After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

Zhou Ran flung his hand, and Lan Caihua's dried corpse was thrown into the rushing underground river.

He closed his eyes, circulated his inner energy, and the sinister cultivation was crushed and assimilated by the demonic energy within his body.

A burning, full sensation came from my meridians.

The barrier to cultivation has loosened a little more.

He had not yet fully grasped the situation, nor had he turned around to check on Lin Qingxue's condition.

The entire underground cavern, and even the foundation of the Zhenhun Temple, began to shake violently.

The tremor originated from deep underground, striking directly at the soul and bringing the most primal fear.

"Oh no!"

Miao Yingying let out a high-pitched scream.

"The drought demon...it's alive!"

Before her words had faded, the bronze coffin on the altar, which had suppressed the inhabitants for a thousand years, began to emit an eerie red light.

"roar--!"

A roar unlike any mortal creature erupted from within the coffin; it was not a sound, but the very will of destruction.

Kara!

Kara!

The eight black iron chains binding the coffin snapped one after another.

Zhou Ran's expression became more serious than ever before.

A pressure powerful enough to crush the heavens descended, intending to grind everything on this land into dust.

This aura has far surpassed the scope of Foundation Establishment.

It's a Golden Elixir!

boom!

The seemingly indestructible iron corpse "Big Black" beside Miao Yingying bent its knees and knelt heavily under this oppressive force.

They bowed their heads toward the coffin, making a gesture of welcoming the king.

"Oh my god..."

Miao Yingying's face drained of color, her legs went weak, and she collapsed to the ground.

She was trembling uncontrollably all over.

"It's over...

We're all going to die here...

The bronze coffin, suspended above the lava, had its lid slightly opened amidst a scraping, heart-wrenching sound.

A withered arm covered in long, reddish hair reached out from the gap and gripped the edge of the coffin tightly.

There was no wind inside the cave.

But the temperature here reversed in an instant.

The churning lava still radiated intense heat.

Extreme Yin energy!

"run!"

Zhou Ran's instincts roared.

Without a moment's hesitation, he picked up the unconscious Lin Qingxue and grabbed the stunned Miao Yingying with his other hand.

This level of monster is far beyond his current ability to fight!

Unless they join forces with the Taoist priests of the Celestial Master's Mansion, they will have no chance of fighting within the great formation.

He had just taken a step.

"Bang!"

The bronze coffin lid was blown off by an immense force, turning into a black shadow that crashed into the rock wall at the top of the cave.

It left a bottomless hole, from which gravel fell like rain.

A crimson figure, three zhang tall, rose stiffly from the coffin and hovered in mid-air.

Its entire body was covered in blood-red fur, its face was gaunt and looked like a demon, its fangs protruded from its lips, and its pupils were filled with two balls of blood flame.

Drought Demon is born!

It turned its head and focused its attention on the three people who were trying to escape.

There was no wisdom in that gaze, only the tyranny suppressed for thousands of years, bloodlust, and thirst for the flesh and blood of living beings.

"roar!"

The drought demon opened its mouth and inhaled forcefully.

Zhou Ran felt an irresistible force coming from behind him, and the demonic energy in his body was about to be forcibly extracted.

Lin Qingxue, who was poisoned and had a unique constitution, became the primary target of this extremely Yin evil force.

Her body broke free from Zhou Ran's embrace and drifted uncontrollably toward the drought demon.

"Grass!"

Zhou Ran's eyes were bulging with anger. He gripped Lin Qingxue's wrist tightly with one hand and used all his demonic energy with the other to fight against the suction force.

"Get back here!"

But that was genuine Golden Core power!

As Zhou Ran's demonic energy rapidly depleted, a sense of powerlessness began to spread through his mind.

At this critical moment.

A majestic golden beam of light pierced through the rock layer above, and the Buddha's light shone upon the drought demon.

"You beast, how dare you be so insolent!"

This rebuke, like the morning bell and evening drum, cleansed the soul.

The terrifying suction force was abruptly interrupted by the chanting.

The pressure on Zhou Ran vanished, and he seized the opportunity to pull Lin Qingxue into his arms tightly.

He retreated rapidly to the edge of the rock face, looked up, and was filled with astonishment and doubt.

A figure was falling down through the gap in the rock strata.

