As each pattern formed, the Demon Suppressing Seal on the mountain wall dimmed by an inch.
In just a moment, Fu Liuyun's blood was completely drained, leaving behind a desiccated corpse.
The "hypocrite" likely never imagined he would enter the gates of hell in such a state.
On the mountain wall, the bloodstain left by Fu Liuyun had long since vanished, returning the surface to its smooth, unmarked appearance.
However, within the mountain, a peculiar pattern had formed, emitting an eerie red glow.
The pattern's color was deep and impossible to ignore.
Zi Linling stood at the mountain's peak, personally witnessing Fu Liuyun's final breath, and could not help but sigh, "Good and evil ultimately receive their due, karma has its cycle. If you don't believe, look up; the heavens spare no one."
"Fu Liuyun, you schemed your entire life, yet in the end, your schemes led to your own demise. Why bother?"
"Alas, when a person dies, their flame extinguishes. Let me send you off, hoping you'll be upright in your next life, better a true scoundrel than a hypocrite."
With a thought, Zi Linling summoned a cluster of flames at her fingertips.
She flicked her finger, and the flames landed on the withered form of Fu Liuyun.
In an instant, Fu Liuyun turned to ash.
At that very moment, the mountain began to shake violently.
A terrifying pressure emanated from within the mountain – the ancient demon was awakening.
Feng Liqi, within Zi Linling's mind, suddenly opened his eyes and exclaimed, "Blood Sacrifice Invocation Technique!"
The Blood Sacrifice Invocation Technique was an extremely wicked ancient art.
It used living beings as sacrifices to revive the Ancestral Demon, who had been dead for millennia.
The Ancestral Demon – the creator god of the demon race, on par with the Ancestral God.
Legend had it that the Ancestral Demon was the evil aspect of the Ancestral God.
The Blood Sacrifice Invocation Technique required a sacrifice every ten years, and only those with dark hearts were suitable.
Darkness encompassed all negative emotions such as resentment, jealousy, greed, and delusion.
Therefore, Fu Liuyun was not the first sacrifice.
Before him, the past sect masters of the Liuyun Sect would come here before their deaths to offer their remaining bodies.
This was because the Liuyun Sect had a long-standing legend: within the forbidden area lay immense power, the hope for the sect's enduring prosperity, and the final resting place for every sect master.
And the Sect Master's Token of the Liuyun Sect was precisely the key to unlocking the forbidden area.
After each sect master perished at the peak, the Sect Master's Token would automatically return to the Liuyun Sect to select a new sect master.
The Liuyun Sect had a history of a thousand years, with over a hundred generations of sect masters.
This was because the sect masters of the Liuyun Sect were all nearing the end of their lives, with a tenure of only ten years.
If they did not enter the forbidden area after ten years, they would cough up blood incessantly until death, with no cure in sight.
However, these ten years, under the influence of demonic thoughts, were enough to turn an upright person into one consumed by greed.
Of course, the Liuyun Sect was not the first such sect.
Before it, there might have been the Baiyun Sect, the Liushui Sect, and others.
In retrospect, Fu Liuyun merely became the last sacrifice in desperation, confusedly.
But all of this was no longer important.
After a hundred thousand years of sacrifices, the Ancestral Demon had been awakened.
And the blood of those sacrifices had fulfilled their destiny, forming the Demon Invocation Seal, capable of rivaling the Demon Suppressing Seal.
Within the mountain, the blood-red Demon Invocation Seal and the milky white Demon Suppressing Seal were clashing violently.
As the two collided, cracks appeared on the mountain peak, extending from the summit to the ground.
Terrifying pressure overflowed from these cracks.
Zi Linling bore the brunt of it, her internal organs instantly shattered by the pressure.
She coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, mixed with fragments of her organs.
She tried to retrieve a healing pill from her Nine Spirits Ring, only to find herself pinned down, unable to move.
Zi Linling let out a bitter smile, a thought flashing through her mind – My life is forfeit!
Feng Liqi grew anxious.
He directly burst out of Zi Linling's spiritual sea, grabbed her, and flew towards the mountain's base.
In a blink, they landed on the ground.
Feng Liqi unleashed his cultivation at the Divine Lord realm, shielding Zi Linling from the pressure, and said anxiously, "Quickly use the Seven-Colored Space to heal!"
Zi Linling paused, then instinctively asked, "The Seven-Colored Space can heal?"
Feng Liqi retorted in exasperation, "Nonsense! The life force in the green space on the second level of the Seven-Colored Space can heal any wound! Hurry, I can't hold on much longer!"
Hearing this, Zi Linling quickly channeled the life force from the green space to cleanse her body.
She discovered that wherever the life force flowed, her injuries healed eighty percent instantly, with the remaining twenty percent also gradually repairing.
Just as she finished healing her internal organs, Feng Liqi's urgent voice reached her.
"No time! Quickly overlay the Demon Suppressing Seal and the Demon Sealing Incantation!"
Seeing Feng Liqi's frantic expression, Zi Linling dared not hesitate. She rapidly formed seals with her hands and then reinforced them with the Demon Sealing Incantation.
Feng Liqi, seeing that her Demon Suppressing Seal and Demon Sealing Incantation were complete, said gravely, "I will carve a path for you. Follow this path and deliver the Demon Suppressing Seal and Demon Sealing Incantation to the mountain wall, understand?"
Zi Linling nodded, "Understood!"
A peculiar light flashed in Feng Liqi's eyes. His aura erupted, forcefully creating a tiny passage through the pressure.
"Quickly, I can't hold on much longer!"
Hearing this, Zi Linling swiftly employed her Word Spirit power, sending the Demon Suppressing Seal and Demon Sealing Incantation through the passage.
"Go!"
"Swift!"
"Suppress!"
"Seal!"
Zi Linling spat out the four words, rapidly striking the Demon Suppressing Seal and Demon Sealing Incantation onto the stone wall before her.
On the stone wall, the dim light of the original Demon Suppressing Seal brightened considerably.
However, having used four sentences of Word Spirit power in quick succession, Zi Linling was slightly breathless, having expended a significant amount of divine sense and spiritual energy.
But before she could even catch her breath, she felt herself being lifted again.
By the time she regained her senses, she and Feng Liqi were standing before the second stone wall.
Feng Liqi simply said, "Same as before!" and began gathering his strength.
Zi Linling dared not delay. She quickly formed the Demon Suppressing Seal again, overlaid it with the Demon Sealing Incantation, and at Feng Liqi's signal, replicated the process, striking it onto the stone wall before her.
The light on the stone wall brightened further.
Perhaps because the Demon Suppressing Seals on two walls had already been reinforced, Zi Linling felt that the pervasive pressure had significantly diminished, and the chilling aura had also lessened considerably.
"Excellent! Let's continue!"
With that, Feng Liqi, carrying Zi Linling, landed before the third stone wall.
The two followed the same procedure, and the seals on the third mountain wall were soon reinforced.
Feng Liqi's complexion was somewhat pale.
Even as a Divine Lord realm expert, she was facing pressure of the Ancestral God level.
Thus, her expenditure was immense.