High-level martial arts: Long spear with black flames to suppress demons.

Shen Chang'an thought he was about to be pierced through, but found that he felt no pain at all. However, as the palm struck, his two-hundred-mile-wide spiritual sea seemed to have been hit by a bomb, instantly boiling violently!

A massive surge of spiritual energy uncontrollably leaked from his body, transforming into a wisp of white spiritual mist in mid-air. Then, the Taoist of Lingshan swiftly withdrew his hand, and the outflow instantly ceased. Shen Chang'an felt only a heat in his dantian, but experienced no discomfort.

"Such pure spiritual energy!"

Ling Shan Daoist's eyes lit up. With a wave of his sleeve, he gathered all the spiritual energy leaking out in mid-air into his palm, compressing it into a ball of spiritual energy that emitted an alluring white light.

Then, just like a chain smoker, he brought the spiritual energy to his nose, closed his eyes, and took a deep, blissful inhalation!

"Hiss—ha—!!!"

As the spiritual energy entered his body, a blush of ethereal blush appeared on the old Taoist's gaunt face. He couldn't help but let out a blissful sigh, and even his white beard stood up in comfort.

Shen Chang'an sat on the stone bench, his mouth twitching wildly.

"Holy crap... what's wrong with this old man? Is he high on some kind of energy?! This is pure spiritual energy, for crying out loud, why is he acting like he's on drugs?!"

Seemingly sensing Shen Chang'an's strange gaze, the old Taoist of Lingshan blushed, quickly coughed twice, and resumed his demeanor as a highly accomplished Taoist master.

"Ahem... I've lost my composure, I've lost my composure."

The old Taoist priest lingered on the long-lost feeling of comfort within his body. Although he had only absorbed a little bit, it still made him feel as if every pore on his body had opened up.

He chuckled twice and explained, "You don't understand. I've been in this godforsaken place for countless years, breathing in that foul-smelling demonic energy every day. I'm almost sick from suffocation. It's been so long since I've seen such pure spiritual energy that I couldn't help myself..."

At this point, the old Taoist suddenly realized he had gone off-topic, his expression instantly turned serious, and his gaze fixed intently on Shen Chang'an.

"You almost led me astray! Let's get down to business!"

"There's no spiritual energy in the abyss at all. Where did the spiritual energy in your body come from? How did you recover?!"

Faced with the old man's questioning, Shen Chang'an's expression changed several times, his heart filled with conflict.

This is his biggest trump card right now. What if he reveals it and is dissected by this unfathomable old monster as some kind of heretic?

But... he glanced at the old Taoist's all-seeing eyes, and then considered the vast difference in strength between them. He knew very well that lying in front of such a powerful figure would be suicidal; he simply couldn't get away with not telling the truth.

He sighed and slowly opened his left hand.

"Actually... this is my outward attribute."

As he finished speaking, a wisp of violent and profound black flame quietly ignited in his palm. The surrounding light seemed to be swallowed up by this black flame.

"My flames can forcibly burn away the demonic energy in the abyss, and then... transform it into pure spiritual energy of heaven and earth."

"How is that possible?"

He looked at the wisp of black flame leaping in Shen Chang'an's palm, hesitated for a moment, then stretched out a withered finger and gently touched the edge of the flame.

"laugh!"

A faint ripple of spiritual energy spread across his fingertips. The old Taoist withdrew his hand, rubbed his fingertips together, and frowned slightly: "Its power is indeed much more domineering than ordinary true fire, but how could such a flame possibly possess the miraculous ability to transform demonic energy?"

He was completely baffled, and then grabbed Shen Chang'an's shoulder.

"Come, let this humble Taoist priest broaden his horizons!"

"Whoosh!"

Shen Chang'an felt a blur before his eyes, followed by a strong sense of weightlessness. When he could see his surroundings again, he found himself being lifted up by the Lingshan Daoist and suspended high above the purplish-red sky above the abyss rift.

The two eerie red suns still shone overhead, while on the black wasteland below, a massive horde of demons, like a black tide, had gathered! A cursory glance revealed that among them were even some enormous demons of the sixth and seventh realms, each as large as a mountain!

"Watch closely."

Lingshan Daoist didn't waste any words, nor did he even form any hand seals. He simply raised his hand and pressed down on the earth below.

"Boom—!!!"

The crimson sky was instantly torn apart, and ten thousand feet of purple lightning crashed down like a torrential downpour!

In the blink of an eye, the horde of demons below didn't even have time to let out a scream before they were reduced to ashes by this earth-shattering lightning magic!

Tens of thousands of high-level demons died instantly, and the massive amount of abyssal demonic energy contained within them surged violently across the land below like a burst dam of a black ocean.

"Go, burn it for this humble Taoist priest to see."

Lingshan Daoist pointed to the sea of ​​demonic energy below.

Shen Chang'an swallowed hard, and without saying a word, he pushed his spiritual power to its limit. Black flames poured down like a black waterfall, instantly igniting the vast ocean of demonic energy.

"Hiss hiss hiss—"

As the demonic energy was burned away, wisps of pure spiritual energy from heaven and earth began to rise and swirl in this absolutely spiritless place.

Ling Shan Dao Ren, suspended in mid-air, stared at the spiritual energy that appeared out of nowhere. His old eyes were wide open, and his hands, which were tucked into his sleeves, began to tremble violently.

"It's really true... What a stroke of luck! What an incredible stroke of luck!"

This batch of demonic energy was so vast that it took Shen Chang'an more than an hour to completely incinerate it. By this time, a large, almost tangible cloud of spiritual energy had accumulated below.

"call--"

He was panting heavily and put away the black flames.

"Good! Good! Good!"

The Taoist priest of Lingshan was so excited that he said "good" three times in a row. Then he suddenly opened his mouth, like a whale sucking in water.

"Boom!" The massive cloud of spiritual energy below instantly transformed into a white tornado, which he inhaled completely into his stomach in one breath!

A massive influx of spiritual energy into his body instantly revitalized the old Taoist's withered face, giving it a radiant glow.

"That feels so good—ah—!"

He closed his eyes and let out a long, contented sigh.

However, as he exhaled, a tiny wisp of spiritual energy accidentally leaked out of his nostrils and drifted into the air.

The old Taoist suddenly opened his eyes. He was as anxious as an old dog guarding its food. He stretched his neck forward and with a "whoosh," he forcefully sucked back the wisp of spiritual energy that was floating in mid-air from his nose. He even smacked his lips.

Shen Chang'an, who witnessed the whole thing, was speechless.

"Waste is shameful, waste is shameful."

He grabbed Shen Chang'an again.

"Let's go back to the city!"

"Whoosh!"

The two disappeared into thin air again, returning to the small courtyard in that eerie city.

However, as soon as their feet touched the ground, Shen Chang'an immediately sensed that something was wrong.

The once empty courtyard now had two people suddenly appearing out of nowhere, staring intently at them.

Standing on the left side of the courtyard was a stunningly beautiful woman who looked to be in her early twenties. She wore a fiery red robe, the front half-open, her explosive figure almost bursting through the fabric.

Standing on the right was a middle-aged man carrying an ancient sword. He was about forty years old, with a cold and stern face, exuding a chilling and sharp sword intent that seemed to originate from the same source as the hundred-mile-long sword mark.