Yinglong's Gaze, the One Behind the Ji Clan

The blood rain came from nowhere, dripping silently onto the stone slabs of the arena, leaving no trace.

There was no corrosion, no dents, not even a trace of water; it was as if the dark red liquid was just an illusion.

But when it happens to you, it's a different story.

Yu Tunzhou his five fingers and caught a drop of blood. The moment it touched his skin, a cold, corrosive force pierced his pores like needles, dissolving everything around him.

It's like corroding the flesh, or like devouring blood and flesh.

Yu Tunzhou resumed the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art, and the precious light on his body circulated on its own, blocking the corrosive force from his body.

The Qi and Blood circulated and surged again, and the blood rain that clung to the skin was instantly evaporated, turning into a wisp of pale red mist that drifted away.

Pure Qi and Blood clearly clash with this rain of blood.

Not far away, Niu Tuntian also stopped, standing in the blood rain, letting the raindrops fall on him, probing the depths of the blood rain.

Its body surface has no precious luster, only a thin layer of black Blood Qi flowing under its skin, isolating it from the corrosive power of the blood rain.

It looked up at the dome, then down at its own palm, its brow furrowed.

"This thing..." Niu Tuntian began, his voice low, "Is aimed at the physical body."

Yu Tunzhou nodded. This blood rain was clearly corrosive to flesh and blood, but it had no effect on the surrounding environment. As expected, this was probably the source of the trouble in this level.

Niu Tuntian was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "What kind of bullshit fist technique is that?"

Yu Tunzhou glanced at him sideways.

The style of martial arts is called Taiji.

"Tsk, quite the reputation!" Niu Tuntian patted the giant axe at his waist and laughed heartily, "I'll remember this! When we get to the Dragon Gate, we'll have a real fight!"

Yu Tunzhou nods; this battle will come sooner or later.

Just as Niu Tuntian was about to leave, he suddenly paused, glanced at Yu Tunzhou, and said with a hint of regret in his eyes:

"Since your fighting style suits my taste, let me give you a word of advice: you'd better really be a disciple of Jade Void and have someone backing you up, otherwise, when you reach the end of Dragon Gate... try to keep a low profile and don't stand out too much."

Yu Tunzhou's gaze sharpened. "Otherwise, what will happen?"

"... You'll die." Niu Tuntian said regretfully, "It would be such a pity for someone like you to die here."

Immediately, it waved goodbye, admitting defeat, and was teleported out of the arena.

As Yu Tunzhou pondered, a cold and resonant voice descended from above the arena, but this time the words were completely different from the last; it did not ask whether he should continue or stop.

"Your performance in this battle earned you a glance from Yinglong."

Yinglong?

Yu Tunzhou looks up in astonishment.

Even Huntian, who was imprisoned in the Niwan Palace, cast a shocked glance.

"Yinglong?!"

"Wasn't that old geezer long ago? Could there be any remnants of him in Dragon Gate?"

Huntian was greatly alarmed.

Yu Tunzhou looked up at the sky and said in a deep voice, "What's the use?"

"To continue fighting, or to withdraw now?"

The sound falling from an infinite height paid no heed to Yu Tunzhou's question, but mechanically continued its inquiry.

Yu Tunzhou frowned and tried asking the question in several different ways, but he still didn't get a reply.

The sound was like some kind of "program".

After several attempts, Yu Tunzhou gave up asking.

The battle with Niu Tuntian had left him exhausted. Although he had caught his breath, the sudden, unknown rain of blood made him temporarily abandon any thought of continuing the challenge.

Furthermore, Niu Tuntian has already left the scene, so he might run into Ao Xiyu and the others outside.

Yu Tunzhou immediately chose to give up.

The scene before my eyes shifted, and the feeling of weightlessness returned.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in the center of the altar, with dragon bones and phoenix feathers floating in front of him, the two colors of light slowly dimming.

Around the altar, several figures were trying to avoid the rain of blood.

"Brother Yu!" Yuan Mengzhou's voice came from the left, filled with surprise, "You're out too!"

Yu Tunzhou looked in the direction of the sound and saw that Yuan Mengzhou and the others were all there.

