As midnight approached, the oppression in the depths of Burying Gods Depression was nearly solid. That pulsing dark red demonic seal was like a poisonous snake lying between prey and lair, emitting heart-palpitating pressure. Tang Xiaoqi's attempt had already proven that silently penetrating this seal was absolutely impossible.
Time flowed in deathly silence; every breath was like dancing on a knife's edge.
Just as that suffocating wait was about to reach its peak—
"Woo—Om—!!!"
A shrill alarm horn from the outer regions, like an agreed-upon signal, suddenly pierced the silence! Immediately after, explosions and battle cries from different directions faintly came, like stones thrown into a still lake, instantly breaking the peace at Ten Thousand Souls Hall's outer perimeter!
"It's begun!" Aunt Su's voice was taut with determination.
Mu Qingfeng's eyes snapped open, his entire body's aura no longer deliberately restrained, like a sword about to unsheathe. Liu Yun's fingertips had already touched the cold sword hilt.
Xiaoqi took a deep breath of air saturated with rot and poison miasma, forcibly suppressing the stinging pain in his meridians, his eyes becoming sharp as an eagle's. The plan had changed! Since silent infiltration was impossible, then take this opportunity to forcibly break the seal!
Almost the second the alarm sounded, midnight arrived!
In the depression's center, space violently distorted; that invisible "water membrane" suddenly became clear, transforming into a dark vortex one zhang in diameter, rotating madly! The Ten Thousand Souls Hall entrance manifested as scheduled!
Simultaneously, those several powerful guard auras beyond the seal indeed showed instant disorder and movement due to the outer upheaval, most rapidly departing to reinforce the outer perimeter.
The opportunity must not be lost!
"Move!" Mu Qingfeng commanded urgently, no longer hesitating!
His hands formed seals, his entire body's pale blue water-nourishing spiritual light blazing. It wasn't an attack but transformed into a massive, constantly rotating vortex, crashing brutally toward the dark red rune network around that dark entrance! He wasn't trying to destroy the seal but using his pure, dense water-element spiritual power to temporarily interfere with and slow the seal's operation, creating an opportunity for the true breakthrough!
"Gui Water Spirit Binding!"
The azure vortex and dark red demonic net collided savagely, emitting a muffled boom. The demonic net's light flashed urgently, countless runes writhing like angered poisonous snakes, attempting to erode and tear apart that blue spiritual vortex. Mu Qingfeng's face paled, his body trembling slightly, clearly bearing tremendous pressure. Yet he held firm, that blue vortex like a tough fishing net temporarily binding part of the seal's power.
"Cover me!" Xiaoqi roared, springing from hiding, heading straight for that seal node temporarily interfered with by the blue vortex! He knew his eldest senior brother couldn't hold on for long!
"Stop them!" Near the entrance, the remaining two Foundation Establishment Late Stage demonic cultivators and several guards had already reacted. Though distracted by outer events, duty demanded action. They frantically activated demonic techniques, various demonic weapons carrying shrill whistles, carpet-bombing toward Xiaoqi and the others!
"Your opponent is me!"
A voice clear and cold as ice spring water rang out—Liu Yun moved! Her person and sword seemed to merge into one, transforming into a white streak of light, naked to the eye, instantly cutting between Xiaoqi and those demonic weapons!
Her sword wasn't fully drawn, only revealing a portion of its snowy blade.
"Frost Condense!"
An extreme, deep-cold sword intent suddenly erupted from her as the center! The air seemed to freeze; those whistling demonic weapons, whether ghost-fire skulls, filthy-blood flying forks, or soul-devouring black banners, all slowed dramatically, even forming thin white frost on their surfaces, their spiritual light dimming!
One sword's power, seemingly freezing the offensive within a ten-zhang radius!
The two Foundation Establishment Late Stage demonic cultivators' expressions changed drastically—they had never seen such terrifying sword intent! But duty demanded action; both roared, one bringing out a ghostly shield to block before him, the other spitting a mouthful of lifeblood essence into his demonic saber. The saber's blood light blazed, carrying force to tear everything apart, forcibly breaking through the cold to slash at Liu Yun!
