Blood Sacrifice

"Ahhh!" Shrill, agonizing screams tore from the mouths of Jiang Banzi, Zuo Wendao, and Jiang Zhenwu. Only moments later, the screams ceased—or rather, the screaming no longer came from their physical bodies, but from their divine souls. Under the horrified gazes of Yaoguang, Jiang Bairen, and the newly arrived Xie Yushu and others, Leng Tianfeng, now in control of the Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace, forcibly dragged the souls of these cornerstone figures of the Jiang family straight out of their bodies. It was like flaying a person alive and tearing out their tendons. The sheer agony of it sent a chill down the spines of battle-hardened men like Jiang Bairen and Xie Yushu, plunging them into an uncontrollable, freezing dread. "How could this happen... How did it come to this..." Jiang Bairen muttered to himself, watching Leng Tianfeng swiftly take command of the Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace, despair flickering in his eyes. They had exhausted every effort, wagering everything on a single throw of the dice, only to suffer utter and total defeat. Worse still... This monster from the Rebirth Society had actually become the artifact spirit of the Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace! The Jiang family had spent nearly a thousand years and sacrificed countless billions of living beings and Martial Saints to nurture this treasure; they knew its terror better than anyone. As long as they could successfully command this treasure, whether Heavenly Beings or the Rebirth Society, all would be nothing more than clay chickens, pottery dogs, and skeletons in a tomb—not even worth a glance. Yet now... This treasure had fallen into the hands of the Rebirth Society! Suffering near-total annihilation only to achieve such an outcome, compounded by terror and despair for what lay ahead, broke the Jiang family elder completely. "It's over! It's all over! We're dead—every single one of us is going to die! From now on, this world will truly become a hunting ground for these demons! All of us will—" Jiang Bairen screamed in broken hysteria. Before he could finish, a bolt of thunderous light tore through the air, instantly piercing his helmet armor and punching straight through his skull. The irritating screech came to an abrupt halt. It was Yaoguang's hurled Thunderstrike Sword. After throwing the Thunderstrike Sword, Yaoguang released his Divine Descent state. Instantly, blood began to seep from countless places across his body, leaving him looking utterly spent and fragile. "It's over..." Staring at Leng Tianfeng in command of the Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace, Xie Yushu looked as though all the spirit and energy had been drained from him. His voice carried indescribable dejection and helplessness. "The Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace... That was an artifact vessel the Jiang family spent a fortune to purchase from their sect, a Treasure Weapon forged with staggering human and material resources! A treasure of this caliber isn't just fit for Grand Cultivators; it is worthy even of those aloft Zhenren and True Monarchs whose might rivals the blazing sun in the firmament! They originally intended to use this Treasure Weapon to purchase this world and make it the Jiang family's private property—that shows how precious it is! But now..." It had become a vessel for this entity of the Moon Demon Empire! A demon possessing a Treasure Weapon as its vessel... How could they possibly fight this?! Especially when... He glanced at Yaoguang, who was terribly weakened and visibly drained of all fighting capacity... The same despair that had consumed Jiang Bairen instantly surged into his heart. "Run! Run now, save whoever can be saved! Then force open the Star Gate and flee this world... Even if only one or two make it out... this world is beyond saving..." Xie Yushu said. "No! This isn't over yet!" Yaoguang suddenly spoke up. "Not over...?" Xie Yushu froze. "Let's make a deal," Yaoguang said, his gaze fixed on Leng Tianfeng, who was still drawing in the souls of Jiang Banzi, Jiang Zhenwu, and Zuo Wendao. If... If Leng Tianfeng were truly as powerful right now as he claimed, having obtained a vessel stronger than a Heavenly Being body, extracting the souls of these few people wouldn't take him nearly this much time. In other words... He had indeed become the artifact spirit of the Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace, but the process was not yet complete. "A deal?!" Xie Yushu was dazed. What time was this? The world was about to be destroyed, and he wanted to make a deal? "I preserve your lives and defeat Leng Tianfeng. In return, all the spoils of today's battle belong to me," Yaoguang said. Xie Yushu was stunned, then realized Yaoguang would never make such a proposal without reason. Instantly, an unprecedented thirst for survival surged in his eyes. "You have a way?!" "I'll give it a try." Yaoguang could make no guarantees. Yet he knew he had to try. Otherwise, once Leng Tianfeng truly mastered the power of the Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace, whether anyone else escaped or not, Yaoguang... would inevitably be the very first sacrifice thrown into Leng Tianfeng's furnace. "Agreed! Agreed! Whatever you want, we agree!" Hearing that Yaoguang might genuinely have a plan, Xie Yushu seized upon it like a drowning man clutching at a straw, hurriedly promising, "Even if you want the Snow Dragon Federation, we agree! So long as you're willing to help us open the Star Gate and let us return to the Artifact Sect!" "Very well. Then the deal is struck," Yaoguang agreed calmly. Yet... He made no move. On the other side, no matter how desperately the souls of Jiang Banzi, Jiang Zhenwu, and Zuo Wendao wailed, they were ultimately refined into the Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace, becoming fuel for this Treasure Weapon. Leng Tianfeng quietly felt the furnace burn with fresh fuel, seemingly savoring this sensation of brimming power. With the two pinnacle figures falling silent, Xie Yushu and the remaining demons dared not make any sudden moves. The