143: The palm strikes the heart meridian and the mark backfires

The moment the blood-colored palm struck his chest, Liu Shan thought he would be instantly turned to dust like the rocks hit by the blood hand before.

But the expected agony did not arrive.

The instant the palm touched his chest, a strange suction came from the blood hand; surprisingly, it wasn't trying to destroy him, but was instead frantically pulling at the remaining New Power in his body, as well as... the Three-colored Imprint on his forehead!

"Ugh..."

He felt as if his heart were being squeezed by an invisible hand. His New Power flowed backward through his blood vessels, rushing toward his forehead and colliding with that dim imprint. The Three-colored Imprint trembled violently, as if it were about to be torn from his body by this suction. The pain caused his whole body to spasm, and cold sweat instantly soaked his clothes.

The patterns on the blood-colored palm suddenly lit up, and those painfully struggling faces all turned toward Liu Shan, letting out greedy roars, clearly extremely desperate for the imprint within him.

"It's the Xu Seal... what the Blood Master wants is the Xu Seal!" This thought flashed through Liu Shan's mind before being submerged by even more intense pain.

He could feel that the Void Imprint Power left in his body by the White-Robed Figure was being forcibly stripped away by the blood hand. That cold and domineering power belonging to the White-Robed Figure now seemed like a startled rabbit, shivering under the suction of the blood hand and constantly shrinking, trying to hide deep within his Divine Soul.

Meanwhile, the New Power he had condensed himself and the Lingmai Power of Luoxia Valley were resisting with all their might, like a layer of tough armor, firmly protecting the imprint on his forehead and refusing to let the blood hand take it.

The three forces collided wildly within him, and a tearing pain came from his heart meridian. Liu Shan's consciousness repeatedly wavered between clarity and fainting, as images of Luoxia Valley's Spirit Fields, Chenyuan Lake's Soul Locking Chain, and the Bone Throne within the Blood Gate Rift flashed before his eyes... "Liu Shan!"

Lin Qingxue's voice pierced through the fog of pain with heart-wrenching anxiety. Liu Shan struggled to move his eyes and saw that she had broken free from the Shadow Eaters' entanglement. She had picked up her soft sword at some point and was rushing toward him with all her strength, her body covered in several more wounds, her white dress nearly soaked in blood.

The White-Robed Figure moved as well. He didn't go to stop Lin Qingxue but instead turned into a streak of golden light and flew toward the Blood Gate Rift, clearly intending to take advantage of the blood hand being occupied by Liu Shan to charge into the rift and find a chance to approach the Blood Master!

"Don't even think about it!" The Shadow Eater King in the forest let out an angry roar. A thick shadow, like a whip, lashed out fiercely at the White-Robed Figure, blocking his path.

The canyon fell into a chaotic battle once again, but this time, everyone's eyes—intentionally or not—glanced toward the confrontation between Liu Shan and the blood-colored palm. This had become the key to determining the course of the battle.

Inside Liu Shan's body, the battle reached a fever pitch.

The Void Imprint Power retreated step by step under the blood hand's pull, and the defensive line formed by the Lingmai Power and New Power was also teetering. The Three-colored Imprint on his forehead grew dimmer and dimmer, as if it would completely dissipate at any moment.

Just then, a sudden change occurred.

Within the imprint, the black light belonging to the Shadow Eaters suddenly flared up!

This black light produced a strange resonance with the blood hand's suction, but it wasn't out of compliance; rather, it was... a backlash!

Countless tiny Shadow Eater Patterns surged from the imprint, following the blood hand's suction and flowing back into the blood-colored palm! These Shadow Eater Patterns were even more eerie and domineering than the patterns on the blood hand. Wherever they passed, the blood-colored patterns actually began to wither and dissipate at a visible rate!

"What?!" The Blood Master's voice, filled with shock and fury, came from the Blood Gate Rift. He clearly hadn't expected Liu Shan's imprint to hide the power of the Shadow Eaters, nor that it could backlash against him!

The blood-colored palm trembled violently, and the force gripping Liu Shan's chest instantly weakened. The blood-colored patterns on it faded at an incredible speed, revealing the pale, bone-like palm beneath.

