Martial Arts Crossover: The Sweeping Monk of Wudang? That's our patriarch!

A metallic taste rose in Lin Daochen's throat, yet he pushed his blood cultivation technique to its limit. His scattered blood and qi were forcibly gathered, the spiritual stone in his palm shattered with a crack, and warm spiritual energy gushed into his parched meridians. He knew all too well that in this contest, even a half-second of hesitation meant certain death.

"Ancestor Guang'an, do you really think I only have one life left to lose?" He sneered through his teeth, but his eyes burned with ghostly fire.

Blood cultivation cannot keep up with the decaying trend; only spiritual cultivation can defy fate. But this world is filled with killing intent like an iron curtain, and spiritual energy is so thin it's almost a vacuum—he insists on walking on this knife's edge.

Guang'an Ancestor watched coldly as Lin Daochen's arms were drained of blood, veins bulging, his fingers digging deep into the void. He tried to seize the sparse spiritual energy, but the faint light was drained as soon as it entered his body. With no way out, he gritted his teeth and decided to gamble!

"Spirit stones! Give me more spirit stones!" He roared, tearing his throat as he cleaved three mid-grade spirit stones, the pure spiritual energy exploding outwards. His body briefly swelled as if filling a sac, but the backlash from the Blood Gate was even more intense—the withering continued to spread.

He closed his eyes and concentrated, his mind as clear as a mirror: spiritual cultivation requires abundant spiritual energy, but this place is as barren as a desert. Then… he'd smash it in!

The pill bottle in his palm exploded, releasing dozens of precious medicines—a hundred-year-old ginseng, Nine-Turn Dew, Crimson Sun Pill…—as a torrent pouring down upon him! Pure spiritual energy, like spring tides breaking through ice, caused his withered arm to glow with a faint crimson hue. Yet, the shadow of death still loomed large.

Guang'an Ancestor's pupils suddenly contracted. This kid's relentless ruthlessness, his composure even on the verge of death, pierced his heart like a needle. He couldn't understand what Lin Daochen was fighting for, yet he instinctively felt a chill run down his spine.

Lin Daochen risked everything, sinking his consciousness into the deepest part of his dantian. He took a deep breath, compressing his remaining true essence into a thin steel cable, waiting to tighten it the moment the medicine's effects dissipated—at this moment, his bones cracked and popped, as if they were about to break inch by inch in the next second, but his spine was straight, and his eyes were as bright as quenched fire and cold stars.

Suddenly, a clear, melodious flute tune pierced the air, like a stream flowing over cold jade under the moon, or a crane soaring through the pines beyond the clouds. It was Fox Girl! She used the celestial music to penetrate the ancient city's barrier and heard her brother's life-or-death gasps.

"Brother, where are you?" The voice, carried by wind and rain, crashed into the Blood Palace. The outline of the ancient city rapidly shrank behind her, her white robes fluttering like snow. She swiftly approached, stepping on a stream of light, her eyes still wet with tears. Her heart and eyes held only the swaying Lin Daochen.

However, an old man stepped in front of her, the very same one who had previously clashed with the golden token. His brows were furrowed, and his eyes were like a deep, still pool, as if he knew many secrets.

The old man told Fox in a deep voice that Mirror Lake concealed three perilous places—the Chaotic Demon City, the Eternal Reincarnation Sea, and the Blood Palace, which even the two major powers avoided. He solemnly warned Fox that even if she rescued her brother, she would not escape the Blood Palace's pursuit.

Upon hearing this, the fox trembled, her face turning pale instantly. She urgently pressed for a solution. The old man gazed at her for a moment, his heavy eyes landing on the Supreme Token in her palm. He slowly said, "This token is no ordinary item; it is the key to reversing the crisis. It can ignite life force and boost power, but if used improperly, the backlash will be even more severe."

Within Lin Daochen's body, the Divine Dantian was the foundation of his cultivation. At this moment, the Dantian was crumbling inch by inch, with only a thin stream of clear water remaining in the center. Once the Dantian was destroyed, his lifespan would end, and his path to cultivation would be completely destroyed. The old man's tone was low and heavy as iron, each word striking like a hammer blow. Fox's heart felt as if it were being clenched, and her breath caught in her throat for a moment.

A cultivator's dantian being damaged can result in the complete loss of their cultivation, or even instant death. Lin Daochen's injuries were so severe that there was no time to waste. The old man's voice was low and hoarse, his eyes swirling with an anxious anticipation of an impending storm.

Fox's fingertips felt cold, but a burning heat rose in her chest—she would no longer hesitate, no longer wait, even if it meant shattering mountains of knives and seas of fire, she would take her brother back.

Lin Daochen knew that the Life Spring was his lifeblood; if it dried up even a little, his lifespan would be shortened. Right now, his Life Spring was almost empty; if he dragged it out any longer, there was only one path left: his soul would be scattered and his body would be destroyed.

