Chapter 519 - 312: Divine Fallen Blood Stone, Heading to the Dragon Peak Mountain Altar, Possessed by Malevolence

The City Lord’s Mansion was built like a castle.

The most powerful of the native cultivators had all retreated into the City Lord’s Mansion, hoping to use its array to fend off the Outer Realm Evil Demons and save their own lives.

"You Outer Realm Evil Demons! You plunder and pillage, your hands are stained with blood! For the countless crimes you’ve committed, you will surely die a miserable death!"

A chorus of curses rang out from within the mansion.

Outside the City Lord’s Mansion, a man with a sword strapped to his back stood clad in a crimson Wanluo Daoist Robe. His Flying Sword was wrapped in white cloth, but that did little to conceal the surging power within, as imposing wisps of Sword Qi faintly radiated from it.

The man’s voice was somewhat hoarse as he gave a flat order to the Wanluo Sword Sect disciples under his command. "The Blood Stones in their hands can significantly increase the number of Spiritual Runes. Whether for raising the grade of a Magical Treasure or advancing one’s Cultivation, they are exceptionally rare treasures."

"Waste no more words on them. Attack together, shatter their defensive array, and eliminate these native cultivators."

The disciples of the Wanluo Sword Sect immediately executed the Sword Control Skill. Forming the Sword Pointing gesture, they manipulated the Flying Swords on their backs and launched an assault on the City Lord’s Mansion.

BOOM!

RUMBLE!

...

The power radiating from the Flying Swords was immense. There were practically none below the Lower Seventh Grade; most were Middle Fifth Grade Qi Cultivators. By forming an array, their might was elevated to an even greater level.

Every strike made the Grand Array tremble.

Among the native Beastmen, a goat-headed man with a black Dragon Shadow tattoo coiling around his body stepped forward. He held a piece of Red Jade, his physique incredibly robust, with an eight-pack of abs and powerful arms. He roared, "Must you truly slaughter us all?"

"An innocent man commits no crime; his only crime is possessing a treasure."

"A pity that a simple truth like that is something you people would never understand," the man with the sword on his back sneered, his eyes fixed on the stone in the other’s hands.

In his eyes, the so-called Dragon Peak Mountain was nothing more than a battlefield from the Middle Ages.

This Immortal Ruin from the Middle Ages had sunk during a world-shaking war, a result of a clash between Great Powers, thus forming a natural Grotto Heaven.

The Opportunities within were truly countless. These red stones in the Beastmen’s hands, for example, contained a vast amount of divine substance.

They were rare treasures comparable to Immortal Spirit Qi. Obtaining even a single piece would allow one’s Cultivation to advance by leaps and bounds with incredible ease.

"Then we’ll take you down with us!"

The eyes of the dragon-tattooed, goat-headed man turned bloodshot. With a roar, he clutched a glowing scarlet stone to his chest and unleashed an ancient, self-sacrificial Skill. Kicking off the ground, he charged toward the disciples of the Wanluo Sword Sect.

The Ancient Skill he was using allowed him to sacrifice his Flesh Body as power, an offering to the Divine Beings, in order to unleash a devastating force that would kill every living creature in the vicinity.

It was an extremely bizarre form of Magic.

In the Mongolian Dynasty, only the most loyal believers could have the marks of the Divine Beings carved onto their bodies. For someone like the goat-headed man, who bore six dragon patterns, he was undoubtedly an existence comparable to a Demon Venerable.

Unfortunately for them, they had encountered cultivators from the outside world—and the strongest batch at that.

The cultivators sent by the various powers to the Dragon Peak Grotto Heaven were all top-tier prodigies from their respective sects.

Take the senior disciple leading this Wanluo Sword Sect team, for instance. His aura was profound, and the Sword Intent he exuded was steady and experienced. He was no ordinary disciple, but at least a hundred-year True Inheritor, possessing the strength of an Eleventh Realm True Man and with a chance to contend for the position of a sect Elder.

But even a rabbit will bite when cornered. This goat-headed man was heavily injured; he was only sacrificing himself because he had been pushed to the brink.

He used the last of his strength to erupt with the force of a supersonic gale, carrying an indomitable Momentum.