Liu Shan's consciousness cleared slightly. He could feel that the backlashing Shadow Eater power wasn't under his control but originated from the Shadow Eater Origin at the bottom of Chenyuan Lake, from the will of the Shadow Eater King!

The Shadow Eater King didn't want to help him; it just didn't want the Blood Master to obtain the Xu Seal! It was using him to strike at the Blood Master!

Understanding this, Liu Shan actually calmed down. He no longer tried to resist the blood hand's suction but instead followed it, pushing the Lingmai Power and New Power within him toward the blood-colored palm as well!

The blue-gold light and the black Shadow Eater Patterns intertwined, forming a black-and-white torrent that surged frantically into the blood-colored palm along the suction, even spreading toward the Blood Gate Rift!

"No—!" The Blood Master's roar was full of terror. "How dare you..."

The blood-colored palm began to crumble at a visible rate, its pale bones shattering inch by inch into ash. The blue-gold and black torrent that had surged into the palm actually followed the connection between the blood hand and the rift, rushing deep into the Blood Gate!

In the canyon, everyone was stunned by this sudden turn of events.

The White-Robed Figure stopped his rush toward the rift, staring dumbfounded as the blood-colored palm crumbled, his black eyes filled with disbelief.

A hint of astonishment flashed in the Shadow Eater King's crimson eyes, which then turned into wild joy. It clearly hadn't expected such a result either.

Lin Qingxue rushed to Liu Shan's side but didn't immediately support him. She just stared blankly at the black-and-white torrent rushing into the rift, sensing the familiar yet strange power contained within it.

Liu Shan lay on the ground. The pressure on his chest had completely vanished, replaced by a deep-seated weakness that reached his very marrow. He could feel that the power in his body was almost entirely drained. The Three-colored Imprint on his forehead had completely gone out, leaving not even a glimmer.

But a smile couldn't help but tug at the corner of his mouth.

He had done it.

Neither the Blood Master, the Shadow Eater King, nor the White-Robed Figure had gotten what they wanted.

The Blood Master's furious roar echoed from the Blood Gate Rift, and the entire canyon shook violently. The rift began to contract sharply, as the Blood Master was clearly doing his best to block the erosion of that black-and-white torrent.

The blood-colored palm completely dissipated, leaving only a faint scent of blood to prove it had once existed.

The White-Robed Figure watched the rapidly shrinking rift, a look of struggle flashing across his face. Finally, he gritted his teeth and turned to fly toward the forest, clearly giving up on his plan to enter the rift.

The Shadow Eater King let out an unwilling roar and led the tide of Shadow Eaters back into the depths of the forest, though its crimson gaze remained fixed on Liu Shan, filled with complex and inscrutable meaning.

The canyon finally returned to peace.

Only a mess remained on the ground, along with the two heavily injured people by the cliff.

Lin Qingxue finally snapped out of it and hurriedly knelt down to carefully help Liu Shan up, her voice filled with lingering fear and relief: "Are... are you okay?"

Liu Shan shook his head. He wanted to speak but suddenly began to cough violently. The blood he coughed up was mixed with a faint black mist—the residual power from the Shadow Eater backlash.

His vision began to blur, his body felt heavier and heavier, and his eyelids were as heavy as lead.

Before completely losing consciousness, he felt Lin Qingxue hold him tightly in her arms. Her embrace was warm and carried the fresh scent of the Spiritual Vein, allowing his tense nerves to finally relax completely.

He heard her whisper in his ear, "Don't be afraid, I'm taking you home."

Home... yes, it was time to go home.

A reassured smile appeared on Liu Shan's lips as he sank completely into darkness.

And at the moment he lost consciousness, deep within the completely extinguished Three-colored Imprint on his forehead, a tiny, faint light intertwined with blue, gold, and black quietly lit up like a seed, then quickly faded away as if it had never appeared.

The Blood Gate Rift had completely closed, leaving only an empty stone gate standing at the bottom of the Blood-colored Canyon, emitting a faint scent of blood.

No one noticed that the orientation of a few characters in the Blood-patterned Runes on the stone gate had quietly changed.

It seemed like a new beginning, yet also like a deeper curse.