122: Chapter 122 Blood Sacrifice Altar

The other men in black also turned around, looking in the direction of Li Changsheng and Lu Yu.

They had been discovered.

Li Changsheng did not hesitate and drew his sword immediately!

Lu Yu also drew his sword at the same time!

The battle erupted in an instant!

Li Changsheng's green steel sword was like a venomous snake emerging from its burrow, striking directly at the throat of the nearest man in black!

This strike was fast and ruthless, the culmination of his years of combat experience!

However...

Clang!

When the tip of the sword was only three inches from the man's throat, a bloody light appeared out of thin air and actually blocked the strike!

Li Changsheng's pupils constricted!

"What the hell? What's going on?"

The man in black was enveloped in a faint, blood-colored light shield.

The light shield was as thin as a cicada's wing yet exceptionally sturdy; his full-strength strike only left a shallow ripple on it!

"Jie jie jie..."

The man in black let out a bizarre laugh.

"Is this all you've got?"

He raised his hand and struck out with a palm!

The wind from the palm carried a heavy scent of blood; even before the palm arrived, the foul stench hit them full in the face!

Li Changsheng's figure flashed as he dodged the palm strike.

The wind from the palm brushed past his shoulder, unexpectedly leaving a faint bloodstain in the air!

"Senior Brother Lu, be careful! There's something strange about them!"

Li Changsheng shouted.

Lu Yu had already engaged another man in black.

His "Gale Sword" was as fast as lightning, thrusting out seventeen times in an instant, every strike hitting its mark!

But that man in black was also enveloped in a blood-colored light shield.

Lu Yu's seventeen strikes only left seventeen shallow ripples on it, failing to harm him in the slightest!

"What on earth is this thing?!"

Lu Yu was both shocked and furious.

The man in black grinned savagely and clawed toward Lu Yu's face!

Lu Yu dodged in a panic, but the wind from the claw brushed past his cheek, leaving three bloody gashes on his face!

"Their cultivation is clearly only at Qi Refining Level 7 or 8, so why are they so strong?!"

Lu Yu shouted while dodging.

Li Changsheng didn't speak, he just stared intently at the blood-colored light shields on the men in black.

Something wasn't right.

The cultivation of these men in black was indeed not high.

The strongest among them was only at Qi Refining Level 8, while the rest were at Qi Refining Level 7.

With his and Lu Yu's strength, under normal circumstances, they could finish one off within three moves.

But now, they were being forced into a corner, dodging and parrying in a precarious situation!

That blood-colored light shield wasn't their own power.

It was the altar!

Li Changsheng's gaze swept over the altar.

On the stone pillar in the center of the altar, those blood-colored runes were slowly circulating, emitting a faint, eerie glow.

In the bronze cauldron atop the stone pillar, the dark red liquid was roiling and boiling, giving off a heavy scent of blood.

An invisible force was surging from the altar, empowering those men in black!

"Senior Brother Lu! Destroy the altar!"

Li Changsheng shouted.

Lu Yu understood immediately and, with a flash of his figure, prepared to charge toward the altar!

But those men in black seemed prepared; two of them struck at the same time, blocking his path from the left and right!

"You want to destroy the altar? In your dreams!"

The leader of the men in black grinned savagely.

"Today, both of you will die here and become nourishment for the altar!"

With a wave of his hand, the remaining men in black pounced together!

Li Changsheng grit his teeth and thrust his sword out!

This time, he no longer held back his strength, and his Qi Refining Level 9 Middle Stage spiritual power erupted fully!

On the sword's edge, green light flared brilliantly!

Pfft!

This strike finally pierced the blood-colored light shield, leaving a deep wound on the man's shoulder!

The man in black screamed and stumbled back!

The blood-colored light shield on his body flickered violently, nearly shattering!

"It works!"

Li Changsheng's eyes lit up!

His spiritual power contained the vitality of the nine-turn azure profound bead.

That power seemed to have a natural suppression against the evil techniques of the Blood Fiend Sect!

