Seven oil lamps surrounded the central stone platform, and a man in black robes was chanting incantations around the children.

Upon seeing the intruders, the leader of the black-robed men laughed heartily, "You've come at the perfect time! Perfect for using your blood sacrifice array!"

It seemed that the arrival of Rong Jiaojiao and the others was just as he had expected.

"Attack!" Zhao Yuntian commanded, and the magic sword and flying sword were drawn simultaneously, their sword light slicing through the darkness like lightning.

A fierce battle erupted instantly. The black-robed man's attacks were ruthless, and the cave was filled with howling winds and ghostly wails.

Rong Jiaojiao's green vine whip coiled around a black-robed man who was about to harm a child, like a serpent, while Zi Ling transformed into a purple light, specifically targeting the spellcaster's eyes to prevent him from casting spells.

"Watch out!" Leng Muya suddenly shouted.

Suddenly, the seven children on the stone platform floated up, and the red birthmarks on their wrists emitted a dazzling blood-red light, intertwining in the air to form a blood-red rune.

"Hahaha..." The black-robed leader stood in the middle of the altar and laughed loudly, his voice filled with endless madness and triumph, "The Seven Star Soul Fusion Array is complete, and you can't stop it!"

Rong Jiaojiao didn't know what the Seven Star Soul Fusion Array was, but anything related to the soul couldn't be a good thing.

He summoned eighteen Heavenly Thunder Talismans to trap his opponent in the Soul-Destroying Array, and then used his divine sense to outline the Soul-Burning Talisman in the air, preparing to use it to attack the soul of the black-robed leader when he was dealing with the other seniors.

Others also unleashed their magical weapons, facing off against their opponents one-on-one or one-on-two.

Rong Jiaojiao's divine sense quickly outlined the patterns of the Soul-Burning Talisman in the air. Even before the talisman was fully formed, it already exuded a powerful pressure that made the soul tremble.

The black-robed leader seemed to sense something and abruptly turned to look at her, a hint of astonishment flashing in his eyes: "Divine Sense Talisman? How do you know that?"

He immediately made a hand seal, and a black aura, like a venomous snake, attacked Rong Jiaojiao!

"Bang!"

Leng Muya's copper coin sword struck just in time, cleaving away the black mist. She said coldly, "Your opponent is me!"

The black-robed leader sneered: "You think you can break my Seven Star Soul Fusion Array?"

He stomped his foot, and the crimson runes around the altar suddenly lit up. The bodies of the seven children began to convulse violently, and wisps of their souls were forcibly extracted, condensing into a twisted ball of blood light in the air!

"This is bad!" Zhao Yuntian's expression changed drastically. "He's forcibly fusing the seven souls!"

Lin Yao swiftly formed hand seals, and a golden light shot towards the altar, only to be deflected by the blood-red barrier. She gritted her teeth and said, "The formation is complete; it cannot be broken by external force!"

Rong Jiaojiao's Soul-Burning Talisman was finally complete, and she pushed it towards the black-robed leader without hesitation: "Burn!"

The talisman transformed into a ghostly blue flame, instantly disappearing into the black-robed leader's brow!

"ah--!"

The black-robed leader let out a shrill scream and knelt down, clutching his head.

The operation of the Seven Star Soul Fusion Array paused, and the extraction of the seven children's souls temporarily stopped.

"Now's the time!" Zhao Yuntian seized the opportunity and thrust his flying sword straight at the blood-red rune in the center of the altar!

\"boom!\"

The flying sword collided with the runes, unleashing a blinding light. The entire cave shook violently, and rubble rained down.

"Save the child!" Leng Muya shouted.

Rong Jiaojiao and Su Yuqing immediately rushed to the altar. Zi Ling transformed into a streak of purple light, her sharp claws slicing through the iron chains and rescuing the children one by one.

"Their souls are severely damaged," Lin Yao said gravely after examining them. "We must stabilize their souls immediately!"

Rong Jiaojiao took out seven soul-soothing talismans from her bosom and affixed them to the children's foreheads: "Souls, return to your rightful place, settle!"

