Devouring demons, I attain immortality.

Lin An stood before the collapsed altar, the Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade in his hand still dripping blood.

The bronze compass of the Demon Suppression Bureau hovered in mid-air, its pointer trembling violently as it pointed northwest.

Lu Xiuwen tore off a piece of his blood-stained sleeve to bandage his wound, then suddenly stared at the crack in the ground: "There's something down there."

The knife tip pried open the rubble, revealing half of a bronze bell gleaming with a faint light.

The moment the fifth skull pattern on the back of the knife lit up, a deep, resonant bell tolled throughout the valley.

Lin An's pupils contracted slightly—this was the pattern he had seen in the underground palace of Blackwater Village.

"Fragments of the Chaos Bell."

Lu Xiuwen pressed down on the trembling compass with his sword sheath.

"Towards the Abyss."

As the three black-horse-like horses trampled the bluestone of the official road, Lin An took out a sheepskin map from his pocket.

The route map that was taken from the Blood Blade Sect elder three days ago now perfectly matches the direction of the compass.

He suddenly pulled on the reins, and the Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade slashed at the ancient locust tree on the right without warning.

The tree bark cracked open, and the man in black robes stumbled and fell.

Before the man could even properly hold the wooden box in his arms, Lin An's scabbard slammed heavily into the back of his knees.

A crisp cracking sound mixed with a muffled groan, and Lu Xiuwen's sword tip was already pressed against his throat.

"The dogs of the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion."

Lin An kicked open the wooden box, inside which was half a yellowed map.

As he pieced together the map with the tattered scroll in his arms, a cinnabar mark suddenly appeared in the northwest corner—the Burial Cave of Immortals.

Lu Xiuwen suddenly ripped open the black-robed man's collar, revealing a taotie tattoo on his chest that glowed with a bluish light: "It's an assassin!"

Before the words were even finished, black blood gushed from the black-robed man's seven orifices, and his corpse turned into white bones in the span of three breaths.

Lin An mounted his horse, and the Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade suddenly unsheathed itself by three inches.

At the bend in the mountain path ahead, twelve silver-armored warriors stood in formation, their bronze mirrors reflecting the blinding sunlight.

He recognized this standard armor—it was the same armor worn by the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion's enforcement team three years ago when they were besieging the Blood Demon Cult.

"Make way." Lin An gripped the hilt of his knife.

The silver-armored leader raised his command arrow: "By order of the Pavilion Master, execute..."

The flash of a blade is faster than the sound of a voice.

The instant the Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade severed the command arrow, Lu Xiuwen's sword had already pierced the throats of the three men.

Lin An leaped onto the back of the black-horse, his blade cleaving through the morning mist and sending up a waterfall of blood.

As the last silver-armored corpse fell, the sixth skull pattern on the back of the blade glowed with an eerie light.

Lu Xiuwen wiped the blood from his sword: "These are demons."

Lin An used the tip of his knife to lift the corpse's arm and, sure enough, saw blue lines wriggling under the skin.

Ten years after the Medicine King Valley massacre, this forbidden technique of turning living people into puppet soldiers should have disappeared, but unexpectedly, the Heavenly Secrets Pavilion...

"Forbidden techniques have appeared in the world; a great calamity is imminent."

Lu Xiuwen gazed at the faint dark clouds on the northwest horizon. "The Burial Immortal Cave is a remnant of an ancient battlefield. The malevolent energy there is enough to give birth to a Corpse King. These extraterrestrial demons want to revive the Corpse King!"

Lin An suddenly slammed the map onto his horse's back.

The subtle differences in ink marks at the joint indicate that someone had altered the location of the Burial Immortal Cave.

He bit his fingertip and drew a bloody line on the map, and the location of the ominous spot that was originally marked was shifted by thirty miles.

"They're leading us to a fake acupoint." Lu Xiuwen lightly tapped a spot on the map with the tip of his sword. "The real acupoint is here."

As the Molin horse trampled over the corpses scattered on the ground, Lin An took out three scarlet pills.

The burning sensation of the Blood Fiend Pill as it entered his throat made him squint. This secret medicine, made from the blood essence of enemies, could temporarily increase his combat power by 30%.

At the entrance to the Burial Cave, a seven-star formation made up of three hundred corpses is in operation.

Lin An recognized the clothes—the Chixiao Sect disciples who had disappeared seven days ago had now become sacrifices at the core of the formation.

The moment the Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade pierced the array's core, a thunderous roar echoed from the ground as chains snapped.

"Step back!"

Lu Xiuwen suddenly grabbed Lin An and retreated ten feet.

The ground where they had stood was blasted open, bronze giant claws tore through the rock layers, and eight black iron chains dragged out a tomb guardian beast that was a hundred feet long.

This ancient ferocious beast resembles a Qilin, but has the head of an owl.

Lin An noticed that the scales on its neck were missing—someone had come before them.

As the giant beast pounced, he deliberately faced the third chain on the left.

Amidst the sparks from the clash of the blade against the chain, Lu Xiuwen finally made out the object attached to the end of the chain.

Half of the bronze bell is embedded in the rock wall, and the surface of the bell is densely engraved with demon-suppressing runes.

