281: Chapter 281 Blood Fiend Crystal

Dragon Slaying Abyss, the most dangerous Forbidden Ground in Zhelong Hill, is a desperate place where, according to legend, the Evil Qi of an ancient Evil Dragon condensed, burying countless powerful experts, and even Cultivators of the Sea Transformation Realm would never return once they entered.

"Splash!"

Cold, viscous, dark red liquid instantly submerged Ye Tian.

The immense impact caused his already severely injured body to suffer further heavy damage; a mouthful of metallic-tasting liquid surged into his throat, choking him until he nearly suffocated.

He struggled with all his might, using both hands and feet, desperately paddling upward.

After a few breaths, he finally broke through the surface of the liquid.

"Cough, cough… Ugh…"

Ye Tian coughed violently and vomited heavily, spitting out nothing but the dark red, viscous liquid.

He looked around, and a chill grew even deeper in his heart.

This was a huge, nearly enclosed underground lake, or rather, a blood pool.

The lake water was dark red, viscous like paste, and emitted a nauseating stench.

The lake surface was vast, and the light was dim; only from the crevices in the extremely high rock walls above did a faint glimmer of bioluminescent moss shine through, barely illuminating the outline of the surrounding rock walls.

The air was filled with deathly silence and Evil Qi, far more concentrated than the malevolent Qi of the outside Zhelong Hill by a hundred times!

Moreover, this Evil Qi was omnipresent, attempting to bore into Ye Tian's skin, mouth, nose, and even his Soul, bringing with it a crazed consciousness that craved destruction, slaughter, and self-annihilation.

"Little Dragon… Little Dragon!"

Ye Tian's heart tightened, and he hurriedly looked around.

He saw that not far away, the Dragon Ape's massive body was slowly sinking; its eyes were tightly shut, its aura was weak to the extreme, its left claw was twisted and deformed, the blood-colored flame mark on its right claw had dimmed, and the huge wound on its back was soaking in the blood water, being continuously eroded by the Evil Qi contained within.

Clearly, having taken that strike from Qiu Qianchuan head-on and then having endured the tearing force of spatial teleportation, it was on the verge of death.

"Hold on!"

Ye Tian was anxious, forcing himself to endure the intense pain, and swam with all his might toward the Dragon Ape.

He grabbed one of the Dragon Ape's claws and desperately dragged it toward the shore.

The Dragon Ape's body was exceptionally heavy, and coupled with the immense resistance of the viscous blood water, Ye Tian used up almost all his remaining strength before he barely managed to drag it onto the nearest black reef.

After settling the Dragon Ape, Ye Tian was exhausted and collapsed onto the reef, gasping for air.

He hurriedly checked the Dragon Ape's injuries, his heart becoming increasingly heavy.

Its external wounds were shocking, and its internal injuries were even more severe; its demon power was almost exhausted.

What was even more fatal was that the Evil Qi in the blood water was accelerating the erosion of its demon Soul and Physical Body, and the Killing Sword Fiend sealed in its right claw seemed to have become unstable due to its master's weakness, with the two showing a trend of escalating conflict.

If not treated in time, the Dragon Ape probably would not last a day.

Ye Tian himself was no better off.

Although he had reached the True Martial Eighth Stage, after successive fierce battles, severe injuries, and teleportation, his Realm was currently unstable, and his True Qi was less than twenty percent.

Although his external wounds had healed quite a bit under the power of the ancient sword pill, his internal organs still ached, and his Meridians were also painful from forcibly enduring the impact of the ancient sword energy and Evil Qi.

What was even more fatal was that the Evil Qi in this blood lake was also constantly eroding him.

If not for the chaos bead sitting in his Sea of Consciousness, which purified a portion of the invading Evil Qi, and the fact that he Cultivated the Illusory Sea Heart Sutra, he would likely have already lost his sanity to the erosion of the Evil Qi.

"I must leave this blood lake as soon as possible and find a relatively safe place to heal."

Ye Tian looked up and around, trying to find a way out.

This underground space was extremely vast, and he could vaguely see what appeared to be collapsed architectural ruins on the opposite shore of the blood lake.

On the surface of the lake, things resembling fish bones or beast bones occasionally floated with the blood water.

In the air, besides the Evil Qi, there was also a residual Dragon Might that was heart-palpitating; although thin, it carried a tyrannical nature.

"This place should be one of the core areas of the 'Dragon Slaying Abyss'."

The legendary place where the Evil Qi of the ancient Evil Dragon condensed was truly worthy of its reputation.

This blood lake was likely a desperate place formed by the mixture of the ancient Dragon's essence blood and Evil Qi after its fall, accumulating over many years.

No wonder Qiu Qianchuan said that entering here would only lead to a more miserable death.

Just at this moment, the ancient sword pill in his Dantian, as well as the fragments he had stored in his embrace, simultaneously emitted a scorching heat!

This time, it was not guiding him in a direction, but sensing energy of the same origin!

Ye Tian followed the sensation and looked over, his gaze falling on the shallow beach on the nearby shore.

There, some dark red, irregular, translucent stones were piled up.

Inside the stones, dark red Qi currents were slowly flowing, emitting violent Evil Qi energy, and at the same time, they were mixed with Sword Intent of the same origin as the ancient sword pill and the fragments!

"This is… blood fiend crystal that contains Evil Qi and residual Sword Intent?"

Ye Tian's heart stirred.

This might be a mineral formed under the unique environment of this place, which not only contained dense Evil Qi but might also have sealed a trace of Sword Intent left behind from an ancient battle.

Moreover, the energy fluctuations emitted by these crystals actually gave the feeling of suppressing the Evil Qi dissipating in the surroundings?

