Volume One: The Cloud-Mist Immortal Palace Arc Chapter Ninety-Two: Dragon-Siphoning Blood-Refining Formation

The cave-world was now a scene from the end of days.

Across the boundless sea, tens of thousands of water tornadoes rose against the heavens like colossal funnels, crackling with flashes of lightning. Heart-Shaped Island lay in the middle of the ocean like a lone skiff, in constant danger of being swallowed at any moment. Fortunately, the Ironclad Shield was truly formidable; even though it was flawed and no longer at its peak, it still withstood the attacks of hundreds upon hundreds of sea beasts.

And after Zhou Hao stepped beyond Heart-Shaped Island, he finally witnessed just how ferocious those creatures were. It was hard to imagine that these sea beasts, each one immense as a mountain, could gather here in one place. From afar they looked like a dark, surging mass, like a continent of blackness.

The sea beasts ranged from the lower immortal realm to the upper immortal realm. One could only imagine how difficult Zhou Hao’s situation was. And yet, even so, he had already slain more than four hundred of them—truly worthy of being called unmatched.

Standing atop the head of a giant killer whale, Zhou Hao remained motionless. His white robes were stained with blood, and the stone sword in his hand had also turned from black to red. Yet none of that blood was his own. The sea beasts he had killed so far were all below the upper immortal realm; if he truly ran into one at that level, even he would have no choice but to turn and flee.

Ahead, the water tornadoes twisted up to the sky, like mad serpents stirring the winds and clouds. The heavens were dark, choked with heavy leaden clouds. At the very center of those countless whirlwinds, an enormous dragon head hovered above the sea, looking indescribably eerie.

“Kid, listen carefully. I’ll drive the Yellow Gourd to cover you. All you need to do is take the black stone sword in your hand and stab at the location of Luo Tianyi’s reverse scale. That is her weak point, and it is also the death spot of every dragon clan member.”

At that moment, Dengtu Lang’s voice rang once more in Zhou Hao’s mind.

“Good. Then let me, this Golden Immortal, experience the immortal might of a Great Immortal for myself!” Zhou Hao nodded. His face was full of confidence, and he even seemed eager to try.

If an ordinary Golden Immortal claimed he wanted to fight a Great Immortal, he would be so terrified he’d likely wet himself, with not even a shred of courage to spare. But Zhou Hao was different. At this moment, blood surged through him like wildfire. He was truly like a newborn calf, and even facing an opponent far beyond anything he had ever imagined, he felt no fear at all.

Part of the reason was that Zhou Hao truly possessed the spirit of one who fears nothing. Another part was Dengtu Lang’s protection; otherwise, just the Great Immortal might Luo Tianyi was displaying right now would have been enough to make Zhou Hao’s legs go weak.

Around Zhou Hao stood countless massive sea beasts. They had originally bared their fangs, their mouths wide enough to swallow men, their teeth like daggers and blades. But the moment Luo Tianyi appeared, they all quietly shut their mouths, trembling as they crouched low, as though commoners had suddenly encountered the emperor. The reason Zhou Hao could still stand so calmly was that the Yellow Gourd in his hand was resisting that Great Immortal pressure.

Crack, crack, crack... BOOM!

“What was that sound?”

Suddenly, a thunderous explosion shook the entire world, sounding as though some great mass of metal had detonated.

Zhou Hao instinctively turned to look behind him. In an instant, his pupils contracted sharply, and his battle-ready face was filled with shock.

The golden city wall formed by the Ironclad Shield had blown apart.

“Dengtu Lang, just watch carefully. Your Great Immortal cave abode is doomed today. All living things will become my sacrifice. Hahahahaha!”

The dragon head floating above the sea laughed uproariously. There was no doubt that the golden city wall had been destroyed by her. It had once been a Great Immortal-grade weapon, Dengtu Lang’s most treasured possession. Unfortunately, it had been cracked in the great battle long ago, which was why it had been used to guard Heart-Shaped Island.

The wall shattered, golden fragments scattered everywhere. Yet those fragments slowly began to gather again, forming a thick golden shield. It looked as though it might once more become a complete immortal barrier, but in the next instant countless new cracks appeared across its surface. With a hum, it split apart again, golden shards flying in every direction before falling into the sea and splashing up sprays of water.

“No good. Reconstitution failed. It seems Luo Tianyi wants to use the island’s living beings as sacrifices—she means to forge a complete dragon body.” Dengtu Lang sighed.

Just now, he had tried to use his will to reassemble the Ironclad Shield. Who could have known that Luo Tianyi’s formless immortal pressure would cross the sea and sabotage him? In the end, their struggle ended with Dengtu Lang’s defeat. The immortal shield that had accompanied him for tens of thousands of years was utterly destroyed.

“We have to stop her. Huahuo and Su Qing are still on the island,” Zhou Hao said, and with a tap of his toes he shot toward Heart-Shaped Island like a streak of light.

Boom!

