Chapter 272: Devour

Before the roars even faded, the dead void in the distance abruptly fractured.

A piercingly cold gleam tore through the blood mist first, followed instantly by an eruption of scarlet light. A bizarre blood-red halo materialized out of thin air, carrying a heavy, oppressive might that could suppress all things. It crashed directly into the purple-gold fire dragon Jiuyou had unleashed.

Boom!

Monstrous dragon flames and blood-red confinement—two entirely diametric forces—collided with a deafening crash. The purple-gold fire dragon thrashed its scaled claws, raging flames surging across its body as it struggled desperately to break the halo's restraints. Layer after layer of the blood-red halo shattered, webbed with cracks and on the verge of total collapse.

Just as the lethal offensive was about to break through, a hideous blood-red claw lunged from the depths of the spatial rift. Quick as lightning, it seized the dying, fleeing Wang Xunzhen and violently dragged him back to the rift's edge.

Closely following it, a tall, imposing blood-red figure slowly stepped out from the rift's fog. Formed entirely of pure blood mist, its aura was profoundly unfathomable. The terrifying coercion it radiated far exceeded that of the newly defeated Wang Xunzhen.

Jiuyou's gaze sharpened, his mind instantly on high alert. He withdrew all his attacks. The sky full of Ember Moon Swords instantly retreated, layering around him to construct an airtight sword domain. The Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring flashed back to his side, circulating golden light to protect its master. Xuan Zhenzi's artifact spirit projection materialized alongside it, hovering in midair. His face was tight with anger as he stared dead at the blood-red figure, his expression grave to the extreme.

"Just a little bit more... and we would have slain this bastard once and for all!" Xuan Zhenzi ground his teeth and growled. His voice abruptly faltered as he furrowed his brows in deep shock and doubt. "Wait! These two share the exact same origin and root. There is no difference in their auras! I see. Could this person also be a remnant soul of that Upper Realm mighty figure?!"

At this thought, a heavy pressure weighed upon his heart.

Facing Wang Xunzhen alone was already fiercely difficult, leaving them deadlocked for hours. Now that an even stronger demonic body of the same origin had appeared, the situation was perilously grim. He had devoured that old bastard's soul, broken free of the artifact spirit's shackles, and lain dormant for ten thousand years, exhausting everything just to glimpse an opportunity in the Upper Realm. Having finally waited for a chance to break the deadlock, how could he die here, falling short of success by failing to dump the last basket of earth? Absolutely impossible!

The blood-red figure looked down from on high at the wretched Wang Xunzhen. A bizarre, frigid voice rasped from its mouth, brimming with utter contempt and mockery.

"Trash. A mere lower realm Initial Deity Transformation Stage cultivator forced you into such a desperate corner, making you flee so miserably. You cannot even suppress a lowly ant, yet you think you are worthy of sharing my title and tainting my source?"

Publicly humiliated by his counterpart, hostility exploded in Wang Xunzhen's eyes. The baleful aura churning around him surged as his anger reached its peak, yet he was entirely helpless. Forcibly suppressing his humiliation, he gritted his teeth and growled.

"Cut the nonsense! Hurry up and join forces to kill these two! Once we return to the Upper Realm, every promise I made will be fulfilled!"

Before his voice even faded, a sudden change occurred!

The blood-red figure had absolutely no intention of joining forces. An incomparably sharp, bright red claw abruptly struck out, instantly shattering Wang Xunzhen's crumbling protective spiritual light. With a crisp sound of fracturing, the Seven-Layer Blood Fiend Pagoda that Wang Xunzhen relied on for protection collapsed, turning to ash that filled the air.

Wang Xunzhen coughed up a mouthful of source essence blood, his face filled with utter shock.

That ruthless claw had pierced clean through his chest. An overbearingly tyrannical devouring power flooded madly into his body, forcibly peeling away and extracting the foundation he had cultivated for ten thousand years.

"You... you dare!" Wang Xunzhen's eyes went wide, filled with disbelief.

He had long been secretly guarding against his kin turning on him, but he never expected the other party to decisively strike him dead in such a desperate situation, right in front of a great enemy.

The blood-red figure remained expressionless, its tone indifferent and icy. "Save your breath. Once I have completely fused with your source and reshaped a complete spiritual body, I will naturally take you back to the Upper Realm."