Could it be… that the blood fiend crystal itself is a product of some kind of balance or Seal?

He hesitated for a moment, but looking at the Dragon Ape beside him whose aura was becoming weaker and weaker, and then looking at his own terrible state, he knew that if he did not take a risk, the two of them would likely really die here.

Ye Tian endured the bloody stench and carefully waded through the water to approach the shallow beach.

He came to a blood fiend crystal with the dullest luster and first probed it with a wisp of Divine Sense.

The moment his Divine Sense made contact, a burst of Evil Qi consciousness filled with the desire to kill rushed into his mind.

At the same time, a trace of an ancient Sword Intent fragment also emerged, struggling against that Evil Qi.

"As expected! Inside this crystal, Evil Qi and Sword Intent coexist! If I can strip away or refine the pure Evil Qi energy within, I might be able to quickly recover my True Qi, and even strengthen my Physical Body!"

"And that trace of Sword Intent fragment might contain ancient information or insights into the Dao of the sword!"

Ye Tian made a plan in his heart and attempted to absorb a trace of energy from the blood fiend crystal.

He dared not absorb too much Evil Qi; his main goal was to strip away the energy core and avoid the killing intent.

A trace of dark red energy flowed slowly into his body along the Meridians of his arm.

This energy was incomparably violent, like countless fine needles pricking and piercing within his Meridians, but the life essence and tempering power contained within it were also very pure.

Ye Tian guided this energy, using a portion to nourish and repair his damaged Meridians and internal organs, while guiding the majority to wash over and temper his Physical Body!

"Ah…"

Ye Tian could not help but let out a cry of pain.

His muscles twitched violently, blue veins bulged on the surface of his skin, and beads of blood seeped out from his pores.

This process was extremely painful, but he could feel that his Physical Body was becoming stronger under the tempering of this violent energy!

The Perfection Realm of the sixth layer of the Dragon Elephant Art began to loosen!

At the same time, that trace of weak Sword Intent fragment was also captured by him and merged into his own insights into the Dao of the sword.

Although the information was fragmented, he vaguely captured a few images.

A solitary, proud ancient sword, a resolute back figure, slashing toward a boundless sea of blood and a Dragon shadow… and two blurred characters "Gu… Hong"?

He did not have time to think too much and continued to absorb and refine.

After about the time it takes to burn an incense stick, the light of the blood fiend crystal in his hand dimmed, turning into a dusty, ordinary stone.

And within his body, his True Qi had recovered by about thirty or forty percent, his injuries had further improved, and the strength of his Physical Body had obviously increased!

Ye Tian's heart was stirred.

But he dared not absorb too much, fearing that the accumulation of Evil Qi would affect his mind.

He immediately picked up a blood fiend crystal of better quality and returned to the Dragon Ape's side.

"Little Dragon, the energy in this crystal is very violent, but it seems to be able to quickly replenish consumption, and might be able to help you stabilize your injuries.

However, the Evil Qi within is extremely heavy, and the Sword Intent sealed in your right claw might be affected.

Do you want to try?"

Ye Tian placed the blood fiend crystal by the Dragon Ape's mouth, while simultaneously transmitting his own feelings from just now through their mental connection.

The Dragon Ape's eyelids trembled slightly, and it weakly opened a slit; its golden pupils were dim and lusterless.

It looked at the crystal emitting a dark red light, then looked at Ye Tian's exhausted face, let out a whimper in its throat, and nodded with difficulty.

It knew its own situation; if it did not replenish energy, it would probably really die.

As for the conflict between the Evil Qi and the Sword Intent… it could only gamble.

Ye Tian carefully stripped away a trace of energy and channeled it into the Dragon Ape's mouth.

The Dragon Ape's body shuddered violently, and it let out a painful low roar; the pale golden fur all over its body stood up.

The demon power remaining in its body instinctively resisted this incoming violent energy.

The dim blood-colored mark on its right claw also flickered slightly because of the stimulation of this energy, which also belonged to "Evil", and seemed to become even more unstable.

"Hold on! Refine it!"

Ye Tian observed nervously, while simultaneously channeling a wisp of clear radiance from the chaos bead toward the Dragon Ape, helping it stabilize its mind and purify a portion of the chaotic Evil intent that had invaded.

The Dragon Ape's body trembled violently, dark red Qi currents surged under its skin, and more dark red liquid seeped out of both new and old wounds.

This process lasted for about half the time it takes to burn an incense stick before the Dragon Ape's trembling gradually subsided.

Although its aura was still weak, it was a bit better than the previous near-death state, at least it was no longer continuing to deteriorate.

It barely opened its eyes, blinked at Ye Tian, and transmitted a thought of "temporarily stabilized".

Ye Tian breathed a sigh of relief.

It seems that this blood fiend crystal is indeed effective, but the risk is extremely high, especially for one like the Dragon Ape that already has a "Sword Intent" within its body.

"It seems that I need to find a safer place to slowly use these blood fiend crystals to heal and recover, while also finding a way to resolve the influence of the Evil Qi, and explore the secret of that Sword Intent fragment."

Ye Tian stood up and looked toward the vague ruins on the opposite shore of the blood lake.

There, he might be able to find clues about "Gu Hong", and perhaps there is a way to leave this Dragon Slaying Abyss.

More importantly, staying away from this blood lake might reduce the erosion of the Evil Qi.

He did not delay any longer, picked up the severely injured and weak Dragon Ape, which had shrunk a bit in size, held the liuguang sword, carefully waded through the viscous blood water, and walked toward the unknown ruins on the opposite shore.