Chapter 1699 - 871: Swallowing Death Ritual

In the instant of realizing he was locked on by those eyes, the Dead Guard knew he was done for.

Just like a Female Knight accidentally entering a goblin's lair, a Demon Ninja captured by Dark Forces, a little boy on a bus noticing all the older sisters giving him strange looks, or hearing explosive music when hung up and tied in a cave...

By the time you notice something is wrong, it's already too late!

"...Damn it, this time I'm probably going down here."

With unprecedented calmness, his anger dissipated without a trace. Feeling a premonition more terrifying than death, he grinned and licked the blood on his face, silently laughing.

A life accompanied by countless battles, slaughter, and death up to now, he was almost completely numb.

He thought he'd never feel the thrill and excitement from before, but never expected that at this moment, as death seemed to fall upon him suddenly, he felt a joy and madness never experienced before.

Bang!

The long halberd, covered in cracks, crumbled during the slash.

The Dead Guard backhandedly plunged into the two wounds on his arm and abdomen that resembled big mouths and drew out two interwoven bone-white and blood-red sword blades, fighting back!

Amidst the gushing Blood Flames, he laughed wildly, swung up two weapons, stirring up a storm no less than Pan Ying.

The piercing screech tearing through the air lingered like a whistle.

"Legion Witness!"

The deafening roar continued incessantly, resounding throughout the tattered Deserted Reef.

Counter violence with violence, contest conquers contest!

This is a showdown with no tricks, sheer raw power!

As strength continuously surged, climbed, and the erupting Blood Flames nearly set his body ablaze, the Dead Guard held nothing back in the blaze.

Having abandoned the idea of idling and decided to truly fight to the death, Legion's ferocity showed itself, even exceeding Ji Jue's expectations!

He didn't care about anything, think about anything.

You want to fight me?

Then come on!

Faced with the amplification over a thousandfold by the Blood Arm, he neither retreated nor avoided, surprisingly suppressing Ji Jue's attack with just his strength!

In this unprecedented intense confrontation, the blade of Pan Ying vibrated without end, almost showing subtle cracks... yet amidst the scrolling vermilion, it faintly emitted a never-before-seen glimmer, as if blood was turning into flames, gradually excited.

Bone Sword shattered, spear fractured, Axe wrecked.

The shards flew explosively like a torrential rain, yet the Dead Guard's weapons seemed endless, as whenever one shattered, another would be drawn from the writhing wounds, its edge even sharper than before.

The blessing of Battle-tempered applied to himself, the Blood and life unending, the extraction of infinite arms had no end!

"Truly good stuff!"

The burning Dead Guard grinned, his flaming face exposing his gums, eyes as red-hot as coal, fixated on Ji Jue's Pan Ying and the Blood Arm Badge shining on the blade.

As if he could feel Pan Ying's thirst and excitement, he laughed aloud.

"Want to eat me?"

The Dead Guard beckoned nonchalantly: "Then come, or—I'll eat you instead!"

A sharp laughter rang, from countless spontaneously bursting wounds covering his body, wounds opening like writhing big mouths, emitting an invisible suction, voraciously devouring all offerings released from the Circle Realm... swallowing entirely the fragmented dead spirits fallen by his hand!

In the chime of Pan Ying, Ji Jue's perception was unprecedentedly clear.

This resonance was getting closer and closer...

He guessed right, the Sacrificial Master of the Six Evils was on the other side!

Precisely one of the three Sacrificial Masters Pan Ying lacked.

——[Swallowing Death]!

Officers their enemy's bones and soul as offerings and fuel, fully incorporating into one's own soul as though even death itself might be swallowed whole!

In the hallucination-like perception, he could see a phantom appearing behind the Dead Guard, a withered figure like a desiccated corpse.

With hollow and black eyes, like a soul dead of thirst, it was the Sacrificial Master taking the Dead Guard's worship!

Faced with Pan Ying, void of the initiative and excitement of other Sacrificial Masters and burnt offerings, that sliver of Spirituality ignored the summons so near.

Even if already descended, it only silently stood behind the Dead Guard.

Quietly witnessing.

Even if refusal could mean the complete severance of its few remaining inheritances.

But, no!

Legion's way, where triumph takes all, robbing the vanquished of everything... even soul and life. No matter how cruel and fierce the means and purpose, that is the rightful power of the victor.

So, don't expect humble kneeling and offerings, don't rely on frail trades and promises.

If you want it, then come take it!

Isn't that Legion's survival way?

Inheritance of the Sacrifice of Swallowing Death lies here!

Upon realizing this, Ji Jue chuckled, waved, Cun Jun Sword appeared in his left hand, Spiritual brilliance and Pan Ying's Blood Flames mutually reflecting.

Then come!

The inheritance burnt offering of the Blood Arm shook again, then ascended once more, unashamedly revealing the impending transformation, terrifying power emerging from the rebirth form's mechanical body, almost tearing Ji Jue apart.

The Dead Guard's laughter grew higher, his eyes bursting with excited bright fire.

Not interrupting his moves, even a trace of...

Gratitude!

Willing to settle things fair and square with him? Truly underestimated you, kid! If known, should've discounted the price when accepting this order.

"Come on! Come on! Come on!"

He swung the iron hammer and ax blade in hand mightily, hammering his altered burning chest like a drum, unleashing the joy and murderous intent almost unbearable to contain.

