Chapter 1023: The Blood Coffin Seal

"Marquis Realm?!"

"Impossible!"

Staring at the terrifying existence seated cross-legged atop the blood lotus, everyone present changed expression. Even Li Li Lingjing, who had been silent all along, tightened her jade-like grip on the Green Bamboo Snake Staff little by little, until faint creaking sounds could be heard.

Li Luo also drew in a sharp breath, his expression shifting unpredictably.

And the others, in their absolute horror, could not help but verge on collapse: "Isn't there a rule in this Spiritual Resonance Grotto-Heaven that suppresses power? Why can its strength be raised to the Marquis Realm?!"

Right now, the strongest among their side were merely a few Xiao Tian Xiang Jing cultivators. Previously, this aberration had only possessed Da Tian Xiang Jing strength, and although their side had struggled to deal with it, with the advantage of numbers they had at least managed to put up some resistance. But now that it had suddenly surged to the Marquis Realm, the fight was utterly hopeless.

So at this moment, Li Li Wuyuan, Senior Zong Sha, Zhu Zhu, Mu Yao and the rest all revealed looks of despair, their expressions numb as they gazed at the aberration seated upon the blood lotus, its eyes brimming with a look of sorrowful compassion.

This was exactly like a pack of wolf cubs in a hunting ground, when suddenly an adult fierce tiger barged in.

The morale of the crowd plummeted to rock bottom at this moment.

The handsome youth seated cross-legged atop the blood lotus gazed at the panicked crowd, his smile growing ever more gentle. He greatly enjoyed this emotion steeped in fear.

"My target is her. If you seize her and hand her over to me, I can spare the rest of you." The handsome youth extended a finger, pointing at Li Li Lingjing, and said softly.

At these words, everyone was shocked. They stared at Li Li Lingjing in astonishment — this aberration had actually come for her?

"Li Li Lingjing, did you lure this aberration here?!" General Zhao shouted sternly.

"Li Li Lingjing, don't drag everyone down with you. If you brought it here, then you should deal with it yourself!" That Mu Yao also said in a dark, gloomy voice.

The others also wore expressions of uncertainty and suspicion, not knowing why Li Li Lingjing would be connected to the aberration.

Yet facing their gazes, Li Li Lingjing merely said offhandedly: "If you want to make a move, then make one. Let's see whether, after this aberration has enjoyed watching us tear each other apart, it will truly be moved by mercy and let you go."

The crowd faltered at her words. To count on an aberration's mercy was undoubtedly madness.

"Use your brains. It just wants to watch us slaughter each other for its entertainment," Li Luo also said coldly at this moment.

"So what? Are we supposed to fight a true demon?!" Mu Yao raged.

"If you want to run, then run on your own. But if anyone wants to lay a hand on Cousin Li Lingjing, they'll have to ask the blade in my hand whether it agrees!" Li Luo's ancient, unadorned straight blade shimmered with cold light, his majestic phase force slowly surging upward, and the three Tian Zhu behind him grew ever more resplendent.

Li Li Fuling, Li Li Fengyi, Li Li Jingtao and the others immediately stepped forward in agreement.

Li Li Wuyuan, Li Guan and the other branches hesitated briefly, but they were not so foolish as to part ways with Li Luo and Li Li Lingjing at this moment. After all, they were not stupid — creating a rift and going their separate ways now would bring them no benefit at all, and would only make them a laughingstock.

Lu Qing'er likewise led Jin-Zhong Jie and the other guards, standing firmly on Li Luo's side.

"We cannot fight amongst ourselves right now. We must work together with one mind if we are to find even a slim chance of survival," Senior Zong Sha sighed and advised.

General Zhao and Mu Yao, seeing the stance of the crowd, immediately felt somewhat deflated, realizing they could not push Li Li Lingjing out.

Upon the blood lotus, the aberration gazed at the crowd with a gentle smile, then shook its head regretfully and said: "It seems you have chosen a path of death."

"Very well, you are all prodigies, proud and talented, and thus delectable morsels. If I truly let you go, I would feel a little reluctant."

It possessed the innate ability to devour. With all the prodigies of various factions present, in its eyes this was nothing short of a grand feast.

