"No wonder when I was so agitated earlier, you didn't show up, turns out you couldn't even come out."

"It seems I have destroyed quite a few of your avatars as well."

"It truly is… a karmic entanglement!"

Zhong Shenxiu sighed softly.

At this moment, that tall and majestic being, covered with purple-black curse marks, took a step forward.

The infinite other-dimensional space instantly collapsed and shrank… as if turning into a bridge.

This terrifying entity was slowly encroaching upon the real world.

Those blood-red eyes suddenly fixed on Zhong Shenxiu, a gaze falling upon him carrying a terrifying curse.

Previously, it hadn't awakened or consolidated, and it had destroyed five Daoist soldiers merely by instinct.

Now, how terrifying was the curse that came with the fully manifested mythical body?

In just an instant, countless tiny, pitch-black insect-like patterns crawled over Zhong Shenxiu's limbs, spreading toward his face.

Zhong Shenxiu chuckled, reached into the void with his right hand, and directly grabbed the "Ominous Umbrella."

Immediately, he opened the large umbrella, letting a shade of deep gloom emerge and enveloped his whole body.

Countless curse marks instantly dissipated.

"Wrong… The King of Ten Thousand Demons had split earlier, and the rationality it harvested might only be enough for it to restore its mythical body… Perhaps at this moment it has only regained its basic intellect… It still needs to fully arrive in this world, harvest the rationality of all humanity to recover?"

Gazing at those blood-red and crazed eyes, a sudden enlightenment dawned on Zhong Shenxiu.

"And if we continue to battle here, it probably won't take two moves before everyone else from the foundation is annihilated."

He held the black umbrella and stepped into the shallow other-dimensional space, instantly seeing that huge, but increasingly clear, mythical body.

The opponent did not speak, perhaps because the hostility was completely unmasked.

Although still within the deeper other-dimensional space, the King of Ten Thousand Demons had already extended its right hand.

Boom!

A huge black hole appeared in front of Zhong Shenxiu, from which a giant azure-black ghostly hand emerged, the patterns on it would drive any ordinary person to madness upon a single glance.

He held the "Ominous Umbrella" and gently twirled it.

The black surface of the umbrella, like eternal darkness, suddenly expanded and intertwined with the azure-black giant hand.

Pu!

A black sword light soared into the sky, piercing through the scales of the azure-black hand, causing a giant drop of purple blood to fall.

The giant hand hesitated in its actions and then crumbled to pieces…

Zhong Shenxiu used the tip of the "Ominous Umbrella" as a sword, this sword, once drawn, brings instant death to those it touches!

Yet he saw that the King of Ten Thousand Demons' mythical body was completely intact, the opponent had merely lost a bit of strength.

That body, composed entirely of mystery and curses, already possessed enough status to counter the damage from the "Ominous Umbrella."

Even so, because of his provocation, six tomoe-like black spots appeared in the originally blood-red pupils of the opponent, continuously rotating.

Probably because of the injury, its madness decreased, and its rationality increased.

"Previously, just an unconscious clash was this terrifying… Besides me, every other person in the world would have died…"

"Now, has this King of Ten Thousand Demons truly awakened? Or has it just awakened a part of its intellect?"

"Fortunately… I managed to probe some of its depth."

According to Zhong Shenxiu's estimation, the opponent's mythical body could roughly be compared to the level of a Dharma Body of Seven Luminaries Heaven.

Therefore, the true strength of this King of Ten Thousand Demons should be above the Dharma Body, but not yet at the level of a Resurrected Immortal.

In other words… he could fight!

Otherwise, he would have surely fled long ago. At best, he could return for revenge after attaining immortality in the future!

At this moment, the King of Ten Thousand Demons in the middle section of the other-dimensional space brought its two palms together and formed a strange spell.

Those blood-red eyes with a hint of darkness fixated directly on Zhong Shenxiu.

Zhong Shenxiu suddenly felt an immense wave of madness engulf him.

It was an extremely terrifying spiritual shock!

"Not surprisingly, it's an existence that has slightly regained part of its self!"

His expression changed instantly.

This madness and contamination were things even he did not want to face.

It wasn't that he couldn't solve it, but to use his hard-earned rationality to offset these consumptions was too much of a loss...

"As of now, while I am infinitely close to the Dharma Body, I am not one yet!"

"Moreover, I can only borrow power from the unstable Dharma Body, which makes it even worse..."

"A gap of a major realm... still unable to overcome it..."

"Then it's time to retreat, I'll go upgrade first!"

Zhong Shenxiu's thoughts whirled rapidly.

The next moment, more dark-green hands covered in scales and curse marks fell.

A black umbrella opened between heaven and earth, and once the dark-green hands moved the umbrella aside, they found no one underneath...

...

Seven Luminaries Heaven.

Inside Taihua Palace.

A palace enveloped in a layer of historical dust and decay.

Distorted flesh and blood structures, similar to the massive roots of a banyan tree, covered the entire palace, suppressed by various Spiritual Treasures, as if they were asleep.

At the end of the countless roots was a throne crafted from innumerable skulls and flesh.

Atop the throne was a young Daoist in deep slumber.

Terrifying and mad Dao Rhythm constantly lingered around the palace and this Daoist, enough to make any ordinary person or low-level cultivator fall into despair.

This was the scene when Zhong Shenxiu departed.

And indeed, it had only been a few days since the palace was sealed!

At a certain moment.

Above the palace, an invisible door opened, and a True Spirit descended.

The slumbering Daoist suddenly opened his eyes, and a terrifying aura spread.

He stood up, his body expanded infinitely, and transformed into the ultimate limit of immortalization, turning into a multitude of frightening Dharma Bodies.

These included, but were not limited to, a dark ancient Buddha with a thousand hands and eyes, a Dao Venerate with dragons and tigers accompanying and a vast purple aura, a mysterious and terrifying ancient god, and even a great presence composed of innumerable doors, rings, and umbrellas...

Thousands of faces, each with an unpredictable Dharma Body!

Accompanying the Dharma Bodies was the supremely suppressed madness, like a fierce ocean wave breaking through a dam, violently impacting the returning True Spirit.

"Ghost Immortal reincarnated, nine layers complete, disasters dissolved, I am the Dharma Body!"

Zhong Shenxiu formed a spell, like the Full Moon Wheel in the Buddhist Sect, and in the sea of his mind, similarly, a massive amount of rationality surged out, countering the spiritual contamination and shock brought by the Dharma Body.

...

Within Royal Dharma Collection Cave Heaven.

Unity True Monarch, engrossed in reading an ancient tome of chamber techniques, pondered while looking towards the direction of Taihua Palace, "So fast? It's been less than three days, right? Why has the aura there changed? This result, is it good or bad, or perhaps... was the previous borrowing of place just a test of my royal family's attitude by Donghua True Monarch?"

His expression was slightly stern, but there was some relief at the bottom of his heart.

After all, his previous response had already sufficiently shown goodwill.

It's just that this Donghua True Monarch is indeed unfathomable…

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