He groaned, his eyes turning even redder, and gritted his teeth, saying, "You're asking for death!"
Meanwhile, Elder Li's battle with the skeleton also intensified.
Despite its massive size, the skeleton moved with remarkable speed, its bone claws whipping up a black wind that carved deep furrows into the ground.
Elder Li moved like lightning, his sword flashing like a rainbow. Each strike precisely targeted the skeletal joints, attempting to cripple its mobility.
"Heavenly Gang Sword Technique - Break Evil!" Elder Li shouted, and the sword shone brightly with golden light. A dazzling sword beam swept out and forcefully severed one of the skeleton's arm bones!
The skeleton emitted a piercing shriek, and the will-o'-the-wisps in its eye sockets flickered violently, clearly enraged.
It suddenly opened its huge mouth and spewed out a jet-black aura of corpse energy. Elder Li quickly retreated, but was still grazed by the aftershock, and his robes were instantly corroded with several holes.
"Elder Li!" Rong Jiaojiao's heart tightened upon seeing this, but she had to deal with the black-robed man first, otherwise the situation would become even more unfavorable if he summoned any more evil creatures.
Rong Jiaojiao suddenly had eighteen mid-grade Heavenly Thunder Talismans in her hand. Zi Ling quickly restrained the black-robed man, allowing Rong Jiaojiao to successfully set up her Heavenly Thunder Soul Annihilation Array.
As soon as the Heavenly Thunder Soul-Destroying Array was completed, bolts of heavenly thunder roared and rushed towards the man in black robes.
The black-robed man's expression changed slightly, and he hurriedly activated his bloodthirsty energy to resist, but under the scorching heat of the thunder and fire, he was quickly burned to ashes!
"How is this possible?!" The man in black robes was shocked and furious. He retreated rapidly, but Zi Ling had already circled behind him. Lightning condensed into a blade and slashed down fiercely!
"Pfft!" The lightning blade pierced through the black-robed man's chest. He stared wide-eyed at the large hole in his chest, where purple lightning shone through.
“You…you all…” He made a gurgling sound in his throat, and the black patterns on his body began to crack, his skin peeling off inch by inch.
The man in black robes let out a final, shrill roar before his body exploded, turning into a pool of foul-smelling black blood.
Rong Jiaojiao had already set up a spatial barrier around his body. Upon seeing this, she immediately threw out a spirit fire talisman to burn the blood clean.
On the other side, Elder Li seized the opening of the skeleton's severed arm and thrust his sword straight at the ghostly fire in its eye socket!
"Destroy!"
The sword light pierced through the ghost fire, causing the skeleton to tremble violently before collapsing with a deafening roar, scattering broken bones across the ground, and the bloodthirsty aura dissipated.
The whirlpool above the ancient well gradually subsided, and the wails of the wronged souls disappeared without a trace.
Elder Li sheathed his sword and stood there, letting out a long sigh, but his face was somewhat pale.
Rong Jiaojiao quickly stepped forward to support him: "Are you alright?"
Elder Li shook his head and said in a deep voice, "This well cannot exist; it must be purified and then destroyed."
Upon hearing this, Rong Jiaojiao immediately took out three exorcism talismans from her storage bag. As her spiritual power flowed from her fingertips, the talismans moved automatically without any wind.
Zi Ling leaped to the edge of the well in perfect unison, her body surrounded by a net of lightning that seemed to drape the ancient well in a layer of lightning armor.
Elder Li wasn't idle either; he drew a seven-star array on the ground with the tip of his sword.
As the final stroke was completed, seven points of starlight suddenly lit up around the ancient well, like the most dazzling stars in the night sky.
"Seven Stars Suppress Evil, activate!"
Seven beams of starlight shot into the sky, intertwining in the air to form the Big Dipper formation, enveloping the ancient well in a dazzling light.
Rong Jiaojiao seized the opportunity and shot the exorcism talisman into the well, where golden light swirled down the well wall.
