The Tianlan Saintess's chanting grew increasingly urgent. Suddenly, she extended a jade-like finger and pointed at the cauldron. The lid shot into the air, wreathed in a beam of azure light. Then, with a blinding flash of spiritual luminescence, a shower of sparkling azure sand erupted from the cauldron, transforming into countless points of starlight that blanketed the sky above the altar. Gazing upon it, one could not help but fall into an illusion hovering between dream and reality.
The silver-robed woman paused her incantation and pointed at the thin chains binding the demon beast to the altar.
With a flash of light, the silver chains reverted to fine threads and constricted around the beast's body like hundreds of blades cutting downward simultaneously. The Azure Wind Ox was literally dismembered into over a hundred pieces, and the stench of blood instantly filled the entire plaza.
At that moment, the azure sand descended like a galaxy falling to earth, blanketing the altar in dense layers.
Immediately, the beast's corpse was covered by a layer of azure luminescence. Each grain of sand flickered between bright and dim, as though it were absorbing the flesh and blood. The sight was deeply unsettling.
A jade-green sphere of light suddenly burst from the beast's corpse and shot upward into the sky — it was the Primordial Spirit of the Azure Wind Ox, cultivated over many long years.
But countless azure beams shot up from the altar like bolts from powerful crossbows, striking the sphere from the sky in the blink of an eye. Then the azure sand surged upward and submerged the beast's Primordial Spirit beneath it.
The enormous mass of flesh and blood was completely dissolved in less time than it took to eat a meal, without even a single remnant of bone left behind.
Having absorbed the flesh and blood, the azure sand rose into the air once more, each grain faintly tinged with a blood-red hue.
Seeing this, the silver-robed woman's expression remained unperturbed. She waved her hand toward the massive white serpent, and silver threads similarly transformed into chains, binding the creature securely before silently moving it onto the altar…
After an identical blood sacrifice — with the azure sand having absorbed the essence, soul, and flesh of two Seventh-Level demon beasts — it finally transformed into a mass of blood-red clouds that hung motionless above the altar.
The silver-robed woman now used hand seals to activate the great cauldron. With a deep hum, the cauldron slowly descended onto the altar.
"Now let us begin the summoning of the Sacred Beast. I must ask you both to lend me your strength," the silver-robed woman said, turning to the handsome young man and the purple-haired beauty beside her with a note of respectful request.
"Naturally. We will lend our full support," the handsome young man replied with a slight, composed smile.
The purple-haired woman also smiled, pressing her lips together.
The silver-robed woman nodded, raised both hands, and sent her ten fingers dancing in sequence. Seal after seal flew outward into the surrounding formations.
Instantly, spiritual light blazed at every point, and the formations began to operate.
The great cauldron on the altar seemed to resonate with the formations below, flickering between dark and bright with azure spiritual light. The flames adorning the cauldron, however, appeared somewhat weakened.
The woman took half a step forward, slightly raised her graceful neck, and began reciting an arcane incantation.
At this, the two Grand Immortal Masters flanking her each placed a palm on her delicate shoulders. Pure spiritual power flowed steadily into her body.
Her entire form shimmered with silver light, and upon her forehead, a peculiar pattern slowly emerged — the head of an ox merged with the body of a flood dragon.
She brought her palms together and then separated them. Two pillars of concentrated spiritual power shot from her palms and struck the cauldron.
The cauldron spun ceaselessly, absorbing all of the white light within. Then, suddenly, a swath of azure luminescence burst forth from inside, coalescing in an instant into a sphere of light the size of an egg. It continued to compress and condense toward its center, growing blindingly bright.
Seeing this, the silver-robed woman's expression turned grave. The pillars of light she emitted began to fluctuate — thin one moment, thick the next — as though she were manipulating the radiance within the cauldron.
Beside her, the handsome young man and the purple-haired woman dared not slacken either, pouring their spiritual power into the Tianlan Saintess without a moment's pause.
Time trickled by. The sphere of light grew ever more dazzling and began emitting a sharp, piercing hum.
At this point, the formations around the perimeter also responded, shooting pillars of five-colored spiritual light that continuously streamed into the sphere.
The silver-robed woman's gaze grew ever more cautious, but her incantations grew ever lower.
After the time it takes to eat a meal, with a deafening boom, the sphere contracted and then expanded before bursting apart. A blinding azure sun rose in an instant, only to vanish as quickly as it had appeared. In its place, an azure misty portal roughly the size of an egg materialized at the spot — but it too lasted only a brief moment before dissolving.
And in that brief instant, a streak of crimson light shot from the portal and plunged directly into the blood clouds suspended overhead.
The floating blood sand was drawn to it as if by a magnet, immediately swarming around the crimson light and enveloping it tightly. A blood-red cocoon roughly a foot in diameter took shape, and one could clearly see something writhing within.
All the surrounding Tuwu Immortal Masters stared, dumbstruck. But the silver-robed woman silently tapped the cauldron, and a vast sweep of azure threads surged forth, dragging the blood cocoon from the air down into the cauldron. Then a streak of rainbow light descended from beyond the sky, sealing the cauldron's lid tight.
The azure flames surged to a height of two or three zhang, engulfing the great cauldron entirely.