"It was you who betrayed Old Devil Yin!" The Devil Lord finally understood everything.

Old Devil Yin had mentioned this man to him several times, even recommending him. However, the Devil Lord had been too occupied with preparing for the matter of slaying the devil and stealing the stele to care much about it.

Who would have thought that this person was actually a spy planted by the ancient devil!

The Devil Lord glanced at Lingzhuzi. Lingzhuzi’s brows furrowed deeply.

"You want me to help you break the ancient barrier and release him? What nonsense!" Having been repeatedly provoked, the ancient devil was now burning with rage, wishing he could devour Devil Qingzhu alive.

Devil Qingzhu remained indifferent. His tone was calm as he said, "The Devil Monarch told me to ask you this: Will you return to your true body, or will your soul scatter into nothingness? Perhaps you’d prefer to be imprisoned and have your soul searched. You know the choice you must make! I—"

Before he could finish, Devil Qingzhu’s body suddenly trembled, and his aura fluctuated violently.

His face contorted in pain as he forcibly suppressed Qingzhu’s true soul. Snarling, he roared, "What are you trying to do!?"

The sudden change made everyone inwardly uneasy, uncertain what was happening within Devil Qingzhu.

While Devil Qingzhu and the ancient devil had been speaking, the others had already exchanged secret glances. They had decided to strike together and unleash their full strength and eliminate the weaker Devil Qingzhu first.

Though the ancient barrier had not yet shown any sign of breaking, and they didn’t know what preparations this man had made, killing him first could not be a mistake. Afterward, they could slowly deal with the ancient devil.

Seeing Devil Qingzhu’s aura become strange, they were about to make a move.

Suddenly, a faint voice echoed from within his body. "Return, sword soul!"

The instant the words fell, a sharp sound split the air above as a figure appeared out of thin air. Everyone looked up in shock.

"Huh?" Lingzhuzi’s eyes widened in astonishment.

He actually recognized the newcomer. It was Ning Wuhui, a disciple of Heavenly Dao Sect. He had willingly taken up the humble duty of gatekeeper, but his talent had earned him a place in the trial realm.

When Lingzhuzi led his disciples into Seven-Kill Hall, Ning Wuhui had been among them. Yet, since Ning Wuhui had always been quiet and low-key, Lingzhuzi knew little about him.

But Ning Wuhui only possesses a late-stage Core Formation cultivation, so how could he have entered the Spirit-Suppressing Domain? Lingzhuzi thought.

"You—" Lingzhuzi had just opened his mouth to question him when a brilliant light flashed at the top of Ning Wuhui’s head.

A Spiritual Infant leapt out, clutching a mysterious fragment in its arms, and shot straight into Devil Qingzhu’s body.

"An External Spiritual Infant!" the Devil Lord exclaimed, instantly seeing through its nature.

As the Spiritual Infant entered his body, Devil Qingzhu froze for an instant before erupting in fury.

His aura went wild, his face twisted grotesquely like a mad devil. His eyes blazed red while half of his face gradually regained normal color.

The same face now showed two utterly different expressions. One side was a devil, and the other a human! Seeing this, everyone halted mid-motion, realizing what was happening.

The two halves were locked in struggle, but clearly, the human side was gaining the upper hand. The devilish soul was being suppressed bit by bit.

"Who is he? I am not the sword soul!" A furious roar came from within Qingzhu’s body. It was the devilish soul, filled with rage and unwillingness.

"That’s right," said Qingzhu’s true soul, now taking full control.

His eyes cleared, and he sighed faintly. "You were the split soul of killing intent I cut out during my cultivation. I could have suppressed you, but when I was grievously wounded upon coming here, you nearly counterattacked. I had no choice but to seal you beneath Yitian Peak. Unexpectedly, an ancient devil lay hidden within the mountain. When I returned to retrieve you, you were gone. You were bewitched by that creature, turned into its dog, and left a trail of endless slaughter. Fortunately, you never discovered the barrier that sealed your memory, nor the truth of your origin."

