Chương 62: Blood in the Purple Dusk Sky

A flicker of panic flashed through the Darkfeather Bird's eyes. This human cultivator was only at the first level of the Foundation Establishment Realm, so how could he possibly unleash such overwhelming power? Confusion churned in the Bird's gaze. Zhang Huaijin shot straight into the sky. After breaking through to Foundation Establishment, cultivators could finally take to the air on their own. He knew, deep down, that he had to end this quickly. This was the Purple Dusk Mountain Range.

Spirit beasts lurked everywhere. Clang! Blood Qi surged in his palm as the Blood Dragon Sword materialized. A searing crimson light blazed forth, and a vicious blood-colored sword beam, three in length, condensed into existence. The air around it detonated. Boom! The sword beam howled as it descended. It struck with blinding speed, too fast for even a flying spirit beast like the Darkfeather Bird to fully evade.

The bird had barely begun to twist aside when the blood colored blade sheared straight through half its body. A sudden dragon's roar thundered through the void, shaking the Darkfeather Bird's mind to its core. Shhk! Blood sprayed across the sky. The Darkfeather Bird let out a piercing shriek of agony. The Blood Dragon Sword was Zhang Huaijin's Blood Spirit Weapon, a spirit artifact of devastating offensive power.

But more than that, every strike carried that dragon's roar, designed to shatter an enemy's focus and leave them vulnerable. One blow. The Bird's right wing was severed.

"You want to die? Fine. I'll grant your wish." Zhang Huaijin's thoughts turned cold. The Green Ape Seal crashed down. It landed directly on the Darkfeather Bird's spine. The seal was already overwhelmingly heavy. With the force of gravity magnifying its descent from above… Crack! Bones snapped like dry twigs inside the Darkfeather Bird's body. Gouts of blood mist burst from its skin. Its body plummeted like a stone. Within fifteen breaths, the Foundation Establishment realm spirit beast lay gasping its last breath.

Whoosh! Zhang Huaijin's Sword shot forth like a meteor and cut clean through the Darkfeather Bird's skull. The third level Darkfeather Bird was dead. Slaughtered in an instant. Zhang Huaijin moved with lightning speed, stowing the corpse away and continuing his retreat. But the shockwaves of battle had already drawn other Foundation Establishment Realm spirit beasts from the surrounding area. They saw the human cultivator with his boiling blood Qi, and their eyes turned red with killing intent.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, it's taken without the author's consent. Report it. Zhang Huaijin snorted coldly. His speed didn't falter for an instant as he charged toward the mountain range's outer perimeter. Five spirit beasts gave chase. One of them was at the fifth level Foundation Establishment Realm. Zhang Huaijin wasn't afraid of them, but this was no place to linger. He wasn't slow. The distance between him and his pursuers steadily grew.

Half an hour later, Zhang Huaijin exploded out of the inner area of the Purple Dusk Mountain Range. The other four Foundation Establishment beasts had already stopped and turned back. But that fifth level beast actually chased him all the way out.

"You've really got a screw loose!" Zhang Huaijin cursed under his breath. Just stay on your own Spirit Vein and cultivate. Why the hell are you chasing me? The Purple Dusk Mountain Range stretched into Langya County's borders. Its outer perimeter held only a dozen or so Foundation Establishment spirit beasts in total, not much of a threat to Zhang Huaijin. More importantly, he knew this terrain like the back of his hand. But this fifth level Wind Butterfly just kept hunting him, refusing to let up.

"Damn it. Fine. If you want to help me awaken my Bloodline Ability so badly, I'll oblige." Zhang Huaijin sensed they had left the other Foundation Establishment beasts far behind. He stopped. Instead of retreating, he spun around and charged straight back, unleashing the Green Ape Seal and the Blood Dragon Sword simultaneously. ROAR! Zhang Huaijin held nothing back. His full power exploded outward. He opened his mouth wide, and a thunderous roar split the heavens. The Wind Butterfly shuddered violently.

It felt as if hundreds of beasts were howling directly into its ears. Wave after wave of sonic force battered its senses. The Green Ape Seal slammed into the butterfly's body, blocking its advance. In his sea of consciousness, nine Yin Yang Divine Needles, wreathed in fiendish energy, shot forth. Silent. Invisible. Crossing the void as if space itself meant nothing. Behind Zhang Huaijin, blood Qi surged.

Dozens of crimson points of light began to condense, then rapidly swelled into blood colored spears, each a full meter long. Blood Nether Thousand Bone Spikes! This was a Foundation Establishment Realm technique from the Blood Demon Bone Tempering Art, an area of attack. It condensed the cultivator's own blood Qi into countless blood spears. At its highest level, the technique could be etched directly into one's bloodline becoming a bloodline ability. Zhang Huaijin was a complete cultivator, body, Qi, and soul.

All three systems erupted at once. His Qi cultivation rested on a supreme grade dao foundation, granting him triple the combat power of an upper grade dao foundation. His body and soul cultivation exploded alongside it. On the surface, Zhang Huaijin was only at the First level Foundation Establishment Realm. But at this moment, the power he unleashed would make even late stage Foundation Establishment cultivators stop and stare. The Wind Butterfly suddenly felt a chill seep through its entire body.

The bloodlust in its eyes cleared. It regained its senses. But it was already too late. The Hundred Beast Roar had left the butterfly's mind momentarily stunned. The nine Yin Yang Divine Needles plunged directly into its sea of consciousness, rampaging wildly through its soul. Dozens of blood spears streaked across the void, each trailing a crimson arc, and pierced straight through the Wind Butterfly's body. They nailed it in midair. Pinned it like an insect to a board.

Zhang Huaijin, unleashing his full strength, had just killed a Fifth Level Foundation Establishment Realm spirit beast with a single blow. This was his current level of power. If he went all out, he could stand against even a late stage Foundation Establishment beast. Spirit beasts had far weaker souls than humans. With soul cultivation techniques in his arsenal, he was simply unstoppable at the Foundation Establishment level. The Wind Butterfly's soul shattered. Its body was riddled with holes.

It didn't even have time to cry out before death took it. Zhang Huaijin's eyes still burned with killing intent. Now that he had reached Foundation Establishment Realm, the number of Yin Yang Divine Needles he could summon had grown to eighteen. Even more importantly, the Primordial Tai Chi Visualization Diagram would slowly refine them over time, raising them to Tier 2. One of them was already indistinguishable from a Tier 2 spirit artifact.

The Yin Yang Divine Needles were a soul technique that existed somewhere between the real and the unreal. They were as hard as a Tier 2 spirit artifact, but they could also disperse at will, dissolving back into Zhang Huaijin's soul Force. Profound. Mysterious. Deadly. Zhang Huaijin stowed the Wind Butterfly's corpse. Then, under the terrified gazes of the Qi Refining Realm spirit beasts below, he flew away. He had been right.

The Blood Essence from those two Foundation Establishment beasts would be more than enough to awaken one of his Bloodline Abilities. As for the Blood Essence of Qi Refining Realm beasts, he had already absorbed so much of it that he was overflowing. He refined it constantly, day and night. Furthermore, the bodies of Foundation Establishment spirit beasts were treasures from head to tail. Zhang Huaijin could refine a few more Tier 2 spirit artifacts from them.

And once he did, both he and Zhang Lixian would become even more formidable.