Mo Bai raised his hand and accepted the ancient jade box handed to him by Heiwa. Inside the box lay a silvery-white Ganoderma lucidum, with wisps of dark, malevolent energy swirling among its mycelium.

"The Devouring Ganoderma from deep within the earth's veins," Heiwa said in a deep voice, "can devour the aura of evil spirits, but it is tainted with the original malevolent energy of the source demons, so it must be carefully refined."

Mo Bai laughed and said, "Have you plundered all the treasures in this ley line?"

Yue Ling smiled and said, "It should be about time."

For the past three years, the two spirits have been constantly searching for rare and precious materials deep within the earth's veins, turning the place upside down.

Rong Jiaojiao took the meteorite, her fingertips lightly tracing the flowing starlight on its surface: "It's indeed quite good. We can refine it into the Twelve Yuan Chen Array after we get out." She looked up at Yue Ling, "Did you discover anything unusual on your trip out this time?"

"No, Master, don't worry. If we find anything unusual, we will notify you immediately."

Rong Jiaojiao nodded: "Okay, you guys go have fun!"

Yue Ling didn't leave; instead, she and Zi Ling whispered to each other on the side.

After eating the meal prepared by Mo Bai, Rong Jiaojiao continued her purification process...

Ten years have passed in the blink of an eye...

The blood pool was almost depleted, and the heart of the demonic master was only the size of a fist. But the closer it got to the end, the more uneasy Rong Jiaojiao felt. She would always stop purifying when her spiritual energy was less than half depleted, and continue only after it was replenished.

That day, Yue Ling returned with a grave expression: "Master, we've discovered a hidden passage deep within the earth's veins. Previously, there was nothing there, but this time it's emanating an even stronger aura of malevolent energy..."

"What?" Mo Bai frowned. "Could it be that the main soul of this evil spirit can split into a secondary soul during the purification process?"

Rong Jiaojiao stood up and said, "Let's go take a look. Maybe it's a fragment of a soul that was hidden before."

Mo Bai stopped her: "I'll go. You stay here. Don't fall for their trick of luring us away from our base."

Rong Jiaojiao looked at him and said, "Then be careful."

Mo Bai laughed and said, "Don't worry, I'll come back to be your personal chef!"

Mo Bai's figure quickly disappeared into the dark passage.

Rong Jiaojiao withdrew her gaze, lightly tapping the Twelve Yuan Chen Array Beads with her fingertips to reinforce the seal on the blood pool.

Zi Ling looked up and asked, "Master, is that wicked heart secretly causing trouble?"

Rong Jiaojiao ruffled her soft purple hair: "It's currently suppressed by the Nine Dragons Demon Sealing Formation, so it shouldn't cause any major trouble."

Even so, she looked into the depths of the passage, her brows furrowed: "I'm worried about it retaliating in the end."

Seeing the runes of the Nine Dragons Sealing Demon Array on his heart getting brighter and brighter, he felt a little more at ease.

As soon as Rong Jiaojiao finished speaking, a strange fluctuation suddenly came from the blood pool.

The fist-sized, jet-black heart trembled violently, and the golden rune chains on its surface emitted a piercing 'crackling' sound.

"Not good!" Rong Jiaojiao's pupils shrank sharply, and her hands quickly formed hand seals. "Twelve Yuan Chen, seal!"

The twelve array beads burst forth with dazzling light, transforming into twelve golden pillars of light that pressed down.

However, the heart suddenly swelled up, and countless cracks appeared on its surface, from which black and red blood mist gushed out!

"Hahaha..." A hoarse laugh echoed in the cave. "Little girl, do you think I'll just sit here and wait to die?"

The blood mist coalesced into a handsome face, exactly like the demonic split soul that Rong Jiaojiao had once seen!

Zi Ling and Yue Ling immediately entered battle mode.

Rong Jiaojiao said coldly, "You really did have a backup plan!"

The demonic master sneered, "This heart is merely an avatar of mine! My true form was already..."

Its words suddenly stopped, and its blood-mist face twisted violently, as if it were being pulled by something.

"Mo Bai succeeded!" Rong Jiaojiao's eyes lit up, and she immediately seized the opportunity. "Now, let's completely purify it!"

The hand seals were quickly applied to the Twelve Yuan Chen Array Beads, and the array beads immediately shone brightly, transforming into twelve golden light swords that slashed towards the blood mist!

"No--!"

The demonic main soul let out a shrill scream, and the blood mist was gradually melted away by the golden light. The pitch-black heart, after pounding violently, exploded with a loud "bang!"

It was completely burned away by the runes of the Nine Dragons Sealing Demon Formation.

Just as the demonic master's heart exploded, the entire ley line suddenly trembled violently. Several cracks appeared in the ground beneath Rong Jiaojiao's feet, and scorching magma gushed out from the fissures!

"Master, be careful!"

Zi Ling transformed into a bolt of purple lightning, instantly carrying Rong Jiaojiao away from her original spot.

Moon Spirit quickly deployed a silver light shield to block the splashing lava.

"Something's not right..." Rong Jiaojiao stared at the gradually collapsing core of the earth's veins. "This tremor isn't caused by any evil spirits..."

Mo Bai's figure sped out of the passage, clutching a jet-black crystal core enveloped in black flames: "Jiaojiao, we've been tricked! This demonic soul has long..."

Before he could finish speaking, the crystal core in his hand suddenly burst forth with a blinding blood-red light.

A blood-red chain shot out from the crystal core, instantly piercing through the dark white chest!

"Mo Bai!" Rong Jiaojiao's eyes widened in fury, and the Twelve Yuan Chen Array Beads transformed into streams of light and shot out.

The crimson chains suddenly contracted, pulling Mo Bai towards the underground fissure!

At the critical moment, Mo Bai tossed the crystal core to Rong Jiaojiao: "Catch! This is its life core!"

The moment Rong Jiaojiao caught the life core, Mo Bai's figure had already disappeared into the lava.

Just as she was about to rush over, Yue Ling suddenly exclaimed, "Master, look!"

A massive bronze coffin slowly rose from the lava, its body bound by nine broken chains. The coffin lid was slowly moving, revealing a thick, almost tangible black mist within.

“So that’s how it is…” Rong Jiaojiao gripped the life core tightly, her voice trembling, “What we purified was only the largest wisp of its soul; the true demonic body has always been suppressed in this bronze coffin!”

A deep laugh came from the bronze coffin: "Little girl, you think the heart sealed by the Nine Dragons Demon Sealing Formation is my main soul? You're wrong... It's just something I used to bear the suppression in my place."

Zi Ling bristled, purple lightning crackling around her: "Master, I can feel... it's more than ten times stronger than the last one!"

Rong Jiaojiao took a deep breath and put the life core into her bosom.

She quickly formed hand seals, and the twelve Yuan Chen array beads formed an intricate star map in the air: "Yueling, take Ziling back."

"No!" Zi Ling exclaimed anxiously, jumping up and down. "I'm already at the fifth level, which is equivalent to a Celestial Master. I'm not leaving; I want to fight alongside my master!"

The black mist inside the bronze coffin had condensed into a blurry human figure, and the terrifying pressure caused the entire cave to begin to collapse.

A handsome man dressed in black robes gradually appeared. He laughed loudly and said, "Thank you for purifying that heart. It's gone. Your damned Nine Dragons Demon Sealing Formation can no longer lock me down."