"How could this be?"

Yu Ci was taken aback. What Hua Xifeng was referring to as the Thunderbolt Tribulation was nothing more than the plague of the Sky Demon. However, what was strange was that this place was on the outskirts of the Sword Immortal's Secret Domain. Compared to the heavily affected area of Misty Shadow Sky, this place was nothing. All of these fellow sect members were proficient in the Orthodox Taoism Qi Method Elixir Formula, naturally resistant to evil demons and heterodox teachings. Why were they in such a pitiful state?

"Is it the Pan Emperor Sect?"

"I'm not sure."

Hua Xifeng slowly sat down, filling the space left vacant during the previous rescue. It was precisely because he forcefully left his position that the Aura became chaotic. Yu Ci, quick to grasp the situation, brought Ge Hui and the other two into the circle. Inside the circle, he could feel waves of deep, resonant sounds emanating from Hua Xifeng and the others. The sounds were like a cleansing stream flowing through his heart, indeed possessing the function of exorcising demons and dispelling evil.

In fact, Yu Ci had come to this Eastern Marquis Tomb to deal with the Pan Emperor's Three Swords and disrupt the control center of the plague Sky Demon. Time was of the essence now, but seeing his fellow sect members in such a state, he couldn't just walk away, no matter how pressing his original mission was.

Among these fellow sect members, some had their Divine Souls deeply tainted. Particularly severe were a few Senior Brothers who had not yet reached the Nature-Connecting Realm. As for those in the Golden Elixir Stage, their situations were much better. A few with mild symptoms were already able to harmonize with the chanting from the outskirts, regulating their Aura and purifying their Divine Souls.

However, there was an exception - Zhang Yan. His symptoms were more severe than some fellow sect members whose cultivation was far below his. Yu Ci noticed this as soon as he entered, and now he stayed by Zhang Yan's side, observing him closely.

After a while, Yu Ci signaled to Hua Xifeng outside and released the Heavenly River Prayer Incantation. This Talisman had the function of rectifying and dispelling evil, and more importantly, Zhang Yan was relatively familiar with it, so his Aura had little instinctive resistance.

This only slightly stabilized the situation. Yu Ci made a decision and gritted his teeth to use the Lifeless Tribulation Star Soul-breaking Divine Light. This time, it was more meticulous than when dealing with Ge Hui and the others. The starlight, which had a strong destructive power, was kneaded into fine sand by Yu Ci, seeping into the brain palace.

At this moment, besides Hua Xifeng, the other characters presiding over the "Heavenly Capital Altar" also felt a reaction. Fat Li even flashed a grin in this direction, but Yu Ci couldn't respond at the moment.

Although he had reduced the damage to the minimum, because Zhang Yan's entanglement with the poison of the plague Sky Demon was too deep, it was inevitable to scrape away both the good and the bad, and the damage to the Divine Soul was even more than that of Ge Hui and the others. What's worse, Zhang Yan's own will to survive didn't seem strong, and there was even a tendency to assimilate with the evil intent of the Sky Demon.

"Are you kidding me? Is this why you learned swordsmanship from me?" Yu Ci was somewhat annoyed. The thing he hated most in his life was the so-called "death wish". Seizing the opportunity of A Fine Line Between Life and Death with this mindset was no different from courting death!

Now, Zhang Yan was evidently sliding into the abyss with this thought in mind.

I've clearly told you...

Within the Inner Void of the Heart, the Life Death Talisman was ceaselessly tumbling, constantly evolving the True Divine between life and death. This seemed like the simplest thing to Yu Ci, but he knew how difficult it would be for others to comprehend.

Especially for someone like Zhang Yan, whose mentality was already somewhat... abnormal.

Given Zhang Yan's cultivation, his current predicament indicated a massive flaw in his heart, exploited by the epidemic Sky Demon. No matter how tormented he was internally, "death" was always the most foolish answer!

