"Where is Old Demon Ye?"
Everyone was astonished.
Demon Monarch Tongyou pointed at the blood gate and said in quick succession, "We arrived a step too late. Old Demon Ye has already broken through the gate and entered. Fluctuations were emanating from behind the blood gate just now, which must have been Old Demon Ye unraveling the ancient restrictions within. The fluctuations then abruptly vanished, so there is no telling whether they have already succeeded. There is no time to lose—fellow Daoists, lend me your strength at once!"
Shocked by his words, everyone hurriedly sat cross-legged around Demon Monarch Tongyou, joining forces to attack the blood gate.
The blood gate appeared dilapidated, shaking violently whenever it was struck, yet it remained extraordinarily resilient.
Runes flickered across the blood gate. Though incomplete and broken, they could still absorb and neutralize most of the force when under attack. Less than ten percent of the actual power landed upon the gate itself.
Had the ancient restriction been intact, even rallying the cultivators of all three realms would not have sufficed to breach it.
Demon Monarch Tongyou had been testing it constantly, gaining some understanding of the blood gate's restrictions. Qin Sang also offered timely suggestions. After some probing, they located the weakest point and bombarded it in turns.
While they assaulted the blood gate, the area behind it remained eerily quiet. Not knowing what Old Demon Ye and his group were up to filled everyone with anxiety.
However, towering pagodas stood within the blood gate, immensely mysterious and visibly distinct from anywhere else. It was clearly extraordinary, and they could not allow Sin Abyss to claim it for themselves.
Even if they could not stop Old Demon Ye, getting a share of the spoils and obtaining some benefits inside would make the trip worthwhile.
With their own thoughts and motives, everyone gave their utmost to attack the blood gate.
Qin Sang drove the ebony sword, splitting it into myriad beams of sword radiance that poured forth like the Heavenly River, relentlessly bombarding the blood gate—a spectacle that drew astonished glances.
They had heard that Demon King Mingyue possessed extraordinary sword skills, and seeing him today proved the rumors true. Several swordsmen were among the Nascent Soul cultivators of the Xiaohan Realm, but confronted with the sword arts Qin Sang displayed, they could only feel ashamed of their own inferiority.
Qin Sang's sword intent originated from the Dao of Slaughter, yet it encompassed all things.
Such sword arts were something they had never seen or heard of, leaving them wondering from whom this demon king had learned them.
Unaware of what they were thinking, Qin Sang quietly channeled his Heavenly Eye, surveying the scene behind the blood gate through its cracks.
The blood mist was as thick as paste.
The black pagodas seemed submerged within a sea of blood.
In this entire sealed space of the blood lake, all other things had been corroded by the blood mist over countless years, assimilated and altered in nature until they turned blood-red.
Yet the black pagodas, composed of some unknown material, remained as pitch-black as ink, standing out distinctly.
Rising a thousand zhang high, the black pagodas were built from stacked blocks of rectangular stone. Their surfaces were rough, and whether due to divine artifacts concealing their brilliance or the unique nature of their material, Qin Sang saw no glowing runes, nor any phenomena like blood lightning or yin winds.
The black specks they had seen from outside earlier must have been the spires of these black pagodas.
Just as Qin Sang was pondering the purpose of these black pagodas, a burst of cheers suddenly rang out. After violent tremors, the blood gate slowly parted, opening a crack.
Demon Monarch Tongyou flashed over to the gap.
Confirming there were no ambushes, everyone filed inside.
Standing amidst the black pagodas, they instantly felt how minuscule they were and marveled inwardly. Then, hurriedly displaying their respective abilities, they searched for traces of Old Demon Ye and his group, yet found nothing.
The area appeared completely tranquil, and the blood mist had even ceased flowing, as if no one had ever set foot here.
Qin Sang observed silently. He still saw no traces of ancient restrictions, making this place seem safer than anywhere else.
"Old Demon Ye and his people have probably already entered one of the black pagodas..." Demon Monarch Tongyou said in a deep voice.
