Chapter 1342: Hell Blood Soul Formation
After Canglan Martial Saint broke through to the Heaven-Connecting Realm, her cultivation base had greatly increased, and she was quite confident in her own strength, believing she could reclaim the Sky-Scorching Sword with her own power. Therefore, she agreed.
The process of exchanging hostages went exceptionally smoothly, with neither side playing any tricks.
"Junior Sister, you have suffered!"
Situ Fengcheng held the severely injured Zhu Qingyi in his arms and immediately took out a detoxification pill and a small bottle of divine blood, feeding them into Zhu Qingyi's mouth.
One of his palms pressed against her back, channeling thick holy qi into the Heavenly Heart Meridian on her back.
The golden poisonous light on Zhu Qingyi's skin gradually dissipated, and the wound at her heart location slowly healed.
"Senior Brother, avenge me. Capture Zhang Ruochen alive... I want to make him wish he were dead..."
As a Heaven-Connecting Blood General, being reduced to Zhang Ruochen's prisoner was already an immense humiliation. Moreover, Zhu Qingyi had been pierced through the heart by Zhang Ruochen, pinned firmly to the ground, and nearly perished.
One could imagine the fury in her heart.
"Don't worry, he won't escape."
Situ Fengcheng's iron-blooded, resolute face revealed a gentle smile as he softly stroked Zhu Qingyi's cheek.
Zhang Ruochen took out a Spring Revival Pill and fed it into Shi Ren's mouth. The bloody flesh on Shi Ren's shoulder immediately sprouted tiny tendrils of new tissue, and in a short while, a new arm grew out.
"This place is extremely dangerous. We need to leave quickly..."
Shi Ren grabbed Zhang Ruochen's arm and said urgently.
"I understand. Golden Bat Giant Serpent, make your move now."
Zhang Ruochen took Shi Ren, Qianshui Commandery Prince, Liuli Half-Saint, and the Thirteenth Commandery Princess into the Qiankun Realm, letting them recover from their injuries in peace.
From another direction, the Golden Bat Giant Serpent's body grew immensely large, like a golden dragon with bat wings, its head as huge as a palace.
"Whoosh!"
From its mouth, a cloud of poisonous mist was exhaled.
Instantly, the entire Southern Cliff turned into a golden poisonous domain. Flowers and trees withered and rotted at a visible rate. Some Undying Blood Clan members with lower cultivation bases breathed in just a trace of the poisonous mist, let out screams, and fell to the ground, golden blood flowing from their seven orifices.
Their cultivation levels were far inferior to Zhu Qingyi's, and upon being poisoned by the Golden Bat venom, they died instantly.
Miefeng Blood Saint had comprehended the Wind Dao rules and had fought the Golden Bat Giant Serpent once before. Therefore, he reacted immediately, unleashing a wind-attribute sacred art.
"Profound Nether Yin Wind."
Miefeng Blood Saint's hands traced a circle, condensing a black wind cave dozens of feet in diameter. An extremely yin-cold hurricane blew forth.
The Profound Nether Yin Wind not only dispersed the Golden Bat poisonous mist but also carried a terrifying offensive power.
Every strand of wind force was like a blade, leaving dozens of meters long sword marks on the ground.
The Demon Ape had swallowed the Xuanwu leaf of the Seven Star Divine Lingzhi, granting it defensive power comparable to the strongest below the Saint King realm. It stood in front of everyone, letting the wind blades strike its body.
The sacred-art-level wind blades could not even cut through its fur, only producing a "clink, clink" sound, as if striking an iron wall.
The Demon Ape opened its mouth and let out a loud roar, releasing a ripple of sound waves.
"Boom!" Miefeng Blood Saint's black wind cave shattered before him, turning into strands of black qi that dissipated into the air.
The Demon Ape took a large step forward, extending a giant palm over a hundred feet long, and slapped down toward the top of Miefeng Blood Saint's head.
Miefeng Blood Saint felt the entire sky turn extremely dark. Looking up, his expression changed slightly. He quickly raised his arms, forming two blood handprints to block upward.
"Boom!"
The two blood handprints were shattered, and the Demon Ape's palm slammed Miefeng Blood Saint into the ground, leaving a handprint crater over a hundred feet long. Within the crater, vast demonic qi lingered.
If a martial artist below the Half-Saint realm stumbled upon this place, they would be quite shocked, perhaps thinking it was the handprint of a god or demon.
"As expected of a primordial relic, the Giant Spirit Demon Ape. Below the True Saint realm, I doubt there are many beings that can rival it in strength and defense."
Miefeng Blood Saint crawled out from underground, feeling his arms ache and crack, barely able to lift them. He somewhat regretted competing in strength with the Giant Spirit Demon Ape.
In terms of pure power, the Demon Ape's strike just now was even slightly stronger than the force Zhang Ruochen had unleashed. Of course, that was also because Zhang Ruochen was only at the Upper Realm Saint level.
"Not fleeing?"
Situ Fengcheng had thought that after the hostage exchange, Zhang Ruochen and his group would immediately escape. However, not only did they not flee, they had taken the initiative to attack.
What was this supposed to mean? Did they intend to start a war with the Undying Blood Clan with just this group?
Yinghuo's face was exceptionally fair and crystalline, and she let out an enticing laugh: "Zhang Ruochen, do you know you can't escape, so you've chosen to fight to the death?"
"Why should I flee? Today, I came to deal with you."
Zhang Ruochen's gaze was sharp and intimidating. He drew the Abyssal Ancient Sword and charged toward one of the Great Saint bones.
