The stone exploded with a deafening roar, releasing countless blood-devouring worms the size of fingernails. The swarm rushed towards the group like a black mist, and wherever it touched, the surface of the magical artifacts emitted a corrosive blue smoke.
"Spirit Shield!" Han Yunshen roared, rapidly waving the Starry Sky Array Flag in his hand. Dozens of Celestial Master Realm experts simultaneously formed hand seals, and layers upon layers of starlight shields immediately appeared in the sky.
The Bloodworms crashed into the shield, making a sickening hissing sound. Ripples spread across the surface of the shield, but it barely held up the defense with everyone's combined efforts.
"These insects feed on spiritual energy; if we continue to deplete it, we will surely be defeated!"
Elder Lu of the Weapon Pavilion had veins bulging on his forehead. His spear was crackling with lightning, and each thrust could scorch a large number of bloodworms. However, the swarm of worms would surge in like a tide and fill the gaps in the blink of an eye.
Elder Qiu Fei of Youhuang Pavilion swung out a jade whip, the tip of which was wrapped with poisonous vines. Bloodworms frantically devoured the vines, turning the poison into their own blood-red armor.
Han Yunshen's eyes sharpened, and he suddenly raised his hand, shooting out a golden light that sped along the dark red patterns on the rock wall.
With a deafening roar, the rock wall in front of them shattered, revealing a massive bronze gate covered in blood-red runes. Black mist seeping from the cracks in the gate writhed like a living thing, and the faint hum of a teleportation array could be heard.
"This is it!" Han Yunshen exclaimed solemnly. "But this formation is reinforced by an ancient forbidden technique, and ordinary methods simply cannot destroy it!"
Before the words were finished, the bronze gate suddenly trembled violently, and countless blood-red chains shot out from the cracks in the gate, binding the three nearest Celestial Master level experts.
The chains instantly seeped into their bodies, and the three men's pupils turned blood red. They then turned around and attacked their companions.
"Be careful, it's the Blood Fiend Puppet Technique!" Elder Song swung his sword to parry the sneak attack, but the blade was caught by the puppet's bare hand, and the black flames overflowing from its palm quickly corroded the sword.
The Lu family elder gritted his teeth and unleashed a lightning dragon, blasting the puppet into pieces. However, the fragments reassembled after landing, transforming into even more blood-fiend puppets.
Han Yunshen condensed his essence blood at his fingertips and drew blood runes on the Starry Sky Array Flag: "Form ranks! Big Dipper vanquishes evil!"
The seven elders, skilled in formations, immediately took their positions at the Tian Shu position, and seven beams of starlight shot into the sky from the formation flag, intertwining in the air to form the Big Dipper pattern.
The blood golem, illuminated by starlight, suddenly slowed its movements, and blue smoke rose from its body.
Elder Qiu Fei seized the opportunity to throw out thirty-six purple lightning talismans. The lightning struck down along the starlight trajectory, and the puppet group instantly exploded into a sky full of blood mist.
Han Yunshen's robes fluttered in the wind as the Starry Sky Array Flag pointed directly at the bronze gate. "Elder Lu, break down the gate! Elder Song, cover the rear! The rest of you, follow me to prepare to suppress and deal with the evil cultivators behind the gate!"
The Lu family's eldest elder let out a long roar, and the lightning spear in his hand suddenly grew three zhang in length, with a phantom image of a Qilin appearing in the lightning ball condensed at the spear tip.
With a deafening explosion, the lightning spear pierced through the bronze gate, and the blood-red runes on the gate panel twisted and fell off like living snakes.
The sight behind the door sent chills down everyone's spines—twelve bone pillars stood in a blood pool a hundred feet in diameter, each topped with a rotating demon core.
Hundreds of bodies bound by chains could be vaguely seen at the bottom of the pool; they were elite disciples from various sects who had been missing for many years!
"They actually used living people as the core of the formation..." Elder Song's sword trembled violently. "This blood pool is connected to the earth's veins. Forcibly destroying it will trigger a rupture of the earth's veins, which may cause the earth dragon to rise up, and several surrounding provinces will be affected."
