After a flurry of exchanges back and forth, Old Demon Ye, Qingjun, and Jingyu plunged into the blood pool one after another.
Whoosh!
The Ebony Sword shot back and circled around Qin Sang.
Qin Sang gazed coldly at the figure before him. "Should I address you as Fellow Daoist Ye, or Fellow Daoist Blood?"
Old Demon Ye's Blood Demon avatar bore a slight resemblance to Planting the Elemental Demon Embryo, but in reality, they were entirely different.
Planting the Elemental Demon Embryo involved splitting the soul to refine a demon seed and then nurturing an avatar with one's own blood essence, gradually transforming it until it excelled in blood-path divine abilities.
Old Demon Ye's Blood Demon avatar, however, was fundamentally rooted in blood-path secret arts, born directly bathed in blood.
The Blood Demon avatar gave a sinister cackle. "I am him, and he is me! I truly regret not leaving you behind in the Abyss Ruins back then; you have indeed grown into a thorn in my side!"
The Blood Demon avatar had chosen not to pursue Qingjun or Jingyu, but had instead flashed forward to block Qin Sang. Having clashed with Qin Sang before, Old Demon Ye knew just how troublesome he was, taking him every bit as seriously as Demon Monarch Tongyou.
Qin Sang glanced at the blood pool, knowing he would likely have to fight a fierce battle against the Blood Demon avatar and find an opportunity to shake him off.
He was somewhat worried about Qingjun.
Jingyu had gone in search of the Corpse Flower Blood Amber and could not assist Qingjun for the time being.
Though Qin Sang felt Qingjun was shrouded in mystery, he did not believe she could defeat Old Demon Ye; facing him alone, there was no telling how long she could hold out.
"Roar!"
The starlight warrior roared.
Yet the roar was cut short abruptly as the warrior completely vanished, leaving behind a cluster of demonic fire that swept back.
Earlier, having beaten the starlight warrior back to its original form, Qin Sang had held nothing back, activating all eighteen demonic banners. Having received orders to stop Qin Sang at all costs, the starlight warrior could not retreat. Unable to endure the burning demonic fire, its talisman power had been completely depleted, causing it to perish.
Seeing this, the Blood Demon avatar's gaze sharply hardened.
Though he could also slay a starlight warrior, he could never do so as effortlessly or swiftly as Qin Sang.
Old Demon Ye had a deep memory of the demonic fire Qin Sang had wielded in the past. Back then, only twelve demonic banners formed the array. Now, the banners hovering around Qin Sang numbered an astonishing eighteen, and the aura emanating from the demonic fire was on a completely different level.
The Blood Demon avatar knew that Qin Sang's strength was far beyond what it once was, making him even more troublesome than anticipated. Even looking at these demonic flames made his heart pound with unease.
At this juncture, however, there was no room to back down.
The Blood Demon avatar licked his lips and conjured the Blood Moon Wheel once more, spilling forth a curtain of blood.
At the same time, the fingers of his left hand flicked subtly, causing an imperceptible ripple to flash through the void and vanish in an instant.
Just as Qin Sang was about to drive his demonic fire forward, his expression abruptly shifted. Letting out a sharp shout, he instantly retreated several tens of feet.
The moment Qin Sang pulled back, more than a dozen translucent, blood-red needles materialized out of thin air right where he had stood, striking empty space. Fine as ox hair, they swayed gently in the air.
Just now, one of the needles had touched his protective astral aura and treated it as though it were nothing, eagerly trying to slip through like a swimming fish and pierce his body. Fortunately, he had reacted in time.
The ripples from these fine needles were exceedingly subtle and well-concealed beneath the cover of the blood curtain, but they could not escape the eyes of the Heavenly Eye Butterfly.
The Blood Demon avatar silently lamented the missed chance and hurriedly recalled the needles.
This set of Cold Blood Needles was a set of venomous needles he had refined years ago after discovering the Blood Lake. While refining the treasure banners, he had gathered the blood qi and sinister, corrupt power of the Blood Lake to forge them together, only achieving their grand completion not long ago.
