Tears blurred Qiqi's vision. She wiped her face, her eyes becoming incredibly determined.
"Brother Xiao Jiu, put Qi Qi down," Qi Qi said.
Huo Yusen shook his head, "No, it's too dangerous!"
"Qiqi has a way to save everyone, but we need to get close to the altar," Qiqi said seriously. "That Netherworld Venerable is standing at the edge of the altar because there is something in the center of the altar that he cannot leave. If I'm not mistaken, that thing should be the core that maintains the entire formation. As long as we destroy that core, these evil spells will weaken."
Seeing the horrific scene, Huo Yusen hesitated.
He knew Qiqi had a point, but sending a three-and-a-half-year-old child on such an adventure...
"Uncle Xiao Jiu, believe in Qi Qi." Qi Qi held his hand. "Qi Qi is a disciple of Xuanmen, and this is Qi Qi's responsibility."
Looking at Qi Qi's determined eyes, Huo Yusen finally gritted his teeth and nodded.
"Okay, I'll cover you as you get through. But promise me, if there's any danger, retreat immediately."
Qiqi nodded and took out several invisibility talismans from her bag.
This was drawn during the time she had free time while Huo Yuwei was carrying her on his back, after she regained her spiritual power.
The invisibility charm can completely conceal one's appearance and presence, but it can only last for five minutes.
She affixed a talisman to her body, and her form gradually faded until she disappeared completely.
They then placed another sticker on Huo Yusen's altar, and the two of them quietly made their way there.
The battle continued, but the group was gradually losing ground.
There were too many black-robed men, and with the added evil magic of the Netherworld Venerable, some members of the special department had already been seriously injured and collapsed.
Huo Yuwei was covered in blood, but he still stood at the front, his iron fists shattering countless evil spells and magical artifacts.
Lin Wei, Yun Songzi, and Qingyin were also injured, and their breathing became unstable.
The Netherworld Venerable stood at the edge of the altar, watching all this, a smug look flashing in his eyes.
He didn't care about the lives of these men in black robes; as long as he could hold out until the night of the conjunction of the seven stars, it would all be worth it.
He turned to look at the blood pool, where the blood was boiling. The life force of the forty-nine children was being drawn through black tubes and injected into a black crystal at the bottom of the pool.
That is the "Netherworld Blood Crystal," the core of the sacrificial ritual.
If you activate it with pure Yin blood and pure Yang blood on the night of the alignment of the seven stars, you can open the Yin-Yang passage and welcome the arrival of the Netherworld Demon King.
The Netherworld Venerable looked at Qingyangzi again. This old Taoist had already had most of his pure Yang blood extracted, but he was still resisting, using his last strength to protect his injured disciples.
"Stubborn old fool," Venerable Netherworld sneered. "Once your time comes, you'll be useless."
Unbeknownst to him, two transparent figures had silently circled around to the back of the altar and were approaching the blood crystal.
Qiqi and Huo Yusen hid behind a boulder behind the altar, observing the blood crystal.
It was a fist-sized black crystal with blood-red patterns flowing across its surface, emanating a chillingly evil aura.
"That's it," Qiqi whispered. "If you destroy it, the entire sacrificial ritual will collapse."
“How do you break it?” Hoyson asked. “It looks very sturdy.”
Qiqi took out a small jade bottle from her bag, inside which was a drop of golden liquid.
"This is the 'Essence of True Sun Fire' that Master left for Qiqi. It can purify all evil things. But there is only one drop, and it must be precisely hit on the core of the blood crystal."
She handed the jade bottle to Huo Yusen, "Little Ninth Brother, your hand is steadyer, you throw it. Qiqi will use her spiritual power to guide it and make sure it hits."
Huo Yusen took the jade bottle, his hands trembling slightly.
This is not fear, but a great responsibility.
If this attack fails, there may be no other chance.
Qiqi held his hand, "Brother Xiao Jiu, believe in Qiqi, and believe in yourself."
Huo Yusen took a deep breath and nodded.
He observed the patterns and flow of the blood crystals, calculating the optimal moment.
Just then, the Netherworld Venerable suddenly turned around, his dark eyes scanning the area around the altar, as if he had noticed something.
The invisibility spell is about to expire!
Qi Qi's heart tightened, and she quickly affixed two more invisibility talismans to herself and Huo Yusen.
The Netherworld Venerable frowned. Although he didn't see anything, his intuition told him that something was wrong.
He swung his skull cane, and a wisp of black energy swept across the altar.
Wherever the black mist passed, the air became distorted.
Qi Qi and Huo Yusen held their breath and remained motionless.
The black mist swept past them without revealing anything unusual.
The Netherworld Venerable then turned back to continue watching the battlefield.
"Now!" Qiqi whispered.
Huo Yusen seized the opportunity and suddenly threw the jade bottle.
The jade bottle traced an arc in the air before shooting straight at the blood crystal.
At the same time, Qiqi formed a hand seal, and a gentle spiritual energy enveloped the jade bottle, adjusting its trajectory to ensure it accurately hit the center of the blood crystal.
The jade bottle struck the blood crystal and shattered instantly.
The essence of the true fire of the sun flowed out and dripped onto the surface of the blood crystal.
Sizzle—
Like a red-hot iron block falling into ice water, white smoke rises from the surface of the blood crystal, and the blood-red patterns quickly fade.
A cracking sound came from inside the crystal, and cracks spread like a spider web.
"No!" The Netherworld Venerable finally reacted and let out a shrill roar.
But it was too late.
The essence of the true fire of the sun completely seeped into the blood crystal, and golden flames erupted from within, completely engulfing the black crystal.
The blood crystal exploded, turning into countless fragments, which were then burned to ashes by the golden fire in mid-air.
The blood in the pool stopped boiling instantly, and the black tubes snapped one after another.
Although the children in the pool were still unconscious, the draining of their life force had stopped.
"My Netherworld Blood Crystal!" The Netherworld Venerable cried out in a frenzy, "You ants, how dare you destroy my sacred artifact!"
He held nothing back and went all out.
The skull cane erupted with towering black energy, transforming into a ghostly claw that blotted out the sky, reaching for the hiding place of Qi Qi and Huo Yusen.
The invisibility talisman failed, and the two of them were exposed.
"Qiqi, be careful!" Huo Yuwei saw this from a distance, his eyes wide with fury, and tried to rush over, but was held back by several men in black robes.
The ghostly claw descended, carrying the force to destroy everything.
Qiqi shielded Huo Yusen behind her and quickly formed hand seals.
She knew that the attack came too fast and she might not be able to block it, but she had to at least protect her little brother.
Just then, Qingyangzi, who was nailed to the stone pillar, suddenly opened his eyes, and golden light shone brightly in them.
"You old ghost of the underworld, what kind of skill is it to bully children!" Qingyangzi roared, unleashing the last of his pure yang power.
Nine black chains snapped simultaneously, and Qingyangzi broke free of his restraints, moving like lightning to block Qiqi's path.
He clasped his hands together, and a golden light shield unfolded, forcefully blocking the ghostly claws.
boom!
The golden light and black energy collided violently, and the shockwave sent all the surrounding rocks flying.
Qingyangzi spat out a mouthful of blood, and cracks appeared on the light shield, but he did not retreat an inch.
"Grandpa Qingyangzi!" Qiqi exclaimed.
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