Everyone had some injuries, more or less, and their clothes were stained with blood, but none of them were seriously injured. Clearly, they had all gained or lost in the ring.

"You've all come out too?" Yu Tunzhou asked, his gaze sweeping around. "Have you seen any Demon Race?"

"Several people appeared earlier, but they all left in a hurry. Given the strange nature of this blood rain, we didn't intervene," Lin Yueheng voice. "Let's find another place first, and then we can talk."

Everyone nodded in agreement.

The rain of blood grew heavier and heavier. Although they could withstand it with their Blood Qi, it was very taxing, especially since they had just fought a battle not long ago. If this continued, they would inevitably be in danger.

The group set off to find shelter from the rain.

This blood rain was strange; it could penetrate all obstacles, seemingly illusory yet not entirely so.

The group ran all the way to the vicinity of the enormous skeleton, only to find that hiding under it was useless.

As the rain intensified, the group had no choice but to continue running towards the entrance of the secret realm. Along the way, they encountered several Demon Race gathered together. The two sides exchanged glances but neither chose to make a move at this juncture.

After running out of the secret realm, they discovered that the rain had actually lessened somewhat.

Outside the secret realm, the world was pitch black with extremely low visibility. Lin Yueheng recalled the stone wall where they had refined the Dragon Essence not long ago. After confirming the location, the group quickly arrived at the foot of the stone wall.

Upon discovering that even the stone walls outside could not block the rain, everyone's hearts sank, realizing that there was no way to avoid this blood rain.

With Jiese clasped together, he softly chanted a Buddhist prayer. "Amitabha, it seems this rain is the real test of the second trial."

Ao Xiyu said with lingering fear, "Fortunately, I was fighting someone when the blood rain fell, and my Blood Qi was boiling, which neutralized the power of the blood rain."

Beside her, Liu Zhizhou looked with heartache at the several ugly spots of corrosion on her arm.

When the blood rain suddenly fell, she was not fighting, her Blood Qi was not visible, and she was seriously injured. Fortunately, in her desperation, she unleashed her Blood Qi and discovered that boiling Qi and Blood could counteract the blood rain.

Yu Tunzhou suddenly said, "It seems there are two key points to breaking this deadlock: first, one's own Blood Qi must be strong enough to withstand prolonged battles and outlast the opponent; second, one must strike first and kill or send the opponent away."

Upon hearing this, everyone nodded in agreement.

Since there is no way to avoid this blood rain and the only option is to rely on Qi and Blood to wear it down, then only these two paths lie before everyone.

"If the rain gets any heavier and continues all night, I'm afraid I won't be able to hold on until then," Liu Zhizhou said through gritted teeth.

Everyone's expression was equally solemn, even the Dharma Master Jiese, whose physique was second only to Yu Tunzhou.

Yu Tunzhou sensed that even though he had just fought a fierce battle with Niu Tuntian, his Qi and Blood were more than enough to withstand such a rain of blood.

In particular, it also possesses the Indestructible Golden Light inherent in the Eight-Nine Mysterious Art.

"Let's rest here first." He glanced at everyone. "Try to minimize the consumption of our Qi and Blood; for now, we can only tough it out."

Everyone sat down and began circulating their internal energy techniques to resist the erosion of the blood rain with minimal loss of Qi and Blood.

The night is still long.

The bloody rain showed no signs of stopping; on the contrary, it seemed to be intensifying.

From the distant entrance to the secret realm, Demon Race warriors emerged one after another, and the sounds of battles could be heard from time to time.

Yu Tunzhou could see clearly that a Demon Race warrior resisted until his Qi and Blood and qi were exhausted. In the end, he was forced to shout that he had to withdraw. But because of the time difference, he was drowned in blood rain. A scream was heard. In the end, his flesh and blood melted away, and not even his bones were left. It was as if everything had been wiped out from the world!

In the distance, in the darkness, something was moving rustlingly, like a beast drooling over its prey struggling in the rain of blood.

Yu Tunzhou watched coldly. His Qi and Blood, after resisting the rain of blood, still had enough to float above his head like smoke, intimidating those in the darkness.

