Chapter 498 - 479: A Brand-New Blood God True Monarch

Chapter 498: Chapter 479: A Brand-New Blood God True Monarch

A streak of blood plunged toward the Blood Sea Sect, and the Grand Array opened on its own to let it pass.

It shot straight toward a Blood Pool deep underground, where a Blood Shadow finally coalesced, looking extremely illusory.

A single wave lapped against it, and the Blood Shadow would dissipate for a moment, struggling to reform only after a long while.

’Heh... heh... Sword Intent... He actually comprehended the legendary Sword Intent...’

Several strands of Sword Intent were rampaging within the Blood Shadow, constantly striking it from the inside. He couldn’t dissolve them no matter what he tried.

Blood God True Monarch’s aura was as faint as a flickering thread. He could only blame himself for underestimating the heroes of the world, blinded by a reward like the Nine-Tailed Celestial Fox Essence Blood.

To him, that single drop of Demon Monarch Essence Blood was far more valuable than any Miracle Elixir.

His target was merely an Early-Stage Nascent Soul Sword Cultivator. No matter how Heaven-Defying his strength, he shouldn’t have been able to turn the tables so completely.

Furthermore, he had been to the Northern Domain and knew of Bai Zichen’s name. Based on what he had heard in the Northern Domain and the reports of Bai Zichen’s performance in the Qingqiu Death Sea, he had judged that he could easily take him down with his full power.

Even if his opponent had a hidden ace, there was no way it could threaten him while he wielded the Abi Heavenly Prison Demon Sword. At most, it would be something to protect himself and escape.

So, what reason did Blood God True Monarch have to refuse such a low-risk, high-reward mission?

He just never imagined that Bai Zichen had been hiding his strength all along—and hiding it so deeply.

He had probably used less than half of his true power on his entire journey from the Northern Domain to the Southern Domain Two Realms Mountain.

This made Blood God True Monarch suspect that he had done it on purpose, specifically to bait out hidden enemies who were coveting what he had.

A Sword Array that contained Sword Intent—Blood God True Monarch knew better than anyone what that signified.

Even in the Super Sword Sects of the Central Domain, very few could achieve such a feat.

Every Sword Cultivator who mastered Sword Intent was a famous and powerful figure.

’I can only hold on for a few more days. Once the Abi Heavenly Prison Demon Sword returns, I can use the power of the Tier Five Flying Sword to expel the Sword Intent... For the next few days, I can only endure.’

The Blood Shadow’s head wavered, with more and more parts of it missing. It hurriedly drew Blood Essence from the Blood Pool to patch and repair itself.

"Sect Leader, are you alright?"

Someone knocked on the door outside the Blood Pool chamber and asked.

"It’s nothing. I was careless and fell into a trap."

Blood God True Monarch’s voice was faint and erratic, sounding as if it were drifting from the Netherworld.

"Pass down the order: do not enter the territory of the Dian Country for the time being. Especially... Never mind. Come in, I’ll explain the details to you."

Elder Tian walked into the Blood Pool chamber and descended a few steps, saying worriedly, "Sect Leader, you should focus on recuperating. Junior Sister Liu and I can handle things outside. You don’t need to worry too much. I will come to you for instructions only on major matters."

SWISH!

The extremely weakened Blood Shadow suddenly erupted from the Blood Pool, completely enveloping Elder Tian.

"Senior Brother, why..."

Elder Tian cried out in alarm and also transformed into a mass of blood shadow, about to flee.

But he was completely trapped by Blood God True Monarch. He struggled left and right but couldn’t break free. A moment later, the two Blood Shadows merged, leaving only a single one hovering above the Blood Pool.

SPLASH!

Elder Tian’s Realm, which was also in its embryonic form with a Blood Essence Core, was devoured by the stronger, homologous Realm without any ability to resist.

Several hours later, only a blood-red robe drifted down. A dignified Nascent Soul True Monarch had died a silent, ignominious death. Not only had he failed to let his Nascent Soul escape, but he hadn’t even left a single mark on the Cultivation Realm before his demise.

He had devoured a fellow sect member. Everything from his physical body and blood energy to his Nascent Soul became nourishment for Blood God True Monarch.

