“That might be because the grand formation of the Ruins of the Cloud Dream Marsh suppressed the realm of that demonic lord at the time,” Fairy Lingyue said.

“That’s possible,” Xu Taiping nodded silently.

At that moment, he finally saw the appearance of the demonic lord through the Jade Bone Grass—a head of red hair, a face half black and half white, with expressions of joy and anger, draped in a large cloak, holding a golden skull staff, standing over three meters tall, and riding a black mist as he moved through the air.

Just as Xu Taiping was about to retract his gaze and prepare to slip away, the old man suddenly stopped, snorted coldly, and slammed his staff heavily to the ground.

With a loud “bang,” a pillar of black and gold mixed flames shot out from the golden staff.

“Boom!”

In the blink of an eye, a large patch of Jade Bone Grass below was burned to ashes.

“Did he sense my gaze?” Xu Taiping was full of surprise.

He had been using the Jade Bone Grass to observe the black-and-white-faced demonic lord.

“Jade Bone Grass is not omnipotent. To truly harness its power, it requires hundreds of cultivators to control it together. So, Taiping, don’t think you can use it to deal with that demonic lord,” Fairy Lingyue reminded Xu Taiping.

“I understand,” Xu Taiping nodded, then put away his spoils, and used the Jade Bone Grass to completely conceal himself. He continued to use the distant Jade Bone Grass to secretly observe the outside situation.

“Master Wuchang!” Chen Sheng called out to the black-and-white-faced demonic lord with a face full of fear and trepidation.

“Where is the person I told you to capture?”

As he spoke, the black-and-white-faced demonic lord’s expressions both turned angry.

“Reporting to Master Wuchang, the person has been trapped in the sword formation!” Chen Sheng, although confused, answered truthfully.

Upon hearing this, the black face of Master Wuchang turned joyful while the white face turned angry. He then fiercely waved his large sleeve towards the sword formation.

A scorching wind blew down from his sleeve.

“Boom!”

In an instant, the sword formation was broken, and a large patch of Jade Bone Grass within was burned to ashes.

Eight demonic cultivators, their charred bodies, suddenly appeared in front of Chen Sheng.

“Not only did the person escape, but they also killed eight demonic servants right under your nose without you noticing at all. Chen Sheng, you have greatly disappointed me!” Master Wuchang said coldly.

Chen Sheng was first stunned, then quickly knelt down and said, “Please give me another chance, Master. I will definitely capture that person this time!”

Master Wuchang shook his head upon hearing this.

“First, come with me to the blood pool. The Demonic God Blood Jade is about to emerge, and we can’t let the other factions take all the benefits. As for the person sent by the Nine Mansions, if he wants to connect with the Nine Mansions, he must come to the blood pool. We will wait for him there.”

He impatiently said to Chen Sheng.

“Yes, Master!” Chen Sheng was overjoyed that Master Wuchang did not continue to blame him.

The two then flew towards the direction of the blood pool.

…

After they left, Xu Taiping was lifted from the grass by the Jade Bone Grass.

“It seems he didn’t notice me,” Xu Taiping murmured in surprise as he watched Master Wuchang leave.

“Probably, they don’t know the secret of the Jade Bone Grass,” Fairy Lingyue nodded.

“So, as long as I’m careful, I can still find a way to quietly reach the blood pool,” Xu Taiping murmured.

At this moment, through the Jade Bone Grass near the blood pool, he could already see the scene there, although it was very blurry due to the distance.

“There is a risk, but it’s worth a try. If I can snatch a piece of the Blood Jade, the risk will be negligible,” Fairy Lingyue nodded.

“What is this Demonic God Blood Jade? Can we cultivators use it?” Xu Taiping asked Fairy Lingyue curiously.

“It’s useless to you, but it’s useful for the Earth Fruit,” Fairy Lingyue smiled mysteriously.

Upon hearing this, Xu Taiping’s eyes lit up.

The nourishment for the Earth Fruit indeed does not distinguish between celestial and demonic.

“Taiping, my divine sense won’t last much longer. Although you still have a bamboo segment, don’t use it unless it’s a matter of life and death,” Fairy Lingyue said urgently.

Xu Taiping nodded seriously.

He knew that Fairy Lingyue’s last bamboo segment was definitely meant to save his life.

“Next, you just need to use the Jade Bone Grass well. Even if you face that demonic lord, you will have the power to protect yourself.”

“As for the task from the Nine Mansions and that piece of Blood Jade, act within your means. The most important thing is to ensure your own safety,” Fairy Lingyue continued.

“If there’s a chance, I won’t miss it. If not, I’ll just hide in the Jade Bone Grass and watch the show,” Xu Taiping smiled at the fading shadow of Fairy Lingyue.

He didn’t think that as a small cultivator of the Gazing Abyss Realm, he could participate in this celestial and demonic battle. One wrong move, and he would likely become cannon fodder.

…

Not long after Fairy Lingyue’s shadow disappeared, Xu Taiping controlled the Jade Bone Grass to take him to the blood pool, without needing to walk himself.

Previously, because of the distance, the scene he saw through the Jade Bone Grass was too blurry. Now that he was closer, the image in his mind finally became clear.

As Fairy Lingyue described, the blood pool was enormous, and one couldn’t see the end of it at a glance.

In the center of the blood pool, several black-robed demonic cultivators were floating in the air, seemingly performing some kind of summoning ritual.

Even from this distance, the powerful aura emanating from them could be felt.

“They might be three demonic lords,” Xu Taiping thought with some alarm.

Besides the three powerful demonic cultivators in the center of the blood pool, there were also many demonic cultivators crouching around the edge, seemingly waiting for something.

The altar was not far away, just by the edge of the blood pool, with a stone bridge leading directly to it.

“If there’s a chance, I can control my clone to send this jade disk to the altar,” Xu Taiping thought.

“Of course, the premise is that someone can distract the demonic cultivators guarding the stone bridge,” his gaze fell on the demonic cultivators at the entrance of the stone bridge.

Unlike the demonic soldiers he encountered before, these demonic cultivators were all at the same level as Qingyu and Chen Sheng.

Dealing with one or two was manageable, but facing four or five at once, he wasn’t confident.

“Boom!…”

Just as Xu Taiping decided to wait and see, a loud noise came from above the blood pool.

Looking up, he saw a crack appear in the originally pitch-black dome.

In the center of the crack was the tip of a long sword.

“Boom!!…”

With another loud noise, the crack in the dome widened, and a voice filled with arrogance came through the crack—”Pure Yang Sword Sect, Amon is here. You demons, retreat or die, if not, you will still die!”