Sword Sovereign of the Celestial Emperor-Chapter 86, Beast Tide (Part 3)

Splatter, splatter, splatter.....

Chu Ming moved swiftly through the beast tide. As he ventured deeper, he could even sense the daunting ferocity of the Thousand-faced Ghost Bull. Instantly, Chu Ming dared not proceed further; he couldn’t afford to gamble with his life.

The martial artists in Ironfire City were all defending against the beast tide. No one realized the blood scattered on the ground was slowly disappearing without leaving a trace.....

Underground Ironfire City, there was a massive stone chamber spanning a hundred meters in length and width. The walls were covered with sword and blade marks. Though there was no sunlight, the room wasn’t dim because every three or four meters, a fist-sized Luminous Pearl provided illumination.

At the center of the stone chamber, a blood pool churned continuously. The pool was three meters in length and width, and blood waves surged forth. Occasionally, severed limbs and remnants surfaced from the bottom of the pool, emitting a bloody stench. On the ceiling of the stone chamber, a mysterious pattern was carved. Just one look could captivate anyone, as if it were the Eye of the Demon.

Drip, drip, drip.....

Droplets of blood gathered at the mysterious pattern, forming a small stream that slowly flowed down the nearby channel, joining the central pool and creating ripples.

Above the blood pool, there was a fist-sized blood-colored pearl. Wisps of blood qi continuously floated out from the pool, slowly merging into the blood-colored pearl. As the blood qi joined, the pearl’s color deepened, growing more bloodthirsty, with barely visible malevolent human faces on its surface.

Around the blood pool, dozens of black-clothed figures stood. Some were stronger, some weaker—the weakest being at the extreme of the Transcendence Realm like Li Qing, while the strongest were no less formidable than the City Lord Ling Fan.

All these figures were dressed in black, with cold looks on their faces. On their right cheeks was a red "blood" mark, exuding a fierce killing intent.

"Heh heh heh, this is already the third blood pearl. Just need two more to complete our task.... Those foolish Righteous Martial Artists have unwittingly helped us. They died unwittingly!"

The foremost black-clothed figure, who was also the strongest, looked at the blood pearl above the blood pool with satisfaction. Breathing in the bloody stench, he showed a look of intoxication.

"Boss, according to my investigation, the Second Elder and Third Elder of Cyan Yang Sect seem to be heading to Ironfire City. I’m afraid....."

A black-clothed figure on the left stepped forward respectfully, his face gaunt and eyes gloomy. He was the same black-clothed figure who arrived at the scene after attacking Chu Ming and his group.

"Afraid of what? They are just two old fools! Not staying quietly to retire at Cyan Yang Sect, instead coming out to die. Better not come, but if they do, I’ll give them a deadly gift! Heh heh heh...."

The black-clothed figure let out a terrifying laugh, casting his gaze deep into the blood pool. A blood shadow slowly emerged, its features eerily clear, almost indistinguishable from a real person. It grinned, its eyes filled with evil, like the epitome of malice.

The surrounding black-clothed figures gasped in shock upon seeing this blood shadow, their faces showing fear as they instinctively took a few steps back.

"Boss, this Blood Demon....." The subordinate, filled with dread as he looked at the blood figure, spoke hesitantly.

"This Blood Demon formed a few days ago, and though it’s now only at the Eighth Layer of True Dao Realm, it will be strong enough to fend off those two old men in a chaotic struggle by the time they arrive!"

The black-clothed figure spoke calmly, although he was clearly apprehensive about the Blood Demon, generally unwilling to approach it.

In large-scale beast tides, Blood Demons, or even Blood Demon Kings, often appear. Blood Demons are collections of consciousness, embodying extreme evil. Once they appear, they don’t rest until they die.

There have been numerous instances of Blood Demons wreaking havoc on the continent. In the Blood Demon disaster three hundred years ago, several Transcendence Realm and one Life and Death Realm King perished. Becoming a Life and Death Realm King signifies being invincible among ranks and surviving numerous ordeals, yet to die at the hands of a Blood Demon shows their terror.

Since then, during any large-scale beast tide, specialists are designated to clear Blood Demons. Given the scale of Ironfire City’s beast tide, the formation of a Blood Demon seemed impossible, but Ling Fan didn’t expect the array to catalyze the underground blood, concentrating it thousands of times and promoting Blood Demon formation.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

Outside, martial artists continued desperately resisting the beast tide. Chu Ming roamed within, slaying Demon Beasts one after another. Even beasts at the top of the Fourth Level could not withstand his sword.

Boom

A massive explosion sounded from afar. Chu Ming immediately looked up to see a martial artist battling the Earth-Shaking Bear, smashing its head with a fist at the cost of injury. Brain matter sprayed, mixed red and white substances splattering around.

After the fatal blow, the Earth-Shaking Bear fell dead. Its huge body crashed to the ground, stirring up waves of dust, and a large pit appeared beneath it. Numerous small cracks spread, crushing any Demon Beasts caught underneath.

The Earth-Shaking Bear died, but the True Dao Martial Artist didn’t escape unscathed. The bear’s dying blow broke three of his ribs, soaking his clothes with blood.

Struggling to stay on his feet, he and another True Dao Martial Artist teamed up against the One-Horned Evil Dragon. The dragon, the weakest of six beasts, quickly fell to their combined assault after just a few dozen moves.

The scales of victory tipped towards the humans. The spirits of the seven True Dao Martial Artists soared as they joined forces against the remaining four fierce beasts. The weakened Golden-eyed Vulture was immediately besieged by two martial artists.

The Thousand-faced Ghost Bull, not lacking in intelligence, roared to the sky upon seeing defeat, emitting sound waves heard kilometers away. The surrounding beasts retreated like a receding tide, leaving only three injured beasts, fleeing toward the distance.

Several True Dao Martial Artists were about to chase them, but Ling Fan immediately stopped them, advising, "Don’t chase desperate foes! Return to the city to tend our wounds!"

The six others nodded in agreement. Among them, a True Dao Martial Artist with only one arm looked particularly desolate, having lost an arm, diminishing his strength by at least thirty percent.