Chapter 263: Rising Blood Moon
Chapter 263: Rising Blood Moon
Hua Yuehong’s delicate brows knitted slightly, as though she’d never pondered this issue before.
“Did Caiyun truly say that?”
“I didn’t believe it at first either. Yet from the Holy Emperor’s underground palace to Guishun Valley, and now to this ancient ruin, it seems our paths have never diverged.”
Cheng Lingyu’s smile faded. The entanglement truly troubled him, for he couldn’t foresee its outcome.
Yu Feilong sneered, “Arrogant and deluded. Do you think this act makes you wise?”
Cheng Lingyu retorted mockingly, “I pale next to the holy son. Since you’re so mighty, do you even know where we stand?”
Yu Feilong snorted. “Of course I know. Why should I tell you?”
“Empty boasts convince no one.”
“You… Fine! This is the Blood Moon Wasteland!”
Yu Feilong glared, expecting shock, but Cheng Lingyu remained impassive.
“You knew beforehand?”
Cheng Lingyu chuckled. “What does the holy son think? Someone as dim-witted as me must’ve been slow to notice. Pay it no mind.”
Hu Yuer, Han Zhen, and Xiao Lingfeng burst into laughter. Yu Feilong roared, “Defy me again, Cheng Lingyu, and I’ll rip your tongue out!”
Shrugging, Cheng Lingyu turned to the four elder brothers from Lou Ri City. “Any questions for the holy son?”
Xiao Lingfeng and Han Zhen exchanged glances. They’d just realized they stood in the Blood Moon Wasteland – the Tianyang Empire’s cursed no-man’s-land.
“Why would Xuan Star Palace’s teleportation array send us here? Was there history between the Xuan Star Saint and this wasteland?”
Yu Feilong snapped, “Ask the heavens, not me!”
Hu Yuer interjected, “Ask Three Saints Palace’s heirs.”
All eyes shifted to Shui Yingyue, but she kept her back turned, silent.
In areas where Ye Anlan and Yunxiu stood, cultivators debated the same mystery. Why had Xuan Star Palace’s array brought them here?
Speculation agreed Shui Yingyue, Ye Anlan, and Yunxiu held answers. Yet the three women stood perilously close to the massive hole’s edge, their hovering magical artifacts glowing fiercely in revival – clear signs they sensed the Xuan Star Saint’s legacy within.
The rumor electrified the crowd, yet none dared act. The blood river’s horrors were fresh in memory; this three-river convergence’s gaping maw promised worse.
Cheng Lingyu studied the crimson currents, mind fixed on his Soul Domain Avatar. Without mastering this, he’d never breach the Soul Martial Sixth Realm.
Nightfall crept unseen. The massive hole trembled with horrifying disturbance as three blood rivers roiled. At their confluence, three crimson gigantic beasts surfaced.
“Beware! The Blood River True Monarchs!”
A cultivator’s shout sent experts scrambling back in terror. Each beast burned with wrathful blood-flames, radiating dread power. Upon their backs rode three blood-cloaked figures – three Blood River True Monarchs where only one was feared.
Each Blood River True Monarch radiated terrifying might, unleashing an aura only Spirit Masters possessed. All were clearly experts of the Spirit Martial Realm.
Experts from the five major forces—Jiu Yang Sacred Palace, Tianlei Sacred Church, Heavenly Palace, Heavenly Fire Sect, and Shanhua Alliance—kept their distance, unwilling to provoke them.
The magical artifacts above Shui Yingyue, Ye Anlan, and Yunxiu blazed with brilliance, defiantly resisting the three True Monarchs’ blood energy.
Blood energy churned within the massive hole. Crimson light pierced the blood mist, unleashing horrifying disturbances.
Hu Yuer cried out, “The Blood Moon is rising!”
Cheng Lingyu stared. “The Blood Moon from the Blood Moon Wasteland emerges here?”
Han Zhen answered, “Legends claim the Blood Moon rises from the wasteland’s deepest reaches—a dead zone guarding ancient Top Secrets, with no escape.”
Many knew the tale, yet none could confirm its truth.
Three gigantic beasts bore the Blood River True Monarchs at the river’s mouth, their presence both ceremonial and protective, dominating the sky and intimidating all.