As its voice fell, it swept its sleeve, and the towering blood river beneath it immediately let out a tremendous roar. Then the crowd watched, faces changing, as the blood river surged with an overwhelming momentum, like floodwaters bursting through a broken dam, pouring down directly upon this stretch of heaven and earth.

Li Luo and the others bore the brunt of it.

Energy dragon wings unfurled from Li Luo's back. The wings beat, and he hurriedly rose into the air.

The others also circulated their phase force in succession, soaring into the sky, not daring to come into contact with the viscous, bone-chilling, eerie blood water.

However, an attack from a true demon aberration was clearly not going to be so simple.

As the blood river spread, it directly transformed into a sea of blood, completely covering this entire region.

The true demon aberration sat cross-legged upon the blood lotus, smiling as it watched the panicked crowd dodging about. Then it suddenly dragged a fingernail across its chest, tearing away flesh and blood, and from within it actually drew out a segment of bone, ghastly white.

It then casually snapped the bone in two and tossed it into the sea of blood.

Boom! Boom!

The ghastly white bone was instantly stained red, and at the same time began to swell rapidly. In the space of a few breaths, that bone transformed into blood-red bone coffins, standing silently upon the sea of blood.

"Ladies and gentlemen, please enter your coffins," the true demon aberration said with a smile.

Yet upon seeing this sight, the crowd was already filled with horror. How could they dare to linger? They all retreated violently, attempting to flee this sea of blood region.

They had already seen it clearly — upon this sea of blood, the true demon aberration's methods were bizarre and unfathomable, utterly impossible to resist.

Li Luo thought the same. The energy dragon wings behind him beat, and he was about to retreat violently.

But just at the instant his figure pulled back, he felt his vision inexplicably black out. Space itself seemed to show signs of distortion, and then he felt his back strike something. When he focused his gaze, his expression could not help but change drastically.

Because the blood coffin had appeared behind him at some unknown moment, and as he retreated, his entire body had automatically crashed straight into it.

Such eerie methods filled Li Luo's heart with a chill.

Yet before he could even unleash his phase force to break free, the blood coffin behind him erupted with a terrifying suction force, rendering him unable to move. At the same time, a coffin lid flew down — slap! — sealing the blood coffin shut.

In the instant the blood coffin sealed shut, he also saw that all the others, just like him, had been completely sealed within blood coffins.

Above the sea of blood, all was silent. Only blood coffins floated quietly in the air.

The moment the true demon aberration struck, it displayed an almost crushing power. Under such methods, Li Luo and the others at Tian Zhu Jing and Xiao Tian Xiang Jing had absolutely no power to resist.

The two sides' strength was simply not on the same level.

The true demon aberration sat cross-legged upon the blood lotus, elbow resting on knee, palm propping up its chin, smiling as it gazed at the blood coffins suspended in the air. Then it gently pressed downward, and the blood coffins slowly descended onto the sea of blood. Blood water flowed up over them, faintly forming twisted, hideous faces on the outside of the coffins.

It opened its mouth, revealing a crimson tongue, which slowly drooped down like a serpent's forked tongue.

"Whom shall I eat first?" Its gaze roamed over the blood coffins.

Once one fell into its blood coffin seal, given that these brats before it were merely Tian Zhu Jing and Xiao Tian Xiang Jing cultivators, escape was impossible.

"Hmm?"

However, just as the true demon aberration had chosen a blood coffin and was preparing to start with a little appetizer, its pupils suddenly contracted.

Its gaze shot over, and it saw that among those blood coffins, four of them were actually beginning to tremble slowly at this moment.

Within them, it seemed a powerful force was erupting, breaking apart its blood coffin seal.

"Oh? Some ability after all." The true demon aberration chuckled lightly.

Boom!

The next moment, four torrents of immense energy surged forth, and four blood coffins shattered at once, four luminous figures shooting skyward and standing mid-air. "(I streamed briefly on TikTok yesterday out of boredom—everyone was very enthusiastic. I'd planned to stream while writing to keep myself accountable, but after an hour I'd only written three hundred characters, hahaha—I'll try it again next time I have time.)"