In an instant, piercing screams echoed through the valley, rising and falling incessantly.
All members of the Blood Fiend Hall who were channeling their own blood and energy into the Crimson Heart Crystal and drawing evil power from it, whether ordinary assassins or elite experts, suffered the most direct and terrifying energy backlash at this moment!
The blood-fiend power within them instantly went berserk, clashing violently with their own vital energy, severing their meridians and severely damaging their internal organs!
Those less powerful assassins quickly withered away, unable to even utter a scream, turning into dried corpses, their life essence completely absorbed by the out-of-control crystal!
Even the elites at the seventh or eighth level of the Martial Master Realm were not faring well; each of them coughed up blood, their aura visibly weakened, and their strength plummeted instantly.
Even worse, some had their meridians ruptured by the violent energy, collapsing to the ground convulsing.
The Iron-Faced Guardian was the first to be hit.
He had the closest connection to the Crimson Heart Crystal, and thus suffered the most severe backlash.
A terrifying suction force emanated from the crystal, causing the bloodthirsty power within the body to surge forth like a flood.
"Puwa!"
He spat out a mouthful of blood, and the Iron-Faced Guardian's aura plummeted from the peak of the Martial Grandmaster Realm Third Layer to the Martial Grandmaster Realm First Level Early Stage, and it continued to decline!
The skin beneath the armor was visibly shriveled!
Inside the valley, there was a cacophony of howling ghosts and wailing wolves—a living hell!
"A good opportunity!" Xiao Han's heart skipped a beat.
[The Dark Realm Descent!]
A deep darkness once again enveloped this chaotic land.
Xiao Han activated the [Illusion-Breaking Spirit Eyes], traversing the darkness and precisely and efficiently reaping the Blood Fiend Hall members who were severely injured but not yet dead due to the backlash.
In his eyes, these guys were all mobile storage devices! Dropping their equipment was a given!
"You little beast! This protector will tear you to pieces!!"
The Iron-Faced Guardian, with disheveled hair and bloodshot eyes, let out a beast-like roar.
He suppressed his injuries and the deadly suction force, recklessly burning his own life essence!
A violent and desperate aura surged into the sky, clearly intending to drag Xiao Han down with it!
Just as the tension was building and the Iron-Faced Guardian was about to launch a desperate attack,
An aura several times more terrifying and chilling than that of the Iron-Faced Guardian at his peak slowly rose from the depths of the valley, behind a hidden altar shrouded in blood mist.
A hoarse, aged, yet playful voice slowly echoed through the valley:
"Hehehe... What a piece of trash! You can't even handle a mere brat. You've completely disgraced the Blood Fiend Hall."
Before the words were finished, an old man dressed in a magnificent purple-gold robe, with a withered face and eyes that flickered with eerie green flames, walked slowly out from behind the altar, his hands behind his back.
With each step he took, the temperature in the valley dropped a fraction.
The nauseating stench of blood in the air grew even stronger.
The terrifying pressure emanating from him was clearly... the peak of the sixth level of the Martial Grandmaster Realm!
This old monster had been hiding in the shadows all along, watching the tigers fight from the sidelines!
Deep within the valley, behind a hidden altar shrouded in blood mist, the figure in the purple-gold robe appeared, and a terrifying pressure far surpassing that of the Iron-Faced Guardian at his peak enveloped the entire valley.
The air seemed to freeze, and even the light became viscous.
The heavily injured Iron-Faced Guardian, upon recognizing the newcomer's face, instantly turned deathly pale, his previously ferocious expression from burning his life essence turning ashen, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "Great... Great Elder!"
Fear and despair overwhelmed him in an instant.
The purple-robed elder's pupils, which flickered with eerie green flames, didn't even linger on the Iron-Faced Guardian, as if he were merely an insignificant ant.
His withered face turned to Xiao Han, scrutinizing him and the blood-red heart crystal— the Blood Soul Source Crystal —which, though damaged and cracked, still radiated a deadly allure. A greedy and sinister smile crept across his lips.
"Hehehe... Junior, you've given this old man a truly astonishing surprise." A hoarse, grating laugh echoed through the valley. "Not only do you possess the aura of the Primordial Shadow Source Crystal, but you've also managed to disrupt my meticulously planned blood sacrifice ritual, intercepting the Blood Soul Source Crystal's reward. Very good, excellent!"
He paused, a mocking glint in his eerie green eyes. "Hand over all your secrets, including the clues to the Primordial Shadow Source Crystal and this Blood Soul Source Crystal, and I might make an exception and not turn you into a blood puppet. I'll take you as the lowest-ranking blood slave. How about it?"
"Blood slaves?" Xiao Han sneered inwardly, but his face remained solemn.
Peak of the sixth level of the Martial Grandmaster Realm!
This old monster's strength has already exceeded his current ability to cope.
Today, it seems we truly face a life-or-death situation.
But Xiao Han, had he ever feared death?
The more desperate the situation, the more his inherent ruthlessness and indomitable spirit were ignited.
The Twin Martial Souls within his body quietly began to operate, with the vitality of the Chaos Green Lotus and the domineering undercurrent of the Eternal Night Void Emperor surging, ready to deliver a Shi Potian blow at any moment.
[Ding! The host is facing a desperate situation, and the special fluctuations of the Blood Soul Source Crystal resonate with the Mysterious Soul Jade. The evolution opportunity of [Illusion-Breaking Spirit Eyes] has been fully activated! Evolution conditions: Absorb sufficient pure soul energy and, using the Mysterious Soul Jade as a guide, fuse with the soul essence dissipated from the Blood Soul Source Crystal!]
The system notification sounded in my mind, like a bolt of lightning tearing through the darkness.
The long-awaited system is back online!
The purple-robed elder clearly had no patience to wait for Xiao Han's gratitude. Seeing his silence, a fierce glint flashed in his eyes. "It seems you don't know what's good for you."
Before he finished speaking, his withered, claw-like hand reached out from afar.
In an instant, the blood-red aura within the valley surged wildly, and a giant blood-red hand, several meters in size, materialized out of thin air. Countless wronged souls seemed to wail within its palm lines, and with a terrifying, suffocating power, it slammed down towards Xiao Han!
This palm strike sealed off all the space around Xiao Han, its power so great that it seemed to crush him and the ground beneath his feet into dust!
Xiao Han's pupils contracted sharply as he pushed the "Close at Hand, A Step to the Ends of the Earth" footwork to its limit!
The figure transformed into a blurry shadow the instant the bloody palm print landed, narrowly escaping the edge of the print.
"Boom!"
The blood-red palm struck empty air, leaving a terrifying palm print several meters deep on the ground.
The gust of wind stung Xiao Han's cheeks, his blood surged violently, and a metallic taste rose in his throat.
The aftershocks alone are already so terrifying!
"The peak of the sixth Martial Grandmaster Realm is indeed beyond my current ability to contend with head-on." Xiao Han's thoughts raced, but his attention inadvertently fell on the Mysterious Soul Jade in his storage space, which had been dormant since the system reward.
At this moment, this warm and smooth Soul Jade, upon contact with the special fluctuations emitted by the Blood Soul Source Crystal, actually heated up slightly, and a faint shimmering light seemed to flash across its surface.
The feeling was like a hungry baby smelling the fragrance of breast milk.
An incredibly bold, even insane, idea instantly took shape in Xiao Han's mind!