Chapter 95: Come Quickly and Help This Empress Suppress the Evil Fire!

Bang!

The moment Lu Jin dove into the cavern, the massive creature with a mink’s head and a human’s body lunged after him. Because Lu Jin had vanished so suddenly, it slammed face-first into the hole, its bulky frame becoming tightly wedged in the opening.

“He arrived at the perfect moment. Since he’s seeking death, grant him a dragon-pattern defense and let him serve as a plug.”

Lu Jin had just entered the space beneath the Eight Desolations Blood Dragon Altar and had yet to survey his surroundings when Empress Qinglian’s voice echoed in his mind.

*A plug?*

Lu Jin looked up, understanding her intent instantly.

*Puchi!*

In the next heartbeat, the Hell-Suppressing Sinfire Sword thrust upward, piercing through the skull of the trapped mink-headed monster.

Blood sprayed down like a torrential rain.

*Weng!*

Simultaneously, a dragon pattern surged forth, enveloping the massive mink’s corpse.

Lu Jin clapped his hands together and began a rapid descent into the depths.

Meanwhile, on the surface, the crowd watched the mink-headed monster lying motionless. Dragon patterns rippled across its body, leaving everyone stunned.

“What happened?”

Elder Chi Yu’s expression shifted, a faint sense of dread rising in her heart.

“Great Mink!”

She called out softly, but the creature remained still, its head buried in the ground. There was no way to discern its condition.

“Array, withdraw!”

*Weng…*

With a wave of Elder Chi Yu’s hand, the grand formation hovering above the Eight Desolations Blood Dragon Altar instantly vanished.

The half-dead disciples finally caught their breath, having narrowly escaped with their lives.

Elder Chi Yu flew toward the altar, but the mink didn’t budge. She attempted to use her Qi to lift it, only to be repelled by a powerful defensive force.

“What? It’s dead?”

When Elder Chi Yu realized the mink possessed not a shred of vitality, she erupted in a towering rage.

“Damnable brat! Bastard! Come out and meet your death!”

She roared, her voice so piercing it made the onlookers’ scalps tingle with fear.

“Elder Chi Yu, please calm yourself!”

“That boy entered the array base below; he is certainly doomed!”

“A Blood Dragon Bone is buried down there. Such terrifying baleful Qi ensures he won’t survive, not even one chance in ten!”

The experts from the Blood Moon Holy Land surrounding Elder Chi Yu tried to console her.

Hearing this, Elder Chi Yu looked at her beloved mink with heartache, sighing helplessly.

“The area below is the core of the grand formation. The energy there is violent and chaotic. If it were to be unleashed, even I could not withstand it. We can only wait and see.”

As her emotions stabilized, she reminded herself that the array base was not to be trifled with.

The Blood Moon Holy Land had originally built the grand formation here precisely because they had discovered a Blood Dragon Bone beneath the earth.

Though it was only a single bone, it contained peerless baleful Qi. The power of the grand formation they had constructed only utilized a fraction of that energy.

Even so, the formation was already this terrifying.

Since Lu Jin had ventured into the array base itself, he was surely walking into a one-way trip to the grave.

At this moment, Chu Tianxiong and the others exchanged glances, uncertain if Lu Jin could survive after disappearing underground.

Their expressions were heavy and conflicted, yet none dared to move recklessly. They could only wait.

Even after seeing her cherished mink die a miserable death, Elder Chi Yu didn’t dare pull the corpse out of the hole.

She felt her composure beginning to crumble.

Inside the array base, Lu Jin immediately felt waves of staggering baleful Qi washing over him. It felt like invisible knives hacking at his flesh.

Fortunately, the dragon patterns protected his body, preventing the baleful energy from harming him.

“Empress, is this what you wanted?”

Lu Jin was somewhat bewildered, unable to guess Empress Qinglian’s intentions.

Empress Qinglian let out a cold snort.

“This kind of trash is unworthy of my use. Walk toward the area where the baleful Qi is most concentrated. Ignore everything else.”

Lu Jin froze.

