"So, Junior Brother Yu has also arrived at the Eastern Marquis' tomb," said the man who came from behind. He had a slightly dark complexion, his features sharp and rugged, but at this moment, his face was filled with joy.

The Eastern Marquis' tomb? Yu Ci was taken aback. He found it absurd that he had somehow ended up at the Eastern Marquis' tomb. However, it was not the time to question this. After a moment of surprise, he smiled and said, "Ah, it's Senior Brother Ge!"

The newcomer was a familiar face, one of the three best practitioners of the Combined Attack Technique in the Empirical Department, named Ge Hui. Not long after Yu Ci arrived at the Sect's Mountain Gate, Ge Hui had asked him to intercede with Sister Meng Wei to release his partner.

"Since Senior Brother Ge is here, I presume Senior Brother Nie and Senior Brother Dong are also present?"

"They are... haven't they just arrived?"

As he spoke, indeed, two more figures appeared.

Senior Brother Nie was Nie Zong, Senior Brother Dong was Dong Ji, and along with Ge Hui, although they were all only at the advanced level of spiritual communication, their combined "Tri-Polar Spectrum Sword Array" was enough to contend with a Mid-Level Golden Elixir Cultivator. Before the Sect's competition, Yu Ci had asked Meng Wei for a favor to save Dong Ji from confinement, preserving the trio's chance in the competition, hence their relationship was unique.

In such a situation, a reunion with old friends was undoubtedly a joyous occasion.

However, the trio was quite surprised at Yu Ci's appearance: "How did you end up in such a mess?"

Yu Ci had just had a distant confrontation with the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave, his Five Viscera and Six Bowels severely injured and blood flowing from the seven orifices on his face, smeared all over, no wonder the trio was surprised. However, Yu Ci didn't respond immediately, only saying, "After several hard days, seeing the three Senior Brothers has allowed me to breathe a sigh of relief. By the way, where are the other fellow disciples?"

Among the three, Nie Zong was taciturn, Dong Ji somewhat proud, both relatively silent when dealing with outsiders, Ge Hui was the one who usually spoke. On hearing this, he laughed and said, "As soon as we entered the Sword Garden, we separated from Senior Brother Xifeng and the others. Luckily, the three of us were not too far apart. It took some effort to find this Eastern Marquis' tomb, and we haven't been here long."

"Oh, I see!"

Yu Ci frowned: "I was hoping to meet with all the Senior Brothers to discuss an important matter, alas..."

"What's wrong?"

"The three Senior Brothers are hiding here, do you know that the outside world has turned upside down?"

Seeing the trio's bewildered faces, he shook his head and began to tell the story from the Sunken Sword Cave, all the way to the plague demon. Although he only briefly mentioned the main points, it was still thrilling. He omitted the parts about Xuan Huang and the repeated struggles for the control of the First Layer Talisman Seal, only presenting the perspective of a bystander. Even so, it was still heart-stopping.

Looking at the three of them, dumbfounded, Yu Ci's frown deepened: "The Demon Seed is spreading rapidly, I'm afraid it has reached here by now. I wanted to warn the three Senior Brothers. You arrived early, haven't you seen Brother Li and the others?"

Ge Hui could only shake his head, "Indeed, I haven't seen it."

As he spoke, something seemed to occur to him, his eyebrows furrowing in thought. At this moment, Yu Ci spoke solemnly, "In truth, the Demon Seed itself is not terrifying. What's fearsome is its silent infiltration into the Heart-Mind, making it hard for people to detect. Think carefully, I have a certain object that can temporarily fend off the plague demon. It was taught to me by Old Master Zhu..."

At these words, Ge Hui was taken aback, temporarily setting aside his worries. He watched as Yu Ci took something out from his Storage Ring. It was a Talisman Plate.

