392: Chapter 386 Blood Sacrifice of Three Thousand Mortals

Among these Mortals were the elderly, women, and even children just a few years old. Their eyes were hollow and numb, their bodies covered in whip marks. They did not know what awaited them, only able to shiver in despair amidst the storm.

"Old Ancestor, a total of three thousand Mortal blood sacrifices have all been brought here," Ghost Bone said respectfully.

Old Ancestor Blood Underworld looked down at these Mortals as if he were looking at a swarm of insignificant ants.

"Chen Zhiwen, don't you like to play defense? Today, I will let you see for yourself what true Demonic Path methods are!"

Old Ancestor Blood Underworld's hands suddenly formed a bizarre hand seal, and he roared to the heavens, "Blood Sea Nether Cannon, open the Formation for me!"

Boom!

Following his command, the blood-colored Formation Plate in the center of the deck instantly erupted with a blinding red light.

A terrifying suction force burst forth from the Formation Plate.

"Ah—!"

"Help!"

"Mother!"

The three thousand Mortals had no room to resist; like leaves caught in a tornado, they were sucked into the Formation Plate amidst their screams.

Sizzle—

A hair-raising sound rang out.

The moment those three thousand living people fell into the Formation Plate, their bones and flesh were forcibly ground into a pool of scarlet blood!

Endless resentment, despair, and blood condensed and compressed frantically in the center of the Formation Plate, finally transforming into a head-sized black blood orb radiating a destructive Aura.

As soon as this blood orb appeared, the surrounding space seemed unable to bear its weight, and visible distortions began to appear.

"Aim for Heavenly Sword City's grand Formation!" Old Ancestor Blood Underworld laughed maniacally. "I want to see if your broken Formation can withstand this Nether Strike, condensed from the resentful blood of three thousand people!"

The speed of the bone ship surged again, like a blood-colored behemoth that had fallen into complete madness. Carrying that destructive blood orb, it slammed violently toward Heavenly Sword City.

...

Atop the walls of Heavenly Sword City.

The wind and rain suddenly ceased for a fleeting moment.

It wasn't that the storm had passed, but rather that an extremely terrifying and oppressive pressure had swept over from the distant sea, forcibly driving back the wind and rain throughout the sky!

"Enemy attack—!"

A shrill alarm instantly spread throughout Heavenly Sword City.

The faces of the defenders on the city walls turned pale instantly. They could clearly see a massive blood-colored pillar of light at the end of the horizon, hurtling toward the city's protective Formation with an overwhelming Aura!

"Grand Elder!" Chen Zhengchu had rushed onto the city wall at some point. Looking at that world-destroying blood-colored pillar of light, his voice trembled. "That... that is the Demonic Path's Blood Sea Nether Cannon! The Formation... the Formation probably won't be able to withstand this strike!"

Chen Zhiwen still stood with his hands behind his back, his eyes terrifyingly calm.

As he watched the approaching blood-colored pillar of light, the mocking sneer at the corner of his mouth did not disappear; instead, it grew more pronounced.

"Can't withstand it? Zhengchu, you underestimate the Formation I personally arranged too much."

Chen Zhiwen slowly drew the 'Autumn Water' sword from his waist.

"Do you really think the Southern Wilderness is your backyard, where you can come and go as you please?"

He raised his head, his gaze crossing thousands of mountains and rivers to collide fiercely in the Void Realm with Old Ancestor Blood Underworld, who stood at the prow of the bone ship.

A true meat grinder of flesh and blood finally roared to life at this moment.

The gale howled shrilly over Heavenly Sword City, as if thousands of invisible vengeful Souls were tearing at the defenses of this isolated city.

The moment the black blood orb, condensed from the flesh, blood, and despair of three thousand Mortals, left the blood-colored Formation Plate, it transformed into a terrifying blood-colored pillar of light a hundred zhang in diameter. It tore through the heavy curtain of rain, evaporated the towering waves in its path, and plowed a deep, bottomless trench into the sea.

The seawater in its path didn't even have time to flow back before it was instantly turned into a scarlet mist by the extreme heat and corrosive resentment radiating from the edges of the light pillar.

Rumble—!

This was not just the transmission of sound, but a vibration that acted directly on the depths of the Soul.

When that world-destroying blood-colored pillar of light slammed into the pale gold light barrier of Heavenly Sword City's 'Tianluo Vajra Array' with an unstoppable force, the entire world seemed to fall into absolute silence.

Immediately after, a terrifying roar erupted, as if it were going to tear heaven and earth asunder.

Crack, crack, crack, crack...

A piercing, tooth-aching grinding sound echoed frantically in every corner of Heavenly Sword City. At the point of contact with the blood-colored pillar, the pale gold light barrier instantly dented inward, like a giant balloon struck by a heavy hammer, looking as if it would completely burst at any second.

