The battle at Soul Severing Cliff was like a hurricane sweeping across Azure Province, its aftershocks refusing to settle for a long time.
Blackstone City, an inn.
This was a gathering place for news of the martial world, where people from every walk of life mingled. At this moment, without exception, every conversation revolved around the man who had overturned the entire martial landscape of Azure Province by his strength alone—Lu Shaoyou.
"Have you heard? At Soul Severing Cliff, that Lu Shaoyou was simply inhuman! With one iron staff, he smashed True Man Songyue of the Qingcheng Sect into pulp!" A brawny man with a face full of flesh lowered his voice, though the excitement and terror in his eyes could not be concealed.
"True Man Songyue was nothing! Mount Tai, Mount Heng, Diancang... seven Xiantian experts besieged him, and he slaughtered them as easily as chopping melons and vegetables, killing every last one!" The scrawny man at the next table took over, gesturing wildly as spittle flew. "You didn't see that scene—blood flowed into rivers, and not even bones remained!"
"The most vicious one was Xue Yutang of the Blood Saber Sect!" A young man dressed as a scholar slammed the table and rose, his face filled with righteous indignation. "He invited fellow martial artists from all across Azure Province, claiming it was to publicly judge a demon. In truth, he wanted to activate some 'Blood River Spirit Sacrificing Array,' using thousands of our fellow martial artists as sacrifices to refine his demonic saber! Such conduct enrages both man and god!"
The entire hall erupted in uproar.
"So that was it! My third uncle died at Soul Severing Cliff. I thought Lu Shaoyou had done it, but I never imagined it was Xue Yutang's scheme!"
"The Blood Saber Sect—a great and righteous sect indeed! Bah! They are more demonic than the demonic path!"
"So Lu Shaoyou was acting on Heaven's behalf instead?"
"Bullshit! Has he killed too few people? At the slightest disagreement, he blasted people into bloody mist. He and Xue Yutang are birds of a feather!"
The arguments inside the inn went on without end.
Some cursed the Blood Saber Sect for its despicable shamelessness, while others feared Lu Shaoyou's cold-blooded brutality.
But no matter what, one consensus had formed: the sky over Azure Province had changed.
The prestige the Blood Saber Sect had built over centuries had utterly collapsed in a single day, leaving it a rat crossing the street, chased and beaten by all.
Naturally, the news reached the desks of the major powers at the fastest possible speed.
Lingshui City, headquarters of the Giant Whale Gang.
Gang Leader Li Changge looked over the dossier hurriedly delivered by a spy on a fast horse, his palms already drenched in cold sweat.
Every word in the dossier seemed to carry the blood stench of Soul Severing Cliff, so thick it could not be dissolved.
One staff shattering a divine weapon, one fist destroying a Xiantian expert, one man standing against an entire sect, one strike destroying a demonic saber...
Each and every one of these deeds surpassed everything he understood about the common sense of martial arts.
"Gang Leader, Lu Shaoyou has become a dragon emerging from shallow waters. He is no longer someone people like us can fathom." Wei Tuo beside him wore an equally grave expression.
Li Changge let out a long breath and set down the dossier. "Wei Tuo, fortunately, we listened to you back then. We did not wade into this muddy water, and instead befriended him. Otherwise, our Giant Whale Gang would be in peril."
Wei Tuo said, "Gang Leader, after this battle, the Blood Saber Sect's reputation has been swept away. It has become the target of public scorn. Experts from great sects such as Qingcheng and Diancang have also been wiped out. The martial world of Azure Province now faces an unprecedented reshuffling."
Li Changge drew a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the stormy waves in his heart. "In your view, what should the Giant Whale Gang do?"
A sharp gleam flashed through Wei Tuo's eyes. "Wait."
"Wait?"
"That is right." Wei Tuo stepped forward and spoke slowly. "Wait for Lu Shaoyou and the Blood Saber Sect to settle things once and for all. Wait for the martial world of Azure Province to settle like dust after this great chaos. Wait for Lu Shaoyou to leave Azure Province."
"Only then will the Giant Whale Gang have its best chance to replace them and grasp the reins of Azure Province! For now, we need only watch the changes in silence and reap the fisherman's profit."
"Good!" Li Changge slapped the table. "We shall do as you say!"
Unlike the turmoil rising outside, Blood Saber Peak was terrifyingly silent at this moment.
The elites of every hall had been urgently recalled, and several thousand Blood Saber Sect disciples guarded the entire mountain as tightly as an iron barrel.
Yet this severe defense brought not the slightest sense of safety. Instead, a plague called "fear" spread through everyone's heart.
Inside the council hall, the atmosphere was so oppressive it seemed as though water might drip from it.
"Bastard! Useless trash!"
Xue Yugang kicked the precious rosewood table before him into pieces, sending wood chips flying everywhere.
His handsome face twisted with fury, his eyes bloodshot like a vicious beast choosing someone to devour.
"Big Brother! My dear big brother, you truly did a fine thing!" He roared at the empty hall, his voice brimming with unwillingness and rage. "Blood Sacrifice the martial artists of Azure Province? What a grand gesture! What a poisonous scheme! But what was the result? Did you succeed?"
