In mid-air, dense water light surged, directly transforming into layers of violent waves of energy.
The spiritual power fluctuations, comparable to the third realm, were released from the six heavy water pearls, extinguishing eighty to ninety percent of the scarlet flames in an instant.
Ji Yuan's eyes gleamed. He hadn't expected that with the assistance of two prodigies from the Nine Xuan Sect, the treasure's might would suddenly surge, as if possessing world-destroying power.
He naturally knew this was an illusion brought about by the sudden surge in power, but even if it couldn't destroy the world, it was more than enough to deal with cultivators of the second realm.
With a slight shift of his thoughts, the six heavy water pearls vibrated violently, immediately extinguishing the last traces of scarlet flame.
Then, Ji Yuan turned his gaze towards the rolling demonic energy, and his hand seals suddenly changed.
In an instant, the six heavy water pearls, carrying monstrous waves, poured down, immediately scattering the dense demonic energy and revealing six women with veiled faces.
These women were seated cross-legged, with a zither resting on their laps, their slender fingers plucking out mournful melodies.
At this moment, the expressions of the six women changed. They quickly summoned the zithers from their laps, flung them above their heads, and spared no expense in expending their spiritual power to activate all the restrictions contained within.
*Crack!!!*
However, in just one or two breaths, a strange sound emerged. Strings snapped one after another, and multiple cracks appeared on the zither bodies.
The spiritual essence of these magical artifacts was greatly damaged, their bodies were nearly halved, and the spiritual power contained within collapsed directly, finally falling powerlessly to the ground.
Although they only lasted for a moment, it was enough for the women to stand up and retreat rapidly. By the time the dense water light poured down, crashing onto the ground like a giant wave, they had already retreated several feet.
However, even though they avoided the fatal blow, the residual aftershocks still fiercely impacted their bodies. Coupled with their magical artifacts being nearly destroyed, their faces turned pale, they spat blood, and were sent flying.
In an instant, the mournful zither music echoing in the heavens and earth dissipated. The aura of the disciples of the Nine Xuan Sect fluctuated, and many had already begun to stir, breaking free from the influence of the illusionary arts.
"There isn't much time left!"
The young man surnamed Du shouted loudly.
Hearing this, Ji Yuan immediately let out a low roar. The six heavy water pearls erupted with brilliant light, and the two layers of restrictions that had been refined within were fully activated.
The first restriction increased their own weight, and the second restriction increased the power of the magical treasure.
With both restrictions activated simultaneously, waves of water light condensed and surged outwards in all directions!
In the next moment, the surrounding demonic energy began to dissipate, and demonic cultivators retreated one after another. Under the might comparable to the third realm, no one dared to confront it head-on.
"Infinite Heavenly Venerable!"
Ji Yuan whispered to himself, knowing he couldn't do anything useless.
Seeing the demonic cultivators scatter, his thoughts subtly shifted, and then the six heavy water pearls were sent out separately, shooting towards them in an instant. Seven people were engulfed by the boundless water light.
As the giant waves crashed down, screams erupted. Under the might of the heavy water pearls, seven demonic cultivators died on the spot, their bones and tendons broken by the sheer force.
At the same time, Ji Yuan continuously cast several hand seals, unleashing all the power within the six heavy water pearls, regardless of whether it was effective, just letting it sweep out.
More than ten demonic cultivators were thrown into disarray, hastily retreating in fear of being caught in this power.
But even with their utmost effort, several still made a mistake and were engulfed by the monstrous waves. No matter how their spiritual power surged, they could not change their destined demise.
After more than twenty breaths, as all fluctuations gradually subsided, the six heavy water pearls flew back and directly entered Ji Yuan's acupoints, slowly absorbing spiritual energy to recover their consumption.
Even with the boost from the two prodigies of the Nine Xuan Sect, the previous actions had depleted the spiritual energy within, and it would be difficult to use this treasure again in a short period.
After retrieving the heavy water pearls, he immediately looked around. The demonic energy that had surrounded them had now collapsed and dispersed, and his gaze could see the scene beyond.
As far as the eye could see, more than twenty cultivators had fallen, and it was no exaggeration to say the ground was covered in blood.
A large number of disciples from the Yin Yang Sect and the Blood Fiend Hall were detaining the souls of fallen cultivators and absorbing their vital blood to strengthen their own methods and cultivation.
"As expected of cultivators from the Phantom Sound Pavilion, their illusionary arts are truly potent!"
