Chapter 105

Blood Light enveloped everything.

When the terrifying Blood Light fell on Wu Tie, he snapped his eyes open.

Blood Light fell on his body, his blood plasma suddenly congealed, even his heartbeat froze in that instant. Immediately, waves of stabbing pain surged from his marrow, his marrow boiling, constantly impacting his bones, trying to burst out.

Then the blood turned into countless extremely fine hair-like needles, stabbing wildly inside, seeking to pierce the meridians and skin and fly out.

Wu Tie saw the warriors in his unit explode into clouds of blood mist, and saw the crimson vortex gulp down great swaths of that mist.

He knew that if a single blood‑condensed needle pierced his skin and flew out, he would be drained of essence blood like those warriors and collapse as a desiccated corpse.

Wu Tie widened his eyes, let out a sharp long whistle, and instinctively grabbed backward; several metal boxes filled with lava grass and other high‑grade primal herbs were shoved into his Cosmos Sack.

Then he waved the Wind‑Cloud Banner, great clouds of smoke wrapped his body, and he turned into a gust of wind fleeing at full speed.

Blood Light dripped down continuously; Wu Tie's blood plasma stabbed wildly, his whole body turned bright red, and tiny blood spots appeared beneath his skin.

When his skin prickled and it seemed Wu Tie could no longer contain his blood qi, his inner blood about to burst out, the white egg on his chest trembled violently, swallowing part of the Blood Light rushing toward him, and his turbulent blood instantly calmed.

The Wind‑Cloud Banner moved extremely fast; with a "whoosh", Wu Tie flashed seven or eight li, bypassed a mountain pass ahead in the passage, and saw that turning a corner would let him escape the Blood Light's shroud.

While fleeing at full speed, Wu Tie saw that Hei Pi and the others were utterly wiped out; only Lao Bai, somehow, managed to roll up two metal boxes full of primal herbs and, with a flick of his body, vanished into the shadows.

Not only Lao Bai, but also several of his rat‑descendants likewise turned into shadows and merged with the surrounding darkness.

But their strength was clearly inferior to Lao Bai's.

Lao Bai escaped the Blood Light's killing unharmed; those few rat‑descendants had just slipped into darkness when they screamed and leapt out, their bodies spraying blood mist, and before they could get far they were swallowed whole by the Blood Light, losing all their qi and blood.

Ox‑tribe warriors, wolf‑tribe warriors, gray dwarves, iron dwarves, and those lizard‑folk warriors all screamed as they turned to ash in the Blood Light.

Five giants let out low roars, and strong yellow‑earth light surged from their bodies.

Only the two giants who had previously bored a passage over a hundred li and exhausted all their mana had not yet recovered; their yellow light violently fluctuated a few times, then under the dense Blood Light impact they shattered with a boom.

The two giants stood rigidly in place; a giant's qi and blood are a hundred times stronger than an ordinary person's.

Within their huge pores, strands of essence blood flew out like streams, howling as they were sucked into the vortex beside the blood‑colored skull's mouth.

The two giants roared low, knowing they could not escape; they strained, and the Blood Light around them rippled in waves from their mighty force as they lifted their heavy weapons and hurled them with all their might at Zhu Zixi.

Two heavy axes spun rapidly; driven by the giants' brute strength, the axes whistled through the air with a dull boom, carving two blood‑red waves in the Blood Light and slashing toward Zhu Zixi.

Zhu Zixi's eyes suddenly turned blood‑red; two extremely fine beams of Blood Light shot from his pupils and slammed hard into the two axes.

The axes melted instantly, exploding into vast sheets of molten metal that sprayed everywhere.

Zhu Zixi opened his mouth and laughed softly: "Come, come… Giant Bloodline, truly rich and fragrant, richer than a hundred‑year‑old wine."

A blood‑colored skull seal rose from atop Zhu Zixi's head; the huge blood‑colored skull beneath his feet suddenly emitted stronger Blood Light, the skull opened its maw wide and sucked, and the two mana‑exhausted giants' bodies blew apart with a boom.

Amid the rolling blood mist, the three giants whose bodies were shrouded in strong yellow‑earth light looked at Zhu Zixi in terror.

"He's stronger than the forefather!" one giant bellowed: "He isn't… Chonglou Realm."

The three giants shouted in unison; two of them, without a word, raised their axes and cleaved hard into their own necks. With a single blow, their skulls flew up and two fountains of blood sprayed tens of meters high.

The remaining giant flipped his palm, and the Juling Lamp spat out thick smoke and flame from his palm.

The two blood fountains had just flown several meters toward the blood‑colored skull when they were suddenly drawn to the Juling Lamp, howling as they were sucked into it.