At a speed visible to the naked eye, the Blood Shadow became full and solid, no longer appearing illusory and on the verge of shattering.

’Junior Brother Tian, I will carry your will to live on...’

Blood God True Monarch mourned for Elder Tian for a moment before immediately shifting his focus back to himself.

Even though Elder Tian was his trusted confidant, his most important right-hand man in managing the Blood Sea Sect, he was disposable in the face of his own Great Dao.

The effect of devouring a Nascent Soul True Monarch was obvious. At the very least, he could now maintain his Nascent Soul form.

’Even if I use the Demon Sword and the Blood Sea to recover later, this grievous injury will set back my advancement to the Late-Stage Nascent Soul Realm by at least a hundred years... My path to Divinity Transformation is nearly cut off. This hatred is irreconcilable!’

Blood God True Monarch’s heart was bleeding. A feeling of bitter resentment arose that he could no longer control. A tiny flame ignited and blazed across the lake of his heart.

’Not good!’

He knew the situation was dire. Demon Path Cultivators indulged their passions, magnifying the seven emotions and six desires a hundredfold. The Heart Demons they had to face during Tribulation Crossing were already several times stronger than normal.

At the same time, during their cultivation, they had to be constantly vigilant not to let any single emotion surge out of control, lest their bodies be possessed by an Outer Celestial Demon.

Of all the powerful Demon Path Techniques in the world, ninety-nine percent originated from the Heavenly Demon Realm, having been modified and improved over and over.

But at their core, they were still fundamentally tied to the Heavenly Demon Realm. It was extremely easy to be seduced by a Demon Thought and become a hideous, mindless Demon.

Demon Path Cultivators generally followed two paths. The first was extreme resistance: they would slay all Demon Thoughts and maintain a clear mind. Even if they practiced Demon Skills, they would still ascend to the Earth Immortal Realm in the future.

The second path was gradual acceptance. They would keep it within certain limits, still retaining their sense of self. When they reached Perfection, they would ascend to the Heavenly Demon Realm.

The Hundred Demons Blood Sea Technique came from the Blood Demon Race. The first-generation patriarchs of the Blood Sea Sect almost all cultivated to the Core Formation Realm before they could no longer hold on and turned into Blood Demons.

Later, after generations of patriarchs experimented on themselves, they changed the Cultivation Technique significantly. They innovatively discovered that they could use various special bloodlines from the Human World to replace the direct absorption of the settled Blood Essence at the bottom of the Blood Sea, which greatly reduced the chance of losing control and undergoing Demonization.

Blood God True Monarch had lofty goals. He didn’t want to become a Blood Demon, neither human nor ghost, like his predecessors, so he had always followed the former path.

But now, he was grievously injured, and his control had plummeted. The drastic emotional shift had also stirred his Heart Demon, and signs of Demonization immediately appeared.

The Demon Light on his body flared. One moment he would transform into thousands of blood shadows, the next he would reveal a ferocious Nascent Soul. Only after a long while did it finally subside.

On the Nascent Soul’s small face, a pair of eyes opened. There were no pupils, only an endless sea of blood.

"What a waste. He nearly suffered Divine Soul Annihilation after cultivating only this far, forcing me to come out and clean up this mess..."

The ’Blood God True Monarch’ took a light breath. The entire Blood Pool was instantly drained dry as it transformed into a sturdy physical body, which he then stepped into.

’I’ve awakened three hundred years earlier than expected. I wonder if those old geezers have ascended and left yet. Worst case, I’ll just lie dormant for another century. Once I’m sure there’s no risk, I’ll Blood Refine this world, open a Void Passage, and send myself back to the Heavenly Demon Realm!’

The new Blood God True Monarch’s expression was even colder and more indifferent, carrying a kind of universal, murderous cruelty. There was no trace of emotion in his eyes.

’But that Sword Cultivator... his Sword Array feels somewhat familiar. That wisp of Sword Intent... I feel like I’ve seen it before...’

Blood God True Monarch raised his hand. The spot that had been struck by the Star Sword Light was constantly cracking and disintegrating. Chunks of flesh fell off, and the same was happening to his Nascent Soul, forcing him to draw upon blood energy to patch it up.

