133: Blood Sky and Void Soul

Ripples spread across Xiao Zhuo’s body, formed from his soul infant, as if sensing a gaze that transcended the river of time.

Yet, his heart was exceptionally calm.

He had a feeling that as long as he ascended the Sacred Soul Pagoda, he might uncover some true secrets.

Without hesitation, Xiao Zhuo’s figure, trailing faint electric light, transformed into a streak of light and shot straight into the sky.

In the blink of an eye, his soul infant body had already pierced through the clouds, but even amidst the layered clouds, the top of the Sacred Soul Pagoda remained out of sight.

When his figure continued to rise ten thousand zhang higher, a semi-transparent crystal platform, constructed from suspended crystal, came into view, its area dozens of times larger than the pagoda itself.

In the center of the platform stood an abrupt octagonal jade pavilion.

A white-robed old man with a silver beard reaching the ground was holding a chess piece suspended above the chessboard, while the empty jade seat opposite him was covered in years of dust.

The black and white cloud pieces shimmered with starlight under the heavenly light, as if the Milky Way had been imprinted there.

As Xiao Zhuo’s toes barely touched the crystal surface, the old man’s branch-like fingers suddenly froze in mid-air.

"He has come after all." Amidst the crisp sound of a chess piece tapping the jade board, the old man shook his sleeve and slowly walked towards Xiao Zhuo’s direction.

Xiao Zhuo’s back instantly tensed. Although his Divine Sense was empty, his naked eyes could clearly see the Void Realm lotus flowers blooming beneath the old man’s feet with each step he took.

The aura of transcending the Heavenly Dao made his mind tremble.

This was an existence far beyond Xiao Zhuo’s comprehension.

In fact, at this moment, Xiao Zhuo felt that the other party had probably already sensed his arrival.

However, although the old man’s figure was walking towards Xiao Zhuo, he once again passed through Xiao Zhuo’s body.

Xiao Zhuo’s gaze followed the old man, and as the old man walked to the edge of the platform, a muffled thunder-like roar suddenly came from the sky.

At first, it was just a subtle tremor, but in an instant, it turned into a ear-splitting shriek.

The clouds were torn into shreds by the violent wind pressure, and a blood-red giant palm, covering the sky and sun, appeared from the Void Realm, with magma-like crimson veins surging within its palm lines.

If this palm were to fall, it was feared that the entire mountain range would be reduced to dust.

"Blood Heaven, must you really be so ruthless?" Before the old man’s sigh faded, the Sacred Soul Pagoda suddenly burst forth with ten thousand zhang of golden light.

A burly giant, emerging from the divine light, glowed with a liquid gold-like luster, and golden soul mist steamed from his muscles.

Xiao Zhuo watched, dumbfounded. This giant was clearly a soul infant, but this was obviously a soul infant that had reached a terrifying Realm.

The golden-armored giant punched towards the sky-covering palm print.

His hundred-thousand-zhang body was like a child before the blood-red giant palm, but the moment the fist and palm collided, golden Soul Burning Golden Flame spread like a maggot on a bone along the blood-red patterns.

Heaven and earth roared.

Crimson and gilded light waterfalls exploded in mid-air, turning into a sky full of falling meteors.

"Blood Heaven! Even if you have one foot in that Realm, it’s too presumptuous to think you can destroy my Sacred Soul Sect with a single palm!" The old man said indifferently, walking step by step on blooming lotuses towards mid-air.

This process seemed slow but was actually fast; almost in the blink of an eye, the old man had already reached the golden giant’s shoulder, and when his toes lightly touched the giant’s shoulder armor, the entire firmament trembled.

Spiderweb-like cracks spread wildly across the surface of the blood-red giant palm, eventually disintegrating into a sky full of blood crystals.

After smashing the giant palm, the golden-yellow giant’s body once again surged, and at the same time, he flew towards a higher altitude.

During the flight, a purple spirit pearl leaped from his glabella, transforming into a ferocious battle armor covered in barbs.

The moment the purple light covered his entire body, the giant had already transformed into a Nine Nether Demon God.

Xiao Zhuo, closely following the old man as he flew high into the sky, naturally witnessed this scene.

The moment that purple orb appeared, Xiao Zhuo’s eyes flashed, and he looked at the Soul Suppressing Pearl floating beside him.

This pearl was obtained by Xiao Zhuo from Zi Ji’s Sea of Consciousness.

The System rated it as Earth-Grade High Grade, and it was initially identical to the purple pearl that had just emerged from the giant’s body.

Only after he refined it did it turn purplish-gold.

It seemed the Soul Suppressing Pearl was originally an item of the Sacred Soul Sect, and it was even something refined by this old man, who clearly possessed immense power.

