Ruo Xianxue, who was now fully monitoring the condition of Zhi Xuan's Sea of Consciousness, snorted. Her Ancient Devil Monument emitted a pressing gray aura, and beside it, the Devil Life Tree channeled a warm essence to patch the spiritual cracks created by the tenth Soul Backlash.

  "A trivial formation built by a bunch of snakes," Ruo Xianxue hissed, her tone filled with cold disdain, as if the formation were merely a child's toy to her. "There are seventeen hidden formations, all linked to that Soul Poison Altar. Three are pure illusions, designed to confuse the Divine Sense. The rest are Poison and Prison Formations that lock the space."

  Ruo Xianxue flowed a small streak of silvery essence into Zhi Xuan's mind, providing a clear and detailed spatial map showing the vital points of the formations around the Core Gate and the Soul Poison Altar.

  "That bronze jar is not just a Poison Altar, but also the core of the Seven Serpent Reverse Seal," Ruo Xianxue continued. "If you touch it or pass it without severing the main core, all seventeen formations will explode, flooding this corridor with Sky-Reversing Water Poison that can paralyze even a careless Soul Transformation cultivator."

  Zhi Xuan processed the information in silence. Sky-Reversing Water Poison was a serious matter; it was a spiritual poison that targeted the cultivation foundation. Given his fragile state after the consecutive harvesting, he could not take the slightest risk. He opened his eyes, his sapphire pupils now radiating a cold, calculating light. He took a long breath, pushing aside the remaining pain in his Sea of Consciousness.

  "Wait for me to finish recovering," Zhi Xuan murmured. He sent the Heavenly Cauldron to circle around them and created formation runes that would at least cover their tracks if anyone was pursuing from behind. "Zhao Xue, you can observe that jar first."

  The Seven-Star Boat drifted calmly before the Core Gate, with Zhi Xuan still sitting cross-legged on the deck, absorbing essence from the Divine Black Jade Stones. Around him, the Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron rotated slowly, emitting a balanced Law of the Four Seasons, creating a subtle formation curtain that hid their spiritual fluctuations from outside detection. Zhao Xue, with her True Ice Blade sheathed, stepped down from the boat, landing gracefully on the basalt stone floor. She approached the Soul Poison Altar on the wall, maintaining a distance of several zhang.

  Zhao Xue radiated the Pure Ice Law, sending a cold spiritual wave into the air. She did not attack, but rather tested the spatial fragility around the altar. Sure enough, as her essence wave passed, three points in the air vibrated faintly and immediately vanished, exactly as Zhi Xuan had hinted. She felt that Zhi Xuan was far too strange to be able to read and know all the formations. They were indeed pure Illusion Formations.

  She then focused her gaze on the ancient bronze jar atop the altar. The jar was covered in patterns of coiled water snakes, emitting a thick Water Poison aura. Zhao Xue felt a deep danger from the jar, far greater than all the attacks the Shi Clan had launched outside earlier. The poison aura felt capable of eroding her Pure Ice Law, though not directly.

  Beside her, Ao Sheng stood nervously. He clutched the bronze tomb key tightly. He could not feel the hidden dangers as Zhao Xue and Zhi Xuan did, but the pressure of the ancient dragon aura in the tomb made him feel emotionally overwhelmed.

  Zhi Xuan, after fully absorbing the energy from the ten Divine Black Jade Stones, felt his physical foundation become solid once more, and his Sea of Consciousness stabilized, though his spiritual fatigue had not entirely vanished. He opened his sapphire eyes, which now radiated cold tranquility. He rose from his seat.

  "That jar is the core of everything," Zhi Xuan murmured, his voice now back to normal. He stepped down from the Seven-Star Boat, gliding beside Zhao Xue. "The Seven Serpent Reverse Seal. It cannot be destroyed with brute force, as that would trigger the explosion of the Sky-Reversing Water Poison."