He silently recited the mantra of the Mahayana Sutra, trying to enter a meditative state by mimicking the old monk's chanting, hoping to stabilize his life force with the help of Buddhist chanting. But he soon realized that this was merely a temporary fix; to truly survive, he had to take a desperate gamble.

There are only two paths before us: one is to devour the essence of the Azure Phoenix and use its powerful spiritual energy to forcibly fill the Blood Gate, but if we are not careful, we will be torn to dust by the violent spiritual energy.

The second option is to quickly break through the realm, drawing upon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to overcome the qualitative barrier with sheer quantity, and forcefully endure the ordeal. He closed his eyes for a moment, then opened them again, his gaze sharp as a blade—choosing the latter, he would rather perish than take a shortcut.

He was determined to break through the barrier, using his own body as a furnace to forge all things. The cultivation mark bestowed upon him by the old monk flashed through his mind, the mysterious imprint that had helped him leap over the fourth level of the Transcendent Realm. Although the Sea of ​​Fog was dangerous, it was not necessarily a dead end, but rather an opportunity for him to break free from his shackles.

Deep in meditation, the old monk's figure reappeared, the golden lotus of the Buddha's realm spreading out like a sea, and a vast Buddhist power seemed to surge from the void, directly penetrating the life spring. The clear stream swelled suddenly, and his cultivation level rose accordingly.

As his vital energy loosened, Lin Daochen recklessly attempted to break through to the fifth level of the Transformation Realm. However, this method was extremely fierce and required spiritual energy like a river flowing backward. Every step felt like walking on a knife's edge; the slightest deviation would result in the shattering of his soul and spirit.

In his meditation, he clearly felt himself standing on a long, suspended bridge, with a chaotic abyss below and the Gate of Life on the other side. This trial was not a matter of cultivation, but a fight for his life.

In just half a year, he broke through several realms, reaching the peak of the fourth level of the Transformation Realm. His talent was so extraordinary that it was a once-in-a-century phenomenon. However, his rapid ascent had caused his foundation to crumble like a sandcastle, and he relied entirely on his strong will to hold on.

At this moment, determined to break through, his old ailment suddenly flared up—his body trembled violently, and the sound of his meridians breaking was clearly audible. The entire cultivation world seemed to hear that ear-piercing cracking echo.

Lin Daochen's life hung by a thread. Suddenly, the Heavenly Water Immortal felt his blood surge, and he roared to the sky, his voice shattering the heavens. Taking advantage of the situation, the Ancestor Guang'an sneered, his gaze sweeping over the two like a venomous snake, vowing that he would send them to the Yellow Springs today. The Heavenly Water Immortal didn't even raise his eyelids, but instead forged his coldness into double blades, thrusting them straight forward.

"Ancestor, you can't scare us."

Before he finished speaking, the Ancestor Guang'an's hand seals flew, and an overwhelming force pressed down, darkening the sky and earth. Lin Daochen felt as if a thousand-pound mountain was crashing down on him, and his internal organs were groaning.

The Celestial Immortal's eyes flashed with a sharp light, and she suddenly unleashed her ultimate technique—the Azure Phoenix Divine Feathers. In an instant, azure light exploded, and thousands of feathers enveloped her entire body, making her appear like an ancient divine bird about to take flight. These divine feathers had been dormant for many years, and their reappearance came at a terrible cost, all to protect the person before her.

The Heavenly Immortal's eyes suddenly sharpened, and a solidified emerald essence burst forth from her fingertip, forcefully piercing into Lin Daochen's heart, instantly awakening the dormant primordial power of the Azure Phoenix Divine Feather. Her own meridians burned inch by inch, and her blood and qi rapidly depleted, yet she didn't even tremble her brow, focusing all her attention on Lin Daochen.

Lin Daochen shuddered, as if a riverbed that had been dry for a thousand years had suddenly been flooded with spring water—deep in his dantian, the life spring surged forth with a roar, steaming up a misty blue vapor, its radiance flowing like the rising sun. That vigorous, almost violent, vitality rushed straight to his limbs and bones, causing every inch of his muscles and bones to stretch and regenerate in a trembling sensation.

But the Immortal of Heavenly Water's fingertips were quietly turning gray, her black hair was turning white inch by inch, and her skin was losing its luster like thin paper. Lin Daochen's throat tightened, and in an instant he realized: she was using her lifespan as fuel to ignite the spark of his rebirth.

He suddenly bit his tongue, activating the Azure Phoenix Divine Blood dormant deep within his bloodline! In an instant, a streak of azure light tore through the sky and exploded, its sound like thunder from the heavens, causing the entire Blood Palace to tremble and nearly shatter.

