Just as Tang Xiaoqi's fingertip, wreathed with power fusing the Four Symbols jade pendant's chaos meaning and his own Green Lotus origin, was about to touch that seemingly weak yet world-burning Chaos Pill Fire seed—
A sudden change occurred!
Not a backlash from the Chaos Pill Fire, but from behind him, outside the Pill Refining Room's open, seemingly calm hall entrance!
"Buzz—!"
A low yet sharp, soul-tearing strange buzzing suddenly rang out! This sound did not travel through air but directly acted on Xiao Qi's Sea of Consciousness, carrying a gloomy, filthy intent full of resentment and destruction, like countless cold poison needles viciously stabbing toward his soul core!
A sneak attack! And a premeditated one aimed directly at his vital point—a soul assault!
Xiao Qi's entire mind was concentrated on the Chaos Pill Fire before him, leaving him completely unguarded against this fatal attack from behind! His Sea of Consciousness instantly churned like a calm lake with a boulder thrown into it, his soul transmitting tearing pain, his vision going black. That trace of fused power condensed at his fingertip nearly scattered on the spot!
If not for his firm Dao heart, tempered through many trials, the jade pendant's constant nourishment of his soul, and his recently condensed soul from absorbing Dao rhymes in the Scripture Pavilion, this sneak attack alone might have severely wounded his soul, or even directly annihilated it!
"Puh!"
Xiao Qi forcefully suppressed his surging qi and blood and the turmoil in his Sea of Consciousness. He abruptly withdrew his hand reaching toward the pill fire, his form lunging forward using the recoil force. Simultaneously, his Guardian Sword Intent instantly activated—a platinum light halo protecting him like an eggshell. His Purification Origin responded to the threat, transforming into a circle of gentle yet resilient white light that swept behind him, dispersing the continuously invading strange soul fluctuations.
He whirled around, his gaze sharp as lightning, looking toward the hall entrance.
He saw that the previously empty hall entrance was now sealed by a thin, constantly writhing and twisting dark purple light curtain. Upon this curtain were hideous ghost-face runes, emitting nauseating demonic qi and powerful sealing power, completely blocking the Pill Refining Room's exit!
Before the light curtain, three figures shrouded in dense black-purple demonic qi quietly materialized like ghosts. Their forms were twisted and unstable, as if composed of shadows and resentment; their human outlines barely discernible. They emanated intense and pure demonic qi—far more refined, ancient, and insane than the Shadow Snake Pavilion cultivators encountered before! The one leading them held a skull banner that constantly dripped black filthy blood—the terrifying soul assault earlier had clearly come from this banner!
"The Situ family's Soul-Eroding Banner!" Xiao Qi's pupils contracted sharply as he instantly recognized that signature demonic treasure. Back at the Situ family ancestral land, when he and the Grand Elder's faction joined forces to suppress the rebellion, he had seen an imitation of this banner. But the one before him had an even more ancient and evil aura—clearly the genuine original or an even higher-grade version!
"Ka-ka-ka... Tang Xiaoqi! Didn't expect this, did you? That we'd be waiting for you here!" The lead demonic cultivator let out a hoarse, ear-piercing laugh, his voice filled with bone-deep resentment and madness. "You thought destroying the ancestral land and killing the Young Lord would wipe out my Situ family? The Demon Lord is eternal! We who bear the Demon Lord's will have long since dedicated our bodies and minds. Here in the Heavenly Dao Palace is where you'll be buried!"
Sure enough, Situ family remnants! And from their condition, they had been completely eroded by the demon origin, losing their selves, becoming demon puppets that knew only slaughter and destruction! They had actually entered the Heavenly Dao Palace too, and seemed to understand some of its restrictions—otherwise they couldn't have ambushed him so precisely, nor set up this magic array that isolated inside from outside!
Xiao Qi's thoughts raced, instantly understanding the peril of the situation. The enemy had come prepared, not only with superior numbers (three people, all with Nascent Soul early to mid-stage fluctuations) but also possessing some method to manipulate certain restrictions here, laying a trap. He himself had just suffered a soul sneak attack—though not severely wounded, his state was far from peak. Moreover, he was trapped in the relatively enclosed Pill Refining Room, losing all geographical advantage!
"You demons who hide your heads and show your tails dare speak of burying me?" Xiao Qi suppressed his churning qi and blood, speaking coldly while secretly circulating his techniques with full force to calm his Sea of Consciousness. His spiritual power surged; the Nirvana Crimson Flame Sword was already quietly gripped in his hand, its body flowing with crimson light, ready to strike. He had to break this stalemate quickly—trapped here, the consequences would be unthinkable!
"Death approaches and you still run your mouth!" Another demonic cultivator sneered, suddenly shoving both hands forward. The demonic qi around him instantly transformed into dozens of pitch-black tentacles covered in suckers and sharp teeth, like monster pythons emerging from their caves. Carrying evil power that corroded spiritual light and devoured vitality, they wound and pierced toward Xiao Qi from different angles! Wherever they passed, even space issued a "sizzling" sound of corrosion.
Simultaneously, the third demonic cultivator chanted incantations, waving a white bone dagger as waves of gray-black curses rippled outward like ripples, enveloping Xiao Qi, attempting to weaken his spiritual power, slow his speed, and confuse his perception.
The lead banner-wielding demonic cultivator again shook the Soul-Eroding Banner. A sinister wind howled, demonic shadows layered upon each other, and even sharper, stranger soul attacks like tidal waves, wave after wave, assaulted Xiao Qi's Sea of Consciousness!
The three coordinated seamlessly, their attacks vicious and cunning. Physical attacks, energy corrosion, soul invasion, curse weakening—they nearly sealed off all of Xiao Qi's possibilities for evasion and defense, clearly intending to kill him here!
Xiao Qi's eyes turned cold. He knew he could no longer hold anything back.
"Guardian Sword Domain, Open!"
He shouted low, and his platinum Guardian Sword Intent erupted with unprecedented intensity. No longer merely protecting his body, it instantly expanded to form a miniature domain about three zhang in diameter! Within the domain, platinum sword radiance circulated like solid substance, shredding the winding demonic tentacles and forcefully repelling the spreading curse ripples! Though the domain wasn't large, it was impregnable, isolating the vast majority of attacks.
Simultaneously, in his Sea of Consciousness, the Green Lotus phantom radiated brilliant light. Purification Origin power rippled outward like water waves, firmly protecting his soul, continuously purifying and dispersing the Soul-Eroding Banner's strange sound waves and demonic thought impacts.
But the enemy's attacks were like bone-decaying gangrene, endless. The Guardian Sword Domain flickered violently under the continuous bombardment of three different demonic arts, its range constantly compressed—clearly it couldn't hold for long. And the Soul-Eroding Banner's soul attacks, though mostly purified, still left residual fluctuations that made his Sea of Consciousness ache faintly, making it difficult to concentrate on deploying stronger means.
The situation was critical!
Xiao Qi's gaze swept over the hall entrance sealed by the demonic array, then glanced at the still-quietly-burning Chaos Pill Fire behind him, and that massive Bagua pill furnace. An extremely risky idea instantly formed in his mind.
Perhaps... he could use their own strength against them!