172: Chapter 172 Pay up or lose your life

Outside Baifeng City, the night wind suddenly ceased.

The once noisy chirping of insects and birds vanished in an instant, as if their necks had been snapped by an invisible giant hand.

A nauseating, metallic, sweet stench filled the air—the scent of copious amounts of blood oxidizing after being exposed to the air.

Atop the city wall, the Gu Family guard captain responsible for the night watch suddenly shivered.

He instinctively rubbed his arms and looked up into the darkness outside the city.

There, three Mortal villages that had originally been attached to the Gu Family were now glowing with an eerie red light.

It was not firelight.

It was blood-light.

"What... what is that?" The guard captain's pupils dilated, his finger trembling violently as he pointed into the distance.

High above the three villages hovered a figure clad in blood-colored robes.

Beneath his feet, there was no Flying Sword; instead, he stood upon a red river composed of viscous liquid.

The river meandered through the air, making a splashing sound.

No screams came from below.

Because there simply wasn't enough time.

The figure merely flicked his sleeve casually, and a mist of red rain sprinkled down onto the village below.

Sizzle, sizzle—the scalp-numbing sound of corrosion traveled on the wind to the city wall.

Under the horrified gaze of the guards, the three villages, which held hundreds of people, began to melt as if they were made of wax.

Thatched cottages, earthen walls, livestock, and even the villagers who were sleeping—the moment they touched the red mist, they all turned into pools of blood.

The blood did not seep into the ground; instead, as if summoned, it gathered into streams, flowed against gravity, and merged into the blood river beneath the man's feet.

In a mere ten breaths, the three villages vanished, leaving behind only three deep, smoking pits in the ground.

"Ugh—" A young guard could no longer hold it in; he clutched the crenelations and vomited.

"Clang—clang—clang—!" The shrill sound of the alarm bell rang throughout the city.

At this moment, the blood-colored figure in the air slowly turned around to face Baifeng City.

Although they were miles apart, the guard captain felt as though he were being stared at by a venomous snake.

The man raised his right hand, his index finger stained with the fresh blood he had just absorbed, and lightly slashed at the Void Realm.

Whoosh!

A blood-colored finger beam a hundred zhang long tore through the night sky and slammed heavily into the defensive Formation that had just risen over Baifeng City.

Boom!

The golden Formation shook violently, and a long, charred mark was corroded onto the light barrier.

Although it did not break, the shockwave passed through the Formation, causing the bricks on the city wall to fall with a rustle.

The finger beam dissipated, turning into two lines of dripping, blood-red characters branded in mid-air, lingering for a long time: "Hand over the Legacy."

"Otherwise, I will slaughter the city."

...

Gu Mansion, Council Hall.

The atmosphere here was so heavy it felt like it was dripping with water.

"Bam!"

Jin Feiyan slammed the account book in her hand onto the table.

Her pretty face, usually so shrewd and calculating, was now deathly pale, and her lips were trembling.

"A madman! That is a madman!" She pointed at the blood-red sky outside the window, her voice shrill: "The energy consumption rate of the defensive Formation has increased tenfold! That one strike just now burned through thirty thousand Spirit Stones! That is thirty thousand! Not three hundred!"

Her heart ached so much she could barely breathe, but her hands did not stop.

She pulled box after box of spare Mid-Grade Spirit Stones from her storage ring and, like filling a coal pit, frantically shoved them into the Formation's control hub nearby.

"Stop wailing."

Leng Yuechan stood at the entrance of the main hall, holding a long blade that was still dripping with blood—it had been left behind by a Loose Cultivator who had tried to cause trouble during the chaos.

She had changed into tight-fitting black iron soft armor, her long hair tied high; she looked like a drawn blade.

"As long as we can hold out until Gu Yan returns, never mind thirty thousand—even if we have to sell the Gu Family, we must pay the price."

Leng Yuechan walked over to Jin Feiyan and pressed down on her trembling shoulders: "You guard the Formation eye; do not let the Spiritual Qi cut off. Leave the matters outside to me."

"Can you handle it?" Jin Feiyan looked at her, "That is a Golden Core Middle Stage... a demonic cultivator even more terrifying than Lin Canghai."

"I cannot, but they can."

Leng Yuechan turned and looked into the courtyard.

