The two people dressed in red looked on, unable to hide their surprise. One of them said, “John Brooks senior brother, look at this person. Although he doesn’t know any spells, his nascent soul has already formed, and that protective purple aura is truly extraordinary. Think about the twelve Soul-Refining Blood Banners from our palace—how formidable they are! Yet after refining for two hours, they still haven’t completely broken through. It’s unimaginable. In terms of nascent soul achievement alone, he surpasses us.”

John Brooks also nodded. “That’s right. Although he doesn’t know Daoist arts, it seems he’s practicing the orthodox Xuanmen path. Did you see that protective golden leaf he used just now? I actually had to use up the Yin Fire Pearl bestowed by my master just to barely destroy it. What a pity! Logan Harris, this person must have some background. Maybe we’ve provoked some obscure reclusive sect. Sigh, we really shouldn’t have listened to that county magistrate’s son!”

Logan Harris dismissed this, saying, “That may be so, but since he doesn’t understand Daoist arts, it’s clear his sect isn’t strong in combat. We have many magical treasures granted by the palace, with boundless power—what is there to fear? Even if we can’t win, we still have the palace master herself backing us up!”

At the mention of the palace master, John Brooks was instantly invigorated. “Exactly! With the palace master here, what do we have to fear? Even if that Shi Tianji from the Sword-Hiding Palace personally intervened, the palace master wouldn’t be afraid, let alone anyone else.”

“Exactly, senior brother! Look, this nascent soul is powerful, but under the twelve Soul-Refining Blood Banners, it won’t last much longer. Soon it will be refined into a blood demon. Such a fine blood demon, if we present it to the palace master, she’ll surely be delighted. At that time, she’ll grant us more treasures and secret techniques, and our status in the palace will rise accordingly.” Thinking of this, Logan Harris couldn’t help but laugh heartily. He pointed with his hand, and the blood-red flames atop the phosphorescent long needle immediately blazed even brighter.

“Indeed, indeed!”

Just then, a clap of thunder sounded outside, the mountain shook and the earth trembled, causing stone chips to rain down.

“What’s going on?” Logan Harris asked in surprise.

“Our formation outside is under attack!” John Brooks was the one who had set up the formation outside, so as soon as it was attacked, he sensed it immediately.

The two exchanged glances and said in unison, “The nascent soul’s sect has caught up!”

Before they could finish speaking, two more bolts of thunder struck. Though the sound wasn’t loud, John Brooks’s face changed dramatically, his vital energy surging and his body swaying as if about to collapse. He knew the thunder outside was about to break through the formation, and he himself was suffering damage to his vital energy as a result.

“Don’t panic, senior brother, I’ll help you!” Logan Harris began chanting an incantation, and with a gesture, a red light shot up from his body, swirling around the cave before revealing a red net.

“Senior brother, hold on a bit longer. In half a moment, the nascent soul will be refined into a blood demon, and then I can free up the twelve Soul-Refining Blood Banners to fight together!” With that, Logan Harris cast the red net, and as the red light flared, the tremors from outside immediately lessened.

Seeing this, John Brooks felt much more at ease, but still inwardly complained. He knew that although the twelve Soul-Refining Blood Banners they had brought were extremely powerful treasures, they were now at the critical moment of refining the nascent soul. And his junior brother Logan Harris, having to control the banners, was unable to fight off the enemy, leaving him to struggle alone.

Meanwhile, outside, Eric Bennett was surprised that three thunder strikes had yielded no result. He saw the faint green light on the already tottering formation suddenly intensify, now overlaid with a layer of blood-red light. Frowning slightly, he pointed again, sending another thunderbolt crashing down. The mighty Shaoqing Heavenly Thunder struck, but the blood light only wavered slightly before returning to calm.

His estimation of the Blood Lotus Palace’s strength immediately rose a notch.

He withdrew his hand and turned to a trembling, well-dressed young man beside him. “You said it’s here?”

“Yes! Yes! Last time they brought me right here!” The well-dressed young man hurriedly knelt on the ground. “It’s definitely here, how could I dare deceive an immortal?”

Eric Bennett looked at his groveling, pleading manner with disgust. When he had first arrived at the county office’s inner courtyard, this man had tried to throw his weight around, ordering thugs to arrest him. But as soon as he revealed his magical powers and subdued him, under the threat of sword light, the man immediately turned spineless, begging for mercy and revealing the Blood Lotus Palace’s lair without hesitation.

Such a coward, so cold-hearted and afraid of death, would surely not dare to lie to save his own skin.

Eric Bennett immediately sensed something was wrong. Since there were people from the Blood Lotus Palace inside, why hadn’t they come out to confront him? If they feared his Daoist arts, they shouldn’t be passively resisting inside—they should have already fled. Why stay inside?

What were they doing in there?

As soon as he thought of this, his mind cleared: they must be refining his disciple’s nascent soul! Realizing this, he immediately abandoned the Shaoqing Divine Thunder, which could be used for a long time but was slightly less powerful, and switched to the immensely powerful Taiching Purple Palace Heavenly Thunder, which consumed a great deal of vital energy.

The golden core within him slowly rose, white light appeared around his body, and as Eric Bennett pressed his hand down, a faint rumble sounded. A beam of light descended from the sky—though it seemed slow, it actually fell with incredible speed, landing on the formation in an instant.

With a barely audible thunderclap, the green and blood-red lights that had appeared before the cave instantly collapsed, the flying sparks clearly visible even under the bright sun.