531: Sacrifice to the death

Murong Gu hovered in the air, his body shrouded in golden light; although his Aura was still somewhat chaotic, it was much steadier than before.

He looked down at the flowing cloud sword in his hand; the dragon's roar from the blade gradually subsided, yet it still emitted a gentle and powerful radiance.

He could clearly feel that his connection with the flowing cloud sword had become much closer, and the power of the Golden Scale Art flowed within his body; with every circulation, he could mobilize more energy.

"Nothing is impossible," Murong Gu stared coldly at Zhao Yao. "You slaughtered the innocent and imprisoned departed souls; today will be the day you die!"

He gripped the flowing cloud sword with both hands, the golden light surged again, and the phantom of the Golden Scaled Dragon became increasingly solid as it charged toward Zhao Yao once more.

A trace of fear flashed in Zhao Yao's eyes, but he braced himself and met the attack head-on, waving his hands to unleash Blood Claws over ten meters long, sending waves of black Blood Claw Qi crashing toward the Golden Scaled Dragon phantom.

But at this moment, Murong Gu's combat power was no longer what it used to be; the power of the Nine Heavens Golden Scale Slash far exceeded Zhao Yao's expectations, and wherever the golden Golden Scaled Dragon phantom passed, the black Blood Claw Qi waves disintegrated.

"Puchi!" The Golden Scaled Dragon phantom bit down on Zhao Yao's Blood Claws, and the golden power exploded instantly; Zhao Yao let out a shrill scream as his ten-meter-long Blood Claws were snapped off, and blood spurted out.

Trembling in pain, the madness in his eyes was replaced by fear, and he turned to flee—he knew that he was no longer Murong Gu's match, and if he stayed, he would certainly die without a burial place.

"Want to run?" Murong Gu's figure instantly caught up to Zhao Yao, utilizing the speed of the Azure Origin Art, and he swung the flowing cloud sword, sending golden Sword Qi slashing toward Zhao Yao's back.

Zhao Yao hurriedly circulated his evil power to protect his back, but he was still struck by the Sword Qi; his body staggered and fell to the ground, a wound deep enough to see bone exploded on his back, and his evil power became instantly chaotic.

Murong Gu walked forward slowly, pressing the flowing cloud sword against the back of Zhao Yao's neck with cold eyes: "Zhao Yao, you have acted as an accomplice to evil, slaughtering hundreds of innocents in Chen Family Village; today, I shall act on behalf of Heaven and end your life."

Zhao Yao lay on the ground, covered in blood, his Aura weak, his eyes full of despair and pleading: "Little brother, spare me! I know I was wrong! I am willing to tell you all the secrets of the Black Wind Stockade and help you deal with the Stockade Leader; please, spare my life!"

At this moment, he no longer had his previous arrogance and only wanted to save his own life.

Murong Gu's eyes remained calm, and he applied slight force to his hand, preparing to strike down with the golden Sword Qi.

Either way, it's death!

Might as well fight to the death!

Rather than being killed by this brat and implicating his entire clan, he might as well take a gamble!

Zhao Yao suddenly bit the tip of his tongue, spraying out a mouthful of scalding essence blood, and began silently chanting the forbidden sacrificial secret technique of the Black Wind Stockade.

"With my body as the vessel for the Blood Pearl; with my Divine Soul as the guide for the blood sacrifice! blood god pearl, condense!"

His voice was hoarse and shrill, filled with the determination of burning his bridges, and the remaining evil power in his body surged wildly, converging toward the Blood Pearl in the center of the Blood Pool.

The atmosphere in the cave changed instantly, the blood in the Blood Pool churned violently, and under the traction of Zhao Yao's essence blood and secret technique, the Blood Pearl suddenly erupted with a dazzling dark red light; the cracks previously caused by Murong Gu healed rapidly, and the evil power it emitted far exceeded its Peak Stage.

Countless black threads extended from the Blood Pearl, like greedy tentacles, winding directly toward Zhao Yao's body, piercing his skin and flesh, and drilling into his Meridians and Dantian.

"Ah—!" Zhao Yao let out a heart-wrenching scream, his body convulsing violently, his bones making "crackling" sounds, his muscles swelling frantically, his originally aged face becoming distorted and hideous, and dark red energy wandering wildly under his skin, as if countless insects were crawling beneath it.