Only by shattering the spatial seal first could he avoid being constrained.
Yinghuo clearly saw Zhang Ruochen's intention. Her seductive lips curled slightly as she said, "Activate the Hell Blood Soul Formation immediately. Catch them all in one net, and let no one escape."
In succession, thirty-six high-ranking Half-Saints of the Undying Blood Clan emerged from underground, standing at thirty-six positions. They simultaneously released their holy qi, channeling it into the ground.
"Sizzle, sizzle."
The ruins beneath the Southern Cliff, covering an area of hundreds of miles, began to reveal dense formation inscriptions, connecting into an offensive formation.
The Hell Blood Soul Formation was a seventh-level formation, extremely complex and profound, possessing the powerful offensive capability to kill saint-level beings.
In addition to the Hell Blood Soul Formation, the residual formations buried deep within the ruins were also activated, generating lightning, nether fire, flying swords, volcanoes, illusions, and other offensive and trapping forces.
Just as Zhang Ruochen was about to swing his sword at a Great Saint bone, a volcano erupted in front of it, and thousands of flying swords surged out with the magma, all striking toward Zhang Ruochen.
"Bang, bang."
Zhang Ruochen had to retreat backward to avoid the volcano. He fixed his gaze and saw, beside the volcano, strands of blood qi surging up from the ground, condensing into a three-zhang-tall divine general wielding a giant axe, exuding an aura comparable to a Heaven-Connecting Blood General.
"That is a Hell Blood General, formed by the power of the formation."
Canglan Martial Saint's expression turned somewhat grim, as she was well aware of the terror of the Hell Blood Soul Formation. Even a True Saint-level figure trapped within it could potentially fall.
Since the war with the Undying Blood Clan began, the imperial court had already lost two True Saints to the Hell Blood Soul Formation.
"Isn't it just a blood general formed from blood qi? What's there to fear?"
Guoguo was fearless and brimming with confidence. Like a furry ball, it charged toward the Hell Blood General, swinging its fist and punching it in the chest.
"Bang!"
The Hell Blood General's chest caved in, bursting into a cloud of blood mist.
"Haha! It's just all show, actually useless..."
Guoguo puffed out its round belly, laughing heartily.
But in the next moment, Guoguo's laughter abruptly stopped. The Hell Blood General's chest reformed into a solid body, and it raised its giant axe, swinging it down toward Guoguo's head.
"How is it intact again?"
Guoguo let out a strange cry and immediately turned to flee.
Behind it, the Hell Blood General slammed its axe into the ground, producing a thunderous roar, sending ripples of energy spreading in all directions.
Not only that, but within the Hell Blood Soul Formation, a second Hell Blood General condensed, then a third...
In just one breath, eighteen Hell Blood Generals had formed, each one exuding a fearsome aura, their blood axes gleaming with dazzling light.
"I finally understand why even True Saints can fall here."
Canglan Martial Saint's fingers tightened. Even with her current cultivation, facing eighteen undying Hell Blood Generals for an extended period would likely not end well.
Standing at the edge of the Hell Blood Soul Formation, Yinghuo smiled sweetly. "Zhang Ruochen, is this gift from this goddess satisfactory?"
Zhu Qingyi had mostly neutralized the Golden Bat venom, and her pierced heart had healed. Seeing Zhang Ruochen trapped in the Hell Blood Soul Formation, she said, "Before coming here, Zhang Ruochen met with Qingxiao. Qingxiao could arrive at any moment. We must act quickly."
"Qingxiao is coming? It seems today will be quite lively."
Situ Fengcheng smiled calmly, raising his right hand and lowering it, issuing the attack command.
Immediately, the Hell Blood Soul Formation activated, and all eighteen Hell Blood Generals charged forward simultaneously, launching an assault on Zhang Ruochen and his group.
Canglan Martial Saint's gaze sharpened. Her holy qi surged rapidly, fully activating the inscriptions within her sacred sword. She condensed a brilliant sea of fire and slashed toward one position of the Hell Blood Soul Formation, attempting to forcefully break the formation.
This strike was comparable to a full-force attack from a True Saint.
The surging sword energy sent the two nearest Hell Blood Generals flying sideways.
"Boom!"
The ground was torn open by a crack, which gradually widened, soon reaching a width of one zhang.
Even the thirty-six high-ranking Half-Saints outside the formation trembled in fear. Canglan Martial Saint's sword strike was too terrifying. If the Hell Blood Soul Formation were breached, they would likely be obliterated by the sword energy.
Yinghuo's eyes narrowed slightly, and she said softly, "You go too."
The four silver-robed elders standing behind her rushed to the four sides of the Hell Blood Soul Formation. Their sacred staves simultaneously plunged into the ground, and their powerful spiritual power surged into the formation.
Instantly, the already torn ground closed back up.
The Hell Blood Soul Formation grew even stronger, and even the power of the eighteen Hell Blood Generals increased.
Canglan Martial Saint was repelled by the formation's counterattack, stumbling back more than ten steps. A trail of blood flowed down her fair arm. She looked toward Zhang Ruochen and asked, "With my strength, I can't break the Hell Blood Soul Formation. What do we do next?"
"Ordinary sacred artifacts can't break the Hell Blood Soul Formation, but divine relics and Great Saint artifacts might. Lend me your strength. Use the power of the Buddha Emperor Relic to destroy this Hell Blood Soul Formation."
Zhang Ruochen clasped his hands together, and a dazzling golden Buddha light radiated from his body. The Buddha Emperor Relic flew out from between his brows.
(Chapter End)