Chapter 267: Bloody Harvest

Chapter 267: Chapter 267: Bloody Harvest

Lucian watched from the shadows as the crater erupted into chaos once more, his crimson eyes tracking the movements of the remaining beasts. This was getting more and more difficult. The demon was an unknown variable—an Infernal Demon at the Mid Astral Realm with SS-Rank Hellfire and Destruction Intent. If Lucian made one wrong move, he would end up like the Early Astral Realm woman—disintegrated without even a corpse left behind.

’I need to be patient,’ Lucian thought.

The Crystalline Scorpion, despite missing a pincer and having its carapace shattered in a dozen places, lunged at the demon with reckless fury. Its remaining pincer snapped toward the hooded figure, aiming to crush it in half. The demon didn’t even flinch. It raised its saber, the dark blade glowing with Destruction Intent, and met the pincer head-on.

CLANG!

The saber carved through the star-metal pincer like butter, severing it cleanly. The scorpion screeched, stumbling backward. The demon followed up with a wave of Hellfire, the black-red flames engulfing the scorpion’s head. FWOOSH! The creature’s skull melted under the intense heat, its body collapsing into a smoldering heap.

Meanwhile, Bart and Princess Lyra led the assault against the Starlight Serpent. The serpent was heavily injured, its scales cracked, silver ichor bleeding from a dozen wounds. But it was still deadly. Its petrifying breath swept across the battlefield, forcing the cultivators to scatter.

"Keep it distracted!" Bart shouted, his daggers flashing as he darted around the serpent’s head. "I’ll go for the eyes!"

"Guards! Formation!" Lyra commanded, her golden lotus blooming around her squad. The lotus petals deflected the serpent’s breath, giving Bart the opening he needed. He leaped onto the serpent’s snout, driving both daggers into its left eye. SHUNK! The serpent roared in agony, thrashing wildly. Its tail whipped around, slamming into Bart and sending him flying across the crater.

"Hey!" Lyra shouted.

The elf crashed into a pile of rubble, coughing blood. "I’m... fine!" he wheezed, forcing himself to his feet. "Just... give me a second!"

The remaining cultivators focused on the Flaming Bird, which was the most powerful of the beasts. Its flames were relentless, burning through their barriers and melting their weapons. A dozen Peak Grand Core cultivators were reduced to ash in seconds. The bird shrieked, diving toward the ground, its talons extended.

CRASH!

It plowed through a squad of mercenaries, tearing them apart. The survivors scrambled backward, their faces pale with terror.

While the battle raged, Lucian moved through the chaos like a phantom. He dropped a single drop of his blood onto each corpse he passed—human, alien, beast. The blood absorbed into the bodies, invisible to the naked eye. No one noticed as they were too busy fighting for their lives.

The Starlight Serpent finally fell. Lyra, seeing her opening, channeled all her remaining mana into a single, devastating spell. "Celestial Lotus: Final Bloom!"

BOOOOOOM!

A massive lotus of golden energy erupted around the serpent’s head. The petals closed around its skull, crushing it with a sickening CRUNCH! The serpent’s body went limp, crashing to the ground. Lyra collapsed to one knee, blood streaming from her nose, but she was alive.

The Crystalline Scorpion was already dead, its body a molten ruin.

Only the Flaming Bird remained—and it was furious.

The moment the serpent hit the ground, Lucian moved.

He activated Light Steps, appearing directly beside the Starfall Tree. He reached out to the nearest nine of the fruits. He reached out with his mental power, wrapping invisible tendrils around the fruits and yanking them into his shadow storage.

WHOOSH! WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

The fruits vanished one by one, disappearing into his storage space.

But he wasn’t fast enough.

"HE’S TAKING THE FRUITS!" someone screamed.

The remaining cultivators—including those still hiding in the shadows—immediately attacked. A barrage of spells, blades, and projectiles rained down on Lucian’s position. He activated Light Acceleration, dodging and weaving through the attacks. But some of the spells missed him and struck the Starfall Tree.

CRASH!

The tree shuddered. The remaining fruits—those Lucian hadn’t managed to grab—were knocked into the air.

Princess Lyra reacted instantly, her hand shooting out and grabbing one of the falling fruits. Bart, despite his injuries, leaped and snatched another. The demon appeared in a flash of black-red flames, grabbing two fruits with its clawed hands. Another cultivator—a shadowy figure who had been hiding the entire time—emerged from the darkness, snatching a fruit before vanishing again.

Lucian landed a hundred meters away, the nine fruits safely in his storage. He looked at the remaining cultivators, who were already turning toward him, their eyes burning with greed and fury as he smirked.

He waved his hand. "Blood Explosion."

BOOOOOOM!

Every corpse on the battlefield—the ones he had marked with his blood—detonated simultaneously. A chain reaction of crimson explosions tore through the crater, catching dozens of cultivators off guard. CRASH! CRASH! CRASH! Bodies were torn apart, limbs flew through the air, and the ground itself cracked under the force of the blasts.

Some of the stronger cultivators—Lyra, Bart, and a few Early Astral Realm masters—reacted quickly, raising shields or activating life-saving treasures. They survived, but they were injured, their auras flickering weakly.

Lucian was already running.

The demon was the first to recover. It let out a furious roar, its black-red flames propelling it through the air like a comet. The other cultivators followed, some seeing Lucian as easy prey—after all, his aura was only at the Peak Grand Core Realm.

Lucian released his Fear Aura.

WHOOSH!

A wave of predatory pressure exploded outward. The weaker cultivators stumbled, their faces pale with terror. Some stopped entirely, their instincts screaming at them to run. But the demon didn’t slow down. It burst through the Fear Aura with sheer force, its flames burning brighter.

Lucian summoned the Dark Wyvern. CRACK! The massive beast materialized beneath him, its wings spreading wide. Lucian leaped onto its back, and the wyvern launched into the sky.

"Go!" Lucian commanded.

The Dark Wyvern flew with blinding speed, leaving most of the chasers in the dust. But the demon was relentless. It landed on the ground, its hood blowing back to reveal its face.

It looked human—sharp features, pale skin, and two curved red horns protruding from its forehead. Its eyes burned with hellfire.

’I must get these fruits for the princess,’ the demon thought, its claws digging into the earth. ’Two fruits won’t satisfy her. I need more.’

It ran.

Its speed was terrifying. Each step cracked the ground, propelling it forward like a missile. It was gaining on the wyvern.

Lucian looked down, his eyes narrowing. The demon was the only one still chasing him. The others had fallen behind.

He smirked.

"Persistent, aren’t you?"

The demon fired a massive blast of Hellfire, the black-red flames roaring toward the wyvern. Lucian brought out the Blood Reaver, the blade glowing with dark Sword Intent and his blood mana.

"Eclipse Sword Art, Second Form: Sky Breaker!"

SWISH!

A massive arc of crimson energy tore through the air, meeting the Hellfire head-on. BOOOOOOM! The two attacks clashed, creating a shockwave that rattled the sky. The Sky Breaker sliced through the Hellfire, dispersing it, and continued toward the demon.

The demon’s eyes widened. It dove to the side, barely avoiding the slash. By the time it recovered, the Dark Wyvern was already a speck in the distance.

"Damn it!" the demon roared, slamming its fist into the ground.

Lucian guided the Dark Wyvern toward a remote, isolated area—a deep cave nestled in the side of a crystalline mountain. The entrance was narrow, hidden behind a cluster of glowing star-metal shards.

"Drop me here," Lucian commanded.

The Dark Wyvern descended, landing at the cave entrance. Lucian dismounted, and the wyvern dissolved into shadow particles, returning to the beast space and he stepped into the cave.