With a flash of bloody light, he appeared in the Blood Sea behind the mountain. He let out a piercing shriek, and countless streams of Essence Blood surged toward him.

This was the foul Essence Blood that had settled in the Blood Sea for ten thousand years, which even Nascent Soul Demon Cultivators dared not directly absorb and utilize. Yet, it now entered his body without any Refinement.

And like a bottomless abyss, this whale-like swallowing continued for three whole days.

Finally, a thread of starlight flew out from his body. With a SWISH, it cleansed the foul blood from around him and was about to burst out of the Blood Sea.

Countless blood waves crashed against it, one after another. With a force hundreds of times greater, they finally ground away that thread of starlight Sword Intent.

"The Star River Sword Array! A legacy of the Taibai Sword Sect still exists in the Cultivation Realm? How is that possible..."

This was the first time this Blood God True Monarch showed any emotional fluctuation. After unscrupulously using the power of the Blood Sea to expel the Sword Intent, he finally realized the origin of the Sword Array.

"The Taibai Sword Sect set up its own Nine Heavens Ten Earths Demon Extinguishing Sword Formation, dragging five Divinity Transformation Level Outer Celestial Demons down to the Yellow Springs with them! Outside, all the surviving Venerable Level Ancient Demons laid an ambush. It was impossible for any disciple to escape! The entire Mountain Gate was scoured a hundred times over. There’s no way any legacy involving the Fundamental Great Method could have survived!"

The legacy he spoke of was not the Taibai Sword Sect’s general Sword Dao inheritance. Disciples traveling abroad, cultivators from branch lineages, and various Sword Cultivation Sects had all benefited from the Taibai Sword Sect to some degree. He was referring to *the* Fundamental Great Method—the one that allowed a Sword Cultivator to refine their Lifebound Flying Sword without restriction, creating a fundamental gap in combat power between them and other cultivators.

Only by cultivating this technique was it possible for a single person to lay down a Sword Array.

The ’Blood God True Monarch’ was someone who had personally witnessed the fall of the Taibai Sword Sect and knew most of the inside story. Of course he knew what price his group had paid to annihilate them back then.

Their lifespans had already been nearly exhausted, and they were barely clinging to life with Secret Techniques, constantly reincarnating to survive. After that battle, two more Demon Venerables had immediately perished.

Among those who remained, managing to preserve a single Demon Seed, finding a suitable host to possess, and only awakening at a critical moment like he had was already the best-case scenario.

Many others, just to survive, had abandoned everything, leaving only a wisp of Divine Thought attached to a Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasure. Only in that awkward state could they continue to exist.

’Could it be that a Core Disciple was outside the Mountain Gate back then? Impossible. We cross-checked the list afterward. Every Taibai Sword Sect Disciple at Core Formation and above died. Not a single one was missed. Even if he has a natural-born Sword Dao Holy Body, they couldn’t possibly have taught him the Fundamental Great Method during the Foundation Establishment Stage, right?’

A worried look appeared on Blood God True Monarch’s face. Times were different now; it would be impossible to gather a force to accomplish such a great feat again.

’Fortunately, he’s only at the Early-Stage Nascent Soul Realm. Once I have cultivated this Demon Body to Nascent Soul Perfection, I will find an opportunity to kill him. After a Soul Searching and Soul Examining, I will know his secrets and finally find out where the mistake was made all those years ago!’

The Blood Shadow sank to the bottom of the sea and became motionless, like a stone statue. Countless drops of Essence Blood fell and covered it.

...

’Finally, I’m more or less recovered. I’ll come back to the Hundred Thousand Evil Mountains some other time. There are quite a few more important matters to deal with first...’

Bai Zichen rose to his feet. Like a Fire Dragon lying on the ground lifting its head, the entire mountain peak gave a Zhen.

He glanced at the endless, rugged peaks of the Hundred Thousand Evil Mountains, where great dangers seemed to be brewing amidst the swirling clouds and mist.

The Hundred Poison Green Scale Bone was not his top priority. He couldn’t afford to invest too much time into refining this Immortal Bone.

However, no matter how he looked at it, this Immortal Bone didn’t seem like something that could be refined in a short amount of time.

’Nan Chu... First, a trip to the Blood Sea Sect...’