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  Kitsune-yama, in the depths of the Blood Pool of the Oni-ō's shrine.

  At this moment, the situation in the blood pool of the Four Spirits Blood Array was different from that of a few days ago. The four giant spiritual beasts seemed to have completely lost their spirituality and were only struggling to survive, lying prostrate in the bloody water of the blood pool. The dark red light curtain covering them also weakened, and if one didn't look carefully, it would be almost invisible. Only the remaining strands of spiritual energy could still be seen being absorbed by the Fow Dragon Cauldron in the sky.

  In contrast to the four spiritual beasts' listlessness, the entire Blood Pool seemed to be affected by an invisible and enormous force. The surface of the water was churning as if it were boiling, with bubbles constantly emerging and bursting, emitting a dull sound. At the same time, the blood water in the Blood Pool, which had originally been largely still, suddenly began to rotate on its own, shooting down several beams of eerie light from mid-air onto the surface of the blood water, causing the blood water to churn and surge wherever they passed.

  The air was filled with a strong smell of blood.

  On the Fulong Cauldron, the pattern of the last remaining ferocious god image finally became the same color as the ancient cauldron. The entire Fulong Cauldron now looked completely different, losing its ancient charm. On the contrary, after absorbing a huge amount of spiritual energy, the strange and mysterious power inside this ancient cauldron seemed to be slowly triggered.

  Suspended in the void, the Fulong Ding looks down on everything, as if all things are under its feet, crawling towards it. In the vast space around the Fulong Ding, there is a faint sound of wind and thunder. Corresponding to this, the strange light around the Fulong Ding flickers uncertainly, like human breathing, sometimes existing, sometimes not, extremely eerie.

  An invisible force seems to be quietly gestating in this vast space, as if a god who has been dormant for thousands of years is about to awaken.

  That turbulent and strange power, like waves, galloped freely in the air above the blood pool, recklessly colliding with the surrounding stone walls.

  Looking at the eerie scene, the King of Ghosts and Mr. Ghost stood shoulder to shoulder, neither of them speaking. However, it was clear that not a hint of fear or retreat could be seen on either of their faces.

  After a long time, the Demon King finally laughed and said: "Indeed formidable, 49 days have not yet passed, the Four Spirits Blood Array has not taken shape, and yet there is such momentum!"

  "Master Ghost didn't respond immediately, remaining silent for a moment before saying: 'Sect Master, the unusual movement several days ago was indeed caused by this Four Spirits Blood Formation. I failed to protect the formation and request that Sect Master punish me.'"

  The Demon King waved his hand, without looking at Mr. Gui, and took a step forward, his eyes still fixed on the Fulong Cauldron, saying: "It's just a small matter, no need to mention it, this formation is too powerful, let alone you, even I didn't expect it, your temporary mistake was also inevitable."

  The Ghost Master hesitated for a moment and said: "Thank you, Sect Master, for your magnanimity, but..."

  The Demon King turned around and said, "What is it?"

  The Ghost Master met the gaze of the Ghost King, and suddenly felt a shock in his heart. He only felt that the Ghost King's eyes were strangely piercing, and with his own cultivation, he seemed to have an unviewable feeling. Several thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning, but fortunately, there was a black veil covering his face, so others couldn't see his expression. At least from his tone of voice, it was still calm: "As the Master said, this Four Spirits Blood Array is extremely powerful, and as the day of its completion approaches, this spiritual power will only become stronger. Although I have set up eighteen restrictions around this blood pool, to be honest, I don't have complete control in my heart. Especially on that last day when the array is first formed, it must be a shocking scene. Whether the restrictions I set up are useful, it's really hard to say. I'm afraid that if we're not prepared, some of our sect's disciples outside the mountain will likely be affected."

  The Demon King smiled coldly and said, "What of it?"

  The Ghost Master paused for a moment, looking at the Ghost King, and after a brief silence, said: "I'm just reminding the Sect Master that if necessary, it's possible to have some disciples with lower abilities withdraw from the mountain ahead of time."

  The Demon King's eyes flashed with a fierce glint, and he snorted, saying, "No need."

  The ghost didn't say anything.

  The Demon King said calmly, "This heavenly earth strange array, gathers the essence of the four spirits and nourishes it with blood energy, only then can the door to Shura be opened. Some people will die along with it, but that's not a big deal."

