"It finally took shape. Now it's my turn." Blazing light shot from Shi Yi's eyes, and his voice trembled slightly with excitement. He stood before the Medicine Cauldron, gazing at the churning seven-colored medicinal liquid within. Its rich fragrance formed an almost tangible mist around the rim, and runes of law could faintly be seen rising and sinking in the liquid.
Without the slightest hesitation, Shi Yi leaped into the Medicine Cauldron. The instant his body submerged in the medicinal liquid, every muscle tightened, and his veins bulged like coiling dragons. "Hiss-" A desperately stifled gasp escaped through his clenched teeth. The pain defied description, as though millions of venomous ants were gnawing at his marrow at once, or countless sharp knives were scraping back and forth through his flesh. Weblike cracks spread across his skin at a visible speed, and the medicinal liquid swallowed his red blood as soon as it seeped out.
This is my blood energy and the medicinal power remaking my flesh... Shi Yi clung to clarity amid the chaos of pain, frantically circulating his divine power. He saw his bones gleaming like jade within the medicinal liquid, every blood vessel turning a brilliant gold. Beads of sweat rolled down his forehead, only to evaporate in the heat rising from his body before they reached his chin. His flesh had been tempered through countless trials with diamond liquid; even divine weapons could scarcely leave a mark on it. Yet now it melted away in the medicinal power like spring snow.
If I can't even endure this... Shi Yi bit through the tip of his tongue, the taste of blood jolting his nerves. His skin had turned a terrifying crimson, and countless mysterious runes appeared beneath it. Some evolved into miniature universes, where stars were born and perished; others became towering mountains, with waterfalls cascading like the Milky Way; still others formed wondrous visions of the sun and moon shining together. These phenomena rose and sank in the medicinal liquid, flickering in and out and bathing the entire Medicine Cauldron in dreamlike splendor.
The medicinal liquid suddenly boiled like a raging sea, and seven-colored radiance surged toward the heavens. Shi Yi's pupils abruptly contracted. He felt some ancient power awakening deep within his bloodline. Every inch of flesh collapsed and reformed, and every breath carried heart-rending agony. Yet his lips curved into a fervent smile, for he heard the thunderous resonance of the Great Dao within his body.
"Roar-!"
Just as Shi Yi focused entirely on absorbing the medicinal power and tempering his flesh, an earth-shaking roar suddenly erupted, thundering beside his ears. His eyes snapped open, his gaze flashing like lightning as he instantly pinpointed its source.
It was an entirely new monster formed from the fused remnants of countless Fierce Beast souls. Its mountainous body was wreathed in intertwined black and red baleful energy, and several pairs of scarlet eyes covered its hideous head, each burning with bone-deep hatred. It remembered that the man before it was the very one who had slaughtered them one by one and refined them here!
"I could slay you when you were alive. Now you're nothing but a collection of broken souls and grudges. What have I to fear?" Shi Yi sneered, his tone contemptuous, though his gaze was as solemn as an abyss.
"Roar-!"
The Fierce Beast Composite flew into an utter rage. Baleful energy surged around it, and endless lightning burst from its body, weaving together through the void until it formed a lightning spear that spanned heaven and earth! Runes flickered along its shaft, every marking imbued with destructive power. Amid the rampaging lightning, it faintly possessed the might of heavenly judgment, as though it could tear apart even the void!
Boom-!
The lightning spear tore through the air at incredible speed. Space warped in its wake, and the sea of blood churned, raising towering waves!
Though Shi Yi's words were dismissive, he did not dare show the slightest negligence in his actions. He knew full well that he could despise his enemy in strategy, but had to take it seriously in tactics!
"Bian Treasure Art."
With his low shout, the runes around him suddenly blazed with brilliant divine light. A majestic, domineering phantom of Bian took shape behind him, silver-white from head to tail, its eyes like cold lightning and its entire body radiating a ferocious might that could suppress all living beings!
"Go!"
Shi Yi raised a hand and pointed. Bian roared, turned into a streak of silver lightning, and charged fearlessly toward the lightning spear!
Boom-!!!
The instant the two supreme powers collided, heaven and earth lost their color! A violent storm of energy exploded outward, lightning and runes intertwining. The shock wave raised thousand-zhang waves across the sea of blood, and the entire space shook violently!
The Bian Treasure Art and the lightning spear remained locked in a stalemate. Lightning and silver radiance tore frantically at one another, as though intent on ripping this entire world apart!
Shi Yi's gaze turned icy, and divine power surged wildly within him. He knew-the true fight had only just begun!
The lightning spear and the Bian Treasure Art collided with a thunderous crash. In an instant, dazzling lightning and silver runes burst apart, and a savage energy storm swept across the entire sea of blood, whipping up ten-thousand-zhang waves!
Shi Yi grunted, a thread of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth as his body swayed slightly. His Treasure Art had been destroyed, and the backlash battered his internal organs like a rising tide. As his blood energy churned, he forcibly suppressed the restless divine power within him, his gaze growing ever sharper.
Whoosh-!
A fierce wind sprang up! Shi Yi's pupils abruptly contracted as he saw the Fierce Beast Fusion sweeping toward him amid a sky full of lightning, reaching him in an instant! It was even faster than before, its hideous claws wrapped in destructive lightning as they lunged straight for his throat!
"You're courting death!"
In the flash of an instant, Shi Yi roared and drove his right fist forward. Runes surged over his knuckles, dazzling as a cascading river of stars, as he smashed his fist toward the attacking Fierce Beast!
Boom-!!!
Fist met claw, and the void shuddered! Yet in the next instant, Shi Yi's expression changed drastically!
His fist passed straight through the Fierce Beast's body, as though he had struck empty space! Immediately afterward, a terrifying impact slammed into him from behind. He crashed into the sea of blood like a meteor, throwing up towering waves of crimson!
Splash-!
Bloody waves churned as Shi Yi burst out of the water and hovered in midair, his expression frighteningly dark.
"An illusion?!"
He stared fixedly at the distant Fierce Beast Fusion, cold light flashing in his eyes. At the instant the Treasure Art exploded, this brute had secretly cast an illusion, tricking him into believing its real body was attacking head-on. In truth, it had already circled behind him to deliver a lethal blow!
What enraged him even more was the trace of almost human mockery in the Fierce Beast's scarlet eyes, as though it were laughing at his wretched state!
"Mere broken souls and grudges dare toy with me?!"
Shi Yi was so furious that he laughed, killing intent boiling around him as though it had substance. He slowly raised his hand, and an ancient, mysterious rune gradually formed in his palm, emanating a pressure that made heaven and earth tremble!
"Since you want to play... I'll show you what true despair means!"
"Qilin Precious Technique!"
Shi Yi formed seals with both hands, runes flowing between his fingers as ancient, mysterious incantations echoed through the void. In an instant, purple energy surged throughout the Medicine Cauldron like a billowing sea of clouds. Vast auspicious radiance poured from within, illuminating the entire sea of blood until it resembled an immortal realm!
Through the purple mist, a beast's hoof covered in purple scales could faintly be seen slowly emerging. The void trembled beneath it, as though even heaven and earth could not withstand its oppressive might!
Boom-!
The purple mist suddenly burst apart, and a purple Qilin as imposing as a mountain stepped out through the air!