Chapter 198 - 139: A Glimpse of Immortality in the Boundless Clouds

Chapter 198: Chapter 139: A Glimpse of Immortality in the Boundless Clouds

"Kill her quickly and go help the Blood Demon Lord." Another person appeared before Qiu Yuehan.

Poisonous mist shrouded him, and inky blood dripped incessantly from his festering face, making for a terrifying sight.

Poison Blood Master of the Blood Demon Palace, a Sixth Realm Kai Yang.

’This was a huge problem. She, a Fifth Realm cultivator, couldn’t possibly deal with two Sixth Realm masters at once... At the very least, she couldn’t win.’

’Then I’ll just have to stall.’

The Black Skirt Fairy glanced at the sky again. From the pear-colored, moon-embroidered, pointed shoes beneath her fluttering hem, Red Dust Intent surged, rushing toward the heavens.

Qiu Yuehan’s cherry-red lips parted, as cold and impassive as the Monarch of Death returned: "Decree."

As the last of her Royal Family, and the last of the Ancient Spirit Race, the Nether Monarch could summon the spirits of the dead.

She had always been able to pulverize her enemies with just her fists and her sword, so there had never been a need to use it. But the current situation—and the location—were simply too perfect for this ability.

The Burial Ground shattered. Centuries of death tumbled into the volcano on Blood Demon Island, carried by the eruption all the way into the sea.

The Nether Monarch’s order was given.

The blood-red ocean began to boil. One by one, Spirits emerged from the abyss of death, carrying an endless hatred as they moved to purge the Nether Monarch’s foes.

Moreover, a breeze swept past, and the Red Dust Intent coated the ethereal Spirits, painting them with color until they looked like living, breathing people.

The dead were reborn. Heaven and earth inverted, the line between life and death blurring.

The spirits summoned by the Nether Monarch were more powerful the more recently they had died.

And so.

A clear, sonorous whale cry echoed. A massive back breached the surface, a tail fin tore through the waves, and the creature charged toward the two True Masters.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Without the Black Dragon, I’m still a Yao Guang! What do you have left?"

Within the Void, Lu Changyuan looked at the Blood Demon Lord. "Your Yao Guang Technique?"

The two dragons were still tangled in battle, but their masters had both taken human form to face each other one-on-one within this separate space.

Xue Lie snorted. "I never thought your true body would be this weak."

Compared to Lu Changyuan, whose robes were only slightly dirtied, Xue Lie was in a far sorrier state. A massive Sword Mark was etched across his chest, and the imprint of a Buddha Hand Seal was seared onto his back.

The damage inflicted by the Black Dragon was reflected perfectly onto his own body, and blood flowed endlessly from Xue Lie’s frame, which seemed on the verge of crumbling.

But he was still a Yao Guang. Xue Lie stretched out a hand, as if to snap Lu Changyuan’s neck from afar. In the sky, the Black Dragon seemed to mimic his movement, opening its massive jaws to bite down on the Blood Dragon’s neck.

Lu Changyuan retracted his gaze. "Will the victor here also decide the battle outside? Is this Yao Guang Technique of yours a contest of wills... or a battle of Dao Realms?"

Xue Lie didn’t answer Lu Changyuan. Instead, he violently clenched his still-bleeding fist, fresh blood oozing from between his fingers.

Even the weakest Seventh Realm cultivator could easily kill someone who had not even reached the Fifth Realm.

Furthermore, within this space—inside Xue Lie’s Yao Guang Technique—everyone was supposed to be affected by the Blood Demon Dao, their power greatly diminished. This technique made Xue Lie virtually invincible in a one-on-one duel.

Unless... the person shared the same origin as the Blood Demon Dao. Only then would they be unaffected.

Lu Changyuan was completely unharmed. In the sky, the Black Dragon’s fangs shattered.

He raised Broken Thought. A Sword from the West!

Both sword and man were a blur, as swift as a flash of light.

"How is this possible! Why aren’t you affected? Why aren’t you injured!?"

Xue Lie’s pupils contracted. He hastily brought his saber up in a block, barely managing to intercept Lu Changyuan’s sword. He was shocked to discover that the power behind the strike far surpassed the Fifth Realm; it was nearly at the level of a Yao Guang.

The Blood Demon Lord was forced to reconsider Lu Changyuan’s identity. "Just who are you?"

"What’s it to you?" Lu Changyuan’s voice was colder than any Xue Lie had ever heard, overflowing with killing intent.

"The Killing Dao!? You’re a Yao Guang, too? Did your realm drop? Since when was there another Yao Guang in the world who cultivates the Killing Dao?"

"I believe I already told you. It’s none of your business."

On Lu Changyuan’s remarkably handsome face, countless fine, blood-red tendrils suddenly surfaced. They writhed and wove together like living things, finally solidifying into a platinum-gold mask that completely obscured his face.

Before Xue Lie’s shock and rage could subside, Lu Changyuan’s assault came again like a raging tide. In his hand, Broken Thought moved with terrifying simplicity. Every strike was direct, stripped of all flourish and complexity, embodying the principle that the truest Dao is the simplest.

CLANG!

The Blood Demon Lord blocked again with his saber. This time, his Demon Blade let out a mournful cry as Broken Thought hacked a deep gash into its edge. The impact sent a numbing shock up his entire arm, and his body flew backward uncontrollably.

Beneath Lu Changyuan’s platinum-gold mask, his eyes were frigid and still, containing nothing but the purest killing intent.

’Just what kind of monster is he!?’

"A temporary power-up? How long can you maintain it?"

Xue Lie roared, having noticed that Lu Changyuan’s state was unnatural. A bloody light erupted around him, and behind him, the illusion of a vast Sea of Blood materialized, filled with countless demonic shades that churned and howled.

But the vision lasted only for a moment. The seemingly boundless Sea of Blood was torn asunder by an invisible Sword Qi as if it were fragile silk, and then it dissipated into nothing.

Lu Changyuan said, "It’s more than enough to deal with you in your current state."

SHLICK.

Broken Thought sank into Xue Lie’s chest, and crimson blood dripped down its blade.

The next moment.

A burst of blood!

The blood in his own body turned against its master. Xue Lie had to use a Secret Technique, dissolving into a pool of blood to regain control before reappearing in the distance.

"The Blood Demon Technique?"

As an expert himself, he naturally recognized the technique’s origins. But he’d never imagined someone else would know it, let alone have cultivated it to a level where it could affect him, the Blood Demon Lord.

His shock had yet to fade when Xue Lie heard the sound of something shattering.

He saw a bowl of blood.

’Whose blood was it?’

’Why was that bowl of blood burning and shattering!?’

Xue Lie had no time to think. He could only watch helplessly as the bowl of blood shattered and dissolved, finally coalescing into a sword that promised to annihilate everything.

The longsword, bright, rests beyond the sky,

Amongst white clouds, eternity is glimpsed.

Do not say ascension to immortality has no proof.

But do you recall?

With a lone sword, one questions the Dao against the vast heavens,

To mistake slaughter for sanctity is to be a slave to delusion.

The Killing Dao, forged by carving a path through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, unleashed a terrifying, ocean-like killing intent.

The oppressive aura emanating from that pair of red eyes was so intense that the Blood Demon Lord was reminded of his fight with the Daoist Sect Master all those years ago.

This sword was just as domineering as that one.

He heard the young man before him use the exact same tone and expression as the Daoist Sect Master to speak the very same word.

They both said:

"Average."