There, standing in neat rows, were thirty towering figures clad in heavy armor.

They did not breathe, their exposed skin was iron-blue, and it was covered in dense, blood-colored runes.

In the eyes of every Puppet burned ghostly green flames, and they held giant swords the size of door planks in their hands.

Blood Corpse Puppets.

Killing machines refined using the corpses of the Lin Family's death soldiers, combined with the secret techniques provided by Gu Yan.

"Step forward."

Leng Yuechan gave a cold shout.

Crack.

The thirty Puppets stepped forward in unison, the ground trembling.

"To the city wall."

Leng Yuechan waved her hand, and the Puppets, like tireless beasts, took heavy strides as they rushed out of the Gu Mansion and sprinted toward the city wall.

...

Outside the city.

Saint Son Li Tianxing hovered in mid-air, the blood river beneath his feet churning ceaselessly.

He looked down at the city shrouded in the golden light barrier, a flash of disdain in his eyes.

"The turtle shell is quite hard."

He stuck out his scarlet tongue and licked the blood from the corner of his mouth.

The "Blood Transformation Technique" from just a moment ago had allowed him to taste the essence blood of Mortals for the first time in ages; although it was impure, it was plentiful.

"However, let's see how long you can hold on."

Saint Son Li Tianxing pulled a small black banner from his bosom.

The Ten Thousand Soul Banner.

This was standard equipment for Disciples of the Blood River Sect, but the one in his hand was a top-grade artifact refined using thousands of living souls.

"Go."

He gave it a gentle shake.

Woo-woo-woo—the sinister wind howled.

Countless black, vengeful souls poured out from the banner, turning into a tide of blackness that surged toward the defensive Formation, blotting out the sky.

These vengeful souls had no physical form, but they could gnaw on Spiritual Qi and defile the Formation.

Sizzle, sizzle.

The golden light barrier was covered by black mist, emitting a teeth-achingly sharp sound of corrosion.

The light began to dim at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"Damn it! We're running out of Spirit Stones!" Jin Feiyan's desperate scream came from inside the city.

On the city wall, Leng Yuechan looked at the sky full of vengeful ghosts, a flash of resolve in her eyes.

"Open the Formation gate!" She ordered the Puppets behind her.

"What?" The guard captain next to her was terrified, "Mistress, opening the gate now..."

"Open it!"

Leng Yuechan kicked the control lever open.

Rumbling.

The city gate cracked open a sliver.

"Kill!"

The thirty Blood Corpse Puppets let out a roar that did not sound human, and braving the sky full of vengeful ghosts, they charged out of the light barrier.

They felt no pain and feared no corrosion.

The vengeful souls biting into them were like biting into stone.

Instead, with every swing of the giant swords in their hands, they carried thick Evil Qi, shattering the surrounding vengeful souls into pieces.

"Hm?"

Saint Son Li Tianxing raised an eyebrow, somewhat surprised: "Corpse Puppets? Interesting."

"Pity, they are too weak."

He tapped his finger.

A tributary of the blood river beneath his feet split off, transforming into a giant blood python.

It opened its massive maw and bit down fiercely at the group of Puppets.

Bang!

The three Puppets charging at the front were sent flying by the blood python, their heavy armor shattering and revealing the broken bones inside.

But they did not stop; even with only half a body left, they still crawled on the ground, attempting to attack the blood python.

"The struggle of ants."

Saint Son Li Tianxing lost his patience.

He had not expected a mere Mortal city to be able to block him for so long.

"Since you are courting death, don't blame me for being impolite."

He formed hand seals, and the blood river behind him shot into the sky, transforming into a blood-colored hand that blotted out the sun and moon, slamming down toward Baifeng City.

This strike was enough to raze the entire city to the ground.

Inside the city, countless commoners closed their eyes in despair.

Leng Yuechan gripped her blade tightly, preparing for a final, desperate struggle.

Just as the blood hand was about to descend.

Boom—!!!

From the horizon in the distance, a thunderous explosion suddenly rang out.

A streak of black light descended like a falling meteorite, carrying an unstoppable Aura as it slammed violently into the blood-colored hand.

"Get the hell out of my way!"

The familiar and tyrannical roar resounded across heaven and earth.