Chapter 822: Not Forgotten for a Single Moment

Whoosh!

The north wind carried sand, dust, and the stench of blood.

In the southern region of Yixian, the prosperous appearance of yesteryear was long gone.

The firmament was shrouded by a blood-red sun; the original scorching sun had been dyed scarlet, like a giant eye peering down at the human world.

This place had completely devolved into a bloody purgatory; the earth was torn by countless blade marks, and from the cracks spreading like spiderwebs, scarlet blood seeped out, converging into winding streams of blood.

Amidst the ruined walls and broken pillars, corpses were piled high, with severed limbs and shattered armor mixed together.

Chen Min collapsed in a pool of blood, the soil beneath him soaked into a dark brown; thousands of Great Xia military guards, including those of the Extreme Dao Martial, stood up blankly one by one, looking toward where Li Zhiyi was.

A blood-colored cocoon with a diameter of ten miles spanned the space between heaven and earth, its edges suspended with spatial rifts like a shattered mirror.

At the edges of the blood cocoon, distorted space devoured light, continuously erupting with ear-piercing shrieks.

An increasingly dangerous aura spilled out from within that blood cocoon.

Boiling, boiling; everything seemed as if it were about to erupt in the next instant.

Blood Brand, emerge!

Zhang Xing stood suspended in the clouds, the Sky-Splitting Sun-Shooting Bow in his hand; a smile was on his face, but his eyes were sinister.

Zhang Xing's gaze swept across the high sky, only to see Chen Youqing's vermilion lips pressed into a line, with specks of blood-red light flickering at her fingertips.

She stared fixedly at where Li Zhiyi was, a flicker of burning heat and palpitation hidden in the depths of her eyes.

A smile appeared at the corners of Zhang Xing's mouth; at this moment, he was not quite as attractive as before.

He transformed into a stream of light, flying toward Li Zhiyi, and finally appeared before the blood cocoon.

Seeing Zhang Xing arrive, Chen Youqing knitted her brows.

Immediately, Chen Youqing nodded and paid him no further mind; within her sleeves, her fair hands formed seals, and streaks of red light flowed through the meridians of her arms, as if to be completely branded into her bloodline.

Chen Youqing's heart palpitated; the moment the Blood Brand emerged, she sensed that the Blood Brand scabbard had also emerged.

The scabbard was the restraint of the blade, the connection between the Blood Brand and its possessor.

What she was doing now was allowing the Blood Brand scabbard to completely merge into her right arm.

And at this moment, Li Zhiyi had already been devoured by the Blood Brand inside the blood cocoon.

This was an irreversible process; furthermore, because of the existence of the blood cocoon, even those of the Eighth Rank could not see what was happening inside.

Even if an Eighth Ranker were to perceive it with the aura of life and death, their aura of life and death would be severed by the Blood Brand.

This was the true power of the Blood Brand after its emergence.

The breath Chen Youqing let out was full of relief, her previously tense shoulders softened, and she felt as if a heavy stone in her heart had finally settled firmly to the ground.

It was worth all the planning she had done, even sacrificing the armies of the Five Clans.

It was easy to imagine that if she ultimately obtained the Blood Brand through the scabbard, it would not only make Great Xia furious to the extreme.

It would also provoke all sorts of dissatisfaction among the high-ranking members of the Five Clans, and even lead to power struggles.

But...

"This is a world where martial might can determine the fate of the heavens!"

Chen Youqing lifted her chin slightly, her eyes filled with confidence.

Among the top five divine artifacts in the world.

The world's second, the Purple Firmament World-Fixing Mirror, and the world's third, the Calamity Bone Divine Lamp, were both shared by the Five Clans, bearing the most powerful opportunities.

The Calamity Bone Divine Lamp had thousands of sub-lamps, devouring malice and containing the divine technique 【Calamity Bone Thousand Shadow Kill】.

The Purple Firmament World-Fixing Mirror contained an entire world within it, serving as a crucible for peak powerhouses.

The world's fourth, the Inkstone Light Brush, was missing.

The world's first, the Xia Sovereign Sword, could even protect an entire nation.

Among the top five, only the Blood Brand and the Xia Sovereign Sword were weapons of ultimate combat power.

After obtaining the Blood Brand, Chen Youqing, who was already at the peak of the Eighth Rank, could leap to become, aside from the various Province Lords and people like Lu Xunyang...

The strongest of the Eighth Rank!

By then, she would be a truly formidable combat force, truly capable of determining the fate of a province.

For this, giving up anything was acceptable.

Even if the high-ranking members of the Five Clans were extremely dissatisfied, by then, Chen Youqing would already be able to withstand their dissatisfaction.

There was only one thing that was a pity...

Li Zhiyi.

Chen Youqing shook her head slightly; what Li Zhiyi had displayed was far too beyond reason.