As its words fell, the devouring power suddenly skyrocketed.

Wang Xunzhen's body rapidly shriveled as his spiritual power collapsed. His entire cultivation and source essence were plundered completely. Meanwhile, the blood-red figure's aura climbed madly at a visible rate, growing increasingly profound and terrifying. The killing intent permeating the entire world instantly reached its peak.

"Not good! He's devouring the remnant body of his origin, using his companion's source to perfect himself! Boy, attack quickly! If you delay, things will definitely go wrong!" Xuan Zhenzi was deeply shaken, shouting fiercely in anxiety.

Jiuyou had not hesitated for even a fraction of a second. From the moment the sudden change occurred, he had already begun gathering his power, ready to strike.

With a thought, the quiet purple-gold fire dragon coiling around him soared into the air once more. Ten thousand zhang of purple-gold radiance lit up the entire blood-red world. The dragon's roar shook the surroundings, carrying an overbearing might capable of incinerating all evil demons as it crushed forward again!

High above, the blood-red figure's eyes were indifferent. With a face full of disdain, it lightly spat out two words.

"Paltry tricks."

It casually tossed Wang Xunzhen's crumbling, ruined corpse into the surrounding blood mist, allowing the baleful aura to consume it completely. Its own figure slowly retreated into the scarlet spatial rift. Before the purple-gold fire dragon's bombardment could arrive, the massive spatial rift suddenly snapped shut, completely cutting off all attacks.

The earth-shattering, lethal draconic power missed its mark, only blasting the empty air until it trembled and scattering the blood mist.

Jiuyou unfurled his divine sense entirely, hyper-vigilant. He recalled the fire dragon to protect his body closely. The Sword Intent around him was pulled taut to the absolute limit as he stayed constantly on guard against a sneak attack.

But the entire world was dead silent. The void remained quiet for a long time without the slightest disturbance. After another while, there was still no movement. It was as if that terrifying demon of the same origin had already fled to refine its source, possessing no intention of fighting right away.

Jiuyou and Xuan Zhenzi secretly exchanged a glance, both understanding the meaning in the other's eyes.

After a long time, as if confirming there was no danger, Xuan Zhenzi finally let out a slow breath of relief and spoke in a deep, warning tone.

"He must be in a hurry to refine the source he just devoured to reshape his true body. We only have a brief moment to catch our breath. Once he completely stabilizes his realm, his strength will multiply, and we will stand absolutely no chance of winning! We must seize this opportunity!"

Jiuyou gave a slight nod. The cold gleam deep in his eyes had not faded, and he continued to scan his surroundings with vigilance.

"What Grandmaster says is absolutely correct."

He dispersed the purple-gold fire dragon and gathered in the sword qi around him. His figure turned into a streak of flowing light as he shot toward the Heavenly Abyss Sacred Tree at full speed. Xuan Zhenzi took the opportunity to retreat into the Five Elements Heaven and Earth Ring, accompanying him along the way. During the flight, Jiuyou channeled the power of his spirit treasure, rapidly replenishing the magical power and vital energy depleted in the great battle to maintain his peak combat strength at all times.

As they sped along, their surroundings were calm and tranquil. There wasn't the slightest hint of killing intent blocking their path.

Their taut heartstrings relaxed slightly. Assuming the demon had already gone into seclusion to refine the source, they couldn't help but accelerate, intending to reach the core of the sacred tree as quickly as possible and seize the initiative.

But in the instant they were a hair's breadth away from the Heavenly Abyss Sacred Tree, the entire void abruptly ruptured with a deafening boom!

Scarlet light tore through the boundaries and filled the sky, as an oppressively fierce and baleful aura crushed down from all directions! Several trails of blood-red sword qi, condensed to the extreme and hiding lethal killing intent, tore through the firmament and suddenly ambushed Jiuyou!

The killing intent was abrupt, fierce, and entirely unexpected!

There were no ripples in the depths of Jiuyou's eyes. His expression was as calm as still water, as if he had already anticipated the hidden danger.

In a split second, dozens of Ember Moon Swords flew from their sheaths. Their sword light was as chilling as frost, charging straight up to meet the blood-red sword qi. At the same time, he twisted his body in midair. His figure shifted sideways in a bizarre, swift, and graceful movement. In the blink of an eye, he accurately evaded all the lethal strikes, calmly handling the sudden, fatal ambush.