"Didn't you have a tough mouth just now?" Ethan asked with a teasing smile that barely masked the razor-sharp edge beneath.

Azraeth V'Khorath's fury twisted his features, but Ethan's calm amusement only deepened the dark creases of his scorn.

"I ask again, where exactly did this formation come from?"

Ethan folded his arms, posture relaxed yet brimming with unshakable confidence.

"Haha, you don't need to know that," he replied lightly, as if discussing the weather.

Azraeth's sharp eyes glared, no longer entertained.

"Don't be so complacent, the power of the formation is closely related to the strength of the releaser. You can't always preside over the formation. Without someone to preside over it, how will the formation run? How many top-quality spiritual stones do you have?" he snarled, releasing all his remaining cards, weaving dense layers of defense around himself like a fortress.

Yet the power of the formation relentlessly gnawed away at his safeguards, no matter how tightly woven.

Azraeth's teeth clenched.

"You're right. I can't always preside over the Demon Sealing Cave formation."

"But I have a treasure trove of spiritual crystals." Ethan waved his hand, and shimmering piles of crystalline stones materialized beside him.

Not mere spiritual crystals—these were top-grade, interwoven with many spiritual essence. These essences bore far more potent spiritual energy than spiritual crystals crystals.

The mountain-sized piles gleamed with arcane power.

Azraeth's eyes widened in disbelief, pupils trembling like a storm at sea.

"But… spiritual essence? How? That's… impossible!" he gasped.

The spiritual essences were priceless—a rare resource needed to sustain powerful formations or puppets.

Most warriors in the Mahayana realm preferred spiritual crystals, reserving precious spiritual essence for dire situations.

Only the supreme elite in the Supreme Realm frequently used spiritual essence in cultivation, for only this essence contained the purity needed to approach that level.

And Ethan held hundreds of these rare spiritual essences—numbers even a powerful first-class sect could not match after millennia of accumulation.

Ethan's tone was calm but unwavering as he continued.

"Of course, I won't need all these crystals and essences to kill you."

"I'll use the formation first to sever your life source."

"Only when my strength is greater will I personally preside over the formation."

"You can imagine how devastating that will be."

Azraeth's gaze flickered with panic as a shadow of dread crept into his stare.

Ethan's serene expression remained unchanged—a quiet threat drifting like death's whisper.

Beneath Azraeth's eyes, Ethan took out a spear and plunged it deep into the ground.

With precise gestures, he carved out a sealed chamber beneath them, tucking away the formation compass and four jade bottles of blood essence.

He left towering mounds of spiritual crystals and dozens of pieces of spiritual essence, enough to fuel the formation's operation for at least half a year.

He then sealed the chamber with ninety-nine layers of protective restrictions, each ward a final barrier designed to strike down trouble at its root.

With his task complete, Ethan emerged from the ground, eyes fixed on Azraeth.

"Next time you come, I'll take your spiritual fire."

Veins bulged on Azraeth's forehead—a herald of restrained fury.

After, thousands of years fighting top human powerhouses, he had survived many deadly strikes.

But never once had he imagined a junior human like Ethan would entrap him so completely.

An unbearable disgrace.

"This kid's talent is extraordinary. Next time, he'll be stronger."

"As powerful as bloodline restoration is, it won't save me from him then!"

As his mind churned, shrill screams tore through the silence from above—demons wailing in anguish.

The Blackspire Mountains were home not just to his Black Demon Sect but to dozens of demon sects, large and small.

The imprisoned demons in this cave were all the descended clans from Blackspire.

Even Azraeth could not endure the crushing force of Ethan's formation.

Demons below the Mahayana realm, weaker in power and realm, succumbed swiftly.

In just half an hour, those once formidable demons with complex defenses were reduced to ashes.

Azraeth's eyes reddened with rage and despair—an unfamiliar, sickening emotion.

"No. We won't wait quietly for death!"

He unleashed the secret method that shook his foundation itself.

"This formation must be the inheritance of the Azure Origin Dao Sect's founding ancestor!"

Azraeth's mind raced.

Apart from the legendary Blue Void Ancestor, who had terrified the Skyreach Territory, no one else could have left such a powerful inheritance.

Azraeth's expression darkened, yet behind the bitterness lay reluctant admiration.

"Ethan may not be dead yet."

"The Azure Origin Dao Sect's secrets have been unlocked."

"I have six months left."

He condensed a string of demonic words, sending a secret call to the Black Demon Sect.

With one whispered command, the entire sect would know the attack was underway.

But this effort drained him—the formation's effect weakened his aura drastically.

If he had lasted a year before, now under the crushing power of the formation, he would last less than ten months.

Gritting his teeth, his voice a low growl of malice, Azraeth vowed, "Ethan, if I escape, I will peel your skin and drink your blood!"

At the eighteenth floor, Ethan reappeared, greeted by the six elders of the Demon Sealing Cave.

They hurried to surround him, relief and admiration shining in their eyes.

"Ethan, you are truly exceptional. Mr. Burn's trust in you was well placed!" Old Ghost Athen patted his shoulder warmly.

"How are you? What's the situation down there?"

Ethan's voice was cold, deadly serious.

"The formation is set. Even without me presiding over it, the formation will hold for about half a year."

"I will return then—and personally end Azraeth V'Khorath."

The fire in his words left no room for doubt.

Old Ghost Athen shook his head in amazement.

"Young man, you are astonishing!"

"Even Mr. Burn struggles against Azraeth V'Khorath, yet you aim to kill him entirely. Your realm is still behind your master, right?"

Ethan laughed, humility shining through.

"My master's strength is unparalleled. I merely utilize the formation of the Sect's ancestors."

"It's not enough for use beyond this place."

Azels smiled softly.

"You're too modest."

"You earned the ancestor's inheritance through your ability—none else could."

Leo stroked his beard, a smile creasing his wise face.

"The demons imprisoned below the fifteenth floor who were so difficult to kill… they couldn't last an hour in this formation."

"By now, over 60% are dead."

The demons agonized screams echoed—a joyous sign for the elders.

A/N:

Extra chapters

100 power stones - 1 Extra chapters

200 power stones - 2 Extra chapters

Capsule - 1 Extra chapters

Massage Chair - 3 Extra chapters

Luxury Car - 5 Extra Chapters

Magic Castle - 15 Extra Chapters

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