The four of them began absorbing the essence in the stone pool. The thousand-year jade marrow liquid was an extremely rare treasure even for cultivators of their level.

Barely half an hour in, Xiao Chen turned bright red and leaped out. “Ahhh! No, I can’t take it anymore! I can’t absorb any more!”

Without even bothering to get dressed, he sat down cross-legged on the ground, completely naked, and began refining the jade marrow energy.

Soon after, it was Cao Yan’s turn. He lasted only slightly longer, roughly the time it took an incense stick to burn, before bursting out of the stone pool with blue flames engulfing his entire body.

Ye Feng’s face had already turned ashen, but he was barely holding on, ghostly energy wreathing his arm. He had even called on the Ghost Arm to help refine the power.

Fifteen minutes later, only Li Guanqi remained in the stone pool, still frantically refining the jade marrow essence.

Watching the milky-white liquid swirl and hum, the three of them looked at Li Guanqi, shocked.

Black, sinister energy seeped from Li Guanqi, yet his expression remained calm as still water.

Cao Yan muttered, “Boss is simply monstrous. Just how tough are his dantian and soul? He’s absorbed so much, and nothing has happened yet.”

Xiao Chen also chimed in with his complaints, while Ye Feng merely narrowed his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them.

After refining some of the energy, Ye Feng walked over to Li Guanqi. He reached out and grasped the faint black energy in the air. A corrosive sizzling rang out, burning his skin.

Ye Feng frowned. This wasn’t the source power of Abyssal Demons at all. This was the power of... demons. Evil, cold, and bloodthirsty. Countless negative emotions surged through Ye Feng’s mind, and he had only touched a trace. Even that single trace was slightly clouding his mind.

Looking at Li Guanqi, Ye Feng’s expression grew incredibly serious. Li Guanqi’s skin had visibly darkened.

Ye Feng’s face sank. How Li Guanqi had endured for so long was beyond imagination. Earlier, he had even spent his vital force suppressing Ji Hong and the others. If it had been Ye Feng in his place, even all of that vital force wouldn’t have been enough to hold back the demonic qi.

Ye Feng started to get dressed, not even bothering to refine all the energy in his body. He called out in a low voice, “Third Brother, Fourth Brother, come over here!”

Cao Yan suppressed the power within him, flashed to Ye Feng’s side, and asked gravely, “What’s wrong, Second Brother?”

Xiao Chen quickly dressed and joined them.

Ye Feng looked at the power surging inside Li Guanqi and said coldly, “Boss has the demonic qi left behind by those three Mei-tier assassins. This demonic qi... if Boss tries to refine it alone, no one knows how long it’ll take. We’ll help him.”

Li Guanqi heard them, of course. He hesitated a moment over whether to accept the help. After thinking it over, he decided to let them. Otherwise, he didn’t know how long the demonic qi would torment him. Ever since his injury, his sea of consciousness had been flooded with negative, bloodthirsty emotions. The drain on his mind was extreme.

Cao Yan and Xiao Chen frowned. They’d thought Li Guanqi was only lightly injured and hadn’t expected anything this serious. Without another word, they both sat down behind Li Guanqi.

The trio pressed their palms against Li Guanqi’s back. The temperature inside the cave soared in an instant.

Of the three of them, Ye Feng might have had the strongest overall power, but Cao Yan possessed the strongest divine consciousness, so the task of guiding the combined forces fell to him. Ye Feng and Xiao Chen only had to follow his lead.

Under Cao Yan’s guidance, the Brilliant Sunset Flame, the Yin Hellfire, and Cao Yan’s own mutated flame gradually merged to refine the demonic qi within Li Guanqi’s body.

Li Guanqi trusted them completely. He opened his mind, letting Cao Yan direct the two heavenly fires.

Gradually, strands of black smoke were expelled from Li Guanqi’s body, refined away.

Meanwhile, as the group remained in the Purple Spirit Paradise Realm, a woman in a gorgeous green dress was rushing back toward the Daxia Sword Sect.

In the pitch-black void, she moved like lightning, her bright eyes shining with urgency. A faint smile lingered on her lips, betraying her impatience.

This green-dressed woman was none other than Song Zhi’ang, who had left the sect years ago to venture into the cultivation world.

In just a few short years, her cultivation had reached the mid Nascent Soul Realm. Such speed clearly hadn’t come from ordinary cultivation alone. She must have run into her share of fortuitous opportunities along the way.

Inside a closed room, a shadow stood still with his hands clasped behind his back. His face was dark.

Han Chengxian sat in a chair sipping tea. He glanced at the restless Duantai Yiting and said calmly, “Fellow Daoist Duantai, you can see the situation now. There’s no use being anxious. Better to calm down and lie low for the moment. Do you really think they’ll stay holed up in the sect forever?”

Duantai Yiting snorted coldly, his eyes narrowing with a chilling killing intent. In a hoarse voice, he said, “Are we just going to keep dragging this out? Hmph. You and I... neither of us has time left! We can’t just keep waiting!”

He turned toward the door and added coldly, “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed that we’re being monitored.”

Han Chengxian calmly set down his teacup and adjusted his robes.

“Just wait,” he said evenly. “We’ve only just returned. We know nothing, and we’re completely in the dark. Better to stay quiet for a while and gather information before making further plans.”

A sharp light flashed in Duantai Yiting’s eyes. He nodded, swept his sleeve, and left, murmuring, “Then it seems we have no choice.”

Watching him go, Han Chengxian laughed coldly and poured another cup, murmuring, “Duantai Yiting... seems the final reincarnation Heavenly Tribulation has left you with little time. Heh... is this still the same Duantai Yiting who once ruled battlefields and intimidated all sides?”

Outside the territory of the Daxia Sword Sect, a white-robed swordsman slowly stepped out from the void. He gazed at the grand, imposing sect before him with admiration. “So this is the Daxia Sword Sect? Truly magnificent!”

Buzz!

An elder in the embroidered uniform of Heavenly Metal Peak looked coldly at the young man beyond the domain. He frowned and asked sternly, “Who goes there?”

The young man adjusted his white robes, smiled, and bowed politely. “I’m Li Shenzhi of the Bright Mirror Sect from the Falling Sunset Territory. I’m a friend of Senior Li Guanqi. I came to offer my congratulations.”