72: Blood Massacre

Old Dog Xuan Gu’s move to borrow a knife to kill was both vicious and cruel.

As soon as the distress signals from Wangchuan Plain ceased, several light dots representing that area on the Blood Crystal Stele in the Star Palace flickered out with a few pops, so quickly that it sent shivers down people’s spines.

“The Azure Wave Immortal Mansion and the Houtu Sect are finished,” Su Yuan said, his voice dry, staring at the array disk. These two sects weren’t top-tier in strength, but they had good reputations and weren’t involved in Xuan Gu’s mess. They were just gone, without even making a ripple.

The atmosphere in the hall instantly dropped to freezing point. It wasn't the tragic intensity of previously repelling the miscellaneous insect tide, but a colder chill of shared sorrow. Xuan Gu had completely torn off his disguise, openly telling everyone: disobey me, and you’ll be fed to the Asura!

“Master,” Yun Qingyao looked at Lin Xuan, waiting for him to make a decision. Should they rescue? Or defend?

Rescue, but how? Wangchuan Plain wasn’t close, and there was a buffer zone that Xuan Gu had deliberately left open in between, which was surely full of Asura now. Going with too few would be suicide; going with too many, what if their home base was ambushed?

Defend? Watch as those forces that might still side with Bai Li were devoured one by one? And then wait for the Blood Slaughter Legion and Soul Devouring Legion, two Asura trump cards, to be full and well-fed before they laid siege to the city?

Lin Xuan didn’t speak immediately. He walked to the Blood Crystal Stele, looking at the rapidly changing tactical map on it. A dazzling blood-red area representing the Blood Slaughter Legion and a dark, eerie area representing the Soul Devouring Legion were spreading and extending rapidly around the Wangchuan Plain, like drops of ink dissolving in clear water. Wherever they passed, the light dots quickly dimmed and extinguished.

“We can’t save them,” Lin Xuan’s voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable resolve. “Going there now would be walking straight into the Asura’s trap, exactly what Old Dog Xuan Gu wants.”

He pointed his finger in several directions outside the Star Palace: “But we can’t just stand by and watch. Chu Xinghe!”

“Here!” Chu Xinghe immediately responded.

“How many times can those one-time ultra-long-distance teleportation arrays you set up before still be used?”

“The backup array cores in the southwest, due west, and northwest directions can each be activated once more! They can send up to three hundred people! But once they go, they can’t come back! There’s only enough energy for one-way!” Chu Xinghe spoke rapidly.

“That’s enough,” Lin Xuan’s eyes were sharp. “Don’t send combat personnel. Send me eyes and nails!”

He quickly ordered: “Su Yuan, pick thirty of the most agile, best at stealth and reconnaissance disciples from the Netherworld Scout Group. Give them the best recording crystals and communication talismans. Their mission isn’t to fight, it’s to figure out the detailed deployment, marching routes, and attack patterns of the Blood Slaughter Legion and Soul Devouring Legion for me! Send me back the video footage!”

“Then pick seventy of the most fearless, best at disguise and sabotage experts from the Ancient Demon Battle Group and Nirvana Walker!” Lin Xuan looked at Mo Sha and Ye Chen. “Their mission is to embed themselves in those areas not yet affected, but highly likely to be the next targets! They don’t need to engage in direct combat. Instead, they need to plant Chaos Thunder Bombs at critical points, disrupt the terrain, and delay their advance! If there’s an opportunity, they should take out isolated Asura squads or insect transport teams!”

“Remember! Your lives are more important than completing the mission! Bringing back intelligence alive, or blowing up a few more Asura alive, is more useful than becoming just a name in theMerit Book (Merit Register)!” Lin Xuan’s voice was decisive.

“Yes!” Mo Sha and Ye Chen’s eyes flashed with bloodlust and resolve, and they immediately turned to select people.

