178: Chapter 178 Remember in your next life, don't play with blood.

"Bang!"

Gu Yan's fist descended.

There were no fancy Moves, only a pure release of power. The soul-shattering knuckles punched through the thin layer of protective Spiritual Qi on Saint Son Li Tianxing's face, slamming heavily into his cheekbone.

The crisp sound of shattering bone echoed at the bottom of the pit.

Saint Son Li Tianxing's head jerked violently to the side, half his face instantly caved in, and blood mixed with broken teeth sprayed from his mouth. The excruciating pain finally jolted him awake from the dizziness caused by the "Death Knell," followed by the extreme humiliation of being straddled and beaten by a Foundation Establishment ant.

"Get off!!"

Saint Son Li Tianxing roared, and the Golden Core within his Dantian trembled frantically. A dark red shockwave erupted from him, attempting to flip Gu Yan off his body.

"Behave."

Gu Yan swung his left arm across, and the beast-head armor on the asura armguard forcefully withstood the impact. The dark golden scales rubbed against the red light, emitting a teeth-grinding "hissing" sound, but his iron-cast body remained completely motionless.

His left hand moved like lightning, grabbing Saint Son Li Tianxing's left shoulder blade. As his five fingers exerted force, his fingertips felt like red-hot branding irons, piercing directly through skin and flesh to lock onto the bone.

"Ahhh—!"

Saint Son Li Tianxing screamed. He brought his right hand together like a blade, condensing a blood needle an inch long at his fingertips, and thrust it straight at Gu Yan's throat. This was formed from his own vital blood essence, named the "Bone-Piercing Nail," specifically designed to break Physical Body defenses.

Gu Yan did not dodge.

He only lowered his head slightly, tucking his chin against his collarbone to protect his vital point.

Clang.

The blood nail struck the edge of the asura shoulder guard, sparking a string of flames before snapping into two.

"Too slow."

Gu Yan's voice was as cold as if he were chopping meat.

He unclenched his right fist, turning it into a claw, and grabbed Saint Son Li Tianxing's right hand, which had not yet had time to retract.

"This hand pointed at me just now."

Gu Yan did not even lift his eyelids, simultaneously ripping his hands outward with great force.

Crack! Rip—

It wasn't a clean snapping sound, but the wet sound of flesh being violently torn apart.

Saint Son Li Tianxing's right arm was actually ripped clean off his shoulder by Gu Yan!

Blood gushed out like a fountain, splashing all over Gu Yan's face.

"Urgh... Arghhhhhh!!!"

Saint Son Li Tianxing spasmed in agony, his eyeballs nearly popping out of their sockets. The excruciating pain of losing an arm dealt another heavy blow to his already damaged Divine Soul, and the Spiritual Qi within his body completely lost control, rampaging through his Meridians.

"Is this the Golden Core Mid-Stage?"

Gu Yan casually tossed the severed arm aside, as if discarding a piece of trash.

He looked at Saint Son Li Tianxing, who had become a bloody mess beneath him, without a shred of pity in his eyes.

"Other than having thicker skin, there's no difference from slaughtering a pig."

"You... you monster..."

Saint Son Li Tianxing gasped for air, fear finally appearing in his eyes. Looking at Gu Yan's crimson eyes and the blood-dripping arm covered in dark golden scales, a sense of desperate chill rose in his heart.

This was not a human.

This was an asura wearing human skin.

Escape! Must escape!

Saint Son Li Tianxing bit through the tip of his tongue and spat out a mouthful of vital blood essence.

"Blood Escape: Mist Transformation!"

His body suddenly began to melt, like snow under sunlight. Skin, muscle, and bone transformed into a mass of viscous blood mist in an instant, attempting to break free from Gu Yan's control and burrow into the surrounding cracks.

As long as a single drop of blood escaped, he could rely on the Blood River Sect's secret arts to achieve Rebirth.

Although his cultivation would drop, it was better than dying here.

"Want to run?"

Gu Yan looked at the rapidly expanding blood mist beneath him, a mocking arc curling at the corners of his mouth.

