Blood Puppet

Just as Li Weixuan's sharp sword energy blasted the skull centipede into bone powder, everyone's eyes lit up as they realized they had reached the center of the ruins.

A gap had opened among the tightly packed buildings, forming a deep pit that sloped downward.

The pit was now filled with thick, dark red liquid, like rotten, spoiled blood.

Even more bizarrely, the blood pool was moving.

As if alive, the entire pool contracted and expanded at a steady rhythm, looking just like a giant slime.

With every movement, bubbles of all sizes rose to the surface, releasing a stench so foul it seemed to rot your brain with a single breath.

So that was where all the blood had gone!

Looks like I still had some work to do on my imagination. This thing was far more grotesque than blood tofu.

Even more unexpected, there was a person in the middle of the blood pool.

He was extremely tall, but his beard and hair were completely white, and he looked quite old.

His eyes were closed, and he remained motionless.

What was astonishing was that his body was intact, and even his upper half was spotless—a stark contrast to the foul-smelling pool beneath him.

The old man also gripped an enormous-looking halberd in his right hand.

Just from the sheen running along its surface, it was clearly a peerless weapon.

But a closer look revealed that the old man's legs, immersed in the blood, had already begun to corrode. Dark rust had spread as far as his waist.

"Wait here."

Li Weixuan tossed out the words coldly, then prepared to go down and investigate.

Just then, a sudden change occurred.

The dark red sludge in the blood pool convulsed strangely, then formed a whirlpool around the old man.

The stench intensified tenfold in an instant.

The whirlpool spun faster and faster, rapidly climbing the old man's legs until it engulfed his entire lower body.

The next moment, the top of the sludge contracted into a round pillar. It shuddered like a snake, lifting the old man high into the air.

The old man raised his halberd high overhead, then brought it down like an executioner delivering the killing blow.

Clang!

With a streak of fire that seemed to split the sky, the old man crossed dozens of meters and smashed his halberd into the ground in front of them.

Across from him stood Li Weixuan, who had been unhurt until now. At last, a few streaks of blood appeared on his body.

His first strike had failed, but the old man stood in the air once more, supported by the pillar of blood.

"Back away."

Li Weixuan motioned for everyone to retreat.

The next moment, Sword Intent surged, and killing intent filled the air.

So this was the power of a Peak Fourth Order expert.

Fu Qian clicked his tongue in admiration, but kept his eyes fixed on the old man facing Li Weixuan.

The power behind that halberd strike had been terrifying. If Li Weixuan hadn't blocked it, the exploration team would have suffered casualties, if not been wiped out.

Unfortunately, the man who had delivered the blow still hadn't opened his eyes. His movements were stiff, like a dead man's.

So the thing below his waist really was the main body?

Fu Qian looked at the mass supporting the old man.

It had now fully taken on the shape of a slug. Most of its dark red sludge had been absorbed into its body, exposing a round, domed structure at the bottom of the pool.

The old man must have been standing on that just now.

While everyone's attention was drawn to the battle, Fu Qian quietly walked over to the edge of the pool.

There was something he'd wanted to try for a long time.

After watching things unfold along the way, he was certain his theory was probably correct.

Those who entered the Furnace had their flesh and blood refined according to some special rules, then transformed into all kinds of twisted monsters.

This blood pool was clearly one such creation.

That raised the question: why hadn't the old man been affected?

He seemed to have been here for quite some time.

When something was out of the ordinary, there was usually a reason. Anyone not bound by the rules might be able to get out.

Looking at the dark red pool, Fu Qian cut a wound in his arm, then held his hand upside down and let his blood stream into it.

In theory, once blood left the body, it became lifeless and should be absorbed quickly.

But to his surprise, Fu Qian's blood didn't mix with the pool. It floated right on the surface, like oil and water.

Did that mean I wasn't affected either? Fu Qian's eyes lit up.

What did I have in common with this old man? Apart from the fact that we were both men.

Fu Qian was frowning in thought when he suddenly noticed something happening to his blood in the pool.

As if pulled by some force, the blood floating on the surface began to move.

Soon, it was drawn into a thin stream that flowed toward the old man suspended in midair.

That works too?

Fu Qian watched as the stream climbed along the pillar of blood beneath the old man, then disappeared at his waist.

The colors were too similar for anyone else to notice the detail.

By now, the battle between the two was nearing its end. The old man was immensely strong and wielded a peerless weapon, but he seemed to be no more than a puppet, and his movements were far from nimble.

Under Li Weixuan's storm of attacks, he quickly fell behind and was now barely holding on.

Li Weixuan seemed to have realized that the pillar of blood beneath the old man was the real body. His sword never strayed from the other man's lower half, spraying blood and splattering viscous fluid everywhere.

When Li Weixuan finally tore apart the pillar of blood beneath the old man, the old man's whole body shuddered. He let out a groan and opened his eyes.

He struggled with all his might, finally breaking free before the pillar could close around him. Then he leaped onto the shore.

"Thank you for freeing me from that nightmare."

Kneeling where he was, the old man gasped for breath. For the first time, a spark of humanity appeared in his eyes.

"I never thought this day would come."

The old man spoke slowly, his voice hoarse and unpleasant, as if he hadn't spoken in ages.

Seeing this, Li Weixuan stopped attacking, but remained on guard as he asked him three questions.

"Who are you? Why are you here? What is this place?"

"I am..."

The old man slowly rose, gripping his halberd. He furrowed his brow in thought, his face contorting with pain.

"I can't remember. I only remember being trapped somewhere, unable to escape no matter what I did...

There were deformed monsters everywhere. My thoughts grew more and more muddled, and I was awake for shorter and shorter periods. Sometimes, I even thought I was already dead..."

"Wait!"

Suddenly, the old man seemed to realize something. He pointed at the students' chests, his face twitching.

"Are you people from the Academy?"

"You know about the Academy?"

Many of the students had the Academy's emblem on their chests. Now it was their turn to be shocked.

"Not just that... I know for certain that I was the Academy's Fourth Dean!"

"I remember now..."

Before the people from the Academy could react, the old man's expression suddenly turned solemn. He planted his halberd on the ground.

"My name is Feng Yunhong!"