  The ghostly gentleman nodded slowly and said, "Yes, I understand."

  The Demon King burst out laughing, his expression arrogant and overbearing. He turned around, took a deep breath, and his gaze fell back onto the Fow Dragon Cauldron. As he stared at the cauldron's ever-changing body, his eyes seemed to be becoming entranced as well.

  Behind him, Mr. Gui's eyes seemed to be thinking deeply, but more of them were not fanaticism, but icy calmness and sobriety.

  Qingyun Mountain, Longshou Peak.

  Longshou Peak is the second highest mountain in Qingyun Seven Veins, after Tongtian Peak. It's steep and majestic, towering into the sky. On this night with a dark moon and strong winds, in a certain hidden forest behind Longshou Peak, a small path winds its way forward, circling through the forest.

  The cold night wind blew in, and two figures, one tall and one short, descended from the sky and landed on this small path. They were none other than Cang Song Dao Ren and Jin Ping Er.

  This place is far from the front mountain dragon head peak where a group of disciples live in temples and pavilions, and there are few people coming here at ordinary times. At this late night, it is even more quiet without any sound. The Taoist priest's eyes were cold and stern, he glanced around and looked up at the sky, suddenly humming a sound.

  Jin Bao'er looked at him with interest and said: "What's wrong, Daozhang? You seem to be in a very angry mood?"

  "This batch of disciples is getting more and more useless, it's a waste of the effort I put in back then."

  Jin Bao'er became somewhat curious and asked: "What's wrong?"

  Cang Song Dao Ren hummed and walked forward along the small path, his voice coldly saying: "This Hou Shan Tian Ji lock is a must-see place, although it looks no different from other places, but the ancestors of our sect have left behind strict orders, and each vein's disciples need to be strictly guarded. Now it's only two hours past midnight, and yet there's not a single person in sight, what a bunch of useless people!"

  Jin Bier smiled slightly and said: "Isn't this convenient for us to take action? You should be happy instead."

  Cang Song Dao Ren let out another cold hum, but his face clearly showed no joy or pleasure, instead it was extremely ugly, and he walked forward with big strides.

  Jin Ping'er followed behind him, laughing and saying: "Actually, you can't blame those Qingyunmen disciples. As far as I know, in the past thousand years, Qingyunmen has only opened the Seven Veins Mountain Peak Heavenly Lock a few times. It was just recently during the Beast Demon Disaster that the beast god was too strong, so they had no choice but to open it once. If it were anyone else, after such a long time without using it, and with you seniors keeping these things secret, ordinary disciples would think it's just an ordinary forbidden area with nothing in it. Even if they're lazy a few times, that's normal, right?"

  She smiled and said to the Taoist priest, "Moreover, since you've been leading the way, I've heard that for decades, all the major and minor matters of Qingyun Mountain, especially these defensive measures, have been presided over by you. It's not surprising that those disciple patrols didn't discover us, is it?"

  Cang Song Dao's face still looked unpleasant, for him, it seemed that every blade of grass and tree on this Qingyun Mountain was different from other places. At some point in the past, he was once the master of this mountain peak.

  The path I've taken in the past, was it really not wrong?

  Cang Song Dao Ren suddenly shook his head, as if to shake off some thought, and walked forward with big strides. Jin Ping'er watched his back, seemingly understanding the Daoist's state of mind. However, she was obviously not a kind-hearted person, and her eyes revealed a hint of schadenfreude. Her mouth curved slightly upwards, making her look even more beautiful and gentle. She followed Cang Song Dao Ren lightly, walking along the winding path towards the depths of Long Shou Peak's back mountain.

  This small path was extremely deep, winding and turning for a long time, still unable to see the end. Instead, as the road went deeper, the weeds on the side of the road became more and more, gradually covering the path. It was clear that no one had walked here for a long time, so the grass and trees were lush.

  As the roadside weeds grew onto the path, Cang Song Dao Ren's face turned increasingly ugly, with a hint of iron-like pallor. Jin Ping Er didn't try to talk to him anymore, but instead followed behind him, gazing at his tall back, and suddenly felt that this man might not be just an ordinary traitor who betrayed the righteous path.

