Devouring demons, I attain immortality.

"Catch them!" Blood Prince roared through the smoke and dust.

Lin An carried the two children and ran wildly.

The ground began to collapse, and he jumped up, stepping on the falling bricks and stones.

The Primordial True Essence enveloped his entire body, while the pursuers behind him screamed in agony as they were struck by falling rocks.

As they emerged from the underground palace, the morning sun was blinding, and black smoke rose from the direction of Chixiao City in the distance.

After settling the children in the dilapidated temple, Lin An inspected the cracks in the Golden Core.

Su Yingxue's blood talisman was still affixed to the hilt of the knife, and a map of the northern lands was faintly visible.

Suddenly, the sound of approaching hooves rang out. He grabbed the Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade and leaped onto the roof beam.

"By order of the city lord, search for the fugitive!" The soldiers kicked open the temple door.

The centurion in charge suddenly convulsed, and half a marrow-extracting nail emerged from his temple.

Lin An's pupils constricted sharply; the Blood Marrow Sect had actually infiltrated the city's defense forces!

He flicked two pebbles to extinguish the oil lamp, and then, taking advantage of the chaos, led the children into a secret passage.

At the end of the secret passage is an abandoned mine, with star maps carved on the stone walls.

The youngest girl suddenly spoke up: "Brother, I've seen this before."

She drew a fragmented array in the corner of the wall, which was the solution to the auction's code.

Lin An compared the star map and found that it pointed to the back mountain of the city lord's mansion.

The black iron token in his arms suddenly heated up, and small blood-red characters appeared: [Three days later, midnight, Burial Sword Valley]. The Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade trembled and pointed southeast; the third fragment of the Chaos Bell had reacted.

After settling the children in, Lin An ran into a patrol team as soon as he left the mine.

Before the Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade was even drawn, the leading soldier suddenly self-destructed.

The blood mist solidified into the face of the Blood Prince: "The game continues!"

Lin An wiped the blood off his face, gripped the hilt of his sword, and ran towards Burial Sword Valley.

Golden light seeped from the cracks in the Hunyuan Golden Elixir, and he felt a strange power awakening within him.

As I passed by the stream, I caught a glimpse of my reflection and noticed a bell-shaped mark that flashed across my forehead.

Seven broken swords were stuck in the valley entrance. Lin An triggered the sword formation as soon as he took half a step in.

The Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade spun and broke through the formation on its own, its dual sword souls possessing even greater power than before.

The Blood Prince crawled out of the Sword Tomb, half of his body still covered in mud.

"You really did come." He flicked his finger, sending three blood marrow crystals flying. "Guess how much explosives I planted at the bottom of the valley?"

Lin An suddenly swung his knife at the left side of the mountain wall.

The collapsed rocks blocked the escape route and also smothered the detonator hidden in the shadows.

As Blood Prince's smile froze, Lin An had already grabbed him by the neck and shoved him into the sword tomb: "It's my turn to ask a question."

The Blood Prince chuckled, "You think killing me will stop the Blood Sacrifice? There are nine more beneath Crimson Cloud City..."

Before he could finish speaking, blood suddenly flowed from all seven orifices. Lin An pried open his mouth and found a self-destruction curse mark engraved on the root of his tongue.

The Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade suddenly emitted a warning buzz, and Lin An quickly retreated three steps.

The Blood Prince's corpse exploded, and the shockwave swept away the entire Sword Tomb.

Golden light burst forth from the dust and smoke, and the third fragment of the Chaos Bell, embedded in the ancient sword, slowly rose into the air.

Lin An jumped up, stepping on the fallen sword box.

Golden light burst forth from the crack in the Golden Core, condensing into a bell-shaped phantom in mid-air.

With a loud clang, the fragments of the Chaos Bell detached themselves from the ancient sword and snapped into the hilt of the Nine Revolutions Demon-Slaying Blade.

A flood of memories suddenly rushed into his mind: an ancient demon general was being suppressed beneath the surface of Crimson Cloud City, and the Blood Marrow Sect's years of blood sacrifices were actually being unsealed!

When Lin An landed, he spat out golden blood, and three more cracks appeared in his Hunyuan Golden Core, but he felt his spiritual power surge.

A crimson pillar of light suddenly rose from the direction of the city lord's mansion, and nine underground palaces opened simultaneously.

Lin An wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and tore off a piece of his shirt to wrap tightly around the knife handle.

After absorbing the three fragments, the Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade became as heavy as a thousand pounds, leaving burning footprints on the ground with every step it took.

"Six hours left." He gazed at the crumbling walls of Crimson Sky City. "Enough to dismantle nine altars."

