The White-Haired Blood Immortal roared. His demonic aura vanished instantly, and he collapsed on the ground.
The surrounding Blood Sea Divine Ability dissipated, and his six-armed Dharma Form faded along with it.
Nezha lifted his hand. Demon-Binding Chains snaked through the air like a dragon, ensnaring him.
âMister Chen, the demon is subdued.â
Chen Changsheng gave a warm smile. âMuch obliged.â
He stepped forward towards the White-Haired Blood Immortal.
Bound tightly by Immortal-Binding Ropes, the White-Haired Blood Immortal lay immobilized.
Chen Changsheng looked down at him. âAre you convinced?â
The Blood Immortal sneered. âYou took advantage of others. Whereâs the honor in that?â
Chen Changsheng replied, âConviction matters not. Youâve lost regardless.â
The Blood Immortal scoffed. âI am a Blood Immortalâundying and eternal. Defeated? How absurd.â
Chen Changsheng said, âIâll watch you dissolve into blood and flee now. Letâs see if you escape my Heaven and Earth Seal!â
With a derisive laugh, the Blood Immortal exploded into crimson mist.
The Demon-Binding Chains returned to Nezhaâs grasp.
Both Nezha and the chains vanished as strands of golden light into Chen Changshengâs hair.
Chen Changsheng leaped upward, leaving the formation behind.
His gaze swept the Heaven and Earth Seal array. Within it, waves of blood mist dispersed in all directions.
Chen Changsheng raised two fingers, issuing a Divine Decree.
âSmaller!â
Immediately, the formation began to shrink.
âSmaller! Smaller! SmallerâŠâ
The great formation contracted foot by footâfrom hundreds of feet wide it squeezed to barely ten feet. It trapped the churning blood mist within an ever-tightening prison.
A mocking voice echoed from the confinement.
âDo you think trapping me is enough?â
Chen Changsheng remained calm. âI know youâve hidden soul fragments elsewhere. But do you truly believe they can still link back to you?â
As he spoke, Chen Changsheng gestured in the air.
âBy ancient words: One flower, one world. So then comes this Divine AbilityâŠâ
Two fingers pointed. The earth trembled. Everything around them inverted and churned as if a great dome rose from nothing.
âContain!â
Chen Changsheng spoke another word.
Inside the trapped formation, the Blood Immortal froze.
This power resembled his own Blood Sea Divine Ability. Heâd unwittingly gifted Chen Changsheng inspiration.
Creating a true Miniature World required immense effort. But fashioning a prison between dimensions? Far simpler.
Suddenly, the Blood Immortal felt his connection to his external soul fragments cut off.
Dread gripped him.
âYouâŠ!â
The crimson mists thrashed madly, eerie whispers hissing within.
Ignoring this, Chen Changsheng watched the prison coalesceâshimmer, shrink, and become a white flower. All sounds silenced as the blossom settled into his palm.
âŠ
MeanwhileâŠ
Across forests, along Imperial Roads, throughout the Northern Frontier⊠walking corpses collapsed simultaneously. Many bodies rotted within moments. Startled birds took flight amid the woodsâ sorrowful weeping.
The Northern Frontierâs corpse disaster had ended.
Yet those whose souls had been devoured? Theyâd never wake.
Corpses littered the land beneath chaos.
As if heaven pitied mortals, heavy snow fell across the Northern Frontierâblanketing horrors under solemn white.
â
Upon Mangxue Cityâs wallsâŠ
Lv Shan stared towards distant walking corpses collapsing one by one. Realization dawned.
âTheyâve lost control!â
Watching this, Ying En whispered, âThe evil cultivator must be dead.â
Yingyuan inhaled deeply. âMister Chen succeededâŠâ
The Old Dragon King remained impassive. Victory was inevitable.
âWe must ensure no corpses remain,â Ying En stated.
âAgreed.â
Ying En flew from the city walls straight into the forests.
Corpses piled beneath trees. Death Qi smothered mountains and valleys.
The group searched cautiously.
Yingyuanâs brow furrowed. âLiving presence!â
âHmm?â
Eyes scanned corpse mounds until they found one man breathing faintly.
âHow?â
Astonishment rippled through them.
Lv Shan felt perplexed. Werenât all victims soul-devoured? How did this survivor escape?
Ying En approached, channeling Power of Worship into the dying man.
Weakly, the manâs eyes fluttered open. âWhere⊠am IâŠ?â
They eyed each other, mystified.
âHis Soul Spirit remains intact.â
âTake him to town. Await Mister Chenâs return.â
âThere might be others! Keep searching.â
Thus began their sweeping search across the Northern Frontier.
â
Chen Changsheng returned to Mangxue City at dusk.
Finding no Old Dragon King upon the City Tower, he descended. Below, Lv Shan carried a man towards the city.
After settling the man, Lv Shan hurried to greet Mr. Chen.
âSir!â
Chen Changsheng nodded. âWho are these people?â
Lv Shan explained.
Chen Changsheng paused. âHow many?â
âSeventeen discovered so far. The Dragon Lord and others search for more.â
âShow me.â
Lv Shan led Chen Changsheng to survivors. Some had awokenâconfused, unaware of where they were or what occurred.
Chen Changsheng swept his Dharma Eye across the room but discerned nothing.
Focusing on one survivor, he delved into their Sea of Consciousness with his Soul Spirit.
There it wasâsomething pulsed like a crimson worm coiled in the depths. This was the Blood Immortalâs implanted fragment of Divine Sense.
Chen Changsheng unmade the worm with a thought.
Lv Shan asked, âSir, these peopleâŠâ
Chen Changsheng frowned. âThe Blood Cultivator planted blood worms in their minds. Preparing escape routes through Soul Possession.â
A shudder ran through Lv Shan. âThenâŠâ
âToo soon to say,â Chen Changsheng said grimly.
Though the Blood Immortalâs connection to these fragments was severed, Chen Changshengâs intuition screamed: This isnât over. Backup plans surely existed.
What stunned him? Thirty-seven such vessels lay scattered.
By nightfall, the Dragon Lord and Ying En returned. Thirty-seven living survivors sat before them.
A few werenât worm-infectedâtheir souls simply hadnât been consumed yet. Spared by timing.
Thirty-seven souls salvaged from countless thousands.
Chen Changsheng sighed softly. âDemonic Cultivator factions⊠truly bring eras of ruinâŠâ