Demon Blood

Qin Yu only felt the scene before his eyes change drastically once more. If the hills had been desolate, and the Illusion Array a paradise beyond the mortal world, then what lay before him was hell.

Before he could clearly see his surroundings, he smelled an overwhelmingly thick stench of blood. When he saw the densely packed bones ahead, Qin Yu's heart thumped violently.

This space was pale violet. Lightning occasionally streaked across the sky above, and thunder rumbled through the air. The surroundings resembled an ancient battlefield: the ground was pitted and uneven, bones littered the earth, and broken blades and shattered swords were too numerous to count. Many of the corpses belonged to enormous Fierce Beasts, looking like mountain ranges at a glance. There were also Fierce Beasts that even Qin Yu had never heard of. Most of these corpses had been reduced to skeletons, though quite a few still had flesh that had not decayed.

Thinking of the ancestral ape that had died deep within the Land of Beast Burial, Qin Yu was certain that it had escaped from here before finally perishing among those hills.

"Suppressing Ancient Demon?" Qin Yu carefully recalled the words on the shattered steles. The complete stele could not possibly have contained only those three words. Yet no matter how he thought about it, he found no clue. Watching Ling Yao slowly advance over the bones, Qin Yu continued after her.

About an hour later.

Qin Yu stood atop the skull of an enormous fierce beast, staring ahead in shock. Even with the vast experience of his previous life, he could not help but be stunned.

Far in the distance stood a massive mountain piled from corpses and bones. It rose nearly three hundred zhang high, resembling a pillar holding up heaven and earth from afar. Above the mountain of bones burned a cluster of violet-white flames, casting light across this hellish space.

Vaguely, he could see that the flames had a violet core and white fire. Lightning flickered from time to time above them, like ten thousand rivers flowing back into the sea as they converged upon the violet blaze. Faint peals of muffled thunder rang out as well.

"This... this... lightning as its heart, the fire of heaven and earth as its flame—is this Lightning Fire?" Qin Yu sucked in a breath as he looked up at the lightning overhead. Feeling the faintly rumbling thunder throughout the space, he was horrified beyond measure.

He had heard a little about Lightning Fire from ancient texts, but he had never expected to see it here!

The conditions for this kind of flame to be born were unimaginably harsh. Only in places where Thunder Power was at its densest was there an infinitesimal chance of it emerging. As for the specifics, even Qin Yu did not know.

Yet according to the ancient texts, lightning was a thing of utmost yang and contained a trace of primordial chaos power, capable of suppressing all evil demons beneath heaven. Lightning Fire was formed when Thunder Power reached its ultimate extreme.

Wait...

Could it be... that this Lightning Fire was here to suppress some powerful devil?

Recalling the words on the stele, Qin Yu's scalp tingled. He became increasingly certain that an incomparably terrifying devil was sealed here, or there would be no need to use Lightning Fire to suppress it.

Watching Ling Yao continue forward at a slow pace, Qin Yu suddenly leaped down and chased after her with all his strength.

The Dying Dao Sound produced by the suppressed devil must have resonated with Ling Yao's Innate Dao Body. Once that devil absorbed the power of Ling Yao's heaven-and-earth Dao body, even this Lightning Fire would likely be unable to suppress it. At that time, the Azure Lotus Heavenly Domain, and even the entire Trapped Dragon Star, would be finished.

"Ling Yao, wake up!" Qin Yu reached for Ling Yao and shouted, but the moment his hand extended, it was jolted away by the astral energy emanating from her body.

"What should I do?" Qin Yu drew a sharp breath. With his cultivation, he simply could not stop Ling Yao.

After hesitating briefly, Qin Yu sprinted toward the mountain of bones at the very front.

Since there was Lightning Fire here, even if an unparalleled great devil truly was being suppressed, it should be restricted at every turn. Qin Yu could therefore wait for an opportunity to act.

An hour later.

Qin Yu climbed to the summit of the mountain of bones, where there was a vast open clearing.

At the center of the clearing sat five skeletons in meditation. Among them stood a small bronze pagoda as tall as an adult. The pagoda looked extraordinarily strange—it was made of densely packed enormous Bronze Hand Seals. Looking closely, each of those hand seals was itself formed from countless tiny hand seals! The seals radiated golden light, like a great bronze bell covering this place!

A deep-violet thunder dragon, several zhang long, coiled around the small bronze pagoda. Its head was plunged directly into the Lightning Fire. In other words, the core of the Lightning Fire was this small thunder dragon!

Through the Bronze Hand Seals and the violet thunder dragon, Qin Yu could vaguely make out a flickering figure within the bronze pagoda.

As Qin Yu stared at the phantom inside the bronze pagoda, every pore on his body suddenly stood on end. He looked at the figure in terror, as if he could sense two gazes piercing through the Bronze Hand Seals and watching him.

Qin Yu's face turned pale, and shock filled his heart.

What kind of powerhouse was this person? He had been suppressed here for who knew how many years, yet he was still not dead?

Qin Yu glanced at the five skeletons, his heart shaking fiercely. These five had most likely been drawn here by resonance with the Dying Dao Sound, and Ling Yao's fate would inevitably be exactly the same as theirs.

Turning to look at Ling Yao, who was still a thousand zhang away, Qin Yu lowered his eyelids and calmed his mind. Suddenly, he caught sight of several gigantic footprints ahead, leading step by step toward the small bronze bell.