Lin An's left leg was slashed by the blood chain, leaving a deep wound that exposed bone. He knelt on one knee, and only managed to stay upright by inserting the Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade into a crack in the blue bricks.

The phantom of the winged fire serpent retracted into the blade, and the firelight dimmed. Blood Prince swung his bitten wrist, and drops of blood sizzled on the altar.

"You think you can turn the tide with just two sword souls?" Blood Prince raised his hand, summoning forty-nine pillars of blood. "This Weeping Blood Palace itself is an array!"

The seven children suddenly opened their eyes, and the talisman between their eyebrows looked like a red-hot branding iron.

Lin An felt the illusory image of the Chaos Bell vibrate in his dantian. He roared and drew the Nine Revolutions Demon-Slaying Blade.

The blades grazed the blue bricks of the altar, sparks flying, as the winged fire serpents and furious fire lizards burrowed into the ground through the cracks.

The underground palace began to shake, and pillars of blood exploded one after another.

Blood Prince's face turned ashen: "You fucking want to die together with me?"

Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lin An rolled to the edge of the iron cage, and the Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade struck the black iron chains, sending sparks flying.

Three chains broke, and he smashed the iron gate open with his shoulder.

The children held hands and formed a circle, when suddenly the golden light coalesced into an arrow and shot towards the Blood Prince.

The moment the Primordial Golden Pill cracked open, Lin An's vision went black.

His internal organs felt like they were being churned by iron hooks, and he had to bite his tongue to stay conscious.

The Blood Prince's chains pierced his left shoulder, but he used the force to swing to the center of the altar.

Su Yingxue's blood talisman, stained with his blood, suddenly burned to ashes.

Twenty-eight beams of starlight pierced through the palace roof, pinning the Blood Prince to the spot, unable to move.

Lin An reached into his pocket for the black iron token from the auction and swung it at the nearest bronze lampstand.

"Explode!" He activated the last bit of his true energy.

The winged fire serpent ignited the lamp oil, and the flames spread along the blood marrow crystal.

The blast wave knocked over three pillars of blood, and Lin An carried two children out.

The floor tiles collapsed beneath his feet, and he jumped up, stepping on the fallen pebbles.

A furious roar came from behind, and three arrows of blood grazed past his ears.

When Lin An rushed out of the underground palace, it was already dawn, and black blood was oozing from the wound on his right leg.

Five children followed behind him, when the youngest girl suddenly fell down.

He turned back to pull, but the Blood Prince's blood arrow pierced his left arm.

"Enter the secret passage!" He pushed the children into the overgrown crevice between the rocks.

The secret passage smelled musty and pungent. Lin An tore off a piece of his shirt to bandage his wound.

The girl took out half a wheat cake from her bosom, which he broke into pieces and distributed to everyone.

The sound of rolling stones came from behind; the pursuers had arrived.

"Stay here and don't make a sound." He gripped the Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade and crept back to the fork in the road.

Three men in blood-red robes approached, carrying torches. Lin An held his breath and pressed himself against the damp rock wall.

The leader's temple suddenly burst open, and as his body fell to the ground, Lin An had already slit the throats of the other two men.

The Blood Marrow Sect had actually planted self-destruct talismans in the minds of its followers.

Back at their hiding place, the little girl tugged at his sleeve: "Brother, the painting on the wall is just like the one Father carved."

Lin An held up a tinderbox and examined the stone wall closely; the star map was missing the northeast corner.

The girl used charcoal to add a few crooked lines, which turned out to be the solution to the auction's code.

The Primordial Golden Elixir suddenly heated up, and the Nine Revolutions Demon-Slaying Blade pointed southeast on its own.

"Sword Burial Valley..." he touched the newly inlaid fragment on the hilt of his sword, "Six hours left."

At noon, Lin An lay prone on the cliff top at the valley entrance. Below, seven broken swords formed a killing formation, and the Blood Prince was burying explosive talismans beside the sword mound.

The Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade suddenly trembled, and the Winged Fire Serpent and the Angry Fire Lizard awoke simultaneously.

He rolled down the slope, triggering a sword formation, and seven sword energies crisscrossed and attacked.

The Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade cleaved in two, leaving a bloody gash on his left shoulder.

When he dodged the fourth sword with a side somersault, he deliberately exposed an opening.

Just as the fifth sword was about to pierce his heart, Lin An suddenly twisted his waist and threw the sword backhand.

The chaotic bell phantom on the hilt deflected the sword's edge, and he seized the opportunity to rush within three zhang of the Blood Prince.

Blood Prince threw out the explosive talisman, but Lin An had already calculated the direction and used the Nine Revolutions Demon Slayer Blade to cut the fuse in advance.