Slender willows sway in the breeze

Chapter 235 Must Take Time to Recover
"This can't go on, we must..."

Xu Hechen's words were interrupted as he suddenly noticed his own reflection in the protector's pupils, and a suction force emanated from the protector's scythe. "Watch out!"

Liu Sijun inserted the Taixu Sword Soul into the ground, and the Nanming Fire formed a barrier.

The moment Xu Hechen was sucked into the air, she cut off a strand of her hair and threw it out. The hair turned into vines and wrapped around Xu Hechen's ankle.

"Let's go!"

Gu Changzhou suddenly pulled out a silver jade talisman from his pocket, which was the "Tai Xu Escape Talisman" left to him by the Palace Master of Fengze back then.

As the talisman formed a silver cocoon of light that enveloped everyone, the guardian's scythe pierced through the edge of the cocoon, shaving off a strand of Liu Sijun's hair.

When everyone appeared in front of the protective array of Yougu Palace, the jade talisman had already turned to dust.

Gao Yongxiu collapsed to the ground, his Xuanming Bone Whip broken in two; Leng Xuan's Heavenly Secret Soul-Locking Nails were reduced to only three; Gu Changzhou's Xuan Tie Sword was riddled with nicks and covered with spiderweb-like cracks.

"Palace Master, the Protector of Tianxu Palace..."

Before Liu Sijun could finish speaking, she fainted. The Taixu Mirror slipped from her hand, its surface reflecting the figure of the guardian standing at the edge of the forest. The monster's scarlet pupils reflected the direction of the Yougu Palace, its scythe gleaming coldly in the moonlight.

Behind the guardian, a blood-red altar slowly rose from the ruins of Tianxu Palace.

The nascent soul of Wan Chongshan floats in the center of the altar, connected to the Netherworld by twelve chains.

Wan Chongshan's nascent soul opened its eyes, a sinister smile curving its lips: "This is my true backup plan."

Fortunately, at the critical moment, Gao Yongxiu informed Ji He that when the disciples from Yougu Palace arrived to provide support, Liu Sijun had just awakened under Xu Hechen's medicine.

He grabbed Xu Hechen's sleeve, his voice hoarse: "Master, how is Changzhou's injury?"

“His internal organs were all damaged by the power of the stars,” Xu Hechen said, pulling open Gu Changzhou’s clothes to reveal the black scale-like burns on his chest. “However, I used the Nine-Turn Rejuvenation Pill to protect his heart meridian, so he is temporarily out of danger.”

"Quickly send them to the Alchemy Pavilion!" Master Ji He's voice was filled with anxiety. "Hall Master Gao, take the disciples of the Enforcement Hall and seal off the entire Yougu Palace. No one is allowed to enter or leave without my token."

While everyone was discussing matters in the side hall, Xu Hechen was dripping the slime scraped from the guardian's scales into the alchemy furnace.

Suddenly, black smoke billowed from the furnace, and within it emerged the phantom of a guardian, whose sinister voice echoed: "Insects, when the gates of the Netherworld open, it will be your doomsday."

"This is the forbidden technique 'Soul Refining Demonic Sound,' which only the core disciples of the Heavenly Ruins Palace know." Song Hongyuan frowned, his voice trembling almost imperceptibly.

Xu Hechen slammed the alchemy furnace shut: "What's worse, I detected the aura of the Netherworld in the slime. The protector's power is no longer just a forbidden technique, but true Netherworld demonic energy."

"The Nascent Soul of Wan Chong Mountain," Liu Sijun suddenly recalled the scene he had seen in the ruins.

“That’s right,” Xu Hechen’s fingertips traced twelve cracks on the stone table, “twelve chains connecting to the Netherworld. He’s using his own nascent soul as a sacrifice, trying to resurrect the master of the Heavenly Ruins Palace.”

The council chamber fell into dead silence.

After a long silence, Master Ji He gripped his long whip tightly: "Immediately send a message to all the major sects to activate the long-sealed 'Demon-Slaying Order.'" "But the Demon-Slaying Order requires the simultaneous activation of the jade seals of the nine sect leaders from the three palaces and six sects," Leng Xuan frowned, "and moreover, when the Heavenly Ruins Palace was sealed, all the sects suffered heavy losses; I'm afraid they won't agree to activate the 'Demon-Slaying Order.'"