If it were any other Cultivator, even one at the Golden Core Late Stage, they would likely only be able to stare helplessly when faced with this eerie demonic sect Blood Escape.

But Saint Son Li Tianxing should not, above all else, have tried to play with blood in front of him.

"You probably forgot what I have inside me."

Gu Yan stood up and stomped his left foot heavily onto the ground.

"Get... back here!"

Hum!

The blood river bead within his body jolted violently.

An ancient, overbearing suction force, as if coming from the source of the Blood Sea, instantly enveloped the entire bottom of the pit.

The blood mist that had already expanded and was about to burrow into the rock crevices suddenly let out a shrill, piercing scream, as if it had encountered a natural predator.

They struggled desperately, trying to escape, but were forcibly pulled back by that suction force.

Hiss, hiss, hiss—

The blood mist twisted and compressed in mid-air, finally re-converging into a human shape.

"No... impossible..."

Saint Son Li Tianxing's figure reappeared. He lay on the ground, his face pale as paper, looking at Gu Yan as if he were seeing a ghost.

"This is the Old Ancestor's aura... you... you actually refined it?!"

That was the Origin power of Ancestor Blood River, the nemesis of all Blood River Sect Cultivation Techniques!

"You guessed right."

Gu Yan walked toward him step by step, the spikes on the soul-shattering knuckles popping out, glinting coldly under the moonlight.

"Too bad, no prize."

Saint Son Li Tianxing despaired.

Couldn't fight, couldn't escape.

"I'll fight you to the death!"

He roared, and his remaining left hand slammed toward his own crown, intending to self-detonate his Golden Core.

But Gu Yan was faster than him.

A foot wearing a black combat boot kicked fiercely into his lower abdomen.

Bang!

Saint Son Li Tianxing was kicked until he curled up like a shrimp, the breath of Spiritual Qi he had just gathered was instantly dispersed, and the self-detonation action was forcibly interrupted.

Gu Yan leaned down, his hands locking onto Saint Son Li Tianxing's left and right shoulders respectively.

At this moment, Saint Son Li Tianxing was like a tiger with its teeth pulled, reduced to being slaughtered at will.

"In your next life, remember to stay far away from me."

Gu Yan's arm muscles bulged, and his tendons writhed beneath his skin like pythons.

The beast-head on the asura shoulder guard roared, and the red light flared brilliantly.

"Open!"

Rip—!!!

A blood-curdling tearing sound completely ended all noise within the Soul-Falling Valley.

Blood splattered like a rainstorm.

Saint Son Li Tianxing's scream got stuck halfway and then stopped abruptly.

His body, from shoulder to abdomen, was ripped directly into two halves by this extremely brutal tearing from Gu Yan.

Internal organs, broken bones, and blood were scattered all over the ground.

The Golden Core that had still been beating also rolled out from the shattered Dantian following its master's death, covered in dirt, its light rapidly dimming.

Gu Yan stood in the center of the pool of blood, still clutching half a corpse in his hand.

He gasped for air, hot blood flowing down his cheeks and dripping into the ruins beneath his feet.

It was over.

A generation of Demonic Sect Blood Scion, a Golden Core Mid-Stage Cultivator, had died in such a primitive and brutal way at the hands of a Foundation Establishment Stage Body Cultivator.

[Ding! Killed high-level demonic Cultivator (Blood Scion · Saint Son Li Tianxing).]

[Cross-stage kill reward: Bloodline points +5000!]

[Obtained special loot: Blood Crystal (Top Grade).]

[Evaluation: Hand-tearing devils... oh no, hand-tearing a Golden Core. Host, your current style has gone completely off the rails, but I like it.]

Gu Yan threw away the corpse remnant in his hand and reached down to pick up the dim Golden Core and a red crystal exuding a rich blood aura.

He ignored the System's teasing and merely looked up at the narrow sliver of sky above.

The night was coming to an end, and dawn was approaching.

"Golden Core Stage..."

Gu Yan gripped the blood crystal in his hand tightly, feeling the pure and immense energy within it.

"The next one will be me."