In the giant's palm, the obviously exquisite and petite Juling Lamp blazed brightly; a tank‑sized ball of flame burst forth, and with a "whoosh" a vast sheet of green fire wrapped in green smoke encircled the lone giant.

The giant glared fiercely at Zhu Zixi and roared deeply: "May the spirits of the earth and all stone curse you; may the offspring of earth and stone curse you; you shall never leave this land alive."

He raised his head and bellowed; the giant's body suddenly collapsed and shrank.

Zhu Zixi snorted coldly, flicked his right hand, and a strand of Blood Light wrapped around a short sword shot out, instantly reaching the giant's side and coiling around his waist.

Amid the howl, the giant's lower half was sliced by the short sword, and his two thick legs toppled from the flames.

But a flash of light caused the giant's upper half together with the Juling Lamp to explode into a sky‑full of sparks; the sparks continually burst and flickered, and the giant and his lamp vanished.

Zhu Zixi's face darkened; he had failed to keep that giant, nor the obviously extraordinary Juling Lamp in the giant's hand.

His eyes flickered; Zhu Zixi looked toward Wu Tie, who had already fled seven or eight li away.

All that had happened actually took place in the flash of lightning and stone.

Zhu Zixi struck; four giants fell, one fled, and all this occurred in the snap of a finger.

In the snap of a finger, although he had fled seven or eight li, Wu Tie remained shrouded in Blood Light.

Although the smoke from the Wind‑Cloud Banner distorted the light and obscured his silhouette, Zhu Zixi's Blood Light is an all‑encompassing attack; Wu Tie is constantly under its shroud.

"A mere Sensing Profound Realm, and you run this fast?" Zhu Zixi gave a strange laugh, lightly raising his right hand toward Wu Tie: "It seems you also have some good stuff on you—this trip wasn't in vain."

As Wu Tie was about to turn the mountain pass ahead and bypass a boulder to escape the direct Blood Light, he felt a sudden chill, an unprecedented mortal danger looming; he inexplicably sensed that if Zhu Zixi made a move, he would surely die.

Wu Tie let out a hoarse roar, bit his tongue, and spat a mouthful of blood onto the Wind‑Cloud Banner.

His escape speed suddenly doubled, half his body nearly rounding the pass.

At that moment, the fleeing giant's Juling Lamp exhaled smoke and fire; the greenish smoke drifted outward, soon enveloping the entire passage.

Two huge yellow eyes suddenly emerged from the green smoke; within them lay layers of rolling mountains, and boulders spun rapidly, forming two great vortices in the pupils.

"Outsider… enemy…" divine light flickered in the eyes; the surrounding passages for dozens of li trembled, all rocks and sand shaking in response to the thunderous sound rolling from the green smoke.

Zhu Zixi stared in astonishment at the two huge eyes in the green smoke.

His expression grew much graver: "A half‑step Life Pool Realm giant? Giants, such a longevous species, indeed have an edge in cultivation."

He snorted coldly, flicked his right hand, and the short sword that had just severed the giant's lower half shot out again, stabbing swiftly at one of the huge eyes in the green smoke.

More than three li before Zhu Zixi, the earth convulsed violently; a stone‑formed hand a hundred meters wide shot forth, howling as it slapped toward him.

Zhu Zixi had no time to act against Wu Tie; the massive stone hand also blocked every angle of his attack.

The seal on his skull‑button released a hazy Blood Light, swirling to meet the stone hand.

With a deafening boom, the stone hand shattered; the green smoke was blown to scraps, and the two great eyes slowly disintegrated.

Zhu Zixi's body also swayed; a faint red flush crossed his pale complexion.

Zhu Zixi gave a contemptuous cold smile, glanced at Wu Tie, who was just about to slip out of sight, and said lightly: "Go, kill him!"

He chuckled softly: "This kid has treasures… I, your lord, reward and punish clearly; whoever kills him gets the treasure… But don't say that following me to this backwater yields no gain at all."

Two middle-aged men in splendid robes, handsome and graceful, smiled delightedly; they whistled sharply, their bodies flickered, and instantly turned into two faint blood lights that flew forward.

The blood lights flew at incredible speed; in the blink of an eye they had crossed seven or eight li, appearing like ghosts less than a hundred meters behind Wu Tie.

Wu Tie flicked his body, having already gone around the pass; another flicker and he shot several li away.

Zhu Zixi's smile vanished instantly, and he stared sternly at the disintegrating yellow eyes.

Strands of yellow divine light rapidly collapsed inward and condensed; after a breath, a fist the size of a water jar broke free of the yellow light, howling as it shot forward.

