Chapter 54 All Dead?

“It’s finally over…” Chi Bi let out a long breath before collapsing to one knee.

The battlefield was strewn with Lava Crocodile corpses. Two of his teammates had fallen, while the survivors were covered in wounds, some even missing an arm.

Although the Lava Crocodiles’ corpses were valuable enough to make up for the mission’s material losses, no amount of wealth could bring back their fallen companions.

“Chi Yue, do you have any primeval essence left? If you do, hurry and treat Chi Xin. His arm was torn off by a Lava Crocodile. If we don’t stop the bleeding soon, he’ll bleed to death.”

Despite his own grievous injuries, Chi Bi’s first concern was still his teammates.

Chi Yue and Chi Xin had grown up together since childhood. Yet no matter how desperately they had fought, she had still failed to save her closest friend.

She remained frozen in place, her eyes fixed blankly on the blood-soaked battlefield.

“Chi Yue!”

Only after Chi Bi shouted again did she finally snap back to reality.

They had graduated from the academy only this year. Until today, none of them had ever experienced such a desperate battle, nor had they witnessed the death of companions who had laughed and trained beside them only hours before.

“Don’t worry, Captain. I still have ten percent of my primeval essence left. It should be enough to keep Chi Xin alive.”

Chi Yue staggered to Chi Xin’s side. His entire body was soaked in blood, his face deathly pale. Having lost too much blood, he had long since fallen unconscious. She raised her fair hands as a faint crimson glow spread from her palms. Bathed in its light, the bleeding gradually stopped, scabs formed over the wounds, and fresh flesh slowly grew over the severed arm. Little by little, the last trace of primeval essence within Chi Yue’s Aperture was exhausted, but Chi Xin’s injuries were finally stabilized.

Letting out a sigh of relief, Chi Yue wiped the sweat from her forehead and turned to check on Chi Bi. At that very moment, a blood-soaked hand suddenly pierced through her chest from behind.

Chi Yue looked down blankly at the hand protruding from her chest before struggling to turn around. Standing behind her was a young man with a slightly chubby baby face, delicate features, and dark eyes. Were it not for the blood splattered across his face, no one would have believed he was the Blood Path demon who had slaughtered so many Gu Masters.

“Sorry.” The moment Chi Yue saw his face clearly, the hand was violently pulled back, tearing her still-beating heart from her chest. Blood gushed from the wound in an instant.

Her warm body slowly collapsed to the ground as the color rapidly drained from her beautiful face. In the blink of an eye, the once lively young woman had become a slowly cooling corpse.

The young man was Yang Kang. It was he who had lured the Chi family team into the Lava Crocodiles’ territory, using the beast swarm to exhaust their primeval essence and wear down their strength. Although he had already reached the middle stage of Rank Three, Yang Kang never underestimated his opponents. Even a lion used its full strength to hunt a rabbit. He had not only used the Lava Crocodiles to exhaust the team, but had also intercepted and killed every Gu Master drawn here by their distress signal.

Afterward, he calmly finished off the unconscious Chi Xin.

“This makes the fifth team.” Yang Kang frowned as his expression suddenly changed. His body trembled slightly as an overwhelming hunger surged from the depths of his stomach.

“Damn it… it’s happening again.”

He lowered his head and stared at the still-beating heart in his hand. A strand of saliva slowly slid from the corner of his mouth.

He actually wanted to devour her heart.

This was one of the drawbacks of using Blood Embryo Gu. Powerful Gu often came with equally severe costs.

Blood Embryo Gu transformed natural primeval essence into blood-colored primeval essence. As its concentration increased, it gradually condensed into blood crystals that settled within the aperture. These crystals temporarily expanded the primeval sea and raised the Gu Master’s aptitude.

However, the effect was only temporary. Over time, the blood crystals would slowly dissolve and disappear. To maintain the improvement, the Gu Master had to use Blood Embryo Gu again.

When the concentration of blood-colored primeval essence remained low, it simply mixed with natural primeval essence, allowing the aperture walls to be nourished and refined more efficiently.

Such astonishing effects naturally came at an equally terrifying price. As more natural primeval essence was converted, the Gu Master’s aperture would eventually contain nothing but blood-colored primeval essence.

At that point, they could cultivate only Blood Path. Any Gu of other paths nurtured within the aperture would be gradually corroded until they died, whereas Blood Path Gu not only remained unaffected but also consumed even less primeval essence when activated.

The second cost was even more insidious. The Gu Master would become increasingly bloodthirsty, while their temperament grew colder and more ruthless.

“It looks so delicious… I really want to eat it. It must taste incredible. No… I have to resist.” Yang Kang shook his head violently, forcing himself to suppress the terrifying impulse. “If I really eat this heart… How will I ever face my sister again? In her eyes, I’m a hero.”

As someone who had once walked the righteous path, Yang Kang naturally knew the horrors of the Blood Path. If he had been given another choice, he would never have cultivated it.

Unfortunately, he had no choice. At the time, Blood Path had been his only road to survival.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Before Yang Kang could finish cleaning up the battlefield, more than a dozen iron arrows shot toward him from the distance, sealing off every possible route of escape.