Yangzhou City, above the Lord’s Mansion.
White sword qi drifted faintly and wildly, while black Death Energy surged relentlessly like raging waves.
At this moment, the battle between Lu and Zhao Zongchang in the night sky above the Lord’s Mansion had reached a white-hot climax.
Lu’s twelve spirit swords transformed into streams of light, forming a sword formation that continuously shredded and purified Zhao Zongchang’s black Death Energy.
Zhao Zongchang, relying on his Fake Core Realm cultivation and the eerie, unfathomable Death Qi Technique, though at a disadvantage, stubbornly resisted.
The black markings on his right arm writhed as if alive, each strike accompanied by a chilling wail like the cries of ghosts and wolves.
Below their feet, the empty ground was surrounded by the Lord’s Mansion guards and some city defense soldiers who had rushed over upon hearing the commotion.
The situation was tense to the point of drawn swords and bent bows.
Yet, facing a battle of this caliber, these lowest-level ordinary soldiers could not intervene at all.
Even the officers within the city at the Qi Refining stage could only nervously look up at the sky, clueless about what was happening.
After all, the military of the Worldly Dynasty could only suppress cultivators above the Foundation Establishment stage by forming formations, using Red Dust Miasma and the Military Slaughter Formation to suppress the cultivators, and employing Human Path’s Great Karma to weaken their spell power.
But to activate the Military Slaughter Formation, one must use the Tiger Talisman Seal condensed from the Worldly Dynasty’s fortune.
And only the city’s lord held the Tiger Talisman Seal, which required reporting to the Court for approval, with the Worldly Dynasty Royal Seal’s permission to be activated.
Currently, Zhao Zongchang, the Tiger Talisman holder, was locked in fierce combat with Lu in the air.
The ordinary soldiers without the talisman could only surround the battlefield and watch from the sidelines.
As the fight between Lu and the city lord intensified, the surrounding buildings sustained increasing damage.
Several of the Zhao Family Elders arriving at the scene sensed danger and hastily prepared to ignite Beacon Fire to alert the Court.
They planned to bypass Zhao Zongchang’s Yin Tiger Talisman, directly summoning the Imperial Army’s Divine Weapon Royal Seal to send down an aura, allowing the soldiers to form a formation and suppress the two cultivators, preventing the battle from spreading across the entire city.
But at that moment, from the deepest part of the dense black cloud of Death Energy, a hoarse yet exceptionally clear roar rang out from City Lord Zhao Zongchang, echoing through the entire Lord’s Mansion.
“All guards of the mansion and city defense soldiers, listen to my order! This is a private grudge between me and Immortal Lu and has nothing to do with you, nor with the soldiers of Yangzhou City or members of the Zhao family!”
“All soldiers and Zhao family members are forbidden from interfering! Regardless of the final outcome of this battle, none of you may harm Immortal Lu or his disciples! Anyone who disobeys will be executed!”
Zhao Zongchang’s roar caused an uproar below.
The surrounding soldiers and Zhao family members exchanged glances but still obeyed and retreated, maintaining a cautious distance without making any attack gestures.
Lu’s sword formation slightly eased, a hint of surprise flickering in his eyes before turning into a faint sneer.
“Heh… City Lord Zhao is quite ‘open and aboveboard,’ issuing such an order in the heat of battle. I thought you would have everyone rush in all at once, using the Military Slaughter Formation to trap me here~”
A complex sigh came from within the black cloud, carrying resolve and a trace of indescribable weariness.
“Heh… Immortal Lu, you jest. Although I have long fallen into the path of evil and allied with demonic traitors, I am not so despicable as to stoop that low…”
“Besides, I know your cultivation is profound, your sword path transcendent. Even the Military Slaughter Formation cannot stop you. Let alone these ordinary soldiers of Yangzhou City, even if they doubled in number, they are nothing but chickens and dogs to you.”
“If that is so, why would I let them die in vain?”
“Hmph… I hope you truly mean that, and not that you have some other scheme!”
Lu no longer spoke.
With a sweep of his sword finger, the twelve spirit swords flared with dazzling brilliance, like twelve roaring silver dragons, once again tearing toward Zhao Zongchang deep in the black cloud!
Zhao Zongchang only smiled faintly.
Of course, he had a plan!
After all, the reason he was fighting Lu now was to buy time! He needed to buy time for his master and the other Yin Corpse Sect Disciples to escape, and to complete the formation that would resurrect his daughter!
Just now, he had stopped those soldiers from lighting the Beacon Fire and alerting the Court precisely because he did not want to attract the attention of the third party, the Jin Kingdom Court!
Yangzhou City, the Lord’s Mansion’s rear garden.
Taking advantage of the guards being distracted by the airborne battle and the chaos inside the mansion, Gu Qingying pushed her cognitive manipulation to the limit, slipping back into the rear courtyard of the Lord’s Mansion silently and ghost-like.
Approaching the spirit hall, she glanced up at the breathtaking battle in midair and saw her master’s sword formation forcing Zhao Zongchang into retreat, easing her mind slightly.
Without hesitation, she slipped again into the secret passage beneath the coffin inside the spirit hall.
The dungeon below was still empty.
The footprints left behind when Gu Qingying and Gong Shangyu had fled with the Children were still clearly visible on the ground.
Following the vague description given by Tietou, Gu Qingying carefully searched near the prison cells where the Children were held.
Sure enough, not far from the main prison cell, behind a corner, was a hidden iron door, even more concealed and protected by stronger formation restrictions.
The runes on the door flickered, emanating a chilling aura of death.
Gu Qingying narrowed her Purple Eyes and quietly summoned the Thread of Affection Sword into her hand.
She then condensed her spiritual power and carefully began breaking the door’s restrictions.
After a faint cracking sound, she successfully dispelled the formation on the dark iron door.
Gu Qingying took a deep breath and gently pushed open the iron door.
Inside was a cramped prison cell, colder and damper than the outer cells.
The air was permeated with a faint, indescribable stench of decay.
The four walls were not made of ordinary bricks or stones but of some dark iron, covered with dense, tadpole-shaped, twisted runes carved with Beast Blood.
These runes were not static decorations but writhed slowly like living creatures, emitting an ominous, ghostly glow.
From the ceiling hung countless thick, rusty iron chains, some suspended quietly in the air, others wrapped around iron stakes in the corners of the room.
The stakes were also covered in Talisman Paper, with the Cinnabar Mark seals glaringly bright in red.
The floor was etched with a complex and eerie formation pattern, similar to one Gu Qingying had seen before on the plaza altar but far more intricate and sinister.
At the heart of this bizarre formation lay a pale white figure locked in place by the iron chains.
Suddenly, Gu Qingying realized this hidden prison’s spatial position was directly beneath the altar she had seen above.
Her gaze swept sharply over everything, her unease growing stronger.
But to save all the Children and earn her master’s recognition, she summoned her courage and slowly approached the girl dressed in plain white sitting on the Stone Bed, back turned to the door.
The White-clad Girl’s head was bowed, her long hair draping down, obscuring her face, but her figure looked to be around Gu Qingying’s age.
“Hey? Are you alright? I’m here to rescue you.”
Gu Qingying lowered her voice and stepped forward quickly.
She noticed the girl made no response to her arrival, remaining motionless.
“Hey! Little sister, what’s wrong…”
Thinking the girl was asleep, Gu Qingying reached out to gently wake her by touching her shoulder.
But the moment Gu Qingying’s pure hand was about to touch the girl’s shoulder,
the previously silent White-clad Girl suddenly, like a machine triggered by a spring switch, stiffly raised her head!