This fist was entirely crystalline, as if carved from the finest yellow jade, giving off a strong, natural, heavyweight aura of dominance.

As the heavy fist thundered toward Zhu Zixi, streams of earth-yellow energy continually welled up from the surrounding tunnel rocks, pouring into the giant fist.

A thick layer of divine light flickered across the fist's surface, within which faint mountain silhouettes appeared and faded.

Zhu Zixi drew a deep breath, reached up to seize the skull-button seal atop his head, and exhaled a stream of blood energy onto the seal.

The seal instantly blazed with light, and rich blood light gushed out, condensing before Zhu Zixi into a square shield of blood-colored light, four-sided and several zhang thick.

Faced with this astonishingly powerful punch, Zhu Zixi did not meet it head-on but chose to defend.

"The brute strength of the giant clan… hum." Zhu Zixi muttered under his breath.

With a dull thud, the heavy fist, as if carved from yellow jade, shattered into countless points of light that drifted down; the blood-colored light shield before Zhu Zixi rippled widely, and amid the piercing cracking sound, the shield split into several fine, barely noticeable cracks.

"That's all." Zhu Zixi raised his head proudly and smiled: "After all, it's only a half-step into the Life Pool realm… heh, Life Pool, Life Pool—if you don't enter the Life Pool, even three or five powerful divine abilities are merely mundane…"

The huge blood-colored skull behind Zhu Zixi silently dissipated; he floated down with his hands behind his back and walked slowly toward the convoy of Wu Tie and the others.

He ignored the fire crocodile people and lava grass, walking straight to the tightly bound Yan Hanlu.

He lowered his head and seriously examined the frightened Yan Hanlu for a moment, then Zhu Zixi suddenly broke into a bright smile, his hand gently touching her cheek.

"In the wilderness, occasional gems are found; among the weeds, occasional orchids appear… I never expected that in this poor, remote place there would be a flawless bright jade body!"

Zhu Zixi looked at Yan Hanlu with a gentle smile and said softly: "Little girl, I am Grand Elder Zhu Zixi of the Changsheng Sect… My wife died in a calamity years ago; although I now have hundreds of concubines, I have long lacked a thoughtful person to ask after my warmth and cold…"

"My late wife's kindness runs deep, so I will not take another principal wife… Your talent is not bad; from today on you will be my chief concubine… Such a great fortune, you must be delighted and excited, right?" Zhu Zixi laughed heartily and swept Yan Hanlu into his arms.

"Why pick a day when today will do? Let's go to the bridal chamber today, shall we?" Zhu Zixi laughed lecherously, his eyes continually flashing with blood-red light.

Yan Hanlu trembled with fear all over, and Zhu Zixi's hands went straight to her intimate parts.

Suddenly, Yu Mo's clear, water-like laughter rang out from afar: "Ancestor, did you catch those thieves?"

Zhu Zixi's expression shifted slightly; he casually tossed Yan Hanlu to the ground and then seriously tidied his somewhat disheveled robes.

"Heh, with the Ancestor's move, capture is effortless… hmm, the Blazing Three Tribulations Fruit…" A flash of blood light crossed Zhu Zixi's brow, and a wicked, ethereal psychic power swiftly swept over the entire convoy.

Even the thick metal box could not escape Zhu Zixi's gaze, and his expression suddenly stiffened.

"Damn it… where is the Blazing Three Tribulations Fruit? Where is my dear girl's Blazing Three Tribulations Fruit?" Zhu Zixi roared angrily, turned sharply, and looked toward the direction Wu Tie had fled.

His body flickered, and Zhu Zixi turned into a hazy blood light that shot away; in a flash he vanished without a trace.

"Good girl, wait obediently in War Blade City for the Ancestor to return… the Ancestor himself will go retrieve your Blazing Three Tribulations Fruit." Zhu Zixi snarled menacingly: "The fortune belonging to you, good girl, cannot be taken by anyone… who dares to take it… humph."

Under the escort of dozens of guards, Yu Mo came running, hopping along; watching Zhu Zixi turn into blood light and flee, Yu Mo reached Yan Hanlu's side, knelt down, and forcibly pulled out the cloth gag from her mouth.

"This older sister, I am Yu Mo…" Yu Mo smiled at Yan Hanlu: "That Ancestor just now is my great-great-grandfather, the eldest Ancestor in my family. Hmm, hmm? Older sister, you look… you give a feeling of great comfort."

Wu Tie fled desperately through the tunnel.

He continually urged the wind-and-cloud banner, but the two blood lights behind him drew ever closer, and he could already smell the strong scent of blood.