223: Chapter 223 Blood Fiend Bead

"Bone-Crushing Qi Seal!"

"Hum!"

Wherever the blade Qi passed, the air let out a sharp hiss, and a shallow trench was plowed into the ground.

Commander Su Qin reacted quickly, blocking horizontally with his sword. Lightning and blade Qi collided, sparks flying. The blade Qi shattered into several streaks of cyan light that scattered, but the remaining force still pressed a shallow, cracked pit into the ground beneath his feet.

The short blades of the other five struck simultaneously. Five streaks of blade Qi crisscrossed like a net, sealing off Commander Su Qin's retreat, like five needles piercing the same point at once.

Commander Su Qin did not meet the attack head-on; he retreated rapidly, simultaneously drawing a circle in front of him with his left hand as three tiny arcs of electricity popped from his fingertips.

"Lightning Attraction!"

The three arcs of electricity precisely struck the sides of the five streaks of blade Qi, deflecting two of them for an instant. Seizing this momentary gap, he slid half a step to the side. Lightning illuminated his sword blade once more, the tip angled slightly downward, as if waiting for the next opportunity to strike.

Wu Li had already moved the moment Commander Su Qin retreated.

He swung the fire halberd in a wide arc, the tip pointing downward, and slammed it into the ground. Crimson-gold flames exploded from the tip, spreading outward with the halberd shaft as the center: "Sea of Fire Scorches the Earth!"

The flames spread along the gaps in the rubble, like a tide set ablaze, surging toward the feet of the six Xuan Kun Guards. Wherever they passed, the soil was scorched pitch black, white smoke rose from the stone crevices, and the air was twisted by the heat waves into a layer of translucent ripples.

The leader had his ankle licked by the flames, his pant leg instantly charred, revealing a patch of reddened flesh. He groaned and retreated half a step, plunging his short blade into the soil. Cyan-gray blade Qi surged from the blade, condensing into a thin barrier in front of his feet, holding the flames an inch away.

The offensive of the other five slowed simultaneously.

Deputy Commander Lin He stood on the perimeter, watching the repelled bone beads and the obstructed Xuan Kun Guards. His face darkened slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

"You really do have some skill."

He raised his right hand and closed his five fingers gently in the Void Realm. The nine bone beads that had been knocked away lit up again, their blood-colored light even thicker than before. The patterns on the surface of the beads seemed to have been reactivated, shifting from dark red to crimson, like congealed blood melting on a hot iron plate.

"Scatter!!"

"Hum-hum~"

He did not rush to have the bone beads attack; instead, he let them scatter, circling and hovering around Wu Li like a flock of birds of prey tracking a scent. They kept their distance, as if waiting for a suitable opening to appear.

Commander Su Qin noticed the movement of the bone beads. He turned his sword, and lightning condensed into a thin curtain of light in front of him once more.

Deputy Commander Lin He watched the scorched blood lines and the obstructed Xuan Kun Guards; the smile on his face completely vanished, replaced by a nearly mechanical coldness.

"You brought this upon yourselves!"

He brought his palms together in front of him, fingers interlaced. A layer of dark red blood light seeped from between his fingers, as if something was burning in his palms.

"Blood Evil Bead: Nine-Palace Heavenly Evil Soul Lock."

"Hum~"

The nine bone beads stopped circling simultaneously. The blood-colored light on their surfaces surged violently; each one shone as bright as a spark set ablaze, emitting a blinding red light in the night.

They no longer hovered but quickly arranged themselves into an irregular Nine-Palace formation, encompassing both Wu Li and Commander Su Qin within it.

"Crimson Phoenix!"

The space around Wu Li tightened instantly. A layer of visible dark red light membrane extended from between the nine bone beads, like a thin film of blood clinging to the air, isolating the two of them from the outside world.

The moisture and Spiritual Qi in the air were stripped away and compressed layer by layer, as if someone had pulled out part of the weight from within, making breathing feel significantly heavier.

At the same time, a wave of Evil Qi spread out.

"Damn it."

Commander Su Qin could clearly feel that the spiritual power within his body seemed to be held back by something; its flow had slowed, and his Meridians felt as if they had been filled with a thin layer of paste, making it much more difficult to circulate than before.

At this moment.

Commander Su Qin's face darkened, his voice hurried.

"The Blood Evil Bead formation will release a massive amount of Evil Qi to refine and suppress everything within the formation. He is using the Origin power of the Blood Evil Beads to suppress us. If this drags on and the Xuan Kun Guards regroup, we won't be able to get out."

Deputy Commander Lin He raised his right palm.

"Boom!"

He spread his five fingers, his palm facing the expanding light membrane. A layer of dark red ripples surged from his palm, flowing along the surface of the membrane toward every bone bead in the formation, nourishing the surface of the Blood Evil Beads to ensure the light membrane maintained stable operation.

"Now, you have one last chance. Tell me the location of the teleportation array, and I can make this formation stop."

"Otherwise..."

Commander Su Qin's complexion became increasingly ugly.

He felt the spiritual power inside his body becoming increasingly sluggish, suppressed by the blood membrane, as if something from outside his Meridians was pinching his spiritual power, preventing it from flowing smoothly.

He turned his head to look at Wu Li, lowering his voice with a sense of urgency: "If you don't show your true skills now, we're really going to die here."

He had fought Wu Li at full strength before and knew that this crow's true power was far greater than what he had shown so far.

Upon hearing this, Wu Li's blood-red pupils narrowed slightly, and his mouth curled into a not-so-friendly arc. His voice was not loud: "This thing certainly won't be any trouble for me."

He paused, tapping his claw lightly against the shaft of the fire halberd, as if weighing something.

"But why should I help you?"

"These troubles seem to have been brought to me by you."

Commander Su Qin frowned, but he did not hesitate. His gaze did not leave the contracting blood membrane, and his voice was fast and low.

"I have already attacked them!"

"If they leave today, I'm the one who dies. If you help me kill them, with the credit of the teleportation array, I will surely be able to sit in the position of Commander."

"At that time, as long as it's here in Beiling County, I will be the heavens. Whatever you want, I will give it to you!!"

He did not look at Wu Li when he said this, his gaze still nailed to the blood membrane.

Outside, Deputy Commander Lin He's voice came through the blood membrane, carrying a thin layer of amusement. It was not loud, but in this compressed space, it sounded exceptionally clear.

"Commander Su Qin, you really are wishful thinking."

"This Evil Qi of mine is something I have condensed over many years. Now that this formation is complete, let alone a crow, even a Peak great demon from Wan Jiao Palace wouldn't be able to break it!"

"Hum!"

As Deputy Commander Lin He's voice fell, the blood membrane tightened a bit more, as if something was closing in from all sides.

Commander Su Qin did not reply. His fingers gripping the sword hilt tightened further, his knuckles turning white. Lightning danced on the blade for a moment, then dimmed.

Upon hearing this, the arc of Wu Li's mouth deepened a fraction.

Commander Su Qin's words had indeed moved him. The resources a Commander of Beiling County could mobilize were far beyond what a wild, lone demon could compare to.

But in the short few breaths he took to think, the six Xuan Kun Guards had already pressed in again.