The Holy Lord took out a spatial ring and threw it to the Great Elder, then produced a uniquely shaped jade pendant.
With a casual toss, the jade pendant floated into the air.
The Holy Lord rapidly formed seals with his hands, channeling streams of true qi towards the jade pendant above.
"Buzz—!"
Accompanied by a humming sound, streaks of light shot out from the jade pendant.
The moment the light streams touched the ground, intricate formation patterns illuminated the earth.
Before long, a grand formation pattern materialized on the ground.
In the next instant, several beams of light erupted from the formation, striking fiercely at the dark energy in the sky!
"Pfft—!"
Upon contact, the dark energy was instantly dispersed by the beams of light.
Shards of light, like dappled sunlight filtering through leaves, projected down from the gaps in the dispersed energy, creating a scene reminiscent of being under a tree's canopy.
However, the Holy Lord's face showed no joy; instead, his expression grew even more tense!
Although this was his first time directly confronting the entity below, he had heard of its terrifying power more than once!
Things were proceeding too smoothly.
Too smoothly, in fact, which felt wrong!
As expected.
The dark energy, merely scattered for a moment, began to re-coalesce.
The Holy Land was once again enshrouded by pervasive darkness.
A few breaths later, the formation's second wave of impact arrived!
This time, however, it yielded no effect whatsoever…
Far from dispersing the dark energy, it barely created a ripple!
Even more terrifying, the dark energy began to spread downwards along the formation's attack!
"Buzz—!"
The formation let out a pained groan, its illuminated patterns dimming noticeably.
The Holy Lord gritted his teeth, desperately channeling true qi into the jade pendant above.
The aura of a peak Void Comprehension cultivator unleashed at full power was immense; vortexes of true qi formed around the Holy Lord!
But despite his desperate efforts, the outcome seemed unchanged.
As the dark energy continued to pour in, the formation's light grew dimmer and dimmer…
A quarter of an hour later.
"Crack!"
The jade pendant in the air crumbled into dust.
"Pfft—!"
The Holy Lord spat out a large mouthful of blood, sent flying backward.
"Rumble—!"
As the ground collapsed, the formation was completely destroyed!
"Great Elder, how much longer will it take?!" The Holy Lord asked anxiously, calming his disordered true qi.
"At the fastest, another quarter of an hour," the Great Elder replied, his brow beaded with sweat, without looking back.
Not just the Great Elder.
All the disciples involved in reinforcing the seal looked utterly exhausted.
They were all drenched in sweat, their faces alarmingly pale.
Fortunately, the progress was relatively smooth, and hope for success was visible.
No sooner had this thought crossed their minds than the seal trembled once more.
"Swish, swish, swish—!"
Instantly, more dark energy erupted from beneath the ground. Several disciples standing close by were immediately knocked to the ground!
As the demonic energy entered their bodies, these disciples began to rapidly decay.
"Help…"
Their cries for help were cut short as they transformed into blackened skeletons.
The skeletons then disintegrated into black specks of light, merging with the demonic energy.
The dark energy in the air had become incredibly dense, appearing as if ink had been solidified in mid-air.
The next moment.
The dark energy began to converge in one spot, forming a human shape.
The figure slowly descended.
Her entire being was enveloped in pitch-black demonic energy. Judging by her form, she appeared to be a woman.
Threads of black light connected her to the sealed area, seemingly channeling energy to her continuously.
"Thump!"
"The Demoness has emerged…" The Holy Lord sank to the ground, his face filled with despair: "It's over…"
"Holy Lord, we still have hope!" the Great Elder said with difficulty. "Now that the Demoness has contained her demonic energy, it gives us an opportunity. As long as we sever these black threads, we can cut off her power source!"
"However, we need time," the Great Elder gritted his teeth. "Holy Lord, it's up to you!"
"I understand!" Hearing there was still hope, the Holy Lord rose and flew into the air.
"All disciples of the Holy Land, heed my command!" The Holy Lord rapidly formed seals with his hands. "Stop the Demoness with all your might!"
In the next moment, countless cultivators flew from various parts of the Holy Land.
Their expressions were vacant, appearing like mere puppets.
"Holy Lord, you…" the Great Elder seemed to understand something, his face filled with shock.
"This is no time to dwell on such matters!" The Holy Lord's true qi began to take on a dark hue. "Hurry and reinforce the seal, or we will all die today!"
Streams of true qi, tinged with darkness, shot out from the Holy Lord's body, connecting with the Holy Land disciples.
"Go!"
With a wave of his hand, the Holy Lord sent these disciples charging towards the Demoness with muffled sounds!
"It feels so much better outside…" The Demoness completely ignored the Holy Land disciples, muttering to herself. "It's been so long since I could breathe so freely…"
The next moment.
Innumerable techniques struck the Demoness, instantly stirring up a cloud of dust.
Meanwhile.
Ye Fan sat on a ruined viewing platform in the distance, taking a bite of the watermelon in his hand.
Good heavens!
This Holy Land really knew how to play!
They'd sealed a Demoness underground.
And even their so-called Holy Lord was questionable.
According to the rule of "smoke without fire," the Holy Land was likely doomed.
After the Demoness finished them off, she would definitely target him.
He was acting so brazenly, eating watermelon here, so the Demoness would surely be displeased, right?!
If she was displeased, she'd definitely come after him.
Little girl, you'd better put on a good show later!
…
Things unfolded as Ye Fan predicted.
As the dust settled, the Demoness was unharmed.
"Tens of thousands of years have passed…" the Demoness said slowly, her hand gripping a Holy Land disciple's neck. "Has the Holy Land become this weak now…"
"Crack!"
With a forceful squeeze from the Demoness's right hand, the disciple's head lolled to the side, dead.
As the disciple died, the connection of true qi between him and the Holy Lord was severed.
The Holy Lord grunted, seemingly suffering a backlash.
Then, with a wave of her hand, the Demoness pulled another Holy Land disciple towards her.
The disciple appeared to have lost all consciousness.
With his true qi suppressed, he simply bit down on the Demoness's arm.
"Crunch!"
Perhaps due to the force, the Holy Land disciple snapped his teeth!
The Demoness raised her left hand and struck the disciple's crown.
"Splash!"
The Holy Land disciple's head exploded like a watermelon!
The Demoness grabbed yet another Holy Land disciple.
She didn't seem to be in any hurry, slowly killing them one by one.
As the Holy Land disciples continued to die, the Holy Lord's face grew paler and paler.
Finally.
"Pfft—!"
After another disciple perished, the Holy Lord vomited a mouthful of blood!
The injury caused him to lose control over his disciples, and clarity finally returned to their eyes.
"No… don't kill me…" The remaining disciples collapsed to the ground, begging the Demoness desperately.