No matter how adept the leader of the Heavy Weapon Sect was at concealing his aura, as long as he was within the Guixu (commonly referred to as a bottomless valley in the sea) and the Star Track Sword Realm, he would inevitably be restrained. Utilizing the power of the seal and tracing the vine to find the melon was indeed a good strategy.

Both sides sensed each other at this point, and the other party finally regarded him seriously, uttering his second sentence:

"I won't lay a hand on you, but don't make a mistake."

"Oh, then why has the Clan Leader come here?"

It wasn't a coincidence. Just as Xuan Huang had just left with his real body, the leader of the Heavy Weapon Sect arrived beneath the altar, his method of seizing an opportunity was truly remarkable, presumably because he had been lurking nearby all along. Yu Ci, not hesitating to measure others by his own petty mind, knew this man was proficient in the art of Talisman Seal. He had deliberately sought out this crucial place, undoubtedly harboring extraordinary intentions.

He already had some guesses in his mind, his gaze shifting between the leader of the Heavy Weapon Sect and the altar.

The leader of the Heavy Weapon Sect also knew his thoughts, merely saying, "As I said."

Yu Ci was taken aback, but quickly reacted, laughing heartily, "Is it the Void Rift leading to the Blood Purgatory Ghost Mansion? Well, I know of one, it's in the garden your subordinates destroyed..."

In the end, he still didn't believe it. Who would go through all the trouble to come to this Guixu, just to seek a shortcut through the Blood Purgatory Ghost Mansion? Yu Ci thought that with this man's cultivation, if he wanted to go to the Blood Purgatory Ghost Mansion, he could just jump down from the Sky Rift Valley, even ordinary demons couldn't stop him.

However, upon hearing this, the leader of the Heavy Weapon Sect really pondered it, then said, "That's too shallow."

"What?" Yu Ci didn't hear clearly.

"The Blood Purgatory Ghost Mansion has thirty-six layers of nine lands, it's difficult for them to connect. The place you mentioned is only on the second layer."

He was serious? Seeing the leader of the Heavy Weapon Sect speak so confidently, Yu Ci couldn't help but doubt. Given the other party's abilities and temperament, there was no need to lie to him, but this reason was too absurd... He suddenly thought of a key point, "This Sword Immortal's Secret Domain, did the Clan Leader come upon it by chance, or did he come prepared?"

In fact, he already had the answer. The leader of the Heavy Weapon Sect was too lazy to answer this obvious question. He stopped speaking and slowly walked away along the edge of the altar.

"You..."

Yu Ci was slightly angry, but the next moment, the sensing of the divine consciousness starlight in the distance suddenly trembled. He knew that Xuan Huang and the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave had made contact, and their battle had begun. Yu Ci instinctively wanted to understand more clearly, but at this moment, the leader of the Heavy Weapon Sect, who was about to turn to the other side of the altar, leaped up and landed on top of the altar.

"This guy wants to seize the opportunity!"

If Yu Ci remained ignorant of the opponent's intentions, he might as well throw himself headlong onto the Altar and end it all. With a low growl, he refrained from speaking further. The hum of the Slaying-Flood-Dragon Sword resonated once more. Fusing his body with the blade, he lunged forward.

The distance from the base of the Altar to the top was no more than two feet, and with the sword, he arrived in an instant. Halfway through the journey, the Half-Mountain Mirage Sword Intent was already pushed to its limit, slightly influenced by the Star Track Sword Realm. Yu Ci's figure nearly blended into the transformed waters of the place, and the Sword Energy catalyzed into a series of minute water droplets, seemingly slow yet swift, brushing past.

On the Altar, the leader of the Heavy Weapon Sect turned to look. Behind the ancient bronze face armor, his hollow eye sockets reflected no light. The bubbles catalyzed by the Sword Energy seemed to permeate inside. Only now did he lift his armored arm, reaching into the oncoming Sword Energy.

