Blood Forest, Withered Hands: Demonic Spirit Evolution
The deep valley where the Spirit Vein Heavenly Pool is located is now deathly silent.
Just moments after Qin Yu left with the Myriad-Colored Lotus, the once undulating Heavenly Pool suddenly churned, as if the Eye of the World had lost its support. The pool water rapidly sank, and the water's shimmering light transformed into streaks of rainbows, drawn by the remnants carried away by the lotus, and in an instant, it vanished into countless tiny points of light into the air.
In just a few breaths, the Heavenly Lake dried up completely, the exposed rock bed cracked and crumbled, and a dim, deathly aura emanated from the cracks, returning it to its original state as one with the surrounding barren mountains. The once Spiritual Qi rich and ethereal land was now nothing but desolation and coldness, like a desolate wasteland stripped of its soul.
Just then, three streaks of Kong Ling suddenly swept through the air, and several cultivators dressed in robes of various sects landed beside the Heavenly Pool. The leader was a middle-aged man with white hair, whose cultivation had reached the Middle Stage of the Soul Foundation Realm. As soon as he stepped into this place, his brows furrowed tightly.
"How is this possible... The spiritual vein fluctuations we detected weren't here?" Another cultivator in green robes had a glint in his eyes. He raised his hand to probe the aura, but found only deathly silence on the ground, with no spiritual energy left.
The white-haired middle-aged man squatted down, his palm gently stroking the cracked rock bed, his fingertips caressing the lingering spiritual light. His expression suddenly changed, a fierce greed and resentment flashing in his eyes:
"It's Myriad-Colored Lotus! Only it can generate its own spiritual veins and transform barren land into a celestial pool!"
Upon hearing this, the third female cultivator's beautiful eyes narrowed sharply, and she gritted her teeth, whispering, "So that means... someone beat us to it and has already taken the lotus away?"
The air fell silent. The three of them looked up at the lingering spiritual aura above the Heavenly Pool, the afterglow left behind when the lotus was taken away, like a blood-red mockery.
The white-haired middle-aged man's face was grim. He suddenly flicked his sleeve, unleashing a murderous aura. "Who... dares to steal such a treasure right under our noses? Hmph, whoever it is, this matter will not be left unresolved!"
Unbeknownst to them, it was Qin Yu who took away the Myriad-Colored Lotus, and it was precisely because of this that the Spirit Vein Heavenly Pool instantly dried up and returned to desolation.
Deep within the Realm Soul Annihilation Forest, a dark mist swirled, and twisted branches resembled ghostly claws, a chilling aura permeating every inch of the air. Qin Yu proceeded steadily, his gaze constantly probing the fluctuations of Spiritual Qi around him. His cultivation had reached the Initial Entry into the Soul Foundation Realm, but this perilous place was fraught with hidden dangers, and he dared not relax for a moment.
Just as he stepped into a secluded valley, suddenly, the air in front of him trembled violently, and three beams of spiritual light fell from the sky, stirring up a shower of fallen leaves in the forest, the Spiritual Qi roaring like thunder.
Qin Yu's mind jolted, and when he looked up, he saw that they were the three cultivators who had appeared in the Spirit Vein Heavenly Pool earlier! The white-haired middle-aged man in the lead had a deep and imposing aura, and his soul power was pressing down on the surrounding area. He was a Middle Stage of the Soul Foundation Realm cultivator.
His gaze was like a knife, instantly locking onto the faint trace of colorful light within Qin Yu's body. A sinister smile appeared on his lips, and his voice, low and hoarse, echoed through the valley.
"Boy... you refined the Myriad-Colored Lotus?! This is outrageous!"
Qin Yu frowned, his expression calm, but he feigned ignorance. "What Myriad-Colored Lotus? What are you talking about? I don't understand at all."
"Still pretending?" The white-haired middle-aged man sneered, his soul power suddenly erupting outwards, forming a mountain-like pressure that instantly withered the vegetation in the entire valley. His eyes were fierce, his killing intent fully revealed.
"Boy, if you know what's good for you, hand over the other treasures! Otherwise, don't blame us for taking action and reducing you to ashes!"
