Chapter 565 - 360: Mission 2

Besides, from the looks of it, the Yin Tower Organization had probably set its sights on them. With the chaos in South Mansion, the organization’s members were running rampant, which was a threat to them as well.

Thus, it wasn’t out of the question to persuade them to act by promising certain benefits.

"We understand what you mean. We can act, but only if you have enough incarnations to provide us with Vitality. Otherwise, we’d just be throwing our lives away."

Zhao Xuanqi cut in.

Even if the other party promised a hefty reward, it was useless to him. He couldn’t accept it. If he left behind any traces, it would be almost impossible to hide his identity.

"That’s right. For incarnations of this level, we’ll need at least two or three more to be of any use to us,"

Ling said with a nod.

"Of course, that’s no problem. There’s no time to lose. We can go find my other incarnations right away."

The Ten Thousand Laws Incarnation nodded and said. He could sense that of his twelve incarnations, two at the Sensing realm had already vanished. Nine remained, six of which were also at the Sensing realm. Judging by his own ordeal, it wouldn’t be easy for the enemy to kill his other selves; they were most likely just trapped.

Besides, looking back at the enemy’s plan, it was clear they had no intention of a direct assault on the Twelve Pillars. They were just stalling for time and triggering the Yin Sha. Their next step would likely be to exploit the city-wide chaos to storm the Gate, having their Believers carry the Blood Food Power and escape South Mansion to retreat into the wilderness. They wouldn’t get bogged down in a prolonged fight.

For the time being, his remaining incarnations were safe. The ones with strength to spare might even break away from their opponents, give up on ambushing the Yin Tower Believers, and go help suppress the Twelve Pillars.

"Lead the way. We need to hurry."

Zhao Xuanqi nodded, hoisting up the Ten Thousand Laws Incarnation and setting off again.

...

...

「Meanwhile, at the Yin Sha Pillar guarded by Wen Chang’an and the other Refining the Internal Organs disciples of the Red Heart Sect.」

The once-bright street was now incredibly dark, shrouded in a layer of blood-colored mist that made the world outside seem unreal.

Inside the blood-colored mist, everyone felt the Qi and Blood in their bodies rage. Their breathing grew heavy and their minds became irritable, making it impossible to stay calm. In these conditions, any Technique or attack requiring precise physical control was affected, and forming complex talismans became even harder.

Pulled by the surrounding fog, wisps of their own blood-mist uncontrollably seeped from their pores and merged with it, causing their Physical Ability to drain away at an accelerated rate.

Most importantly, the blood-mist weakened their connection to the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi. Both the Power of Incense and the ability of talismans to channel the Heaven and Earth Qi were diminished.

This was a "Realm," an ability possessed by powerful Evil Spirits. It was a terrifying power that could erode the Mortal World into a part of the Underworld, and it was the most vexing ability of top-tier Evil Spirits.

Everyone gathered together. The court’s men formed a military formation, using the Power of Incense to create a small sanctuary that weakened the effects of the enemy’s Realm. They all stared fixedly at the enemy, their faces pale.

The defending force consisted of five Sensing squads, twenty masters in total. In less than ten minutes, only fifteen were left. The survivors were heavily wounded, their bodies covered in gashes. Their faces were ashen, as if from massive blood loss.

Across from them, squads of Sword Soldier Ghosts coalesced from the blood-mist. In the very center stood the corpse of a tall general, nearly two meters in height, clad in Blood-colored Battle Armor and wielding a decaying spear.

He pointed his spear forward, and the Sword Soldier Ghosts behind him instantly swarmed ahead. The surrounding blood-mist clung to their bodies, seeming to further ignite their potential and ferocity.

Meanwhile, a vast amount of blood-mist converged on Jing Zeng’s decaying spear. As the weapon drank its fill, the traces of decay receded, its color shifting to a dark crimson. It emanated a terrifying bloody glow and a horrifying pressure.

Jing Zeng, the "Blood-Burning Spear," one of the Ghost Gate Twelve Riders.

After becoming a Ghost General, he gained the Blood Burning Realm, which allowed him to forcibly drain the blood from living creatures and make it part of his Realm, empowering himself or his subordinate Yin Soldiers.

The more Blood of Life he absorbed, the stronger he became. During the Battle of Heqing Dao, nearly fifty thousand masters of the Great Wei fell by his hand. His fearsome reputation was well-earned.

"Great Wei... Incense... must... end!!"

The hoarse, broken words escaped Jing Zeng’s mouth. Years of being sealed and suppressed had left his consciousness fragmented. Otherwise, the power he was displaying now would be far greater.

