The Devil-Suppressing Stele’s power was nearly exhausted. Fairy Nangui handed it to the elder, then personally stepped forward to join the battle against Devil Qingzhu.

The elder took the Devil-Suppressing Stele and passed through the crack opened by the Heavenly Phoenix Feather.

Without pausing for a moment, he sped toward the ancient hall by the cliff. Within the blood-red space, the battle still raged.

The elder’s successful escape through the wall immediately made the ancient devil sense something was wrong. Until now, everyone trapped in this space had been nothing more than lambs awaiting slaughter. Once he suppressed Qingzhu’s resistance, the two devils would join forces and exterminate them all with little effort.

Yet the Heavenly Phoenix Feather and the unyielding resistance of Qingzhu and Su Nu had introduced countless unexpected changes.

Lingzhuzi’s Daoist robe was torn, his hair disheveled, and the fly-whisk in his hand hung in tatters. The stardust scattered.

Thunder rumbled within the grand witch priest’s body; her figure vanished, replaced by the phantom of the Spring Lightning Silkworm, as if she had merged completely with her life-bound insect gu.

Old Devil Fang’s movements were like lightning, his figure almost impossible to track. The sharp, piercing chirps of cicadas filled the air, their devilish resonance drilling into the mind, making all who heard it dizzy and disoriented.

The tangible soundwaves dispersed the true devilish qi like blades, encircling Devil Qingzhu in a relentless assault.

Fairy Nangui had used a forbidden art to forcibly elevate her cultivation. After sending off the Devil-Suppressing Stele, her strength was slightly inferior to the other three.

She summoned her astra—a graceful spiritual sword.

Sword qi flowed around her as she unleashed a series of sword techniques focused on defense, coordinating with Lingzhuzi and the others to avoid being defeated one by one.

The four surrounded Devil Qingzhu, releasing dazzling radiance. One after another, mysterious Dao Techniques manifested, each filled with immense might and splendor that left one breathless to behold.

Even so, Devil Qingzhu showed no sign of weakness against the four great cultivators. Eventually, the Nine-Life Black Tortoise was forced to join their side as well.

If not for Qingzhu’s true soul resisting within, they would have already lost, and the elder would never have escaped so smoothly.

Qingzhu’s willpower exceeded all expectations. He never gave up. Each time he resisted, he disrupted Devil Qingzhu’s control, allowing the four cultivators, who were sharp-eyed and battle-hardened, to seize the opportunity and turn the tide.

Meanwhile, the Devil Lord manipulated the ghostly patterns through the ghostly seal, entangling the ancient devil’s split soul.

The ghostly seal had completely transformed. It now resembled a soul seal of ten thousand ghosts, its influence on the ancient devil’s split soul growing stronger by the moment.

The situation seemed to be shifting in their favor. Some even began to discuss secretly, planning to combine their strength to destroy the ancient devil’s split soul first, then deal with Devil Qingzhu afterward.

If they could hold out until the elder restored the ancient barrier, sealed the blood coffin once again, and even slayed the ancient devil with the sword qi, they could survive this ordeal.

The ancient devil knew this all too well. Time was no longer on his side. His split soul suddenly heard the faint whisper of his true body. A glint flashed across his eyes. "You want me to merge with the devilish puppet and use the Spirit Slice?"

The Spirit Slice was an extremely powerful secret technique, but it came with a steep price.

The true body needed to fight against the sword qi and could barely control the devilish puppet through the devilish barrier. Moreover, the puppet’s original primordial spirit remained restless, making it impossible to perform such a profound technique through it.

The split soul, on the other hand, lacked sufficient strength. Thus, the true body released the devilish barrier restraining Devil Qingzhu and handed control to the split soul, instructing him to merge with Devil Qingzhu and cast the Spirit Slice to end the battle swiftly.

Before the seal was destroyed, they had to annihilate all the immortal cultivators, complete the Blood River Array, and free the true body.

The ancient devil’s split soul understood his true body’s intent perfectly.

Ever since he had developed his own consciousness, the two had become rivals. The true body had always been wary of him, which was why Devil Qingzhu had remained under the true body’s control.