Liu Yun's eyes were ice-cold, about to fully draw her sword, but Aunt Su was faster!
"Shadow Confusion Barrier!"
Aunt Su's figure flickered like a ghost, both hands scattering a large amount of silver-gray powder. This powder wasn't a physical attack but carried strange effects of disturbing spiritual sense and creating illusions, instantly enveloping those two demonic cultivators. Their offensive involuntarily paused, seemingly seeing several phantoms of Liu Yun and Aunt Su before their eyes, unable to lock onto real bodies.
It was this precious gap created in a flash!
Xiaoqi had already rushed before that seal node temporarily bound by Mu Qingfeng's water vortex! Without the slightest hesitation, he poured all his mind, will, and all remaining spiritual power into the Four Symbols Jade Pendant at his chest!
"Open... for me!!!"
His heart let out a silent roar! Not invoking the Four Symbols barrier but guiding the remaining origin power from the Four Symbols Soul Crystals within the jade pendant in the most crude, most direct way! Transforming into a chaotic-colored light pillar condensed with Azure Dragon's life, White Tiger's balefulness, Vermilion Bird's intensity, and Black Tortoise's solidity, brutally striking that dark red rune node!
This time, there were no divine beast phantoms, no ancient barrier—only the purest, most origin-level Four Symbols destruction power!
BOOM BOOM BOOM—!!!
The chaotic light pillar and demonic seal collided savagely! A giant sound like heaven and earth being created exploded in the depression! The violent energy shock spread in rings, sending the black viscous matter around flying or evaporating!
That incredibly tough seal node, connected to earth-vein demonic energy, under this impact containing heaven and earth's origin-level opposing power, let out groans of unbearable strain! The dark red runes flashed frantically, then like red-hot iron plunged into ice water, rapidly dimmed and shattered!
A temporary gap just wide enough for one person, its edges constantly twisting with flickering chaotic energy and residual demonic energy, was forcibly blasted open! Beyond the gap, that dark rotating entrance vortex was clearly visible!
"Puh—!" Xiaoqi bore the brunt, thrown heavily by the massive rebound force, spurting a large mouthful of blood while still in the air. His face instantly pale as paper, the jade pendant at his chest going completely dark, even that fine crack seeming to widen slightly. He fell heavily, struggling but unable to rise for a moment.
"Xiaoqi!" Mu Qingfeng, seeing this, forcibly cut off his confrontation with the seal. The azure vortex collapsed, he also suffered backlash, blood trickling from his lips, but his movements didn't stop. His figure flashed to Xiaoqi's side, grabbing him up.
"Go!" Liu Yun's sword forced back the saber-wielding demonic cultivator. Without looking at the result, she moved like lightning, following Mu Qingfeng, rushing toward that slowly closing temporary gap.
Aunt Su struck out one last silver light to confuse vision, also flying in without hesitation.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Four figures, amidst the remaining demonic cultivators' furious and unwilling roars, narrowly passed through that forcibly broken seal gap, instantly merging into the dark rotating entrance vortex!
Just as the last person entered, that temporary gap, under the demonic energy's frenzied counterattack, snapped shut! The seal's light flickered violently several times, slowly recovering, but the position that had been forcibly broken showed runes noticeably dimmer and more chaotic than elsewhere.
The entrance vortex also gradually quieted, returning to a fluctuating water membrane state.
In the depression, only a few rattled, iron-faced Shadow Snake Pavilion guards remained, along with the devastated ground showing the aftermath of rampaging energy.
Forcibly breaking the seal had succeeded! The cost was Xiaoqi's heavy injury and further damage to the Four Symbols Jade Pendant. But ultimately, amidst the chaos created by the outer feint attack, they had seized that sole opportunity, like four red-hot nails, forcefully driving into the Shadow Snake Pavilion's core demonic lair—Ten Thousand Souls Hall!