Chapter 122: The Dark Arts Manual

"How could it be this severe?" Long Yun’s brows furrowed slightly. The extent to which the Yin-Yang Spring had been eroded was far worse than he had imagined. If Xu Xian and he had arrived even half a quarter-hour later, the entire Yin-Yang Spring would likely have been destroyed. Fortunately, given the current state of things, there was still a glimmer of hope.

Blood-colored threads were constantly intertwining within the Yin-Yang Spring. Even without the infusion of Xue Qianli’s true energy, these residual blood-evil vapors continued to transform slowly.

"I cannot wait any longer!" Long Yun’s expression shifted slightly. The Reincarnation Mirror detached from his palm, flying out to hover above the Yin-Yang Spring.

"Power of Reincarnation, shift attributes!" Long Yun hummed softly, striking the Reincarnation Mirror with both hands simultaneously. Guided by his true energy, the mirror suddenly erupted with an eerie, supernatural light. The power of reincarnation surged forth frantically, immediately shrouding the Yin-Yang Spring.

The power of reincarnation is a cycle of cause and effect, returning all things to their most fundamental state or developing them to their ultimate limit, achieving an endless cycle. The countless demonic beings within the Reincarnation Space were, at this very moment, being purified of their demonic energy under the baptism of this power, transforming into truly pure human forms.

Long Yun was now attempting to use this same method to purge the blood-evil energy from the Yin-Yang Spring. However, although the power of reincarnation entering the spring successfully purified all the Yin-evil energy within, those blood-evil vapors were like maggots clinging to bone, impossible to dislodge.

Long Yun hesitated for a moment, then flicked his fingertip. A wisp of the Power of Creation shot out, merging into the fray. It worked! The blood-evil energy, intercepted by the Power of Creation, immediately began to dissipate. Yet, this was merely a single strand of force from Long Yun; compared to the entire contaminated spring, it was like a drop in the bucket.

Long Yun’s heart sank. Although he had found the method, the Power of Creation within him was insufficient to completely purify the blood-evil energy. At this moment, neither Long Yun nor the experts battling around the spring knew that, due to the tremors of the Yin-Yang Spring, all the branch spirit veins had ceased producing spiritual energy.

The entire Green Mountain System fell into panic. All the disciples were silent; could it be that the Yin-Yang Spring was lost?

"Senior Brother Long Yun, let me try!" Liu Xiaoxiao arrived at Long Yun’s side at that moment, speaking with a smile. Yan Qingqing also appeared beside Long Yun, her delicate arms instinctively clutching his, her eyes wary as she looked at Liu Xiaoxiao. She had never liked Liu Xiaoxiao and was filled with an inexplicable hostility toward her.

"Xiaoxiao, this blood-evil energy is extremely tyrannical; it cannot be fought by force alone!" Long Yun knew Liu Xiaoxiao’s secret. While he could not say for certain if it was true, if she were indeed proficient in the Demonic Path, she would certainly be more capable of this task than he was.

Liu Xiaoxiao nodded and said to Long Yun, "Senior Brother Long Yun, please guard the perimeter for me. I do not wish for others to see!" Having said this, she bit her cherry lips gently, her expression showing hesitation.

Long Yun understood her thoughts and nodded. "Rest assured, I will shield your aura. No one will be able to detect it!"

Only then did Liu Xiaoxiao smile brilliantly and step toward the edge of the Yin-Yang Spring. Her gaze drifted to the water, which was saturated with blood-evil energy, and her pretty face grew solemn. Long Yun narrowed his eyes and swept his hands to cast two curtains of golden light, effectively refracting Liu Xiaoxiao and the Yin-Yang Spring within them. The Power of Heaven-Stealing obscured the celestial secrets, ensuring not a shred of true energy leaked out.

Liu Xiaoxiao’s gaze flickered, and a sense of natural security welled up in her heart. Her heart skipped a beat—this sense of security came from Long Yun—but immediately, a wave of bitterness surged in her mind.

Struggling to shake her head and drive away the distracting thoughts, Liu Xiaoxiao’s beautiful eyes returned to calm. Her delicate hands lifted, conjuring countless hand seals before her.