Soon, three elite teams totaling one hundred people were sent to the war-torn front lines through the hidden teleportation arrays that Chu Xinghe had secretly set up in advance, like scattering beans. They were like a few pebbles thrown into a raging sea; whether they would have an effect, and how much of an effect, no one knew. This was more like a desperate gamble, sacrificing the lives of one hundred of the most elite disciples for a glimmer of hope and valuable intelligence.

After these people were sent off, the atmosphere in the hall became even more oppressive.

“Everyone else!” Lin Xuan’s voice rang out again, carrying a cold killing intent. “Defend our home well! Chu Xinghe, keep the Chaos War Fortress locked onto the southwest direction! Those two trump card legions will definitely come for us in the end!”

“Qing Yao, adjust the priority of the defensive arrays. Focus on defending against soul attacks and blood fiend erosion!” “Linglong, your Demonic Sound Sect, prepare a large interference sound domain to cover the Daoist temple, specifically to counter those wailing Soul Devouring Insects!” “Kong Ming, the Martial Monk Corps’s Merit Golden Wheel linked array, put it at the very front!” “Qing Xuan, disperse the purification teams to various battle array nodes, prioritizing immediate treatment for the wounded!” “Mu Ling Nannan, all ripened spiritual medicines from the spiritual medicine garden that can quickly restore immortal power or stabilize the soul, harvest them all and prepare them!” “Huang Yan, temporary doubling of merit point exchange! All consumable talismans and elixirs are half price! Tell all disciples, now is not the time to be frugal! Only by living can you spend merit points!”

Orders were issued in an orderly fashion, and the war machine of the Star Palace once again operated at high speed, with a tragic and determined resolve.

Lin Xuan himself was not idle. His mind once again returned to the Chaos Thunder Tribulation Pool in his dantian, looking at the rolling thunder inside!

He guided the thunder to rush towards him! The terrifying Chaos Thunder instantly engulfed him! Intense pain swept through his entire body, but he gritted his teeth and endured, frantically absorbing the power of the tribulation liquid to heal the injuries on his right hand, while further refining his newly broken through Mid-stage Heavenly Immortal cultivation, attempting to increase his strength a little more before the great battle.

He knew that what he was about to face might be the toughest battle since the founding of the sect.

Time passed bit by bit in torment.

Bad news kept coming back through those one-time communication talismans. Each time a talisman burned out, it meant a frontline squad might have met with misfortune.

“The Blood Slaughter Legion passed through Chishui City; no one survived.” “Soul Devouring Insect swarms can penetrate ordinary protective immortal light and directly attack the primordial spirit.” “More than one Immortal Lord-level Asura Commander has been discovered.” “They seem to be looking for something.” The information returned was fragmented and bloody.

But it wasn't all bad news. One squad successfully blew up a critical mountain pass, temporarily blocking the path of a Blood Slaughter Legion detachment. Another squad, hidden in the ruins, recorded valuable footage of the Blood Slaughter Legion’s blood fiend array formation during a charge. Even more, several squads teamed up, at great cost, to successfully ambush an isolated Asura transport team, recovering several precious Asura cores containing special fluctuations.

This intelligence, exchanged for lives, was frantically entered into the Heavenly Evolution Array Disk by Su Yuan, and quickly analyzed and processed.

“Master! A discovery!” Su Yuan suddenly shouted. “Combining fragmented information and footage from multiple squads, the actions of the Blood Slaughter Legion and Soul Devouring Legion, while having a general direction, indeed seem to be searching for specific targets or areas! They even bypass some lightly defended small strongholds!”

Lin Xuan’s mind withdrew from his dantian, lightning swirling around him: “Targets? What targets?”

“The specific target cannot be determined. But the energy fluctuation analysis seems to be related to soul power or some special spatial beacon?” Su Yuan was also unsure.

Lin Xuan frowned deeply. Soul power? Spatial beacon? Old Dog Xuan Gu released these two vicious dogs not just to clear the field? There were other motives?

Just then!

Woo-aow!

