"Form the formation!" Qi Lan pointed his sword at the sky, and a beam of azure light descended from the heavens, transforming into a sword formation that protected everyone within it.
Mo Bai seized the opportunity and drew a golden talisman in mid-air with his Demon-Subduing Brush: "Seal!"
"boom--!"
A mournful roar came from beneath the sand, and the center of the vortex suddenly exploded. Amidst the rain of blood, a twisted figure slowly rose—it was the Sand Crane Daoist who had been swallowed up. However, at this moment, his body had merged with the blood and sand, and half of his face had turned into a terrifying sand grain.
"Save...me..." Shahe Daoist's voice was broken and intermittent, and tears of blood streamed from his eyes.
Liu Hanyan's hand, gripping the silver needle, trembled: "He's still alive!"
"Alive?" Night Owl shook his head, pointing the mechanical knife at Shahe Daoist's chest. "Look down there."
Upon closer inspection, everyone saw that Daoist Shahe had a large hole in his chest, and a dark red heart was slowly beating, with countless blood vessels spreading from the heart to his entire body.
"It's too late." Mo Zhizhou closed his eyes. "The demonic seed has already taken root."
As if to confirm his words, Daoist Shahe suddenly let out an inhuman howl, and his body exploded completely, turning into a sky full of blood and sand.
Even more terrifying, each grain of blood sand was wriggling and turned into countless blood-red beetles the size of fingernails, which swarmed towards the crowd!
"Demon Seed!"
"Purple Spirit, devour them!"
Zi Ling's figure flickered, instantly transforming into a giant purple thunder sable, its eyes flashing with a cold light.
It opened its mouth, and purple lightning spewed out, forming a powerful suction force that pulled in the blood-red beetles flying everywhere.
With a strong suck, it drew the entire beetle into its mouth and swallowed it whole in a few crunching sounds.
Seeing that the bottom of the pool had returned to the state they had just seen, Liu Hanyan asked, "What should we do now?"
Rong Jiaojiao called out to Ziling, and Ziling immediately shrank and returned to Rong Jiaojiao's shoulder.
Rong Jiaojiao asked, "Ziling, have you sensed the aura of demonic spirits and demonic seeds?"
Zi Ling twitched her ears, a strange light flashing in her purple pupils: "Master, these beetles are just puppets. The true core of the demon seed is still hidden deep at the bottom of the pool."
It pointed with its little paws to the center of the dried-up pool: "There are fluctuations of demonic energy there, like... a hidden cave."
Upon hearing this, Mo Zhizhou took out a golden compass and immediately activated it.
The compass needle spun wildly, eventually pointing in the direction Zi Ling had indicated.
He put away the compass and said in a deep voice, "There's definitely something strange about this. Shall we go down and take a look?"
Qi Lan pondered for a moment, then looked at Night Owl: "Night Owl, can your mechanical arm detect underground structures?"
The man in black robes nodded silently, and the mechanical arm transformed again, extending three metal probes from its front end. He knelt on one knee and inserted the probes into the sand.
"Click-clack—" The probe continued to penetrate deeper amidst the whirring of the mechanism. Suddenly, Night Owl's body jolted: "Found it! There's a cavity thirty feet underground, about five feet in diameter, with a strong demonic energy reaction."
“Thirty zhang…” Liu Hanyan bit her lip. “How are we going to get down? We can’t exactly dig a hole, can we?”
Rong Jiaojiao's eyes lit up, and she took out a stack of talismans from her storage bag: "I have an Earth Escape Talisman!"
She proudly waved the talisman, "Given by my master. One for each person, it lasts for half an hour."
Mo Bai raised an eyebrow: "Little girl, you've prepared quite thoroughly."
"Of course." Rong Jiaojiao smiled slightly. "Master said that when traveling, it's always good to be prepared."
Mo Bai also took out a dozen Earth Escape Talismans and said smugly, "Use mine, mine are high-grade Earth Escape Talismans, they can last longer."