The well water suddenly boiled, and countless black wisps twisted and struggled like living things, as if trying to break free of their restraints.
"Not enough." Elder Li pricked his finger and wrote a blood talisman on the sword. "It needs something of utmost yang..."
Before she could finish speaking, Zi Ling suddenly bristled all over her body: "Master, be careful! Something's about to come out of the well!"
Rong Jiaojiao's pupils shrank suddenly as she saw the surface of the ancient well explode and a black shadow soar into the sky!
It was actually a phantom of a completely black python, with blood-red patterns flowing between its scales, and a ghostly green flame flickering in its single eye, like an evil spirit from the depths of hell.
"It's the vengeful spirit transformed from the suppressed serpent's soul!" Elder Li exclaimed sternly. "I never imagined it had already reached the Earth Master realm. If it's not eliminated, it will surely cause a great disaster soon."
The vengeful spirit roared to the sky, and the sound waves shook the surrounding vegetation, causing it to break.
Both Zi Ling and Rong Jiaojiao felt as if they had been struck in the chest, and a metallic taste rose in their throats.
It was only thanks to Elder Li's timely deployment of the protective barrier that the second wave was barely stopped.
Enraged, Rong Jiaojiao unleashed her divine power, and within two seconds, a Soul-Burning Talisman radiating immense pressure appeared, enveloping the vengeful spirit.
Elder Li quickly changed his sword formation to surround the vengeful spirit. In the blink of an eye, the Soul-Burning Talisman transformed into a ghostly blue fire dragon, instantly coiling around the vengeful spirit's body.
The python spirit let out a piercing hiss, its pitch-black body writhing wildly in the flames before gradually turning into black smoke and dissipating.
The ancient well regained its clarity, and when Rong Jiaojiao scanned it with her divine sense, she saw piles of white bones at the bottom, some human and some animal.
"These bones are the source of the resentment of vengeful spirits," Elder Li said in a deep voice. "They must be thoroughly purified, otherwise the resentment will breed new evil beings."
As he spoke, he took out a bottle of Qingling Dew, poured it into the ancient well, and let it dissolve into the well water.
The moment the water touched the bones, a faint blue light appeared at the bottom of the well, as if countless tiny sparks of light were flickering within it.
Under the blue light, the bones gradually became transparent, eventually turning into nothingness and dissipating along with the resentment.
“Next, fill in the well.” Elder Li’s tone left no room for argument.
The two people and the beast worked together to move nearby boulders and soil to fill in the ancient well.
As the last stone was placed in, Elder Li swung his sword once more. The sword light flashed, and runes were engraved on the leveled ground, forming a solid seal.
"Now everything should be foolproof." Elder Li sheathed his sword and said, slightly out of breath, "The evil spirits in this ancient well have been completely eliminated and will no longer have the chance to harm the world."
Just then, the sound of hurried footsteps came from afar. Elder Li waved his sleeve and swept Rong Jiaojiao and Zi Ling away, disappearing from the spot. In the blink of an eye, they appeared on a small hill not far away.
After setting Rong Jiaojiao and Ziling down, he transmitted his voice, "Don't make a sound yet, let's see what these people are up to?"
Rong Jiaojiao held her breath and followed Elder Li's gaze.
Dozens of people dressed as villagers ran to the ancient well in a panic.
The leader was an elderly man with white hair, who was leaning on a cane with a snake's head.
"The well...the well has been filled in!" a young villager cried out in terror.
The old man trembled as he stroked the sealing runes at the well's mouth, his cloudy eyes filled with terror: "It's over...it's all over...the Divine Envoy's pet was killed by them, the Divine Envoy will definitely blame us!"
Rong Jiaojiao and Elder Li exchanged a glance, a hint of surprise flashing in their eyes. Zi Ling whispered, "Master, these villagers seem to know the secret of the ancient well."
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