"The Chaos Bell Core!"

Lin An withstood the giant beast's claws and used the force to flip over and leap onto its back.

The moment the Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade pierced the gap in the Reverse Scale, the entire cave suddenly froze.

The behemoth remained frozen in its pouncing posture, the tip of Lu Xiuwen's thrusting sword stopped in mid-air, and even the dust was frozen into particles.

Only Lin An could move. He saw words appear on the surface of the bell:

[Time stops for thirty breaths]

When he plunged the blade fully into the reverse scale, time and space resumed their flow.

The colossal beast howled and collapsed into bronze fragments, its chains snapping completely.

The moment the Chaos Bell core landed in his palm, the seventh skull pattern on the Nine Revolutions Demon-Slaying Blade lit up.

The sound of chains being dragged came from deep within the cave.

Lin An kicked away the rubble and saw Su Wanyun hanging above the blood pool, her collarbone pierced by eight demon-sealing chains.

Three soul-suppressing nails were stuck between the girl's eyebrows, and blood from the pool was flowing back into her body along the chains.

"The Heavenly Mystery Pavilion is refining human puppets."

When Lu Xiuwen severed the chains, the blood pool suddenly boiled.

Countless skeletal arms climbed up the rock wall, and the complete phantom of the Chaos Bell emerged from the bottom of the pool.

Lin An caught the falling Su Wanyun, and the Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade flew towards the blood pool on its own.

When the blade touched the illusory image of the Chaos Bell, the entire Burial Immortal Cave began to collapse.

He bit his tongue and spat out his blood, causing the eighth skull pattern on the back of the knife to suddenly glow.

"Walk!"

The moment Lu Xiuwen slashed open the escape route, a giant hand emerged from the pool of blood.

The palm was covered with bronze scales, and the fingertips were wreathed in chaotic energy.

Lin An threw the Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade with a backhand motion, the blade piercing through his palm and embedding itself into the rock wall.

As they escaped from the ground, a roar that was neither human nor beast came from behind them.

Lin An looked at the bell-shaped mark that appeared in his palm. The system notification indicated that it was appearing for the first time in ancient seal script.

Chaos returns to its proper place, the Gate of Asura opens.

Su Wanyun awoke amidst the turbulence, a blood-red talisman forming at her fingertips pointing north: "They used my life essence to nourish the Asura Clan... in the forbidden area of ​​the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion..."

Mo Linma suddenly stood up on its hind legs.

Ahead, the valley was shrouded in blood mist, and the walls of a city built of white bones could be vaguely seen.

The Demon-Suppressing Pearl on Lu Xiuwen's sword sheath trembled violently, a sign that he had encountered a thousand-year-old Corpse King.

Lin An swallowed the remaining Blood Fiend Pill.

When the ninth skull pattern on the Nine Revolutions Demon-Slaying Blade lit up, he saw the banner fluttering on the city wall—a battle flag made of cultivator's skin, with the words "Asura Prison" written in blood on it.

As the city walls collapsed with a roar, the figure on the throne slowly rose.

The man was dressed in the robes of an elder of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion, and his face bore a striking resemblance to Su Wanyun.

Lin An noticed that the top of the scepter in his hand was inlaid with a complete Chaos Bell.

"It's finally here."

The scepter struck the ground, and a hundred-mile-long sea of ​​blood surged forth.

"Give me back the Chaos Bell!"

Lin An advanced faster than his voice could be heard.

When the Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade severed the scepter, the Chaos Bell suddenly chimed.

In that instant when time seemed to stand still, he saw the blood rune condensing at the other person's fingertip—of the same origin as Su Wanyun's.

It's another human puppet raised by extraterrestrial demons!

The blade deflected three inches, severing an arm rather than a head.

Lu Xiuwen's sword took the opportunity to pierce through the opponent's dantian, but it produced a metallic clang.

Lin An tore open the elder's outer robe, revealing a body covered in bronze scales.

"So you were the tomb guardian beast all along!"

As the Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade pierced the heart's reverse scale, the Chaos Bell suddenly exploded.

At the last moment, Lin An pushed Su Wanyun out of the blast radius, but he himself was pierced through the chest by a bronze fragment.

When the sea of ​​blood receded, Lu Xiuwen found Lin An, who was on the verge of death.

The Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade was stuck in the center of the ruins, its blade covered in cracks, yet it exuded an unprecedented pressure.

Su Wanyun knelt down beside her and inserted three Soul-Suppressing Nails into her Heavenly Spirit Acupoint.

"Repairing the weapon with the soul." A crimson light emanated from her body. "This is a secret technique of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion."

When Lin An grasped the knife handle again, all the cracks were repaired.

The nine skull patterns on the back of the blade are linked end to end, transforming into a complete chaotic totem. The system displays its final prompt:

[The Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade has been upgraded!]

The city of Shura began to dissipate after the throne collapsed.

Lin An stared at the fading bell-shaped mark on his palm, then suddenly swung his sword and slashed at the void.

On the other side of the rift was Blackwater Village, where they had first met three months ago.

Lu Xiuwen sheathed his sword: "It's time to go back."