The man was wearing a tattered Taoist robe, his left cheek was charred black, his right cheek was solemn, and a halo of illusory golden light appeared and disappeared behind his head, exuding holiness and compassion.

It was none other than the Taoist Lingxu, who had been completely possessed by the ancient monk!

"roar!"

The drought demon was struck by the golden light, and black smoke rose from its crimson fur as it let out a roar that shook the cave.

It could sense that this tiny being before it possessed an aura that filled it with disgust and fear from the very core of its being.

That is the Buddhist power that subdues all evil spirits in the world!

"Amitabha."

The ancient monk clasped his hands together, his expression compassionate, and the original sinister and madness of the Taoist Lingxu had vanished without a trace.

Although his body was broken, he possessed the demeanor of an ancient ascetic monk, and his magnanimous Buddhist aura was enough to suppress a region of heaven and earth.

"The cause and effect of a thousand years has come to pass today."

The ancient monk's attention was completely focused on the drought demon, and he raised his right hand.

On his palm, a Sanskrit seal spun rapidly, expanding dramatically in the air to form a golden mountain the size of a millstone, which descended upon the drought demon's head.

"Great Mighty Heavenly Dragon, World-Honored Ksitigarbha!"

With a deafening roar, even the drought demon's resilient body, restrained by the Buddha's power, was struck by a palm and staggered backward, its footsteps causing huge waves to rise in the lava pool.

It was utterly enraged.

As the progenitor of zombies, even though he has not regained his former glory, he will not tolerate the provocation of a mere remnant soul.

With a flick of its arms, the drought demon controlled the long river of lava below, transforming it into two ferocious fire dragons that roared and pounced on the ancient monk.

"Stubborn to the end."

The ancient monk shook his head and lightly stepped his left foot into the air.

A deep hum resounded, as if the entire Zhenhun Temple ruins were being awakened.

On the rock walls from all directions, countless golden scriptures lit up one by one, weaving into chains of divine order that instantly twisted the two lava fire dragons into a rain of fire that continued to entangle the drought demon's limbs.

This is borrowing the power of heaven and earth from the entire great formation!

An ancient monk has been operating in this place for a thousand years; this is his domain!

"roar--!"

The drought demon struggled fiercely, taut the chains, and emitted a piercing metallic scraping sound.

A solemn expression also appeared on the ancient monk's face.

"This humble monk can suppress its form, but cannot destroy its body."

The ancient monk's voice resounded directly in Zhou Ran's heart, carrying a hint of helplessness.

"This creature was formed in an extremely yin place, by absorbing the extreme yang fire of the earth, and is immortal and indestructible."

The Buddha's light can save his soul, but it cannot destroy his body.

Only the most evil power can completely annihilate it.

His gaze pierced through the waves of air and landed on Zhou Ran.

More precisely, it landed on the Zanpakuto in Zhou Ran's hand.

"Benefactor, would you be willing to lend this humble monk a hand?"

Zhou Ran suddenly understood.

This old monk didn't want to borrow a knife, he wanted his demonic powers!

"What does the master intend to do?"

Zhou Ran did not hesitate at all.

"Use your demonic fire to ignite the Buddha's light within this humble monk!"

With a sharp shout, the ancient monk extended his hand to Zhou Ran.

Zhou Ran immediately took action and threw his Zanpakuto over.

"A fine knife!"

The ancient monk caught the knife with one hand and exclaimed in admiration.

"Although it is a demonic weapon, it has the intention to eliminate all injustice."

"Benefactor, concentrate your mind and pour all your power into this blade!"

The ancient monk formed the "Acala Mudra" with his left hand and held a knife in his right.

A vast beam of Buddhist light surged from his crown chakra and poured into the blade.

The Zanpakuto, originally purplish-black, was instantly dyed pure gold.

Zhou Ran adjusted his breathing, closed his eyes, and focused his mind on fully activating the Yin-Yang Technique.

He channeled every last bit of demonic energy within his body, connecting it to his Zanpakuto's spiritual connection, and unleashed it all.

On the golden blade, wisps of purplish-black demonic flames spontaneously ignited, coiling upwards like serpents.

The Buddha's light shone brightly, while demonic energy was chilling.

Two completely opposite forces reside in the Zanpakuto.

Instead of canceling each other out, they merged together, emanating a destructive aura that even Zhou Ran found unsettling.

"Buddha and demon are one; all evil... begone!"