My disciples are all villains.

The purple smoke suddenly surged out of the sacred item like a huge tide but was suppressed by the Great Void Seed's energy that was like a swimming dragon. Nevertheless, since Duanmu Sheng was only a peak Nine-leaf cultivator, the evil energy that was far too strong was bound to swallow him up.

"No, no, no," Mu Ertie kept muttering to himself. He had completely lost the bearing of an emperor. Like a madman, he flew up to the sky, intending to punch Duanmu Sheng.

Not even an Eight Chart expert was a match for Lu Zhou, how could Mu Ertie who only had four Birth Charts left be a match for Lu Zhou?

Bang!

Lu Zhou did not use any energy and only used the Golden Buddha's Body to stop Mu Ertie.

At the moment when Mu Ertie felt his arm grow numb, the purplish-black symbols on his body seemed to melt into his skin. Following that, his body began to rot.

"You released the fierce beasts in four of Great Tang's Ten Great Circuits and killed many people under the annihilation plan… In the end, your goal is just to absorb the fallen's blood essence so you can use the sacred item to merge the blood essence and the Li Lis' evil energy. You even got Lu Wu to help you summon the fierce beasts here. All so you can cultivate to become an immortal. Not bad; it's a pretty good scheme…" Lu Zhou said.

Mu Ertie laughed maniacally. He stared at Duan Musheng with eyes burning with unwillingness.

At this moment, Ning Wanqing said, "The ancient's great art of blood sacrifice used the heaven and earth as the furnace and the blood of humans and beasts as the sacrifice. With evil energy, they used sacred items to cultivate immortality." He shook his head and continued to say, "Mu Ertie, you really made a lot of preparations for this blood sacrifice. The Li Lis came from the Unknown Land; without the formation left by the sages and ancient runic passage, it'd be impossible for the Li Lis to come here. No wonder Great Yuan paid so much attention to cultivating runemasters and even opened the Runes Academy."

At this time, the Golden Buddha's Body disappeared; ten minutes had ended. Fortunately, Lu Zhou had earned some merit points earlier. If needed, he could synthesize the cards again so there was no need to worry. Moreover, Fan Ruozhi was dead, and Mu Ertie had been reduced to a Four Chart cultivator.

Lu Zhou turned to look at Ning Wanqing. "The great art of blood sacrifice?"

Ning Wanqing explained, "My understanding of it is superficial. Based on what I know, the blood sacrifice allows a cultivator to be free of the limits of Birth Charts and grant the power of corrosion. Since ancient times, cultivation has always been a heaven-defying act, breaking the limits and the heaven and earth shackles and prolonging life. On the other hand, many powerful fierce beasts aren't subjected to these restrictions…"

"Freeing yourself from the restraints of Birth Charts, breaking the heaven and earth shackles, and gaining immortality? What an amazing art of blood sacrifice," Lu Zhou said with a hint of ridicule.

In the end, did it not mean that Mu Ertie did not want to be human?

Mu Ertie, the Black Emperor, stared at Duanmu Sheng unblinkingly.

"Humans are ultimately superior to all living things. In terms of cultivation, no animal or plant can be compared to humans, but the lifespan of those animals and plants far surpasses that of humans. A small mortal tree could easily live for 100 years or 1,00 years. Even a tortoise can live for 1,000 or 10,000 years. If there was no limit to humans' lifespans, the universe would've long been conquered by humans. Everything in the world has a check and balance. This rule by the heavens isn't unreasonable…" Ning Wanqing said.

At this moment, Duanmu Sheng cried out in pain. The raging Great Void energy and the evil energy tormented until it seemed like he was neither alive nor dead.

Upon seeing this, Mu Ertie said gleefully, "He won't make it! He won't make it! The Great Void Seed can't suppress it!"

Bang!

Mu Ertie suddenly leaped toward Duanmu Sheng again. The Hades Ring on his finger shone brilliantly, boosting his strength. At this time, he only had the Great Void Seed in his eyes. He muttered repeatedly, "Great Void Seed, Great Void Seed, Great Void Seed…"

Alas, before Mu Ertie could leap very high up into the air, a golden palm seal crashed against his chest heavily from above.

Boom!

Lu Zhou had flown up again at some point. He looked down at Mu Ertie who was lying in a human-shaped hole. He withdrew his hand and placed it on his back as he said, "I gave you the Hades Ring, but you dare to use it against me?"

Mu Ertie vomited blood as the purplish-black symbols continued to make his body rot. He wanted to say the Hades Ring was his to begin with, but he was in too much to explain. Since he failed to complete the blood sacrifice, the backlash he had to suffer was unbearable.

Lu Zhou held Unnamed in the form of a sword between two fingers as he hovered above the Northern Sword Canyon.

Upon seeing this, Mu Ertie seemed to regain clarity for a moment as he said, "You can't kill me! If I die, he must die as well!"

Lu Zhou let go of Unnamed. Then, he pushed Unnamed that was floating in the air forward.

