The Heavenly Destroyer Palm did not form; instead, a Giant Shadow Finger of dark black color, carrying an ancient aura, manifested above the flying boat. This manifestation was terrifying, radiating the icy Law of the Fall of Nine Heavens.

  On the cramped deck of the Seven Star Boat, the side effects of Ruo Xianxue's intervention were immediately felt. Zhi Xuan, whose body had just been forcefully borrowed and filled with Ancient power, flinched. The dual pupils of the Sun and Moon faded as quickly as lightning, leaving a searing pain in his eyes and deep mental exhaustion.

  The Giant Black Shadow Finger, now hovering above the Seven Star Boat, radiated such immense pressure that the starlight on the flying artifact dimmed, and Fei Sheng's Law of Wind began to swirl wildly, unable to stabilize the boat.

  "What... what is that?!" Feng Yi roared, her anger gone, replaced by pure terror. She pointed at the horrifying manifestation. The Finger did not radiate a Devil aura, but a suppressive aura of Ancient Power.

  "This... this is not the Heavenly Destroyer Palm!" Fei Sheng exclaimed, now truly screaming. His jade fan came loose again, and he did not care. He only stared at the Shadow Finger. "This is a Devil Art! Brother Zhi Xuan! What have you done?!"

  Zhi Xuan, still reeling from the brief touch of Ruo Xianxue's power, clenched his jaw, his face returning to a panicked expression, quickly covering the truth.

  "That... That was not me!" Zhi Xuan hissed, quickly denying it. "That... that is a side effect of your essence, Fire Bird Miss! Your Phoenix Fire is too fierce!"

  "What kind of lie is that?!" Feng Yi shrieked, feeling accused. "This Shadow Finger, even though it only has Consciousness Transformation level fluctuation at a glance, it carries an aura that could destroy ten sects! That is not my side effect!"

  However, the Giant Shadow Finger did not wait for their mortal debate. With a slow, majestic, and terrifying movement, the Finger pointed straight backward, toward the Golden Lightning Leopard, the Fire Eagle Azure King, and the Thunder Lion Azure King who were now approaching.

  The three Golden Azure Kings, who were previously angry and arrogant, suddenly stopped. They felt an immense pressure, a pressure that surpassed the Consciousness Transformation realm. They did not see the small humans on the boat; they saw a Manifestation of the Ancient Dao that threatened them.

  ROOARRR!

  The Golden Lightning Leopard, the fastest and most arrogant, was the first to react, not with an attack, but with a warning roar filled with terror. It released a storm of Golden Lightning into the air, trying to destroy the Shadow Finger.

  The Giant Shadow Finger did not move. The Lightning Leopard's Golden Lightning, which should have shattered high-grade spiritual stones, simply vanished upon contact with the Finger's ancient aura, as if the Lightning were a child's spark.

  Then, the Finger moved. Only slightly, but the movement created a vortex of law in the air. The vortex drew the three Consciousness Transformation Beasts toward it, not with spiritual power, but with a Devil Law that compelled the prey to approach.

  "Now!" Zhi Xuan hissed, his eyes radiating madness. He did not understand what Ruo Xianxue was doing, but he saw an opportunity. "Run! Fei Sheng! We must get away before that finger explodes!"

  Fei Sheng, who was already standing at the bow of the boat, suddenly felt his spiritual blood boil. His previously elegant Law of Wind was now forced to be wild and uncontrolled. The Seven Star Boat shot forward again, much faster than before.

  "This is insane! Even I have never seen a technique like that!" Fei Sheng roared, his eyes filled with pure knowledge and fear upon seeing the shadow finger. "You truly are insane, Brother Zhi Xuan!"

  The Seven Star Boat darted like a shooting star fleeing from a catastrophe. Fei Sheng, despite lamenting his stained aesthetics and Dao, pumped his Consciousness Transformation essence into the artifact, pushing it to maximum speed. Beneath him, the volcanic valley flashed into a blur. They could not look back. The Law fluctuations left by the Giant Shadow Finger were too chaotic and dangerous.

  "Explain! Now! What was that?!" Feng Yi demanded, her voice returning to its arrogant tone, but now covered with a thin layer of hysteria. She crawled on the narrow deck, hugging herself tightly.

