"What, the Demon Pool has dried up?"
The surrounding crowd was shocked at this announcement.
Zhong Yulong, Master Kong Wu, and others also heard it and couldn't help but look up at the dark cavern above...
Wan Yunting, Zhou Ruoxi, and Ye Qianqian also ran over, disbelief etched on their faces as they looked at Liu Xiaohei, exclaiming excitedly, "How is that possible? How could the Demon Pool dry up?"
"How would I know, my dear Grandma?"
Liu Xiaohei said dismissively, then turned to watch the fierce battle between Hong Tila and the Divine Master. She couldn't help but raise an eyebrow and let out a cold snort.
Although Hong Tila was massive and its destructive power was terrifying, its speed was also not slow. For ordinary people, it would undoubtedly be a fearsome presence.
But who was the Divine Master? He was arguably the number one martial artist in the world today, his skills unfathomable. He had remained in the Inner Gang realm for decades, being the only one to approach the realm of 'Seeing God Without Imperfection'.
"Can you defeat him?"
Wan Yunting furrowed his brow and approached Liu Xiaohei.
"What do you want?"
Liu Xiaohei turned her head, her strange green eyes glancing at him sideways. "You, a mere slave, want to command this Grandma?"
Wan Yunting was a bit speechless but had grown accustomed to Liu Xiaohei calling him a slave. He pointed at the Divine Master who was playing with Hong Tila. "If he doesn't die, none of us will get out of here alive!"
"Uh."
Liu Xiaohei became even more displeased. "Although I can't defeat him, if I wanted to escape, he couldn't do anything to me."
"Alright."
Wan Yunting felt helpless. After all, he couldn't truly dictate Liu Xiaohei's actions or force her to help him kill the Divine Master. He then asked, "Are there any paths leading up to the Demon Pool from here?"
"There's a small path going up behind!"
Liu Xiaohei pointed behind the collapsed main hall...
Without any further hesitation, Ye Qianqian immediately ran towards it...
Although Liu Xiaohei had said the Demon Pool had long since dried up, Wan Yunting felt compelled to see it for himself, otherwise, he wouldn't be able to rest.
After all, the only thing that could deal with the Divine Master was the mysterious power within the Demon Pool.
"I'm going up to check on the Demon Pool."
Wan Yunting then turned to Zhao Yi Wu and the others. "Master Zhao, you shouldn't follow. Find a way to leave here."
"Yunting, we'll go with you."
Immediately, Zhou Ruoxi, Chen Qiuyun, and even Abbess Jin Yu expressed their desire to follow.
Wan Yunting glared. Knowing that Zhou Ruoxi and the others were resolute, he didn't want to waste any more words. He nodded, "Alright, let's go..."
"I'm going too..."
To everyone's surprise, Zhang Xian'er also chased after them, and Zhao Yi Wu and Lu Xiu couldn't stop her...
"Master, Wan Yunting and the others might be going to find the Demon Pool!"
The injured Xian Yun was being supported by his junior brother Yang Xuan. Xu Yuxin watched as Wan Yunting, Zhou Ruoxi, and the others skirted around the back of the collapsed main hall, knowing they were likely heading for the Demon Pool.
"Let's go!"
Zhong Yulong's old eyes widened. Without hesitation, he led his Wudang disciples in a swift pursuit...
Master Kong Wu of the Shaolin sect, and Elder Zhang Qing of the Kunlun sect exchanged glances, then gritted their teeth and followed suit...
"Beast, I'll send you on your way!"
The Divine Master seemed to have grown tired of playing with Hong Tila. With a powerful strike, he slammed into Hong Tila's massive head, sending it crashing heavily to the ground...
"Old man, you dare to kill my little brother, you're seeking death..."
Seeing this, Liu Xiaohei let out an enraged roar. In the next instant, she transformed into her true form. Her entire body was covered in black serpent scales, her immense body even larger than Hong Tila's. Particularly, two white dragon horns adorned her head, making her appear like a true dragon. She opened her maw and charged towards the Divine Master...
"Hmph, a mere snake demon that hasn't fully transformed into a Flood Dragon, what can you do to me?"
