85: Chapter 85 The Battle of the Blood Fiend Palace, the First Appearance of the Puppet

The towering crimson palace stood loftily deep within the Black Wind Mountain Range. The entire hall was built from a certain dark red rock, its surface flowing with viscous blood plasma, and the emanating bloody aura almost condensed into substance.

A head-sized blood bead on the top of the hall slowly rotated. With every rotation, visible crimson ripples spread outwards, completely swallowing the yin-sha qi within a radius of several miles.

Bai Yunzhou and his party lurked in the shadows of the rock wall at the valley entrance, observing the external defenses of the hall through Chaos Perception.

"There are four watchtowers outside the hall, and on each tower are two Core Formation Late Stage Disciples of the Blood God Cult," Bai Yunzhou lowered his voice and said. "In the square before the hall doors, those four figures wearing crimson heavy armor should be the Blood God Guards."

Ling Shuang concentrated her senses for a moment, "The auras of the four Blood God Guards are completely identical, both being Nascent Soul Early Stage, but they seem to lack independent consciousness, resembling Puppets manipulated by some secret technique instead."

Deng Mufeng unfurled the Formation Plate in his hand, his brows tightly furrowed, "The Xuesha Grand Formation shrouds the entire palace, and the Formation eye is that blood bead on the top of the hall. The core of the Formation is underground, connecting to at least three earth veins, allowing it to continuously extract the power of blood sha."

Song Xinghe gripped his longsword tightly, "Direct assault or a sneak attack?"

Bai Yunzhou swept his gaze across the group, "If the Formation is not broken, the Blood God Guards will regenerate infinitely. Ling Shuang and I will launch a frontal assault to attract the attention of the Blood God Guards and the watchtowers. Senior Brother Song, Senior Sister Deng, you two take the opportunity to sneak in from the flank and destroy the Formation eye nodes at the hall doors. Zhiting, take Xietu back a hundred zhang; if the situation changes, immediately execute this person and retreat."

"Senior Brother, be careful!" Zhou Zhiting looked at Bai Yunzhou with worry.

"Rest assured." Bai Yunzhou patted her shoulder and turned to look at Ling Shuang, "Ling Shuang, are you ready?"

Ling Shuang nodded, her hanshuang sword humming as it left its sheath, its blade blooming with an ice-blue radiance.

"Do it!"

The two of them rushed out of the shadows simultaneously.

Bai Yunzhou no longer restrained his aura as his Green Lotus Sword Intent erupted completely, layers of light cyan lotus phantoms blooming within three feet of his body. Stepping on the zhuiyun boots, his figure moved like lightning. The moment the liefeng sword cleared its sheath, a cyan-purple sword qi slashed directly at the nearest watchtower.

"Enemy attack!"

The Disciples on the tower cried out in alarm, but the sword qi had already arrived.

Boom!

The watchtower shattered at the sound, and the two Core Formation Late Stage Disciples were killed on the spot.

Almost at the same time, Ling Shuang also made her Move.

Her movement technique was as light as snow, and wherever she passed, the air condensed into fine ice crystals. The hanshuang sword slashed out three ice-blue arcs, shooting towards the other three watchtowers respectively.

"Insolence!"

In the square, the four Blood God Guards roared in unison, their voices sounding like muffled thunder.

They turned around simultaneously, their scarlet pupils locking onto Bai Yunzhou. Three of them drew crimson longswords, transforming into three bloody shadows as they lunged to kill; the last one formed hand seals with both hands, causing the blood bead atop the hall to suddenly shine with immense brilliance, descending a crimson light curtain that enveloped the entire square.

"Clang!"

Bai Yunzhou waved his sword to parry the first longsword, his arm feeling slightly numb. The strength of these Blood God Guards was shockingly immense, completely unlike the Nascent Soul Early Stage. Even more bizarrely, when the blade touched the sword's edge, a chilling power of blood sha invaded his body along his arm, only to be automatically purified by the Green Lotus Sword Intent.

