Devouring demons, I attain immortality.

He ran his fingers across the sword mark, and the Xuan Tian Mirror reflected a scene from the past: after the white-robed swordsman slew the Heavenly Demon, he sealed the Heavenly Demon into the earth's veins.

The sword spirit floating in the magma suddenly trembled, and seventy-two fire spirits transformed into an array.

Lin An allowed the karmic fire to entangle him, and the Vajra Buddha bone shone with a pure, crystal-like light, absorbing the karmic fire from the bone.

"Devouring Heaven Dharma Form, activate!"

The ten-thousand-foot-tall phantom opened its mouth and absorbed all the fire spirit, while the remnant soul of the Heavenly Demon cried out as it disappeared into the scabbard.

The ground suddenly collapsed, revealing a giant tortoise shell pierced by chains—on which was engraved the missing star chart of "Doumu Xie".

"I see..."

His sword energy shattered the tortoise shell, and fragments of the Chaos Bell rose from the earth's core.

"The Twenty-Eight Mansions govern the Four Symbols; when the Four Symbols unite, chaos arises."

When Lin An emerged from the secret realm with the three sword souls, magnificent ships and painted boats appeared on the once deserted sea.

The moment the Mysterious Mirror revealed the true nature of the illusion, the entire sea area was replaced by a stomach-like space of flesh and blood.

"The Sky-Devouring Python?"

"That's interesting!"

He crushed the writhing flesh beneath his feet, and the Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade pierced a point in the void.

With a mournful roar, the ten-thousand-foot-long serpentine body plummeted from the clouds.

Lin An stepped on the snake's head and dug out the demon core. Suddenly, he turned his head and looked south—there, a familiar demonic aura was attacking the Dao Integration Realm barrier.

"Fatten them up before killing them!"

He crushed the demon core, and two more points of light lit up on the star map behind him.

As Lin An stepped on the skull of the Devouring Python to refine the demon core, starlight suddenly appeared in the flesh and blood space.

Seven white jade flying boats pierced through the clouds, with the old man at the bow embroidered with the seal script "Star Palace" on his sleeve. The pressure of the Dao Integration Realm stirred the primordial energy of the sea and sky.

"Fellow Daoist, wait a moment!" The old man raised his hand and conjured the Big Dipper Formation. "This Devouring Python is the spirit beast guarding the secret realm of my Star Palace..."

The Kui Mulang sword spirit in the star map of the scabbard suddenly trembled. Lin An squinted at the jade pendant at the old man's waist—it was clearly the transformation of Lou Jingou's sword spirit.

The Mysterious Mirror silently reflected the entire scene, revealing the vital points of all twelve Star Palace disciples.

"Noisy."

The Burial Platform suddenly expanded by a hundred miles, and the masts of the seven flying boats were all broken.

The old man summoned his natal star chart to defend himself, only to discover that his spiritual power was being devoured by some kind of rule: "This is... the Dao of Chaos? What exactly are you...?"

As the blade flashed, Lou Jingou's sword spirit had already fallen into his palm.

Before Lin An crushed the old man's nascent soul, the Devouring System extracted key memories: the complete Dou Su Sword Soul and fragments of the Chaos Bell "Southern Vermilion Bird" were hidden deep within the Star Palace.

After passing through the triple collapse of the Zhou Tian Star Array, Lin An paused amidst the ruins.

The Xuan Tian Mirror reflected a bronze coffin three hundred feet underground. Inside the coffin, the corpse held the Doumu Xie Sword Soul in its hand, but had half a bone blade engraved with Gu patterns stuck in its chest.

"The methods of witchcraft and sorcery used in Miao areas?"

He snapped his finger and shattered the coffin lid, discovering a wriggling black shadow in the lower abdomen of the corpse.

The Time-Tracing Divine Power was activated, and the scene from three days ago appeared: three Gu cultivators in the Tribulation Transcending stage joined forces to break the formation, but were devoured by starlight when they touched the sword soul.

In a moment of desperation, one of them planted his natal Gu worm, which triggered a change in the formation.

"That saves trouble!"

Lin An pointed his fingers like a knife and slashed out the Gu worms. The black shadow shrieked and transformed into a nine-headed ghost chariot phantom.

The Devouring Heaven Dharma Form automatically manifested, and the illusory image of the Chaos Bell between its brows trembled slightly, causing the Ghost Chariot to instantly wilt and clump together.

[Devouring the ancient Gu seed!]

[Achieved True Understanding of the Way of the Wizard (High-Grade Heaven)!]

[Unlock the fourth form of the Mysterious Heaven Seal: Demon Refining Pot!]

The moment the Doumu Xie Sword Soul was obtained, the earth's veins surged throughout the ruins.

The Twenty-Eight Mansions constellation map appeared in the clouds, and the seven mansions of the White Tiger in the west pointed towards the imperial tombs in the Central Plains.

At the Tianji Pavilion Star Observatory in Zhongzhou, an old man in purple robes spat out his essence blood, and the White Tiger Star Region on the star track sand table exploded with a roar.

The twelve deacons simultaneously formed hand seals, and the tortoise shell in the Pavilion Master's hand cracked with ominous patterns: "An omen of a white tiger carrying a corpse... Quickly summon the Supreme Elder, who is in seclusion!"