Han Yunshen's face turned deathly pale instantly. He stared at the twisted and struggling body in the blood pool, his hand holding the array flag trembling slightly.
Once the ley lines erupt and trigger the "earth dragon's reversal," not only will everyone present perish, but countless mortal towns will also be reduced to ruins.
"We must find a gentle way to break the formation!" Elder Qiu Fei's forehead veins bulged, and his jade whip tightly bound the demon core that was trying to break free.
Elder Lu's pupils suddenly contracted as he pointed to the center of the blood pool: "Look! At the intersection of those chains, there's a jade plate covered in runes! Perhaps that's the core of the formation!"
Before the words were finished, the twelve bone pillars suddenly emitted a piercing shriek, and the demon cores at the top of the pillars exploded at the same time, transforming into twelve demon wolves engulfed in black flames.
The demon wolf howled to the sky, the sound waves causing everyone's blood to surge. Han Yunshen hurriedly waved the array flags, and the star-shaped phantoms barely blocked the sound wave impact.
"Elder Song, take half the men to hold off the demonic wolf! The rest of you, follow me to take the array's core!"
Just as everyone was about to act, the disciples bound by chains at the bottom of the pool suddenly opened their eyes. A glimmer of clarity flashed in their empty eyes, and they roared in unison, "Kill us! Quickly!"
The young monk at the head of the group suddenly crashed into the bone pillar beside him.
"What are we waiting for!" Elder Song cried, tears streaming down his face, as he swung his sword and severed the nearest chains. "Let them be free!"
Amidst the intertwining of sword light and lightning, the bodies of the trapped cultivators exploded in the blood pool, transforming into dazzling light that impacted the bone pillars.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Han Yunshen rushed towards the central jade plate, only to see a blood-red barrier suddenly rise from the jade plate, with countless bloody hands reaching out from the barrier and tightly binding his ankles.
"Alliance Leader!" Elder Lu swept his lightning spear, tearing the bloody hand apart with the phantom of the Qilin, but was sent flying backward by the force rebounding from the barrier.
Just then, the blood pool lit up with a dazzling light, and one after another, black-robed figures flew out of the blood pool, their auras clearly all above the Earth Master realm.
In just a few breaths, the space below was already filled with evil cultivators from the Blood Fiend Sect.
The number of experts at the Celestial Master level was roughly equal to the number on their side, further exacerbating the already precarious situation.
An old man wearing a white bone crown stepped out from the group of people in black robes. He held a beating blood-red heart in his palm, and each beat made everyone's mind tremble.
"Haha, Han Yunshen, the leader of the Xuanxiu Alliance, elders from various sects, and elders from various families." The old man chuckled sinisterly, appearing particularly pleased.
Runes identical to those on the jade plate appeared on the surface of the heart in his hand. "This Myriad Souls Blood Fiend Teleportation Array desperately needs powerful figures from prestigious sects like yourselves as the final sacrifice!"
Before the words were finished, the twelve demonic wolves suddenly swelled in size, transforming into a hundred-foot-tall behemoth, its sharp claws tearing through the void as it pounced on the crowd.
Han Yunshen's Starry Sky Array Flag shone brightly, forcibly erecting a protective shield, only to see spiderweb-like cracks quickly spreading across its surface.
Elder Lu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and injected his life essence into the Thunder Spear. The phantom of the Qilin that erupted from the spear was engulfed in raging heavenly fire, which collided violently with the black flames of the demon wolf.
"Form the Three Talents Demon-Trapping Formation!" Elder Qiu Fei of Youhuang Pavilion suddenly split his jade whip into three, which intertwined with the magical artifacts of the two elders to form a green light net, barely binding two of the demon wolves.
But the black-robed evil cultivators had already begun forming hand seals, and the blood-red mist condensed into a giant skull at their fingertips, which slammed down fiercely onto the protective shield.
Just as the protective shield was about to shatter, Han Yunshen bit his tongue and spat a mouthful of blood onto the array flag.
The illusory image of stars suddenly solidified, transforming into a giant starlight dragon that soared straight into the sky.
The dragon was wrapped in countless golden runes, which actually imprisoned the entire space.
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