Seven days go by in a blink of an eye.
The autumn air is crisp, Royal Hunting Grounds flags are flying, and the horns are blowing.
The annual Autumn Hunting Ceremony is not only a grand event for the royal family to test their military power and have fun with the people, but also a stage for all parties to secretly compete and show off their muscles.
The Imperial Guard's bright armor surrounds the core hunting ground area.
Under the huge bright yellow umbrella, His Majesty the Emperor Great Zhou is sitting on the Kowloon Throne. Although he is old, his eyes still open and close with imperial majesty.
Hundreds of civil and military officials, nobles Aristocratic Clan, and envoys from various countries lined up on both sides, and the atmosphere was solemn and warm.
Lu Chen disguised himself as a young hunter with dark skin and a simple face, wearing a short coat of coarse cloth and carrying a half-used hunting bow, and mingled with the team of civilians outside the hunting ground who were responsible for driving away wild animals and handling chores.
He used <Black Tortoise Breath Concealment Art> to suppress his aura until it was no different from an ordinary warrior. Coupled with a flawless identity document provided by Hidden Dragon Token, he successfully passed several interrogations.
According to the information mentioned in Supervisor Chen's secret letter, the transaction location is Wolf Howl Valley in the northwest corner of the hunting ground.
The terrain there is steep, with rugged rocks and many wolves and other wild beasts inhabiting it. Ordinary hunters and soldiers will not easily go deep into it.
As His Majesty the Emperor symbolically fired the first arrow, announcing the start of the hunt, the huge team roared into the forest like a flood.
The thunderous sound of horse hooves, the sound of arrows piercing the air, mixed with the wails of wild beasts and the cheers of hunters, made the whole hunting ground boil in an instant.
In the chaos, Lu Chen quietly broke away from the civilian team, and using the cover of the trees and terrain, like a sensitive mountain leopard, rushed towards Wolf Howl Valley in the northwest direction.
The closer we get to Wolf Howl Valley, the more obvious the strangeness in the air becomes.
It was not the blood caused by hunting, but a thicker, sweeter smell, with a smell of corruption and evil, and a faint smell of Sulfur mixed with herbs.
Lu Chen concentrated his breath to the extreme and chose a rock gap covered by dense vines above the valley as an observation point.
He pushed aside the vines and looked down. The scene at the bottom of the valley made his pupils suddenly shrink and a chill rose up his spine.
In a relatively flat open space at the bottom of the valley, a simple but sinister altar was built!
The altar is made of black stone, with twisted runes similar to those in the Blood Demon Cult notebook carved on it.
Dozens of corpses lay scattered around the altar!
There are humans, dressed in different ways, some even wearing simple folk or hunter clothes; there are also all kinds of Demon Beast, from ordinary wild wolves to huge black bears.
Their blood did not solidify, but was guided by some kind of force and gathered into a pool of blood that was constantly boiling and rolling in the center of the altar.
Beside the blood pool, several people wearing Ye Family Shadow Guards clothes and Ghost Face Mask were busy. They put some shimmering ore powder and strange herbs into the blood pool.
In the center of the blood pool, dozens of longan-sized, red elixirs with natural spiral patterns on their surfaces were slowly condensing and forming - Blood Demon Pill!
Right in front of the altar, two people stood.
One of them is exactly what Lu Chen has seen in the portrait of the Ye Family Council Hall, the seventh elder of the Ye Family who is responsible for Capital City affairs--Ye Chengzong!
He looked a little flattering and nervous at the moment, bowing slightly and saying something to the person next to him.
The man next to him was tall, wearing a black robe without any logo, and a dark gold Ghost Face Mask with a simple and strange shape on his face.
The man just stood there casually, but an invisible force field seemed to be formed around him. Even the light approaching him was slightly distorted, and the air was filled with a soul-trembling sense of depression!
Xiantian realm!
Definitely the Xiantian realm!
And it's not as simple as joining Xiantian for the first time!
This is Ghostface Organization at the top of Capital City - Judge!
Lu Chen's heart sank.
He originally thought that Ye Family was the master at most, but he didn't expect that Judge would show up in person!
"Sir Judge, please see, this batch of Blood Demon Pill, with Demon Beast Essence Blood is the main ingredient, and is catalyzed by soul-creating resentment. The quality is far superior to the previous ones." Ye Chengzong's voice came faintly along the mountain wind, "It is enough to take the strength of your subordinate Blood Guards to a higher level, and it will break through the bottleneck soon."
Judge nodded indifferently, with no expression visible under the dark golden mask, and a hoarse and low voice sounded, "Yes. Although the risk is high when doing things during the Heaven Sacrifice Ceremony, it is indeed the best cover. Everything is ready, and it will be handed over on time."
"Don't worry, sir, nothing will go wrong..." Ye Chengzong quickly assured.
