Qingyangzi turned and looked at her, his eyes full of kindness. "Good child, you did very well. Now, leave it to Grandpa."
He turned to face the Netherworld Venerable, his aura rising steadily.
But Qiqi could sense that this was not a recovery, but rather a final burst of energy before death.
Qingyangzi was burning his last bit of life essence in exchange for a brief period of power.
"Qingyangzi, you're courting death!" Venerable Youming roared in fury. "Since you wish to die, I will grant your wish!"
The two attacked simultaneously, and golden light and black energy collided in the air, each clash triggering a violent explosion.
The entire Eagle's Beak Cliff was shaking, rocks were rolling down, and the ground was cracking.
This is a true duel between masters; no one else can get involved.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Lin Wei directed her team to eliminate the remaining men in black robes.
With the blood crystal destroyed, the Netherworld Venerable's evil magic was greatly reduced, and the black-robed man was quickly suppressed.
Huo Yuwei rushed to Qiqi's side and hugged her tightly, asking, "Are you hurt?"
Qiqi shook her head, but her eyes were fixed on the battle in the air. "Big brother, Grandpa Qingyangzi, he... he's burning his life force to save us."
Huo Yuwei also noticed it.
Although Qingyangzi's aura was powerful, it weakened a little with each passing second.
Conversely, although the Netherworld Venerable was angry, his power remained abundant.
If things continue like this, Qingyangzi will undoubtedly be defeated.
“We must help him,” Huo Yuwei said in a deep voice.
"How can we help?" Huo Yusen asked. "In a battle of this level, getting close would be suicide."
Qiqi bit her lip, then suddenly thought of something, "The Netherworld Venerable's power comes from that skull staff. If we can destroy it..."
“Impossible.” Yun Songzi walked over, his face solemn. “That is the ‘Hundred Resentment Bone Staff,’ forged from the skulls of one hundred people who died violent deaths. It is incredibly hard and can absorb attacks. Unless a magic weapon of extreme yang and strength is used, it cannot be destroyed.”
A powerful and potent magic weapon!
Qiqi suddenly looked at her wrist, where she wore a colorful bracelet, one of the amulets her master had left her.
“Master said that this bracelet also contains a wisp of ‘True Sun Fire’,” Qiqi murmured, “If we use this…”
"No!" Huo Yuwei and Yun Songzi objected simultaneously.
"The True Fire of the Sun is an extremely yang substance, and it can indeed restrain the Hundred Grudges Bone Staff," Yun Songzi said. "However, if you ignite the True Fire within the bracelet, you yourself will suffer a backlash, ranging from severe injury to..."
He didn't finish his sentence, but his meaning was clear.
Qiqi looked at Qingyangzi, who was growing weaker and weaker in the air, then at the unconscious children in the blood pool, and finally at her family and friends who had fought and bled to protect her.
She removed the colorful bracelet, a resolute glint in her eyes. "My master said that those who cultivate the Tao should take it upon themselves to protect all living beings. Now, all living beings need Qiqi, and Qiqi cannot back down."
"Qiqi!" Huo Yuwei tried to stop her, but Qiqi had already rushed out.
She channeled all her spiritual energy into the bracelet, and the colorful beads on it lit up one by one, emitting a blazing light.
Qiqi used all her strength to throw the bracelet at the Netherworld Venerable in the air.
"Old ghost of the underworld, take this!"
While Venerable Youming was engaged in fierce battle with Qingyangzi, he suddenly felt a scorching aura approaching.
He instinctively used his skull cane to block.
The bracelet struck the cane and shattered with a loud crash.
It wasn't an ordinary explosion, but the eruption of a miniature sun!
Golden flames instantly engulfed the skull staff, the true fire scorching every joint, and the Hundred Resentments Bone Staff let out a mournful wail.
Those were the screams of a hundred vengeful spirits trapped within.
"My bone staff!" The Netherworld Venerable was both shocked and furious. He tried to take back his staff, but the true fire had already spread to his hand, scorching his arm.
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Qingyangzi struck out with his palm, hitting Youming Venerable squarely in the chest.
puff!
The Netherworld Venerable spat out a mouthful of black blood, flew backward, and crashed into the altar, collapsing half of it.
The skull cane in his hand had been reduced to charcoal, leaving only half of it.
Qingyangzi also fell from the sky, kneeling on one knee and panting heavily.
The power he gained by burning his life essence was rapidly fading, and his face was ashen and deathly pale.
"Grandpa Qingyangzi!" Qiqi ran over and helped him up.
Qingyangzi patted her head and smiled weakly, "Good child, you saved everyone."
He looked at the pool of blood, "Quick, save those children! There's still hope for them!"
Lin Wei has already led a team to rescue the children.
The blood crystal was destroyed, the sacrificial ritual was interrupted, and although the children were weak, their lives were not in danger.
One by one, they were carried out of the blood pool and transported to a safe place on stretchers.
“As for the Netherworld Old Ghost,” Qingyangzi looked at the altar ruins, “he is not dead yet.”
As soon as he finished speaking, the ruins of the altar exploded, and the Netherworld Venerable staggered out.
His chest was sunken, his arms were charred, and his breathing was disordered, but he was still alive.
"You have destroyed everything I had." A crazed light flashed in the eyes of the Netherworld Venerable. "Since that's the case, then let's all die together!"
He suddenly bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood.
The essence blood transformed into a strange rune in the air, which shot towards the black hole deep within Eagle Beak Cliff.
"With my blood, awaken my lord! Descend, Demon King of the Underworld!"
The black hole trembled violently, and an indescribable evil aura surged from its depths.
The aura was so powerful that the entire Eagle's Beak Cliff trembled, and the dark clouds in the sky swirled into a huge vortex.
"He's forcibly awakening the Netherworld Demon King!" Yun Songzi's face turned deathly pale. "But the sacrificial ritual wasn't completed, so the Netherworld Demon King can't fully descend; he'll only appear in an incomplete form. Even so, it's enough to destroy everyone here!"
From within the black hole, a gigantic skeletal hand emerged.
The bone hand was as big as a house, with each finger bone like a pillar, its surface covered in black flames.
Next came the second bone hand.
Two skeletal hands gripped the edge of the black hole, and a huge skull slowly emerged.
Green flames burned in the skull's eye sockets, reflecting endless savagery and destruction.
"Mortals, why do you summon me?" the skull uttered in a deep voice, the sound so loud it made everyone's eardrums ache.
The Netherworld Venerable knelt on the ground, "My Lord! These ants have ruined your offerings. Please, my Lord, unleash divine punishment and annihilate them all!"
The green flames from the skull turned towards the group, and they immediately felt their souls tremble.
It was a fear born from the instinct for survival, like a rabbit facing a tiger, or an ant facing a giant.
"Pure Yin Body," the skull suddenly spoke, "and Pure Yang Body. Very good, although the sacrifice was not completed, consuming you will restore some of my power."
It opened its enormous mouth, and a terrifying suction force emanated from it.
Sand and stones flew everywhere. The heavily injured man in black robes was the first to be sucked in and swallowed by the giant mouth before he could even scream.
"Oh no! It's devouring living beings to regain its power!" Qingyangzi struggled to his feet. "We must stop it!"
But how do we stop it?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com