Lin Yubai scratched his bald head, also seeing the tragic scene around them.
However, amidst his anger, his expression became much more solemn. Even as an inner sect prodigy with combat power comparable to the peak of the second realm, he couldn't help but feel heavy-hearted.
"There are too many demonic cultivators."
The young man surnamed Du said in a deep voice, his face already somewhat pale.
He was rapidly absorbing the power of the clouds above his head to recover his own energy. To resist the attacks of the demonic cultivators and to empower the heavy water pearls in combat had truly consumed a significant amount of his vitality.
"Senior Brother Du?"
A group of disciples looked over with grim expressions, their eyes devoid of their previous calm.
Now, besides the more than ten who had been besieging them earlier, there were still more than thirty demonic cultivators eyeing them menacingly.
Such a force, let alone their current severe depletion of spiritual power and the significant shock to their minds from the recent illusionary arts, would be difficult to deal with even at their peak. A fight to the death would result in at least half of the disciples being lost.
The five inner sect prodigies also wore solemn expressions. They had already gone through several battles before this, their spiritual power was nearly halved, and their bodies were exhausted.
"Can we use that technique again?"
Ji Yuan stepped forward, approaching the young man surnamed Du, his eyes flickering as he asked.
If the other party could still use that technique, he felt he might be able to bring out the Xuan Tian Spirit Devouring Pagoda to protect everyone for a while.
However, the man shook his head. Under his current circumstances, even risking his life, it would be extremely difficult to perform it again.
This technique, though incredibly powerful, had immense consumption, not only in terms of spiritual power but also in vital energy, spirit, and other aspects.
"We don't know when the elders will defeat the enemy. The only way forward is to break through separately!"
Glancing at the sky and seeing more than a dozen third-realm cultivators locked in combat, the young man surnamed Du immediately said in a deep voice.
As soon as his words fell, the faces of the Nine Xuan Sect disciples darkened again, as if they could drip water.
Breaking through separately was clearly the worst option. Rashly dispersing their forces could lead to them being defeated one by one.
But if they didn't disperse and break through now, staying here would only lead to their collective annihilation.
Not to mention that the four inner sect elders were also overwhelmed, facing immense pressure, and whether they could successfully defeat the enemy was still unknown.
"What do you junior brothers think? Take a portion of the disciples and scatter in different directions?"
The young man surnamed Du turned and looked at the four inner sect prodigies beside him.
After the previous encirclement, the remaining more than ten demonic cultivators no longer used their individual techniques, needlessly expending their spiritual power. Instead, they stood at a distance with lingering fear, quietly gazing over.
They were not in any hurry regarding the disciples of the Nine Xuan Sect, calmly waiting for their fellow disciples to finish dealing with the other cultivators in the surroundings and then gather their full strength to attack.
It was for this reason that everyone had gained a moment of respite.
"Let's disperse and break through."
A prodigy spoke, then couldn't help but sigh.
Given the current situation, if they didn't break through and leave while the enemy had not yet gathered their full strength, even if they could withstand wave after wave of attacks, they would inevitably suffer heavy casualties, and at least half of the disciples would perish here.
Conversely, dispersing and breaking through, although their own forces would be scattered, the demonic cultivators would also be unable to gather together, which would significantly reduce the pressure.
"Each person will lead six disciples and break through in a different direction. Junior Brother Lin, please look after those three junior brothers, as well as this fellow Daoist and his friend."
The young man surnamed Du nodded, then said to the bald youth beside him.
The people he mentioned were naturally Zhao Yuansong and the other two, as well as Ji Yuan, who had jointly repelled the enemy earlier.
Upon hearing this, Lin Yubai nodded and readily agreed, even having the leisure to give them a reassuring look.
"Once you break through successfully, immediately retreat towards the Colorful Cloud Stairway and return to the sect's protective area as quickly as possible."
The young man surnamed Du said with a solemn expression, "The underground dojo is no longer a place we can wander freely."
Since someone had planned such an attack, there would naturally be a second, and even a third or fourth.
A group of inner sect disciples, even if several prodigies joined forces, could no longer wander freely within the dojo. At the slightest carelessness, they could fall into traps and ambushes meticulously prepared by ill-intentioned individuals.
"Go! Break through!"
With a low shout, the disciples of the Nine Xuan Sect, who had prepared themselves, immediately shot out in five different directions.
Seeing this, the demonic cultivators surrounding them immediately changed their expressions, and fierce killing intent erupted in their eyes.
