“Jing Qiu, run!” Dongbo Xueying swept his spear forward, directly engaging the enemy, while simultaneously activating the Taihao Force’s secret technique ‘Prison’ to bind and hinder the black-armored multi-legged beast.
“Run! If we both stay here, we’ll both die for nothing! Our avatars perishing means little, but dying without purpose is meaningless. I excel in close combat and area-of-effect techniques—I can hold it off for a while. But you? You can’t even restrain it. If it gets close, you’ll die instantly. Go! If you escape, I might find a way to survive too.”
“Alright.”
With memories of her past life, Yu Jingqiu was decisive. Though it pained her to leave her husband behind to fend off the enemy, she consoled herself—both were merely avatars here. Death meant little, but it had to serve some purpose.
Whoosh.
Yu Jingqiu transformed into a streak of light, fleeing swiftly.
Meanwhile, Dongbo Xueying clashed violently with the black-armored beast.
“Boom! Boom! Boom—!” His body crashed repeatedly against the surrounding cliffs. Using his area technique to slightly slow the enemy, he barely held his ground with his spearplay. Though the beast possessed overwhelming strength, his Taihao Force also specialized in raw power, and his self-created spear technique ‘Life’ allowed him to hold out for a time.
“This beast is stronger than me, but not enough to render me helpless,” Dongbo Xueying thought.
Unbeknownst to him, the black-armored creatures had deliberately sent a weaker foe to prolong the hunt and kill them one by one.
“But I can’t hold out forever. I can’t just stand and fight.” As he wielded his spear, he too began fleeing at high speed.
Swoosh!
A streak of light darted away.
“Trying to run?” The black-armored beast roared in pursuit, its speed far surpassing Dongbo Xueying’s. It caught up repeatedly, forcing skirmishes mid-flight.
Yet Dongbo Xueying deliberately fled along their original path—back the way they came.
His wife had fled toward the divine artifact. If he followed her, he might lead the beast straight to her.
Even if death was inevitable, he had to protect her at all costs.
—
Yu Jingqiu soared through the air, her eyes sharp with self-reproach. This expedition had been for her sake, and now Dongbo Xueying was paying the price.
“Xueying…” She glanced back, but no pursuer was in sight.
—
Dongbo Xueying and the beast clashed violently as they streaked across the sky.
“Thud—!” A clawed strike sent him flying backward. Though his spear shaft blocked the blow, blood still sprayed from his mouth. He kept fleeing, the massive wound on his chest healing rapidly. These were mere glancing injuries—a direct hit would obliterate him instantly.
Amid the battle, his understanding of his ‘Life’ technique deepened.
His spearplay flowed effortlessly, as if the world itself bloomed with beauty. His flawless defense had held so far.
But no defense was unbreakable.
Prolonging this would only end in his death.
“Faster, faster… It’s just ahead.” Hope burned in his heart.
“Hmm?” The pursuing beast gradually slowed, then halted entirely, puzzled. “The Bloodfire Gate?”
Indeed.
Dongbo Xueying had fled back along their path—straight toward the Bloodfire Gate.
“How amusing.” The beast’s eyes gleamed with anticipation.
Swoosh!
Ahead lay a vast cavern, its floor dominated by a colossal crimson disk spanning millions of miles. Etched with sword and blade motifs, it radiated terrifying bloodlust. Around it, clusters of now-awakened crimson-armored warriors chatted idly. Their heads turned as one toward Dongbo Xueying, streaking into the cavern.
“Oh? He dares return?”
“He actually came back?”
Over a hundred crimson warriors stared in surprise. The pursuing black-armored beast lingered at the cavern’s entrance, watching.
Thud.
Dongbo Xueying landed squarely on the crimson disk. The weight of a hundred crimson gazes pressed upon him, though this time, the warriors seemed to restrain their aura—else he’d have lost control of his power entirely.
“So, you wish to challenge the Bloodfire Gate?” A tall, slender female warrior spoke, her voice eerily soft.
“Challenge the Bloodfire Gate?” Dongbo Xueying noted the warriors’ restraint and the distant black beast. He exhaled inwardly.
Then—
From among the warriors, a petite crimson-armored figure stepped forth, landing on the disk, its murderous gaze fixed on him.
“One opponent?” Dongbo Xueying mused. “And the others merely observe—even the black beast holds back. My guess was right.”
His flight back to the Bloodfire Gate had been a gamble.
Earlier, when their group passed through, only four warriors had attacked—despite over a hundred present. Why only four? Their party had also numbered four. Coincidence?
Moreover, after Fu Qiong’s death, the blade-wielding warrior had ceased attacking, leaving three versus three. Had that warrior persisted, even Qiu Yu couldn’t have helped them escape.
First four, then three.
This pattern, coupled with the disk’s obvious significance, had sparked his curiosity.
“If I return alone… will it be one-on-one?” he’d speculated.
“Of the four earlier foes, the blade-wielder, the golden-fisted giant, and the seductive female were clearly stronger. The black-furred one seemed weaker,” he recalled. “Did they match our group’s strength?”
“Three Four-Heaven Realm Gods, one Three-Heaven. So they sent three strong, one weak.”
A master’s mind worked swiftly. Though battered last time, he’d pieced together clues.
Thus, he’d gambled.
To die meaningfully—and to learn more of this ‘Bloodfire Gate.’
And if he won the gamble? He might not die at all.
“It seems I was right.” He studied the lone, smaller warrior before him, sensing lesser threat.
“You said I’m challenging the Bloodfire Gate?” Dongbo Xueying smiled at the tall woman. “Might I ask—what are the rules?”
Her silver-lit eyes gleamed with amusement. “You stand upon the Bloodfire Gate, yet know so little. Bold indeed.”
“Just betting with my life,” he replied.
Around them, warriors murmured, chuckled, or scoffed.
“Could you enlighten me? I’d rather die knowing the rules,” he pressed, still smiling.
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