"The 'Heavenly Flying Stars' Talisman that Old Master Zhu taught me contains three parts: Vanquish Evil, Refinement, and Prayer Incantation. Among them, the 'Vanquish Evil' part has the 'Lifeless Tribulation Star Soul-breaking Divine Light' technique, which specifically targets the Divine Soul of humans, or entities like Evil Ghosts and Yin souls. Once this talisman is activated, it can break through all sorts of demonic transformations, turning the unreal into reality. Dealing with them then would be much easier."

As he spoke, Yu Ci began to condense the Talisman. At the center of the Talisman Plate, starlight layered upon each other, resembling a cluster of nebulae, slowly rotating. It was a sight to behold.

Ge Hui exchanged a glance with Dong and Nie, expressing their bewilderment honestly, "This Talisman is good, but it's a weapon of attack. If it can't capture the Plague Seeds, its effect..."

"There's more to it than meets the eye, three Senior Brothers... Try it and you'll know!"

Before his words fell, starlight shone. In the narrow corridor, Ge, Nie, and Dong roared in unison, their Sword Light bursting forth. Yu Ci, however, had already transformed into a wisp of smoke, slipping through the gaps in the sword light. The Talisman Plate in his hand radiated starlight, illuminating the figures of the three. The light did no harm to their physical bodies, but it directly reached their minds, immobilizing their Divine Souls.

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Ge, Nie, and Dong roared again in unison, their bodies seeming to swell. At this moment, Ge Hui shouted angrily, "Yu Ci, what are you doing!"

"Isn't our Empirical Department all about seeing is believing? It's just an experiment, why should the three Senior Brothers be angry?"

Yu Ci's voice was calm and steady. He had already activated the Illuminating Soul Dharma Eye. With the penetrating power of the starlight, he could see that within the minds of the three, strands of black energy were entwined, and their Divine Souls had been stained by this strange color. This was a sign of Evil Demon Soul Possession. The Lifeless Tribulation Star Soul-breaking Divine Light was piercing these black strands, causing numerous holes. Although it was also damaging their original Divine Souls, this was unavoidable.

"You evil creature, dare to harm my Sect's disciples, do you think my Lichen Sect is easily bullied?"

As he spoke, Yu Ci released another Talisman. This time, it was the Heavenly River Prayer Incantation. The Exorcism Starlight shone down, supporting the righteous and expelling the evil, perfectly suited for the current situation.

"Speak too much and you will lose..." Ge Hui's face flushed with several dark streaks, emanating a powerful aura of ferocious termination. He barely managed to block the Exorcism Starlight of the Heavenly River Prayer Incantation, his words laced with regret.

Seeing his reaction, Yu Ci knew that this man was intelligent, at least aware of his own mistakes.

Yu Ci, with the aid of the First Layer Talisman Seal, arrived too swiftly. They were clearly unprepared, faltering from the very first sentence. If they were also separated from their fellow disciples, upon seeing Yu Ci, they should have assumed they had finally caught up with the main force and their interaction with him should have taken a different form.

Because of this careless mistake at the beginning, they didn't realize their error despite Yu Ci's two consecutive tests. This allowed Yu Ci to confidently strike.

Yu Ci seized the initiative with two consecutive Talisman, drawing out the Nine Luminaries Dragon Abyss Sword Talisman from the Talisman Plate. Before the three could react, his sword energy swept across, piercing through the gaps between the trio.

The three, including Ge Hui, tried to resist, but their divine souls were restrained by the soul-breaking divine light, making it difficult to respond. Their physical bodies also didn't follow their commands. One misstep led to a series of errors, and the thread-like sword energy invaded their bodies, sealing their meridians and blocking the pathways of their internal Qi. They fell one after another, collapsing in the corridor.

Yu Ci paused and turned around, seeing blood seeping from the bodies of Ge, Nie, and Dong. This was his first time using this method of turning sharp into blunt to control others, and he inevitably neglected some aspects. Luckily, their injuries could be slowly healed over time.

He pressed his lips together and walked back slowly. Then, with a clang, the ethereal Nine Luminaries Dragon Abyss Sword Talisman, which was as solid as a divine weapon, plunged half a foot into the ground, right in the center of where the three men lay. The cold sword intent locked onto the three men:

"Since you know where I am going, you must have met me before. So, who are you? You must be the ones controlling the plague demon. Now, you must stop it!"

