Chương 136: Where Gods Bleed

The humans of Qingtai Prefecture were suffering a catastrophic defeat! Three Purple Mansion cultivators, though grievously wounded, strained every fiber of their being to hold back five Purple Mansion spirit beasts. The Dark Winged Tiger and the Raging Blood Lion, having retreated to heal their wounds, were now laboring to restore the shattered spirit vein of Blood Lion Mountain, a task that granted the three human cultivators a brief, desperate respite. But it was only a pause before the storm.

Fang Xinjin and his companions, their bodies ravaged by injuries, found themselves increasingly crushed beneath the relentless onslaught of the five spirit beasts. Below, dozens of Tier 2 spirit beasts led swarms of Qi Refining monsters in a merciless pursuit of the fleeing Qingtai cultivators. The Purple Dusk Mountain Range had become a sea of crimson. The spirit beasts reveled in their slaughter, their bloodthirsty aura thickening with every kill, their triumphant howls splitting the heavens.

—— The major powers of Langya County had banded together, retreating in a united front. Among them, the Zhang family had suffered the fewest casualties, only three late stage Qi Refining cultivators had fallen. A small mercy, given the chaos that had consumed the battlefield. Huaijin and Liwei fought shoulder to shoulder, shielding their clansmen as they withdrew toward Langya County town. The Gao, Yan, and Tian families retreated alongside them, their survivors clinging to what remained of their strength.

Scattered among them were the Qi Refining families led by the Miao and Yang clans, once proud clans now reduced to tattered remnants. This beast tide had been devastating. Some of the smaller Qi Refining clans had been shattered beyond recognition, their foundations torn apart. Now, scattered and demoralized like deserters fleeing a lost war, they were being cut down one by one by the spirit beasts surging from the Purple Dusk Mountains. Huaijin surveyed the carnage and felt his heart sink. This can't go on.

"Uncle," he said, his voice cutting through the din of battle, "this won't work. We're too big a target." Liwei turned, blood streaked across his face, and met his nephew's gaze. Huaijin's words came fast and sharp.

"You take the cultivators from the other families and lead everyone back. I'll hold off the beasts. If we let them keep biting at our heels, we'll never escape." Liwei hesitated only a moment, then nodded. The other family cultivators overheard and raised no objections, if anything, relief flickered across their exhausted faces. Without another word, Huaijin turned and charged straight back toward the horde. … The Tier 2 spirit beasts saw the white-robed figure hurtling toward them and froze mid-stride.

Their bodies faltered, fear flickering in their beastly eyes. They remembered him. How could they not? Late-stage spirit beasts? He'd butchered them like livestock. Perfection stage Foundation Establishment spirit beasts? They'd fallen to his hand as well. Even the Qi Refining beasts, simple-minded as they were, had learned to fear that white silhouette. The impression Huaijin had carved into their minds was deeper than any wound. One man. One figure in white. And thousands of spirit beasts hesitated to advance.

A human with such terrifying power, surely only a Purple Mansion beast could put him down. But fear could only hold for so long. Roar! A Tier 2 perfection stage Crimson Earth Hound shattered the stalemate with a furious bellow. It lunged, fangs bared, and behind it surged three late-stage spirit beasts, flanked by over a dozen mid- and early-stage beasts. The horde crashed forward like a tidal wave. Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences. Huaijin's expression did not waver.

"Blood Nether Thousand Bone Spikes!" The surging blood qi within his body erupted in a crimson storm. Hundreds of points of light materialized around him, twisting and warping into hideous blood-colored great spears, their surfaces covered in a dense web of barbs that glinted with lethal promise. Boom! Hundreds of blood spears scattered like a blossoming flower of death, each strike packing the force of a late-stage Foundation Establishment attack.

The devastating power swept through the beast horde like a divine scythe, tearing flesh and shattering bone. Blood mist rose in thick clouds. Severed limbs and shredded viscera filled the air, raining down upon the battlefield like a crimson downpour. In the span of a few heartbeats, nearly a thousand Qi Refining beasts had been annihilated. Even early-stage Tier 2 spirit beasts caught in the blast were gravely wounded, their howls of agony piercing the chaos.

The Blood Nether Thousand Bone Spikes were Huaijin's signature technique, a rare area-of-effect art that drew upon his own blood qi to manifest spears of pure vital energy. On a chaotic battlefield like this, it was a weapon of mass destruction. If he hadn't been forced to shield his retreating clansmen, Huaijin was confident he could have wiped out every beast before him. That single strike shook the very foundations of the battlefield.