"The Green Lotus Sword Intent truly restrains blood sha!" Bai Yunzhou felt reassured in his heart, and his sword momentum suddenly became fierce.

Qinglian Thunder Sword: Thunderous Sound Slash!

Sword light rose, and thunder sounded.

Purple arcs of electricity twined around the cyan sword qi. With a single slash, the thunderous sound shook the Divine Soul. The Blood God Guard in front paused slightly, allowing Bai Yunzhou to seize the opening and pierce through its chest armor with a sword.

Chi!

The sword's edge sank three inches into the body, yet it produced the sound of clashing metal and iron. Bai Yunzhou frowned—the Physical Body strength of the Blood God Guard far exceeded expectations!

"Die!"

The other two Blood God Guards seized the opportunity to attack from both left and right, their longswords whipping up bloody waves and sealing off all of Bai Yunzhou's retreat paths.

Bai Yunzhou let out a cold snort as he fully unleashed the Green Lotus Sword Domain.

Hum—

A light cyan halo expanded outward with him at the center. Within the halo, countless lotus petal phantoms drifted, every single piece containing the pure Green Lotus Sword Intent. The power of blood sha collided with the sword domain and rapidly melted away like boiling soup pouring on snow.

"Sword Domain?!" The Blood God Guard controlling the Formation in the distance exclaimed, "How could a Core Formation Perfection cultivator..."

Before the words fell, Ling Shuang had already arrived.

Her opponent was the Blood God Guard that had been forming seals. As the hanshuang sword came out, the Ice Soul Sword Intent surged forth like a tide, condensing countless ice shards in the air and completely sealing off a radius of three zhang around the Blood God Guard.

"Ice Soul Sword Valley... Damn it!" The Blood God Guard roared, forced to interrupt its hand seals, draw its blade, and meet the battle.

At this moment, Song Xinghe and Deng Mufeng had quietly crept to the left side of the hall doors.

On both sides of the hall doors stood a thick crimson stone pillar, their surfaces densely carved with Talismans and runes, which were precisely one of the nodes of the grand Formation. Deng Mufeng took out three sha-breaking talismans and quickly arranged them at the base of the stone pillars.

"Senior Brother Song, protect me."

Song Xinghe nodded, holding his longsword horizontally in front of him and vigilantly watching his surroundings.

Deng Mufeng took a deep breath, spiritual power flowing across his fingertips as he began to activate the Talismans.

On the square before the hall, the battle had reached a white-hot intensity.

Fighting three against one, Bai Yunzhou danced the liefeng sword into an airtight defense. The Green Lotus Sword Domain coupled with the extreme speed of the zhuiyun boots allowed him to leisurely maneuver among the three Blood God Guards. Sword qi and blade light collided, erupting with deafening roars.

However, the tenacity of the Blood God Guards exceeded imagination.

They seemed to feel no pain; even with multiple wounds on their bodies, their movements did not slow down in the slightest. Even more terrifyingly, the blood bead atop the hall continuously lowered bloody light, injecting it into their bodies, causing their wounds to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye.

"We must destroy the blood bead!" Bai Yunzhou's thoughts turned rapidly.

He feinted a sword strike, his figure violently retreating ten zhang as his hands rapidly formed seals.

Within his Dantian, the chaos green lotus Nascent Soul trembled slightly, and the power of the three Laws of sword, thunder, and blood began to fuse. This was a new Move he had comprehended during secluded cultivation, fusing the Power of Chaos into the Green Lotus Sword Intent—

Qinglian: Chaos Slash!

When the sword light rose, it was no longer pure cyan, but shimmered with a layer of chaotic gray. This sword strike seemed slow, yet it contained the Concept of opening up Chaos, and wherever it passed, space slightly distorted.

The Blood God Guard in front instinctively raised its blade to block.

Clang—crack!

The longsword broke right at the sound!