For instance, those few moves that killed Pang Hai were clearly not something that someone who had just entered the martial path could master.

The possibility that Li Zhiyi was artificially designed was too high.

But his will...

That a person could display a will that reached such a degree.

This was something that even made Chen Youqing feel ashamed.

Such a person, at any time, could have grown into the most extraordinary and flamboyant figure.

Li Zhiyi was an uncut jade, an uncut jade that should not have been used in such a way.

If the Blood Gu had been Ji Tianhe, Chen Youqing would not have felt such regret.

But there was no help for it.

Moreover, regarding Li Zhiyi, Chen Youqing felt a sense of dissatisfaction in her heart.

"Your existence makes the growth of Venerable Chen Yan seem like a joke; I absolutely do not believe that a great person who could create the True Martial Path would be inferior to you..."

Chen Youqing pursed her lips:

"It is the mistake of the Lord of Will to abandon His Honor Chen Yan and not choose you!"

Chen Youqing's eyes looked toward a distant direction, as if she were staring directly at that majestic existence hidden in the darkness.

When Chen Yan died, the Lord of Will did not appear.

Then, when this Li Zhiyi is devoured and destroyed by the Blood Brand, will the Lord of Will appear?

If He appears, many things prepared by Master Chen will also appear.

This battle is very likely to evolve into a supreme battle that will completely change the human race.

Regarding a Master of Martial Dao, Master Chen has never felt fear.

Secretly merging with the Blood Brand scabbard, Chen Youqing's eyes locked onto Zhang Xing once again.

"You jumping insect!" Chen Youqing shouted coldly.

Bang!

Under the Blood Sun, the Blood Brand blade cocoon pulsed like the heart of the earth, each tremor causing metal and stone to hum within a thousand miles.

Zhang Xing, dressed in white with his hands behind his back, walked beside the blood cocoon, narrowing his eyes.

As he approached.

Hum!

A blood-colored blade mark instantly struck out from the blood cocoon; Zhang Xing waved one hand, the blade mark grazing his palm and drawing a spray of blood, and one of his fingers was severed.

Zhang Xing's expression did not change as he continued to step forward.

Bang!

The blood cocoon pulsed again, and the earth trembled.

Thoughts flickered in Zhang Xing's mind; deep within the earth, pieces of pitch-black Malice Crystals were drawn by his power, tunneling toward the blood cocoon.

The pieces of Malice Crystals were arranged beneath the blood cocoon according to the array positions of Qian, Kun, Zhen, Xun, and others.

Zhang Xing stepped on the earth, slowly flying according to the Eight Trigrams positions, appearing to be observing the blood cocoon, but in reality, he had already thoroughly deployed the Malice Crystals in every aspect around the blood cocoon.

Swish!

Another blood mark slashed over; Zhang Xing tilted his head slightly, and a few strands of black hair were cut off.

"Zhang Xing."

Chen Youqing spoke abruptly:

"As a supreme Creation Realm expert, why must you cling to a Great Xia that is about to collapse?

Join my Five Clans, and you can be given better treatment.

My father is a Ninth-Rank His Honor and can help you achieve the strongest Eighth-Rank."

A smile appeared at the corners of Zhang Xing's mouth, and his eyes held a trace of mockery as he looked at Chen Youqing.

This is the foolish human race; this is the trash-like human Martial Dao.

Even after becoming an Eighth-Rank, they cannot perceive the rhythm of the Malice Crystals, nor can they detect the operation of malice.

They are just like a group of insects, never understanding that fire can be man-made.

This is the difference in rank, a true difference as vast as clouds and mud.

In the ten thousand years of human Martial Dao, the only thing that has truly posed a threat to malice is the power of will.

This Chen Youqing is still trying to win him, Zhang Xing, over, not knowing that all of this is already within Zhang Xing's plan.

"They are nothing but a group of livestock waiting to rebel."

Zhang Xing whispered in his heart, returning once again to his usual state of indifference.

Chen Youqing narrowed her eyes, cold light gradually appearing in the depths of her pupils; Zhang Xing's disregard made her very uncomfortable.

At the same time.

Deep underground.

Zhang Huizhi sat cross-legged calmly, having received the latest report from the Thunder Ball Spirits.

"Malice Crystals?" Zhang Huizhi frowned.

"Yes, Boss!"

One Thunder Ball Spirit said:

"That Zhang Xing has deployed quite a few Malice Crystals."

Zhang Huizhi raised his head, a look of confusion appearing in his eyes:

"What does he want with Malice Crystals?"

"We don't know," the Thunder Ball Spirit said.

Slap!

Zhang Huizhi slapped it away:

"You don't know? What do I need you for, one by one, not knowing this and not knowing that!"

The group of Thunder Ball Spirits trembled in fear of Zhang Huizhi.

Zhang Huizhi stood up, his figure flickering like a phantom.