As the purple-armored giant continued to fly upwards, a blood-red floating battle city appeared from within the clouds.

On the stargazing platform at the highest point of the battle city, a Blood-Robed Figure stood unmoving, his face indifferent.

Seeing the old man fly over, the figure slowly faded, instantly reappearing in front of the giant.

The two powerful figures stood opposite each other across the Void Realm.

"Void Soul, old man, are you coming up to die yourself?" The Blood-Robed Figure spoke indifferently, his tone filled with dominance and confidence.

"Blood Heaven, my Sacred Soul Sect and your Blood Palace have stood side by side in the Xuanling Realm for thirty thousand years. Do you truly want to push things to the absolute limit?" The white-bearded old man, Void Soul, sighed faintly, asking again.

"My ambition is to unify the Xuanling Realm and elevate the entire Xuanling Realm into a Major Thousand Worlds under my leadership. Since your Sacred Soul Sect is unwilling to submit, then there is only death!" Blood Heaven’s voice remained indifferent, as if annihilating a super Sect was not worth mentioning to him.

The old man already understood the other party’s intentions, and a hint of determination flashed in his eyes, "Then let’s fight!"

The seals in his hands changed, and purple-gold flames surged in the purple-armored giant’s eyes. With a grab of his large hand, a ten-thousand-zhang long blade instantly appeared, and with a single strike, it was as if the sky was falling, directly descending towards the Blood-Robed Figure.

Blood Heaven didn’t even raise his eyes. He brought his two fingers together and slashed at the enormous blade shadow that was powerfully descending, carrying the momentum of heaven and earth.

A flash of blood light in the Void Realm, and the ten-thousand-zhang long blade broke in half.

This blow grazed Blood Heaven’s figure, and the violent Qi waves it stirred up blew away all the clouds for a hundred miles.

Seeing this, the old man’s body merged into the giant’s body, and the purple-armored giant’s body rapidly shrunk, becoming only about seven zhang tall.

He clasped his hands, and two purple long blades burning with golden flames reappeared in his hands. His figure flashed as he charged towards Blood Heaven.

Xiao Zhuo, watching the battle from the Void Realm, had now completely confirmed that this Sacred Soul Sect must be the Sect to which the True Explanation of Soul Refining belonged.

The golden flames on those two long blades were precisely the Soul Burning Golden Flame that he was extremely familiar with.

It was likely that this purple-armored giant was the soul infant of the old man Void Soul.

As the golden flames appeared on the twin blades, a hint of seriousness finally appeared in Blood Heaven’s eyes.

He flipped his palm, and a slender crimson longsword appeared in his hand.

With a flick of the longsword, he parried an incoming golden flame long blade.

Just enduring this strike made even a powerhouse like Blood Heaven involuntarily take half a step back.

The two then transformed into two streaks of light, fiercely battling in mid-air. Each collision could tear a hole in space.

Occasionally, scattered attacks falling tens of thousands of zhang to the ground could cause immense destruction.

Within the Sacred Soul Sect, whose barrier/boundary had long been activated, it was also not peaceful at this moment.

In the main hall of the Sect, two groups of people were in a standoff.

Xiao Zhuo, however, only focused on the battle in the sky, constantly observing through his Heaven-Observing Divine Eye.

But the speed of the two was simply too fast; even with the dynamic vision enhanced by the Heaven-Observing Divine Eye, Xiao Zhuo still couldn’t keep up with their figures.

He could only observe the circulating Dao rhythm around them during the moments of their clashes.

The Soul Burning Golden Flame had already spread from the twin blades to the entire purple-armored giant’s body.

Blood Heaven also transformed into his Three Heads and Six Arms blood-red Dharma Idol form, wielding six divine weapons, during the battle.

The great battle between the two lasted for nearly two hours.

By the end, the purple-armored giant had become semi-transparent.

After another clash, the purple-armored giant completely exploded, and a purple pearl flew out, landing in a spatial crack.

Void Soul, the old man, gasped for breath, spitting blood as he flew backward, his face extremely pale and his body covered in sweat.

At a glance, he appeared to be barely standing.

"Sacred Soul Sect, the Soul Burning Sacred Method is indeed extraordinary; it can make an old fellow like you erupt with battle power almost equivalent to a half-step True Immortal." Blood Heaven retracted his gaze, a hint of regret in his eyes. "It’s just a pity, old fellow, that you are too old! Even your soul infant is on the verge of decay, completely unable to sustain the consumption of this secret method."

"You… condensed a Small World?" Void Soul coughed up blood clots with golden light, and though it was a question, his tone was already certain.