Like a streak of light, Unnamed shot toward Mu Ertie. Halfway through its journey, it multiplied from one to two, and two turned to four…

When they reached Mu Ertie, thousands of energy swords pierced through his chest like dragons.

"Ding! Destroyed three Birth Charts. Reward: 12,000 merit points."

"Ding! Killed a target. Reward: 3,500 merit points. Domain bonus: 1,500 merit points."

After Mu Ertie died, purplish-black smoke rose from his body into the air. Soon enough, all that was left of him was a pile of bones.

Following that, the Hades Ring broke as a crisp noise rang in the air.

Lu Zhou watched indifferently.

On the other hand, Ning Wanqing sighed and shook his head. Although he could not see it, he could sense that Mu Ertie's breath was gone. After a moment of silence, he suddenly heard a noise. His heart skipped a beat as he called out, "Pavilion Master Lu?"

"I turned his bones into ashes to prevent him from being resurrected by some evil technique or witchcraft…" Lu Zhou said as he put Unnamed away before turning to look at Duanmu Sheng.

The Great Void Seed's monstrous energy continued to devour the purple smoke released by the Li Lis.

The two energies churned violently like the stormy sea.

Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!

Thud! Thud! Thud!

The corpses, including those of the fierce beasts', floating in the air shriveled up before they fell to the ground one after another.

At this moment, Duanmu Sheng roared in pain again. His veins stood out on his skin; he looked as though he was going to explode at any given moment.

Lu Zhou frowned slightly before he pushed a blue lotus toward Duanmu Sheng.

The blue lotus bloomed above Duanmu Sheng's body as the power of healing surged into Duanmu Sheng's body. Following that, the surging vitality energy fought against the churning energies. Soon enough, the Great Void Seed returned to Duanmu Sheng's Dantian's sea of Qi, and the blue lotus successfully suppressed the raging evil energy.

With that, the purple smoke stopped churning as well.

Although Duanmu Sheng was still unconscious, it did not seem like he was in pain. All of a sudden, he opened his eyes. At this moment, his eyes shone with a green light. The Great Void Energy seemed to seep out of his seven apertures. His eyes were bloodshot, and the blood vessels in his eyes seemed like they were about to burst. Then, he began to pant heavily.

Meanwhile, Lu Zhou saw Duanmu Sheng's loyalty was rapidly declining. He said in a thunderous voice, "Duanmu Sheng!"

Duanmu Sheng's body trembled violently as he staggered a few steps back. He seemed to be struggling as his loyalty continued to rise and fall.

Duanmu Sheng let out a scream. His veins stood out on his skin, and his hair was disheveled, dancing in the wind.

Swoosh!

Duanmu Sheng reached out, and the Overlord Spear flew into his hand.

With this, the purple smoke immediately surged toward the Overlord Spear.

The Great Void energy mingled with the purple smoke again.

All of a sudden, Duanmu Sheng swooped down, brandishing his Overlord Spear as though he had gone mad. His target was none other than Ning Wanqing.

Energy spears fell like torrential rain. Each energy spear was powerful and contained a huge destructive force.

Ning Wanqing retreated in the air and kept launching palm seals to block the energy spears. He called out, slightly worried, "Duanmu Sheng, what are you doing?"

Ning Wanqing could clearly sense that Duanmu Sheng was like a different person; it was as though Duanmu Sheng had been reborn. His strength, speed, and power were on a different level compared to before.

Lu Zhou frowned.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Energy spears continued shooting out.

The corrosive evil energy continued to shroud Duanmu Sheng as he attacked mindlessly.

Ning Wanqing tried his best to deflect the energy spears without hurting Duanmu Sheng.

Meanwhile, the remaining fierce beasts in all directions began to retreat one after another. When they saw the green energy and the purple smoke that coiled together like two dragons, they trembled.

At this moment, as Duanmu Sheng's attacks grew fiercer and fiercer, Ning Wanqing said, "My apologies."

Following that, Ning Wanqing struck with his palm.

Boom!

The palm strike hit the Overlord Spear's shaft, causing it to hit Duanmu Sheng's chest. His arm grew numb, and he was sent flying back.

Upon seeing this, Lu Zhou unleashed the Fiend Monk's Hand seal.

"Duanmu Sheng!"

Lu Zhou's thunderous voice seemed to stun Duanmu Sheng for a few seconds.

At this time, the Fiend Monk's Hand Seal grabbed Duanmu Sheng.

Lu Zhou flew forward and arrived in front of Duanmu Sheng. He observed his third disciple carefully.

Duanmu Sheng seemed to be in excruciating pain as he endured the corrosive purple smoke. He held his head between his hands, looking as though he was going to explode.

"M-master… I… I… Get out of the way!" Duanmu Sheng roared.

The Overlord Spear spun before it stabbed at the Fiend Monk's Hand Seal.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Alas, the Overlord Spear was not strong enough to break Duanmu Sheng free of the Fiend Monk's Hand Seal.

At this moment, Ning Wanqing said grimly, "The evil energy has entered his body. I'm afraid Mister Third… I'm afraid he's now possessed by the demon."