"Hmph, a mere brat who hasn't even grown up yet, dares to turn the tables?" Ancestor Guang'an sneered, his ten fingers flying as he formed hand seals, black energy surging into a mountain, fiercely pressing down on that wisp of green light.

Lin Daochen felt his divine blood surging like a tide, perfectly intertwined with the spiritual energy infused by the Heavenly Water Immortal, resonating and buzzing. His pupils contracted, and he roared like a dragon's cry, his arms forcefully rising to the sky!

The azure rainbow suddenly swirled, transforming into a radiant dome that forcefully withstood the immense pressure of the Black Mountain. The Life Spring then boiled, gushing forth an overwhelming vitality that seemed poised to burst this world apart.

"This..." Guang'an Ancestor's pupils shrank suddenly, and his voice cracked for the first time - he clearly saw that the dying boy actually split a ray of light in the face of death!

Lin Daochen's entire body was enveloped in azure flames, his power surging through his veins like a tsunami. His heart burned with desire, yet he dared not turn back to look at the Heavenly Water Immortal's pale face. She, however, poured out her last ounce of essence, endlessly flowing into the depths of his life spring.

The Azure Phoenix Divine Blood suddenly roared wildly, as if ten thousand riders were trampling through the ice, sweeping across its entire body with devastating vitality. Broken bones were mended, scorched skin peeled away, and new flesh shone like jade. Even more miraculously, the illusory image of the Heavenly Stele emerged from the sea of ​​consciousness, its ancient patterns blazing, and after being soaked in the divine blood, it shimmered with a ghostly light, melting away wounds wherever it passed.

The life spring suddenly revived, its waves surging like thunder, its vitality surging like a raging tide crashing against the shore. Lin Daochen's mind was shaken—this was not a fluke, but some ancient covenant awakening, protecting him from a deadly predicament.

At this moment, from the deepest, darkest part of the Blood Lake, a hoarse voice, like a rusty knife scraping stone, slowly rose: "...That divine map from back then, actually fell into your hands?"

Ah... the Heavenly Stele...

The sound crushed through the blood, its desolation carrying a chilling cold, like a hand reaching out from beneath the frozen earth.

Lin Daochen's mind was buzzing. The walls of the Blood Palace seemed to come alive, and every stone pillar was engraved with hidden runes. He was standing at the center of all the puzzles.

Suddenly, a whisper arose again from the depths of the blood lake, deeper and colder than before, as if from the ruler atop the ancient mountain of corpses, uttering the name of the Heavenly Stele word by word. A chill ran down Lin Daochen's spine, his fingertips went numb, and even his breath caught in his throat for a moment.

Before the words were even finished, the whirlpool in the center of the lake suddenly became violent! A crimson divine light shot into the sky, illuminating the entire hall—piles of white bones were stacked like mountains, and streams of blood flowed into the lakebed.

Lin Daochen's pupils suddenly contracted. Under the blood-red light, the vortex suddenly split open into a huge, bottomless maw, with howling winds, as if leading to a graveyard where gods were buried.

This strange change was no accident. The blood lake surged, the celestial monument resonated, and the divine map appeared and disappeared... all the clues entangled him like a spider web. He felt both burning curiosity and a heightened sense of vigilance.

What earth-shattering secrets are buried in this Blood Palace? Why has my Heavenly Stele become the key to unlock it? Thoughts flashed through his mind like lightning, but he already understood—only by passing this tribulation can he see his true self.

Boom!

A six-zhang-tall skeleton burst forth from the lake, its white bones translucent like glass, exuding a refreshing, cool fragrance. The skeletal giant stood firm as a mountain, the churning blood lake forming a cloak that billowed wildly. Its head was slightly tilted, its eerie green eyes piercing through the palace walls, coldly sweeping across the vast天地 (heaven and earth) beyond the blood palace.

Lin Daochen's heart trembled violently. He looked up at the solemn and majestic skeletal giant, a chill running down his spine, as if a mountain of immense weight was pressing down on his chest. Under the gaze of its empty eye sockets, he felt as small as a speck of dust, and even his breathing became heavy.

The white jade skull spoke, its voice like an ancient bell shattering ice: "The divine map is incomplete, your cultivation is too shallow, nothing more than a speck of dust. How could someone of your level of cultivation possibly open the gates of the Blood Palace?" Each word was like a nail, piercing the truth of his shallow foundation.

Lin Daochen's throat tightened, and shame and indignation surged within him, but he clenched his teeth tightly—if he took even half a step back now, his Dao heart would shatter.

The skeletal giant lowered its head, its joints cracking slightly: "I have an old pact with the Chaotic Demon City, the Sea of ​​Reincarnation, and the Blood Palace, and should not appear in this world. But you possess the Divine Map and hold the Heavenly Stele... This karmic bond is too heavy; it's not worth tearing things apart." Before it finished speaking, it had already quietly included him in its scrutiny.