“Palace Master Chen, the leader of the Blood Blade Tavern’s team actually volunteered? You didn’t offer a Divine-ranked Scroll?” Dongbo Xueying was deeply stirred by this news. If he could join a team, he would naturally be willing. After all, these teams were extremely powerful. Each member not only possessed high cultivation realms but also wielded divine artifacts. They probably had many treasures prepared specifically for the Red Stone Mountain expedition.
But what about him?
He truly didn’t possess many treasures—only his own strength. The most precious treasures he still needed to leave for the Xia Clan! And he was all alone. Even though he had confidence in his abilities, the difficulty of acting solo would likely surge tenfold.
“You can rest assured! I would never give away a Divine-ranked Scroll, nor do I have the authority to do so directly,” Palace Master Chen transmitted mentally. “It was actually the leader of the Blood Blade Tavern’s team who volunteered!”
“I should go pay them a visit,” Dongbo Xueying thought gratefully.
…
The headquarters of the Blood Blade Tavern was located within a common city, an enormous tavern covering one or two miles, bustling and lively.
Behind this massive tavern were many courtyards.
One of these courtyards housed a group of Demigods who had come from the Divine Realm.
“Lord Zhuang, that Dongbo Xueying is merely a Saint-ranked Transcendent, and he’s even afflicted with the Ghost Six-Yuan Poison. His strength might not even rank among the top in this mortal world. Taking him into Red Stone Mountain would only be a hindrance, wouldn’t it?” An old man with a goatee sat nearby, grumbling. He was dirty and unkempt, wearing a disheveled robe. Beside him sat cross-legged an elderly bald man in yellow robes.
The bald, yellow-robed elder nodded in agreement. “Old Rogue has a point, Lord Zhuang. This time, you’re risking everything to enter. We’re all gambling with our lives here. We don’t need Dongbo Xueying to help us, but if he ends up interfering with us at a critical moment, it would be disastrous.”
Choosing companions was extremely important.
This was also why the team from the Earth Temple dared to demand such high conditions. A normal team would never willingly bring in someone who would be a liability. If that person ended up sabotaging them at a crucial moment, the entire team would suffer.
“Old Rogue, Uncle Fu, I’ve already investigated. Dongbo Xueying seems to have mastered either the Void True Intent or the Shadow True Intent. He won’t pose much of a threat to us,” remarked a green-robed middle-aged man.
This middle-aged man had an extraordinary bearing, his aura completely repressed without the slightest pressure.
Yet he was the leader of this team.
The Blood Blade Tavern was one of the three supreme powers in the Divine Realm—the Blood Blade Divine Court. A high-ranking official from the Blood Blade Divine Court could find countless powerful Demigods. The fact that this team was chosen meant they were naturally extraordinary.
“Not bringing trouble, but not bringing any benefit either,” the goateed elder retorted, his eyes wide. “When it comes to scouting, my Illusion True Intent has already condensed the Divine Heart of the Original Body. Isn’t that much more powerful than that kid’s still-shallow Void True Intent?”
“You two, enough already,” the green-robed middle-aged man said. “Dongbo Xueying has already arrived. Let’s meet the kid. After all, we’ll be companions sharing life and death from now on.”
The goateed elder and the bald yellow-robed elder could only reluctantly comply.
They couldn’t change Lord Zhuang’s will!
Soon—
Creak!
The door opened.
A pale and frail-looking young man in white walked in. Usually, Transcendents had a healthy and vibrant aura, but Dongbo Xueying’s appearance was weakened by the poison, making him seem sickly.
“The poison…” As the young man entered, the green-robed man was reminded of his wife, whom he had married when he first became a Transcendent. She had endured the poison for thirty years, living with him for thirty years before passing away. It was an unforgotten pain in his heart. When he learned of Dongbo Xueying’s plight, he made this decision.
Enduring the Ghost Six-Yuan Poison for a hundred years—this young man was truly remarkable.
