Chapter 1252: Nightmare Art, Severing Platform

A drop of Li Yuan Shan's blood hovered in Li Luo's palm, and he did not hesitate for a moment—he immediately activated the "Dragon Blood Nightmare Art."

During this time, he had already preliminarily mastered this technique.

Li Luo bit his fingertip, blood flowing out, quickly gathering before him until it formed a crimson doll.

But at this moment, the doll had no face—its facial region was blank.

Seeing this, Li Luo dripped Li Yuan Shan's blood onto the doll's face; instantly, the blood soaked in, and the doll's face twisted and shifted.

Gradually, features emerged.

The face was unmistakably identical to Li Yuan Shan's.

Li Luo's actions were observed by all eyes in the arena; outsiders did not understand, but the Five Guards knew exactly what he intended—after all, some among the Five Guards had also cultivated the Dragon Blood Nightmare Art, so they were not unfamiliar with it.

Yet what puzzled them was whether Li Luo truly meant to use this Dragon Blood Nightmare Art to sever Li Yuan Shan's realm?!

Didn't he know that the stronger the target, the greater the backlash?

At this moment, Li Yuan Shan, due to the Blood Fusion Secret Art, was already at an unprecedented peak state, yet Li Luo still dared to cast a Nightmare Art upon him with nothing more than Da Tian Xiang Jing power—wasn't this asking for backlash?

They had never seen anyone bold enough to use the Dragon Blood Nightmare Art this way.

"Truly foolish!" Li Hong Que sneered. The fact that Li Luo took the Dragon Blood Nightmare Art from the Dragon Treasure Vault was no secret, so they had considered he might use it against Li Qing Bai—but they never imagined his target would be Li Yuan Shan.

Li Zhi Huo also frowned slightly; Li Luo's actions were truly irrational, yet given his character, he was not reckless—so why had he chosen this? Did he have some hidden advantage?

"I once heard Li Qing Feng say that during the Dragon Head Contest, he measured Li Luo's Dragon Blood lineage with the 'Dragon Blood Balance Art,' and Li Qing Feng suffered a crushing defeat—perhaps that is Li Luo's advantage," said Yuan Tianzhao, the Left Dragon Blood Envoy.

Li Zhi Huo shook his head slightly. "Even if his Dragon Blood lineage is thick, it still cannot be enough to give him the confidence to cast a Nightmare Art against a peak Third Rank Marquis."

Yuan Tianzhao shrugged. "Then I have no idea what he's thinking."

"It's better than doing nothing—after all, Li Yuan Shan already holds the advantage," said Li Hong Que.

As they spoke, their eyes never left the arena; as Li Luo's blood doll solidified, his lips moved slightly, as if emitting mysterious syllables that stirred the celestial energies.

Drops of blood began rising from Li Luo's fingertips, transforming into writhing blood runes, like strange insects.

Li Luo extended his hand; the blood runes converged toward his palm, forming a thin, cicada-wing-like crimson blade.

The blade was inscribed with crimson, eerie runes.

Li Luo pinched the crimson blade between his fingers and glanced at the blood doll before him—he couldn't help but feel his own moves looked like those of a villain.

But he didn't care about appearances—as long as it worked.

He fixed his gaze on the blood doll, slowly raising the blade, locking onto it—and the instant he locked on, he suddenly felt the blade in his hand grow immensely heavy.

Boom!

Simultaneously, Li Yuan Shan's aura and energy fluctuations surged to their peak; his gaze pierced like lightning toward Li Luo far away, his voice thundering: "Li Luo, stop wasting your strength—bringing backlash upon yourself will leave you gravely wounded. Save your strength to join Jiang Jiang Qinge for one final strike!"

As Li Yuan Shan's thunderous shout rang out, the three towering Marquis Platforms above his head erupted with blinding radiance, like three great suns hanging in the sky.

A powerful, overwhelming pressure radiated from them.

At this moment, Li Yuan Shan was drawing immeasurably close to Fourth Rank Marquis.

Yet facing Li Yuan Shan's roar, Li Luo remained unmoved; his fingers, pinching the crimson blade, trembled slightly—the seemingly simple act of swinging the blade had become excruciatingly difficult.

Boom!

Above Li Luo's head, his Tian Xiang Map of nine thousand five hundred zhang churned violently; his eyes held only the crimson blade between his fingers, while within his body, his blood surged like the Dahe River, and deep within the blood, ancient, majestic dragon roars echoed.

In this instant, Li Luo's half-dragon form grew even more imposing; the dragon scales on his skin faintly refracted golden light.

Even, as the golden light interwove, a faint, elusive giant dragon silhouette seemed to form behind him.