’Interesting. But I have a Lifebound Sword Seal bestowed by my Sword Immortal uncle as a Protective Talisman. How could you possibly take me down with you?’

The man with the sword on his back smirked. He extended his arm and splayed his fingers, revealing a small, crystalline sword pattern that appeared in his palm.

From it, a Destructive Sword Qi Force erupted, striking the goat-headed man in the chest.

This Destructive Sword Qi Force was formed from a wisp of a Sword Immortal’s Lifebound Sword Qi. Its power was terrifying; even a Twelfth Realm Great Cultivator would be gravely injured, if not killed, upon facing it.

"Why—"

The goat-headed Beastman let out a roar of unwilling indignation. Before his Flesh Body could even self-destruct, he was cleaved in two by the Sword Immortal’s wisp of Sword Qi, blood spraying across the ground.

’What a waste of a perfectly good Blood Stone. If I’d gotten it, I probably could have broken through to the Late Stage of the Eleventh Realm.’

The man retracted the Sword Seal in his palm, his face turning a shade paler. Using his trump card had consumed a great deal of his Taoist Qi.

A self-detonating counterattack from an expert comparable to a Demon Venerable would have been a major headache, even for him.

If not for the trump card left by his Sword Immortal uncle, he probably would have been taken out in a one-for-one trade.

Just then, a faint laugh drifted from the distance. "And here I was, wondering who it could be. Turns out it’s just the Wanluo Sword Immortal’s little crawler. I never thought the Wanluo Sword Sect, for all its posturing as a righteous and prestigious sect, would stoop to slaughtering a city."

Hearing this, the man with the sword on his back felt a nagging sense of familiarity with the voice.

Not long ago.

At the bottom of the valley, during the battle of the Seven Kingdoms.

Immediately, a cold, sinister expression filled with hatred appeared in his eyes. He looked toward the source of the voice.

Down the street, a dense formation of iron cavalry had appeared. Two Fairies, as beautiful as immortals with cold and aloof auras, stood beside a handsome man in Golden Armor. The man himself was divinely handsome, his presence like that of the world’s most exquisitely carved jade.

This man was none other than Lu Mingyuan.

"Lu Mingyuan... It’s you."

The man’s first reaction upon seeing Lu Mingyuan was not to fight, but to run.

He might have been arrogant, but he wasn’t a fool; he knew his own limits.

As the foremost prodigy of the battle of the Seven Kingdoms, Lu Mingyuan was far too powerful for him to provoke.

There was only enmity between his Wanluo Sword Sect and the Great Yan Dynasty.

’Now that I’m in his sights, what hope do I have of survival?’

"Run!"

The man executed the Sword Control Skill, preparing to flee.

"Seize him."

Lu Mingyuan ordered flatly.

Sui Yuqing and Yun Qinghe stepped forward in unison.

Yun Qinghe held her Flying Sword, exuding a valiant, heroic air like an imposing Female Knight of the Jianghu. Yet when she executed her Swordsmanship, wreathed in Sword Qi, she transformed into a peerless Fairy from the sacred land of an Immortal Family.

Sui Yuqing, meanwhile, softly chanted the Golden Light Spell. The Dao Scripture from her lips transformed into a golden rope that shot through the void to bind their enemy.

A powerful aura emanated from the two of them, forcing the disciples of the Wanluo Sword Sect into a continuous retreat.

Before long, a series of screams rose and fell across the street.

The man’s face turned ugly. "Lu Mingyuan, we have not provoked you, yet you act so tyrannically! You clearly have no respect for my Wanluo Sword Sect!"

With that, he raised his palm and once again activated his Lifebound Sword Qi.

He shot it toward Yun Qinghe, who had the lowest Cultivation, while he himself used the opportunity to flee.

But Lu Mingyuan was faster. With a snap of his fingers, a giant Dharma Body hand, condensed from Fiery Red Martial Dao Yuan Qi, appeared from the void and crushed the Sword Qi to dust.

"I personally took three strikes from the Wanluo Sword Immortal himself."

"How could a mere wisp of Sword Qi from you possibly be a match for me?"

Lu Mingyuan clenched his palm into a fist and, with a casual punch, sent the man flying.