Another cultivator in green robes grinned maliciously, his spiritual blade already materializing in his hand. "Don't waste words with him! A Yuan Transformation Realm brat, even if he breaks through to the Initial Entry into the Soul Foundation Realm, dares to monopolize the Myriad-Colored Lotus? Heh, his aura still carries the unrefined brilliance of the lotus; let's just kill him and seize its essence!"
The third female cultivator pursed her lips slightly, her beautiful eyes cold, as indifferent as if she were looking at prey. "Kill him, take the lotus essence, and no one will know."
In an instant, the valley was filled with murderous intent. Qin Yu was surrounded by the three men, whose auras rushed towards him like a raging torrent.
Qin Yu was secretly alarmed, but his expression remained calm. His hand slowly touched the dormant Gray Ring in his sea of consciousness...
A chilling wind howled through the valley, and the aura of the three Soul Foundation Realm cultivators caused the heavens and earth to change color. Just as they were about to make their move with sinister smiles, a cold glint flashed in Qin Yu's eyes.
Deep within his sea of consciousness, the suspended Gray Ring trembled violently, and a deep, rumbling sound, like a rift in the universe, echoed between heaven and earth.
In an instant, a gray light shot out!
The Gray Ring suddenly expanded, transforming into a huge gray halo that hovered above Qin Yu's head. The air suddenly darkened, as if the colors around him had been stripped away, and the world lost its vibrancy, leaving only a deathly gray.
Qin Yu shouted angrily in a low voice, urging the thought:
"Gray Ring - Nether Blade!"
The next moment, a dozen or so thin, hair-like streaks of gray light suddenly cracked open at the edge of the Gray Ring. These streaks of light instantly condensed into invisible blades in mid-air. The blades were long and transparent, with dark currents shimmering at their edges like those of a black hole swallowing everything. They completely ignored the barriers of space and, with lightning speed, pierced straight at the foundation of the three people's Fate Soul!
The three cultivators trembled, their eyes widening in shock. Before they could even activate their defensive Spiritual Qi, they felt an invisible blade pierce their Soul Sea.
"--Ah!" The cultivator in the green robe let out a miserable scream, but the next moment, his voice stopped abruptly, his Soul Sea completely collapsed, his eyes were empty, his body went limp, and he instantly lost his life.
The woman and the white-haired middle-aged man's pupils dilated simultaneously, their faces filled with disbelief. But just as they were about to activate their protective soul power, Qin Yu's second move was already released.
"Gray Ring - Fallen Earth!"
The Gray Ring trembled violently, and gray runes resembling Soul Rend patterns instantly appeared on the ground, spreading out and covering the entire valley.
The earth suddenly sank, turning into a churning gray swamp. Endless dark currents of soul power surged within the swamp, as if the entire earth's veins were being controlled by the Gray Ring, which was madly crushing down.
Boom!!!
The white-haired middle-aged man and the woman simultaneously sank into the gray swamp, struggling desperately but unable to escape. The power of the swamp directly imprisoned the flow of their Fate Soul, their soul power completely solidified and impossible to mobilize. The next moment, the power of the gray earth veins suddenly crushed down, like a mountain collapsing, like the heavens and earth overturning!
"--Impossible... What is this...!" The white-haired middle-aged man's eyes twisted, and he squeezed out a final, desperate roar from his throat.
The woman's eyes were filled with shock and fear as she stared intently in Qin Yu's direction. Her lips trembled slightly, as if she wanted to ask, "What kind of power is this?" But before she could utter a word, she was completely pulverized in the gray light, her Fate Soul and true spirit turning to ashes and disappearing without a trace.
Suddenly, the entire valley fell silent.
The three Soul Foundation Realm experts didn't even have a chance to make a move before they were instantly Annihilation by the cold, eerie light of the Gray Ring!
As the remaining gray mist slowly dissipated, Qin Yu stood alone in the center of the valley, his eyes deep and thoughtful. He stared at the three figures that had vanished without a trace on the ground, his heart pounding and his breathing quickening.
"The Gray Ring... it's terrifying."
He was deeply shocked and secretly vowed: --This power must never be shown to others lightly!
The gray fog gradually dissipated, and the valley returned to a deathly silence, as if no battle had ever taken place. Only a lingering gray aura remained in the air, like a sigh of death, sending chills down one's spine.