At this moment, Judge suddenly turned his head without warning. The cold eyes under the dark gold mask were like two sharp swords, penetrating through the barriers of layers of vines and rocks, and locked in the direction where Lu Chen was hiding with great accuracy!
"You hidden insect, get out of here!"
A cold shout was not loud, but it was like thunder from the sky, exploding directly in Lu Chen's mind!
Accompanied by this cold shout, a Xiantian pressure as vast as the sea and as heavy as a mountain suddenly descended!
Poof--!
Lu Chen As if being hit by a heavy hammer, his vision went dark, and a mouthful of blood spurted out uncontrollably!
His carefully arranged breath-containing technique was instantly broken, and his figure was exposed from his hiding place. He staggered back a few steps and managed to steady himself, his face turned as white as paper.
Just a scolding and pressure caused him to suffer serious internal injuries!
Between Xiantian and Xiantian, the gap is like a chasm!
"It's you! Lu Chen!" Ye Chengzong was startled at first, but when he saw the person clearly, his face was filled with ferociousness and ecstasy, "It's really hard to find a place through iron shoes, it took no effort to get here! Master Judge, this little bastard, has repeatedly ruined my Ye Family good deeds, killed my Ye Family children, and even... ruined Blood Eye!"
Judge's icy gaze fell on Lu Chen. The gaze seemed to contain thousands of years of ice from the far north, which could freeze a person's blood and soul. "Hand over Extinction Iron, and I will let you die a more pleasant death."
Lu Chen felt that the surrounding air had become as thick as glue, and the invisible pressure was squeezing from all directions, making it extremely difficult for him to even move a finger, let alone run True Qi to escape.
Judge hasn't even really made a move yet!
Can't escape!
We can only fight to the death!
A trace of ruthlessness flashed in Lu Chen's eyes, Wind Thunder True Qi in his body was running crazily at an unprecedented speed, trying to break through the coercive blockade, and Cultivation Method of <Shadow Demon Trace Steps> was already roaring in his meridians.
"Stubborn." Judge seemed to have lost his patience. He raised his right hand casually and pointed lightly in the direction of Lu Chen.
There was no earth-shattering momentum, only a black finger light that was extremely condensed and as thin as a hair, but seemed to be able to penetrate the void and extinguish life. It instantly spanned a distance of tens of feet and appeared on the chest of Lu Chen!
Wherever the fingerlight passes, the air makes a subtle sound, like cloth being torn!
Quick!
Indescribably fast!
Cruel!
It embodies the pure artistic conception of death!
Lu Chen's pupils shrank to the size of a pinhead, and all the hair on his body stood up at this moment!
He clearly felt the breath of death, so close!
He couldn't avoid this finger!
All his body protection True Qi appeared as fragile as paper in front of this finger light!
Are you going to die?
No--!
At this critical moment of life and death, Lu Chen let out an unwilling and crazy roar deep in his consciousness!
[System!!! Spend one hundred and fifty years Demon Devil Lifespan!!! Give me a breakthrough!!! Forcefully step into Xiantian!!!]
[Command confirmed! Start infusion! One hundred and fifty years Demon Devil Lifespan burns! Forcefully attack the Xiantian barrier!]
Rumble--!!!
A majestic energy that was far more violent and vast than any before, as if it came from the ancient starry sky, like a cosmic torrent that burst a dam, instantly rushed into Lu Chen's limbs and bones, the eight extraordinary meridians, and Dantian's sea of consciousness!
Click! Click! Click!
There seemed to be countless pieces of glass breaking inside his body!
The meridians were broken inch by inch under this arrogant force, and then were forcibly widened and reshaped under the infusion of the raging life source!
Dantian The air sea rotates and expands crazily. True Qi, which was originally like mist, is sharply compressed and condensed, transforming into a higher state of liquid true energy!
A force that was above the Meridian Opening realm, with a nascent but extremely powerful breath of life and pressure from heaven and earth, suddenly burst out from Lu Chen's body, forcibly opening a gap in the field of pressure Judge had exerted on him!
"What?!" Judge, who had always been as indifferent as an ice sculpture, made a surprised voice for the first time, but then the shock turned into incredible ecstasy and greed, "Xiantian actually broke through on the battlefield?! No! This power... is not an ordinary epiphany! It is a secret technique! You possess a secret technique that defies the heavens!!"
Ye Chengzong on the side also reacted, his eyes became extremely hot in an instant, and he hissed, "Master Judge! This boy must have been blessed with a heaven-defying opportunity. He possesses a shocking secret technique that can ignore bottlenecks and forcefully break through! If you can capture it..."
"You must get this secret technique!" Judge's voice was filled with uncontrollable excitement. The eyes under the dark gold mask were like poisonous snakes staring at the prey, locking Lu Chen tightly, "Capture him! Search for souls and refine souls! I want everything about this secret technique!"