207: A desperate situation is reversed, and the father's soul awakens.

The Nine Nether Purgatory Thunder Formation was fully activated!

The entire Thunder Attraction Platform seemed to transform into a netherworld thunder prison. Dark purple lightning bolts slithered across the cage walls like living creatures, emitting a teeth-aching sizzling sound. A terrifying suction force emanated from the depths of the lightning pool, not only greedily devouring everyone's spiritual energy but also exerting a force directly upon their Divine Souls, attempting to rip their spirits out!

"Ah!" The four Late Golden Core Stage Guixu Cultists bore the brunt of the attack. The Death Qi on their bodies seemed to become the perfect fuel, and they let out shrill, miserable screams. Their Divine Souls and cultivation bases were drained by the lightning pool like a bursting dam; their bodies shriveled rapidly, and within a few breaths, they turned to ashes!

Although Gongsun Hao was controlled, he possessed a deep cultivation base and practiced orthodox lightning techniques, so his resistance was slightly stronger. Even so, his expression was pained, and his body was involuntarily dragged toward the lightning pool.

The black-robed evil cultivator was not having an easy time either. As the primary controller of the Formation, while he could guide it to a certain extent, he was equally affected by the suction force. The Death Qi around him churned, clearly indicating he was paying a heavy price. He laughed maniacally, "It is their honor to sacrifice themselves for the Holy Cult! You all, become nourishment for the Holy Formation together!"

"Steady your minds!" Lin Xuan roared. His primal nascent soul shone brilliantly, and the chaotic-colored Taichu Power surged out like a tide, forming a relatively stable protective shield around himself, the three women beside him, and Madam Liu (who was being supported by Gongsun Yu), struggling to resist the pervasive suction and the pulling of their Divine Souls.

Su Wanqing thrust the frost silence sword into the ground, unleashing her full extreme cold Sword Intent. She formed another layer of ice crystal barrier inside the shield to further isolate the eerie Soul-sucking force, but her face was pale, clearly indicating a massive expenditure of energy. Qu Feiyan also put away her zither and formed hand seals. Her Blood Lotus Demonic Art transformed into streams of blood-colored runes that merged into the protective shield, enhancing its resilience. For the first time, a look of strain appeared on her charming face.

Gongsun Yu held her mother tightly, watching the apocalyptic scene before her. Seeing the clansmen she once knew (even if they were controlled) turn to dust before her eyes, and watching Lin Xuan and the two Senior Sisters struggling to hold on to protect them, her heart was filled with despair and anger.

"Why... why did it come to this..." she murmured helplessly, tears streaming down her face.

Just then, Madam Liu, who she was supporting, seemed to have regained a sliver of strength after being freed from the continuous draining of the black stone pillar. She looked at the struggling Lin Xuan, then at her grief-stricken daughter, a flash of determination in her eyes, and said in a weak yet clear voice:

"Yu'er... do not be afraid... your father... he... his remnant Soul... is right beneath this lightning pool!"

These words were like a thunderbolt, exploding in Gongsun Yu's ears!

"What?! Father... his remnant Soul?" Gongsun Yu looked sharply down at the rolling, dark purple lightning pool, which resembled a demon's gaping maw, unable to believe it.

Madam Liu smiled miserably and said intermittently, "Back then... your father... Gongsun Lie... he was the first to discover that Gongsun Hao was colluding with the evil cult... he tried to stop them... but was ambushed by their combined forces... his Physical Body was destroyed... but his cultivation had already reached the Nascent Soul stage, and his Divine Soul was resilient... at the last moment, he sent a sliver of his Origin remnant Soul... into the deepest part of this Thunder Attraction Platform's lightning pool... using the pure lightning power here to survive... and... and to protect the final Foundation of the Family..."

"They imprisoned me... draining my Bloodline Power and Soul Power... not only for the sacrifice... but also to... to force out that remnant Soul your father hid... and completely refine it..."

