagang and Ye Qing also led the remaining disciples to fight against the surrounding evil cultivators, buying time for Lin Yan and the others.

The giant hand was restrained by the sword energy, water dragon, and fire barrier, its movements gradually slowing down. However, the Bone Demon's roar came from the crack, its baleful aura growing stronger, and the giant hand's power was constantly increasing. Lin Yan felt his spiritual energy being rapidly depleted, and the light of his innate pill fire gradually dimming. He knew that if he could not defeat the Bone Demon's clone as soon as possible, the Returning Void Seal would inevitably break, and then everything would be beyond repair.

He took a deep breath, connecting his own spiritual energy with the spiritual energy of the Void Realm. The two treasures, the Inkstone and the Ink Pearl, merged into his body, and a dazzling dark spiritual light erupted from his body, interspersed with faint golden pill fire, rushing towards the giant hand. "With my body that guards the meridians, I draw upon the spiritual energy of the Void Realm to break the evil spirits and solidify the seal!" Lin Yan's voice resounded throughout the heavens and earth. His figure transformed into a stream of light, merging with the dark spiritual light and golden pill fire, directly approaching the giant hand of the Bone Demon's clone.

With a deafening roar, spiritual light and malevolent energy collided violently. The giant hand let out a mournful howl and began to crumble. Yet, within the cracks, the Bone Demon's fury burned ever brighter, spewing forth even more malevolent energy, and another, even larger figure could be vaguely seen slowly awakening. Lin Yan collapsed onto the stone altar, blood seeping from the corner of his mouth. His sea energy was depleted, but as he gazed at the awakening figure, his eyes showed no sign of retreat—this battle to protect the spiritual veins and resist evil spirits had only just begun, and he had to hold this last line of defense.