I dared to stand up to the Desolate Beast because I had something to rely on. I wasn't just acting on impulse.
When the Desolate Beast began absorbing life force, everyone was affected. But I was different; I didn't feel the slightest bit weak or unwell! To my surprise, not a trace of pale green aura flowed from my body. In other words, the Desolate Beast's ability to absorb the life force of all living things didn't work on me at all! After thinking it over, I figured it was probably because my ability to absorb Blood Energy and its ability to absorb life force were similar in nature, so it couldn't interfere with me.
Whatever the reason, since that beast's signature killing move had no effect on me, what was there to hesitate about?
"Miss Liu... You're not affected? How is that possible?" Du Lin said in astonishment.
"Who knows why! Just get them out of here! As far away as you can!"
Du Lin stopped wasting time. He hoisted Shi Tao and Rui Feng onto his shoulders and fled with what little strength he had left. The instant he was gone, my Blood Hand finally gave out and burst apart with a splash, scattering into blood. With nothing blocking it, the giant claw slammed heavily into the ground, shaking the earth. I dodged aside, pulled a bead from my waist pouch, and swallowed it whole!
The bead melted as soon as it entered my mouth, and a surge of Blood Energy instantly filled my body. The pouch tied around my waist wasn't mine; it belonged to Rui Xin. It was stuffed with the Demonic Beast Cores she'd secretly stashed away along the way. Demonic Beast Cores were condensed from the beasts' vital blood, making them the best nourishment for me!
"Ha!" A surging tide of blood burst from my whole body. It was about to exceed my limit, but the Blood Energy from the core immediately flowed into every limb and bone, replenishing my blood without end. Thanks to that, the amount of blood I was releasing now far exceeded the total amount in my body under normal circumstances! As soon as the tide of blood burst from me, it transformed into countless scarlet tentacles. They wrapped around the Desolate Beast's limbs with blinding speed, their supple tips morphing into sharp Blood Blades that stabbed into its hide in unison!
However...
Pfft! Pfft! Pfft! The Blood Blades did pierce its hide, but only a little. They barely caused any real damage. Its skin was like alloy wrapped in rubber: soft in appearance, but hard as steel!
I was horrified. Before this, my Blood Blades had sliced through the Bone Armor Lion and the bald man as easily as tearing paper. This was the first time I'd ever seen them fail! The Desolate Beast launched another attack. It twisted its limbs with all its might and snapped the supple tentacles by force! A blood-red glow gathered in its eyes. Was it... about to unleash its ultimate move?
Boom! A blood-red beam shot from its eyes straight at me! "Triple Blood Shield!" I shouted. The tentacles melted and condensed into shields, one after another—three layers in all! The instant they formed, the beam slammed into the first shield. It held for only a few seconds before shattering to pieces! The second shield met the same fate, but the beam had thinned considerably by the time it pierced through. When it struck the third shield, it finally vanished completely, taking the shield with it.
The sight made cold sweat pour down my back. I'd still been thinking too simply. Even if it couldn't absorb my life force, its combat power was astonishing. My attacks were practically useless against it, while every time I defended against one of its attacks, it took a heavy toll on me. This was a terrible situation...
Wasn't there some more powerful way to attack?
Ah! I was such an idiot! How could I have forgotten? I still had the Charging Blade, which I'd carried on my back ever since we set out but had completely forgotten about because I'd never used it!
I hurriedly took the blade case off my back. The Charging Blade didn't come with a sheath, and without Uncle Ding's Demonic Bloodline, carrying a sword directly on my back would've been asking for trouble, so I'd put it in the case beforehand. But at that very moment, the Desolate Beast lunged at me again. Damn it, how could something so bulky move so fast? A clump of blood shot out and collided with the Desolate Beast, nudging its lunge slightly off course. I seized the opening and dodged past it, while fumbling to undo the blade case's straps. Damn it, which idiot had tied them so tight!? Wait, wasn't that me?
Like a martial arts master, the Desolate Beast weaved and darted until it was right in front of me again. I flipped sideways to dodge its first claw, but couldn't evade the second!
With a pfft, I was swept into the air. My insides lurched violently. If I hadn't turned my blood into a hard shell around my body in time, I'd probably be done for! But the Desolate Beast didn't let up. Blood-red light flickered in its giant eyes again. It was trying to land a fatal blow while I was helpless in midair!
The beam was about to fire, and I finally got the blade out while still airborne. Maybe it was the adrenaline, but everything seemed to slow down. Load the round, insert it, cock the blade! The Desolate Beast seemed to fire its blood-red beam in slow motion. I swung the blade hard and pulled the trigger at the instant it collided with the beam!