“Dongbo Xueying, right?” the green-robed man smiled. “My name is Chen Jiu! From now on, we’ll be companions!”
“Greetings, Brother Chen Jiu,” Dongbo Xueying slightly bowed in respect.
At their first meeting…
Naturally, Chen Jiu released a bit of his aura. In the world of Transcendents, strength was the most convincing power.
As Dongbo Xueying sensed the aura from Chen Jiu, he immediately felt the presence of eight ferocious dragons roaring! Each dragon represented a terrifying intent—some destruction, some poison, some brutality… These eight dragons radiated terrifying extremes, yet at their most terrifying peak lay boundless vitality.
Though they were eight dragons representing various terrors, they carried infinite vitality within. Perhaps it was the principle of yin reaching its peak giving birth to yang, or yang reaching its peak giving birth to yin.
“Truly, the leader of this team sent by the Blood Blade Divine Court is unfathomable,” Dongbo Xueying mused inwardly.
…
In an ordinary city,
countless people lived their usual lives.
“You scoundrel! Since you don’t want me to live, I won’t let you live either. Die! Die!” A seemingly honest man, his face twisted with rage, swung a pig-slaughtering knife at a swaggering, shirtless muscular man. The muscular man glared and immediately drew a blade from his waist. “You dare defy me!”
The two started fighting right there on the street.
Strangely, none of the other pedestrians showed fear. One by one, their eyes turned red. Some began cursing each other, others started fighting, and some even attacked with lethal intent.
“Ha ha ha! Beauty, no matter how loud you scream, no one will help you!” In one of the houses, a ruffian broke in and grabbed a woman. The woman cried out desperately, “My child! My child!” Beside her, an infant in a crib was already silent.
“Ahhhh! My child! My child!” The woman screamed in anguish. Gradually, her eyes turned blood-red, and she dug her fingernails into the ruffian’s eyes, with a squelching sound…
“Skin them all! Strip every last one of them!”
A fierce man sat watching the men and women hanging above him. “Who made me angry today? Using your skins to make clothes would be delightful. Peel them! Peel them all!”
If it had been in the past, his subordinates would have been terrified, shocked at their master’s sudden brutality. But now, they all had bloodshot eyes, grinning as they picked up their knives…
The men and women hanging there cursed and raged madly.
…
Everyone in this city seemed possessed, revealing the most savage side of their humanity. In just moments, the entire city was drenched in blood, the stench of death everywhere. Within moments, half the city’s population had slaughtered each other. The rest continued to torture and kill.
Many died in agony, their cries of sorrow and resentment filling the city.
“What a beautiful sound! Ha ha ha…” In the central sky above the city, a gaunt old man with a ferocious aura floated. His fingernails were long, and he held a strange crystal ball. Inside the ball were countless trapped souls, wailing and crying.
“What’s going on here?” Another figure appeared in the sky, a cold and silent man with a dark and chilling aura.
It was Feng Dong, the Ghost Knight.
Even though Feng Dong was usually cold, he was now shocked. He looked upon the city that had held millions of people, now transformed into a living hell—its air thick with blood and resentment.
“Hum!” Instantly, he used the power of the world to scan the entire city. What he saw made his eyes widen in fury. The population of the city had already perished by eighty or ninety percent. Some of the scenes of death were unbearable to witness. The twisted, raging resentment of the dead filled Feng Dong with rage.
“Who are you!” Feng Dong spotted the gaunt old man in the center of the city. With a flash, he had already arrived before him.
Feng Dong glared at the gaunt old man, fully aware that this man was the cause of all this.
“It’s that crystal ball,” Feng Dong faintly sensed that the ball was emitting invisible power that covered the entire city, driving its people mad. When people died, their souls were drawn in by this invisible force, sucked into the crystal ball.
“Break it!” With furious rage, Feng Dong struck out. A halberd appeared in his hand, transforming into a black streak of light that instantly pierced toward the crystal ball.
“Dare!” The gaunt old man roared in fury.
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