He caught the several scarlet jade stones that fell from the man.

He discovered that the energy contained within these scarlet jade stones was quite potent.

It seemed this was the reason the Wanluo Sword Sect disciples had gone on a killing spree.

The man spat out a mouthful of fresh blood. He was severely injured, his eyes wide with terror.

’That power just now... it was definitely comparable to a strike from a Martial Saint.’

’If his opponent hadn’t intended to spare his life, he would already be dead.’

Everyone present, whether the native Beastmen or the Wanluo Sword Sect disciples, felt their legs tremble and their hearts pound in terror.

This was especially true for the natives. They had thought the Outer Realm Evil Demons who killed their City Lord were already incredibly strong, but they never expected another group to arrive and defeat the first in a single move.

’These Outer Celestial Demons are just too terrifying.’

"What are these red stones?" Lu Mingyuan asked the giant beast behind him.

The White Ape serving Lu Mingyuan reverted to its human form and said respectfully,

"This is the Divine Stone of my people, known in full as the Divine Fallen Blood Stone. Only by relying on it can we resist the corrosion of the black mist and avert the punishment of the Divine Beings."

"Divine Fallen Blood Stone..."

Hearing the name, Lu Mingyuan grew thoughtful.

"If I’m not mistaken, these Divine Stones are the Divine Blood shed by Divine Beings in ancient battles, which petrified into ore over the long years."

The man from the Wanluo Sword Sect struggled to his feet, his voice barely a whisper.

"Lu Mingyuan, what in the world do you want? If you kill us, the Sword Immortal will not let you off."

Lu Mingyuan sneered. "I was going to spare your life and ask a few questions. Now, it seems that won’t be necessary."

As soon as the words left his mouth, he appeared before the man and pressed a hand directly onto the top of his skull.

He began to read the memories in the man’s Sea of Consciousness.

After just a moment, Lu Mingyuan released his hand.

The man collapsed, his eyes vacant. His Divine Soul had clearly suffered a grievous blow, reducing him to a drooling imbecile.

Yun Qinghe stepped forward. "What did you find?"

Lu Mingyuan couldn’t help but frown.

"There’s quite a bit of important information. First, the greatest Opportunity in this realm is the Grotto Heaven itself—specifically, the Ruins Demon race. They are descendants of the ancient Demon Ancestor and have used Divine Blood to fuel their Cultivation, allowing them to reach their current numbers."

"These Divine Stones are the very resource that the great dynasties of this Grotto Heaven are fighting over."

"Second, the epicenter of the battlefield is the sacrificial altar of the Four Directions Dynasty."

"So we’re heading to the dynasty’s sacrificial altar now?" Sui Yuqing asked.

As the three of them were talking, a black shadow, its form flickering between solid and illusory, suddenly shot out from the roiling black mist in the sky.

It pounced toward the group.

In that instant, the light from the Divine Stone in Lu Mingyuan’s hand flared.

It emitted a dazzling, blood-red glow.

"ROAR!"

The black shadow shrieked in pain, its shape rapidly contorting, as if it were being suppressed by the Divine Stone.

Then, the black shadow changed direction and shot into the forehead of the man lying on the ground, fusing with his Flesh Body.

"CRACKLE!"

An incredibly terrifying aura emanated from the man’s body. His skin cracked all over, his eyeballs filled with black, bloodshot veins, and his entire being was suffused with an aura of death.

The aura emanating from the man now was even stronger than a hundred of his former selves combined.

Seeing this, the White-Eyebrowed Ape immediately fell to its knees, crying out in terror, "The Lord God is among us! We confess our sins!"

Lu Mingyuan frowned. "He’s been possessed by a malevolent will."

"No wonder the city was safe before. These Divine Stones must protect against the corrosion of this malevolence."

"Now that the Wanluo Sword Sect disciples have plundered all the Divine Stones, these malevolent wills hiding in the black mist have seized the opportunity to make their move and have followed us here."

Lu Mingyuan looked up at the writhing, shifting black mists in the sky, and a foreboding premonition surfaced in his heart.

He felt that these collective malevolent wills from the Middle Ages held an even greater secret.

...