Qin Yu slowly raised his hand, his gaze calm and profound. The Gray Ring had already disappeared into his sea of consciousness, but the shock still lingered in his heart. He stepped to the spot where the three had once stood. There were no corpses there anymore, and even the ashes had been completely annihilated. Only three dim storage rings remained on the ground, emitting a faint spiritual light.
Qin Yu reached out and summoned three rings, which rose into the air and landed in his palm. The residual soul power imprints on the surface of the rings had completely dissipated under the power of the Gray Ring, leaving them like empty shells, no longer obstructing anything.
He murmured to himself, "A cultivator at the Middle Stage of the Soul Foundation Realm must have accumulated a considerable amount of experience."
His fingertips brushed lightly across the surface, the cold metallic touch carrying a slight chill. A glint flashed in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it, his expression returning to calm as he put the three storage rings into his pocket.
At this moment, the entire valley fell into a deathly silence once again, with only Qin Yu's figure standing tall in the wind, solitary and resolute.
Qin Yu did not linger in the secluded valley. Although the lingering aura of the Gray Ring had dissipated, he knew that the commotion he had just caused might have been noticed by other beings. He quickly moved forward and found a cave with a crack in the rock wall. The cave was dark and dry, with thick rocks all around and extremely weak Spiritual Qi fluctuations, making it ideal for temporary concealment. He first set up several simple defensive array patterns to seal off his aura with Spiritual Qi energy, ensuring that it would be difficult for outsiders to see through him.
Inside the cave, the firelight flickered weakly, illuminating Qin Yu's cold and stern face. He sat cross-legged and took out the three storage rings one by one. As he probed them with his Spiritual Sense, he instantly felt an intense spiritual light almost bursting out of the ring walls, illuminating his entire sea of consciousness.
"Good heavens... these people are indeed no ordinary cultivators." Qin Yu sighed inwardly.
In the first storage ring, top-grade spirit stones were piled up like a mountain; a preliminary scan revealed over three hundred, shimmering like a galaxy. In the second, layers upon layers of jade bottles of pills shone through, each containing surging medicinal power—at least dozens of top-grade pills, as well as rare varieties like Soul Refining Pill and Life Restoring Pill, their value immeasurable. The third was even more astonishing, containing hundreds of demon cores of varying sizes, the vast majority radiating the aura of the Yuan Transformation Realm, with several even exuding the power of the Soul Foundation, crystal clear and seemingly pulsating.
Qin Yu's breathing became heavy involuntarily.
"Thousands of top-grade spirit stones... and countless top-grade pills and demon cores... it's an absolute windfall!"
A fierce light flashed in his eyes, but he quickly concealed it, his mind gradually returning to calm. He understood that if these resources were used properly, they would be enough to allow his cultivation level to rise again in a short period of time. However, this also meant that he had to be more cautious and never reveal his true trump cards.
Qin Yu took a deep breath, carefully storing the three storage rings. His eyes were as deep as the stars. "With these... I will definitely enter the inner sect in the competition a month from now."
The flickering firelight illuminated his resolute profile. Outside the cave, the night wind howled, yet it could not conceal the ambition and killing intent within Qin Yu's heart.
Deep within the Northern Region of the Great Yan Continent, in a desolate, untouched forest, deathly silence reigned. A gray-black mist perpetually shrouded the area, its towering trees forming canopies that obscured the starlight and moonlight. From time to time, murky droplets of water dripped from the branches, striking the thick layer of decaying leaves with a low, hissing sound, like the breath of some abyssal being.
This secluded forest
The ancient trees, their gnarled branches twisting and turning, resembled eerie statues solidified by pain; dark red sap seeped from the cracks in the bark, dripping down the winding vines like blood; bubbles occasionally rose from the rotting swamp on the ground, releasing a stench of death Time Splitting. Deeper still, the occasional whispers, like the mournful cries of souls, echoed through the forest, their origin indiscernible.
The team consisted of five people, all of whom had reached the Major Accomplishment of the Yuan Transformation Realm. Their figures appeared and disappeared in the gray mist. With each step they took, the fallen leaves beneath their feet were corroded and turned into black ash. The leader frowned, his eyes revealing a solemn expression. He could clearly sense that the Spiritual Qi in this secluded forest was not flowing, but rather swallowed up by a deathly aura. The Fate Soul of all the cultivators seemed to be suppressed under the undercurrent.