The Divine Master stood tall, his sharp eyes behind the mask disdainfully looking at the charging Liu Xiaohei. As the only expert in this world who could approach the realm of 'Seeing God Without Imperfection', he naturally possessed arrogant strength. He channeled his energy, instantly absorbing the surrounding spiritual energy into his hands, condensing it into a black orb, and hurling it fiercely at Liu Xiaohei...
Roar...!
Liu Xiaohei roared in fury. She was immediately sent flying by the Divine Master's terrifying internal energy, which infuriated her immensely. She once again launched a fierce assault on the Divine Master...
After all, Liu Xiaohei had previously killed that old snake and consumed its essence, greatly boosting her power. If she were given a few hundred more years, she could challenge the transformation into a Flood Dragon.
Therefore, Liu Xiaohei's strength was also terrifying. She engaged in a fierce battle with the Divine Master, neither side gaining an advantage...
"Hurry, go...!"
Over there, the priest of the Sky Eye Divine Master sect, after completely killing Liu Bing, Shi Yizhen, Hu Fei, and others, led the remaining followers in a hasty pursuit of Wan Yunting and the others...
Ye Qianqian was the first to reach the back of the main hall. Indeed, she found a dark passage and, without hesitation, plunged into it...
Following her, Wan Yunting, with Zhou Ruoxi, Chen Qiuyun, Abbess Jin Yu, and Zhang Xian'er, also ran into the dark passage. Then came Zhong Yulong, leading Xu Guizi, Dan Yangzi, Xian Yun, Xu Yuxin, and Yang Xuan, along with the remaining young disciples, who also pursued...
Master Zhao Yi Wu of Longhu Mountain, and Master Lu Xiu exchanged glances. They did not risk venturing further and, heeding Wan Yunting's words, quickly left the area...
In the pitch-black passage, they continued to ascend. Ye Qianqian ran with a flashlight for about ten minutes before finally seeing a light emanating from the end of the passage. Greatly delighted, she rushed towards it...
Following closely, Wan Yunting, Zhou Ruoxi, and Chen Qiuyun also burst out. Suddenly, a biting cold wind swept through, and heavy snow fell on the summit of Demon Mountain. The temperature was below minus thirty degrees Celsius, causing those who emerged to involuntarily shiver. They quickly circulated their internal energy through their meridians to withstand the chilling cold.
"The Demon Pool!"
Ye Qianqian looked at a stone structure resembling an altar ahead. It was built of stone, with a large stone tablet erected in the center, on which two carved characters were still faintly visible: "Demon Pool"!
The summit of Demon Mountain was not pointed but rather a sunken crater, surrounded by stone walls that were now ice-bound. The ground was covered in thick snow. Ye Qianqian and Wan Yunting walked onto the altar and saw a circular pool with a diameter of about fifteen meters, also covered in a thick layer of snow...
"Is this the Demon Pool?"
Wan Yunting and Ye Qianqian looked at the ice-bound Demon Pool, which was different from their expectations.
As Liu Xiaohei had said earlier, the Demon Pool had already dried up. Ye Qianqian felt greatly disappointed and dejected, sighing, "Heaven wants to destroy our Demon Cult..."
At this moment, Zhong Yulong arrived with Xu Guizi, Dan Yangzi, and Xian Yun, as did Master Kong Wu and Elder Zhang Qing of the Kunlun sect. Seeing the ice-bound Demon Pool, everyone wore expressions of disappointment.
"Let's focus on how to escape!"
An elder from the Kunlun sect sighed, realizing the hope of relying on the Demon Pool and its mysterious power to open it and deal with the Divine Master was gone.
Wan Yunting, Zhou Ruoxi, and Chen Qiuyun exchanged glances. It seemed they had to find a way to escape first, otherwise, it would be too late once the Divine Master caught up.
*Puff!*
Suddenly, Zhong Yulong thrust the Sect Leader's Sword in his hand fiercely into the body of the Kunlun sect elder...
"You...!"
The elder's eyes widened, his head turning back, looking at Zhong Yulong in disbelief...