The world's fifth divine technique, 【Boundary Instant】, activate!

"I don't care what they are trying to do, anyway..."

Zhang Huizhi narrowed his eyes:

"Those who block me die!"

His voice fell:

"Boss is mighty!"

"Boss is mighty!"

"Boss is mighty!"

A group of thunder-ball creatures began to cheer.

Zhang Huizhi kicked one of the thunder-ball creatures away:

"Shut your mouths, all of you! Even with a Concealment Array Disk, what will you do if you expose me by making such a racket?!"

In an instant, the group of thunder-ball creatures began to tremble in fear once again.

Watching this scene, Zhang Huizhi burst into loud laughter:

"Idiots, all idiots. Great Xia, the Five Clans are all idiots. In the entire world, there is only I, Zhang Huizhi!"

…………

Buzz, buzz, buzz!

Inside the blood cocoon.

Crack, crack, crack!

Strands of golden-red power of will burst forth from the Blood Brand.

This was the power of will that Li Zhiyi had injected into the Blood Brand from the very beginning.

At this moment, it was continuously shattering the Blood Brand.

Bang, bang, bang!

A series of cracking sounds rang out.

The divine artifact Blood Brand trembled and disintegrated, turning into blood-red fragments.

Li Zhiyi's eyes erupted with golden light, and the rolling power of will instantly enveloped these Blood Brand fragments.

A dense killing intent burst forth instantly, and the Blood Brand fragments turned into crimson liquid, coiling around Li Zhiyi's arms like living creatures.

Gradually, the liquid flowed through the seams of his clothes and seeped into his skin.

In an instant.

Endless killing intent rushed into Li Zhiyi's divine sense.

The next moment.

The veins on Li Zhiyi's forehead bulged, the Qi and blood throughout his body surged into dark red heat waves, and even his hair was stained scarlet.

"Kill!"

Li Zhiyi let out a low roar that did not sound human.

His eyes were as red as burning coals, a low, angry roar rolled from his throat, and his killing intent swept through the surroundings like a physical force; wherever it passed, even the air seemed to solidify and shatter.

"Kill everything, kill everyone, kill them all, kill, kill, kill!!!"

He roared, roaring like a blood beast that had just been birthed.

"I want to kill the whole world!"

"You are cowardly, you deserve to die!"

"You are hypocritical, you deserve to die!"

"You are selfish, you deserve to die!"

"You are lazy, you deserve to die!"

"You have high standards but low abilities, you deserve to die!"

"Those who do not follow my will!"

He stood up, his eyes growing redder and redder.

"Those who do not understand my heart!"

"Those who do not fulfill my wishes, those who do not care for my feelings!"

One by one, the Blood Brand fragments were integrated into his body.

"Those who block my Dao, destroy my principles, sever my plans, or resist my decrees..."

He grinned hideously:

"Deserve to die, deserve to die, all deserve to die!"

The terrifying killing intent completely enveloped Li Zhiyi; this was the necessary path he had to take to devour the Blood Brand.

It was also a chasm that he had to cross.

Boom!

The golden-red power of will overflowed from every part of Li Zhiyi's physical body, attempting to transform the blood-colored killing intent, but it was contaminated by the blood-red, becoming even more scarlet.

"I want to attain the Dao through killing, I want to slaughter the ends of the earth, I want to exterminate all living beings."

Li Zhiyi stood up, one hand brushing over his face, his blood-red gaze peering through his fingers.

"Because everyone deserves to die!"

Boom!

Terrifying waves of blood surged, crashing against the blood-colored cocoon that shrouded Li Zhiyi.

Yet, at this very moment.

"Qingshan Chen Yan!"

That cold voice rang out in Li Zhiyi's mind, and Li Zhiyi's body stiffened.

"Have you forgotten your ambition to dare to make the sun and moon change into a new sky?!"

This voice was like clear water being splashed upon him.

"Qingshan Chen Yan, are you seeking to open the path through slaughter, or are you seeking to attain the Dao through slaughter?"

This voice was grand in the extreme, ringing out across the ages, across the world.

"Qingshan Chen Yan, have you forgotten your original great vow?!"

Li Zhiyi froze in place, he looked up toward the zenith:

"Everyone, everyone is blocking me!"

He roared in extreme rage:

"No one stands shoulder to shoulder with me, no one is by my side, no one... no one at all!

I have walked too fast, I have walked too far!"

He shook his head, growling low:

"No, it is they who are too slow, too incompetent, too weak!"

Silence, silence.

"Then you..." that voice softened:

"Have you forgotten?"

Li Zhiyi opened his mouth, his aura growing increasingly powerful, the killing intent within his body gradually merging with the power of his will.

The path of will rushed toward a mysteriously powerful realm.

"Chen..."

Li Zhiyi's eyes were scarlet, he roared:

"Chen... I have not forgotten for even a single moment!"