"Something's not right here." He spoke in a deep voice, which was amplified by the mist and carried a chilling echo.
Another member of the group whispered, "This place is like a cursed, dead forest. Once you let your Spiritual Sense wander, you'll be battered by turbulent currents, as if countless dead souls are gnawing at your mind."
The group exchanged glances, each with a hint of unease. Despite their considerable cultivation, they felt as if they had stumbled into some ancient forbidden land, every nerve taut to the Ultimate.
In the distance, a cold wind blew through the woods, and the mist surged like a tide. Strange sounds were mixed in with the wind, like the roar of a wild beast or the chanting of countless whispers, like the prelude to hell.
"Keep moving forward," the leader said in a deep voice, as the magical artifact in his hand suddenly glowed faintly, carving a lonely path of light through the desolate forest.
The mist churned, and in the depths of the shadows, something enormous seemed to be slowly opening its eyes...
Five figures cautiously traversed the depths of the dark forest. As they ventured deeper, the oppressive deathly aura grew increasingly heavy, making even breathing seem weightless. Suddenly, an eerie light appeared in the gray mist ahead.
It was a radiance that did not belong to the mortal world—purple, as deep as thunder splitting the sky, yet carrying a bloody aura. It was not a warm light, but a cold, mysterious radiance that seemed to scorch the soul. The purple light pulsated, like a heartbeat, striking a heavy war drum in the desolate forest.
The five exchanged glances, all seeing the shock and greed in each other's eyes. They then activated their spiritual power, transforming into five streaks of light and flying away at high speed.
As they approached the light source, the sight before them took everyone's breath away.
That was unmistakably the heart of a giant dragon!
It hovered among the decaying ancient trees, its size reaching several meters, its shape resembling a burning purple crystal. Each beat of its heart was like a thunderclap from the depths of the earth, shaking the surrounding air and causing the mist to surge. Its surface was covered with countless cracks, from which faint light emanated from the intertwined lightning and demonic flames, as if it contained the power to destroy the world.
The surface of their hearts was still covered with dense dragon scale imprints, each imprint shimmering with the luster of ancient runes. Purple light spread out along these runes, like billions of purple lightning bolts tearing through the sky. The dragon's might permeating the air, even from several feet away, still made the blood in the five people freeze and their Fate Soul tremble, as if they were facing a real ancient dragon staring at them.
"This is... the legendary Dragon Heart!" a cultivator couldn't help but exclaim in a low voice, his voice trembling.
The aura emanating from the dragon's heart was extremely intense; it was not merely Spiritual Qi, but an ancient bloodline power that transcended Spiritual Qi energy. Each of its pulses seemed to stir the spiritual veins of heaven and earth, causing the entire secluded forest to tremble.
"If we could refine this, it could at least help someone reach the Major Accomplishment of Soul Foundation, or even..." The other person's Adam's apple bobbed, and the greed in his eyes almost burned like flames.
They dared not approach too closely, hovering several feet away, staring intently at the dragon's heart that seemed to have traveled across time and space, their eyes filled with both fanaticism and deep fear.
With each beat of the dragon's heart, they could hear a faint dragon's roar, deep and ancient, like the howl of the dead, coming from the depths of the Nine Nether.
The five men stared intently at the dragon's heart before them, their heartbeats quickening with the ancient pulse. With each beat, purple light exploded like thunder and fire, casting flickering light on their faces and filling their eyes with fanaticism.
"If I obtain this heart, I will surely be able to break through to the Mystic Understanding Realm!" One of the cultivators had bloodshot eyes and a low, hoarse voice, as if he had been bewitched by the bloodline pressure emanating from the Dragon Heart.
"Stop talking nonsense! How can such a treasure be enjoyed alone? The five of us must work together and share the spoils!" another person sneered. Although his words were rational, the greed in his eyes was already impossible to hide.
Before they finished speaking, they attacked almost simultaneously. Five beams of spiritual light, like five celestial blades, carrying the formidable power of the Major Accomplishment of the Yuan Transformation Realm, slammed into the Dragon Heart, which was suspended in the void.
However, just before the attack reached the heart—
Boom--!
A dragon's roar shook the heavens and the earth!
That was a roar erupting from within the dragon's heart itself. Purple light surged suddenly, like billions of thunderbolts exploding in an instant. The air instantly froze, and the five people's attacks turned into dust the moment the light touched them, without even causing a ripple.