"Zhong Yulong, what are you doing?"
Elder Zhang Qing, Master Kong Wu, and the others were shocked. Zhong Yulong's old face was grim as he pushed the elder into the snow-covered Demon Pool...
With his abdomen pierced by the sword, the Kunlun sect elder writhed in the snow within the Demon Pool, his wound continuously bleeding into the snow...
Everyone else was terrified by Zhong Yulong's action and stood frozen, unable to comprehend his motives.
"Why is there no reaction?"
Zhong Yulong frowned, looking at the deceased Kunlun sect elder lying in the Demon Pool. His blood flowed into the pool without any response, causing him to mutter in confusion, "Could the Demon Pool truly be completely dry?"
"Zhong Yulong, I'll kill you..."
The Kunlun sect's Elder Zhang Qing, who had recovered from his shock, along with his disciples, became enraged and drew their swords, charging at Zhong Yulong...
Immediately, Xu Guizi, Dan Yangzi, and Yang Xuan reacted, drawing their swords and positioning themselves in front of Wan Yunting, blocking the Kunlun sect members...
Wan Yunting and Zhou Ruoxi, standing by, finally understood. Zhong Yulong's sudden killing of the Kunlun sect elder was meant as a blood sacrifice to the Demon Pool, but there was no reaction.
This meant the Demon Pool was truly dried up!
Wan Yunting immediately pulled Chen Qiuyun and Zhou Ruoxi back, not wanting to get involved in the conflict that had just erupted between them...
"Zhong Yulong, you've gone too far. You must give us an explanation!" Elder Zhang Qing's old face was furious, his sword pointing at Zhong Yulong as he berated him.
However, Zhong Yulong remained calm. He turned to look at Zhang Qing and the remaining members of the Kunlun sect. "I did this to try and awaken the Demon Pool. It's a pity the blood sacrifice was in vain!"
"Bastard."
Elder Zhang Qing roared, "Even if it's a blood sacrifice, you could have sacrificed someone from your own Wudang sect. Why did you take my man?"
The remaining members of the Kunlun sect glared at Zhong Yulong, Xu Guizi, and the Wudang sect members, hurling curses at them...
Master Kong Wu also stepped forward and said to Zhong Yulong, "Sect Leader Zhong, your actions are indeed excessive."
"So what?"
Zhong Yulong dropped all pretense, his gaze cold as he looked at Zhang Qing, Master Kong Wu, and the others. "What price have we not paid to find the Demon Pool? Are we all just going to accept this outcome and not try to awaken it?"
"But..."
"Enough, Master Kong Wu!"
Zhong Yulong interrupted him. "If we don't awaken the Demon Pool and obtain its mysterious power, then when the Divine Master of the Sky Eye Divine Master sect attacks, we will all die..."
"That's right, you will all die!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the priest of the Sky Eye Divine Master sect, leading over a dozen followers, attacked. He pointed at Zhong Yulong, Master Kong Wu, and the others, sneering, "You will all be sacrificed to the Demon Pool!"
Seeing the priest of the Sky Eye Divine Master sect pursuing them, Wan Yunting again signaled to Zhou Ruoxi and Chen Qiuyun and retreated further...
Zhong Yulong's old face darkened. "Wan Yunting, at this point, do you have any other choice?"
Wan Yunting sneered, "Sect Leader Zhong, I don't want to be betrayed by your hidden blade!"
"Kill..."
The priest of the Sky Eye Divine Master sect wasted no more words. With a wave of his hand, he led the remaining nineteen followers directly towards Zhong Yulong and the others...
Instantly, the two sides clashed. Some fell into the thick snow of the Demon Pool as they fought, their blood staining the snow and seeping into the pool...
As the battle raged, more and more people died in the Demon Pool. The snow was kicked aside, revealing the crimson, intricate patterns etched into the bottom of the pool...
With the flow of blood, the etchings began to emit a red glow, accompanied by a surge of heat. The snow in the Demon Pool started to melt...
"Look quickly, the Demon Pool has been activated!"
This scene astonished Wan Yunting, Zhou Ruoxi, and Ye Qianqian...