  But even so, who cares? The current Cheung Sung Toh Yan, if discovered by his former fellow disciples, would likely face a life-and-death struggle. Yet just ten years ago, he was the most powerful figure in this world's number one sect. Who could have imagined this?

  Life is full of twists and turns, but it's unknown whether the mortal man himself holds the reins or if it's all decided by fate, which is why there's the saying that heaven plays tricks on people.

  Jin Bier walked along the way, and suddenly thought of Xiao Huan, a young girl with whom she had a destined relationship. She looked so young, but seemed to be troubled by love as well. Thinking of Xiao Huan, her expression softened, and she felt a warmth in her heart. Perhaps only that little girl was the one person she could open up to.

  Maybe in the future, I'll have the chance to roam the world with Xiaohuan, that wouldn't be bad either!

  Jin Ping'er's mouth slowly revealed a faint smile, but it flashed by and she stopped in her tracks. Because the person in front of her, Cang Song Dao, also stopped in his footsteps, letting out a long sigh, and from his tone, it seemed to be mixed with a very strange feeling, he said slowly: "This is it, the Tianji Lock on Qingyunmen's Longshou Peak."

  The small path under her feet finally reached its end, and Jinpinger walked forward, but was stunned for a moment, with a look of confusion on her face. She turned her head to look at Cangsong Dao Ren and said, "What? This is the Tianji Lock?"

  Cang Song Dao Ren's face was expressionless, and he just nodded slightly.

  What appeared before the two of them was not a radiant, divine artifact, nor a majestic and magnificent palace. Before arriving at this place, Jin Bao'er had thought about it countless times, but no matter what, she couldn't have guessed that the legendary Tianji Lock would be in such a state.

  In front of her was an ordinary pit...

  If there's anything different, it's that this pit is bigger and deeper, a large pit. But looking at the weeds growing in the pit, the soil collapsing, no matter how you look at it, it just looks like an ordinary big pit, what does it have to do with the Heaven-shaking Sword Array of the Exterminating Gods?

  Jin Bier was still hard to accept for a moment, but the Cang Song Daoist on the side had already jumped down and stood at the bottom of the pit, beckoning to Jin Bier. Jin Bier sighed and also jumped down.

  As soon as she jumped into the pit, Jin Bao'er smelled a strong earthy scent after her feet landed on the solid ground at the bottom. She looked up and found that the pit was quite deep, which wasn't noticeable when looking down from above, but now she realized that the edge of the pit was about one and a half people high.

  The soil in the pit is not as hard and easy to walk on as the small path, but it's a bit soft. Fortunately, there has been no wind or rain for several days, so the soil is still relatively dry and hard, and it won't sink deeply with each step. However, unevenness is unavoidable.

  Jin Ping'er followed behind Cang Song Dao Ren, heading towards the depths of the pit. The terrain here was inclined inwards, and as they walked further down, looking up at the surrounding trees and distant mountain peaks made them feel even more towering, while she herself gradually felt a sense of insignificance rising to her mind.

  These strange emotions lingered in Jin Biao's mind, making her feel somewhat uncomfortable. Fortunately, although the pit was large, it didn't seem endless, and soon Master Cangsong stopped moving. Jin Biao also stopped following him.

  They were now in the middle of this large pit, with muddy soil all around, a few piles of earth piled together to form a small mound, on top of which stood a three-foot-long and one-foot-wide cylindrical wooden pillar, slanting into the small mound.

  The old Taoist priest gazed silently at the ancient wooden circle, his eyes flashing with an unusual light. He was about to step forward without a word when suddenly, Jinping called out from behind him: "Priest, wait!"

  Cang Song Dao Ren turned around and looked at Jin Ping Er, saying: "What's the matter?"

  "Please let me take a look at the scenery around us."

  Cang Song Dao Ren was taken aback and didn't speak, but Jin Ping'er looked up with her eyes raised, slowly turning her body. Although this place is already at a high point on Longshou Peak, the steep and towering part of Longshou Peak still protrudes into the sky, much higher than here, and there's not just one such place.

  Jin Ping'er stood in the center of the pit, with towering peaks on three sides - east, north and west. From the bottom of the pit, the steep mountain peaks seemed to be tilted at an angle, like three fingers about to converge, with the pit itself right in the middle. At this moment, the night sky was low and dark, like ink, and Jin Ping'er felt a sense of dizziness and disorientation after gazing up for a long time, as if the sky was about to collapse.