The three men lying on the ground remained silent, their bodies trembling slightly. It wasn't fear, but the effort they were making to break free from the grip of the Lifeless Tribulation Star Soul-breaking Divine Light and regain their divine power. Unfortunately, they were destined to fail. The Lifeless Tribulation Star Soul-breaking Divine Light could even lock onto the soul departure and reincarnation, let alone the slight changes in the divine soul itself.

Yu Ci waited for a moment, but there was no response. Just as he was about to speak again, a voice from the Inner Void of his Heart called out, "Below!"

Without a second thought, Yu Ci tapped the hilt of the Nine Luminaries Dragon Abyss Sword Talisman. The substantial sword talisman suddenly became ethereal, piercing through the thick layers of earth and transforming into hundreds of strands of sword energy, which violently twisted within a radius of more than ten feet.

"Come forth!"

A piercing screech erupted from the depths below, shaking the soul and rattling the spirit. Yu Ci, a man, was prepared, yet still jolted, his mind momentarily fogged. He felt the chilling air around him burst forth and swiftly activated his Half-Mountain Mirage Sword Intent, his figure dissolving into a misty form that quickly dispersed.

The newcomer's cultivation was stronger than that of Jiange, Nie, and Dong combined. The Foggy Sword Divine was exquisite but could not entirely evade the attack. Yu Ci had no choice but to meet the Sword Energy head-on. This brief delay filled the surrounding area with a forest-like weave of Sword Energy, with the Sword Intent twisting space and even influencing thought.

Yu Ci's figure faltered slightly before he merged his body and sword. His Dantian Seed True Talisman vibrated with a humming sound, transforming into a flawless Sword Circle to counter the external pressure. The harsh friction sound immediately penetrated his mind, causing Yu Ci's body to tremble violently. The opponent's Sword Energy did not penetrate, but the twisted Sword Intent was not easy to resist. The flawless Sword Circle could only exert two or three points of its force-dissipating ability before it had to clash with the powerful external force.

The sound was akin to shattering colored glass. The flawless Sword Circle was forcibly blown apart, and Yu Ci bore at least half the force, immediately aggravating his old wounds. Blood welled up in his throat, but his opponent was not faring any better. The Sword Intent of the Seed True Talisman was already refined, and as Yu Ci simplified the First Layer Talisman Seal, he gained some understanding of the Black-Yellow Sword Intent used in the Talisman Seal. His understanding of Sword Intent had improved through several instances of transforming borrowed power into a sword.

Despite the destruction of the flawless Sword Circle, the counteracting Sword Intent was extremely sharp, reminiscent of the time when a single sword had slain four Golden Elixir cultivators from the Heavy Weapon Sect.

In an instant, blood splattered across the chests of the three newly arrived figures. The Sword Energy penetrated their flesh by a few points, not fatal, but the wounds caused by the Sword Intent were far from simple.

Someone exclaimed, "Excellent swordsmanship!"

Yu Ci spat out, "Despicable!"

With an almost imperceptible flick of his wrist, he stabilized his nearly shattered Sword Technique. At the same time, his gaze swept over the faces of the three newly arrived figures: "I should have known... So, you are accomplices of that thief!"

"Not accomplices!"

The Xuanhuang Heart Intent resonated loudly in the Inner Void of the Heart, seething with fury: "They are using the 'Yin Yang Disk', a Sword Array realized by the Thunderbolt-Free Great Immortals after the war... There are less than five people in the whole world who know about it. This must have been leaked by that thief!"

"Yin Yang Disk?" Yu Ci repeated the new term under his breath. As expected, upon hearing it, the faces of the three figures changed.

Observing everything, Yu Ci then burst into laughter: "I see, Daoist friends, you have come here to recognize and return to your roots! Who is your ancestor? Is it the Shadow Rebellion of the Thunderbolt-Free Great Immortals?"

The three figures' faces turned grim, yet none denied it.

...