The talisman burned with a faint golden light, and the children's pained expressions gradually subsided.

"No! This is impossible!" The black-robed leader struggled to his feet, his eyes filled with madness. "You've destroyed everything! The master will not let you get away with this!"

He suddenly bit his tongue, spitting out a mouthful of blood mist. The blood mist condensed in the air into a hideous ghost face, emitting a piercing shriek!

"Be careful! It's the Blood Soul Curse!" Zhao Yuntian warned sharply.

The demon face opened its blood-red maw and lunged at the crowd!

At the critical moment, Zi Ling, who was next to Rong Jiaojiao, suddenly leaped up, her body swelled up, and she transformed into a huge purple sable phantom, swallowing the ghost face in one gulp!

"Burp~" Zi Ling let out a satisfied burp, her body returned to normal, and she swayed back onto Rong Jiaojiao's shoulder.

"This..." The black-robed leader stared in disbelief, then his face turned ashen. "It's all...it's all over..."

Without the children's interference, everyone stopped holding back.

Soon, the remaining black-robed men were killed by the crowd, leaving only the leader, whose cultivation was crippled, lying on the ground.

The eerie wind inside the cave gradually subsided, and the seven oil lamps were extinguished one by one.

Zhao Yuntian walked to the altar and carefully examined the blood-red runes, his brows furrowed: "This Seven Star Soul Fusion Array is an ancient evil technique. It requires the souls of seven children born in yin years, yin months, and yin days as a guide to forcibly fuse into 'yin evil,' which the caster can then control..."

"They have someone backing them?" Leng Muya kicked the black-robed leader, who was slumped on the ground, hard. "Speak! Who is your master?"

The black-robed leader grinned maliciously but did not answer.

Zi Ling said, "Master, there is a demonic spirit hiding in the leader's sea of ​​consciousness."

Before Rong Jiaojiao could say anything more, she threw the Soul-Burning Talisman at the head of the man in black robes.

Upon seeing this, everyone immediately became alert. Lin Yao threw out a spirit fire talisman onto the corpses of several black-robed men, instantly burning them to ashes.

Just then, a dark shadow shot out from the head of the black-robed leader, emitting a piercing shriek!

The leader, a man in black robes, was no longer alive.

Zhang Zekai exclaimed in surprise: "A demonic spirit? It didn't even devour the souls of those evil cultivators."

Lin Yao said, "It is using the aura of evil cultivators to evade the tracking of profound cultivators. No wonder you did not detect the aura of the demonic spirit."

Zhao Yuntian shouted, "Be careful, this demonic spirit already possesses the abilities of a Celestial Master!"

While reminding everyone, he pointed his sword and slashed it, sending the flying sword hurtling towards the shadowy figure like a rainbow.

The dark shadow twisted strangely and emerged from the gap in the sword light, rushing straight at Rong Jiaojiao's face!

"Jiaojiao, watch out!" Su Yuqing exclaimed.

Others rushed to stop it, but Rong Jiaojiao was prepared. She used eighteen Heavenly Thunder Talismans to form a Soul-Destroying Array, blocking the demonic spirit.

The bloodthirsty energy within the Heavenly Thunder Formation surged instantly, and the powerful blood mist impacted Rong Jiaojiao's Heavenly Thunder Formation. In just one strike, Rong Jiaojiao felt half of her spiritual power being depleted. It was clear that if the demonic spirit were to launch another attack, she would not be able to withstand it, and the attacks from the others would already be upon her.

Leng Muya placed another Heavenly Thunder Formation over Rong Jiaojiao's Heavenly Thunder Formation and then shouted, "Jiaojiao, exit!"

Rong Jiaojiao knew she couldn't be reckless, so she only channeled her spiritual power into the talisman array. Her talisman array became ineffective, but the demon spirit was met with an even more powerful heavenly lightning attack from Leng Muya.

\"boom--!\"

Leng Muya's Heavenly Thunder Array erupted with dazzling purple light, and eighteen bolts of lightning struck the demon spirit simultaneously.