His Aura soared at a speed visible to the naked eye, steadily breaking through from the Late Stage Nascent Soul, crossing the Peak Nascent Soul, and finally settling at a Realm comparable to the Early Spirit Transformation Stage; the evil power around him was as heavy as a mountain, shrouding the entire cave under an oppressive pressure.

But the price of this power was the complete loss of his self.

Zhao Yao's eyes were covered in pitch black, his original consciousness swallowed by the resentment in the Blood Pearl and the rules of the blood sacrifice, leaving only a cold killing instinct and an obsession with the blood sacrifice ritual.

He stood up slowly, his limbs stiff but carrying an Aura capable of destroying the heavens and the earth; the wound on his neck healed rapidly, and the blood on his body was dried by the evil power, turning into black lines that wrapped around the surface of his body, like the control talismans of a Puppet.

"Haha... Hahahaha!" Zhao Yao let out a crazed laugh, his voice hoarse and strange, mixed with the malice of the Blood Pearl and his remaining madness. "Brat, you are dead! I have sacrificed myself, the Blood Pearl has fully condensed, and now I am comparable to the Early Spirit Transformation Stage; let's see how you can block me now!"

He raised his hand abruptly, and the previously broken Blood Claws grew again, becoming several times thicker than before, with nails gleaming in pitch-black cold light, carrying the pressure of a Soul Transformation level, and he clawed fiercely at Murong Gu.

Murong Gu's heart tightened, and he hurriedly dodged to the side; the Blood Claws grazed his shoulder, gouging five furrows several feet deep into the rock wall behind him, sending stone fragments flying.

The power of the Soul Transformation was indeed terrifying; even in a Puppet state, Zhao Yao's attack speed and power far exceeded before. Although Murong Gu had the support of the Golden Scale Art, he could only barely dodge and could not confront him head-on at all.

"It seems I have no choice but to fight with everything I've got!"

Murong Gu's eyes were focused, and no longer hesitating, he gripped the flowing cloud sword with both hands, pouring all the power of the second layer of the Golden Scale Art into it.

The sword body emitted a deafening dragon roar again, the golden light surged, and a Golden Scaled Dragon phantom, more solid than before, emerged from the sword body; the dragon scales were clearly visible, and it was surrounded by Confucian Hao Ran Righteous Qi, sacred and domineering, forming an extreme contrast with the evil power around Zhao Yao.

As soon as the Golden Scaled Dragon phantom appeared, the Blood Pearl inside Zhao Yao's body suddenly became restless, emitting an Aura of intense fear.

The originally crazed Zhao Yao's movements suddenly stiffened, his body shaking uncontrollably; the Blood Pearl was actually afraid of the Golden Scaled Dragon.

Before Murong Gu could urge the Golden Scaled Dragon to launch an attack, the Blood Pearl completely went berserk, the dark red energy crashing wildly inside Zhao Yao's body, attempting to break free from the deterrent Aura of the Golden Scaled Dragon.

Zhao Yao's Physical Body, struck by such violent impact from the Blood Pearl, instantly exceeded its limit of endurance.

"No—!" Zhao Yao's consciousness recovered the moment his Physical Body exploded; he stared wide-eyed at the Golden Scaled Dragon hovering in the air, his eyes full of unwillingness and confusion. "Why... why is even the Blood Pearl afraid of you... Who are you... Who exactly are you!"

"Bang—!" With an earth-shattering loud noise, Zhao Yao's body exploded from within, flesh and blood flying everywhere, dark red blood mist and golden evil power intertwined, permeating the cave.

Zhao Yao did not know that it was not Murong Gu that the Blood Pearl feared, but the Golden Scaled Dragon.

This was a Cultivation Technique created by Lu Chen back then, and Lu Chen had used the Golden Scale Art to kill the Lord of the Blood Realm, seize the blood god pearl, and control the entire Blood Realm; naturally, a mere ordinary Blood Pearl would fear the Aura of the Golden Scaled Dragon.

Although the entire Eternal World had been rebuilt, it still preserved many templates of the trial worlds, so the Blood Realm and the Blood Pearl had also inherited the rules from the previous world.