The baleful Qi here was already staggering, yet it didn’t even catch her eye?

*Fine, if you won’t use it, I will!*

In the next second, Lu Jin directly summoned the Heaven Burial Coffin, using it to devour the surrounding baleful Qi.

Almost the instant the energy was swallowed, it was refined into extremely pure spiritual power and fed back into his Jindan.

*Since you don’t want this good stuff, I’ll gladly accept it!*

Lu Jin smiled with satisfaction. The baleful Qi here was exceptionally thick. Through the conversion of the Heaven Burial Coffin, he felt the resulting spiritual power was even more concentrated than the Qi in the cultivation secret realms of the Ten Thousand Swords Sect.

In that case, he would devour it all!

As he moved forward, devouring as he went, the baleful Qi grew even more intense. Eventually, he reached a space where even the air was a translucent, blood-red hue.

*Kacha!*

Suddenly, a crack appeared on his dragon-pattern defense.

“What? Is it this powerful?”

Lu Jin was startled.

He had been so focused on devouring the energy that he had neglected his defenses. In the midst of this crimson, baleful Qi, his protection was actually starting to shatter.

The dragon patterns were incredibly sturdy, yet here they were being crushed by the sheer pressure of the blood-colored mist. It was clear just how horrifying the energy in this place truly was.

“Devour!”

Lu Jin unleashed the full swallowing power of the Heaven Burial Coffin, more frantically absorbing the surrounding baleful Qi. Simultaneously, he began repairing the cracks in the dragon patterns.

He continued deeper into the heart of the blood-colored space.

*Kacha!*

The sound of shattering echoed again as the dragon patterns finally reached their limit under the erosion of the baleful Qi. Lu Jin stopped, devoured the surrounding energy in a massive gulp, and paused to reinforce his defenses.

By the time he reached this point, he could clearly feel the spiritual power within his Jindan reaching a new peak. He was on the verge of a breakthrough.

“Have you had your fill? If so, it is my turn.”

Lu Jin finally stopped his absorption and focused entirely on circulating the Great Evolution Dragon Transformation Art. As the technique surged, the dragon patterns condensed around him once more, their luster deeper and more resilient than before, their aura far more majestic.

When Empress Qinglian’s voice drifted out, Lu Jin immediately replied.

“Please, go ahead!”

He was curious to see what she intended to do in the presence of such terrifying baleful Qi.

The moment he spoke, a figure appeared in the blood-red space ahead.

To Lu Jin’s shock, Empress Qinglian had shed her garments. Her long hair draped over her shoulders as she stood barefoot amidst the crimson mist. She looked ethereal, eerie, like a blood goddess bathing in a dreamlike, seductive landscape.

Empress Qinglian ignored Lu Jin’s stunned gaze. She moved with light, graceful steps, seemingly oblivious to the surrounding baleful Qi. Step by step, she walked into the depths of the crimson fog until she vanished from his sight.

Lu Jin immediately extended his spiritual force to investigate, but in this environment, his senses were severely restricted. He could only perceive things within a ten-zhang radius. Beyond that, everything was a blur of blood-colored light.

“Empress, be careful!”

Lu Jin clicked his tongue, feeling a mix of helplessness and genuine concern.

A low humming sound began to resonate from the depths of the blood-colored space. It was faint at first, but it grew louder and louder. After the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, even the air itself began to tremble.

Suddenly, Lu Jin felt his spiritual force expand abruptly as the density of the baleful Qi plummeted. The figure of the peerless woman emerged once more.

Just as he breathed a sigh of relief, a seductive, alluring voice reached his ears.

“Lu Jin, this Empress has swallowed too much baleful Qi. The evil fire is running rampant within my body. Come quickly and help me suppress it.”

***

Footnotes:

TN1: Jindan (金丹): Golden Core stage of cultivation.

TN2: Zhang (丈): Traditional measurement, approximately 3.33 meters.

TN3: Evil Fire (邪火): Often refers to a buildup of yang energy or lustful impulses caused by corrupted cultivation or intense external energy.