"Not only did you fail to kill Lu Shaoyou, you came crawling back like a homeless dog! Now all of Azure Province is laughing at our Blood Saber Sect! How am I supposed to clean up this mess, huh?!"
His rage did not stem from the cruelty of Xue Yutang's plan, but from its complete and utter failure.
After venting, Xue Yugang's breathing gradually steadied, and his eyes returned to their usual chill.
He straightened his robes and turned toward the forbidden grounds in the rear mountain.
Deep within the forbidden grounds, a massive blood pool bubbled with a gurgling sound, giving off a strange odor of dense blood stench mixed with medicinal herbs.
At the center of the blood pool sat a shriveled figure, scarcely human in appearance, cross-legged in meditation.
It was Xue Yutang, who had barely escaped with his life only by using the Blood Escape Great Law and burning his source blood essence.
His physical body was nearly ruined, leaving only a skeleton wrapped in skin. Yet what burned in his eyes was not the flame of life, but hatred colder than the ice of the Ninth Netherworld and fiercer than the karmic fire of hell.
"You came." Xue Yutang's voice was hoarse and dry, like two sheets of sandpaper rubbing together.
Xue Yugang stood by the pool and looked down at him coldly. "Brother, the sight of you now truly disgusts me."
Xue Yutang seemed not to hear the mockery. He merely said to himself, "Lu Shaoyou... he will definitely come to Blood Saber Peak..."
"Of course I know he will come!" Xue Yugang's fury ignited again. "What exactly do you want? You are a cripple now, and Father is in secluded cultivation unto death. Do you expect me to lead these thousands of disciples and fight him to the death?!"
"Fight?" Xue Yutang suddenly bared a mouthful of yellowed teeth. His laughter was shrill and mad. "Heh heh heh... Why fight?"
He slowly lifted his head, his crazed eyes fixed on Xue Yugang as he said, one word at a time, "I want you... to activate the Blood Shadow Array!"
Xue Yugang's pupils suddenly contracted!
"Have you gone mad?!" he cried out. "The Blood Shadow Array requires the sacrifice of the sect's most elite disciples, fusing their blood, qi, and souls into one to become nourishment! That is the final trump card of our Blood Saber Sect. It must never be used unless the sect faces extinction!"
"Now is the time of extinction!" Xue Yutang roared fiercely. Even the blood pool churned violently from his agitation. "If Lu Shaoyou does not die, the Blood Saber Sect will surely perish! Rather than let him kill them one by one, we might as well turn those pieces of trash into the power that kills him!"
"To kill him, I was willing to sacrifice the entire martial world of Azure Province. What are a mere few thousand sect disciples?"
A deranged smile appeared on Xue Yutang's face. "Little Brother, do not forget our goal: the Divine Sect Plan! The whole world! What do such minor sacrifices amount to?"
Xue Yugang fell silent.
He looked at his brother, who resembled a mad demon, and felt only coldness in his heart.
He knew Xue Yutang had been completely devoured by hatred and could never turn back.
And he seemed to have no other choice either.
After a long while, Xue Yugang slowly spoke, his voice devoid of all emotion. "Fine. I agree."
He turned and left, his icy voice echoing through the forbidden grounds.
"Pass down my command. In the Ancestor's name, summon all disciples, stewards, and elders from every hall to enter the forbidden grounds for deliberation!"
The order swiftly spread throughout Blood Saber Peak.
No one dared defy the Ancestor's decree, and no one knew that what awaited them would be a silent sacrifice.
The instant the final disciple stepped into the forbidden grounds, the array that had long been prepared activated with a thunderous roar!
There were no screams, no struggles.
An invisible and bizarre force enveloped everyone. The expressions on their faces froze at the moment before they entered the forbidden grounds, while their bodies withered at a visible speed.
Essence, qi, spirit... everything was extracted, turning into streams of scarlet torrents that flowed in reverse toward the depths of the forbidden grounds, toward the thirty-six figures that had long been prepared.
They were the Ancestor's most loyal personal guards—the Blood Shadow Guard!
As immense blood baleful power surged into them, the bodies of the thirty-six Blood Shadow Guards began to tremble violently. Veins bulged beneath their skin, scarlet patterns spread across their bodies, and their auras rose madly at a terrifying speed!
Peak Postnatal... breakthrough!
Xiantian Early-stage!
Xiantian Mid-stage!
Thirty-six powerful Xiantian auras shot into the heavens, dyeing even the clouds above Blood Saber Peak an eerie blood-red!
Xue Yugang watched all this indifferently. Then his gaze settled on the figure at the forefront of the Blood Shadow Guard, whose face was especially savage from the extremity of his hatred.
He stepped forward slowly and handed a Blood-Red Token signifying the commander's rank to that man.
"Li Mo."
"Do not disappoint me."
Li Mo accepted the token. Feeling the unprecedented strength within his body, he raised his head, his blood-red eyes looking toward the foot of the mountain.
He was waiting for someone.
Three days later.
On the mountain path below Blood Saber Peak, a figure carrying an iron staff over his shoulder slowly approached.
He looked up at the mountain shrouded in blood mist, like a ghostly domain, and a cold curve lifted at the corner of his mouth.
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