Not just his arms. From the neck down, Yan Xuan had been reduced to a skull with only his head left;
all his flesh, blood, and internal organs had been seized and pulverized by the seemingly casual fluctuations of the Blood Sea Soul-Locking Array!
He looked like a head hanging from a bare skeleton...
Pain surged through him like a boundless tide. Yan Xuan opened his mouth. The powerful vitality of a Fifth Realm Warrior kept him from dying at once, but even the Fifth Realm couldn't save his life.
Qi Da appeared right behind him, closing in like a shadow. Brilliant light flared across his clenched fist;
then it came crashing down...
"Uh... Principal, shouldn't we have kept him alive for questioning?" Chu Yuan asked, somewhat surprised. The Blood Sea Soul-Locking Array had been powerful enough to erase Yan Xuan outright, but Chu Yuan had deliberately left him barely breathing;
he hadn't expected Qi Da to show no mercy and kill him on the spot...
Qi Da seemed to want to say something, but stopped himself. He looked at Chu Yuan with a complicated expression and didn't respond to his question.
Chu Yuan paused. Seeing the wariness and unfamiliarity in Qi Da's eyes, he felt rather helpless;
"Principal... would you believe me if I said I only approached him on purpose just now?" he explained. "I had to touch the array's core to take control of it."
Qi Da fell silent. Judging by the outcome, there was nothing wrong with what Chu Yuan had said;
if he really had to touch the array's core to seize control, then he had been stringing Yan Xuan along earlier;
but the problem was... how had a Warrior in the Internal Breath Realm seized control of the entire array from Yan Xuan in an instant?
The Blood Sacrifice Array had already taken shape, and Yan Xuan wasn't its only controller, nor was he its only eye... Besides, was this even still the Blood Sacrifice Array? It didn't have the power to instantly kill a Fifth Realm Warrior!
"What... is happening with this array now?"
Chu Yuan hesitated, then gave a vague reply. "You could call it an upgraded version of the Blood Sacrifice Array."
"...So the whole of Chenyang City is now under your control?"
"You could put it that way..."
After getting his answer, Qi Da said helplessly, "Then what else is there to say? I trust you."
What else could he do but trust Chu Yuan?
The lives of everyone in Chenyang City were now in Chu Yuan's hands... Given that, if they really pushed him too far, he could simply kill them all.
Chu Yuan's tense expression eased slightly. There was no helping it; the Blood Sea Soul-Locking Array was merely an external force. At his core, he was still an unassuming cultivator who hadn't even established his foundation;
he still had to make his way in Great Qin... He couldn't afford to be branded as someone "whose loyalties are unclear."
If he wanted to stand his ground, he'd at least need to reach the "Explanation Stage," right?
"Since the array is in your hands, hurry up and put an end to this mess."
Chu Yuan nodded, then added, "Principal, I have one more request."
"Go ahead."
"I need this kept secret."
"I could take the blame myself, but then... you wouldn't receive the merits you're entitled to."
Chu Yuan smiled. "There'll be no shortage of chances in the future... Besides, I trust you won't shortchange me, Principal."
"..."
As they spoke, Chu Yuan had already begun activating the Blood Sea Soul-Locking Array;
the sky abruptly turned dark red. Thick crimson chains emerged from the void and snaked in every direction, like giant serpents slithering across the sky!
Jiang Fei stood on the ruins, gazing up in confusion;
the moment he felt the array's power stop draining him, he knew something had changed.
But after stepping outside and seeing what was in the sky, he couldn't tell whether the change was for the better or worse;
although the Blood Sacrifice Array had stopped drawing power... the scene before him looked even more terrifying than the array!
And it didn't look friendly in the slightest...
But he was only an Air-Traversing Realm Warrior, and a badly wounded one at that;
no matter how worried he was, there was nothing he could do to change the situation...
Compared with Jiang Fei's side, things were much livelier outside the city!
The members of the Day of Vengeance had joined forces with some anomalies to blockade Chenyang City, preventing anyone from escaping to seek help;
but after the sky changed, and especially after they saw those anomalies being snatched away out of thin air... the situation changed at once!
While Ma Hui and the others were briefly caught off guard, several Supernatural Realm Warriors from the Day of Vengeance immediately tried to flee!
The array had clearly gone out of control. Whether the authorities had someone capable on their side or there was a traitor among them... the result was the same;
this operation had failed completely!
Even if Chenyang City were sacrificed, the spoils of victory would never go to them;
so why risk their lives?
Not everyone liked fighting...
Once Ma Hui and the others came to their senses, they immediately moved to stop them!
They had no idea what was going on, but whatever their enemies were trying to do, it was their job to stop them!
"Ma Hui! The array is ready! And you still have time to waste on me?" one of the Warriors shouted furiously as Ma Hui blocked his way.
"Your array's ready. Isn't that a good thing? Why run?" Ma Hui slashed down with his blade. His fierce aura locked onto the other man, and faint lightning danced along the edge.
"What's it to you! I'll—"
Just then, a crimson chain appeared out of thin air;
it looped around the Day of Vengeance Warrior's neck and yanked backward;
it seemed to have no physical form, passing effortlessly through his neck...
But Ma Hui's pupils contracted as he stared in shock at the end of the chain;
a phantom was being dragged out of the Warrior's body! Its face... was the Warrior's!
His expression was one of terror and despair. He opened his mouth and shouted something, but not a sound came out;
then, as the crimson chain glowed faintly, the phantom turned into a lustrous pearl and vanished into the void...
"His soul..."
A word surfaced in Ma Hui's mind!
That crimson chain... had dragged the soul of a Supernatural Realm Warrior out of his body and refined it!?
His hands and feet went cold. Then Ma Hui saw the Warrior's body crumble as if it had weathered away. Before it could even hit the ground, it turned to ash and vanished in midair...
He shuddered and looked around;
he saw crimson chains silently retracting one after another.
The opponents facing his comrades—the members of the Day of Vengeance—were undergoing the same process...
It was all over in a few short breaths!
A few moments later, only the official Warriors remained at the scene.
But no one felt any joy at this inexplicable victory. A deathly silence settled over the area...
Only after a while did someone speak in a dry voice. "What... the hell is that thing?"
Before you continue