36: Chapter 36 Bloodbath at the Tomb

Secret room in the back mountain.

Ling Hao sat cross-legged on the cold jade bed, eyes slightly closed.

In his mind, the System light screen constantly refreshed:

[Detected external threat: Zixia Palace Middle Stage Golden Core Stage Cultivator Guest Elder Chu Yunhe]

[Threat Level: High]

[Suggested plans: 1. Avoid the edge, escape Qingyun City (Success rate 37%); 2. Surrender some secrets to buy time (System existence will be exposed); 3. Head-on confrontation (Win rate estimated: 0.03%)]

[Special note: Host is currently at Middle Stage Battle Spirit Body, Physical Body strength comparable to Middle Stage Foundation Establishment Body Cultivator. Combined with Disintegration Dao Pattern (High-level Chapter) and Ling Shadow Guards, you can attempt to set up a 'Death Trap']

[Can consume 300 Origin points to simulate the optimal combat plan, activate?]

Ling Hao slowly opened his eyes.

"Activate."

[Plan generated: Utilize Guest Elder Chu Yunhe's arrogance, use Ling Family as bait, lure him deep. Ling Shadow Guards set up 'Nine Nether Soul-Locking Formation' to trap him, Host uses Disintegration Dao Pattern to attack his vital points. Key point: Must complete the kill within three breaths, otherwise the counterattack from a Middle Stage Golden Core Stage Cultivator will be enough to destroy the Ling Family]

[Success rate: 18.7%]

[Supplementary suggestion: If you can Breakthrough to Middle Stage (Perfection) Battle Spirit Body within three days (requires absorbing high-quality Origin of War), the success rate can be increased to 41.2%]

Ling Hao was silent.

18.7%...

Less than a twenty percent chance of winning.

But he had no choice.

"High-quality Origin of War..." Ling Hao muttered to himself, "Near Qingyun City, where else..."

[Detected special intelligence: Three hundred zhang beneath Qingyun City, there exists a small ancient battlefield ruin, 'Blood Battle Mausoleum']

[Ruin status: Sealed, Evil Qi concentration: High, expected to have Golden Core Stage war soul remnants]

[Warning: Opening the Seal will trigger ground tremors, possibly alerting all Cultivators in the city]

Ling Hao's eyes flashed with sharp light.

Beneath Qingyun City...

Right under everyone's feet!

"System, if I absorb the Origin of War in 'Blood Battle Mausoleum', how long will it take to Breakthrough to Middle Stage (Perfection) Battle Spirit Body?"

[Estimate: Complete absorption takes five days. But if you use Disintegration Dao Pattern to forcibly break the Seal and use the Battle Spirit Body devouring secret technique to accelerate, it can be compressed to two days]

[Cost: Host will endure Evil Qi backlash, Foundation may be damaged]

Ling Hao smiled.

Foundation damaged?

Better than the whole clan being wiped out.

"Ling You," he said to the shadow outside the secret room.

Ling You appeared at the door of the secret room like a ghost.

"Young Lord."

"Two things." Ling Hao held up two fingers, "First, I am going into seclusion for two days. No one is to disturb me during this time—including my father."

"Second," he took a map from his robes, the one he had drawn himself of Qingyun City's underground veins, "Take the Ling Shadow Guards and set up the 'Earth Pulse Evil Qi-Drawing Formation' at the seven locations marked on the map. Remember, be discreet, and set the Formation at the hour of the Rat when the Yin Qi is strongest."

Ling You took the map, his pupils shrinking after just one glance: "Young Lord, this Formation... will stir up the underground Evil Qi, and could trigger earthquakes or even ground collapse!"

"That is exactly what I want to trigger." Ling Hao's eyes flashed with cold light, "Doesn't Zixia Palace want to probe my bottom line? Then I will let them see what it means to... have the earth dragon turn over."

He stood up, walked to the side of the secret room wall, and pressed the mechanism according to the System's prompt.

"Rumble..."

The wall slowly moved away, revealing a deep, slanting secret passage that led three hundred zhang beneath Qingyun City, now Ling Hao's "hunting ground."

"Within two days, no matter what happens, do not come looking for me."

