The winds of the Northern Region have never been so biting.
Blood Moon Ridge is perpetually shrouded in crimson mist.
As night falls, the blood-red mist that permeates the mountains merges with the sky, turning even the bright moon into a solidified dark red.
This place is a forbidden zone where no living being may tread.
This is the ancestral home of an ancient, ferocious clan. Although this clan has never produced Ancient Emperor, its fearsome reputation is enough to shake all other races, and even infants in swaddling clothes will suddenly stop crying upon hearing its name.
The Blood Moon Clan feeds on blood, lives by slaughter, and is renowned for its brutality throughout the ancient times.
Legend has it that the reason these mountain ranges are permeated with an everlasting dark red color is because they have been nourished by the blood of countless lives throughout history.
Even at midday, the blazing sun could hardly penetrate the thick layer of yin energy that had accumulated in this place.
A bone-chilling cold and a chilling aura spread silently through every inch of air, as if countless wronged souls were wailing in the eternal night.
Deep within the mountains, the blood mist was thick as paste.
A jagged cluster of ancient buildings unfolds alongside a massive pool of blood.
The blood in the pool was thick and churning, seemingly alive. Yet, inside the most magnificent palace in the center of the pool, the carved beams and painted rafters were resplendent in gold, creating a bizarre and jarring contrast with the bloody scene outside.
At the far end of the hall, on the throne of bones, the Blood Moon King sat alone, majestic and imposing.
His body was shriveled like an ancient corpse, his hair thin and dry, as if he would turn to ashes in the next moment.
However, the terrifying aura emanating from him had clearly reached the level of Saint King, making him one of the most fearsome and powerful among the Ancient Saint.
"All races regard my race as ferocious demons who only know how to slaughter," the Blood Moon King spoke, his voice hoarse like the scraping of rusty iron, echoing eerily in the empty palace. "Little do they know, slaughter is the very path of our race's cultivation. The life essence refined from the blood of countless spirits is the best resource for our race's power."
Two golden flames burned fiercely in his deep-set eyes, and a cold, holy aura silently enveloped everything.
For the Blood Moon Clan, plundering and devouring the blood of others, especially the primordial blood of those with strong physiques or saints, is tantamount to consuming a precious elixir of heaven and earth, which can greatly enhance their cultivation.
"I have long coveted that Innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo from Jade Pool." Beside the throne, a relatively young Blood Moon Clan Half-Saint licked his lips, his eyes gleaming with a greedy and eerie light.
He is the grandson of the Blood Moon King, named Xuan Tuo. "If I can drink his blood and seize his essence, my path will surely take another giant leap forward."
He toyed with a pristine white wine cup filled with a thick, crimson liquid. The aroma of alcohol mingled with the stench of blood, exuding a sweet yet eerie scent. The cup was crafted from an entire Saint's skull, its cruelty and blasphemy sending chills down one's spine.
"Grandfather," Xuan Tuo asked in a low voice, holding the rim of the skull cup, "I've heard that the clan's treasury contains several vessels made from the remains of ancient human Ancient Saint?"
The Blood Moon King's withered fingers traced the seemingly simple white bone cup in his hand, emitting a hoarse chuckle like that of a night owl, "Indeed. This cup, too, was taken from a human woman. She was a rare individual, cultivating herself into Saint King; the sweetness of her blood still lingers in my grandfather's memory." His tone was as calm as if discussing an old object, "Back then, humanity was weak, merely slaves dependent on powerful races, struggling to survive. One branch of them was the blood food in my race's 'livestock pen,' their lives and deaths entirely at my command. Those days are truly unforgettable. Who would have thought that humanity would rise to such a level today?"
"The precious blood of the Jade Pool Innate Sacred Body Dao Embryo is truly a rare divine medicine." Xuan Tuo's eyes gleamed with even greater greed. "It's a pity that our clan emerged a little later, and he has already gained power, daring to use our clan to establish his authority. It seems that with the passage of time, the human race has long forgotten the fear of being food for blood."
"You need to intensify your cultivation." The Blood Moon King's dark gaze swept over him. "That Eastern Exalt of Jade Pool easily suppressed Kui Luo with his King- level strength; his power is definitely not simple. Moreover, he possesses two imperial inheritances and is suspected to be an imperial prince. He should not be underestimated. My time is coming to an end, perhaps within the next ten years or so. Your father died early, and now the most important thing for you is to break through as soon as possible. Otherwise, I'm afraid this royal inheritance will not fall into your hands."
"Grandson understands." Xuan Tuo's face suddenly turned cold. "It's a pity that we are no longer in the ancient times; we can no longer raise them like livestock for our own use."
Before he could finish speaking...
The instant Li Qingshan crushed the last wisp of the Blood Moon Clan Saint Kui Xing's primordial spirit in his palm outside the Five Fingers Mountain in the Northern Region, a million miles away, deep within the Blood Moon Ridge, the altar built from the skulls of Saint throughout the ages suddenly cracked open, creating a fissure that pierced through the heavens and earth.
"Click,"
The crack spread at an alarming speed, shooting from the bottom of the altar straight to the dome, tearing the crimson blood moon that hung high on the ridge and never faded in the sky in two.
"Who?"
The Blood Moon King was suddenly jolted.
