The second fragmented continent of the Heavenly Star Ruins was far stranger than the first. The entire landmass was dark red, its surface crisscrossed with ravines, as though it had been steeped in blood again and again.
A thick stench of blood filled the air, mingled with a cloyingly sweet, peculiar fragrance that clouded the soul. Han Li and his two companions landed on a relatively level rocky platform. The stone beneath their feet felt warm and soft-like flesh.
"Blood fiend energy surges into the heavens here, and resentful souls refuse to disperse. This may have been a major battlefield during the ancient war between Ancient Gods and demons, or a site of blood sacrifice." The Grand Elder lightly touched the ground with the Starfall Staff. The instant the star power at its tip met the blood qi in the earth veins, white smoke rose with a hiss.
The Magnetic Essence Griffin swept its vigilant golden gaze over their surroundings. Grand Void spiritual power flowed automatically across its body, driving away the cold blood fiend energy that sought to corrode it.
"Look over there." Han Li pointed toward the continent's center. An altar more than a hundred zhang tall rose from the ground, its structure built from white bones. Above its summit floated a fist-sized, dark-gold crystal, blood-colored Dao patterns flowing across its surface-the second Heavenly Star Token Core Fragment! Beneath the fragment, twisted runes covered the altar, and at its center lay a bottomless blood pool. Bubbles churned within it, as though something alive lurked below.
"The fragment is bait. This altar is a trap." The Grand Elder's expression was grave. "I can sense an utterly terrifying existence suppressed beneath it. Its pressure... far exceeds that of the earlier Divine Sense Avatar."
Han Li nodded and activated the Grand