Devouring demons, I attain immortality.

When everyone returned to the ground, it was already dark.

Lin An took out the communication talisman given to him by the supervisor, but the talisman turned to ashes as soon as it was lit.

"It can't get out!" He ground the ashes. "This Heavenly Ruins Secret Realm is sealed off."

Lu Xiuwen pointed southeast: "There's a fire over there."

Five dark figures were roasting a wild rabbit around a campfire.

Lin An recognized that two of them were wearing the uniforms of the Demon Suppression Division, and the one leading them was a scarred-faced man.

There were six iron cages piled up at their feet, each containing an unconscious civilian.

"Are they planning a blood sacrifice?" Lu Xiuwen gripped the hilt of his sword tightly.

Lin An took out three concealment talismans and distributed them to Lu Xiuwen and the others.

They circled around to the back of the camp and found a young monk covered in blood tied to a tree.

Scarface was slashing open his clothes with a dagger: "Speak! How many men did the Supervisor send in?"

The cultivator spat out blood and foam: "Bah! You lackeys of extraterrestrial demons..."

Scarface suddenly turned and flung his dagger, embedding it into the tree trunk where Lin An was hiding: "Come out!"

"Don't think I can't see it!"

The sounds of fighting startled the night birds.

Without saying a word, Lin An used copper coins to seal the acupoints of the two guards.

Lu Xiuwen's sword was already at Scarface's neck.

Suddenly, a cold arrow emitting black smoke shot out from the shadows and struck Scarface squarely in the throat.

Scarface couldn't dodge in time. His Nascent Soul shield had just been activated when it was pierced by a cold arrow. A burst of blood mist erupted from his chest, and he collapsed to the ground, unable to get up.

"Silence them!"

When Lin An chased after him, he only saw a dark figure disappear into the bushes.

The rescued cultivator was named Zhou Yan, an undercover agent from the Jinzhou branch.

He coughed up blood and said, "My lord, these extraterrestrial demons... impersonating the Demon Suppression Bureau to capture living people as sacrifices... their leader has a red lotus tattoo on the back of his hand..."

"I've been poisoned by an extraterrestrial insidious poison that has seeped into my very bones. I can't be saved..." Zhou Yan gasped, seemingly on the verge of death.

"It all depends on human effort."

Lin An smiled faintly, waved his fan lightly, and the power of absorption poured into Zhou Yan's body. In a short while, the venom emitting black gas was forced out.

"The extraterrestrial evil poison in your body has been completely expelled! This is a Grade 6 Rejuvenation Pill; you will recover after taking it."

Lin An conjured a blue pill and handed it to Zhou Yan.

After Zhou Yan swallowed it, the spiritual energy in his body instantly returned to its peak state.

Lin An examined the scarred man's body and found half a route map inside the lining.

The map shows the locations of three other altars, all located outside the Nine Heavens Gate.

"Let's split up."

Lin An tore the map into three pieces.

"Fellow Daoist Lu, take your men to the east, Zhou Yan, go to the north, and I'll handle the two in the southwest."

"Yes, sir!"

The first altar in the southwest is hidden behind the waterfall.

Lin An crept in along the rock wall and heard arguing inside.

"The time is almost up!"

"Wait a little longer, Bingqi hasn't returned yet..."

Lin An flicked a copper coin, extinguishing the torch on the wall. A scream rang out from the darkness, and the Xuan Tian Mirror revealed three extraterrestrial demons hastily forming an array. He threw out the Immortal Binding Rope, binding two of them, and when the third tried to escape, his knees were sealed by the copper coin.

"Where is your leader?" Lin An stepped on the man's wrist.

The extraterrestrial demon suddenly grinned, black blood seeping from its teeth.

It was too late when Lin An grabbed his chin; the corpse quickly turned into a puddle of foul-smelling water.

"They've silenced me again!" Lin An gritted his teeth.

The second altar is located deep within an abandoned mine.

Lin An followed the smell of blood to the altar, only to find the ground littered with corpses.

All seven iron cages were opened, and all the prisoners were dead.

A broken sword was stuck in the center of the altar, with the character "Lu" engraved on the hilt.

The communication talisman suddenly heated up, and Lu Xiuwen's voice came out haltingly: "The altar to the east is a trap... Zhou Yan, he..."

When Lin An arrived at the meeting point, he only saw Lu Xiuwen and two array masters.

Zhou Yan lay on the ground, his own dagger embedded in his chest.

Unexpectedly, Lin An had just saved him, and now he's dead again!

"We've fallen for their trap." Lu Xiuwen's face was grim. "The real altar isn't on the map."

Lin An examined Zhou Yan's body and found gold powder under his fingernails.

This is used by secret agents of the Demon Suppression Division to leave coded messages.

He said...the red lotus is at the top of the tower...

Lu Xiuwen pointed at Zhou Yan's stiff finger, which was pointing towards the black tower in the distance.

The Black Tower has seven stories, and bronze bells hang from the eaves of each story.

As Lin An stepped into the tower, the copper bells suddenly rang in unison.

The sound waves caused his internal energy to surge, and Lin An quickly used his spiritual energy to block his ears.

Lu Xiuwen and the others following behind him were not so lucky; they were so shocked by the sound of the copper bell that they spat out blood!

