Be the Hardest Working Demon Cultivator!

It was as if their blood had come alive, seeking to break free from their bodies.

"It's the Blood Refinement Great Array!"

The elder cultivators of Mount Tu Jian, having seen much of the world, recognized at first glance what kind of demonic formation this was.

However, even though they were trapped in this cruel formation, these elders from Mount Tu Jian remained calm, even finding time for casual conversation.

"Hasn't the 'Blood Refining Lotus Technique' recently fallen out of favor, with no remarkable practitioners? And weren't the older generation who practiced this technique all slaughtered by the Heartless Old Man? Who could this successful practitioner be?"

"Who knows—maybe the Heartless Old Man overlooked someone?"

Their tone was casual, and their demeanor was relaxed. It was clear that these elders from Mount Tu Jian believed they could easily break through the Blood Refinement Great Array.

And indeed, they soon instructed Zhang Yuan on how to break the formation.

"This Blood Refinement Great Array is exceptionally vicious, ranking within the top ten among demonic formations. Any creature that falls into the Blood Refinement Great Array will have its blood refined and body rendered into a dried corpse.

However, in the presence of us from Mount Tu Jian, this Blood Refinement Great Array is nothing more than a trivial technique, inferior to even a chicken or dog."

"Zhang Yuan, use the Sword Control Mantra with the Air Sword Technique to strike the position of the 36 Heavenly Gang, which will force out this formation's crucial point! As for what to do next, I'm sure you know without my having to explain further."

"Yes!"

Zhang Yuan immediately responded and, as he acted according to their advice, a vortex quickly formed in the pool of blood.

He immediately struck with his sword.

Boom!

In an instant, the sky-high blood water vanished without a trace.

Clearly, the Blood Refinement Great Array was broken.

Zhang Yuan's face showed joy, but before he could even spread his smile, he heard shouts of alarm from his three senior uncles. The next second, his vision darkened as he was struck down by a giant black handprint.

Luckily, the top-grade flying sword, being a spiritual magic artifact, sensed the danger and flew out on its own to rescue him as he fell.

"Tan Shuchang!" The three elder cultivators from Mount Tu Jian were incredibly furious.

It was Tan Shuchang's first attack that had deceived these three, and his forceful second move was sensed by them, revealing his presence.

Hearing this, Tan Shuchang no longer hid; he stepped forward into the clouds, surrounded by radiant light, seemingly standing on a golden light-transformed flood dragon.

"Elder precursors, I trust you've been well!" Tan Shuchang greeted them with a smile, as though he was merely catching up with acquaintances and not facing a life-or-death confrontation.

"You dare to ambush us—such audacity!" The three elder cultivators from Mount Tu Jian were both shocked and furious.

"It was just a simple ambush, nothing to be so concerned about. You elders flatter me by suggesting it required courage," Tan Shuchang said with a laugh, while behind him nine trails of Bloody Sword Qi appeared.

As the Calamity Witnessing Sword Qi appeared, an eerie and solemn atmosphere instantly overlapped.

At the same time, the nine trails of Bloody Sword Qi suddenly appeared in front of one of the elder cultivators.

This elder from Mount Tu Jian knew the power of this Sword Qi, having lost a fellow apprentice to these nine trails of Bloody Sword Qi.

He immediately struck out with all his strength.

He did not seek success, but aimed to block the attack.

Doing so was also a way to relieve his two fellow sect members of some pressure.

The next second, this elder from Mount Tu Jian's originally stiff expression relaxed slightly, showing a trace of joy for he had successfully blocked the nine trails of Bloody Sword Qi.

He was about to happily call his two fellow sect members to join him.

However, at that moment, a sudden surge of dread and a pain spreading throughout his body struck the elder without warning, and as he opened his mouth silently, he realized why his fellow apprentice, Qian Zhenzi, had been torn apart.

It turned out that it wasn't just nine trails of Bloody Sword Qi, but ten!

This tenth trail of Bloody Sword Qi, unlike the other nine, excelled in concealment.

Only in the moment his body was pierced by the Sword Qi did he realize the existence of this tenth trail of Bloody Sword Qi.

With that, another elder from Mount Tu Jian fell!

"Brother apprentice!"

"Brother Dui Liangzi!"

