"Are you the bat that got away?"
Chen Xia asked, "Do you know the Three Great Spirit Techniques?"
The man frowned. "What do you mean?"
"Do you have the Blood Shadow, Blood Soul, and Blood Demon texts on you?" Chen Xia asked.
"Heh, the Blood Demon?... Even Lord Edel only received it orally. I do have written versions of the others. What, are you thinking of betraying your side and joining the Night God Sect?"
The Night God Sect man paused, then sneered. "Kill those two women first, as proof of your loyalty. Then I might consider taking you in."
The other Night God Sect men all laughed.
"I never said I wanted to join your Night God Sect!" Chen Xia said.
"Then what do you mean? Are you playing us?"
"Stop wasting time on him. Take control of him first," another man said.
"You won't be able to control me!" Chen Xia said.
"Is that so?"
The Night God Sect man sneered, then joined the others in unleashing their Spiritual Pressure.
At that moment, the entire blood sea sky began to shake as if a great earthquake had struck. The sky split open, crumbling apart.
"What's happening?" The Night God Sect man exchanged glances with the others, struggling to believe what he was seeing. They hurriedly increased the pressure.
"I told you, you can't control me."
Blood mist began pouring from Chen Xia, still bound to the cross. The illusion's chains around him came undone on their own, and he was completely free.
The Eternal Night Blood Scripture he cultivated was superior to theirs, and it amplified his Spiritual Power. On top of that, he was a Grade 2 martial artist with stronger willpower. He naturally wouldn't stay trapped in an illusion for long, much less be controlled by them.
"What..."
The Night God Sect man stared at Chen Xia, whose body was wreathed in blood mist, and gaped in shock. It seemed Chen Xia had cultivated the Eternal Night Blood Scripture too. Once he broke free, the entire illusion collapsed.
As the six figures crumbled, they all looked utterly disbelieving.
Chen Xia breathed a sigh of relief. He had woken up quickly, but the six men had suppressed him, costing him a second and a half. One wrong move, and he could easily have lost his life.
Just then, he felt something soft against his back, and seemed to feel a pair of arms wrapped around his own.
Chen Xia turned his head and saw Lin Qinghan holding him. She looked just as surprised. "You're all right?"
"Yeah..."
"You woke up that quickly?"
Lin Qinghan held Chen Xia, inwardly astonished. Even a bottom-rung Night God Sect sorcerer could control a Grade 1 martial artist for at least a second. Against six sorcerers, a Grade 1 martial artist would remain immersed in an Illusion Technique for at least eight seconds, or even be completely controlled—enough time to die a hundred times over. Yet Chen Xia had woken up in less than two seconds?
Even she had nearly been affected just now. But she was a Grade 3 martial master and a Grade 3 sorcerer. Chen Xia was only a Grade 1 martial artist. How could he resist a mental attack from six sorcerers?
Lin Qinghan had been considering whether to spend some star energy to wake him. Still, this was for the best. It seemed this older young man did have some ability after all.
"Is he awake?" Jiang Xinglan glanced back.
"His Spiritual Will is very strong." As Lin Qinghan spoke, she let go of Chen Xia. The way she had been holding him was rather intimate, and now that she thought about it, a little awkward.
"Damn it!"
The Night God Sect members grew agitated after their mental attack failed.
"Don't panic. We still have these girls. They won't dare kill the hostages!" The Night God Sect man from before calmed his companions. "As long as we hold out until the Blood God appears, they're finished."
Whoosh! Seeing that Chen Xia was all right, Lin Qinghan released a green bead from her right hand. The bead, about the size of a dragon's eye, shot out a silver-white telescoping metal rod from its base, extending into a Sorcerer's Staff half a foot long. She gripped it, and the green bead released spots of light charged with star energy beforehand.
"Move aside!"
Lin Qinghan raised the staff in her right hand. Its rod was densely covered with obscure, engraved runes. It released energy that generated a powerful force.
The force could lessen the strength and speed of an enemy's attack, or send people flying. Since it was invisible energy, the two dozen girls in front of them were all flung away the moment it touched them, clearing a large patch of open ground.
This wouldn't seriously injure or kill the girls, but it gave Jiang Xinglan room to act.
Kill!
With nothing holding her back, Jiang Xinglan flashed forward like lightning. Her short blade traced a sharp streak of light. Under the horrified gazes of the six cultists, four clutched their throats, unable to speak, and fell to the ground.
Splurt!
One cultist's face twisted. Countless bats and blood shadows materialized around him and rushed at Jiang Xinglan. Her blood energy surged, leaving her unaffected. With one precise strike, she pierced his heart.
The last cultist had already started fleeing toward the back door.
