After drinking the secret potion, the Swordman’s body swelled in size, and golden flames ignited on his massive sword as he raised it high, ready for a thunderous strike!
However, the sword remained frozen above his head, unable to descend.
A hollow hole suddenly appeared in his chest, with his heart suspended in the void, still beating. Yet, the flesh around the heart had vanished into thin air.
“Life-Ending Crossbow…” he muttered, struggling to turn his head toward Night Woman. Before he could fully turn, another crossbow sound rang out. No arrow appeared, but his heart disappeared as if it had never been there.
The Swordman’s body stiffened once more.
The King of Linjiang would not miss such an opportunity. With one swing of the Taia, he decapitated the Swordman and grabbed the massive sword. As he glanced at Xu Ran, hesitating whether to join the battle, Zhang Boqian’s voice came from behind, “Take the sword and retreat!”
The King of Linjiang realized the urgency, immediately using the Taia to subdue the Heavenly Soldier Sword and quickly retreated with Zhang Boqian. The power of the Heavenly Soldier was immense, and he knew well that if it fell back into Xu Ran’s hands, the battle would become even more tumultuous.
Xu Ran, now unable to concern himself with the King of Linjiang, pointed at Night Woman, his hand trembling and unable to speak.
Night Woman gritted her teeth and pulled the crossbow trigger. The last bolt from the cartridge vanished into thin air the moment it left the string. Xu Ran let out a scream, his face paling instantly.
Spewing blood, he snarled, “Well, well, you wench! Daring to plot against me! Tell me, who sent you?”
“No one sent me.”
“Impossible! I have shown you so much favor, how could you betray me?”
Night Woman bit her lip and did not answer, instead drawing a short sword and lunging at Xu Ran.
Despite having been hit by the Life-Ending Crossbow, Xu Ran moved freely. Seeing Night Woman charging, he struck with a palm. The palm turned into a myriad of blade shadows, instantly engulfing Night Woman!
In the midst of the blade shadows, Night Woman let out a groan, clearly injured. She threw the short sword, which pierced through Xu Ran’s shoulder.
This was a fight where both parties were trading blows, regardless of their enmity. Xu Ran, now in a true rage, combined his fingers into a sword stance and roared, “Righteous Sword Aura!”
Suddenly, a thread of black fire flew from behind. Though it seemed insignificant, Xu Ran felt the threat. He had no choice but to fling the accumulated Righteous Sword Aura towards the black fire. Not only did the sword aura extinguish the black fire, but it also pierced Parokaya, who had brought the fire, right through!
Parokaya’s demonic aura surged, protecting his entire body as he fled back to the Holy Mountain with the Deep Dark Blessing.
Frustrated by repeated setbacks, Xu Ran’s face darkened, and he said, “You all have provoked the wrath of heaven, and you do not yet know the price. This curse jade can be embedded within your family’s bloodline, entangling generations with a blood curse, causing the weak to die young and the strong to die violent deaths. Who wants to try?”
While the empire’s side remained indifferent, the faces of the Eternal Night’s elites changed. For millennia, they had relied on bloodlines for inheritance, and such a curse directly hit their Achilles’ heel. They might not fear death, but the thought of their descendants being wiped out made them hesitate.
Xu Ran considered this blood jade a treasure, and he was not lying. Given the devastating power of his previous treasures, how bad could this curse jade be? Even the strongest curses have limits, but the Divine Shock Bow had already wounded the Holy Mountain and slain the Wolf Noble. The blood curse on this jade could likely overpower any bloodline.
Only Qian Ye stepped forward and said, “I will take it.”
Xu Ran sneered, “I was looking for you!”
Without further ado, he crushed the blood jade, and a purplish-black blood curse rose, like a living entity, leaping toward Qian Ye’s forehead. Qian Ye watched the curse, a faint black mark appearing between his brows, preparing to counter with the Book of Darkness.
Just then, a figure flashed past, colliding with the blood curse!
It was Night Woman!
“You…” Xu Ran was at a loss for words.
As the blood curse entered her body, a symbol appeared on Night Woman’s face, identical to the one Xu Ran had inscribed.
“Very well, if you are willing to have your descendants suffer under the blood curse, so be it!” Xu Ran growled.
At that moment, a faint curse symbol appeared on Qian Ye’s forehead, barely visible. A curse symbol also rose in the River of Blood, gigantic and floating among the waves, like a dam trying to block the entire river.
But the River of Blood was a manifestation of countless dimensions, too vast for a single wave to break the curse.
Qian Ye’s forehead symbol disappeared, and Night Woman spat out a mouthful of blood, collapsing to the ground, the symbol fading away.
Xu Ran never expected this turn of events, the blood curse splitting and affecting Qian Ye, and even seeming to continue. But Qian Ye, as the first drop of blood in the River of Blood, meant cursing him was like cursing the entire river. Even ten Xu Rans could not manage that.
Such cosmic power was not something a mere mortal could destroy.
Xu Ran’s eyes glinted, and he bellowed, “If I am harmed, the Blazing Sun will go out of control, and this world along with you all will be destroyed! Kneel and submit to me, and perhaps I will move the Blazing Sun, saving you all from annihilation.”
“Thank you, Immortal Envoy, but I have already calculated the new orbit. We only need to send you on your way to implement it.”
Anwen appeared on the Holy Mountain, revealing the Eternal Night Star Map, showing a new orbit far around the Eternal Night.
Xu Ran scanned the area and said, “Fine, I concede. But to think you can keep me here is overly arrogant. I shall return to the Heavenly Realm and report to the Dao Court. In thirty years, I will return with an army, and that will be your end!”
An ancient book beneath Xu Ran’s feet opened, releasing several pages that shielded him as he slowly ascended.
Qian Ye tried to attack but found to his surprise that he couldn’t lock onto Xu Ran. Protected by the pages, Xu Ran seemed to be both in and out of this world, making it impossible to act. Even facing an ancient tripod, Qian Ye wouldn’t feel this helpless.
Xu Ran laughed loudly as he ascended, “Heavenly methods, can you even imagine?”
“Not necessarily!” With a cold snort, eight green pillars appeared around Xu Ran, slowing his ascent.
Xu Ran’s expression changed slightly, “To grasp even a little of it, interesting! Pity you are not a Heavenly King; if you were, I might not escape.”
Zhao Jundu emerged from the void, holding an exceptionally long spear, ancient in design, covered in intricate carvings and wrapped in layers of coarse cloth. The spear, capable of only one shot, bore two ancient characters: Soul Cut.
Zhao Jundu didn’t waste words, raising the spear and firing!
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