The next moment, a huge phantom of a dragon's eye suddenly appeared on the surface of the dragon's heart!
Those eyes were hollow and deep, with purple flames burning within their pupils, containing a pressure that transcended time. With just a slow turn, it plunged the five people into an ice cave, their souls seemingly nailed to the void, unable to move.
"This... is the guardian will of the Dragon Heart!" One person's voice trembled, his face was deathly pale, and his legs shook uncontrollably.
The guardian's will is not a physical entity, but rather a manifestation of the primordial will remaining within the dragon's heart. At this moment, it opens its illusory dragon mouth and spews forth a burst of purple lightning!
The lightning flames were not simply fire or lightning, but a fusion of the two—fire burning the soul and lightning shattering the body! The void twisted and cracked under the scorching heat of the lightning flames, as if the sky itself was about to be torn apart.
The five people's expressions changed drastically in an instant. They desperately activated their protective spiritual light and frantically resisted.
Boom--!
The lightning and flames crashed down, as if a heavenly tribulation had descended. All five were blasted away, spitting out blood. Their protective spiritual Spiritual Qi shattered instantly, and several of them suffered charred flesh and disordered breathing.
"Retreat! Retreat now! This is not something we can covet!" one of them roared, his eyes filled with desperate terror.
However, the illusory dragon eyes slowly looked down at them, as if sneering—
"A mortal's body... dares to lay a hand on the heart of a dragon?"
The voice was not human speech, but a dragon's roar that penetrated to the very soul. Every word was like a thunderbolt striking their souls, making their scalps tingle and their consciousness waver.
The dragon's protective will has been fully awakened.
Just as the five were desperately resisting the terrifying pressure of the dragon's heart's protective will, the heavens and earth suddenly trembled.
Boom--!
The sky trembled violently as a dark red light, like a tearing apart a sea of blood, descended from the heavens. In an instant, the surrounding space seemed to be crushed by some invisible force, turning into an endless dark red fog. The fog churned, mixed with the wails of countless wronged souls, making everyone's scalp tingle, as if their souls were nailed into Endless Abyss.
A terrifying figure, tens of feet tall, slowly emerged from the mist.
It was a monster woven from countless withered hands!
Its entire body was covered with thousands of pale arms, each one twisting as if it were an independent life form. When its fingertips tapped the air, they made an eerie "tap-tap-tap" sound, like countless ghostly hands striking a coffin, tolling the death knell for the soul.
Most despairingly, its mouth split open to its ears, a grotesque grin bursting from the crack, the laughter mingling with its howls, like a symphony of the apocalypse.
And behind it—
A densely packed army of Demonic Spirit appeared!
In the dark red sea of mist, pairs of scarlet eyes opened simultaneously. Countless Demonic Spirit twisted their bodies and crawled out from the depths of the void, their claws tearing through space, surging out like a tidal wave, their sheer number almost obscuring the light of heaven and earth.
The suffocating pressure seemed to swallow even the air, making it difficult for the five people to breathe.
"This... this is impossible!"
"It's... it's the Demonic Spirit Lord!"
"Oh my god! We're doomed! This is the Demonic Spirit... This is the Demonic Spirit--!"
The five cultivators completely collapsed, their eyes filled with despair and terror. They had never seen such a terrifying being, and they could not imagine that they could survive under such pressure.
One of them shouted at the top of his lungs:
"Run! It's Demonic Spirit! It's Demonic Spirit!"
Before the sound had completely dissipated, the withered-hand monster's countless pale arms began to flailing wildly, like a destructive ocean, rushing straight towards the five people!
The heavens and earth trembled, and the entire secluded forest was instantly plunged into a blood-red apocalypse.
As the withered-handed Demonic Spirit leader's sinister laughter echoed through the dark forest, its countless pale arms suddenly swung out in unison.
Boom--!
A thick, dark red fog swirled, as if it controlled the entire world. The next instant, hundreds of Demonic Spirit behind it roared in unison, their voices shaking the heavens and earth, carrying soul-tearing howls, as if all the evil spirits in hell had rushed out at once!
At that moment, the world completely changed color.
The Demon Spirit Legion swarmed out, rushing towards the five people and the still-vibrating dragon heart that guarded their will like a black tide.