Jiang Xinglan didn't pursue him. Instead, she pulled an Electric Gun from her waist and shocked him until he convulsed on the ground. She turned and fired at Edel too, but the aura emanating from the Blood God in the mirror weakened the Electric Gun's power.
Edel watched the Blood Demon about to emerge from the mirror, excitement in his eyes. He only had to hold on a little longer. Once the Blood God came through the mirror, he could receive the Blood God's embrace, gain immortality, and slow his aging.
Although he looked middle-aged, that was only a false skin. In truth, he was already very old. He didn't want to die.
Countless blood shadows in human form and crimson crows flew from his body, swooping at Jiang Xinglan and the others. The bead in Lin Qinghan's right hand shone, repelling all the blood shadows. At the same time, she and Jiang Xinglan closed in on Edel.
Swish!
Jiang Xinglan's short blade pierced through Edel's chest, but struck nothing. His body scattered into bats that filled the room, obscuring their vision.
Illusion Technique!
Jiang Xinglan focused, and her blood energy erupted once more. Her mind cleared, and she spotted Edel to her left. He had used Blood Soul Bewitching Heart on her, but Lin Qinghan's Sorcerer's Staff kept shining beside them, disrupting his spell. Edel cursed inwardly.
The two chased him from one side, while Chen Xia approached from another. But Edel pulled a red Blood Pill from his pocket and threw it at them.
Boom! The Blood Pill exploded, filling the air with poisonous gas. Lin Qinghan planted her staff against the ground and released her Spiritual Power, forcing all the fumes back.
Jiang Xinglan shouted to the girls in the room, who had regained consciousness now that the Night God Sect members were dead. "Quick, get out! The mist is poisonous!"
The girls fled in panic, screaming as they ran through the blood mist. Some moved so slowly they could barely crawl. Chen Xia dragged several of them outside and laid them in the corridor, where the others carried them away.
He returned to find Edel pressed close to the mirror, protected by the Blood God's aura and keeping the three of them at bay.
"Hold your breath and force your way through!" Jiang Xinglan bore down against the pressure ahead, trying to reach the mirror and smash it. With Lin Qinghan's Sorcerer's Staff providing its energy, Edel's Blood Soul illusions had failed several times. That was why Jiang Xinglan had brought her along: she greatly reduced the threat he posed.
Without Lin Qinghan, his Illusion Technique would have been a serious problem.
Edel's face twisted with rage. Spiritual techniques made up most of his strength, but these people were hard to deal with. Jiang Xinglan, especially, was brutally strong. The slightest mistake could put him at risk, making her a difficult opponent.
Bats streamed from Edel, disrupting their vision. Hiding within the Blood God's aura wasn't a long-term solution either.
The Blood God's face was already coming through the mirror. They only needed to buy a little more time. Edel steeled himself, muttered an incantation, and unleashed the Night God Sect's burst technique, Blood Demon Illusion God. Thousands upon thousands of bats streamed from his body, his eyes glowed red, and he cast the illusion over all three of them.
Edel's gaze seemed to possess a strange magic. When it met their eyes, it ensnared their souls.
Jiang Xinglan was a Grade 4 martial master. Her blood energy, spirit, and will had all been rigorously honed at a professional martial arts university. Yet she still felt as though her body were slipping beyond her control, and even her movements slowed. One glance at Edel had filled her with inexplicable dread. What a powerful Evil Technique!
Chen Xia also felt his heart suddenly race beyond his control. Harrowing screams came from nowhere, and his vision began to blur. He hurriedly cultivated the Eternal Night Blood Scripture, using the inner power of the Seven Injuries Fist to steady his mind.
Edel's secret technique multiplied the illusion's power, and all three of them slowed their assault at once. He only had to stall a little longer, and the Blood God would emerge.
"Fools... Why do you persist?"
Edel's voice carried a hint of mockery. "Do you know how much effort I put into summoning the Blood God? Three whole years! Endless experiments, failures, then more experiments, more failures... Only today did I finally succeed!"
"What I've achieved is a Great Achievement, even within the Night God Sect. Those useless fools couldn't summon the Blood God, but I can!"
"You've stumbled upon a once-in-a-thousand-years opportunity. You should join me and pledge yourselves to the Blood God instead. The Blood God is supreme... If the Blood God grants you power, you can become one of the immortals! Then you can escape the suffering of birth and death that afflicts the common people. You'll never again waste your days scrabbling for survival in this base, worldly realm. Only immortality gives life meaning!"
Edel's voice was low and hoarse. His expression twisted as he spoke, and his eyes gleamed with an almost-mad obsession.
It was as though he were showing Jiang Xinglan, Lin Qinghan, and Chen Xia a path to eternity.
Before you continue