Only after circulating his nascent soul energy was he able to stabilize his mind.

The second floor was piled with bones, and seven fresh corpses were nailed to the wall on the third floor, clearly offerings set up by extraterrestrial demons.

Upon reaching the fifth floor, Lu Xiuwen suddenly grabbed Lin An: "Something's not right, it's going too smoothly."

Before he could finish speaking, the floor suddenly collapsed.

The two fell into the pool of blood, from which countless skeletal hands emerged.

Lin An threw out his last seven copper coins, forming a seven-star formation to temporarily block the ghost hand.

"above!"

Lu Xiuwen cleaved the wooden plank on top of his head. The blood in the blood pool suddenly boiled and solidified into a three-eyed monster.

Lin An bit his finger and drew a talisman on his palm, then slapped it on the monster's forehead.

As the monster's screams faded, his right hand was charred black: "Run!"

There was no altar on the seventh floor, only a bronze cauldron.

A fragment of the Chaos Bell floated inside the cauldron, and the cauldron itself was engraved with the array patterns of the Demon Suppression Bureau.

Just as Lu Xiuwen was about to touch it, golden needles suddenly shot out from the mouth of the cauldron.

"This is the Demon-Trapping Cauldron!"

Lin An pulled him away. "The fragments are bait."

The entire tower began to shake.

As they jumped out of the window, the Black Tower collapsed with a roar, revealing the blood altar beneath the ground.

Nine extraterrestrial demons, each bearing a crimson lotus tattoo, were chanting incantations, with three fragments of the Chaos Bell floating in the center.

Lin An threw the Xuan Tian Mirror at the altar, but it was deflected by the red light.

Lu Xiuwen suddenly thrust his sword at his back, the blade stopping at the last inch.

"When did you find out?" Lu Xiuwen sneered, his eyes turning bloodshot.

"The gold powder on Zhou Yan's fingernails is spelled out in the shape of the character 'Lu'."

Lin An turned around and gripped the tip of the sword.

"It's impossible for the Supervisor to send two formation masters into the secret realm."

Two other array masters emerged from the shadows, each holding a spirit-locking chain.

The extraterrestrial demons on the altar continued chanting incantations, seemingly unconcerned about their infighting.

Lin An suddenly scattered copper coins into the sky, and the rain of coins severed all the spirit-locking chains.

Just as Lu Xiuwen was about to form a hand seal, Lin An affixed a talisman to his body, immobilizing him.

"Do you know why the Supervisor gave me the Mysterious Heaven Mirror?"

Lin An cut his palm and pressed it against the mirror.

"It can expose all disguises."

The mirror light shone on Lu Xiuwen's face, melting his skin and revealing his true face covered with demonic patterns.

This is a fake Lu Xiuwen!

The two array masters were so frightened that they retreated and were sucked into the altar, becoming living sacrifices.

The three fragments flew towards Lin An, but he caught them with the jade box.

When the altar collapsed, the real Lu Xiuwen crawled out from the rubble, clutching half of the Red Lotus Jade Pendant in his hand.

"This jade pendant... belongs to Su Wanyun..."

He said, coughing.

"I've met her in her hometown..."

The secret realm suddenly trembled violently. A crack appeared in the sky.

The supervisor's voice rang out: "The time has come."

The five fragments in Lin An's arms automatically pieced together, emitting a deafening bell sound.

All the extraterrestrial demons clutched their heads and screamed in agony, dying with blood flowing from their seven orifices.

The supervisor walked in, bathed in golden light, holding the last two fragments in his hand.

"Young friend Lin, well done."

He threw the shards to Lin An.

"Now, it's time for the Chaos Bell to see the light of day again."

The complete Chaos Bell floated in the air, but its body was covered with demonic runes.

Lin An suddenly remembered the supervisor's words: "The living core of the formation..."

The chief officiant raised his hand and pressed it against the top of the bell: "I should have completed this ceremony three hundred years ago..."

Lu Xiuwen suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Si Jian's leg: "Run! Si Jian has become a puppet of the extraterrestrial demons! He wants to use the entire secret realm as a sacrifice!"

Lin An hurled the Mysterious Heaven Mirror at the Chaos Bell. As the bell tolled, the secret realm began to collapse.

Amidst his maniacal laughter, the supervisor transformed into golden light and merged into the bell's body. Lin An grabbed Lu Xiuwen and jumped into the suddenly appearing teleportation array.

When they crashed outside Jinzhou City, the secret realm behind them had already turned into a black vortex.

The phantom of the Chaos Bell floated in the vortex, and the distorted face of the supervisor could be vaguely seen.

The Demon Suppression Division's forces quickly surrounded them. Lin An handed over the damaged Xuan Tian Mirror, but hid the Red Lotus Jade Pendant.

As Lu Xiuwen was being carried away, he quietly made a gesture that said "see you at midnight."

That night, Lin An sneaked into the clinic. Lu Xiuwen pulled an iron box from under the bed, inside which were secret letters between Su Wanyun and the supervisor.

The letter had an address on it, at the border of the Demon Abyss.

"I need to find out the truth," Lu Xiuwen said, bandaging his wound.

Lin An fiddled with the red lotus jade pendant: "Together."

Suddenly, the hooting of an owl sounded outside the window, and the two blew out the candles at the same time.