The sky darkened, and people from the righteous realm returned to the camp by the swamp.

Ye Tianfan remained by the side of the severely injured Tian Chu Zhenren, feeding him a pill every three hours to alleviate his injuries.

At this moment, Tian Chu Zhenren's finger slowly twitched.

Ye Tianfan quickly stepped forward and looked at Tian Chu Zhenren.

It seemed that Tian Chu Zhenren was mumbling something, so Ye Tianfan hurriedly leaned his ear in, but he couldn't hear any sound.

"Master, what are you saying? I can't hear!" Ye Tianfan said helplessly, unable to discern what Tian Chu Zhenren was saying. However, judging by Tian Chu Zhenren's condition, it was unlikely he could speak louder, which made Ye Tianfan very anxious.

Suddenly, a fierce and sinister aura emanated from Tian Chu Zhenren.

This situation left Ye Tianfan stunned.

This... This situation felt somewhat familiar to Ye Tianfan. Wasn't this how Zhen Dali looked when he succumbed to madness before? Could it be that Tian Chu Zhenren was also eroded by Demonic Qi?

Ye Tianfan could hardly believe it; he knew that his master's heart was of absolute righteousness. If he realized he had succumbed to madness, he might very well end his own life.

Just as Ye Tianfan was about to call for Tian Chu Zhenren, Tian Chu Zhenren suddenly began to slowly open his eyes.

What kind of eyes were they? When Ye Tianfan saw them, he felt a shiver down his spine—eyes filled with bloodthirsty frenzy, redness spreading across them. Just seeing those eyes felt as if he was staring into a blood-red abyss.

Tian Chu Zhenren's previously serious face was now twisted with malevolent ferocity.

Tian Chu Zhenren looked at Ye Tianfan and let out a sinister laugh, gasping as he said in a hoarse voice, "What am I saying? I'm saying, I crave blood!"

His tone was drawn out low, as if he mustered all his strength just to utter those words, and upon hearing them, Ye Tianfan felt a wave of dread.

Sure enough, before Ye Tianfan could turn to leave the tent and call for help, Tian Chu Zhenren disregarded his injuries, sat up from the bed, and quickly lunged at Ye Tianfan.

Ye Tianfan had no choice but to summon the Xuanhuang Pagoda to fend off Tian Chu Zhenren's attack.

The resting members of the righteous realm heard a "boom!" and hurriedly exited their tents to see what was happening. They saw the tent by Ye Tianfan's side disintegrate with an explosive crash, revealing Ye Tianfan beneath the Xuanhuang Pagoda and Tian Chu Zhenren, who had succumbed to madness, his body emanating fierce and sinister Qi.

Upon seeing this, they were initially stunned, but the people of the Dali Sect were the first to react. With the example of Zhen Dali before them, they quickly recognized that Tian Chu Zhenren had gone mad.

Jia Dali promptly led several disciples of the Dali Sect to surround Tian Chu Zhenren, chanting incantations and forming spells with their hands.

"Nephew Tianfan, do not let Brother Tian Chu leave this place. We must first seal the Demonic Qi within him; otherwise, with his body already near collapse, I doubt he'll last ten minutes before exhausting himself and dying," Jia Dali called to Ye Tianfan, who was caught in the encirclement as well.

Before his body could fully recover, Tian Chu Zhenren was essentially incapacitated, yet now he was full of energy, mostly due to his madness and being controlled by Demonic Qi, which led to wanton destruction. Though difficult to move, Tian Chu Zhenren managed to exert such force, completely depleting his strength.

Once the Demonic Qi completely controls Tian Chu Zhenren and he can no longer move, that will be the moment Tian Chu Zhenren dies.

"Thank you, Uncle Jia Dali. I understand. I will not let Master leave the encirclement," Ye Tianfan deeply nodded to Jia Dali, then sought to entangle Tian Chu Zhenren, preventing him from breaking out.

After taking in the situation, Tian Chu Zhenren instinctively sensed danger and attempted to break out of the encirclement.

But would Ye Tianfan allow it? Certainly not. If Tian Chu Zhenren truly slipped past the encirclement and left, by the time they found him again, they would probably only discover a corpse.

Ye Tianfan directly pressed the Xuanhuang Pagoda onto Tian Chu Zhenren's head to imprison him and prevent him from leaving the encirclement.

However, after subduing him, just as Ye Tianfan breathed a sigh of relief, Jia Dali said to him, "Do not suppress him. Once your pagoda subdues Brother Tian Chu, our seal becomes isolated and cannot reach Brother Tian Chu."

Ye Tianfan had no choice but to withdraw the Xuanhuang Pagoda. It could not be used, nor could they attack. Given Tian Chu Zhenren's physical condition, even a single punch could potentially kill him.

The most frustrating part was that although Tian Chu Zhenren's physical condition was poor, his attacks were not. Even though they couldn't reach Tian Chu Zhenren's peak strength, they were comparable to about eighty percent of Ye Tianfan's.

The situation now was that wherever Tian Chu Zhenren charged, Ye Tianfan had to intercept. If Tian Chu Zhenren attacked with magic, Ye Tianfan would use the Xuanhuang Pagoda to block it. If Tian Chu Zhenren attacked with fists, Ye Tianfan had to react cleverly, for using the Xuanhuang Pagoda to defend could push Tian Chu Zhenren into a critical state due to the recoil.

Hence, Ye Tianfan dared not use the Xuanhuang Pagoda for excessive defense.

Yet this couldn't go on, for Tian Chu Zhenren's meridians within were mostly severed, and forcibly using Immortal Techniques further destroyed them, changing repairable damage into permanent injuries, which would be calamitous.

Meanwhile, Jia Dali's efforts were still not complete.

"Nephew Tianfan, hold out for another 15 minutes. We've reached a critical stage, and I will now devote all my energy to the seal. During this period, Nephew Tianfan, don't let Brother Tian Chu leave the encirclement, or all efforts will be in vain," Jia Dali said, devoting all his focus to the seal, ignoring the situation within the encirclement.

"Don't worry, Uncle Jia Dali. I can hold out for 15 minutes," Ye Tianfan replied, his eyes never leaving Tian Chu Zhenren for a second.

"Master, oh master! Can't we just sit here, have some tea, and chat instead of struggling to the death?" Ye Tianfan said with a bitter smile.

At this moment, Tian Chu Zhenren ignored Ye Tianfan entirely and charged at him with a roar, trying to escape this unsettling place, but this pesky individual kept entangling him.

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