  She was not an ordinary person after all, and after recalling her gaze and calming down, her expression immediately returned to normal, but her face had already become more relaxed. She then swept her eyes over the pit quickly, and suddenly her body was lifted up as if by a gentle breeze, floating upwards, and landed on that three-foot circular wooden log. Afterwards, she looked around again.

  The Taoist standing beside him furrowed his brow slightly, but a hint of admiration had already appeared in his eyes.

  After a moment, Jinpinger let out a breath and clapped her hands, saying: "Good thinking, good eyesight! This is the spiritual cave that your Qingyunmen ancestors have been looking for. It's truly a divine eye, with all the spiritual energy of the mountain gathered here. And there are three peaks converging together, not letting any energy leak out. But what's even more amazing is this thousand-year-old mysterious wood - it looks dull and unremarkable, but it has pierced right into the weakest point of the spiritual cave's energy vein, like hitting a snake's seven-inch weak spot. With its withered and desiccated energy, it has suppressed all the spiritual energy on the mountain! Unbelievable, unbelievable!"

  She applauded and praised, but it was sincere. Cang Song Dao Ren looked at her, his face unconsciously softened, and after a moment, he said lightly: "Observing the mountain's aura, the one who discovered this cave is my Qing Yun Men's founding ancestor, Qing Yun Zi. As for setting up the Xuanmu seal, there is no record of it from our predecessors. Some say it was Qing Yun Zi himself, while others claim it was Qing Ye Zi, the creator of the Zhān Xiān sword array."

  Jin Ping'er nodded and said, "Actually, I had no good impression of the Qingyun Gate in the past, but today, seeing you all, I feel that among your ancestors, there are indeed many talented and outstanding individuals. I am far inferior to them. It seems that under a great reputation, there is no false hero."

  Cang Song Dao Ren hummed, his face showing a self-satisfied and proud expression. He said, "For thousands of years, the Qing Yun Men has been unmatched by other small schools and sects. As for our ancestors in the Qing Yun Sect, they are naturally even more..."

  As he spoke halfway, his voice suddenly became smaller and smaller, until the end, a sentence was hoarse and inaudible. Jinping'er jumped down from the thousand-year-old mysterious wood quietly, and for some reason, she also felt a little sad in her heart, and didn't want to look at Cangsong Dao's face at this moment.

  Is this person who is deeply proud of Qingyun the main culprit who betrayed Qingyun?

  Can a person be simply described as "good" or "evil"?

  In the pit, it suddenly subsided, and the body of Cang Song Dao Ren was straight from behind, still looking tall and majestic, but his expression seemed to be hidden in silence and shadow, making it impossible for people to see clearly.

  After a long time, the voice of Cang Song Dao Ren was low and slow: "We have delayed for a long time, let's begin."

  Jin Bier nodded and said: "What to do, you say."

  The mountain wind blew gently, the dense trees around swayed with the wind, the night curtain hung low, and only the deep pit below was making a continuous noise. After a while, it suddenly stopped for two seconds, and then there was a dull thud, as an object had been thrown out of the pit and fell heavily on the small path at the edge of the pit.

  Under the faint starlight, there it was, that thousand-year-old mysterious tree!

  After a while, the sound of clothes rustling was heard, and Jin Ping'er and Cang Song Dao Ren jumped up together. From their demeanor, it seemed that they were also somewhat fatigued, clearly indicating that changing the spiritual vein's aura would not be an easy task.

  Jin Ping'er's breathing slowly calmed down, and she furrowed her brow as she asked the person beside the ancient pine tree: "Since we're here to destroy this Heavenly Mechanism Lock, just in case something happens in the future and Qingyun Gate can't use the Seven Veins Mountain Peak Spiritual Energy to assist the Exterminating Immortal Sword Array, wouldn't it be enough to simply pull out this thousand-year-old mysterious wood? Why must you still insist on forcibly altering the convergence point of the spiritual energy, isn't that just a waste of effort?"