Staring at those footprints, Qin Yu thought of the dead ancestral ape. Thoughts raced through his mind, and he vaguely felt that these prints had likely been left by that ape. Judging from how deeply they were stamped into the ground, the ancestral ape seemed to have endured immense pressure as it approached the small pagoda.

But...

Qin Yu, standing here, felt only the slightest pressure—so little that it was practically nonexistent.

Could it be because of cultivation?

Could it be that the higher one's cultivation, the greater the pressure one endured here? The ancestral ape had been at the Dao Realm, so it had found every step difficult!

If that was the case...

Qin Yu's mind raced. He looked again at Ling Yao behind him, struggling fiercely within. Ling Yao's cultivation was far too much higher than his; he could not stop her at all. Thus, the only way to save her was to kill the phantom inside that small pagoda!

But how could he kill something that even Lightning Fire could not erase and could only suppress?

"Wait, could this Lightning Fire... be one kind of Extreme Power of Heaven and Earth? A thing of utmost yang?" Qin Yu stared at the small thunder dragon and suddenly thought of the Nirvana Seed.

The Nirvana Seed must absorb Extreme Power of Heaven and Earth before it can undergo nirvana... And Extreme Power of Heaven and Earth is as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns. Even encountering it requires a heaven-defying stroke of fortune. If I do not take it this time, who knows what year or month it will be before another chance comes.

That ancestral ape must have perished after touching the Lightning Fire. What would happen if someone with his cultivation touched it?

Qin Yu turned to look below again and discovered that Ling Yao had already begun climbing the mountain of bones!

He did not have much time left to think.

After a long while, Qin Yu gritted his teeth and advanced cautiously. As he drew closer and closer to the small pagoda, the phantom within slowly became more corporeal.

In the end, every pore on Qin Yu's body stood erect. He was almost certain that the phantom in the pagoda was staring straight at him.

In an instant, the pressure Qin Yu felt surged violently, making each step increasingly difficult.

Half an hour later.

Qin Yu was only ten zhang away from the small pagoda, and Ling Yao had also climbed onto the mountain of bones.

The thunder dragon that used its body to suppress the phantom and its head as the flame core seemed to sense something. It suddenly opened its eyes wide, fixing its dragon gaze on Ling Yao and releasing a dragon's roar. Then an ancient voice sounded in Qin Yu's mind. "Stop... her..."

At the same time, the phantom completely solidified, becoming a black-robed figure seated within the small pagoda. A pair of eyes thick with Demon Blood's Baleful Intent could vaguely be seen staring excitedly at the slowly approaching Ling Wei.

Just as Qin Yu had guessed, the higher one's cultivation, the greater the pressure endured. Ling Yao's steps visibly slowed, and she moved even more slowly than Qin Yu.

Qin Yu took a deep breath, looked at the thunder dragon, and said in a low voice, "Senior, I cannot stop her!"

"Borrow... your hand. Touch... the Demon Blood. By no means... let it absorb any more Immortal Origin Power... great disaster!" The ancient voice sounded again.

Qin Yu's mind shook, and he was horrified beyond words.

There was Demon Blood inside the small pagoda? A single drop of blood required Lightning Fire to suppress it?

Just how terrifying was this demon?

And the thunder dragon wanted to use his hand to erase this drop of Demon Blood. Then... could the Nirvana Seed absorb the Thunder Power contained within it?

Just as Qin Yu hesitated, Ling Yao suddenly accelerated, forcibly catching up.

Alarmed, Qin Yu also slowly advanced against the tremendous pressure of the Demon Blood.

"Hurry!" The thunder dragon's voice became urgent.

Qin Yu's mind spun at breakneck speed. He no longer had time to hesitate. Only two outcomes awaited him: one, he erased the Demon Blood and died himself; two, after erasing the Demon Blood, the Nirvana Seed absorbed the Thunder Power. That way, he could save Ling Yao as well.

Nirvana Seed, it's up to you! Qin Yu silently said, quickening his pace.

Ling Yao moved even faster. One before the other, they rushed toward the small pagoda.

"Not good!" Qin Yu was suddenly startled to find Ling Yao already shoulder to shoulder with him. He abruptly stretched out his right hand. The instant he touched the thunder dragon, he felt an ancient, desolate aura surge savagely into his body. A supremely powerful force coursed through every part of him, while a lingering warmth rose from the dantian in his abdomen. Yet Qin Yu had no time to inspect it.

In that instant.

The bronze pagoda exploded violently, and countless hand seals scattered into ashes. Among them, one hand seal struck Qin Yu's right palm.

The phantom shot fiercely toward Ling Yao.

At that very moment, Qin Yu suddenly raised his left hand and growled, "No!"

Caught off guard, the phantom slammed into Qin Yu's left hand.

Bang!

Rumble—

"No!"

A shrill roar accompanied by thunder shook Qin Yu until his ears buzzed. His internal organs nearly shifted out of place. After vomiting blood wildly, Qin Yu lost consciousness outright.

As his consciousness faded, Qin Yu vaguely heard repeated explosions. His body seemed to suffer heavy blows, and he even heard the howling of fierce winds...

At the same time.

Humming sounds rang out across the heavenly domains of the four great stars. Countless powerhouses heard them, and what horrified them was the faint, shrill howling hidden within those hums.

It seemed unwilling.

It seemed resentful.