The five were instantly enveloped in killing intent, and they frantically channeled all their spiritual power, unleashing their strongest techniques:
Some swords flashed like waterfalls, unleashing countless sharp edges;
Someone's palm burned with fierce flames, transforming into a giant fiery divine palm;
Someone offered their body as a shield, attempting to block the attack for even a moment;
Someone gathered thunder, attempting to blast open a breach;
Some even burned their Fate Soul, struggling desperately.
However all of this--
They appeared so fragile in the face of the overwhelming tide of Demonic Spirit energy.
Countless Demonic Spirit swarmed in, each with a Demonic Spirit claw capable of tearing through the void. Black figures engulfed the earth like a flood, and the five people's attacks were swallowed up by the towering demonic mist and vanished without a trace as soon as they were unleashed.
"Ah--!"
Screams rose and fell, blood and black mist intertwined, and the spiritual light was gradually swallowed up. The five struggled desperately, but in an instant, their souls were torn apart by the Demonic Spirit, their bodies disintegrated, and blood rained down on the desolate forest.
Even the enormous dragon heart's protective will was surrounded and attacked by hundreds of Demonic Spirit. It throbbed wildly, releasing purple divine light, like stars exploding, trying to drive away the Demonic Spirit. But the black tide was too strong, and the sea of mist too deep. In just a few breaths, the purple light was completely suppressed, and finally, with a loud "bang," the dragon heart's radiance was extinguished, torn apart and devoured by countless Demonic Spirit, leaving only a deathly silence.
A terrifying silence fell over the world, with only dark red mist churning in the air.
The withered-handed Demonic Spirit leader's mouth, splitting to its ears, grinned maliciously, emitting a low, sneer that echoed like a death knell throughout the heavens and earth.
"Hehehe... More blood food will come..."
At this point, the five individuals and the Dragon Heart's guardian will were utterly Annihilation.
With a final, earth-shattering roar, the purple light completely extinguished, and the immense dragon heart's protective will was finally devoured by hundreds of Demonic Spirit.
Just then--
Suddenly, the leader of the withered-hand Demonic Spirit raised countless pale arms, each palm stretching out into the air as if trying to grasp the heart of heaven and earth.
Boom!!
The shattered dragon heart suddenly collapsed, transforming into countless rays of purple divine light, which were frantically absorbed by all of its hands. Every vein on those arms bulged, and blood-red runes appeared on the surface of the skin, as if an ancient curse had awakened.
The energy of the dragon's heart was too immense—the purple radiance was instantly stained black, and finally condensed into a towering dark red blood flame, which spewed out from the Demonic Spirit leader's mouth and nose and countless gaping bloody mouths.
The heavens and earth trembled violently, and black mist swept for dozens of miles, as if even the sky was being bent by its aura.
The next moment, evolution began.
Its body expanded rapidly, growing from three zhang to five zhang in the blink of an eye. The number of its pale arms multiplied to thousands, stretching out wildly from its back like a forest of hands. Each palm burned with a ghostly blue flame, chilling to the bone, as if it could freeze the soul.
Its mouth ripped open again, from its ear to its neck, its smile growing even more ferocious, accompanied by a roar that shook the heavens and earth:
"Heh--heh--heh--!"
The sound was deep and shrill, mixed with the wails of countless wronged souls, shaking the trees in the entire dark forest to pieces and cracking the earth.
The Demon Spirit Legion behind it knelt down at that moment, letting out a deafening roar, as if paying homage to a new king!
The deathly aura between heaven and earth was instantly devoured by it, transforming into an endless dark red mist that surrounded it, making it appear as if a demon god had descended to earth.
The purple dragon heart radiance completely dissipated, and the dark forest was shrouded in darkness.
At this moment, the withered hand Demonic Spirit leader has completed its transformation.
It raised its empty eye sockets, burning with eerie blue flames, and coldly surveyed the surroundings. Immediately, hundreds of the Demon Spirit Legion stood up in unison, their aura becoming even more sinister and terrifying.
It grinned maliciously, its body trembled, and it led its massive Demon Spirit Legion deeper into the depths.
The entire forest they traversed was transformed into a blood-red inferno.
Trees withered and turned to ash, mountains were covered with deathly aura, rivers turned into dark red blood, and the vitality of all things was extinguished in an instant.