Seeing the probing arm, Yu Ci felt a slight tingle on his scalp. The direction of the opponent's open palm was exactly where his ethereal sword tip was located. The Rune Patterns on the armor lit up one after another, emanating an unyielding aura in the water.

Whether the Slaying-Flood-Dragon Sword could strike was secondary. The key was that the opponent's arm blocked the thin line of life and death he had just locked onto. Instead, the opponent seemed to be consuming and attacking, relying on the firm momentum of the outstretched arm, dulling his sharpness. Moreover, he had not broken his word and had not made a move against him.

Sword Energy sliced through the water, and the figures of the two intertwined. Yu Ci felt a chilling sensation. The opponent's sharp intent brushed past several key Aura nodes on his body, making him realize how disastrous his situation would be if a real fight broke out.

Understanding the opponent's intentions, Yu Ci responded with a cold laugh: Life and death have always been a thin line, just like the flip of his Life Death Talisman. Once he exerted force, the situation would change incessantly. The opponent might want to intimidate him, but taking his life was another matter!

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Unless he died, he would never doubt his own swordsmanship. If the leader of the Heavy Weapon Sect intended to make him back down with this method, he was definitely miscalculating.

The Sword Energy swirled in the water, and Yu Ci counterattacked with another strike!

Perhaps sensing Yu Ci's determination, the leader of the Heavy Weapon Sect changed his approach. Faced with the nearly ethereal Sword Light, he stepped back slightly to avoid the sharp edge. Then, with a thrust of his shoulders, the two iron flags originally inserted behind him jumped out with a whoosh. They did not attack Yu Ci, but were inserted at the north and south poles of the Altar.

At this moment, Yu Ci's Sword Light had already struck the ancient bronze face armor, emitting a crisp sound. Just as it was about to penetrate further, a strong wind suddenly rose from the bottom of the lake.

Yes, a strong wind!

At the north and south poles of the Altar, the iron flags stood firm in the wind, their Rune Patterns layered and Divine Light shining. It was their interplay that generated this incredible wind.

The transformed lake water might be much lighter in mass, but the wind stirred the waves, and the powerful force of the instant whirlpool blasted Yu Ci far away. In the wind, the Rune Patterns engraved on the first layer of the Altar lit up one by one, spreading to the second and third layers. In the dark lake bottom, the Rune Patterns twisted and turned. Under the refraction of the rapidly flowing lake water, they appeared even more magnificent, forming the most conspicuous light source.

Each layer of the Altar correlates with a layer of the Talisman Seal outside the Guixu (typically referring to a bottomless valley in the sea). Its crucial function is to supply the Primordial Qi needed by the Talisman Seal. If one were to control the Altar, they would indeed have the Three-layer Talisman Seal at their disposal.

Yu Ci, a man, finally withstood the wind pressure and landed with a stumble. Once he steadied himself and attempted to move forward, the leader of the Heavy Weapon Sect on the Altar seemed to sense him. The hollows behind his faceplate—his eye sockets—swiveled in his direction before he reached for another object.

It was a Dharma Seal, about three inches in diameter and two inches thick. It was pure white, similar in color to Yu Ci's Tao Scripture Master Three Treasure Seal. However, in terms of design and craftsmanship, Yu Ci's Dharma Seal was akin to a discarded tile on the street—extremely shabby in comparison.

The handle of this Dharma Seal was carved into an unknown Auspicious Beast, surrounded by two coiling pythons. The detail was exquisite and opulent. Yet, these were just superficial details. What truly astounded people was when the leader of the Heavy Weapon Sect raised the seal above his head, a majestic Divine Light spread out like a tidal wave, pressing down like a heavy mountain. The gale stirred up by the two iron flags also froze at this moment.

Yu Ci's first reaction was to squint, avoiding the direct glare of the Divine Light. However, what followed forced him to widen his eyes.