  Zhi Xuan waved his hand. From the folds of his robe, a thin, almost invisible strand of reddish spiritual silk appeared, enveloped by a subtle Thunder Law. This silk thread was a form of the Devil Blood Sword—leaving only a thread that radiated a spiritual blood aura, channeled with extraordinary delicacy.

  "Return to the boat," Zhi Xuan commanded coldly. He had to maintain a long distance while testing the formation. "We must retreat dozens of zhang to test the reaction of this formation."

  Zhao Xue and Ao Sheng immediately nodded and returned to the boat. The Seven-Star Boat retreated slowly at the signal from Zhao Xue, who now possessed an indescribable curiosity. She had never seen a Consciousness Transformation cultivator use spiritual energy with such delicacy and detailed calculation.

  She watched as the thin reddish silk thread, enveloped in thunder, drifted toward the ancient bronze jar, moving slower than a falling feather. Zhi Xuan controlled the silk thread with perfect precision. The thread moved through the strands of invisible spiritual silk protecting the altar, severing them with subtle thunder without causing a spiritual tremor.

  The spiritual silk threads protecting the altar snapped silently, their spiritual essence vanishing as it was absorbed by the purified thunder. When the reddish silk thread reached the bronze jar, Zhi Xuan did not touch it. He merely channeled the perfected Thunder Law and Spiritual Blood into the air around the jar, creating a small spiritual vortex. Zhi Xuan did not try to damage it; he only interfered.

  KRAKK! KRAKK!

  The entire corridor suddenly shook violently. Even though it was only a small vortex, the interference was enough to trigger a chain reaction from the Ancient Formation. The black basalt walls around them suddenly radiated a thick bluish-green light. Seven giant water snake runes emerged from the walls and ceiling, lunging toward the bronze jar.

  Sure enough, it was the Seven Serpent Reverse Seal. The seven snakes, made of pure spiritual poison, lunged with a roar that deafened the spiritual ears. The lethal poison aura immediately filled the air, and even Zhao Xue's Pure Ice Law, now atop the Seven-Star Boat, felt slightly suppressed. The poison did not just smell foul; it felt corrosive to the Sea of Consciousness.

  "Dammit!" Zhao Xue hissed. She immediately raised her True Ice Blade, ready to release a fortress of pure ice essence to protect them.

  However, Zhi Xuan raised his hand, a small gesture that halted Zhao Xue's intent. He did not retreat, but merely stood there, letting the reddish silk thread vanish back into the folds of his robe. Zhi Xuan only snorted coldly and stepped forward quickly. He had scanned the formation thanks to Ruo Xianxue's spiritual map. He ignored the seven spiritual poison snakes lunging toward him. He knew the snakes were only lunging to protect the jar, not to kill him.

  WHUSH!

  Zhi Xuan blurred forward, and his Heavenly-Blood Body emitted an oppressive Devil aura. He no longer cared about mental attacks. He sped at full velocity, piercing through the corridor, evading the snakes with impossible movements. He arrived in front of the bronze jar in the blink of an eye.

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  He wasted no time. With his fist wrapped in blood-layered physical force—his spiritual blood feeling as if it were boiling and churning as it approached the jar—Zhi Xuan struck the spatial weak point in the wall directly behind the jar, the point marked by Ruo Xianxue's spiritual map.

  KRAKK! KRAKK! BOOM!

  Zhi Xuan's fist did not strike stone, but rather the foundation essence. A sharp spiritual cracking sound rang out, far louder than any physical explosion. The black basalt wall did not shatter, but its spiritual fluctuations instantly became chaotic.

  The seven spiritual poison snakes that had been lunging toward the jar suddenly froze in mid-air. Then, with a loud hissing sound, the snakes exploded into a thick powder of spiritual poison. However, the powder did not explode into Sky-Reversing Water Poison. Instead, the chaotic formation aura immediately responded to the explosion in an unexpected way.