"Senior Brother Lu! Use your full strength!"

"My spiritual power can break their defense!"

Lu Yu heard this and also erupted with his full power!

His "Gale Sword" was as fast as lightning, and coordinating with Li Changsheng's offensive, he thrust strike after strike at the men in black!

The battle reached a fever pitch once again!

Although these men in black were empowered by the altar, their cultivation was limited after all.

Under the joint attack of Li Changsheng and Lu Yu, they gradually fell into a disadvantage.

One, two, three...

When the fifth man in black fell, the leader's expression finally changed.

He retreated abruptly, forming hand seals and chanting under his breath!

The stone pillar in the center of the altar suddenly erupted with a blinding blood-red light!

When that blood-red light shone on him, Li Changsheng felt a wave of dizziness, and the spiritual power within his body actually became slightly disordered!

"Not good! He's activating the altar!"

Lu Yu exclaimed.

Li Changsheng bit the tip of his tongue, using the sharp pain to clear his mind.

He stared fixedly at the leader of the men in black, a look of ruthlessness flashing in his eyes.

He had to end this quickly!

He took a deep breath, dropped his defense, and threw a punch!

Green Wood Fist, Thirteenth Form — Withered Wood Meets Spring!

This punch condensed all his strength, the vitality of the nine-turn azure profound bead, and all of his persistence!

As the punch was thrown, vitality burgeoned!

That vigorous force of vitality was like the first rain of spring, washing away the blood-fiend aura emanating from the altar!

The leader's face changed drastically, and the speed of his hand seals increased!

But it was still too slow!

Bang!

The punch slammed into the man's chest!

The blood-colored light shield shattered upon impact!

The man in black screamed and was sent flying backward, blood spraying from his mouth!

But he didn't die.

He struggled to crawl back up, a bizarre smile hanging on the corner of his mouth.

"You... think... you've won?"

He said intermittently.

"The altar... has already been activated... no one... can stop it..."

He suddenly struck his own chest with his palm!

A mouthful of essence blood sprayed out, splashing onto the altar!

The altar suddenly erupted with an even more blinding blood-red light!

The blood-red light shot up into the sky, forming a massive blood-colored vortex!

In the center of the vortex, something was faintly condensing!

Li Changsheng's expression changed drastically!

"Senior Brother Lu! Stop him, quickly!"

Both of them charged toward the altar at the same time!

But it was already too late.

The leader of the men in black turned into a streak of blood-red light and vanished into the vortex.

The vortex spun violently and then... suddenly dissipated.

On the altar, only a pool of filthy blood remained.

The man in black had disappeared.

Li Changsheng and Lu Yu stood before the altar, gasping for breath.

Both of them had gained several wounds, and blood stained their clothes red.

But they couldn't care about that, they just stared intently at the altar.

"He escaped..."

Lu Yu muttered.

"He actually managed to escape..."

Li Changsheng didn't speak; he just walked up to the altar and observed it closely.

On the stone pillar in the center of the altar, those blood-colored runes were still slowly circulating.

In the bronze cauldron atop the stone pillar, the dark red liquid had reached the bottom, leaving only a thin layer of residue.

He reached out and pressed his hand against the stone pillar.

A cold, sinister force emanated from the pillar.

That power was mixed with endless resentment and unwillingness, as if countless wronged souls were weeping in his ears.

He closed his eyes, and the perceptive power of the Evergreen Plant Truth Scripture operated at full capacity.

His spiritual power seeped into the stone pillar, following those runes and penetrating deeper layer by layer.

What did he perceive?

Blood.

The blood of countless people.

Those missing townspeople—their essence blood had all been devoured by this altar.

That blood had turned into the power of the altar, into the blood-colored light shields on the men in black, and also into... the passage for the man in black's escape.

But besides that, he perceived something else.

These runes were not just for empowering those men in black, nor were they just for creating an escape passage.

They seemed to be part of a much larger Formation.

Like a node.

He opened his eyes, his gaze solemn.