Yu Ci was very self-aware. He knew that he could not mend Zhang Yan's flaw, but he hoped to help him cross the threshold of life and death. Within the Inner Void of the Heart, the Life Death Talisman operated as usual. However, as the Lifeless Tribulation Star Soul-breaking Divine Light fell, a bit of Origin Talisman Divine also opportunistically acted upon Zhang Yan's Heart-Mind.

The Talisman's meaning didn't possess power; it was merely a projection, a demonstration. Zhang Yan trembled slightly, and Yu Ci felt that he should have been moved. But what would happen next was beyond Yu Ci's control.

Temporarily leaving Zhang Yan's side, Yu Ci treated others. This was even more familiar territory, and Hua Xifeng praised, "The Study of Talisman Scripts from the Shangqing Sect truly possesses unpredictable mechanisms."

After a pause, he added, "The Heavenly Capital Altar, assisted by the Feathered Heavenly Sound, takes too long to take effect. With Junior Brother Yu's help, the situation will improve significantly."

Ensure your favorite authors get the support they deserve. Read this novel on Royal Road.

Yu Ci offered a slight smile without a word. Sensing was always a two-way process. While Yu Ci projected the meaning of the Life Death Talisman into Zhang Yan's Divine Soul, he also captured fragments of Zhang Yan's memories. Ignoring the irrelevant parts and focusing on the ones from the Eastern Marquis tomb, Yu Ci found something peculiar:

"He wasn't here when the incident happened?"

"He was at the Great Sun Main Hall," Hua Xifeng answered.

"The Great Sun Main Hall?" Yu Ci wasn't asking his peers, but the unwelcome guest in the Inner Void of the Heart, "Is there a problem there?"

Xuanhuang didn't answer, seemingly lost in thought.

At that moment, Hua Xifeng solemnly said, "The Pan Emperor's Three Swords went to the Great Sun Main Hall."

"What?"

Everyone was taken aback. Hua Xifeng, a man known for his "Great Law of Heaven and Earth's Empathic Divine Response," could trace the aura of cultivators within a thousand-mile radius with unerring accuracy. His judgment was unquestionably trusted.

Hua Xifeng announced, "They have not left. They paused in the tomb for a while, and now they are moving towards us, albeit at an oblique angle. They are undoubtedly heading to the Great Sun Main Hall."

"There's a seal in the tomb..."

"They are moving in a straight line!"

Hua Xifeng gestured to the small lake outside the window. The lake water spurted out, forming a water mirror that reflected various scenes within the tomb of the Eastern Marquis. This was not his divine power, but a prearranged setup, demonstrating the tight control that the Lichen Sect had over this place.

However, the scenes in the water mirror were not clear. Amidst the rapid changes, a layer of gray-black smoke seemed to be burning above, a sight known to all cultivators within the room as the manifestation of the Pan Emperor's Three Swords.

"It's indeed the Sky Demon Fire."

Xuan Huang also shouted in the Inner Void of the Heart, "The Pan Emperor's lineage was clearly passed down by that thief, yet a large part of his cultivation is imbued with the Demon Sect's Atmosphere. There must be something wrong."

The Sky Demon Fire is not a specific type of fire, but a general term for a series of Demonic Sect's flame methods. To be crowned with the name "Sky Demon" signifies an unadulterated orthodox lineage, no wonder Xuan Huang found it suspicious.

"Let's go to the main hall!" Hua Xifeng made a decisive command, and no one doubted it.

The tomb of the Eastern Marquis was the Lichen Sect's most significant interest in the Sword Garden. No matter who it was, they couldn't allow it to be damaged. Thankfully, with the assistance of Yu Ci, the cultivators affected by the Plague Demon Seeds were mostly stable, allowing Hua Xifeng to calmly manage the situation.

He left the most reliable Zhao Fu to attend to the injured, while the others left the garden and headed towards the main hall.