The Crimson Earth Hound, caught in the blast, was sent flying through the air, blood spraying from its shattered jaw. It crashed into the earth, stunned and reeling. Huaijin gave it no quarter. He exploded forward, his Purple Mansion level physique crushing everything in his path. His overwhelming blood qi manifested as a colossal pillar of vital force, and with every step, phantom images of countless spirit beasts swirled around him, echoes of the power he had consumed and conquered.

"Hundred Demon Roar!" His throat thrummed, his voice erupting like a thunderclap from the heavens, as though a hundred beasts were roaring in perfect unison. The sonic shockwave detonated like an invisible bomb, ripping through the air. Qi Refining beasts charging forward had their skulls shattered before they even registered the sound. The Tier 2 beasts convulsed violently, their heads shaking as their eardrums burst, blood streaming from their ears. Some stumbled, others collapsed outright.

Huaijin's body had long since reached the Purple Mansion level, and his sonic attacks now carried a trace of that transcendent power. He stood like a war god atop the mountain, a single man holding the pass against ten thousand. His modest frame seemed to tower over the battlefield. The Crimson Earth Hound, picking itself up from the dirt, stared at him with dawning horror. Huaijin had been powerful before, yes, but this was something else entirely. This was the power of a monster wearing human skin.

—— But in the sky above, the true crisis was unfolding. Despair was etched into Fang Tianyu's face. Two Goldback Mantises and a Blood Jade Spider, three early-stage Tier 3 spirit beasts, had encircled him completely. There was no escape. No opening. Only death closing in from all sides. Fang Xinjin and Zhou Yuezi were locked in their own hellish battle, double-teamed by two mid-stage Raging Blood Lions. They couldn't break free. They couldn't help. Shhk!

A Blood Jade Spider's venomous leg pierced through Fang Tianyu's abdomen, blood spurting from the wound like a crimson fountain. Before he could even scream, a Goldback Mantis's blade-like arm slashed across his chest, ripping through flesh and bone. Fang Tianyu was spent, not a single wisp of spiritual energy remained in his body. His healing pills were long consumed. His dantian was dry. His body was broken. In this battle, the humans of Qingtai Prefecture had lost. Decisively. Crack!

The crimson spider leg tore through his neck. Blood fountained into the air, arcing like a cruel rainbow against the smoke-filled sky. The despair in his eyes froze forever, his gaze fixed on nothing. Fang Tianyu, who had broken through to Purple Mansion Realm only recently, had been hunted down and butchered by three beasts of equal rank. His flame had been extinguished before it could truly burn. Pain flickered across Fang Xinjin's face as he sensed his clansman's death.

The Fang family had finally nurtured a new Purple Mansion cultivator, a glimmer of hope for their bloodline, and before he could even spread his wings, he had been snuffed out like a candle in a hurricane. All because of the Black Tiger Cliff. If they hadn't intervened so treacherously, if they hadn't stabbed them in the back at the critical moment, none of this would have happened. The thought burned like acid in Fang Xinjin's chest. But grief would have to wait.

Fang Xinjin and Zhou Yuezi were both sixth-level cultivators, veterans of countless battles. Though gravely wounded, the two Raging Blood Lions found them difficult to put down for good. Still, they were bleeding out, their stamina draining with every exchange. And now, with Fang Tianyu dead, the three early-stage Purple Mansion beasts turned their attention elsewhere. To Huaijin. … The two Goldback Mantises and the Blood Jade Spider simultaneously locked onto the white-robed figure wreaking havoc below.

Their beastly eyes narrowed, ancient instincts screaming a single warning: Kill him now. The power Huaijin had displayed was simply too monstrous. At Blood Lion Mountain alone, over a dozen late-stage spirit beasts had fallen to his blade. If they gave him twenty more years, would he start butchering Purple Mansion beasts? Would he ascend to their level and beyond? No. This human prodigy could not be allowed to live. If he survived, their doom was certain, if not today, then tomorrow.

The spirit beasts had learned that lesson the hard way. The three Tier 3 spirit beasts abandoned their prey and surged toward Huaijin as one. And Huaijin, standing amidst the carnage, looked up to see death descending upon him.