His thin, bony fingers suddenly clenched the pale white wine glass in his hand. The glass contained the primordial divine blood that had just been extracted from the bodies of three humans with special physiques, and it was still warm.
At that moment, the blood in the cup boiled violently, then exploded with a "bang," splattering all over his face and body.
"The king's blood is mourning."
The Blood Moon King slowly rose, his hunched body taut at that moment. Two golden soul flames blazed fiercely in his deep-set eye sockets, casting a chilling aura over the hall.
Almost simultaneously,
Deep within Blood Moon Ridge, in five other grand halls floating in the blood mist, five Blood Moon Clan Saint, seated cross-legged, simultaneously opened their eyes.
Their bodies emanated a terrifying aura of blood, and beneath each of them stood a churning pool of blood, in which countless wailing remnant souls floated and sank. At this moment, all the remnant souls simultaneously let out a shrill scream, as if they foresaw some kind of annihilation.
Five Dao Body a step forward and appeared in the Blood Moon King in the next instant, bowing their heads.
"Your Majesty, what is it?"
Kui Xing is dead.
The Blood Moon King's voice was hoarse, like the cry of a night owl, each word carrying a bone-chilling coldness.
"How is that possible? Among the human race today, besides Jiang Taixu of the Jiang Family, who else could kill him?" an Ancestor King exclaimed in disbelief.
The Blood Moon King did not answer, but continued, "I have repeatedly warned you not to fall for the trap. Now, you can't even distinguish such a crude bait?"
" Li Qingshan?"
A Saint covered in blood-red scales suddenly stood up, his eyes flashing with a fierce light that was a mixture of greed and rage.
"It's possible, but unlikely."
A solemn look flashed deep within the Blood Moon King's golden pupils. "Although Kui Xing is old and frail, he is still a being at the eighth level of the Ancestral King Realm. Jade Pool Eastern Exalt can suppress Half-Saint, but he may not be a match for Kui Xing. Now that he has died and his cultivation has vanished, could it be that Jade Pool has an ancient foundation Ancient Saint has secretly emerged to personally ambush him?"
"Grandfather means," Xuan Tuo below said, his brow furrowed.
"Pass on the order."
The Blood Moon King slowly descended from the throne of bones. With each step he took, a phantom of a churning sea of blood bloomed beneath his feet.
"Revive all the killing formations of the ancestral land and awaken the slumbering 'Thirteen Blood Puppets.' Xuan Tuo, you will preside over the ' Blood Moon Erodes the Heavens Grand Formation.' Once the Jade Pool Saint arrives, operate it at full power; there is no room for error."
He paused, his voice chilling like the winds of the deepest hell:
"Now that Jade Pool has taken the bait, its true power is likely not far off. If she dares to come, let her remain forever in my Blood Moon Ridge. With her sacred blood, let our clan continue its glory for another thousand years."
He tapped the bone cup in his hand lightly with his knuckles, his tone calm yet chilling:
"Perfect timing, I am still missing a Saint's skull to pass on to future generations."
However, during this brief conversation,
Above the Northern Region, Li Qingshan was walking on the sky.
With each step he took, a golden ripple spread out beneath his feet. As the ripples expanded, space collapsed, and millions of miles of mountains and rivers rushed past behind him.
" The Blood Moon Clan, in ancient times, kept humans as food, and used the skulls of our clan's Saint as vessels."
A cold glint flashed in Li Qingshan's eyes, his whisper sharp as a blade:
"This debt must be repaid."
He seemed to see that dark period in ancient history, when humanity was treated like a sacrifice, and blood stained the mountains.
"Boom,"
The entire Northern Region sky was brutally torn apart by a blazing golden rainbow. Wherever it passed, all living beings prostrated themselves, their courage to even raise their heads to peek was crushed inch by inch by the overwhelming divine power.
In a short while, the treacherous mountain range, shrouded in blood mist year-round, emerged menacingly at the edge of the horizon.
Li Qingshan stopped a hundred miles outside Blood Moon Ridge, standing suspended in mid-air. His dark robes fluttered in the crimson light of the blood moon. His gaze calmly swept over this land soaked in sin, and his surging divine sense spread out like an invisible tide, instantly penetrating the entire Blood Moon Ridge, inside and out.
His gaze, sharp as cold lightning, pierced through the churning blood mist, reaching the deepest part of the mountains, to the majestic yet sinister Hall of White Bones.
"A Great Saint Killing Formation, thirteen Saint-level Blood Puppets, five contemporary Primordial King," Li Qingshan sense swept across the Blood Moon Royal Clan, taking in all their trump cards, finally settling on the most obscure yet powerful aura deep within the hall, "Plus a Saint King clinging to life. Is this all the foundation your clan has accumulated to survive until now?"
"Very good."
A cold smile curved Li Qingshan's lips, not a genuine laugh, but the indifferent mockery of a hunter seeing all his prey caught in the net.
"That saves me the trouble. Today, we'll bury them all here."
He slowly raised his right hand, spread his five fingers, aimed at Blood Moon Ridge a hundred miles away, and gently pressed down.
"Boom!!!!"
The world changed suddenly!
Enjoy reading " Shrouding the Heavens: Yuanshi of the Myriad Heavens ".