The chaotic sword light did not lessen in momentum, piercing straight through the Blood God Guard's chest and leaving behind a bowl-sized hole. At the edges of the hole, flesh and blood rapidly melted away, and even the healing bloody light was annihilated by the Power of Chaos.

"What?!" The other two Blood God Guards were greatly shocked.

The power of this sword strike had already touched the threshold of the Nascent Soul Middle Stage!

Bai Yunzhou did not press his advantage lightly, slashing the liefeng sword consecutively to send out two more chaotic sword lights. The two Blood God Guards did not dare to take them head-on, hurriedly dodging.

Taking advantage of this gap, Bai Yunzhou looked up at the blood bead atop the hall.

"Now is the time!"

He leaped into the air, the liefeng sword pointing straight at the blood bead.

But right at this moment—

"Junior, you're courting death!"

An aged, angry roar came from within the hall.

The hall doors burst wide open, and a crimson figure soared into the sky, blocking the path between Bai Yunzhou and the blood bead. That was an elderly man with a withered appearance and sunken eye sockets, wearing a blood-red robe and holding a skull-headed staff in his hand. Most eye-catching were his eyes—his pupils were entirely covered by crimson color with no whites of the eyes, looking extremely bizarre.

The aura emanating from the old man was unexpectedly Nascent Soul Middle Stage Peak!

"Blood God Cult Elder, Daoist Xuegu!" Ling Shuang recognized the newcomer, her expression changing slightly, "He should have died a hundred years ago, how could he..."

"Lass Ling Shuang, three hundred years have passed, and you still remember this old man." Daoist Xuegu grinned, revealing a mouthful of black-yellow teeth. "Back then, your Master Sword Sovereign Hanbing destroyed my Physical Body with a single sword, forcing me to switch to cultivating the path of Blood Puppets. Today, I'll take your head as a Disciple as a bit of interest first!"

He waved his staff, and nether-green ghost fires ignited within the skull's eye sockets.

"Myriad Ghosts Devour Souls!"

Woo—

Screeching ghost cries resounded through the valley as countless nether-green ghost shadows flew out from the staff, swarming towards Ling Shuang to blot out the sky.

Ling Shuang's expression was solemn as she danced the hanshuang sword into a cluster of ice-blue light screens.

ice soul sword Domain: Frost Heavens Fill the Sky!

The sword domain unfolded, and the temperature plummeted to the freezing point. The ghost shadows collided with the ice domain, rapidly freezing and shattering. However, there were simply too many ghost shadows coming wave after wave, and fine cracks began to appear on the surface of the ice domain.

At the same time, Bai Yunzhou was intercepted by Daoist Xuegu.

"Brat, you are the Qinglian successor?" Daoist Xuegu looked Bai Yunzhou up and down, a greedy look flashing in his eyes. "Chaos Green Lotus Body... The medicinal ingredients the Master wanted have finally been delivered to the doorstep."

"Medicinal ingredients?" Bai Yunzhou's gaze turned cold.

"Hahaha! What do you think the Chaos Green Lotus Body is?" Daoist Xuegu laughed wildly. "That is merely a medicinal primer cultivated by the Master! That idiot Sword Monarch Qinglian actually thought he could cultivate a Physique that could resist the Chaos Tribulation? All his efforts were just wedding dresses made for the Master!"

Bai Yunzhou's heart shook, but on the surface he remained calm, "Spouting heresy and confusing the public."

Ceasing his idle talk, he slashed the liefeng sword toward Daoist Xuegu.

"Seeking death!" Daoist Xuegu pounded his staff, and three bloody springs gushed from the ground, transforming into three thick blood pythons that coiled towards Bai Yunzhou.

Every strike of the blood pythons contained terrifying power of blood sha. Although Bai Yunzhou's Green Lotus Sword Intent could restrain it, the difference in cultivation level was right there, and for a moment he was actually suppressed.

On the other hand, Song Xinghe and Deng Mufeng finally activated the sha-breaking talismans.