The bottom of the lake began to tremble. At first, Yu Ci thought it was the vibration triggered by the Divine Light, but he quickly realized the situation was far from simple. It was not the superficial layer of mud and rock that was trembling, but the Spiritual Veins of Earth Qi converging underneath!

The Sword Garden could stand firm in the Broken Realm Mountain Range, forming a world of its own, thanks to the support of these Spiritual Veins. Ninety-nine percent of these Spiritual Veins flowed into the Guixu, with sixty to seventy percent converging here, serving as the power source to seal off the Talisman Seal.

Now, judging by the posture of the Heavy Weapon Sect's leader, he clearly intended to use the power of the Altar to gather the Earth Vein's spiritual energy onto his Dharma Seal, shifting the control center. By then, wouldn't the seal off of the Sword Immortal's Secret domain be at his mercy?

Regardless of whether he could succeed... this move was ruthless!

"Damn it!"

Yu Ci cursed under his breath. Through the sense of his Divine consciousness starlight, he could tell that Xuanhuang was still battling with the Master of the Sunken Sword Cave and seemed to have the upper hand. This was because they were within the Star Track Sword Realm, under the effect of the Three-layer Talisman Seal. The Black-Yellow Killing Sword could exert one hundred and twenty percent of its power, while the enemy was severely restricted.

But now, if the leader of the Heavy Weapon Sect achieves his ambitions, these advantages will instantly crumble like ice melting and tiles disintegrating. Even worse, they will be further suppressed by others, a most toxic strategy to undermine the foundation. However, harnessing the Ten Thousand Miles Earth Qi into a single Dharma Seal, even if it's merely to activate the central function, what level of treasure must this Dharma Seal be!

At this moment, the divine light of the Dharma Seal had filled the entire crevice at the bottom of the lake. When Yu Ci opened his eyes, he found the corners of his eyes twitching, the overwhelming divine light exerted immense pressure on his relatively fragile eyeballs. Yu Ci had no choice but to close his eyes again, using the Analysis Method taught by Old Master Zhu to trace back the trajectory of the divine light, which was in fact the imprint of the Dharma Seal.

The imprint of the Dharma Seal wasn't clearly engraved. Yu Ci strained to discern its trajectory, comparing it with some knowledge Old Master Zhu had asked him to remember. Thus, he made a preliminary judgment:

Could it be... the Jade Divine Cave Spirit Seal?

The reason he remembered this Dharma Seal was because Old Master Zhu had emphasized a few auxiliary tools most suitable for the "Heavenly Flying Stars" Talisman, asking him to seize the opportunity to acquire them in the future. The Jade Divine Cave Spirit Seal was among them. After learning of Old Master Zhu's identity, Yu Ci naturally understood that these auxiliary tools were all collected by the Shangqing Sect in the past. Unfortunately, the Shangqing Sect was destroyed by the Demonic Cataclysm and the Primordial Demon Sect, with its treasures scattered to all corners of rivers and lakes. Old Master Zhu probably mentioned them out of nostalgia.

Yu Ci took a deep breath, inhaling some of the divine light from the Jade Divine Cave Spirit Seal, which made his mouth slightly swollen. At that moment, he made a decision:

"You use the Shangqing Sect's Dharma Seal, I'll use the Shangqing Sect's Spirit Talisman. Let's see which one works better?"

The space of the Storage Ring opened, and a Jade Talisman jumped into his palm. Although he clenched it in the blink of an eye, some purple-gold aura still seeped out from between his fingers, feeling like needle pricks on his skin.

He muttered the Curse Sound, slowly activating the power of the talisman in his hand. The talisman was powerful, and Yu Ci knew he couldn't hide it. He turned to the leader of the Heavy Weapon Sect, flashing a grin:

"Better to be a shattered jade than a complete tile!"

As soon as the words fell, he crushed the talisman in his hand, and the bursting lightning immediately tore through his palm.

...