  "I said it was a side effect! I do not know! I was focused on recovery!" Zhi Xuan denied again. He gripped the edge of the boat, his entire body tense, waiting for the inevitable sound of destruction. However, in his sea of consciousness, Ruo Xianxue's voice, as cold as eternal ice, clearly resonated.

  'These binding chains, I will release one by one.' The echoing vibration created a cruel resonance, the Nine Dragon chains that bound the Ancient Devil Monument, the remnants of the Nine Heavens Bead seal, trembled violently. 'Come here, pour more blood for my awakening.'

  Zhi Xuan ignored Ruo Xianxue's bloodthirsty voice. He knew that every strand of power Ruo Xianxue released was a promise of a hefty debt, one that could not be paid just with Beast cores. He focused his mind on maintaining control over his essence.

  Behind them, the Giant Shadow Finger finally touched the battleground. There was no massive explosion, no burning spiritual flash. Instead, there was absolute silence.

  The three Golden Azure Kings—Lightning Leopard, Fire Eagle, and Thunder Lion—bound by the Ancient Devil Law, suddenly felt the weight of Heaven and Earth. They could not move. They were bound by an ancient Dao Law, one whose age surpassed this continent.

  The Giant Shadow Finger, manifested only from the will of Ruo Xianxue's red thread, did not attack. It squeezed the essence.

  SRAKK!

  Three Consciousness Transformation Cores—a Gold Core, a Fire Core, and a Thunder Core—were forcefully pulled out of the Lightning Leopard, Fire Eagle, and Thunder Lion. The process was brutal and fast. The pure spiritual essence of the three Beasts spurted out, not as a burst of energy, but as strands of dense mist that were directly sucked in by the Giant Shadow Finger. The Shadow Finger trembled momentarily, its size slightly shrinking, and the ancient aura around it seemed to grow denser.

  ROOOAAARRR!

  The three Golden Azure Kings, whose essence had been drained and Beast Cores stolen, collapsed to the ground with heartbreaking roars of despair. They were not just defeated; they were stripped down to their spiritual foundations. The Consciousness Transformation Beasts, now crippled ordinary Spiritual Beasts, were left lying in the middle of the valley, awaiting a slower death or the arrival of other predators.

  But what was more horrifying was that the red threads left no remnants, the red tendrils sucked the life essence of the Azure Kings, not coercion, but a forceful plundering of the creatures' will to live. The Lightning Core, Fire Core, and Thunder Core were immediately attracted and floated towards the Boat.

  Zhi Xuan's eyes darkened, the red threads retreated as if a wolf that had devoured a sheep for dinner. He fell onto the boat's deck, and the last thing he saw and heard was Fei Sheng screaming in panic, and the terrified Feng Yi cowering at the side of the deck.

  On the deck of the Seven Star Boat, the strong wind swirled wildly. Three colorful cores darted with deadly speed, penetrating Fei Sheng's Law of Wind, and landing directly on Zhi Xuan, who was now slumped helplessly on the deck.

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  They were priceless gems, evidence of the majestic Consciousness Transformation foundation. However, Zhi Xuan could not feel the spiritual heat that should be radiating from them. His left hand still gripped the edge of the boat, but his entire body felt cold, drained to the core of his soul.

  "Three Consciousness Transformation cores..." Fei Sheng muttered, his voice quiet and trembling, he had now successfully stabilized the Seven Star Boat, turning the wild escape into a controlled flight. He stared at the three cores on the boat with a look mixed with victory and religious terror.

  Fei Sheng knew, even though he was a Consciousness Transformation cultivator, he would never be able to steal three cores from Three Golden Azure Kings in one attack. The method they had just witnessed surpassed the Laws of the Lower Continent.

  "What happened back there?!" Feng Yi screamed, she crawled closer to Zhi Xuan, her face pale, but her warrior instinct made her ignore the fear. She saw Zhi Xuan collapse, and instinctively, she knew that the greater danger was now with this man.

  "Herald of Devil! Wake up! What did you do with that insane artifact?!" Feng Yi grabbed Zhi Xuan's shoulder, intending to wake him. However, when her hand touched Zhi Xuan's cold robe, she felt a wave of coldness as deep as an icy abyss flow into her meridians. It was Zhi Xuan's Black Jade essence, now mixed with the residue of a suppressive ancient aura.