Then, he began to ponder Niu Tuntian's warning before leaving, and the look in Yinglong's eyes.

"Yu Tunzhou..."

In the darkness, after an unknown amount of time, Liu Zhizhou suddenly spoke in a low voice.

"I just encountered Feng Yanleng on the Dragon Ascension Platform. She asked me to tell you to be careful of the entity behind the Ji Clan."

"Um?"

Yu Tunzhou opened his eyes, his expression grave. He wasn't wary of Ji Zhaoxuan, but rather of the being behind him.

Are there any others?

"There is none left."

Yu Tunzhou's gaze swept over Liu Zhizhou, and he suddenly said in a deep voice, "Your Qi and Blood won't last until dawn!"

Liu Zhizhou said calmly, "If it weren't for that Dragon Essence, I wouldn't have been able to hold on."

Yu Tunzhou remained silent for a moment, then reminded Liu Zhizhou that he must leave in advance and not wait until the last minute.

Liu Zhizhou nodded, glancing at the world around her with a hint of regret in her eyes. Although she was Dragon Race, her cultivation level was the lowest among those present. If it weren't for her Dragon Race identity, she wouldn't have been qualified to enter this place at all.

Fortunately, the Dragon Essence still brought her many gains, bringing her bloodline closer to her ancestors.

As Liu Zhizhou chose to give up and withdraw from this place, the atmosphere among the Mortal Realm became slightly somber.

Until dawn broke.

The blood rain dissipated the moment dawn broke.

Yu Tunzhou didn't give everyone much time to rest. To survive the next blood rain, they had to find other fortuitous opportunity during the following day to achieve a breakthrough in their physical strength.

This is probably the "chance of survival" left for everyone in this ordeal.

After a short rest, once their Qi and Blood had recovered by more than half, the group continued their recovery as they walked.

Liu Zhizhou had no choice but to withdraw, so they had to do everything they could to "protect" Ao Xiyu.

Only by protecting Ao Xiyu can they explore other secret realms.

On this day, they found two secret realms. In one of them, they found a Dragon Essence. Although it was not as good as the first one, it still enhanced Ao Xiyu's bloodline, allowing her to advance to the Form Refinement Greater Accomplishment.

That night, the blood rain did not fall; instead, the first night's "strangeness" occurred.

This relieved them, and also meant they had another day to improve their physical bodies.

Furthermore, the black mist in the night can also be refined to strengthen one's Qi and Blood.

Therefore, this night was an invaluable night for spiritual practice.

On the fourth day, the group set off again to search for the secret realm. They eventually found a ruined pool used by the ancient Dragon Race to nurture young dragons. Along the way, they also encountered a group of Demon Race.

Led by Yu Tunzhou, they sent the group of Demon Race out of this world and then occupied the remaining pool.

At Yu Tunzhou's suggestion, the remaining pool was given priority to Ao Xiyu this time.

On the fourth night, the blood rain fell once more!

This blood rain was clearly more intense than the last one. Fortunately, Ao Xiyu made two significant breakthroughs in succession and, relying on her Dragon Race physique, managed to withstand this ordeal.

The group continued this cycle, seeking fortuitous opportunity to refine the black mist before the third blood rain descended.

As they progress further, they encounter fewer and fewer humans and Demon Race.

After all, this world is too vast, and many people have already withdrawn from this stage.

Day 6.

Ji Zhaoxuan sat cross-legged deep within an abandoned secret realm.

In the past few days, under Xiao Yanzhi's deduction, they have found several secret realms. With the help of the Dragon Race traveling with them, they obtained a dragon bone essence and a Dragon Essence of decent quality. As a result, their physical strength has greatly improved, and their aura is much stronger than when they first entered the second level.

But he showed no joy.

Because it's not enough.

That's far from enough!

Ao Kun, who was traveling with them, wouldn't last much longer. Even if he survived tonight's bloodbath, he certainly wouldn't survive the next one in two days.

At that time, it will be extremely difficult for them to re-enter the secret realm.

"Your Highness, Yu Tunzhou's location has been confirmed, but he is not alone."

Xiao Yanzhi strode over and reported the latest developments.

