Streaks of bloodlight seeped from his wrist, healing the terrifying wounds one by one.

"Blood Soul True Understanding."

The Blood Soul True Understanding, cultivated with Demon Blood Essence as a catalyst, had given Qing Yu a glimpse of the Power of Regeneration. Although it was but a small secret, it certainly benefited Qing Yu a great deal.

"I still need more Demon Blood Essence to proceed,"

Qing Yu flexed his now movable right hand and murmured to himself.

Whether it was Yanmo Hanba, chief of the Demon Race and closest to the Dragon Demon Source, Yinhuang Zhuwu, the king of the Ghost Clan and nearest to Emperor Qi Tian, or Jiu Huo, the queen of the Evil Clan, obtaining essence blood from any one of these three would grant Qing Yu endless benefits.

Unfortunately, Qing Yu was no match for any of them.

Not to mention these three individuals, even the other demon race generals were beyond Qing Yu's capability to contend with.

After all, not every member of the Otherworldly Demon Clan was as peculiarly weak as Bai Jiangshan.

Amid his contemplations, his wounds were already brimming with blood energy, and strands of blood spread across his right hand, making it look quite sinister.

"Hide it, hide it."

Qing Yu let his right hand hang down, concealing it under his sleeve.

With Blood Dao Warriors causing havoc, if someone were to see Qing Yu's hand, he would pretty much be labeled as one straight away. Besides, such an evil appearance was truly incongruent with Qing Yu's Taoist celestial demeanor.

"And then there are the internal injuries..."

There was still a feeling of oppression in his chest, and some Qi Force was still subtly acting within, hindering the flow of True Qi.

To recover quickly, the Qi Force must be removed.

However, Qing Yu was not in a hurry to do this right away. The lingering Qi Force from the "Supreme Heaven Opening Scripture" was not a mere useless burden. It was better to feel it and understand it a little before eliminating it. That would be the best approach.

Enduring the slight discomfort, Qing Yu called down the White Phoenix, leaped onto its back, and flew off in a direction different from before.

There was no longer any need to think about finding a replacement. Now he had a readily available guise to use.

.................

Dragon Tiger Mountain.

A Taoist School blessed land where yin essence silently condensed, today saw no trace of Daoist energy. Deep within the mountains, a chilling ghostly energy loomed, with a pervasive sorrowful atmosphere blanketing the hills.

"Woo-hoo--"

Suddenly, a sharp ghostly wail resounded. In the depths of Heavenly Master Mansion, a dark rift spread open.

Following the rift's emergence, the cries and howls were so intense they could drive one mad. Moreover, clawed shadows flashed within the gap, suggesting monsters lurking behind, ready to leap out at any moment.

In front of the gap stood Zhang Wenda, the current Heavenly Master of Dragon Tiger Mountain. With hair and beard both white but his spirit still shining brightly, showing no signs of old age, he took a firm stance. His hands formed Seals, and the Yang Ping's City Governance Seal in his palm radiated a brilliance bright as snow, releasing endless bands of Daoist energy light that firmly suppressed the gap.

The light ribbon pulled, eager to mend the rift. The shadowy claws within the rift, however, were not willing to be trapped, continually harassing the ribbon of light.

Every time those ghostly claws touched the ribbon of light, they were directly shaken apart, turning into billows of gas. Then, the gas reformed into ghostly claws, reaching for the light ribbon.

This cycle repeated endlessly; though the ghostly claws could not damage the ribbon of light, they significantly hindered the closure of the rift, causing Heavenly Master Zhang to frown incessantly.

Finally, Heavenly Master Zhang seemed to have had enough, paused his Seal, and in his left hand, thunder light burst forth, creating a twisting and fluctuating pattern of lightning.

"Absolve!"

Following a loud shout, Heavenly Thunder roared, and Divine Thunder issued forth from Heavenly Master Zhang's palm, blasting into the depths of the dark rift, annihilating the endless ghostly shadows within.

Under a single bolt, ten thousand ghosts vanished. With no ghostly claws to interfere, Heavenly Master Zhang successfully sealed the Netherworld Gap, and Yang Ping's City Governance Seal slowly faded from its luminous state.

"Father," a middle-aged Taoist approached and bowed with clasped hands.

"Father, it took considerably longer to mend the Netherworld Gap today compared to the past. Could it be due to the absence of one of the four Vice Seals?" The middle-aged Taoist, also the eldest son of Heavenly Master Zhang and the future Heavenly Master—Zhang Yuanchu—asked.

In addition to the original Yang Ping's City Governance Seal passed down from the Sect Ancestor, there are four imitations, known as "Vice Seals."

When combined with the original, the four Vice Seals cannot make the main Yang Ping's City Governance Seal exert extraordinary power, but they can borrow some of its might.

In this way, absolute security can be ensured.

However, one of the Vice Seals disappeared into thin air two years ago with Zhang Yangping's death. Since then, the time Heavenly Master Zhang has taken to seal the Netherworld Gap has begun to lengthen.

As of today, Heavenly Master Zhang needed to spend thirty percent more time than in the past just to seal the Netherworld Gap.

"Indeed, the loss of the Vice Seal has required more of my time," Heavenly Master Zhang said slowly, looking at where the Netherworld Gap had vanished, "but that amount of time is nothing more than what it takes to drink a few more cups of tea. What truly worries me is the whereabouts of the Vice Seal."

"Father, are you saying..."

"Mhm, the Vice Seal may have been obtained by the Netherworld Ten Halls. Lately, the ghostly energy within the Secret Realm has been growing more restless, as if sensing an opportunity for release. When I wield Yang Ping's City Governance Seal, I can also feel a restraining force in the shadows, hindering the effect of the Seal."

Heavenly Master Zhang's hand clutching Yang Ping's City Governance Seal tightened slightly, "Perhaps, the Netherworld denizens will soon take action."

Hearing this, Zhang Yuanchu also gazed where the Netherworld Gap had disappeared, lost in thought.

After a while, Zhang Yuanchu's face twisted with disgust, "It's all because of those traitors; if not for them, the ghostly energy would have been suppressed and destroyed long ago."

The source of that ghostly energy was sealed within the Secret Realm of Dragon Tiger Mountain. It should have been eradicated hundreds of years ago, but just when its destruction was imminent, an adopted disciple harboring resentment was manipulated by others, causing the ghostly energy to surge anew.

With this resurgence, Dragon Tiger Mountain suffered greatly over the following centuries, expending an incalculable amount of mental power. For instance, the current Heavenly Master's own son, Zhang Yuanlu, was killed in an ambush led by monks from the Great Zen Temple, and he could not personally seek justice.

This was because the abbot of the Great Zen Temple, Xinyuan, had anticipated the Netherworld Gap's eruption and directly ordered several of the senior monks to attack and kill Zhang Yuanlu.

Because of that adopted disciple's betrayal, the Heavenly Master Mansion became exceedingly harsh on adoptive disciples in the years following, forcing those adoptive disciples to ultimately defect from Dragon Tiger Mountain and establish Shenxiao Dao.

"Let's not delve into the past," Heavenly Master Zhang waved his hand.

Speaking of which, their Zhang Family was also partly to blame. Before that adoptive disciple committed the atrocity, the Zhang Family was already somewhat harsh on external disciples. Otherwise, that adoptive disciple, who grew up on Dragon Tiger Mountain, wouldn't have harbored such deep resentment.

The matter at hand was to prevent the imminent attack from the Netherworld Ten Halls. Heavenly Master Zhang had a premonition that the day was not far off.

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