Thousands of miles away, amidst the clouds, Lin An suddenly felt something.

The Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade automatically unsheathed three inches, its blade energy slicing down the peering Heavenly Eye.

The Devouring System popped up a new notification:

[Entanglement of causal lines detected!]

[It is recommended to consume 30000 essence points to remove this!]

He allowed the backlash to spread along the causal lines, and suddenly an unnamed karmic fire ignited on the top floor of the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion.

When the seventh-floor library turned to ashes, the star map on the scabbard had already illuminated the twenty-one constellations.

In search of the last seven sword souls, Lin An ventured into the bottomless icy abyss.

The Xuan Tian Mirror reflected the 100,000 ice sculptures kneeling in front of it, all of which were the frozen corpses of ancient cultivators, facing the central altar in a pilgrimage posture.

The sword spirit of the Dangerous Moon Swallow, which was suspended on the altar, suddenly trembled, and a hundred pairs of scarlet eyes opened in the ice layer.

Eighteen ancient corpses at the Mahayana stage broke through the ice, and the array they formed actually attracted the Netherworld Qi.

"That's more like it!"

Lin An grinned, the Demon Refining Pot hovering above his head.

The chaotic fire essence spewing from the spout melted the netherworld energy, while the left hand, holding the Burial Platform, had already seized the nearest ancient corpse, the Heavenly Spirit.

[Devouring 18 ancient corpses at the Mahayana stage!]

[Gained 150000 Netherworld Essence!]

[The Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade awakens its Netherworld Path Trait: Yellow Springs Summoning!]

When Wei Yueyan's sword spirit returned to its place, the altar collapsed with a roar.

From the deepest part of the icy abyss rose a half-dead immortal corpse, clutching a parchment scroll that read: "On the day the Twenty-Eight Constellations gather, the Chaos Bell tolls to bury the immortals."

Lin An smoothed over the lingering sword intent on the scroll, his pupils slightly contracting—the handwriting was actually from the same source as the sword marks in the secret realm three thousand years ago.

East Sea, West City of Tianjian.

Lin An crushed the last low-grade spirit stone, and used the Nine Nether Soul Probing Technique to scan the beggar on the street corner.

That faint resonance of the sword spirit emanated from the bottom of the beggar's broken bowl.

"It's been three days, and I can still smell the essence of the Horned Wood Dragon Sword Soul."

He flicked his finger and tossed half a piece of demon flesh into the broken bowl; the star pattern on the bronze fragments flashed and disappeared beneath the grease.

The beggar's cloudy pupils suddenly cleared, and his withered hand swiftly struck Lin An's pulse point.

The Xuan Tian Mirror vibrated in the sea of ​​consciousness, reflecting the nascent soul sealed in the other party's dantian—it was actually the law enforcement elder of the Heavenly Sword Pavilion who had disappeared twenty years ago!

"Young friend, why make things difficult for someone who is about to die?"

The beggar's sword energy from his sleeve crushed the three-zhang-long blue brick, and then a black hole suddenly appeared in Lin An's palm.

[Absorbing the sword intent of a Dao Integration Stage cultivator!]

[Gained +1200 Kendo Insight!]

[The Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade unlocks a new form: Azure Scales!]

Lin An flicked his wrist, and the Nine-Turn Demon-Slaying Blade was already pressed against the beggar's throat: "Elder Xie, your secret chamber where you hide your Sword Soul has a seven-layered Blood Fiend Array. How about we make a deal?"

"Come with me to the secret room!"

Lin An grabbed Elder Xie and disappeared into the void.

The firelight reflected off Elder Xie's face, making his expression shift between light and shadow.

Lin An toyed with the key to the secret room, letting the earth fire lick his palms—his indestructible body automatically absorbed the fire essence, and system notifications kept refreshing.

"The longevity pill you requested."

Lin An tossed the jade bottle over; inside was actually a Soul-Devouring Gu.

"If you take even half a wrong step while leading the way..."

Elder Xie's Adam's apple bobbed, and the moment the key was inserted into the rock wall, the entire underground fire chamber suddenly tilted.

Eighteen bronze sword puppets burst from the ground, and the magma stirred up by the sword formation transformed into cages.

"I knew it was a trap!"

Lin An chuckled and stomped his foot, crushing the three sword puppets with the phantom of Zhenyu Peak.

The devouring vortex spread along the earth's veins, and magma poured into the sword puppet's joints.

Elder Xie seized the opportunity to shatter the escape talisman, but was frozen in mid-air by the Xuan Tian Mirror.

Lin An grabbed his neck and pressed him against the core of the sword formation: "I'd like to trouble the elders to help break this formation."

At midnight in the secret chamber of the sword's soul.

When the seventh layer of the Blood Fiend Array collapsed, Lin An's back was already pressed against the cold stone wall.

Elder Xie's nascent soul screamed in agony during the Soul Searching Technique, as memories of the secret conversation between the Heavenly Sword Pavilion Master and the Nine Nether Island Master surfaced in his mind.

"So the Horned Wood Dragon Sword Soul was bait."

Lin An sneered and crushed the image transmission jade talisman, revealing the image-recording stone on the ceiling of the secret chamber.

"You've been watching for so long, don't you plan to show yourself?"