Soon, a group of five people arrived outside the Great Sun Main Hall. This hall was made entirely of bronze, standing about thirty feet high. It was not spectacular, but any mundane material that had been blessed by a predecessor with great Thunderbolt Tribulation cultivation would become extraordinary.

Consider the Eastern Marquis, who was nearly the first person below the two Sword Immortals of the Sword Garden, known for his clear understanding of sword principles and his renowned comprehension of various schools of thought. The Great Sun Main Hall, being the place where the Eastern Marquis had ascended, naturally held many mystical aspects. The most valued by the Sect was the lingering Supreme Sword Divine within the hall. Over the long years, the sword intent had merged with the hall. It was usually unnoticeable, but once a person with sufficient cultivation and sword intent entered, they would trigger this Supreme Sword Divine, allowing them to refine their skills, even gaining profound insights into the sword principles, as if divinely assisted.

It was due to this method that the Lichen Sect had been able to obtain no less than ten top-tier Sword Methods from the tomb of the Eastern Marquis in recent years, even improving several of the Sect's own Sword Methods.

Yu Ci recalled some information he had learned before coming here, "The elders in the Sect have always said that the sword intent in the Great Sun Main Hall encapsulates the divine enlightenment of the Eastern Marquis at the Thunderbolt Tribulation stage. Unfortunately, for many years, the Sect disciples who have entered the Sword Garden have been limited to the Golden Elixir Stage. With so many layers of obstruction, it's like summer insects trying to comprehend snow, unable to understand many of the sword principles' subtleties. It's not until many years later when their cultivation has reached a higher level that they recall their past experiences and gain new insights. This is indeed a great opportunity that benefits one for a lifetime... I wonder how it compares to the Eastern Marquis's sword intent that I obtained in the Misty Shadow Sky?"

In gratitude for the benevolence of the Eastern Marquis, every visit to his tomb requires the sect disciples to perform rites in the main hall, expressing their thanks through the rituals of their mentor. This incident happened during the time when all the cultivators were paying their respects.

Li Hong, quick-witted and eloquent, sketched out the scene in a few words: "...The primordial Qi in the hall was trembling, space was unstable, and the 'Plague Sky Demon' toxin you mentioned came rushing down like a waterfall, catching us off guard. If it weren't for the Supreme Sword Divine in the hall that automatically activated and killed most of it, we might not have had time to save anyone!"

"What happened, Xuan Huang?" When Yu Ci heard this, he knew it involved the spatial arrangement of the Secret Domain and naturally asked Xuan Huang first.

"How would I know? The Eastern Marquis had a good cultivation of temperament, suffered the least damage from the demonic Thunderbolt Tribulation, and was the longest-lived among all people outside the Thunderbolt-Free Great Immortals. When the Thunderbolt-Free Great Immortals first created the Secret Domain, he was still alive, only unknown to others... Wait, I know!"

"What?"

"There's a shortcut here! When the Secret Domain was in its infancy, the Eastern Marquis was still here, and there's a portal to the Secret Domain! Although it was sealed later, it's not entirely integrated with the seal..."

Before Xuan Huang could finish his sentence, the atmosphere above the main hall was shaking. A flame of dark yellow color emerged from the void, sweeping across the sky and causing a violent distortion above the Bronze Palace. Behind the flame, the silhouette of the Pan Emperor's Three Swords was unclear.

Yu Ci stared at the twisted light and shadow in the sky, urgently asking, "The way to the Secret Domain... Where is it?"

"Of course, it's in the heart of Guixu (usually refers to a bottomless valley in the sea)!"

"Damn it!"

"Damn you!" Xuan Huang didn't know what he was saying anymore, his thoughts were on the brink of madness: "That thief released the Plague Demon Seeds, burning the potential of the cultivators, not to directly confront the Talisman Seal, but to feint east and attack west, condensing a Demon Fire capable of burning through space, and directly breaking in from the Eastern Marquis' place..."

There was a moment of silence in the Inner Void of the Heart, and then Xuan Huang roared:

"Stop him!"

...