Abandon those chaotic, irrelevant things, and fight breathlessly in a life-and-death struggle!

Boom!!!

The Circle Realm, covered in fissures, actually turned against him like a giant mouth, swallowing him completely, overlapping shadows of countless corpses cloaking his body like armor.

When the blood-colored mouths around him began gnawing at the dead spirits, those spirits were also biting back at him.

Gunshot wounds, piercings, slashes, fist marks, finger traces, bruises, and scorch marks appeared incessantly on that eerie body. Through mutual devouring, he was personally experiencing all the injuries and pains of the deceased before their end, yet also gathering the power that killed them!

Until all death throes overlapped on his body, all casualties and power manifested on a scythe blade.

Like a burnt-out deadwood, there was no flame light left, just a viscous crimson like blood flowing on the blade.

A casual swing collapsed the air and stirred up a hurricane.

Amidst the lingering smoke of the dying flames, the Dead Guard resembling a corpse slowly raised its head, a fracture appearing on its cracked face like a smile.

Ji Jue was still a bit behind...

Sorry, it looks like I finished first!

Just like that, without warning, he lunged forward!

A storm erupted from the collision between the scythe blade and Pan Ying, reverberating across the sea and sky.

Amidst the mournful howls, Ji Jue was sent flying backward, Pan Ying in hand humming, the two-thousand-and-forty-eight-fold enhancement of the Blood Arm not yet completed, already thoroughly disrupted.

The Blood Arm's enhancement was rapidly declining, barely maintaining at a thousand-fold, continuing to drop.

Without waiting for Ji Jue to stabilize, Dead Guard was already close at hand, its charred corpse-like face grinning silently, the terrifying power from burning life gushing out once more.

Bang—

Pan Ying's block shattered instantly, followed closely by Ji Jue's torso breaking apart under the scythe blade's slash, burned to ashes!

But that wasn't even the most important thing.

The mutilation of the body was not the issue, but rather the countless death throes spreading from the wounds, ready to engulf Ji Jue entirely!

Like sinking into a swamp, unable to extricate himself.

In just a moment of delay, the scythe blade was raised again, slashing down!

The blood flames in Dead Guard's eyes surged, without hesitation, just as any Legion should act, striking fiercely again!

It's over!

At that instant, the blood light of Pan Ying extinguished completely.

The burning sacrifice of the Blood Arm was thereby cut off.

But Ji Jue remained expressionless, unwavering, as if the erosion of death throes and facing an imminent disaster was not happening to him, even before this, he had proactively interrupted the inheritance burnt offering, abandoning all enhancements.

As his right wrist twisted, a new badge emerged on the extinguished spine of the sword, three intersecting scars shining!

Sacrificial Master replacement.

[Inheritance Burnt Offering · Lord of Scars]!

Thus, the Lord of Scars in the void seemed to laugh silently, a hand suddenly reaching out, touching Ji Jue, taking away the scars, along with all the death throes, driving away the spreading eroding spirituality entirely.

Suddenly, Ji Jue was restored to wholeness once again!

Although the cost was the dispersion of the Blood Arm's enhancement, it didn't matter, the strength was sufficient, not needing more.

Besides, losing on numbers to a Legion wasn't embarrassing.

Just like how the White Deer wouldn't compete with a craftsman in alchemy.

Without a blessing, relying solely on inheritance burnt offering, what he could exert was merely three or four parts out of ten, at best patching up the shortcomings.

Precisely because of this, among the three sacrificial masters, the one he used most often was the Blood Arm, this simple, cost-effective enhancement.

Yet the Fungus Lord and Lord of Scars as the Six Evils also had unique effects with their burnt offerings.

Just like now.

—Using this scar as a sacrifice, offering up one-third of his life, erasing all erosion and anomalies!

Ji Jue, rejuvenated!

And as his pupils lifted, gazing at the descending blood scythe, once again, extending his hand...

—Circle Realm · [Non-Attack] activated!

Infinite possibilities appeared like a tree in front of him, unfolded, burning away a great deal of spirituality within the Doomsday Special Train, finally finding that critical probability from endless decimal points, grasping it in hand.

[Moshou] craftsmanship completed between the ten fingers.

This time, it was not passive resistance and avoidance, but extremely aggressive attack replacing defense!

Thus, Pan Ying, with dimming radiance, suddenly leapt up, the supposedly powerless Ji Jue gripped the Blood Blade, slashing out once more.

Pouring his full effort, only capable of slightly swaying some portion, the collision of Pan Ying merely diverted the terrifying force on the scythe blade a negligible fraction.

Yet within this fraction, what unfolded was the distinction between life and death!

Before the scythe blade completely split Ji Jue in two, a thread of blood light akin to a firefly compared to his opponent pierced into Dead Guard's heart along with the sword blade, piercing the vital spot.

Pan Ying exploded!

A line of blood light spread, witheringly obliterating spirits, breaking the Swallowing Death burning sacrifice, making countless death throes attached to that skeleton lose control entirely, crushing Dead Guard thoroughly.

Consequently, the scythe blade along with the wrist fell to the ground, collapsing.

"Heh..."

Dead Guard slowly lowered its head, glanced at the crack on its chest.

Facing the impending demise, he merely shrugged it off with a casual smile.

He fell backward, shattering into pieces.

The outcome of life and death, thus revealed.