Chapter 1949: Bloodstained Demon Shadow

What was once a refined face twisted and warped, transforming into the visage of a handsome youth. He appeared to be only sixteen or seventeen years old, but his eyes were blood-red, and an exceptionally pungent, bloody scent emanated from his entire body, seemingly the same terrifying aura that had vanished from the vortex earlier.

The Bloody Youth lowered his hands from his head, slowly straightened up, and cast a strange gaze over the Etian City below and the cultivators from both human and demonic sides. He then looked at his raised hands and suddenly threw his head back, bursting into wild laughter:

“This Venerable One has finally arrived in the Human Realm! This method truly works. Haha, I am probably the first Saint Ancestor to accomplish such a feat. This feeling is simply too marvelous...”

Hearing the youth's words, the high-level cultivators on the human side were all greatly alarmed, while the high-level demonic cultivators, upon seeing the Bloody Youth's appearance clearly, were overwhelmed with a mix of surprise and joy.

It was unclear which high-level demonic cultivator was the most quick-witted, but one suddenly led the others, kneeling before the Bloody Youth and exclaiming loudly:

“Greetings, Saint Ancestor! Congratulations on your arrival in the Spirit Realm!”

This loud cry seemed to instantly remind the other demonic cultivators. Regardless of their rank, the entire demonic army prostrated themselves in the air, bowing in worship! Meanwhile, the human cultivators, witnessing this scene, turned pale with fear.

The Black-armored Man, the White-robed Youth, and other Demonic Venerables were also a mix of shock and doubt, appearing to be only three parts surprised and seven parts hesitant.

“Don't be afraid! This demon could only descend upon this realm through corporeal possession; his magical power is probably less than one-tenth of his true body's. We still have a chance to win! Fairy Lin, quickly command the Harmony Beast to kill this old demon! We'll hold off the other devils for now.” After his expression drastically changed, Venerable Azure Dragon suddenly roared with a grim look on his face.

Lin Luan's expression flickered at these words, but after sweeping her gaze over the many humans in Etian City, she gritted her teeth and nodded. She then abruptly pointed a finger at the blood-rune between her eyebrows, activating it once more with a secret technique.

The giant goat-like beast, which had been suppressing the Black-armored Man and a group of bloody demonic soldiers under Lin Luan's command, suddenly let out a furious roar. It opened its mouth and spewed forth a gust of strong wind, instantly sweeping all nearby demonic cultivators off their feet and sending them reeling. With a flash of its bat-like wings, it transformed into a strange gust of wind, breaking out of the encirclement and charging directly towards the Bloody Youth nearby.

Although the Bloody Youth had not yet displayed his true divine abilities, the bloody pressure he exuded inexplicably made the beast feel threatened. Even without Fairy Lin Luan's blood-rune activation, it instinctively wanted to devour its opponent in one gulp, preventing any potential danger to itself.

As for Venerable Azure Dragon, with a loud roar, seven short blades appeared on his body, and he once again transformed into a five-clawed azure dragon. With a shake of his massive body, countless gusts of wind and thunder surged forth in an instant.

Under Venerable Azure Dragon's almost desperate onslaught, the bloody demonic cultivators were temporarily unable to split off to pursue the Harmony Beast.

Meanwhile, the Black-armored Man wielded two giant hammers, conjuring a sky full of hammer shadows. However, despite the seemingly formidable attacks, he appeared somewhat distracted. In his hesitation, he had placed most of his attention on the Bloody Youth and the Harmony Beast in the distance.

At this moment, Han Li's thoughts raced, and he was naturally both shocked and enraged!

This Demonic Saint Ancestor had truly descended upon this realm. Although it wasn't his true body, it also didn't seem to be a mere spiritual projection or possession technique!

The aura emanating from the possessed middle-aged man was truly terrifying, far beyond what an ordinary late-stage Integration cultivator could possess. It was truly hard to say what his actual divine abilities were!

Now that Mo Yang, the giant goat-like beast, was going to confront this person, Han Li's heart tensed, and he simply stopped his pursuit, gazing intently without blinking.

As for the White-robed Youth, seeing this situation, he felt a sense of relief. He quickly pulled out several antidote pills from his robes and swallowed them. Then, from a distance, he began circulating his internal magical power to forcibly expel the strange poison that afflicted him.

It was only because this demon was a mid-stage Integration cultivator that he could persist until now. If anyone below the Integration stage had been afflicted by the strange poison of the Spirit Vortex Evil Light, they would have instantly succumbed to it.

In the distance, the Bloody Youth, upon seeing Mo Yang, the giant goat-bear beast, couldn't help but be slightly stunned, muttering to himself with some surprise:

“To think there's a Harmony Beast here! No wonder I haven't gained any advantage yet. Very well, since I've arrived, I'm in need of a mount. I shall temporarily use you for transportation.”

As his words fell, the Bloody Youth suddenly flipped his hand. After a flash of purple light, a small purple cauldron abruptly appeared.

The youth simply slapped the small cauldron with one hand and uttered the character "Net"!

Instantly, the small cauldron flipped, and a black light flashed from its mouth. An ancient character resembling "Net" appeared, then vanished in a flash as it shot towards the giant beast.