  Fei Sheng immediately left the boat's control to his automatic Law of Wind and knelt beside Zhi Xuan. He placed two slender fingers on Zhi Xuan's wrist. His usually calm face now paled in shock.

  "His essence... His essence is completely drained!" Fei Sheng whispered, his eyes widening. "Not just spiritual essence; his Sea of Consciousness is shaken. He was forced to be a vessel for a power that surpassed the limits of his realm! That power almost tore his soul apart!"

  Feng Yi recoiled, her hand taking a cold breath. She had seen Zhi Xuan deny it, but the evidence was now in their hands; Zhi Xuan, the Zenith Blood Transformation cultivator, had become a vessel almost shattered from borrowing a power that exceeded the laws of nature.

  In the deafening silence, Zhi Xuan woke up in his sea of consciousness. His eyes opened and the sapphire blue irises stared at his sea of consciousness, dark and endless as always. In the midst of his turbulent Sea of Consciousness, the Heavenly Cycle of Samsara Wheel trembled violently and the runes of the Law of Four Seasons spread throughout his sea of consciousness. Suppressing the shock and the remaining essence depletion.

  CRACK! HUSH! WHUMP!

  From the bottom of his sea of consciousness, the sound of cracking and severed chains echoed like the friction of ancient iron in a primordial abyss, the vibration of the cracked chain seemed to store the will of a bygone era, in an unimaginable time.

  'Great Heaven,' the voice resonated to the core of Zhi Xuan's soul, piercing and as if a real devil, was trying to rise. 'One chain, hundreds of runes have been shattered, yet you will not easily confine me forever.'

  Then a whistling laugh came from the bottom of Zhi Xuan's sea of consciousness. It caused Zhi Xuan's spiritual body to stagger and be thrown far to the side of his sea of consciousness. As if only one chain had been severed, the will that emerged was not something that came from the underworld.

  Zhi Xuan found himself standing on black mist floating in an endless sea. Far below him, he could feel the Ancient Devil Monument trembling with horrifying excitement. The nine dragon chains that bound the monument now numbered eight. One chain made of the Nine Heavens Bead and the Heaven Seal Rune now lay broken.

  Before him, the black mist began to solidify, forming a majestic illusory figure. The figure wore ancient silk robes, his face was not clearly visible, but radiated a sacred aura that made Zhi Xuan's soul tremble—the same aura he had once heard as the Ancient Sacred Devil who defied the heavens.

  "See, brat," Ruo Xianxue hissed, his voice now clearer and stronger, no longer just a scattered echo. "Those three Azure King Cores... are merely a small reward for freeing one of the nine chains that bind me."

  Not only that, all this time, Ruo Xianxue had been secretly absorbing every essence that Zhi Xuan also absorbed, every will and intent, every vibration of the devil seed was his new path to awakening that had just begun. Consolidation of essence, every essence used by Zhi Xuan was a vessel and food for the Ancient Sacred Devil.

  "How could you, how could you?" Zhi Xuan choked, he had never felt such pure dread, not a deep piercing. Rather, a pure fear of darkness that was truly alive.

  In his sea of consciousness, Zhi Xuan stood on churning black mist. Ruo Xianxue's illusory figure, now radiating both a sacred and terrifying aura, looked at Zhi Xuan as if seeing an interesting insect.

  "How?" Ruo Xianxue retorted, his laugh sounding like a breaking crystal bell, yet carrying the weight of thousands of ages. "You... are the most perfect vessel I have encountered since the fall of the Nine Heavens. Did you think the Devil Seed you carry is just a static seed? Fool. It is a contract signed with your own spiritual blood, an unspoken promise to be the path to my resurrection."

  The figure stepped forward, and the mist beneath Zhi Xuan's feet hissed backward out of respect.

  "Every spiritual essence, every drop of Spiritual Blood, every will you accumulate, is the consolidation of my soul scattered among the Nine Dragon Chains," Ruo Xianxue continued, his voice now softening, making him sound even more dangerous. "You kill an Azure King, I take the leftovers. You use the Heavenly Destroyer Palm, I siphon the meridian exhaustion. You beg for strength, I sever a chain. Is this not a fair exchange?"