Visible ripples of solidified energy spread frantically along the barrier like a tsunami. Wherever they passed, the towering reefs outside Heavenly Sword City didn't even go through the process of shattering; they were directly pulverized into fine dust by the shockwave and vanished into the world with a gust of wind.

"It can't be stopped... it's impossible to stop this..."

Standing at the edge of the city wall, Chen Zhengchu had completely lost his dignity as a Foundation Establishment Stage Cultivator. Before the terrifying pressure of a Nascent Soul Stage powerhouse and that blood-colored pillar of light that seemed capable of erasing everything, he felt his legs were as heavy as lead, and the true essence in his body was frozen, unable to circulate in the slightest.

With a thud, his knees hit the rough bluestone bricks of the city wall. His face was as pale as paper, his lips trembled, and even the hand holding his Flying Sword shook violently. The Flying Sword fell into the puddles with a 'clang,' letting out a despairing cry.

He was not the only one.

Above and below the city walls, hundreds of Heavenly Sword Sect Qi Refinement Stage Disciples clutched their ears and screamed under the aftershocks of the collision. Some Disciples with weaker cultivation were even shaken until blood flowed from their seven orifices, fainting on the spot.

Inside the inner city, the more than one million Mortals felt as if doomsday had arrived. Countless people knelt on the muddy streets, kowtowing frantically toward the terrifying phenomenon in the sky. Cries, prayers, and screams of despair converged into an invisible wave of sound, circling above Heavenly Sword City.

However, amidst this terrifying, apocalyptic scene.

Chen Zhiwen still stood with his hands behind his back, as still as a pillar holding up the sky, quietly standing at the very top of the city wall.

His moon-white robes flapped in the violent energy winds, but his body did not sway even a fraction.

His gaze passed through the golden light barrier that was distorting and flickering violently, calmly watching the constantly impacting blood-colored pillar. The mocking sneer at the corner of his mouth did not fade; instead, it grew even more intense.

"Old Dog Blood Underworld, we haven't met for two hundred years, and yet you're left with nothing but these low-life methods built on Mortal flesh and blood?"

Chen Zhiwen's voice was very soft, so soft that even Chen Zhengchu, who was close by, could not hear it clearly.

But in his eyes, as deep as a cold pool, two sharp sword beams suddenly shot out like physical manifestations!

Clang—!

A crisp, high-pitched sword hum soared from within Chen Zhiwen's body, instantly drowning out the wind, rain, and the roar of the explosion outside.

He slowly drew the 'Autumn Water' longsword from his waist.

The moment the blade left its scabbard, the rain within several zhang seemed to be frozen in mid-air by some absolute power, turning into crystal-clear ice beads, which then vanished into nothingness under the agitation of the Sword Qi.

But Chen Zhiwen did not swing his sword at the light pillar.

He merely, with extreme casualness, touched the tip of the 'Autumn Water' sword to the center of the city brick beneath his feet, which was covered in complex Formation patterns.

Buzz—!

A surge of Late Nascent Soul Stage true essence, pure to the extreme and condensed almost into a solid, flowed through the 'Autumn Water' sword like a bursting flood, frantically pouring into the Formation core beneath his feet.

In that instant.

The pale gold light barrier, which had been dented to its limit and looked ready to shatter, suddenly erupted with an extremely brilliant, blinding light!

It wasn't just golden light; within this golden glow was a trace of an extremely eerie gray-white Aura.

"Zhengchu, straighten your knees for me."

Chen Zhiwen did not look back, only coldly spitting out a single sentence. The icy killing intent contained in those words was even more spine-chilling than the Nascent Soul pressure outside.

Chen Zhengchu shuddered violently, as if a bucket of ice water had been poured over his head, and he instantly snapped to his senses. He bit the tip of his tongue, using the sharp pain to forcibly dispel the fear in his heart. He scrambled to his feet, picked up his Flying Sword, and lowered his head in shame.

"This subordinate... this subordinate lost his composure! Please punish me, Grand Elder!"

"Punishment? After this battle is over, go to the Hall of Discipline and receive fifty Bone-Crushing Whip strikes yourself." Chen Zhiwen's tone was flat, his gaze still fixed on the light barrier above. "Did you think the Tianluo Vajra Array I personally laid out was just a turtle shell for passive defense?"

Chen Zhengchu was stunned. He looked up, staring at the light barrier in doubt and surprise.

With the injection of Chen Zhiwen's true essence, the light barrier not only stopped denting but began to pulsate violently at an extremely strange frequency. It was like a giant heart, breathing in and out!

And with every 'breath,' the blood-colored pillar of light striking it began to rapidly melt and dissolve at a visible speed, like snow meeting a raging fire!

"This... what is going on? That is the Blood Sea Nether Cannon! Even if the Formation can block it, how can it possibly devour its power in return?" Chen Zhengchu's eyes widened as if he had seen a ghost.

A cruel arc curled at the corner of Chen Zhiwen's mouth, and his slender fingers lightly flicked the sword hilt.