Ling Hao said, walking into the secret passage without looking back.

In the darkness, only his voice drifted out:

"When I come out, it will be time for Zixia Palace... to pay the price."

The entrance to the secret passage slowly closed.

Ling You stood where he was, his hand holding the map trembling slightly.

Not because of fear.

But because... excitement.

The Young Lord was going to create another miracle.

And he would be the witness.

---

Qingyun City, Zhou Family residence.

In the secret room, Zhou Family Head Zhou Tianhong looked at the transmission jade talisman in his hand with a shifting expression.

The talisman had only one sentence: "Zixia Palace has already made its move, the Ling Family will definitely fall within three days. The Zhou Family should choose a side."

The sender was signed with a flame mark—the mark of the Nangong Family.

"That old fox Nangong Xiong, Patriarch of the Nangong Family..." Zhou Tianhong muttered to himself, "He is forcing me to take a stand."

"Patriarch." A staff member next to him whispered, "Guest Elder Chu Yunhe of Zixia Palace has arrived in person, the Middle Stage Golden Core Stage pressure was felt by the entire city. The Ling Family... really has no chance of winning."

"I know." Zhou Tianhong rubbed his temples, "But that brat Ling Hao... is too bizarre. No Spiritual Root yet killed a Foundation Establishment, crippled Wang Teng, drove back a Golden Core Clone... who knows if he still has a trump card?"

"No matter how many trump cards he has, they are futile in the face of absolute strength." The staff member advised, "It's a Middle Stage Golden Core Stage, Patriarch! The entire Qingyun City combined isn't enough for him to crush with one hand! No matter how much of a Prodigy Ling Hao is, he is only sixteen. Reversing a kill against Foundation Establishment is already the limit, surely he can't kill a Golden Core, right?"

Zhou Tianhong was silent.

Indeed, killing a Golden Core at sixteen?

In the ten thousand years of history in the cultivation world, there has never been such a precedent.

That is no longer a Prodigy, that is a myth.

"Pass down the order." Zhou Tianhong finally made a decision, "From today on, no Zhou Family member is to have any contact with the Ling Family. Three days later... if the Ling Family really falls, we will cooperate with the Nangong Family to divide up the Ling Family's assets."

"Patriarch is wise!"

The staff member withdrew.

In the secret room, Zhou Tianhong was alone, looking at the direction of the Ling Family outside the window, but feeling inexplicably uneasy in his heart.

Ling Hao...

Do you really... have no trump cards left?

---

Three hundred zhang beneath Qingyun City.

This was a completely enclosed dark space, the air filled with a thick smell of blood and Evil Qi. Scattered on the ground were countless broken weapons and bleached bones, some skeletons still maintaining fighting postures, as if that bloody battle three thousand years ago was only yesterday.

In the center of the space stood an altar built entirely of blood-colored crystals.

Suspended above the altar was a dark red blood sphere about a zhang in diameter, the surface of the sphere constantly rolling and squirming, as if it had life. Every squirm released heart-palpitating Battle Intent fluctuations and monstrous Evil Qi!

This was the core of the "Blood Battle Mausoleum"—three thousand years ago, seven Golden Core Stage Cultivators died here together, their Battle Intent, Evil Qi, and remnant souls intertwined and fused to form this mass of "Blood Evil War Source".

At this moment, Ling Hao was standing in front of the altar.

He was shirtless, his red-gold battle patterns fully visible on his skin, burning like fire in the reflection of the blood light. The Battle Spirit Body was running at full power, frantically absorbing the Evil Qi permeating the space.

But it was not enough.

What he wanted was the blood sphere on the altar.

"System, begin."

[Confirm execution: Forcibly break the Seal]

[Will consume 300 Origin points, forcibly break the target: Altar Seal Core]

"Crack!"

Invisible ripples spread, countless fine cracks appeared on the surface of the altar, an ancient sealing Formation was revealed, and then it began to disintegrate!

"Boom—!!!"

The blood sphere vibrated violently, as if a Vicious Beast had been enraged, and monstrous Evil Qi poured out like a flash flood!

The entire underground space began to tremble violently, the ground split into countless cracks, and rubble fell from the rock layer above!