So that was it! Everything made sense now! Gongsun Yu's father, Gongsun Lie, had not completely perished; a sliver of his remnant Soul was hidden beneath this lightning pool! And the Guixu Cult and Gongsun Hao had imprisoned Madam Liu not only for the blood sacrifice but also to find and refine Gongsun Lie's remnant Soul to eliminate future trouble, and perhaps to obtain his memories regarding the Family's core Legacy!

"Father... he is still alive..." A light erupted in Gongsun Yu's eyes, a light never seen before—a mix of hope, sorrow, and determination!

Lin Xuan also heard Madam Liu's words, his heart jolting. He immediately ordered the System, "System, scan the depths of the lightning pool at full power, search for abnormal Soul Power fluctuations!"

[Scanning... Subject to interference from violent lightning energy and netherworld power... Target found! At the bottom of the lightning pool in the southeast direction, there exists a trace of extremely weak but essentially pure and powerful lightning Soul Power fluctuation, wrapped and protected by layers of lightning, currently being eroded by external netherworld power!]

Found it!

"Xiaoyu!" Lin Xuan looked at Gongsun Yu, his gaze sharp, "Your father can still be saved! But if this Formation is not broken, we will all die, and your father's remnant Soul will eventually be refined! Now, I need your power, I need the purest Bloodline Power of your Gongsun Family to awaken him and resonate with this corrupted Formation!"

He realized in an instant that the key to breaking the situation might lie with Gongsun Yu and that sliver of her father's remnant Soul! Using Bloodline as a guide and pure lightning power to counter this twisted Nine Nether Purgatory Thunder Formation!

"What should I do? Big Brother Lin!" Gongsun Yu asked without hesitation. At this moment, she was no longer the girl who needed protection, but a warrior fighting to save her father, mother, and companions!

"Drip your essence blood into the purple firmament thunder pendant! Call out to your father with all your Divine Soul and will! Guide the power of the pendant to communicate with the lightning pool!" Lin Xuan said quickly, while simultaneously maintaining the shield with all his might to resist the increasingly strong suction force.

Gongsun Yu nodded heavily. Without hesitation, she bit her fingertip and forced out several drops of essence blood containing rich Bloodline Power, dripping them onto the purple firmament thunder pendant!

Hum—!

The moment the purple firmament thunder pendant made contact with the direct lineage essence blood, it erupted with an unprecedented, brilliant purple light! A pure, vast, and majestic aura, as if originating from an ancient Thunder God, permeated the area, even temporarily suppressing the surrounding netherworld Death Qi!

Gongsun Yu closed her eyes, concentrated all her Soul Power, and directed a shout from the depths of her Bloodline and Soul toward the lightning pool:

"Father! It is Yu'er! Wake up! Help us break this Formation!"

Her voice, amplified by the purple firmament thunder pendant, transformed into an invisible ripple that pierced through the violent lightning and netherworld power, reaching straight into the depths of the lightning pool!

In an instant, the entire lightning pool suddenly stalled!

Within the rolling dark purple lightning, a sliver of weak yet incomparably pure and bright purple lightning light suddenly lit up, like a sleeping Dragon opening its eyes!

Following that, a will—weak yet carrying Supreme majesty and anger—erupted like a volcano that had been dormant for eons!

"Who... dares to harm my wife and daughter?! To defile my clan land?!"

An aged, weak, yet undeniably majestic voice, like the thunderous sound of the Nine Heavens, resonated deep within everyone's Divine Soul!

That sliver of purple lightning light suddenly expanded, transforming into an illusory yet towering figure—a middle-aged man with a resolute face and eyes like lightning. It was the phantom of Gongsun Yu's father, the remnant Soul of Gongsun Lie!

His gaze swept over his imprisoned wife and daughter, over the struggling Lin Xuan and the others, and finally locked onto the black-robed evil cultivator and the controlled Gongsun Hao. A monstrous rage and sorrow erupted in his eyes!