The Cold Blood Needles contained an extraordinary, silent poison; if an opponent was careless for even an instant, they would fall prey to it, their entire blood essence defiled and their cultivation severely crippled. They were vicious indeed.
Unfortunately, the needles themselves were extremely fragile and had to be kept sealed inside a needle case, requiring preparation before being deployed; earlier, he hadn't had the time to draw them out against Qingjun or Jingyu.
Seeing that the Cold Blood Needles had failed, the Blood Demon avatar put them away for the time being, driving the Blood Moon Wheel in a fierce assault against Qin Sang while forming rapid incantation seals with both hands. The surrounding blood mist surged wildly, throwing the winds and clouds into sudden turmoil!
Instead of retreating, Qin Sang surged forward. Wanting nothing more than to repel the Blood Demon avatar as quickly as possible, he poured out the Nine Nether Demonic Fire with a single thought.
For a time, demonic flames blotted out the sky, and blood surged like a tidal wave.
The two forces slammed violently into each other, producing staggering ripples.
The commotion here not only shook Elder Tianzheng and Demon Monarch Tongyou to the core, but was even sensed by the cultivators within the two great arrays at the entrance of the blood pool, leaving each of them burning with anxiety.
Above the blood pool, everyone was split across three separate battlefields.
Within the blood pool.
Having successfully dived into the blood pool, Jingyu was overjoyed to see that the Blood Demon avatar had not come in pursuit.
She looked around her surroundings.
The scene here showed no notable change from back then.
Countless black chains crisscrossed through the bloody water like giant pythons. Some were broken, but most were still intact, plunging straight down into the depths of the pool.
However, through the passage of endless years, the sealing power on the black chains had steadily eroded, noticeably weaker than it had been two hundred years ago.
Tracing the pattern of the black chains, one could see that several of them converged in the same direction.
Weaving between the black chains along one side of the blood pool, Jingyu observed and sensed the runic power upon them. Counting to the ninth chain, she found her mark and swiftly dived down along it.
The surrounding sinister power grew ever thicker, bone-chillingly cold.
Old Demon Ye and Qingjun had entered less than a breath ahead of her, yet they had already vanished without a trace.
Jingyu knew full well where their destination lay, but the Corpse Flower Blood Amber was of paramount importance; she had to obtain it first.
The black chains interlocked and stretched into the abyssal depths.
Following this chain, Jingyu dove to an unfathomable depth before finally reaching the end of the chain.
This was the bottom of the blood pool.
Similar to the bottom of the blood river, the area below was desolate. The ground was jagged and uneven, tempered into crystal by the blood mist and exceedingly hard.
What this black chain connected to turned out to be an enormous cage.
The iron cages seen earlier on Corpse Mountain could not match even a tenth or twentieth of this cage's size. Its material was identical to the black chains, clearly forged as one with them.
Every bar was as thick as the chains.
The surface of the bars was covered in runes, forming a seamless seal that worked with the power of the black chains to suppress whoever was imprisoned within. However, the runes were dim and lusterless, capable only of releasing thread-fine blood lightning, with scarcely any potency remaining.
For this cage was damaged.
In one corner of the cage, two broken bars compromised the entire seal.
And inside the cage was a skeleton bound in chains!
The flesh upon the corpse had long corroded away, leaving behind bones that had survived to this day!
The skeleton was humanoid and dead as dead could be, lying flat on its back. However, everything below the waist was missing—whether the figure had suffered brutal torture and been bifurcated in life, or ended up this way after death, was impossible to tell.
Seeing the skeleton, Jingyu's eyes burned with fervor.
Upon the skeleton grew several spirit flowers, crystalline and clear like blood amber, radiating an eerie glow.
The Corpse Flower Blood Amber had actually sprouted from the corpse of the ancient cultivator!
"Indeed, five blossoms!"
Jingyu gave a quiet nod and, without a moment's hesitation, flashed toward the damaged section of the cage and struck with her wing!
Chapter 1264