"Some people from the Demon Race are already following them at a distance, and have confirmed that Yu Tunzhou's group consists of six people: Jiese, Lin Yueheng, Yuan Mengzhou, Nishang, and Ao Xiyu from the Dragon Race."

"Six people..." Ji Zhaoxuan stood up, repeated the number, and squinted, "How many of us are there?"

Xiao Yanzhi said slowly, "The Demon Race has withdrawn quite a few in the past two days, and can only send nine at the moment. Including Your Highness, we have eight on our side."

"Seventeen." Ji Zhaoxuan's eyes flashed. "Seventeen against six, what do you think the outcome will be?"

"That's no surprise," Xiao Yanzhi said with a slight smile. "The only thing we can use here is our physical bodies. No matter how strong Yu Tunzhou is, he won't be much stronger than Demon Race of the same level. At least, he can't create a crushing defeat. We can take advantage of tonight's blood rain to launch a surprise attack."

Ji Zhaoxuan did not immediately express his opinion.

He closed his eyes, and the origins of Lin Yueheng and the others flashed through his mind.

After a long while, he opened his eyes.

"Have everyone prepare," he said slowly. "Notify the Demon Race that tonight we will join forces to eliminate Yu Tunzhou."

"Understood." Xiao Yanzhi nodded, then pondered for a moment and said, "Your Highness, although we may win tonight, I'm afraid we have no hope of killing Yu Tunzhou."

They have discovered that as long as they shout "Exit!", they will be teleported out of this world after a few breaths.

Even if they join forces to attack, Yu Tunzhou will have enough time to retreat.

"At that time, we can try to take down Ao Xiyu first," Ji Zhaoxuan said calmly. "Use her life to coerce Yu Tunzhou into not withdrawing. If she obeys, that's best; if she doesn't... it doesn't matter."

Xiao Yanzhi smiled and said, "Does Your Highness think that Yu Tunzhou will fight to the death because of Ao Xiyu?"

Ji Zhaoxuan sneered, "I almost hope he won't."

Xiao Yanzhi bowed slightly. "I will make the arrangements immediately."

Watching Xiao Yanzhi's departing figure, Ji Zhaoxuan narrowed his eyes slightly.

Footsteps came from outside, Tantai Mingyu opened her eyes.

Xiao Yanzhi walked over slowly, not very fast, as if he was thinking about something.

"How is the situation?" Tantai Mingyu asked first.

Xiao Yanzhi pondered for a moment and said, "Tonight, we will besiege Yu Tunzhou."

Mentioning this name, a flash of resentment crossed Tantai Mingyu's eyes.

Xiao Yanzhi immediately saw what she was thinking and shook his head, saying, "Although Yu Tunzhou is troublesome, he has no background, so he's destined to be nothing more than a small obstacle. Our real problem right now is how to get the remaining edicts from Ji Zhaoxuan."

He paused, then continued, "Ji Zhaoxuan has begun to suspect us. The only solution now is to let him die 'accidentally'."

Tantai Mingyu remained silent. If they joined forces, assassinating Ji Zhaoxuan would not be difficult. The difficulty lay in the fact that they absolutely could not be tainted by the blood of the Ji Clan, and they even had to provide full support and protection.

Tantai Mingyu suddenly asked, "How's it going with winning over Jiang Fengyang?"

Xiao Yanzhi shook his head. "No progress at all. The Jiang Household is not on our side. Besides, Jiang Fengyang's personality is very different from his father's, making him difficult to win over. If it really comes down to a life-or-death situation, he will most likely risk his life to save Ji Zhaoxuan."

"... Have you made contact with the Demon Race?" Tantai Mingyu asked, narrowing her eyes. "Why don't you reveal Ji Zhaoxuan's identity, the identity of the Crown Prince of Great Yan, to them? Those guys will definitely have something on their minds."

"That's exactly what I did," Xiao Yanzhi said calmly. "You don't need to worry about this; I'll handle it. Taking down Ji Zhaoxuan tonight is too hasty. We still have time before breaching the Dragon Gate."

Tantai Mingyu said, "Good luck."

Xiao Yanzhi remained noncommittal.