"With my remnant Soul, I summon the righteous thunder of the Nine Heavens! Cleanse the filth, restore clarity!"

Gongsun Lie's remnant Soul roared. He held his hands out, and the purple firmament thunder pendant, activated by Gongsun Yu's essence blood, seemed to receive a summons, transforming into a stream of light that flew into his hands! In an instant, the pure thunderclouds that had accumulated over the Thunder Roar Mountain Range for ten thousand years seemed to have found their master, letting out a deafening roar!

Rumble—!

Countless silver heavenly lightning bolts, as thick as water buckets and incomparably pure, tore through the dark clouds as if receiving a Supreme command. Ignoring the dark purple thunder prison cage, they descended ferociously! Their target was not Lin Xuan and the others, but the nine giant bronze pillars that served as the core of the Formation, as well as the black-robed evil cultivator and the lightning pool he had polluted!

The extremely Yang and rigid heavenly lightning of the Nine Heavens was the absolute nemesis of the netherworld Death Qi!

"No—!" The black-robed evil cultivator let out a terrified scream. He felt the Formation he had painstakingly set up was as fragile as paper before this glorious heavenly might!

Crack! Crack! Crack!

Under the bombardment of the heavenly lightning, the eerie light on the surface of the nine giant bronze pillars instantly dissipated, and the pillars cracked, covered in fissures!

The dark purple lightning pool, like an ice cube thrown into a raging fire, rapidly evaporated and was purified, revealing its original pure plasma form once again!

The thunder prison cage enveloping the Thunder Attraction Platform shattered in response!

"Pfft!" With the Formation forcibly broken, the black-robed evil cultivator suffered a violent backlash, spitting out a mouthful of black blood, his aura instantly wilting.

As for Gongsun Hao, who had been controlled all along, under the dual impact of the heavenly lightning cleansing and the appearance of Gongsun Lie's phantom, a moment of clarity suddenly returned to his eyes. He looked at Gongsun Lie's phantom, his face filled with endless regret and pain. He opened his mouth, but before he could say anything, he collapsed straight to the ground, unconscious.

Under the baptism of the heavenly lightning, all evil was purged, and the Thunder Attraction Platform temporarily regained a brief moment of clarity.

Gongsun Lie's phantom became even more illusory. He took a deep look at his wife, who was being supported by their daughter, then looked at Lin Xuan, his eyes filled with gratitude and trust. Finally, his gaze fell on his daughter, Gongsun Yu, filled with love and reluctance.

"Yu'er... live... well... the Family... I entrust to you..."

The voice grew weaker, and the phantom finally turned into specks of purple lightning light, dissipating into the air. The purple firmament thunder pendant also dimmed and fell back into Gongsun Yu's hands.

"Father!" Gongsun Yu burst into tears. She knew that her father's last sliver of remnant Soul had been completely burned away to save them and to cleanse the Family.

Madam Liu was also streaming with tears, holding her daughter tightly.

Lin Xuan breathed a sigh of relief and withdrew the shield. He watched the dissipating phantom, his heart filled with solemnity. This was a father and Clan Chief worthy of respect.

However, the crisis was not completely resolved!

The heavily injured black-robed evil cultivator, seeing that the situation was hopeless, felt a flash of madness and resentment in his eyes, and he suddenly crushed a pitch-black Talisman!

"The Holy Cult... will not let you off! Netherworld passage, open!"

An eerie spatial fluctuation suddenly appeared behind him, and a rotating black vortex, emitting a thick Death Qi, slowly took shape!

He wanted to escape! Moreover, he seemed to want to open some kind of passage!

Lin Xuan's eyes sharpened, "Want to leave? Stay!"

How could he let this culprit escape, and even more so, let him open an unknown passage! The Taichu Sword Domain instantly unfurled, enveloping the black-robed evil cultivator and the black vortex!

The final battle had not yet ended! And what new crisis did this suddenly appearing netherworld passage portend?