An extremely sudden, yet incredibly penetrating roar of a young dragon came from the direction of the Spirit Beast Garden! It was Jin Bao’s voice! But that voice was filled with anger, pain, and an indescribable ancient majesty!

Immediately after, the spiritual energy of the entire Star Palace suddenly stagnated, then surged madly towards the Spirit Beast Garden like a hundred rivers returning to the sea!

“What’s going on?!” Lin Xuan’s expression changed, and he instantly vanished from his spot.

The next moment, he appeared in the Spirit Beast Garden. He saw Jin Bao suspended in mid-air, its small body trembling violently, its golden dragon scales actually shattering and falling off in pieces! Blood was dripping! But its golden dragon eyes burned with an unprecedented light, and an ancient, vast, and supremely majestic dragon’s might erupted uncontrollably from its body, triggering a celestial phenomenon!

“Jin Bao!” Lin Xuan was startled and was about to step forward.

“Don’t touch him!” A clear, anxious voice rang out. It was Bai Li! She stood not far away, supported by Qing Xuan, her face still pale, but her eyes were extremely solemn. “His Five-Clawed Golden Dragon bloodline is forcefully awakening! But the time is not yet ripe! His body and soul simply cannot withstand this power!”

“Then what do we do?” Lin Xuan was anxious. Jin Bao’s state looked like he was about to explode from his rapidly increasing power!

Bai Li quickly said: “He needs pure and strong energy to guide and protect him! Preferably true dragon energy or high-grade energy of the same origin to stabilize his rampant bloodline! Otherwise, he will surely die!”

True dragon energy? Where was he going to find a second Five-Clawed Golden Dragon?!

Just as Lin Xuan was burning with anxiety—

Chirp~!

A clear chirp, with a hint of laziness and curiosity, sounded from his embrace.

The Little Blue Bird, which had been sleeping, had woken up at some point, crawled out of the spirit beast pouch, flapped its wings, tilted its small head, and curiously looked at Jin Bao struggling in pain in the air.

In its black, gem-like eyes, a trace of extremely human-like confusion flashed? Then a kind of closeness, as if seeing a kindred spirit?

The next moment, to everyone’s astonishment, the Little Blue Bird flapped its wings, flew to the top of Jin Bao’s head, and then opened its tiny beak.

A pure, vast, light blue stream of air, carrying an ancient primordial aura, slowly exhaled from its mouth like a gentle spring, softly enveloping Jin Bao.

Jin Bao’s violent trembling instantly subsided significantly, the shattering dragon scales stopped falling, and the painful roar turned into a low whimper. The rampant dragon’s might, under the soothing and guiding of this light blue stream of air, actually began to slowly become orderly, gradually re-integrating into his body!

Immortal Kun energy! Although its current form was smaller and its power was a mere fraction of what it once was, its life essence was of an extremely high grade! It was just enough to barely soothe Jin Bao’s rampaging bloodline!

Lin Xuan breathed a sigh of relief, looking at the Little Blue Bird, which was perched on Jin Bao’s head, continuously exhaling light blue air, and visibly becoming somewhat listless itself. His heart was complicated.

These two little ones... However, before he could fully relax!

Boom!

Outside the Star Palace, the sky in the southwest direction was suddenly dyed an endless dark red! Like a blood sea rolling back! A thick, nauseating blood fiend aura, mixed with monstrous killing intent, like a tangible tsunami, violently slammed against the Star Palace’s protective grand array!

The entire Star Palace shook violently! The array’s light curtain flickered wildly, emitting groans of unbearable strain!

Immediately after, the sky on the other side suddenly darkened, and countless translucent, distorted shadowy figures appeared like ghosts, emitting silent shrieks! This shriek directly affected the soul, and countless disciples with slightly lower cultivation instantly clutched their heads and screamed in agony, bleeding from their seven orifices!

The Blood Slaughter Legion! The Soul Devouring Legion!

They had come! Faster than expected! And fiercer!

The final decisive battle erupted suddenly!