What favors them is never luck.

The sixth night has arrived.

As the last rays of sunlight faded, the third rain of blood covered every corner of the world. The remaining warriors had nowhere to hide and could only endure it.

Yu Tunzhou stood in the darkness, looking up at the blood rain falling from the sky, his brows slightly furrowed.

Tonight's blood rain came earlier and more fiercely than the last time.

"The rain has intensified by at least 30% this time," Jiese said in a deep voice, his hands clasped together. "At this rate, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold out for much longer."

Although they have made many gains in the past few days, there is no limit to physical improvement. It becomes more and more difficult as you go on. Even the Dragon Essence can only provide them with a very limited boost.

But the intensification of the rain seemed to have no end.

"Let's just get through tonight's rain first," Ao Xiyu, sounding somewhat helpless.

If no other fortuitous opportunity, she will likely have to go to Liu Zhizhou after another two bloody battles.

The crowd gradually fell silent, mobilizing their Qi and Blood to withstand the rain of blood.

Such nights have no concept of time and seem incredibly long.

I don't know how much time passed.

Yu Tunzhou suddenly opened his eyes, his expression cold.

With his current hearing, he could hear faint, jumbled footsteps approaching from afar, indicating that there was more than one person, seemingly converging from all directions.

Before long, Jiese and Lin Yueheng also noticed and opened their eyes one after the other.

"Someone's coming!"

These words served as a wake-up call to the group who were meditating.

Lin Yueheng and said, "It should be the Demon Race."

"There are quite a few people." The Dharma Master Jiese slowly rose and sighed, "Those who come are not well-intentioned; those with good intentions do not come."

The group stood up and became alert to the surrounding darkness.

Yu Tunzhou suddenly pointed in a direction. "The enemy has a large number of people, more than ten. There are the fewest enemies in this direction. Mage, Brother Lin, you two take advantage of the fact that the encirclement has not yet been formed and Opening the Dao in this direction. Thirteenth Sister, you follow closely behind and do not delay."

"And you?" Ao Xiyu asked softly, "Aren't you coming together?"

The footsteps around them grew closer.

"I'll cover your retreat." Yu Tunzhou paused, his tone calm and cold. "Besides, it's only polite to retaliate. I want to see who this is. Don't worry about me; my Cultivation Method and techniques are most effective against being surrounded."

In the darkness, figures were beginning to emerge from the rain of blood.

Upon realizing that the enemy outnumbered them significantly, the group made a decisive move and quietly charged towards the location indicated by Yu Tunzhou.

Only Yu Tunzhou remained standing, his Qi and Blood surging like a bright torch in the darkness.

More than a dozen figures came from all directions and surrounded him in the center.

The leader was a Dragon Race from overseas, its vertical pupils gleaming with golden light amidst the blood rain.

Accompanying him were eight Demon Race, each with a different appearance, yet none of them were weak in aura.

"Why is there only one? Weren't we supposed to have six?" a Demon Race warrior asked in surprise, looking around but finding nothing due to the low visibility.

Just then, a scream and the sound of a hand being thrown came from somewhere.

The nine Demon Race instantly realized that their ambush had been detected beforehand, and their gazes all fell on Yu Tunzhou, who had not left.

The leading Dragon Race's vertical pupils narrowed slightly, and he said in a low voice, "You're Yu Tunzhou? You're not leaving because you think you alone can stand against all of us?"

Yu Tunzhou ignored him and fixed his gaze on a certain spot.

Several figures slowly emerged from the darkness, the leader being none other than Ji Zhaoxuan, his eyes deep and unfathomable.

Standing beside him were Xiao Yanzhi, Tantai Mingyu, Jiang Fengyang, and three other Human Race warriors.

Seven Human Race and nine Demon Race surrounded him.

Blood rained down, but the atmosphere was colder than the rain itself.

Ji Zhaoxuan stopped, his face expressionless, but his voice pierced the rain clearly:

"Young Hero Yu, we meet again."

"I can give you another chance."

After figuring out who was behind tonight's ambush, Yu Tunzhou looked up at the sky and murmured:

"What a dark and windy month!"