The palace-robed woman suddenly tossed the copper coin in her hand high into the air. With a flash of spiritual light, it transformed into a copper basin about a foot in size, which plummeted downward and landed precisely in the center of the stone platform.
The basin’s surface was covered in intricate layers of runes, and inside it, a faint purple ball of light flickered incessantly, as if concealing something within—yet nothing could be clearly discerned.
The woman’s expression remained unchanged as she calmly pointed a slender jade-like finger at each of the eight wooden figures surrounding the platform.
Instantly, the previously motionless wooden figures began to emit layers of eerie black mist from their surfaces. The mist condensed and transformed into eight grotesque, demonic faces, each with a different terrifying visage.
The faces roared menacingly behind the wooden figures, thrashing and struggling violently, yet they were unable to stray far from the wooden bodies, as if firmly bound to them.
“Prepare the offerings,” the palace-robed woman commanded indifferently, paying no heed to the bizarre phenomena.
“Yes, Master!” the black-armored giant responded promptly. With a flicker, he soared above the stone platform and slapped his palm against his waist.
With a *whoosh*, a pitch-black leather pouch the size of a palm flew out from his body. It spun rapidly, expanding to the size of a zhang (about 3.3 meters), then inverted itself above the purple copper basin.
The pouch’s opening snapped open, and a torrent of blood poured out, cascading into the purple light within the basin.
A strange phenomenon occurred.
Despite the seemingly endless waterfall of blood, the small purple basin absorbed it all like a bottomless pit, never overflowing.
The black-armored giant showed no surprise at this. Instead, he continued to channel his magic into the black pouch with one hand.
After the time it took to finish a meal, the pouch had already poured out over a thousand jin (about 500 kg) of blood, yet the flow showed no signs of stopping.
“Enough. These essence bloods were obtained by slaying ancient beasts at the Body Integration stage. They are not easily gathered, so we should conserve them,” the palace-robed woman suddenly said, her delicate brows twitching slightly.
“As you command!” The black-armored giant immediately made a grasping motion toward the pouch.
The blood flow ceased abruptly as the pouch’s opening flashed with light. It then shrank back to its original size and flew back into the giant’s hand.
The palace-robed woman took a light breath and formed a hand seal. Behind her, a massive, translucent pink flower tree materialized, its branches laden with fist-sized blossoms emitting an intoxicating fragrance that could bewitch the mind upon a single whiff.
Her figure blurred, vanishing from sight.
The next moment, she reappeared atop the flower tree, standing effortlessly on the highest blossom with a bare, jade-white foot, her balance unwavering.
With a flick of her wrist, a razor-thin bone knife, white as jade, appeared in her hand.
Expressionless, she slowly raised an arm, revealing a flawless wrist from her sleeve.
The bone knife flashed, drawing a white line across her wrist.
A thick, silvery liquid dripped down like a silver thread, falling onto the crystalline flower tree below before vanishing without a trace.
A resonant hum filled the air.
The once pink flower tree instantly turned silver, its blossoms now gleaming like stars on its branches—a breathtaking sight from afar.
After a brief pause, the woman withdrew her wrist and parted her lips slightly.
A fragrant orchid-scented breath swept over her wrist, and the faint wound vanished in a flash of white light.
Her gaze then shifted downward to the purple basin. With another flick of her wrist, the bone knife disappeared, replaced by a black silk kerchief, which she tossed into the air.
The sky within the water curtain darkened abruptly, as if a pitch-black night had descended, sealing off all external light.
She then lifted her foot and lightly tapped the flower tree beneath her.
With a *bang*, the massive tree exploded into countless silver motes that shot into the sky.
The black nightscape was now adorned with countless silver stars, which, under the woman’s guidance, began to rotate in an intricate, mysterious pattern.
The water curtain had transformed into an entirely different realm.
The woman’s eyes shimmered with silver light as her figure blurred and expanded, morphing into a towering, hazy white silhouette dozens of zhang tall.
An enchanting chant resonated through the void.
The stars spun faster and faster around the white silhouette, occasionally forming cryptic celestial diagrams.
Simultaneously, the light within the copper basin slowly rose, writhing and condensing unpredictably beneath the starry sky—sometimes forming patterns, other times strange runes, dazzling to behold.
A golden compass had appeared before the woman at some point. Her ten jade-like fingers danced across it, eliciting bursts of multicolored light. Though her movements seemed effortless, each tap drained her further, her face growing paler while the silver glow in her eyes intensified.
Unnoticed, the eight demonic heads behind the wooden figures at the platform’s corners had begun spewing thick beams of light into the sky, like eight colossal pillars supporting the dark expanse…
Half an hour later, a group of several dozen demonic cultivators from the Coral Archipelago approached on winged shark-like demonic beasts, unhurried yet swift.
Though the beasts appeared clumsy, their speed was astonishing, bringing them near the water curtain in moments.
Unaware of the concealed water curtain, the group showed no intention of stopping—until, without warning, disaster struck.
A thunderous *boom* erupted as the invisible water curtain flickered into visibility before violently exploding.
A tidal wave of blue light surged outward, forming a massive vortex in the sky.
The demonic guards, startled, swiftly maneuvered their mounts to evade. The beasts roared, spewing blue-green light that formed protective barriers around them.
The crashing waves split harmlessly around the barriers, leaving the guards unharmed but shaken. Most drew their weapons, warily eyeing the vortex.
As the vortex shrank and dissipated with a rumble, two figures emerged—the palace-robed woman and the black-armored giant.
The woman now held the golden compass, her face bloodless but her eyes blazing with silver light. Her expression was a mix of disbelief, delight, and hesitation.
The black-armored giant, meanwhile, stared blankly at their surroundings, visibly stunned.
A high-ranking demonic guard, upon scanning the pair with his spiritual sense, recoiled in shock.
Neither the woman nor the giant’s cultivation levels were discernible, but the giant’s pure demonic energy was unmistakable.
Trembling, the guard dismounted and bowed deeply. “This humble one is Shi Shuo of the Raging Demon Clan. May I ask which clan the two esteemed seniors belong to? Is there anything this junior can assist with?”
The black-armored giant coldly swept his gaze over the group before turning back to the woman. “Master, how should we deal with these lowly clansmen?”
“Since they’ve seen us, eliminate them,” the woman replied without looking up, her voice devoid of emotion as if the demons were mere ants.
The giant showed no surprise, his eyes flashing with bloodlust as he turned back to the guards with a savage grin.
“Run!” The high-ranking demon, sensing danger, immediately flung a fist-sized orb and leaped onto a black blade, merging with it to flee as a streak of black light.
The other guards scattered in panic.
The black-armored giant laughed maniacally, sweeping his arms outward. Black mist surged from his sleeves, teeming with phantom insects, engulfing the fleeing demons.
Screams erupted from within the mist.
Meanwhile, the giant blurred into a black whirlwind, chasing down the escaping high-ranking demon.
Moments later, he returned, clutching a bloody head, which he tossed into the dissipating mist before resuming his silent, reverent stance beside the woman.
The screams had ceased. The black mist swirled once before vanishing entirely into the giant’s body.
Throughout it all, the palace-robed woman never glanced up, her fingers tracing the golden compass as her expression flickered between uncertainty and contemplation.
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