atmosphere on the field descended into an extraordinarily eerie calm. It felt like the heavy, stagnant air before a storm broke. After quite some time, Leng Tianfeng finally seemed to emerge from his revelry. He reopened his eyes, his gaze landing immediately upon Yaoguang. "Fascinating. You didn't run," Leng Tianfeng chuckled softly. Then, realizing something, he added, "Though it makes sense. You must know full well what immense power I wield now that I command this treasure; running would be pointless." He regarded Yaoguang with amused disdain. "So... why not try begging me? For the sake of our common origin, I might just grant you a way out alive." "Those should be my words," Yaoguang said, opening his eyes. He looked at Leng Tianfeng, measuring him with a discerning gaze. After a moment, he shifted his attention to the Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace, studying it closely. For reasons Leng Tianfeng could not fathom, that look made him deeply uneasy. Losing all interest in further banter with Yaoguang, Leng Tianfeng sneered, "Since you refuse to see reason, I'll grant your wish! I'll refine you into my new pet!" He spread his arms wide, and countless eerie blue flames erupted fiercely from within the Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace. "You have no idea how formidable the power of this Treasure Weapon truly is!" With a fierce wave of his hand, eerie blue flames swept through the air along with the motion of his arm, directly seizing Yaoguang's body. Not only did they ensnare his body, but they also clamped onto his soul, threatening to tear it violently from his flesh. Seeing this, Yaoguang lunged forward, charging right in front of the Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace, and brought down a thunderous, earth-shattering palm strike. Leng Tianfeng made no attempt to dodge Yaoguang's attack, sneering coldly, "Trying to smash a Treasure Weapon? Never mind that your constitution falls short of a Heavenly Being body; even if you were a full-fledged Heavenly Being, you wouldn't leave a scratch on this Treasure Weapon without a divine weapon of equal caliber in hand!" Yet when Yaoguang's hands slammed against the Treasure Weapon, it appeared... he had never intended to shatter it. Instead, his fingers clamped firmly around the furnace's handles. Then, condensing the churning vital energy and blood within him, he spat a mouthful of blood directly onto the vessel. The moment the blood stained the Treasure Weapon, it seeped rapidly into its interior, carrying along the essence, qi, and spirit contained within it. Normally, once vital blood leaves the body, the essence, qi, and spirit imbued in it quickly dissipate, just as cells swiftly die once blood leaves an organism. This time, however... The Treasure Weapon inherently harbored immense spirituality, continuously emanating the spiritual energy left behind when Leng Tianfeng transformed into an artifact spirit. Burning around the Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace as eerie blue flames, this spiritual energy served as Leng Tianfeng's power source, but now it also functioned as sustenance that preserved the vitality in Yaoguang's blood. Under these conditions, the essence, qi, and spirit within the mouthful of blood not only avoided dissipating, but actually blended with the Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace, rapidly penetrating the Treasure Weapon and progressively linking with the power of the blue flames until they merged as one. At this turn of events, the sneer on Leng Tianfeng's face suddenly vanished as he realized what was happening. When he felt the essence, qi, and spirit belonging to Yaoguang permeating the Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace, his expression changed drastically: "A blood sacrifice technique?! You want to sacrifice me by blood?!" In the next instant, a powerful divine soul force erupted from the Treasure Weapon, and the essence, qi, and spirit within Yaoguang's blood were ignited and rapidly vaporized. Seeing this, a well-prepared Yaoguang swiftly pressed the spirit stones acquired from the Snow Dragon Federation against the vessel. Then, before Leng Tianfeng could completely erase Yaoguang's essence, qi, and spirit from the treasure, Yaoguang spat out another mouthful of blood. The essence, qi, and spirit within this fresh blood seemed naturally endowed with the ability to guide the other eerie blue flames inside the Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace. In particular, as the spiritual energy from the spirit stones seeped into the Treasure Weapon, the two forces cooperated from within and without, quickly reaching harmony. Completely disregarding the wishes of Leng Tianfeng, the artifact spirit, the furnace forcefully channeled Yaoguang's power inside. The Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace needed a master; it needed the nourishment of spirit stones. As for the artifact spirit... Not to mention that Leng Tianfeng had yet to fully grasp the Treasure Weapon's power, even if he had achieved total control, he might not have been able to withstand Yaoguang's refinement in the short term. After all, when a Treasure Weapon is forged, it is ultimately destined to choose a master. In other words, the weapon refiner would have planned in advance how to quickly refine the completed Treasure Weapon, leaving behind corresponding restrictive seals for that purpose. At this moment, Yaoguang... Through his earlier analysis of the techniques Jiang Banzi and the others used to control the treasure, combined with the way his own essence, qi, and spirit permeated it, had already pinpointed the exact location of the restrictive seals for refining the Five Emperors Soul Refining Furnace. Having located the restrictive seals and combined them with the blood sacrifice technique he wielded, the essence, qi, and spirit in his blood rapidly penetrated the seals, seizing control over this Treasure Weapon. Instantly, bearing the brunt of the assault, the artifact spirit Leng Tianfeng felt a crisis that pierced straight into his soul. "How can this be..." The tables... were turning!