"Break!"

Boom! Boom!

The bases of the two crimson stone pillars exploded, and the runes shattered. The crimson light curtain shrouding the square flickered violently, its radiance dimming by thirty percent.

"The Formation eye is damaged!" The Blood God Guard controlling the Formation cried out in alarm.

Daoist Xuegu's expression sank, "Two little bugs... Blood God Guards, go kill them!"

The four Blood God Guards responded in unison, and two of them turned to pounce on Song Xinghe and Deng Mufeng.

"Not good!" Bai Yunzhou wanted to stop them, but was tightly entangled by Daoist Xuegu.

Seeing this, Song Xinghe clenched his teeth, "Junior Sister Deng, continue destroying the Formation eye, I will block them!"

He swung his sword to meet the two Blood God Guards, his sword light resembling a cascading starry river, actually managing to hold them back for a moment.

However, Core Formation Middle Stage fighting Nascent Soul Early Stage was inherently like a praying mantis trying to stop a chariot. In merely three Moves, Song Xinghe was cleaved in the left shoulder by a saber strike, fresh blood spraying everywhere.

"Senior Brother Song!" Deng Mufeng cried out in alarm, but did not dare to stop the movements in her hands—the final sha-breaking talisman was about to be activated.

"Die!" The Blood God Guard sneered hideously, its longsword slashing down once more.

At a critical juncture—

Leihuang Fist: Army Breaker!

A fist qi entwined with purple lightning blasted over from the side, accurately smashing onto the Blood God Guard's blade body.

Clang!

The Blood God Guard retreated three steps in succession, its longsword buzzing noisily.

Zhou Zhiting stood panting before Song Xinghe, electric arcs darting across the surface of the leihuang gauntlets. Her face was stained with blood and dirt, yet her gaze was firm, "Senior Brother, Senior Sister, continue, leave this place to me!"

"Zhiting, you..." Song Xinghe clutched his wound, complexity flashing in his eyes.

"Stop talking nonsense!" Zhou Zhiting gritted her teeth, unleashing her fist techniques as she genuinely engaged in a fierce battle with that Blood God Guard.

Although she was at an absolute disadvantage and every head-on clash left her vital Qi roiling, her Battle Blood Sacred Body was Awakening, growing bolder with every battle.

And Deng Mufeng finally completed the final Talisman.

"Break for me!"

Rumble!

The third stone pillar exploded, and the crimson light curtain completely collapsed!

The blood bead atop the hall shook violently, spiderweb-like cracks emerging on its surface.

"It's a success!" Deng Mufeng was overjoyed.

Daoist Xuegu was violently enraged, "A bunch of ants, ruining my grand plan!"

He raised his staff high, chanting obscure incantations in his mouth. Heavy footsteps came from within the hall, one after another, as if some colossal entity was Awakening.

"Not good!" Ling Shuang forced back the ghost shadows with a single sword, her expression changing abruptly, "He is Awakening the great Blood God Puppet!"

Before her words fell—

Boom!!!

The roof of the crimson palace exploded with a boom, and a ten-zhang-tall crimson figure soared into the sky.

That was a giant entirely red with blood, its whole body spliced together from viscous blood plasma and skeletal remains, with a beating heart embedded in its chest—precisely transformed from that blood bead atop the hall. Two clusters of nether-green flames burned within the giant's eye sockets as it opened its huge mouth and let out a deafening roar:

"Roar—!!!"

The terrifying pressure swept across the entire field like a tsunami.

Half-step Soul Transformation!

Although this great Blood God Puppet had not yet been completely refined, the aura it emitted had already surpassed the Nascent Soul Late Stage, touching the threshold of Soul Transformation!

Bai Yunzhou and the others turned pale as paper.

Daoist Xuegu laughed wildly, "Although the 'Blood God Puppet' bestowed by the Master only has an eighty percent completion rate, it is enough to kill you all! Puppet, crush them for me!"