As his roar echoed, a massive amount of blood-mist gathered. He abruptly swung his spear in a horizontal slash, unleashing a bloody arc of light that spanned dozens of meters, cutting right through the Sword Soldier Ghosts swarming in front of him.

SWOOSH! SWOOSH! SWOOSH!

The Sword Soldier Ghosts were sliced in two by the spear’s light, but the surrounding blood-mist immediately swirled around them. Their severed bodies rapidly reformed, and they resumed their charge.

Within the Blood Burning Realm, as long as the mist remained, all Yin Soldiers were nourished by it, making them nigh indestructible.

HRAAAGH!!

The defenders’ expressions changed at the sight. They furiously circulated their Primordial Qi and unleashed their own Techniques, combining their power into a single force to block the incoming attack.

BOOM!

The attacks collided, and the defenders were all thrown back. The spear’s light shattered under their combined assault, but the resulting explosion of bloody light pierced through the protective barrier of Incense. In that instant, a large amount of Qi and Blood was drained from their bodies, further depleting their Physical Ability.

’This can’t go on. A few more attacks like that, and we’ll be drained dry.’

Step by step, they were being pushed to the brink of despair, and the reinforcements they had been expecting never came.

Perhaps no reinforcements were coming at all. No one knew what the situation was like inside the city.

A sense of despair began to spread through the group. As their morale plummeted, even the Power of Incense flickered and trembled.

However, what they didn’t know was that at this very moment, several figures stood on the eaves of a nearby roof, gazing toward the area enveloped by the blood-mist.

Two of them were Zhao Xuanqi and Ling.

The other three were three Ten Thousand Laws Incarnations.

One was emaciated, looking as if he could drop dead at any moment. The other two were also injured, but their wounds were not severe.

One was at the mid-tier of the Sensing realm, while the other had reached the peak.

Just as they had predicted, after the twelve Yin Sha Pillars erupted, the Yin Tower Believers’ Sensing squads that had been tying up these two Ten Thousand Laws Incarnations had immediately withdrawn without a moment’s hesitation.

It was a blatant gambit. With the Twelve Pillars in turmoil and the city’s forces stretched thin, the defenders had to choose: suppress the Pillars or pursue the Yin Tower Believers.

Obviously, the safety of the entire South Mansion was more important than chasing a few Believers.

And once the city’s experts were bogged down by the chaos at the Pillars, defenses elsewhere would be weak, creating the perfect opportunity to escape.

"Blood-mist... Sealed beneath this Yin Sha Pillar was Jing Zeng, the Blood-Burning Spear, one of the original Ghost Gate Twelve Riders. This is his ’Realm.’ He’s clearly broken free."

"Are you two truly confident you can handle an expert of this caliber?"

The peak-Sensing Ten Thousand Laws Incarnation asked, looking at Zhao Xuanqi and Ling.

Even with the endorsement from his fellow incarnation, he couldn’t help but feel a sliver of doubt.

’Was it really worth betting everything on these two?’

"Just leave it to us. All you have to do is watch from the sidelines," Zhao Xuanqi said. "Now, lend me your Vitality. My strength can still be pushed higher."

"Your body can still handle more power?"

Even Ling was surprised to hear this. Her own body had already reached its limit and couldn’t be enhanced further. Of course, with her control over Vitality, a continuous supply would allow her to unleash far more power than before, but her fundamental realm couldn’t be raised.

"Of course," Zhao Xuanqi said nonchalantly. "Hurry up. I can afford to wait. The people inside can’t."

At his words, the two healthy incarnations fell silent for a moment. They exchanged a glance with the emaciated one, then hesitated no longer. They performed a Secret Technique and began transferring their Vitality to Zhao Xuanqi and Ling.

Zhao Xuanqi wasn’t lying. The Seventy-Two Earthly Fiend Acupoints were not his body’s true limit. Forcibly opening acupoints with Vitality intrinsically strengthened his physical essence. In theory, as long as he was willing to endure the backlash that would come when the Vitality was withdrawn and the acupoints closed again, and as long as he had a sufficient supply, his strength could even break through to the Innate realm, recreating the might of a Divine General.

’He couldn’t estimate how severe the backlash would be, though. He wouldn’t risk attempting it unless he had absolutely no other choice.’

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Feeling the Vitality surging through him, a brilliant light erupted from Zhao Xuanqi’s eyes as a series of muffled thuds echoed from within his body.

The Thirty-Six Celestial Spirit Acupoints were being forced open, one by one!