After a long while, the lake of blood on the ground, now more than twenty li across, suddenly stopped expanding. Instead, it began to shrink.
The boiling blood gradually receded, leaving behind gray earth that looked like ash from something burned to the last trace. Its ashen pallor was unsettling to behold.
The lake shrank faster and faster. In less time than it took to drink a cup of tea, it had narrowed to five or six zhang across. But now it was clear that this remaining pool was exceptionally deep, with a vast pit beneath it.
It must have been the deep pit Di Cangqiong had gouged out when Bi Lingkong knocked him down and he slammed into the ground.
The blood in the pit was thick and viscous. It did not stir even as flames burned over it, as though it had congealed. Yet a bubble rose from the pool now and then, as if some creature hidden below needed to breathe.
At the sight, everyone's face darkened, and their expressions turned grave.
Anyone could see that Di Cangqiong was gathering all his strength for a fight to the death with Bi Lingkong.
He had disgraced himself time and again today, to the point that even the Heavenly Secret Bureau felt embarrassed by him. But no one could deny that Di Cangqiong was strong.
Even split in two, he had held out for a long time against Bi Lingkong and Di Xiangyou. Now that his halves had reunited, how powerful would he be?
A moment later, the thick pool of blood suddenly contracted. In a breath or two, it had withdrawn completely underground and vanished without a trace.
From the depths of that black pit, however, a scarlet aura poured without end. It was steeped in evil and