  All seventeen hidden formations suddenly exploded into bluish-green light, and they all neutralized each other chaotically, annihilating one another. The Illusion Formation destroyed the Prison Formation, and the Sky-Reversing Water Poison that should have been released was instead locked and trapped within the vortex of spiritual destruction of the formations. Zhi Xuan took a long breath. He stepped back and immediately brought out the Heavenly Cauldron, throwing it into the vortex of spiritual destruction.

  WHIRL! WHIRL!

  The Heavenly Trifold Reincarnation Cauldron immediately released the burning Law of Summer and the harvesting Law of Autumn. The chaotic spiritual vortex, consisting of mutually destructive formation energy and remnants of the Sky-Reversing Water Poison, was immediately sucked into the Heavenly Cauldron. The dangerous poison was promptly purified and transformed into spiritual essence, stored safely within the cauldron.

  "The Shi Clan is too poor to even make a proper formation," Zhi Xuan murmured. He had not expected the Shi Clan's formation to be so easy to destroy. "It seems their bloodline has truly thinned until their clan fell into decline."

  Zhi Xuan turned and walked calmly back to the Seven-Star Boat, gliding over the basalt floor which was now free of the formation aura. He glanced briefly at the ancient bronze jar on the altar; the jar was now merely a dead object, its core destroyed. He chose to ignore it; the energy harvested by the Heavenly Cauldron was already more valuable.

  Zhao Xue, who had witnessed the brutality and the genius behind the destruction of the formation, could only stare with eyes reflecting a mixture of disbelief and admiration. This man was not just a powerful Devil cultivator; he was a cruel Formation Master, capable of turning the weaknesses of an ancient formation against itself.

  Zhao Xue took a deep breath. The cold air entering her lungs now felt clearer, free of the suffocating poison residue. She sheathed her True Ice Blade with a soft click and stared at Zhi Xuan, who was now sitting cross-legged again on the bow of the Seven-Star Boat, focusing once more on stabilizing his Sea of Consciousness.

  "You are not just a Devil cultivator," Zhao Xue murmured, her voice low and calculating, even as she denied her admiration for someone so strong who was below her realm. "You are a Formation Master. Only a high-level Formation Master could identify spatial weaknesses to create such orderly spiritual destruction."

  Zhi Xuan opened his eyes. He did not look at Zhao Xue but merely channeled essence into the Heavenly Cauldron hovering beside him, processing the newly harvested essence. He glided back and sat atop the Seven-Star Boat, flicking the Azure Holy Flame toward the Heavenly Cauldron.

  "Not a Formation Master," Zhi Xuan replied with a cold smirk. He floated the Heavenly Cauldron before him and burned it with the Azure Holy Flame to stabilize the poison within so it would not damage the bodies he had previously collected. "And do not be impressed by me; I am a man with ties to the woman you admire."

  Zhao Xue felt a faint flush of anger appear on her face. Zhi Xuan's cynical acknowledgment of his relationship with Holy Fairy Zhu Qinglan felt like a deliberate insult. However, she had seen how this man fought and how he designed the destruction of the formation. Zhi Xuan did not need acknowledgment; he only needed results.

  "I am not impressed by you," Zhao Xue replied coldly, controlling her emotional turmoil. She shifted her gaze from Zhi Xuan and focused on the massive Stone Gate before them. "I only appreciate efficiency. Now, the defensive formations have been neutralized. The Core Gate of the Black Dragon Tomb awaits."

  Ao Sheng, who had been holding his breath in tension, now stepped forward with eyes shining with anticipation. He clutched the bronze tomb key tightly, his Golden Dragon blood essence pulsating faster in response to the proximity of the Core Gate.

  "Senior, Sister Zhao Xue," Ao Sheng said excitedly. "This gate is the last one. It requires a pure Dragon Bloodline to open. The Shi Clan could never pass it, which is why they set up the Poison Formation here to block us."