Of course, the split soul would not obey completely but circumstances left him little choice.

First, his power was far inferior to that of the devilish puppet controlled by the true body.

Second, he could sense that the true body spoke no falsehood. The sword qi was not to be underestimated. It had been left behind specifically to slay the ancient devil. He and his true body shared one qi but two souls.

If the sacred coffin failed against the sword qi and the true body was slain, all split souls would perish along with him. But no one could have foreseen so many unexpected developments.

The descendants of the Four Saints Palace had used the Heavenly Phoenix Feather to escape. Time was pressing, and the true body was forced to compromise.

This was exactly the chance the ancient devil’s split soul had longed for. "I can do as you say, but you must agree to one condition! After the seal is lifted, you must grant me freedom and swear not to pursue or harm me by any means for a thousand years. Otherwise, whether I help or not, I will still die. I would rather devour a Spiritual Infant and flee, take a gamble on the sword qi not killing me!"

He made his demand openly.

The true body did not hesitate. "A thousand years? Fine! I’ll grant you a thousand years! For a thousand years, we will not interfere with each other. After that, we’ll see who stands above whom!"

Thus, the two devils struck their pact. Lingzhuzi and the others were still unaware of this exchange. Their minds were taut with tension, none daring to relax.

***

On Yitian Peak, the elder had already returned to the ancient hall by the cliff.

Cracks ran through the hall, the entire place in ruins. He channeled his true essence to inspect the ancient barrier, then placed the Devil-Suppressing Stele back into position.

Hum! The Devil-Suppressing Stele emitted a low hum as the ancient barrier's power was restored.

Without pause, the elder rushed toward the mountain col. He saw the ruined altar, drew various spiritual materials from his Mustard Seed Pouch, and swiftly repaired it to its original state.

To fully restore the seal, Madam Li still needed to lead her people to repair the entire array. But she had already gone for some time and would soon return.

With the Devil-Suppressing Stele restored, the power of the ancient barrier surged once more, enough to suppress the ancient devil.

The elder glanced outward, then hurried toward the ancient barriers of the other two races.

***

As the elder completed his actions, the light of the blood coffin dimmed, suppressed by the restored seal. The sword qi seized the opening and surged forward.

Seeing this, everyone felt a rush of joy. Fairy Nangui’s plan was working. Just then, the ancient devil’s split soul suddenly burst into laughter instead of anger.

At the same moment, Devil Qingzhu and the ancient devil’s split soul abruptly turned their attacks, charging straight at each other.

"Crap!"

"Stop them!"

Lingzhuzi and the others were caught off guard, an ominous feeling rising in their hearts as they shouted in unison. Though they did not know the ancient devil’s exact scheme, they were certain of one thing: Whatever he intended, it had to be stopped.

The Devil Lord activated the ghostly seal, while the other experts also unleashed their full power to intercept him.

The ancient devil’s split soul ignored the Devil Lord entirely. Protected by the true devilish qi, he charged straight toward the other battlefield. In the next instant, a surge of black qi erupted from his body. From within came eerie, shrill laughter before the black mist flashed and merged into the body of Devil Qingzhu.

The moment the ancient devil’s split soul left Su Nu’s body, the ghostly patterns instantly spread across her entire form.

Su Nu’s face turned expressionless, her aura dark and sinister. By now, she had truly become the Devil Lord’s soul slave.

However, Su Nu’s cultivation was far too weak. Such a soul slave was of little use to the Devil Lord and could no longer restrain the ancient devil’s split soul, rendering her nearly worthless.

The ancient devil’s split soul had completely merged with Devil Qingzhu. Inside Qingzhu’s body, chaos erupted. His expression twisted wildly. It showed pain, madness, bloodlust, and killing intent...

Qingzhu no longer bore even a trace of the gentle and scholarly demeanor he once had. He had become a true devilish monster.

As the true body released the devilish barrier, the ancient devil’s split soul instantly seized control.

His eerie laughter grew louder and sharper, grating on the ears. The true devilish qi drifting around Qingzhu’s body suddenly retracted, surging back into him in an instant.