The cultivators exchanged glances and chose a nearby black pagoda. Just as they set off to investigate inside, several soft exclamations rang out.
Those who attempted to fly into the air had risen less than three zhang when they were suppressed. A crushing pressure manifested without warning in midair, slamming them downward and nearly sending them rolling across the ground.
Fortunately, their cultivation was high and their reactions nimble, sparing them from making fools of themselves.
"There are restrictions here that we cannot perceive..."
The crowd had no choice but to stay obediently on the ground. Just as this thought crossed their minds, another unexpected change occurred!
Whoosh, whoosh...
Fierce winds sprang up from the flat ground, and surging blood mist swept toward them like colossal waves.
Realizing things were amiss, everyone hurriedly summoned their magic treasures to shield their bodies.
Qin Sang activated sword radiance to envelop himself, with the ebony sword hanging inverted above his head.
No sooner had he prepared his defenses than he felt the scenery in his vision shift repeatedly. A wave of dizziness washed over him, and by the time he regained his senses, he was astonished to discover that Qingjun and the others had all vanished.
He now stood amidst a sea of blood, with the illusory silhouettes of the black pagodas clearly visible.
These black pagodas seemed within arm's reach, yet they were as distant as the horizon. Whenever he took a step forward, the pagoda before him retreated by a step, remaining forever out of reach.
Seeing this, how could Qin Sang fail to understand? Without realizing it, they had fallen into some sort of grand formation—one arranged by means of those black pagodas.
The methods of ancient cultivators were truly profound and inscrutable. The formation had been laid here without leaving a trace, catching them unawares before they could detect the slightest abnormality.
Though trapped in an unknown formation, Qin Sang remained calm and unhurried.
After passing through the blood gate, he had noticed that these black pagodas, like the blood gate, were damaged and incomplete. Many had even collapsed, leaving only half-standing stubs.
With the black pagodas damaged, the formation's power would inevitably be compromised, riddled with flaws.
If Old Demon Ye could handle it, there was no reason they could not.
Composing himself, Qin Sang inspected his surroundings carefully and indeed spotted several flaws, putting his mind even further at ease.
The only trouble was that inside the formation, locating Old Demon Ye and his group would be even more difficult.
He took out a sword talisman.
They had previously prepared multiple contingency plans for various scenarios.
The method for refining this sword talisman had been obtained from a ruin in the Ancient Immortal Battlefield. Refining such talismans required a great deal of precious materials, so under normal circumstances, few were willing to spend the resources to make them.
The sword casket was in Demon Monarch Tongyou's possession. The person holding a sword talisman could sense Tongyou's location and move closer toward him.
A formation so riddled with flaws could not block the sword talisman's perception.
Qin Sang was just about to activate the sword talisman when he suddenly paused, stopped chanting his incantation, and released Fat Chicken.
Coming out and seeing the grand formation, Fat Chicken was secretly alarmed and huddled obediently beside Qin Sang. Even a damaged formation could easily trap it to death.
"Try with the Thunder Rosary. This is the very core of the blood lake. If your mother isn't here, then I'm afraid..." Qin Sang sighed.
This place was sealed off by the blood gate, which they had only managed to crack open with their combined might. Back then, when the Thunder-Devouring Falcon demon king entered alone, breaching the gate was practically an impossibility.
"Understood!"
Fat Chicken silently prayed and, with trepidation, summoned the Thunder Rosary. Half-closing its eyes, it mumbled incantations under its breath.
The Thunder Rosary hovered above its head, slowly rotating.
As Fat Chicken activated the secret technique, a faint white light suddenly flickered across the Thunder Rosary. At first exceedingly dim, it grew progressively brighter until it formed a fist-sized orb of light.
And within the glowing orb, wisps of lightning crackled and darted about!
Witnessing this, Qin Sang's eyes narrowed. Ever since entering the blood lake, Fat Chicken had tried countless times, yet this was the very first time the Thunder Rosary showed such a reaction!
Chapter 1251