At this moment, the sea roared, and the cave-world trembled violently. Leaden clouds pressed low, blotting out the blue sky and white sun, while wave after wave of tsunami threatened to engulf Heart-Shaped Island. Tens of thousands of sky-reaching water tornadoes whirled like dragons and serpents gone mad, as though drawing away the energy of heaven and earth itself. The cave-world darkened several shades, truly a scene in which mountains and rivers changed color and the sun and moon lost their light.

Under such conditions, the giant dragon head at the center of the whirlwinds over the sea grew even larger. Its whole body seemed cast from blue diamond, and every scale gave off a cold, cutting gleam.

Earlier, that earth-shattering strike between Luo Tianyi and Dengtu Lang had caused Cailinzi’s flesh body to explode on the spot. That also meant Cailinzi was dead—or rather, the moment Luo Tianyi had entered Cailinzi’s body, Cailinzi had already ceased to exist. So now Luo Tianyi desperately needed a complete body of her own. Her primordial spirit was already exceedingly weak, and it needed a vessel to bear it. The body was the boat; the primordial spirit was the one steering it. Without either, crossing the river was impossible.

“Sacrifice the living, and forge my immortal body!”

The blue dragon head lifted its gaze to the heavens and let out a long howl, speaking in human words.

The next instant, a wondrous sight unfolded.

Centered on the dragon head, a ring of blue light slowly spread outward. Wherever that halo passed, the sea churned up torrents of blood-red color, as if blood were being boiled in a giant cauldron—except the cauldron had become the ocean, and the blood came from every living thing within it. In the blue ring, they were reduced to bones in an instant. Even those hiding more than ten thousand meters beneath the sea floor were useless against it. The scene was appallingly terrifying.

What was more, the speed at which the ring expanded was clearly growing faster and faster. The blue sea became a boiling blood ocean in that instant. Billions of souls wailed miserably, and the ocean turned into a living hell. Yet they were unwilling to have their lives taken so easily, so countless spirits soared from the sea surface, their howls and cries shaking heaven and earth. Those were the resentment of wronged souls. Entwined together, they grew stronger, united as never before, all of them aiming straight for that dark blue dragon head.

“Heh. My primordial spirit just happens to need your power to replenish itself. Since you’re being so obedient, I’ll accept it without further courtesy.”

Luo Tianyi looked at the countless resentful spirits of the sea race surging toward her, but she was not afraid. She was even more terrifying than they were.

Roar!

The dragon maw opened, and a tremendous suction swept through the void. The resentful spirits had still been at some distance from her, but that force instantly dragged them right in front of their enemy.

At once, every face full of hatred was replaced by deep, piercing terror.

Without the slightest accident, those countless resentful spirits all became Luo Tianyi’s meal. They turned into pure soul power that replenished her weakened immortal soul, and her strength grew even greater for a time. And that was not all. After devouring the resentful spirits, the dragon mouth remained open. Within the blood sea, a radiance of ten thousand feet blazed forth like a volcanic eruption, all of it pouring into Luo Tianyi’s gaping dragon jaws.

That red light contained terrifying energy. It was the essence blood of living beings, the source of life for all creatures in the ocean. For cultivators, such a thing was a great tonic, but it also offended heaven’s order, for once one used the source of life, it meant the slaughter of billions.

Only after the towering red radiance had all been swallowed into the dragon mouth did Luo Tianyi finally close her jaws. It was also then that all unrest ceased. The water tornadoes dissipated, the sea no longer roared, and only the leaden clouds still hung in the sky. Heaven and earth became eerily silent in that instant, so quiet it inspired dread. A suffocating atmosphere covered every corner.

On Heart-Shaped Island, with Dengtu Lang’s help, Zhou Hao used the Yellow Gourd to unleash its power. The seven-inch gourd hovered firmly above the island, its mouth pointing downward as it spewed white light across a thousand-mile radius in the shape of a bowl, sealing off the entire island and preventing that strange blue halo from continuing to spread ashore.

“The Dragon-Sucking Blood Formation! I never expected Luo Tianyi to resort even to such a vicious formation. This battle is far harder than I imagined,” Dengtu Lang’s weakened voice echoed in Zhou Hao’s mind, filled with helplessness and hatred.

“So what? I will defeat her. I will, no matter what!” Zhou Hao’s eyes erupted with golden light, and brilliant gold flame-like radiance rose all over his body. His entire aura was like an immortal sword just drawn from its sheath.

After witnessing the cruelty and depravity of the Dragon-Sucking Blood Formation, Zhou Hao felt no fear at all. Instead, a wrath rose from the bottom of his heart. Such a slaughter formation was simply insane beyond measure. Using the essence blood of billions of living beings as sacrifice, solely to rebuild one’s own body—Zhou Hao could not imagine what sort of deranged mind would think of such a thing. In his eyes, Luo Tianyi was nothing less than a monstrous devil guilty of every evil under heaven.

Ssshh!

Not long after, Zhou Hao moved. He stepped upon the black stone sword and rode through the air, his speed pushed to the limit. The Yellow Gourd also flew to the crown of his head, and from its mouth it poured out white light that covered his entire body.

Because at that very moment, the blue ring that had enveloped the ocean vanished.