"Absorb!" Liu Xiaoxiao called out softly. The runes surrounding her began to spin rapidly, forming a massive disc that rotated around her slender figure. It moved faster and faster until, visibly, a hurricane-like vortex erupted and crashed onto the surface of the Yin-Yang Spring.

"Whoosh!" The spring water, subjected to the immense suction of the vortex, formed a natural waterfall that merged into the swirling mass. Watching this, Long Yun could not help but frown slightly. That Liu Xiaoxiao possessed such ability was incredibly formidable; it seemed his understanding of her was still too simplistic.

Long Yun had long suspected that Liu Xiaoxiao had not told him everything. Her current actions confirmed his suspicions.

Golden light swirled across the sky, obscuring all of Liu Xiaoxiao’s movements. The experts outside continued their battles, especially Xue Qianli, who seemed to sense the change in the Yin-Yang Spring. He kept casting glances at that mass of golden light, his brows gradually furrowing. Although the Blood Demon Token had not completely eroded the spring, it had caused it significant trouble. Furthermore, the blood-evil energy would gradually seep into the spring, and it was only a matter of time before he fully controlled it. He had not expected that someone on the side of righteousness would be able to break his formation.

Yan Qingqing guarded the perimeter of the golden light shield, her delicate brows knitted in displeasure. Her peerless, beautiful face bore a look of frustration and resentment. Her cherry lips parted slightly as she muttered to herself, "Stupid brother, bad brother! Bad woman—"

Inside the light shield, Long Yun was completely stunned. The hurricane vortex above Liu Xiaoxiao’s head was drawing the spring water into it on one side, while on the other, it released the purified water back into the spring. The vortex acted like a massive converter, constantly purging the blood-evil energy from the water.

Long Yun could even sense that the blood-evil energy being purged was being absorbed entirely into Liu Xiaoxiao’s body, and her cultivation was growing rapidly. During the battle at the Yan Sect a few days prior, Liu Xiaoxiao had broken through to the Pre-Xian Realm, but she had been injured before she could consolidate her cultivation. Now, having rushed here without time to stabilize, she was using the influx of blood-evil energy to enter a meditative state, her true energy growing constantly.

"She is actually able to absorb blood-evil energy and transform it into her own cultivation. Truly a brilliant method. Liu Xiaoxiao, how much more are you hiding?" Long Yun pondered to himself.

"Hum—" A vibration echoed from around Liu Xiaoxiao, and her tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open, a flash of pitch-black light vanishing in an instant.

Though it lasted only a moment, Long Yun clearly caught it. He could not help but frown deeply. Such formidable power; a mere glance had caused his spirit to tremble. What kind of expert was fused within Xiaoxiao’s body?

Liu Xiaoxiao’s graceful hands moved like a celestial maiden’s, and the hurricanes exploded in an instant. With a twist of her body, she leaped into the air and dove straight into the Yin-Yang Spring.

The water rippled, bubbling like boiling liquid. Long Yun narrowed his eyes. Liu Xiaoxiao certainly had a trick up her sleeve; she had entered the spring, likely to hide her true progress from him. It seemed she was about to advance to the Innate Realm, and she feared that the inevitable phenomena would occur during her breakthrough. Long Yun realized she had planned this all along, hence why she asked him to shield the area.

It appeared that Liu Xiaoxiao’s decision to help purify the Yin-Yang Spring was no coincidence, but something she had long foreseen.

Thinking of this, Long Yun felt a slight sense of discomfort. Previously, he had held prejudices against Liu Xiaoxiao because his conflicts with the Human Sword lineage all stemmed from her. However, after her confession at the Hunting Assembly, Long Yun’s opinion had shifted; although he remained secretly on guard, his heart had softened.

Now, seeing that Liu Xiaoxiao had utilized his trust to forcibly absorb the Yin-evil energy to improve her cultivation—a practice clearly belonging to the Demonic Path—he felt uneasy. No wonder she had been able to keep pace with him despite his constant encounters with opportunities. It turned out she possessed such a cultivation method.

As he pondered, a pillar of water shot out from the spring. At its summit, a slender figure stood gracefully, looking at Long Yun with a faint, apologetic smile.