The moment that mysterious dragon shadow appeared, many members of the Li Li Tianwang lineage suddenly felt a crushing pressure.

They did not know what it was—but Li Li Jiluo, Li Li Qingpeng, and others atop the heights, their expressions changed slightly, exclaiming in surprise: "This is… the Heavenly Dragon's Shadow!"

Li Li Jiluo's expression turned solemn; to manifest the Heavenly Dragon's Shadow meant Li Luo's own Dragon Blood lineage was purer and denser than imagined.

At this moment, Li Luo also felt a vast power surge into him, hardening his gaze; the trembling crimson blade in his hand slashed straight down toward the blood doll before him.

"Dragon Blood Nightmare Art—Slice!"

The blade's light cut across the blood doll.

Roar!

At this moment, Li Yuan Shan's body hairs stood on end—he sensed an invisible force descending, his face twisting into ferocity, his roar like thunder echoing throughout the arena.

"You, a mere Da Tian Xiang Jing, dare slice me?!"

"You seek backlash—then I shall grant it!"

Li Yuan Shan let out a long, howling cry; his three Marquis Platforms erupted with rolling energy, pouring forth like a flood in all directions, while behind him, a gray-yellow dragon shadow coiled, gradually engulfing the gray-white rocklight.

At this moment, Li Yuan Shan pushed his power to its absolute limit, attempting to force Li Luo's Nightmare Art into backlash.

He simply refused to believe that his current state could be overwhelmed by a mere Da Tian Xiang Jing Li Luo!

Countless eyes in the arena held their breath—this unusual clash was truly astonishing.

Hiss!

The crimson blade sliced through the void, then floated gently over the blood doll.

As the blade passed through the doll, smoke suddenly rose from it, and the blade rapidly dissolved.

An indescribable shock surged violently within Li Luo, sweeping through his limbs and bones.

That was… backlash!

Li Luo's blood roared in violent motion; ancient dragon roars echoed repeatedly within his body, and under the resistance of these roars, the backlash force began to weaken.

Yet the backlash force was stronger than imagined.

The dragon roars echoed, yet the backlash force rapidly spread, attempting to destroy Li Luo's body.

Seeing this, Li Luo remained calm—he withdrew the defense formed by the dragon roars, deliberately drawing the backlash force toward a specific point within his body.

There, a mysterious golden wheel, as enigmatic as the most mysterious thing in the world, lay quietly crouched.

All of the backlash force was drawn into it.

This sudden intrusion of foreign force also stirred the lazy golden wheel, which seemed somewhat displeased and rotated slightly.

Immediately, an ancient rumbling sound rang out.

And those backlash forces, under the wheel's rotation, vanished completely in an instant.

Hoo—

A breath of turbid air slowly exhaled from Li Luo's mouth. His slightly drooping eyes lifted at this moment, and he shot a smile toward Jiang Qing, who was watching worriedly from the side.

"Everything is under control." His smile carried a hint of smugness within its confidence.

And Li Luo's being unharmed immediately drew gasps of horror from many present; Li Zhihuo and Li Hongque both found it hard to believe.

"He actually wasn't backlashed?!"

The next instant, their gazes hurriedly shot toward Li Yuanshan's position. If Li Luo wasn't backlashed, then it meant the Dragon Blood Nightmare Art had taken effect?!

And amid many incredulous gazes, Li Yuanshan's expression also turned ugly. He slowly raised his head, looking at the three majestic, resplendent Marquis Platforms above.

It was seen that at this moment, one of those Marquis Platforms suddenly became incomparably dim, the world's energy scattering in all directions, and then that Marquis Platform transformed into dim light descending from the sky, sinking into the crown of Li Yuanshan's head.

At the same time, the powerful energy pressure emanating from within him also plummeted at a startling speed at this moment.

Below, Li Qingbai, who was holding the Blood-Melting Lamp, stared dumbfounded.

Even many of the Marquis-level powerhouses watching the battle widened their eyes.

Everyone understood what this represented.

Li Yuanshan had been forcibly cut down one Marquis Platform by Li Luo. Although it was only temporary, it meant that the current Li Yuanshan had fallen directly from a Third Rank Marquis to a Second Rank Marquis.

This was a true, massive weakening!

This Dragon Blood Nightmare Art, in Li Luo's hands, was actually so domineering?!

The entire venue erupted in an uproar.

And it was amid countless uproars that Jiang Qing's absolutely beautiful face became covered in ice. She walked forward slowly with Shou Chi Zhong in hand, and the "Holy Thorn Crown" amid her hair began to grow bright and dazzling at this moment.

"Next, it's my turn, isn't it?"

Meeting Jiang Qing's icy gaze, Li Yuanshan and Li Qingbai both felt a thick terror rising in their hearts at this moment.