The remaining two elder cultivators from Mount Tu Jian cried out in horror, and this was how the world came to know the name of another elder cultivator from Mount Tu Jian, as he died.

"Gentlemen, no rush, as you both will see it soon enough,"

Tan Shuchang said, soon followed by a spurt of blood rising to the sky, then a colossal bloody figure, seemingly connecting heaven and earth, appeared before these two elderly cultivators.

As soon as the bloody figure emerged, demonic power descended with it, and a swirling, surging force ignited rings of bloody flames around the two men.

This was a demon fire ignited by using their blood as a source.

"Shadow Retaining Immortal Secret Tome" included shadow training, inherently coupled with black fire. By the time it had reached Tan Shuchang, although only one shadow remained, and it was his own transformation, the accompanying demon fire was terrifyingly potent.

Especially, powered by seventy-five years of cultivation, these two venerable cultivators from Mount Sword instantly turned into mummified corpses.

These two, to their death, failed to leave even a name behind.

"Brother!"

It was also at this time that two flying sword lights tore through the sky, the return of Zhen Lingzi and Kan Xuzi who had previously sought to take revenge on Tan Shuchang.

The two, witnessing the shattered and mummified corpses on the ground, were momentarily struck by a mix of shock and rage.

"Demon, you deserve to die!"

"Hahaha, the honorable elders indeed act with justice, although late, you still have not missed out!" said Tan Shuchang from within the bloody figure, chuckling softly and gently.

He was indeed very pleased.

After all, had they not come, he would have still been troubled.

So, at the instant his words ceased, demonic power and demon fire descended upon them together. Merely moments later, the originally mournful and infuriated Zhen Lingzi and Kan Xuzi were overtaken by terror.

As they saw themselves about to be refined by demon fire, these two aged cultivators from Mount Sword clenched their teeth and expelled their last energy into the flying sword of Long Zhangyuan.

The flying sword cried out, then soared straight into the sky.

Yet without their cultivation energy to sustain them, these two venerable cultivators from Mount Sword couldn't even let out a scream and directly turned into mummified corpses.

With a flash of bloody light, Tan Shuchang's figure reappeared, watching the direction as Long Zhangyuan's sword broke through the sky, his expression subtly changed.

Because that wretch had drawn out the broken Immortal Sword, Tan Shuchang currently had no desire to claim the life of this Son of the Heavenly Mandate.

Otherwise, with the Son of Heavenly Mandate and the Immortal Sword both gone, Nan Jian of Mount Sword would likely have to flee the mountain overnight.

Then, Tan Shuchang glanced at the corpses on the ground and prepared to search the bodies.

After all, from Zhao Huaiji's possessions, it was clear that these elder cultivators from Mount Sword wouldn't lack valuable things.

Just then, something unexpected happened.

From two of the mummified corpses, a surge of yin energy suddenly emerged; immediately after, the corpses regained their ability to move.

"A transformation of the corpses?

Tan Shuchang was somewhat surprised.

Although this world had the Land of Yin and Darkness where ghosts appear after death, oftentimes, just as the spirits leave the body, they are instantly blown away by the wind to the Land of Yin and Darkness.

And if a cultivator dies in combat, the surrounding air currents they generate, even without wind, could produce currents strong enough to send spirits away.

Thus, spirits wandering the mortal world after death were primarily mortals during their lives.

While Tan Shuchang puzzled over this, a gust of cold wind blew, and two dim figures instantly appeared within his sight.

These two shadowy figures first took control of the mummified corpses, then folded their fists in a salute toward Tan Shuchang.

"May I perform a deed of yin virtue?" a somewhat vague and stiff voice inquired.

Tan Shuchang thought for a moment and then nodded.

The two shadowy figures also nodded, then one of them threw out two bamboo tokens and carried the mummified corpses away, vanishing with a gust of yin wind.

Tan Shuchang caught the bamboo tokens, taking a careful look.

The bamboo from which these tokens were made felt like iron and was quite heavy. Mere thumb-length, yet these two pieces felt as heavy as a hundred pounds.

And in the center of each bamboo piece, there was a dark red character—Yi.

Then Tan Shuchang, unable to discern anything more, began to grow curious about the underlying structure of the Land of Yin and Darkness. Because the two obviously soul-like dark figures were just mere spirits.