Chapter 126

At this moment, more than ten li away from the battlefield, over ten youths in Myriad Sea Sect attire looked panicked and disheveled, their faces filled with terror and their eyes full of despair.

"Here... there are actually so many human geniuses enslaved by the Blood Spirit Clan," one of them said with a trembling voice.

"This isn't some ancient ruin at all; it's clearly the legendary forbidden zone, a burial ground! We're trapped here, just waiting to die!" another shouted desperately.

"Forget killing Dongfang Yuan; we're trapped here ourselves and could lose our lives at any moment!" Fear spread like a tide in the depths of everyone's eyes.

Since entering this realm, they have been constantly hunted. Originally over a hundred people, now only these over ten remain. Moreover, they have lost contact with other Dao lineages; it's obvious the other lineages also ran into trouble, being besieged and slaughtered by these Blood Spirits.

The leader was the Junior Sect Master of the Myriad Sea Sect, clad in a blood-stained white robe, his expression grave as he spoke in a low voice: "Eliminating Dongfang Yuan and the others is our mission this time." "Otherwise, after we get out, we'll still be reprimanded by the elders. Moreover, in years to come, once Dongfang Yuan grows up, we will surely die!" The two sides have long been enemies; the urgent priority now is to deal with Dongfang Yuan. Otherwise, whether they die early or late, they will die anyway. On their side they still have two Soul Formation Peak experts; dealing with Dongfang Yuan should be no problem. After all, Dongfang Yuan is a monstrous talent who survived the Forbidden Tribulation; if he rises, in a century their Dao lineage could be wiped out.

Upon hearing this, the many young disciples nodded in agreement.

"What the Junior Sect Master said is correct, but now... Blood Spirits and controlled Blood Slaves are everywhere; we fear we might perish before even seeing Dongfang Yuan and the Profound Yang Sect disciples," a disciple said worriedly.

"Moreover, their strength is weaker than ours; they likely already perished," another disciple echoed.

The Junior Sect Master of the Myriad Sea Sect shook his head slightly, a flash of wisdom in his eyes, and said: "When we entered the Ancient Ruins, my master covertly used a divine ability, leaving a faint life mark on Dongfang Yuan. As long as this jade pendant in my hand remains intact, he is still alive." Saying this, the Junior Sect Master produced a light-blue jade pendant, inside which a life source seemed to surge, very vigorous.

"The Blood Slaves that previously wanted to encircle us suddenly left, and up ahead there occurred an earth-shaking explosion, clearly a major disturbance." The Junior Sect Master continued his analysis: "We can take advantage of the chaos and rush to the Inner Perimeter Entrance. If the Profound Yang Sect disciples haven't perished yet, we'll seize the opportunity to ambush and eliminate them; if they have already perished, we'll head to the inner perimeter to find a way out. Of course... as soon as the Blood Spirit Clan reaches the inner perimeter, we will enter immediately."

After hearing this, everyone suddenly understood, scattering to probe with their spiritual senses. Indeed, more than ten li away, a huge disturbance kept coming, even accompanied by an ancient pressure. Their faces instantly turned fierce, thinking: "We can't beat this bunch of Blood Spirits and Blood Slaves all at Soul Formation Peak, nor can we handle the Profound Yang Sect disciples? Right now, charging forward at full speed amidst the chaos is the best plan."

Everyone instantly agreed on the plan, and under the leadership of the Myriad Sea Sect Junior Sect Master, they lowered their profiles and hurried forward. When they were several li out, everyone was shocked. A massive Blood Slaughter Grand Formation enveloped the area; inside, figures were blurry, but vague outlines of two opposing forces could be seen. The Blood Spirit Clan side appeared high-spirited and numerous.

"The two clans are fighting; that winged one must be the Heavenly Feather Clan recorded in ancient texts—I never expected to see them here," a disciple exclaimed in surprise.

"Although we don't know what happened, this is indeed our opportunity; rush to the inner perimeter and set up an ambush to wipe out the Profound Yang Sect!" the Junior Sect Master declared decisively.

"They must be fighting over the supreme treasure of the forbidden zone; we should leave immediately—this isn't a battle we can join." The disciples of the remaining Four Great Dao Lineages reached a consensus, shooting forward at high speed toward the inner perimeter, nearly burning their essence blood, advancing at full speed without daring to pause even a bit, for fear of being discovered.

However, inside the Blood Slaughter Grand Formation, Zhang Wu and Dongfang Yuan, among others, had already noticed the disciples of the Four Great Dao Lineages.

"These people... why are they sneaking around like thieves? And the slaughter is too horrible—hundreds entered, and only this few survived?" Zhang Wu inwardly felt relieved, glad he was following Qin Yu; otherwise, he'd be the one fleeing in disgrace outside.

At this moment, among the Blood Slave ranks were over ten disciples of the Four Great Dao Lineages with decent talent, who had signed contracts with the Blood Spirits. Seeing many of their senior brothers sneaking about like thieves, their hearts turned cold; they realized the situation was hopeless and that they could only await death.

Everyone noticed this small group of human outsiders, but no one took them seriously. After all, their strongest were only two Soul Formation Peak cultivators, with insubstantial foundations, utterly unable to affect the overall situation. Even if they entered the inner perimeter first, they would merely be scouting the path.

