The originally somewhat refined face twisted and contorted, transforming into the visage of a delicate young man.
He appeared to be no more than sixteen or seventeen years old, but his eyes were blood-red, and his entire body exuded an exceptionally bloody aura—precisely the terrifying presence that had vanished earlier from the vortex.
The blood-soaked youth lowered his hands from his head, slowly rising to his feet. With a strange gaze, he swept his eyes over Yitian City and the opposing forces of humans and demons below. Then, lifting his hands to examine them, he suddenly threw his head back and laughed maniacally:
“At last, this venerable one has arrived in the human realm! This method truly works. Haha, it seems this Sacred Ancestor is the first to accomplish such a feat. This sensation is utterly marvelous…”
Upon hearing these words, the high-ranking human cultivators paled in shock, while the demonic elders, upon recognizing the youth’s appearance, were overcome with a mix of astonishment and joy.
One particularly quick-witted high-ranking demon suddenly knelt on one knee and shouted, “Hail the Sacred Ancestor! Congratulations on your descent into the Spirit Realm!”
This cry seemed to awaken the rest of the demonic forces. Regardless of rank, the entire demon army prostrated themselves in worship toward the sky.
Meanwhile, the human cultivators, witnessing this scene, turned deathly pale.
The black-armored giant, the white-robed youth, and the other demonic Venerables exchanged uncertain glances, their expressions revealing only three parts delight and seven parts hesitation.
“Fear not! This demon has merely possessed a host to descend into this realm. His power is likely less than a tenth of his true form. We still have a chance! Fairy Lin, command the Hexi Beast to slay this old fiend! We will hold off the other demons!” Frost Li the Transcendent, after a moment of shock, suddenly roared with a fierce expression.
Lin Luan hesitated briefly, but after glancing at the human forces atop Yitian City, she gritted her teeth and nodded. Pressing a finger to the blood sigil between her brows, she activated another secret technique.
The ram-headed beast, which had already been suppressing the black-armored giant and the blood-colored demon soldiers under her guidance, suddenly roared and spat out a gale, scattering the surrounding demons. With a flap of its bat-like wings, it transformed into a gust of eerie wind, breaking free from the encirclement and charging straight toward the blood-soaked youth.
Though the youth had yet to display his true abilities, the bloody pressure emanating from him instinctively made the beast feel threatened. Even without Lin Luan’s blood sigil urging it, the creature would have sought to devour him to eliminate the danger.
Meanwhile, Frost Li the Transcendent let out a mighty shout. Seven short blades materialized around him before transforming back into a five-clawed azure dragon. With a sweep of its colossal body, countless bolts of wind and thunder surged forth.
Under the dragon’s frenzied assault, the blood-light demons were momentarily unable to pursue the Hexi Beast.
The black-armored giant summoned two massive hammers, unleashing a storm of hammer shadows. Yet, despite the overwhelming display, his attacks seemed half-hearted, his attention largely fixated on the blood-soaked youth and the Hexi Beast.
As for Han Li, his mind raced with shock and fury.
This demonic Sacred Ancestor had truly descended into this realm! Though not in his true form, this was no ordinary possession technique. The aura radiating from the possessed middle-aged man was terrifyingly potent, far surpassing that of an ordinary late-stage Core Formation cultivator. Just how formidable his abilities were remained uncertain!
Now that the ram-headed beast was engaging him, Han Li suppressed his unease and halted his pursuit, watching intently.
The white-robed youth, seeing the situation, relaxed slightly. He hastily retrieved several antidote pills from his robes and swallowed them, then began forcibly expelling the strange poison from his body from a distance.
Only a mid-stage Core Formation demon like him could endure this long. Any weaker cultivator struck by the Lingxuan Evil Light’s poison would have perished instantly.
The blood-soaked youth, upon seeing the ram-headed, bear-bodied beast, paused in surprise. “A Hexi Beast in this place? No wonder they’ve held out this long. Very well, since I lack a mount after descending here, I shall take you as my steed.”
With a flip of his hand, a purple light shimmered, and a small violet cauldron materialized. The youth slapped the cauldron and uttered, “Net!”
Instantly, the cauldron inverted, and a black “net” character shot forth from its mouth, vanishing in a flash toward the beast.
The ram-headed beast responded by spewing a yellow hurricane while wrapping its wings around itself, forming a protective cloud.
Undeterred, the beast charged forward, seemingly confident in its defenses.
The youth smirked coldly, standing his ground.
The black character pierced through the hurricane and vanished into the yellow cloud without a trace.
A moment later, the beast let out a terrified roar as its body stiffened, immobilized in mid-air. Countless black threads emerged, binding it tightly.
Despite its furious struggles, the beast could not break free.
The youth’s lips curled into a sinister grin as his gaze flickered toward Han Li.
A bone-chilling cold shot down Han Li’s spine, making him shiver involuntarily.
The youth’s expression remained blank as he raised an arm toward Han Li and uttered, “Retrieve.”
A deafening boom echoed as the thousand-zhang-tall seven-colored pagoda nearby uprooted itself and vanished into the void.
In the youth’s hand, a miniature pagoda shimmered into existence before being tossed above the beast.
With a hand seal, the pagoda spun and transformed into a rolling seven-colored mist, engulfing the beast in an instant.
When the mist condensed back into the pagoda, the beast had vanished without a trace.
“My talisman can no longer sense the Hexi Beast!” Lin Luan gasped in horror.
Han Li’s heart sank.
In the hands of the Bloodlight Sacred Ancestor, the violet cauldron and seven-colored pagoda had multiplied in power. He had no confidence in escaping unscathed if trapped within.
“Retreat!” Frost Li the Transcendent bellowed in fear.
Transforming back into an azure dragon, he endured several hammer blows to break free and fled toward Yitian City.
Seeing the battle lost, he chose to escape without hesitation.
Silverlight Fairy and Lin Luan exchanged fearful glances before bolting in opposite directions.
Han Li, having already sheathed his Emerald Swarm Sword Array, flapped his wind-and-thunder wings and shot away as a streak of lightning.
“Thinking of fleeing now? How delusional!” The blood-soaked youth laughed maniacally.
His hands moved in a blur as his bloody aura surged, splitting into three identical figures.
Two of them—one holding the seven-colored pagoda, the other the violet cauldron—vanished with a cold laugh.
The third stamped his foot, summoning a blood-red boat beneath him.
The boat, no more than seven or eight zhang long, was crystalline red, adorned with glowing seven-colored runes.
Without a word, the youth boarded it, and the boat shot into the void.
Reappearing hundreds of zhang away, it closed in on Han Li in mere flashes.
Han Li, sensing this, was startled.
Gritting his teeth, he rolled on the ground and transformed into a silver giant peng with four wings.
With a single flap, the peng streaked away as a golden-silver thread, vanishing beyond the horizon.
“Oh? The Kunpeng Transformation Art? Heh, thinking this can save you?” The youth sneered. “Deal with the other humans. I’ll handle this one myself!”
Beside him, the other two youths reappeared as if never having left.
With a series of hand seals, two pairs of crystalline blood-red wings sprouted from the boat’s sides.
With a powerful flap, the boat shot forth as a crimson streak.
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