Hell Forest, Twinheart Lake.

Daoist Yunxiong stood by the lake, gazing at the churning waters as they twisted and shifted between stillness and violent, dark red movement.

It's been two months. I wonder if Xiuer can tame the Dual Heart Mirror.

"You don't even have confidence in your own disciple," Daoist Priest Yunqing said boredly as he sat cross-legged, lifting his eyelids to shoot a glance at Daoist Yunxiong. "I think you don't care much about this disciple of yours. How about you let me have him, and I'll owe you one."

"Bah!"

A waterfall of saliva was blocked by the Body-Protecting True Gang of Daoist Priest Yunqing, as Daoist Yunxiong snorted a blob of mucus at him.

"Keep dreaming. You can have my disciple over my dead body!"

"You're playing dirty, huh? Let's see you deal with a millennium's worth of my phlegm…"

"Enough! Quit it, a big one's coming."

Taoist Yun Yang's words stopped the impending spit war between Daoist Yunxiong and Daoist Priest Yunqing just in time.

Deep within the stone forest, the silence was suddenly broken. A low, resentful roar echoed among the stones, as if a call from Hell itself. Suddenly, countless shadowy human forms emerged from the distance, surging toward them like a tide of darkness. These shadows varied in shape but eerily, they all lacked faces, just pitch-black human silhouettes in the darkness. They rushed forward, their speed almost impossible to track. Like an invisible wind, they left behind only afterimages and howls among the stones. Each humanoid shadow exuded an icy cold and ruthless aura, like that of a Fierce Ghost.

As these human shapes drew near, the surroundings gradually darkened, and an intense oppression enveloped the area. The void constantly shifted, as if flaking paint on a mottled wall kept peeling away. In a moment, all sounds of the world disappeared. Only the howling of those surging shadows echoed in the air.

CLANG— The shadowy figures finally reached the edge of Twinheart Lake. They halted, staring with resentment and malice ahead. An endless darkness spread among them, rendering the surroundings even more desolate and lonely.

"Shenxiao Sect! It's the people of the Shenxiao Sect!"

"It's them! They are the ones who destroyed us, the ones who leave us with no release!"

"We must keep them here, let them accompany us!"

"I hate them so much! Quickly, let's kill them. I want to tear their throats open, to consume their hearts!"

Chaotic, resentful roars swept over them like a tide. These wandering souls of the Hell Daoists had roamed the stone forest for years. Their accumulated resentment and dissatisfaction were potent enough to pierce the Sky Dome. Fortunately, an ancestor of the Shenxiao Sect had relocated this part of Hell Forest into the sect's domain. It was directly suppressed with the Shenxiao Thunder Pool, using the might of Heavenly Thunder to continuously erode the malevolent energy within. Otherwise, the dreadful oath sworn by the Hell Daoist might have already come true.

"Hmph!"

A cold snort, like Heavenly Thunder, made the crowd of hellish Fierce Ghosts freeze in fear, quivering.

"What, did we make a mistake in exterminating you back then? You evil spirits, causing chaos and plotting to rebuild Hell with the lives of countless beings. Executing you was merciful. If it had been me back then, not only would I have slain your physical bodies, but I would have also erased your souls as well. Scattering your spirits to the winds, never to be reborn!"

Faced with the encircling ghosts, Daoist Yunxiong showed no fear. He pointed at them and cursed, his voice emanating an overwhelming authority that scared some of the Fierce Ghosts with lesser resentment into dissipating on the spot.

"Heh, I didn't expect that after so many years, the juniors of the Shenxiao Sect would still be so arrogant and willful. Could it be that you thunder cultivators think just because you wield Thunder Magic, you can act as enforcers for heaven?"

Before Daoist Yunxiong's outraged cry could fade, a slender path split through the thick crowd of shadows. A beautiful man in a majestic robe, holding a thick tome, barefoot, with long hair cascading down to the ground, stepped forward unhurriedly. The moment this man appeared, the entire Hell Forest began to tremble slightly, as if awakening from an endless slumber.

"Su Buqing, you're still not dead?" Taoist Yun Yang walked up from behind, his gaze calmly fixed on the man with long hair reaching the ground and an appearance that seemed to combine all the beauty of the world.

"Dead? How could I easily die without seeing the Shenxiao Sect completely destroyed? You are... that little Taoist named Yun Yang, aren't you? Your master tried to take away our sect's Divine Artifact but was repelled and severely wounded. Let's see... it's been over a thousand years, is your master already dead?"

After glancing at Taoist Yun Yang, the man named Su Buqing suddenly revealed information that drastically changed the expressions of both Daoist Yunxiong and Daoist Priest Yunqing.

Could it be true, as this man says, that our Jingming Taoist Master suddenly passed away because he was repelled and seriously injured by the Hell Path Divine Artifact?

Looking toward the calm-faced Taoist Yun Yang, Daoist Yunxiong clenched his fists.

"Hmm."

With just one word, the faces of both Daoist Yunxiong and Daoist Priest Yunqing darkened considerably. Jingming Taoist Master was kindly and took good care of the younger generations. Nearly all the Yun Generation Elders of the Shenxiao Sect had received guidance from this old Daoist at some point. His sudden passing had caused quite a stir within the Shenxiao Sect. But at that time, the sect did not disclose the reason for Jingming Taoist Master's passing into quiescence. Yun Xiong and his generation could only speculate that the old Taoist Master might have encountered a deviation in his practice, or an old ailment had recurred, leading to his passing into quiescence. But who would have thought that the old Taoist Master had actually suffered heavy injuries from the backlash of a Hell Path Divine Artifact, leading to his passing into quiescence.