The crimson giant lowered its head, its nether-green pupils locking onto Bai Yunzhou.

It raised its right foot and viciously stomped down toward the location where Bai Yunzhou was!

A massive shadow shrouded downwards, compressing the air to the extreme and producing a sharp sonic boom.

Bai Yunzhou's pupils shrank abruptly.

This stomp was inescapable!

He took a deep breath, the chaos green lotus Nascent Soul in his Dantian spinning crazily, fusing the power of the three Laws like never before.

Holding the sword with both hands, the blade diagonally pointed toward the firmament.

Qinglian Sword Canon Seventh Move: Chaos Open Heavens!

This time, he no longer held back.

The Power of Chaos, the Green Lotus Sword Intent, and the Law of Thunder—these three forces converged at the tip of the sword, transforming into a speck of hazy gray light. Though small, the light seemed to contain the mighty power of opening up heaven and earth.

The sword struck out.

There was no sound, no light, only a faint gray trace sweeping across the air.

Wherever the trace passed, space was torn apart like a piece of cloth, revealing a pitch-black crack.

The giant foot stomped down by the giant collided with the gray sword trace.

Chi—!

There was no earth-shattering explosion, only a bizarre melting sound.

Starting from the point of contact, the giant's sole rapidly disintegrated and was annihilated, turning into the most primitive blood qi and dissipating. The gray sword trace did not lessen in momentum, spreading upwards along the giant's leg, and wherever it passed, flesh, blood, and bones completely vanished.

"Impossible!" Daoist Xuegu's eyeballs were about to pop out, "Chaos Open Heavens?! A Move that Sword Monarch Qinglian himself hadn't even fully mastered back then, how could a Nascent Soul Early Stage junior like you..."

His voice came to an abrupt halt.

Because the gray sword trace had already spread to the giant's chest, and that beating heart burst apart with a boom!

"Roar—!!!"

The crimson giant let out a miserable wail as its massive Physique began to collapse, turning into a torrential downpour of blood rain falling all over the sky.

With a single strike, it heavily injured a half-step Soul Transformation Puppet!

But Bai Yunzhou was not having an easy time either.

His complexion was as pale as paper, fresh blood oozed from his seven orifices, and his hand holding the sword trembled uncontrollably. Forcibly executing Chaos Open Heavens had almost drained all of his spiritual power, tearing his Meridians in multiple places, and even the chaos green lotus Nascent Soul dimmed by quite a bit.

"Senior Brother!" Zhou Zhiting cried out in alarm.

"Don't come over!" Bai Yunzhou gritted his teeth, staring fixedly at Daoist Xuegu.

Daoist Xuegu snapped out of his shock, a look of madness flashing in his eyes, "Good, good, good! To be able to heavily injure the Blood God Puppet, your Chaos Green Lotus Body is even more perfect than I imagined! Even if I have to risk discarding this Clone today, I will capture you and present you to the Master!"

He bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of vital blood onto the staff.

The skull-headed staff erupted with blinding crimson light, and Daoist Xuegu's aura began to climb crazily.

Blood Sacrifice Secret Technique: Soul Burning!

His body shriveled down at a speed visible to the naked eye, yet the pressure he emitted broke through the Nascent Soul Middle Stage, heading straight for the Late Stage!

"Brat, meet your death!"

Daoist Xuegu transformed into a bloody shadow, directly pouncing on Bai Yunzhou.

The speed was extreme to the limit; under heavy injuries, Bai Yunzhou was simply unable to dodge.

Right at this juncture of life and death—

An aged voice came from the air:

"Daoist Xuegu, three hundred years have passed, and you still love bullying juniors so much."

A hazy gray sword light descended from the sky, slashing between Daoist Xuegu and Bai Yunzhou.

The sword light dispersed, revealing Elder Moyuan's withered figure.

He held that charred wooden staff, looking at Daoist Xuegu with indifferent eyes:

"Your opponent is this old man."