Qi Lan took the talisman and said seriously, "Don't get separated after you go down. If you encounter danger, retreat immediately."
Everyone nodded and activated their respective talismans.
With a flash of earthy yellow light, his body gradually sank into the sand.
The descent went surprisingly smoothly.
After passing through layers of sand, the group landed in a damp cave.
"Here..." Liu Hanyan suddenly covered her nose, "The smell of blood is so strong!"
A cluster of spiritual fire ignited at Rong Jiaojiao's fingertips, illuminating the surroundings.
The sight before them made everyone gasp in shock—
The cave walls were covered with dark red fleshy tissue that writhed slightly like living things.
Dozens of mummified corpses were piled up on the ground, all dressed in villagers' clothes.
Most terrifying of all is the altar in the center of the cave, made of flesh and blood, which is slowly pulsating like a giant heart.
"The Blood Demon Altar!" Mo Zhizhou's face turned deathly pale. "The demon spirit is raising a demonic seed!"
Qi Lan's sword was already drawn: "Prepare for battle, the demonic seed may already be..."
Before the words were finished, the altar suddenly exploded, and a bloody shadow struck Liu Hanyan, who was closest to it, like lightning!
"Watch out!" Night Owl's mechanical knife slashed out horizontally, but only managed to cut a blur.
At the critical moment, Rong Jiaojiao threw out a lightning talisman.
The purple lightning struck the Blood Shadow precisely, forcing it back.
The blood-red shadow landed, revealing its true form—a monster entirely crimson, its body seemingly composed of rotting flesh.
Rong Jiaojiao's pupils suddenly contracted. The monster in front of her was covered in pus and blood, and rotting flesh kept peeling off and regenerating rapidly, emitting a nauseating stench.
What's even more chilling is that it has no fixed shape; its body twists and deforms constantly, like melting wax.
"A Celestial Master Realm Corrosion Demon Spirit!" Qi Lan shouted sharply, "Don't get its bodily fluids on you!"
The monster made a "gurgling" sound and suddenly shot out dozens of blood streaks from its body.
Mo Bai swiftly deployed a golden talisman shield, and the bloodline striking the shield produced a corrosive "sizzling" sound.
"Back off!" Night Owl's mechanical arm suddenly transformed into a large metal shield, blocking everyone's path.
The blood-like lines corroded the metal surface, emitting wisps of blue smoke.
Zi Ling's fur stood on end: "Master, it's absorbing the resentment in the cave!"
Sure enough, wisps of black mist were rising from the mummies, which were being continuously absorbed into the body of the Corruption Demon Spirit.
For every unit it absorbs, its size increases by one unit.
"The corpse must be purified first!" Rong Jiaojiao quickly took out a handful of purification talismans. "Purification array, activate!"
The array's light enveloped the mummified corpse, forcibly blocking the black aura.
The Corruption Demon roared angrily, its body suddenly splitting into three parts that lunged from different directions.
"I'll come to the left!" Mo Bai's Demon-Subduing Brush drew a talisman in mid-air, and golden chains wrapped around a lump of rotting flesh.
Qi Lan's sword flashed like a rainbow, heading straight for the central mass: "Night Owl, the right side is yours!"
Night Owl nodded silently, and the mechanical arm transformed into a long sword burning with blue flames, slashing fiercely at the last clump of rotting flesh.
"Sizzle—" The rotten flesh that was struck made a sound like roasting meat, but it quickly began to wriggle and heal.
Liu Hanyan took out several bottles of powder from her medicine box: "Try this!" She sprinkled the powder into the air, and Mo Bai immediately created a breeze to blow it toward the Corrosive Demon Spirit.
The moment the powder touched the rotting flesh, the monster let out a shrill scream, and the affected parts stopped regenerating!
"It works!" Rong Jiaojiao exclaimed in surprise. "Senior Liu, what is this?"
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