The giant goat-like beast, witnessing this scene, opened its mouth and spat out a swirling, yellowish hurricane. At the same time, it wrapped its two wings around its body, transforming into a ball of yellow clouds that completely enveloped its form.

The beast, enveloped in the mist, charged forward, completely ignoring the black rune, showing no intention of stopping! Clearly, the beast was supremely confident in its defenses.

Seeing this, a cold smile appeared on the Bloody Youth's face. He stood his ground, showing no intention of dodging.

The black rune flashed wildly a few times, then pierced directly through the hurricane and silently vanished into the yellow cloud in front of the giant beast.

The next moment, the once formidable beast suddenly let out a roar of alarm. Its body then tensed, and it was eerily unable to move an inch in the void.

Countless black threads appeared on the surface of its massive body, tightly ensnaring the beast.

These black threads appeared incredibly fine, but once the giant beast was trapped, despite its incessant roars, it was utterly unable to break free.

The Bloody Youth's lips twitched into a grimace, and his gaze shifted, sweeping over towards Han Li.

His gaze was piercingly cold. Han Li felt a strange chill instantly erupt from his back, causing him to shiver involuntarily.

The Bloody Youth's lips twitched slightly, his face devoid of expression. But then he suddenly raised an arm, making a beckoning motion towards Han Li in the air, and uttered the character "Collect."

A deafening rumble echoed!

The nearby seven-colored giant pagoda, thousands of feet tall, immediately rose from the ground in response and, with a shimmer, vanished into the void.

The next moment, a seven-colored light blazed brightly in the Bloody Youth's hand, and a mini pagoda, mere inches tall, silently appeared. He then tossed it towards the giant beast's head.

With a single hand, he formed a spell seal!

The pagoda spun rapidly, transforming into a swirling mass of seven-colored light that swept downwards, instantly engulfing the giant beast's massive body.

When the seven-colored light re-coalesced, returning to its form as the small seven-colored pagoda, the giant goat-like beast had vanished without a trace from its original spot.

“No, my spirit talisman can no longer sense the Harmony Beast!”

Almost simultaneously, Fairy Lin Luan's heart jolted, and she exclaimed in alarm.

Han Li's heart sank at this sight.

In the hands of the Bloody Light Saint Ancestor, their original owner, the purple cauldron and the seven-colored pagoda had their power instantly boosted several times over compared to how they were before.

He had absolutely no confidence that he could safely escape if trapped inside that pagoda.

“Run!”

Venerable Azure Dragon, seeing this scene, was equally shocked and terrified. Without hesitation, he suddenly shouted.

Then, the azure dragon he had transformed into flared with spiritual light. Enduring several hammer strikes from the Black-armored Man, he broke through the encirclement and fled without looking back.

Upon realizing the battle was lost, he decisively made his escape, heading towards Etian City.

Not only him, but Fairy Silverlight and Lin Luan exchanged fearful glances and almost simultaneously transformed into streaks of dazzling light, fleeing in two other directions.

As for Han Li, he flicked his sleeves, retracting his Azure Serpent Sword Formation. Then, with a flap of his wind-thunder wings, he transformed into an arc of electricity and shot out even earlier.

“To think of running now, it's utter foolishness!” The Bloody Youth watched this scene and burst into wild laughter.

He then formed hand seals rapidly, like a turning wheel. The bloody aura around his body instantly surged and churned violently. His figure blurred, splitting into three identical forms.

Two of the three Bloody Youths—one holding the seven-colored pagoda, the other gripping the purple cauldron—uttered a cold sneer simultaneously and vanished from their original spots with a shimmer.

As for the last Bloody Youth, he stomped his foot. After a surge of bloody aura, it transformed directly into a small blood-red boat.

This small boat was no more than seven or eight zhang long. Its entire body was vivid red and crystalline, and its surface was engraved with countless mysterious seven-colored runes that shimmered with light, making it appear incredibly enigmatic.

The moment the youth stepped onto the boat, without any apparent action from him, the blood-red boat trembled and shot forward.

After a single flash, it carried the Bloody Youth directly into the void, disappearing from sight.

When a ripple appeared in the distance, the boat flashed once more, reappearing in this space hundreds of zhang away. It seemed that with just two more flashes, it could directly catch up to Han Li, who was ahead.

Han Li swept his divine sense backward, and upon seeing this scene, he couldn't help but be startled.

His mind raced. He immediately gritted his teeth, rolled on the ground, and with another clap of thunder, transformed into a four-winged silver giant roc.

Its four wings flapped simultaneously!

The giant roc instantly transformed into a fine gold and silver thread, shooting away. With one flash, it appeared at the edge of the sky, and with another flash, it vanished.

“Oh, it's the Kunpeng Transformation art! Heh heh, do you think you can escape this old ancestor's grasp like this? You few, deal with the other human Integration cultivators! I, this old ancestor, will personally pursue this fellow!” The Bloody Youth on the boat was momentarily stunned by this sight, but then he quickly let out a cold laugh and loudly transmitted a command to the Black-armored Man and the others.

Then, a bloody shadow flickered beside him, and the other two youths also appeared with a shimmer, as if they had never moved an inch from the beginning. They simultaneously formed their own spell seals.

After a few “thump-thump” sounds, two pairs of blood-red crystalline wings emerged from each side of the blood-red boat. With a powerful flap, it also transformed into a streak of blood, shooting forth.