"What?" The devilish soul was stunned, realizing something at once. "That jade slip on the path of swords..."

Qingzhu gave a soft hum. "Yes, the jade slip was meant for you! Your cultivation progressed far faster than I expected. The seal within you had already begun to loosen, and your memories were about to awaken. I had no choice but to leave behind the jade slip to lure you here.

"You and I are one, a soul divided in two, so it’s hard to say who is the master. When I found you, your cultivation had already surpassed mine. If you had regained your memories and sought me out to forcibly merge, I would have had no strength to resist. Our fusion would have produced nothing but a mad devil of pure slaughter.

"The sword soul is different. It was born from the cultivation art itself. The fusion of soul and sword light formed the devil seed. To devour its master, it must first suppress my soul, then strike when I’m defenseless. Only by deceiving you, making you believe yourself to be the sword soul, could I buy time to stabilize the seal within you and wait for my chance..."

As Qingzhu and the devilish soul faced each other, within the body, the External Spiritual Infant released the fragment it carried and used it to suppress the devilish soul.

Within the core of the devilish soul, Qingzhu's true soul was activating another fragment that was bound by a strange barrier. Though the two pieces differed in shape, they were clearly from the same treasure.

Thud! The two fragments joined as one, revealing the edge of a sword. It was part of a spiritual sword!

Upon the sword, the ancient character on its surface came together fully. It was the character "Kill"!

As the fragments merged, the shard of the Killing Sword gleamed brilliantly, radiating a strange force like condensed sword light.

The devilish soul screamed in agony, refusing to yield, struggling violently. But with the power of the sword fragment and the reinforcement of the barrier, Qingzhu’s true soul steadily gained dominance.

The madness in Qingzhu’s eyes gradually faded away. He had endured for decades, deliberately allowing the devilish soul to inhabit his body, bearing the torment in silence.

He sent a clone into the trial realm to obtain the Earthblood Ginseng, cultivate an external Spiritual Infant, and enter the Nether Valley to retrieve the other half of the Killing Sword fragment.

After a century of painstaking preparation, he finally turned the tide and reclaimed victory. The re-sealing of the devilish soul was now certain.

The Devil Lord and the others were all seasoned experts. Though Qingzhu’s two souls were facing each other within his upper dantian, they could roughly infer what had occurred from the changes on his face.

"You’re nothing more than a split soul yourself! Hahaha!" The ancient devil burst into wild laughter, filled with spiteful glee. But the laughter stopped abruptly as he suddenly lunged toward the fissure.

His true body was stronger than him. Now trapped in a desperate situation, there was only one path left to take.

"Stop him!" everyone shouted at once.

While sealing the devilish soul, Qingzhu shouted a shocking revelation. "Kill this devil quickly! The witch race has also been lured here by them..."

"What!" Fairy Nangui was taken aback. "The devil-sealing barrier was laid by the humans, witches, and demons together!"

***

Outside the ancient hall, Qin Sang concealed himself at the edge of a cliff, observing from afar.

His earlier guess had proven correct; the gray qi protected him. After walking out of the ancient hall, he remained completely unharmed.

True devilish qi filled the surroundings, and the area was crowded with top-tier experts. He dared not approach, only watching from a distance. What he could see and hear were scattered fragments. He understood little of the deeper secrets and could only piece things together by deduction.

Renowned masters of the human race appeared one after another, like figures in a passing parade. The situation changed repeatedly, dazzling and chaotic.

When Qingzhu appeared, and Qin Sang heard his loud shout, a spark flashed through his mind.

Others might not have known, but Qin Sang did. Qingzhu had once severed his own primordial spirit in order to cultivate the Primordial Spirit Sword Nourishment!

The battle erupted once again.

Qin Sang’s thoughts churned rapidly, when suddenly Bai spoke within his mind. "The Fire Curse Seed is reacting. Old Devil Mou is only feigning death!"