Just as the myriad beings were distracted, the situation on the field underwent a drastic change.

"Ant, die!" The Third Young Master slightly lifted his eyelids, eyes full of contempt. "A mere Foundation Establishment Seventh Layer ant dares to dream of fighting me? Know that within the clan, ordinary Earth Mystic cultivators must be overcome by me in reverse." He raised his right hand, and countless feather-like phantasms gathered, like a rushing great river, directly charging at Qin Yu to slaughter him.

Qin Yu moved; his bronze ancient sword burst forth with a faint divine radiance, scattering in the air. His whole body was like an unsheathed sharp sword, its sharp intent unstoppable. He felt that at this moment his entire body was about to be torn apart, pain overwhelming. This power was not his own, strong enough to burst his meridians.

"Buzz—" The void violently trembled; a sword aura over ten zhang long instantly condensed, and Qin Yu fiercely swung it forth.

"Screech!" A sharp, piercing sound rang out; that keen sword aura emitted terrifying Dao patterns, and this power not belonging to Qin Yu directly tore apart the feathered river.

"How could this be!" Third Young Master's expression shifted abruptly; a drop of essence blood welled from his fingertip and fell onto the ancient white feather in his hand. His figure then violently recoiled, attempting to flee, but the sword light arrived instantly, piercing his chest. This power... how could it belong to Foundation Establishment? His face filled with disbelief, he fell on the spot.

"Third Young Master!" Numerous reinforcements of the Tianyu clan and the geniuses who had previously fought in bloodshed roared in unison, bloodlight flashing in their eyes; they rushed over swiftly to shield Third Young Master's corpse. But at this moment, Third Young Master's flesh had lost its vitality, deathly aura entwining it.

Everyone present was stunned. The Tianyu clan's Third Young Master, who had previously slaughtered in all directions, had just fallen like that? You must know... the combat power he had previously displayed was at least at the fourth level of Earth Profound; with that white feather's support, it was terrifying. Yet now he was simply cleaved in two by a single sword strike from a human cultivator at the seventh level of Foundation Establishment. Everyone was dumbfounded.

Even Bi Xue Mu and others of the Blood Spirit clan fell into silence. Fortunately... if the Tianyu clan had not intervened earlier, it might have been me who died. Bi Xue Mu had earlier estimated that Qin Yu's sword... had reached the level of Dao Domain. Even if I, in the Spirit Transformation realm, burned my essence blood, I could at most mobilize Dao Domain power, and only for a brief moment—perhaps not enough to block it.

Bi Xue Mu felt a headache; where did this person come from? Now it even felt a bit afraid. A Foundation Establishment cultivator who had mastered the Phoenix, and now even a single sword strike could slay a genius.

As for the twenty geniuses who had previously dissolved their blood pledges and prepared for a death battle, their bodies now trembled with overwhelming excitement. They thought: Holy shit! We've struck it rich! This barbarian prince didn't deceive me. If the situation weren't so dire, everyone would practically be kowtowing to him. This is literally a reborn benefactor! The last shred of doubt also vanished with Qin Yu's move.

"Buzz—buzz—buzz!" At that moment, the white feather finally had its energy activated; a faint phantom seemed to surge upon it, manifesting an aged figure whose bore the traces of time's passage, appearing extremely ancient. He gazed down at the Third Young Master, and deep in his eyes a hint of a smile seemed to linger.

He… had deliberately slowed by a beat. Earlier he could have blocked this sword light, but this imprint of his would vanish on the spot. The Tianyu clan is not a monolith. The power behind the Third Young Master is too vast; if he were to obtain this expedition's leadership, his future position would be unshakable. This time he actively attached his spiritual imprint to the white feather—one as a backup, two: when encountering an unstoppable means, to let the Third Young Master die. Then his own soul could casually possess a Tianyu cultivator, thereby seizing the leadership of this expedition. This is also the order given by those behind him initially; when the Feather Emperor discovers it and assigns blame, he will also bear it. After all, beings at their level would not waste a spiritual imprint on the Feather Emperor's descendants? Furthermore, this is not the prince he secretly supports. Who would get up early for no profit?

"This is… the Immortal Sect Leader!"

"Please, Immortal Sect Leader, act and slay this human cultivator before us as an offering for the Third Young Master!" Followers' eyes flashed with hopeful light, yet deep down they also felt fear. This youth is too monstrous—he actually managed, at the seventh level of Foundation Establishment, to employ means to suppress and slay the Third Young Master. You must know… this generation's Third Young Master's talent could rank among the top ten; that is why they chose to follow him. Yet now he has fallen here.

At that moment, the Immortal Sect Leader's soul condensed and directly entered the body of a Tianyu youth; he stepped forward, and regulations surged.

"What audacity, daring to act against the direct lineage of my Tianyu royal family!"

"Even if you are the direct lineage of the Human King's line, today you shall be executed!"

At this moment the Immortal Sect Leader fell into contemplation: should he intervene and suppress? He might not be able to resolve it, and would even lose the leadership of this expedition's campaign. By borrowing momentum, entering the human cultivation world, he could gradually develop and scheme a realm. He now feels somewhat caught between a rock and a hard place, after all Qin Yu's sword—even if he himself were to come—would cause his imprint to dissipate.