"BOOM—"
The deafening roar shook my ears. The tremendous force from the collision sent me flying backward, and the Charging Blade nearly slipped from my grasp. I hit the ground hard, plunging half the blade into the earth before I finally stopped sliding. The blood-red beam had already scattered on impact, leaving only red motes drifting through the air.
It worked! I couldn't help feeling thrilled. I'd infused every bullet for the Charging Blade with spiritual power myself, and mixed in a good amount of my own Blood Energy. Its power was several times greater than when Si Nan Ying had demonstrated it! The Charging Blade was only a mid-grade Spirit Artifact, but its power was enough to rival a high-grade one!
But there was a drawback: the enormous recoil had all slammed into my arms, and for a moment, they hurt so badly I thought they'd split apart!
Seeing its attack fail, the Desolate Beast charged at me furiously. This time, I didn't dodge. I met it head-on! Another bullet was ready, and I controlled my blood to coat the blade, staining it a brilliant, bewitching red. As I swung, it flowed like a scarlet ribbon.
Another roar rang out, and the golden cartridge traced a graceful arc. The blade clashed violently with the beast's claws, but this time, I wasn't the one forced back. The Desolate Beast was! A savage wound had opened across the back of its claw, deep enough to expose bone, and dark green blood gushed out. Its skin, both supple and tough, could no longer withstand the Charging Blade reinforced with my blood!
When the enemy advanced, I retreated; when it retreated, I advanced! The Desolate Beast had lost its footing. If I didn't seize this chance, when would I? I swallowed another core to ease the pain in my arms. The blood splattered around us gathered together and turned into sea-anemone-like tentacles again, but this time, they weren't meant to restrain it. They were there to buy me time. The tentacles swiftly wrapped around the Desolate Beast's body, leaving it wide open. A small amount of blood formed steps beneath my feet. I sprang up them toward the beast's head as Blood Energy poured into the Charging Blade without end. Even the spiritual array engraved on the blade began to glow blood-red! The Desolate Beast raised its head and roared furiously. Its giant eyes glowed red again—
"I won't let you get away with that!!!"
The first bullet fired. The blade erupted in dazzling red light as I drove it down with all my strength. Before the beam could shoot out, the blade punched through the hard shell covering its giant eye and plunged deep inside, all the way to the hilt! Then—
All three rounds fired at once!
Three casings flew out at the same time, and the blood coating the blade exploded! The blade cleaved through the giant eye, crushed flesh, and pierced straight through the skull! The Desolate Beast roared madly. Its death throes sent me tumbling to the ground.
But it didn't fall immediately as I'd expected. Instead, with a burst of monstrous strength born of desperation, it slammed the ground! The earth collapsed beneath the blow. There was a hollow space underneath—it wanted to escape certain death! The Desolate Beast fell through the collapsing ground into the hollow below, and I was caught up in it and fell too.
With both arms nearly broken, I could barely keep my balance. I crashed heavily onto the cave floor. Through the swirling dust, I could just make out the Desolate Beast staggering through the cave.
The Desolate Beast was near its limit. The grievous wound to its head left it increasingly dazed, and its injured limbs made every step a struggle. But this cave led to the forest. If it could escape into the forest, it could heal by drawing on the abundant life force there—
"Don't even think about it!"
A thick tentacle of blood crept up the Desolate Beast's head like a wraith and forced its way into the wound! Its tip turned into a blade and churned violently inside the beast's skull. After a violent spasm, the Desolate Beast finally slumped to the ground, dead for good.
I dropped to my knees, drained. I could no longer move my arms. I'd only resorted to such a gruesome killing blow because I had no other choice, and that move had nearly exhausted my spiritual power.
Back at the Winter Arrival Hotel, I'd once had a sudden thought: if my blood were mixed into a whole vat of water, could I control the entire vat by controlling my blood? After testing it, I reached a conclusion that disappointed me a little: if my blood was mixed with a large amount of "something that didn't originally belong to me," it became extremely difficult to control, whether that something was water, fruit juice, or someone else's blood. This also showed that, as I was now, it would be extremely difficult to "get blood into an opponent's body and injure them from the inside."
Looking at the Desolate Beast's lifeless body, I let out a long breath. This had been the toughest battle I'd faced since crossing over. My spiritual power was nearly gone, my arms were useless, and there wasn't a single part of me that didn't hurt, but...
I'd won!