  Ruo Xianxue extended a slender illusory hand, as if intending to touch the trembling Heavenly Cycle of Samsara Wheel far above Zhi Xuan's head.

  "You possess a very majestic Heavenly Cycle of Samsara Wheel. You have an Ancient Dao locked within. That is why your Sea of Consciousness is so stable even when I force the Law of the Fall of Nine Heavens," Ruo Xianxue murmured, his tone shifting to the interest of a collector in a rare artifact. "However, this stability is also a weakness, for it confines your potential and holds back my awakening."

  Zhi Xuan, the veteran hunter in the wilderness, who knew no fear facing spiritual beasts or arrogant cultivators, now felt a cold dread creeping into the core of his soul. Not fear of death, but fear of possession.

  "If you want to rise, use those cores," Zhi Xuan hissed, his voice trembling but his will remaining strong. "I will not let you take over my body. I will purify that Devil Seed with the Devil Purifying Formation!"

  Ruo Xianxue laughed with a low friction, like a blade being drawn slowly. The laughter shook Zhi Xuan's sea of consciousness, making him cough invisible spiritual blood.

  "Devil Purifying Formation? Remnant techniques from the Central Continent? Do you think that Formation can purify a Seed that is the embodiment of the Ancient Law of Heaven and Earth? That is just a foolish joke," Ruo Xianxue scoffed. "That Devil Seed is now part of your Dao. You purify it, you sever a part of your soul, and you will become the most pathetic Blood Transformation cultivator in the Lower Continent."

  The illusory figure turned, staring at the Ancient Devil Monument bound at the bottom of Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness. The eight dragon chains now radiated a brighter light, as if they were angry that their comrade had been successfully severed.

  "Rest assured, I will not let you die too quickly," Ruo Xianxue said, with a subtle sigh he waved his shadowy hand, red silk wrapping around Zhi Xuan's spiritual body. "No, I still need you to return to my glorious age."

  Zhi Xuan, whose spiritual body was wrapped by the illusory red silk, felt Ruo Xianxue's will infiltrate every corner of his Sea of Consciousness. It was not an aggressive invasion; it was an inspection, mapping, and territorial claim.

  "What do you want from me?" Zhi Xuan hissed, forcing his voice out, ignoring his spiritual pain. His Dao will, as cold as an icy abyss, refused to submit, yet the red silk felt like a silken thread restraining a steel grip. "You are already hitching a ride in my body, I can self-detonate and put you back to sleep!"

  Zhi Xuan gritted his teeth, he had predicted this several times, that there would be a time when Ruo Xianxue would wake up and fully become a threatening figure in his sea of consciousness. Zhi Xuan tightened his body and tore himself away from the red silk threads.

  He fell onto his sea of consciousness, his sapphire blue eyes staring coldly and sharply at Ruo Xianxue's shadow illusion. Although his face was still a misty illusion, he could sense the smile of a Sacred Devil capable of shaking the Ages.

  "I will purify that devil seed," Zhi Xuan said fiercely, pointing at the devil seed shrouded in the eclipse pattern beneath his sea of consciousness. "It will become part of my soul, there will only be unity. And you, do not think I will submit to you, Ancient Sacred Devil."

  Ruo Xianxue, whose illusory figure was still shrouded in ancient mist, tilted his head slightly—a movement filled with captivating ancient grace. His laughter was no longer like breaking crystal, but like the rumble of a storm in the deepest abyss.

  "Submit?" The vibration of his voice caused Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness to churn violently, creating spiritual waves that crashed against the edges of his consciousness. "Why should I ask a small monkey to submit, if I am already controlling his path?"

  The figure stepped closer, his sacred majesty forcing the black mist beneath Zhi Xuan's feet to crawl backward. Zhi Xuan, feeling the cold threat, stepped backward, trembling.

  "Oh, do not be afraid, little monkey." Ruo Xianxue, seeing this, chuckled low and hoarsely. He stopped and merely floated in front of Zhi Xuan. "I must say, I do need your help."

  "You need my help?" Zhi Xuan repeated, his voice containing cold scorn and caution. He forced himself to stand straight amidst the swirling mist. Behind him, the Heavenly Cycle of Samsara Wheel spun slowly, radiating a stable Dao Law, a silent resistance against Ruo Xianxue's ancient will.