"This is not the time to dwell on casualties!" Liu Sijun suddenly stood up, aggravating his chest injury. "Didn't you see the power of the protectors? That's not a technique that any cultivation sect can rival; it's true demonic art!"

“She’s right,” Xu Hechen pushed an ancient book in front of everyone. “According to Master’s notes, Tianxu Palace once attempted to refine the ‘Nine Nether Demonic Qi’ of the Netherworld. This demonic qi can corrode the Dao heart of cultivators, turning them into demons.”

"That's why the Protector absorbed the power of the stars," Gu Changzhou said, leaning against the doorway, his face ashen. "The power of the stars is yang, while demonic energy is yin; when the two meet, they produce a violent backlash."

Cheung Chau!

Liu Sijun tried to get up, but he pressed her shoulder down.

Gu Changzhou placed a broken piece of the Mo Lin jade pendant on the table: "This is the token of the Mo Lin Army. I will rush back to the camp tonight and dispatch three thousand Xuanjia soldiers to guard Yougu Palace."

"Nonsense!" Master Ji slammed his hand on the table and stood up. "Your body can't take any more strain; you need to rest."

“There’s no time,” Gu Changzhou’s gaze swept over everyone present. “There are three urgent matters: First, reinforce the protective array of Yougu Palace; second, contact the nine major sects to activate the Demon-Slaying Order; third…” He looked at Xu Hechen, “find the exact location of the Nascent Soul cultivator in Wan Chong Mountain.”

Xu Hechen nodded, took out the Taixu Sword Soul, and inserted it into the ground: "I need three days to use the Nanming Li Fire to reshape the Taixu Mirror. Perhaps we can trace the coordinates of the Netherworld through the afterimage in the mirror."

“Three days,” Liu Sijun murmured to himself, “Three days later will be the night of the new moon, when the demonic energy of the Netherworld will reach its peak.”

The atmosphere in the council chamber grew increasingly tense.

Master Ji He suddenly took out a gilded box: "This was given to me by Senior Brother Feng Ze before he passed away. He said that if the Heavenly Ruins Palace reappears, open this."

Inside the box lay half a bronze tiger tally, with the words "Suppress Demons" engraved on it.

When Xu Hechen's fingertips touched the tiger talisman, the talisman suddenly glowed with a ghostly blue light, revealing a line of small characters: "At the seal of the Nine Netherworlds, the tiger talisman suppresses the demon's heart."

Xu Hechen's voice trembled: "This is a fragment of the Demon-Suppressing Talisman that my master kept when the nine major sects jointly sealed Tianxu Palace!"

"It seems Senior Brother Fengze foresaw this day long ago." Grandmaster Ji He pushed the tiger tally in front of Xu Hechen. "Now, the Demon-Suppressing Talisman is yours."

Xu Hechen solemnly accepted the tiger tally and turned to look out the window.

Under the moonlight, the protective array of Yougu Palace glowed with a faint halo, and beyond the halo lay endless darkness, where a pair of scarlet eyes were watching them.

Xu Hechen's fingertips traced the patterns on the Demon-Suppressing Talisman, and a dark blue light spread from the tiger talisman to his palm.

Suddenly, the talisman emitted a clear and melodious dragon roar, and a phantom emerged from it—it was the Nascent Soul projection of the Palace Master of Fengze.

"He Chen, when you see this video, it means the seal of Tianxu Palace has loosened," Palace Master Fengze's voice carried a sense of vicissitude. "This half of the Demon-Suppressing Talisman was forged by the nine major sects using Nine Nether Profound Iron. Each talisman seals a wisp of Tianxu Palace's primordial demonic energy."

Liu Sijun suddenly remembered something and addressed the illusory figure: "Grandmaster, you are Elder Song and Elder Xu's disciple, Sijun. When the Heavenly Ruins Palace was sealed, each of the nine major sects held a Demon-Suppressing Talisman, right?"