Chapter Thirty-Nine: Joining Forces for an Assault

The Blood Demon shot Tang Yi a look and said, "I was just immersed in the sorrow and contemplation of my past experiences, and your habit of interrupting others' thoughts is exceedingly, exceedingly immoral..."

"Fine... go on, go on," Tang Yi said, utterly defeated by the Blood Demon's antics.

"Now that's better. As I was saying, a long, long time ago..." The Blood Demon began to recount his little-known story once more.

Back then, Tang Xianyu had fallen into the abyss beneath an unknown mountain peak. He never expected that the chasm would be a dreadful land of death, a place into which, for reasons unknown, the deathly aura, grudges, evil thoughts, and anger from all over the world would continuously gather, giving Tang Xianyu an immense opportunity to replenish himself. Gifted as he was, aided by his supernatural powers and cultivation techniques, Tang Xianyu rapidly healed his wounds. He even merged his supernatural abilities with his cultivation methods and created the first demonic technique of cultivation—the Blood Demon Art.

At the time, Tang Xianyu had just received his master's permission to leave the mountain to train. Who could have foreseen that misfortune and violence would befall him the moment he ventured out? This experience utterly transformed his disposition.

"Ah, to think that I, Tang Xianyu, was once a model youth in every respect. Who could have guessed that I'd be ruined by those two wretches..." The Blood Demon sighed mournfully. Tang Yi couldn't hold back: "Wait, wait, haha...hahaha...oh, let me finish laughing, you can go on, a model youth, haha..."

"Hmph, I won't stoop to the level of a brat like you. Where was I? Oh, yes, the model youth. No, I meant to say that I finally created the unparalleled Blood God Art..." The Blood Demon continued.

"Tch, Blood God Art? Wasn't it the Blood Demon Art? Fine, I won't interrupt anymore!" As Tang Yi interjected again, the Blood Demon glared at him with enormous eyes, and Tang Yi quickly fell silent.

Tang Xianyu spent fifty years developing his supreme ability—the supernatural cultivation method later known as the Blood Demon Art, though he himself called it the Blood God Art. Upon mastering it, the first thing Tang Xianyu did was seek vengeance upon the two cultivators who had wronged him. But much to his frustration, the war for Martian resources was in full swing at the time, and those two villains had long since died in the conflict, their deaths beyond doubt. As for the flying shuttle, no one knew who had taken it.

Unable to exact his revenge, Tang Xianyu's hatred only deepened. So, amid the resource war, he began slaughtering indiscriminately—anyone he disliked fell by his hand. At first, neither faction fighting on Mars noticed anything amiss, but soon non-combat casualties began to mount on both sides. Eventually, the leadership of both factions realized something was wrong. They agreed to a temporary truce to eliminate this mysterious third party together.

Under their schemes, Tang Xianyu was soon exposed. On the Martian battlefield, his face half-black and half-red, Tang Xianyu stood facing both groups of cultivators.

"So it was you meddling from the shadows? You've killed so many of our people! Today will be your last!" declared the leader of one faction, confronting Tang Xianyu.

"Tch, yes, it was me. But these rabble were destined to be cannon fodder anyway, sooner or later they'd die. I've simply hastened them on to the next life. They should be grateful," Tang Xianyu mocked, making the leaders of both factions flush with shame.

"Hmph, enough of your sophistry—less talk, more action! Everyone, attack! Destroy this shameless fiend!" the other leader commanded, and the crowd surged forward.

"At that time, my cultivation was only at the mid-Spirit Severing stage, but my true strength rivaled those in the late Tribulation Crossing stage. Coupled with my Blood God Art, my power was on par with someone in the mid-Great Ascension stage," the Blood Demon boasted. At this point, he glanced at Tang Yi, tossing him the oversized teapot and teacup to brew another batch of tea.

"Alright, you're the boss now. I'll make you another pot of Cloud Immortal Tea. But that's the last of it!" Tang Yi replied, setting about making tea once more. The Blood Demon, pleased, said, "Young man, you suit my taste!"

"Please, I have no wish to end up on your menu!" Tang Yi quickly retorted.

"Hmph, you fail to appreciate my kindness!" the Blood Demon grumbled, but as Tang Yi finished brewing the tea, he continued his tale...

At that time, one faction was led by Chen Gong, who later became the victor and remained on Earth. The other, led by Xi Qi, lost the war and fled to the Pegasus system. Chen Gong wielded a weapon called the Sky-Piercing Bow. To deal with Tang Xianyu, he brought out the Golden Sun Arrow he had long been reluctant to use. Drawing the bow to its fullest, Chen Gong loosed the arrow with a sound that echoed across the sky. The Golden Sun Arrow shot towards Tang Xianyu at a speed beyond reckoning. Tang Xianyu had no chance to evade; the arrow pierced his chest, its tip protruding from his back, its fletching still visible at his chest.

With a muffled groan, Tang Xianyu flew back three miles before stopping. Everyone thought he was finished. The Golden Sun Arrow was a supreme spiritual treasure, used in tandem with the Sky-Piercing Bow, itself also a top-grade treasure. Chen Gong's cultivation was at the late Tribulation Crossing stage, and the arrow's power could easily kill an early Great Ascension cultivator—provided it hit, of course. What’s more, the Golden Sun Arrow had a special property: it continuously absorbed pure solar energy to burn the body and soul of its target. Normally, anyone struck by it would be doomed, especially under the blazing sun.

But to everyone's astonishment, including Tang Xianyu himself, the evil aura within him was so potent it began to corrode the arrow immediately—and at an astonishing speed.

When the others flew over, they arrived just in time to see the Golden Sun Arrow on Tang Xianyu's body slowly dissolve into a wisp of black smoke and dissipate into the air.

"For someone to have cultivated such demonic arts—listen carefully, everyone! If this demon is not destroyed, all living things will suffer. Today, we must slay this fiend!" Xi Qi declared righteously. The crowd all nodded in agreement. Meanwhile, Chen Gong, the arrow’s owner, was heartbroken; the Golden Sun Arrow was a supreme spiritual treasure, reusable and now utterly gone. He only had three in total!

"Hmph, a bunch of sanctimonious hypocrites!" Tang Xianyu sneered. "If you want to kill me, then do it—no need for so many excuses." With that, he extended his left hand and, before anyone could react, seized a careless cultivator in the Out-of-Body stage.

"Ah..." At such close range, confronted with the terrifying half-black, half-red face, the unfortunate man screamed in terror.

"Hmph!" Tang Xianyu snorted coldly, and directly absorbed all the blood from the cultivator through his palm. In an instant, the poor soul was reduced to a dried corpse, unable to utter even a final sound! With a thud, the shriveled body and its clothes dropped to the ground in a cloud of dust. Tang Xianyu tossed the ring and other items he had taken from the corpse, then, with a chuckle, stored them all in his own storage ring.

"Heh heh heh... Come, come and kill me if you dare!" Tang Xianyu swept his blood-red eyes over the assembled crowd.