A blood-red moon slowly ascended from the hole, its heaven-shaking aura forcing nearby experts to the ground, paralyzed.
Shui Yingyue and the two women strained against the pressure through their artifacts, swaying but remaining upright.
Cheng Lingyu lay prone, studying the moon. Over two miles wide, it pulsed with divine might and peculiar frequencies—a crimson fireball holding unfathomable power.
Most couldn’t perceive this, but Cheng Lingyu’s cultivation of the Destruction of Space Divine Thought Wave granted him superior thought extension despite his novice mastery.
The Blood Moon climbed leisurely, a sovereign claiming the Nine Provinces.
Bathed in bloody light that merged with the mist, the True Monarchs radiated overwhelming menace from their beast mounts.
“To enter the blood lake, sacrifice bones to the Blood River.”
The proclamation stunned the crowd. Was this worship… or offering?
Shui Yingyue demanded, “How?”
“Ten corpses open one perilous path. A hundred guarantee lake entry.”
The terms were clear: ten bodies for dangerous passage, a hundred for safe access—though survival remained uncertain.
Outrage swept through the cultivators. This forced mutual slaughter—a vile scheme.
The Blood Moon’s ascent bathed the wasteland in hazy crimson, its glow reaching across the Nine Provinces.
Within the hole, terrifying waves faded as churning blood mist gathered. Deafening roars echoed upward—Cheng Lingyu guessed the river plunged thousands of feet down the colossal shaft, creating these thunderous sound waves.
The three beasts loomed mountain-like by the blood rivers, their oppressive aura stifling breath.
The True Monarchs stood unmoving, dismissing the lesser creatures beneath them.
As people rose cautiously, a scream erupted. A cultivator struck down another—the first spark of carnage.
Reluctant or not, all understood: kill or be killed. The bloodshed had begun.
Xiao Lingfeng, Han Zhen, Chen Song, and Zuo Yi formed a square formation around Cheng Lingyu and Hu Yuer, swiftly retreating outward while avoiding confrontations.
Though Lou Ri City lacked numbers, its overall strength remained formidable enough to deter most from provoking them.
Smaller forces with limited manpower became easy hunting targets, sacrificial pawns to clear paths for others.
The Heavenly Palace held dominant power in this region, their overwhelming presence forcing multiple forces to form temporary alliances against this shared Threat.
Cheng Lingyu frowned deeply, muttering, “At this rate, two-thirds of these experts will perish here.”
Han Zhen sighed bitterly, “Knowing changes nothing. We’re powerless to stop it.”
Cheng Lingyu countered, “True, but wasted deaths are wasteful. Even doomed men should serve purpose.”
Hu Yuer snapped, “Have you gone mad? Profiting from carnage now?”
He grinned. “Cultivation means seizing Fortune from heaven and earth. When opportunity strikes…”
Before his words faded, Cheng Lingyu vanished. A choked scream immediately followed.
Hu Yuer barely gasped when he reappeared beside her.
“Impossible speed!” Han Zhen marveled.
Xiao Lingfeng observed, “Blood Martial Third Level.”
Cheng Lingyu shrugged. “Blood Fetus nourishes me well, and Blood Souls help too. But Blood Martial Fourth Level experts resist easily. Third Level prey suits me better.”
Hu Yuer warned, “They’ll resent your scavenging.”
“I harvest only the dying. Better utilized than rotting.”
Mid-sentence, he shot into the Battle like a time-forged arrow.
Yu Feilong of the Heavenly Palace glared furiously. “Skywing Escape! Where did you learn this, Cheng Lingyu?”
Returning after absorbing another Blood Fetus, Cheng Lingyu taunted, “Hua Yuehong didn’t tell you? Your courtship hopes seem dim.”
Hua Yuehong hissed, “Silence your lies!”
Cheng Lingyu smirked wordlessly, scanning ongoing fights.
Yu Feilong’s face darkened murderously.
Three Blood River True Monarchs observed coldly from the crimson currents, ignoring the slaughter around them.
Screams and clashing steel echoed through Nine Provinces, swallowed ultimately by the massive hole – a demonic maw devouring blood energy, living essence, and all spiritual vibrations.
Cheng Lingyu stared at the gaping void, unease wrinkling his brow. What lurked within defied comprehension.