"You vermin, truly disgusting even in death!"

Anger surged in Daoist Yunxiong's heart. Behind him, a Divine Authority Furious Thunder Vajra suddenly appeared. It was over a hundred meters tall, with six arms enveloped in golden, thunderous light, wielding various Thunderbolt Magical Weapons.

"Oh? This Daoist Spirit is quite good, although it lacks a bit of true essence. Since we have met, it's fate. I shall now..."

Glancing at the Divine Authority Furious Thunder Vajra behind Daoist Yunxiong, Su Buqing smiled faintly, reaching out to touch the heavy tome as if about to open it.

"Su Buqing!"

Suddenly appearing in front of Daoist Yunxiong, Taoist Yun Yang shook off the golden silk, revealing the Nine Heavens Shenxiao Imperial Thunder Command! "Do you recognize this command?"

As soon as the Nine Heavens Shenxiao Imperial Thunder Command was revealed, thunderclouds gathered densely in the sky, imposing a heavy, oppressive feeling. The sound of thunder was deafening, endlessly reverberating through the sky. At that moment, it was as if the Heavenly Official was enraged! The entire world seemed doomed to destruction under this endless Divine Authority.

"Nine Heavens Shenxiao Imperial Thunder Command!" Upon seeing the jade command token in Taoist Yun Yang's hand, with purple-gold and deep blue swirling around it, Su Buqing's composed face finally showed a trace of seriousness. No, it was deeply hidden fear. After all, he had died under this token, which symbolized Divine Authority, many years ago.

"You actually brought it with you. Do you intend to take something from my Hell Dao again?" As he put down the tome, Su Buqing coldly gazed at Taoist Yun Yang opposite him.

But before he could finish his sentence, a tremendous vortex suddenly stirred in the calm, murky, black and red waters of Twinheart Lake. Soaking wet, Qi Xiu emerged from the water. He was panting slightly, his eyes showing a trace of fatigue, but in his previously empty right hand, he now clenched an ancient copper mirror, palm-sized, with a black and white surface set on both sides.

He had successfully subdued the Dual Heart Mirror. He had obtained control over this demonic artifact!

Eh? The Dual Heart Mirror?

Noticing the aura from the lake, Su Buqing's gaze shifted subtly, his lips curling into a thoughtful smile. "To have three Dao Body Realm juniors holding the Nine Heavens Shenxiao Imperial Thunder Command to protect you, you must be a direct descendant of the Shenxiao Sect. Killing you would certainly cause the Shenxiao Sect some distress."

Suddenly opening the book he was holding, Su Buqing casually pointed, and a chain dripping with murky, searing oil clattered out. Its target was Qi Xiu, who had just risen from the lake!

"Su Buqing, how dare you!"

Seeing Su Buqing daring to attack Qi Xiu right in front of him, Taoist Yun Yang, usually calm and composed, was uncharacteristically enraged and fiercely urged the Nine Heavens Shenxiao Imperial Thunder Command in his hand!

CRACK-BOOM!

An extremely terrifying bolt of Heavenly Thunder split space, piercing the cosmos. The boundless thunderous power seemed like an oceanic tide rolling towards Su Buqing.

"What harm is there in killing you one more time. As long as this Hell Forest is not destroyed, I can still be reborn hundreds of years later. But before that, I will take this child with me, so your Shenxiao Sect can also feel the pain and anger!"

Calmly facing the overwhelming Heavenly Thunder, Su Buqing had made up his mind to trade his own destruction for Qi Xiu's. After all, he was but a remnant thought; even if annihilated, he could reunite after hundreds of years.

RATTLE-RATTLE—

The chain, dripping with scalding oil, moved eerily and slowly, yet wielded an indecipherable Divine Marvel. Apart from Qi Xiu, the three Dao Body Realm Daoists couldn't even see this chain, let alone stop it.

"Follow me to Hell!"

Just as Su Buqing quietly waited for Qi Xiu to be pulled by the Hell chain into his Hell book, this junior, with the appearance of a worldly scholar, suddenly looked up, the Dual Heart Mirror in his hand giving a slight tremble. A sinisterly handsome Daoist, who bore an uncanny resemblance to him, materialized with a shake.

"Over to you."

After glancing at the handsome Daoist, Qi Xiu, having used up his last bit of Gang Qi, rolled his eyes back and fainted.

"Tch, remembering me only at this time," murmured the black-robed Qi Xiu softly. He looked up again, his eyes now an endless abyss of deep black.

"Supreme Dark Path of Taiyin—Erase!"

The blurred shadow instantly locked onto the chain dripping with boiling oil, and a vortex of forced erasure appeared. The Hell chain rushing toward Qi Xiu immediately twisted and deformed. The power of the Supreme Dark Path of Taiyin was banishing it from reality.

"This is..." Seeing the twisted, ethereal vortex, Su Buqing's expression changed dramatically, his face suddenly contorting. "Impossible! Tai Yin was clearly..."

BOOM—

Layers of terrible thunderous power descended like a heavenly waterfall. Billions of brilliant strands of Lei Mang bloomed, tearing through thousands of miles of the void. It seemed the entire Hell Forest would be split in two by this single strike. Su Buqing was instantly obliterated within this Sea of Thunder. His last words failed to escape the infinite thunder sound.

...

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