Several of them immediately stepped forward, blocking the direction of Ji Yuan and the others' breakthrough. Each of them possessed cultivation at the middle stage of the Spirit Nurturing realm, with the leader having already reached the late stage!
Lin Yubai's eyes flashed fiercely, and countless lightning bolts flickered on his body. With a punch, streaks of lightning broke through the air.
"Demonic Infestation of the Azure Heavens!"
The demonic cultivator at the late stage of the Spirit Nurturing realm suddenly let out a fierce roar!
He and the four behind him simultaneously released rolling demonic energy, which condensed into a burly figure behind them. Then, several demonic cultivators merged into the chest of the demonic shadow.
"Scarlet Flame Mountain!"
Upon seeing this, Ji Yuan's mind immediately brought to mind Yang Qianhe's figure. The technique displayed by the individuals before him was identical to that of the latter.
Clearly, these few people were disciples of the Scarlet Flame Mountain, one of the five major demonic sects!
In the next breath, streaks of lightning shot forth, immediately piercing through parts of the demonic shadow's body. The fierce and violent power contained within directly caused a lot of demonic energy to collapse.
However, within their bodies, it was as if there was an inexhaustible supply of demonic energy, which quickly filled the gaps, causing the demonic shadows to return to their original state.
After two or three breaths, they rushed before them, and the burly demonic shadow, raising its fist, struck out heavily.
Accompanied by a strong whistling sound, streaks of scarlet flames suddenly ignited out of thin air, sweeping forward with the fist shadows.
Lin Yubai's brow furrowed, and he was about to unleash his full power to break through the attacks of these demonic cultivators.
However, just as he was about to make his move, a radiance suddenly descended from above, precisely blocking in front of him. An aura of pure Xuanmen orthodox law then flowed out.
While he was stunned, several fist shadows, carrying overwhelming flames, suddenly slammed down heavily. Not only did they not cause any ripples upon hitting the radiance, but they also caused themselves to collapse completely.
A gentle sweep of countless lights dispersed the aftershocks caused by the collapsing fist intent, and then, it rolled up a large amount of flames and demonic energy, returning to a small, seven-story pagoda several inches in size.
Ji Yuan's eyes flickered. He saw the small pagoda above his head rotate gently. The demonic energy and flames silently melted away, and a pure spiritual energy appeared within the pagoda's body.
He hadn't expected that the Xuan Tian Spirit Devouring Pagoda could actually devour and transform demonic energy, even the heart flames cultivated by the unique techniques of Scarlet Flame Mountain!
"Get lost!"
Seeing his attack being broken, Lin Yubai roared in anger. His voice exploded like thunder.
With this roar, the demonic shadows on several people almost collapsed on the spot. As they were desperately stabilizing themselves with their techniques, countless lightning bolts descended from the sky, overwhelming them.
*Boom boom boom boom boom!!!!!!!!*
Countless lightning bolts fell. The area within a radius of several dozen feet was immediately filled with flashing lightning, so dense that it was impossible to see clearly. Only large amounts of demonic energy collapsing and several weakening auras could be seen.
As the lightning gradually dissipated, it could be clearly seen that several demonic cultivators were now charred black, emitting wisps of white smoke.
At the cost of their demonic shadows, these individuals had barely managed to withstand the onslaught of countless lightning bolts, but they had inevitably suffered severe injuries. Only the leader, who bore lighter injuries, still had the strength to fight.
However, just as he gathered all his spiritual power, catalyzing vast heart flames into a sea of fire, preparing to counterattack.
A small pagoda, several inches in size, suddenly shot through the air and appeared above the sea of fire.
Countless rays of light descended, and the surging sea of fire was immediately frozen in place. Then, it was absorbed by the black, empty void that appeared at the bottom of the small pagoda!
In just a short moment, more than half of the sea of fire had been devoured, and the remaining half had also been drawn into mid-air, continuously sinking into the void at the bottom of the small pagoda.
Seeing this scene, several demonic cultivators from Scarlet Flame Mountain were deeply shocked, looking at the scene before them with horror.
No one here understood the power of heart flames better than them. As a unique technique of Scarlet Flame Mountain, it not only had the ability to corrupt magical artifacts and treasures but could also burn spiritual power and the seven emotions and six desires of living beings.
However, at this moment, it seemed to have encountered its nemesis. Not only did it fail to display its intended power, but it was also completely devoured without any resistance!