  Cangsong Daoist shook his head and said, "This Qingyun Mountain is a blessed place in the world, with extremely abundant spiritual energy. It was precisely because of this that Qingyunzi's ancestors valued this land so much. Simply removing the thousand-year-old mysterious tree would only cause the spiritual energy to leak out. Firstly, the spiritual energy here is already extremely abundant; secondly, as you can see, there are still three peaks surrounding us outside, making it even more difficult for the spiritual energy to leak out. The only way is to change the location where the spiritual energy converges, causing the point of convergence to leave this naturally formed, iron-bucket-like formation of the three peaks. In this way, we can borrow the mountain wind to slowly disperse it. In the future, even if someone were to activate the Xian-slaying Sword Array again, although the spiritual energy on Longshou Peak would still be abundant, it would have already dispersed throughout the entire mountain, making it impossible for it to converge, and he would also be at a loss."

  Jin Bier finally came to her senses, nodded in agreement, and immediately asked: "Now that the Tianji Lock on Longshou Peak has been destroyed, what about the other six veins?"

  Cang Song Dao Ren pondered for a moment, shook his head and said: "We can at most destroy the remaining Luoxia Peak, Fenghui Peak, and Chaoyang Peak's three veins of Tianji Lock. As for Tongtian Peak, Dazhu Peak, and Xiaozhu Peak's three veins, I'm afraid there is no way to deal with them."

  Jin Bao'er's curiosity was piqued, and she asked: "What is this all about?"

  Cang Song said calmly, "Tongtian Peak is the main vein of Qingyun, and its defense is the most stringent. Not to mention that the spiritual energy there is not trivial. When the Zhuxian Sword Array is activated, it usually relies on the spiritual energy of Tongtian Peak as the main force, with the six veins' spiritual energy as auxiliary. As the saying goes, 'pulling one hair and moving the whole body', if there's even a slight abnormality, my fellow Daoist Daohong, who has attained the state of Tongxuan, will likely know about it. Therefore, we can't make any moves."

  He paused for a moment, then said: "The three veins of Luoxia Peak, Fenghui Peak, and Chaoyang Peak where the Tianji Lock is located are all known to me. I think it shouldn't be too difficult, but as for the two veins of Dazhu Peak and Xiaozhu Peak, I don't know the location of the Tianji Lock?"

  "What's this all about?" Jin Bao'er asked in surprise.

  Cang Song Dao Ren was silent for a moment, then said: "The Xiaozhu Peak has always only accepted female disciples, with strict door rules. The first seat, Shui Yue, is also a straightforward and stubborn person who doesn't let ordinary people enter the mountain, let alone discuss important matters like Tianji Lock. As for the Dazhu Peak, I have never gotten along well with Tian Naiyi and Su Ruhu couple. Tian Naiyi is also an arrogant person, his disciples are few and not talented, but he still keeps them hidden and doesn't let others know."

  Jin Bier heard that and couldn't help but laugh a little, but immediately frowned and said: "Then we only broke the four meridian heavenly mechanism lock, will we be missing some?"

  Cangsong Dao Ren shook his head and said, "No, according to what I know, if more than half of the spiritual energy in the Qingyun Seven Veins goes wrong, then the Tianji Lock's seal will be completely useless. This is because the main peak, Tongtian Peak's spiritual energy is too strong, even with a murderous intent. It must be balanced by the other six veins' spiritual energy to work, lacking one or two veins' spiritual energy is still okay, but if four veins' spiritual energy are missing at the same time, I'm afraid it's questionable whether the Zhuxian Sword Array can be activated."

  Jin Bier carefully sized up the Taoist priest, then suddenly smiled and said: "Taoist priest, you indeed have deep plans and far-reaching thoughts. These things, I'm afraid they're not just one or two days old in your heart, are they?"

  Cang Song Dao's face sank, and he looked at Jin Ping'er, but Jin Ping'er still had a smiling expression, without any intention of avoiding his gaze. After a moment, it was Cang Song Dao who first shifted his gaze away, not saying a word, and turned to leave the pit.

  Jin Ping'er withdrew her gaze and looked down, only to see the thousand-year-old black wood lying quietly on one side of the path. She smiled slightly, stretched out her foot and kicked the black wood into a thicket, then walked in the direction where Cang Song Dao Ren had left.

  Behind her, that mysterious and profound large pit seemed to be just an ordinary large pit as usual.