  Zhi Xuan nodded, glancing briefly at the Heavenly Cauldron now glowing with the Azure Holy Flame, stabilizing the newly harvested poison essence. He let the cauldron spin beside him and focused on the massive Stone Gate before them.

  "Good," Zhi Xuan replied, his tone flat. "Ao Sheng, use the key. Remember, when the formation opens, you must immediately step into the Core Gate. This tomb is yours; your destiny lies within. You must be the first person to touch the Black Dragon Heritage."

  Ao Sheng nodded firmly. He jumped down from the Seven-Star Boat, landing steadily on the basalt floor. He walked straight toward the Stone Gate, letting the ancient dragon aura from the tomb envelop him. With hands trembling slightly from excitement and determination, he raised the bronze key, channeling all the spiritual essence he possessed—which carried the faint trace of the Golden Dragon Bloodline—into it.

  The bronze key reacted immediately. The pitch-black light that had been pulsating now radiated with an aura that was majestic and oppressive. The light was not bright, but dark and deep, as if absorbing all the light in the corridor. The dragon runes on the massive Stone Gate began to glow, responding to the call of the bloodline. The sleeping Black Dragon in the relief seemed to open its eyes, which were made of pure essence.

  KRAKK! KRAKK!

  The sound of spiritual and physical cracking echoed from the Stone Gate. It was not the sound of destruction, but the sound of release. The final Ancient Seal protecting the Black Dragon Heritage, a seal carved with the Blood Law and the Will of the Dragon Emperor, was now open.

  The Stone Gate, which stood dozens of zhang high, shifted slowly, emitting a dust of pure ice essence. Behind the gate, a vast and silent room stretched out—a room different from the cold corridor. The room was bathed in calm starlight, as if they had just stepped into an eternal night. In the center of the room, a magnificent Black Jade Altar shrouded in water mist and ancient dragon essence stood tall.

  Ao Sheng did not wait. The surge of excitement and overflowing emotion pushed him forward. He shot through the gap of the newly opened gate, the bronze key still vibrating in his hand. He was the first, the descendant of the oppressed Golden Dragon, to return to the Black Dragon Heritage.

  "My destiny!" Ao Sheng roared in his heart, tears dripping from the corners of his eyes. He ran toward the Jade Altar.

  Zhi Xuan, sitting cross-legged on the Seven-Star Boat, opened his eyes fully. He let the Heavenly Cauldron hover beside him and stepped down from the boat, storing the vessel back into his storage bag, gliding beside Zhao Xue who was now staring warily at the Core Gate.

  "Be careful, Zhao Xue," Zhi Xuan murmured, his voice containing a serious and deep tone. "The Shi Clan may not be able to enter, but they must have left something else behind."

  Zhao Xue nodded, channeling the Pure Ice Law into the blade of her True Ice Blade which she had drawn from its scabbard. She stepped forward, the Snow Blade radiating a calming cold aura. As they stepped through the Stone Gate, the corridor behind them immediately vanished, closed by the Stone Gate shifting back with a heavy DUAGH! sound.

  They were now trapped inside the Core Room of the Black Dragon Tomb, a space filled with silent peace, enveloped by starlight from the shimmering ceiling. Zhi Xuan hissed softly as he felt a strong fluctuation radiating from the surface of the Heaven Mirror Lake; it was the vibration of a Soul Transformation expert arriving.

  "Soul Transformation," Zhi Xuan hissed, drawing in the remnants of spiritual essence and divine sense he had left above the Heaven Mirror Lake. "They will not enter easily. We will either be trapped here until they leave, or they will wait until the Black Dragon Tomb opens."

  In the center of the room, Ao Sheng had arrived at the Black Jade Altar. His eyes were fixed on the mist of ancient dragon essence enveloping the altar; the mist felt like a warm embrace from long-lost ancestors. He placed the bronze key on the altar, and as soon as the key touched the cold jade, the entire room glowed. The mist centered, forming a massive and shimmering black dragon essence crystal—the core of the Black Dragon Heritage.