Chapter 2013: Breakthrough Point

“These hubs where blood qi converges are also where blood qi exchange is most concentrated,” Helian Chuan further clarified. “In other words, they are the locations that supply nutrients and energy to these monsters!”

Without locating this hub, the battles within the labyrinth would be endless; even an entire army entering would be completely worn down and perish.

“Wait,” the Blood Demon said after a long silence. “Wait.”

During this time, the monsters emerging from the stone pages grew progressively larger and more ferocious. Unsurprisingly, their attack power also increased.

This was somewhat inconsistent with Helian Chuan’s understanding.

He looked up at the sky, wondering if it was due to the influence of the Emperor’s Dew.

However, despite standing in the stone forest, they hadn’t received a single drop of spiritual rain. It seemed there was an unseen barrier above the stone forest.

Just then, the first two monsters to appear suddenly leaped out from the stone pages, mixing with other monsters to attack the Black Armored soldiers. Before the latter could react, their heads were bitten off.

Luo Xie unsheathed his Praying Mantis Arm Saber and attacked from a distance with a whoosh, but these two creatures were extremely vigilant, retreating immediately into the stone pages after a single strike.

“These monsters seem to be different from the two we first encountered.”

“They are different,” Helian Chuan’s reply was even stranger. “They are not consumables.”

Consumables? The others didn’t understand what he meant.

Even with the Black Armored Army’s strength, resisting these monsters was becoming increasingly difficult. Furthermore, General Chongwu and his men were still hidden in the shadows, waiting for them to exhaust their strength.

Luo Xie and the others took out their battle formations and placed them on the ground.

The formation artifacts of the battle formations would automatically drill into the ground.

“Open the barrier.” A barrier immediately opened, blocking the incoming monsters.

Everyone quickly took pills to regulate their breathing and recover their energy.

These monsters were relentless; the formation wouldn’t hold them back for long.

About thirty breaths later, a Black Armored soldier suddenly exclaimed, “Damn it, the formation artifacts are being dug up!”

Exactly where they had buried the formation artifacts, several stone pages “conveniently” emerged from the ground, like bamboo shoots breaking through the soil, pushing the artifacts out.

This stone forest was alive and even knew how to deal with them.

Without the protection of the formation, they would eventually be exhausted.

Fortunately, the Blood Demon finally spoke: “Found it! Follow me.”

It exited its cloak form, transforming into a thick cloud of blood mist, and lunged fiercely westward.

All the monsters in its path were enveloped whole, dissolving into nothingness with hissing sounds.

Helian Chuan also heard the Blood Demon’s complaints: “Ptooey, truly disgusting, not fresh at all! This way.”

The Blood Demon seemed to be the bane of these monsters; wherever it passed, monsters were devoured, clearing a temporary path.

The group then dashed forward with Helian Chuan, pursued by a dense, surging horde of monsters behind them, like a tide chasing them down.

It was a scene straight out of anyone’s worst nightmare.

After more than ten breaths, the Blood Demon, floating at the very front, suddenly announced, “Look closely, it’s here!”

It suddenly dispersed, enveloping a massive stone page, while also prompting Helian Chuan: “Smash it! The more shattered, the better.”

This stone page was as flat as a monument, about two zhang wide and over one zhang high; normally, everyone would simply walk around it.

Helian Chuan silently gripped his halberd, secretly channeling his true qi and primal energy.

The halberd blade immediately glowed with a faint red light.

The halberd sliced cleanly across the bottom of the stone page, leaving a perfectly straight cut.

The power of this single halberd strike was beyond human capability.

Following this, grayish-white foam began to emerge from the cut.

Before their very eyes, the stone page began to erode from the cut, the wound rapidly expanding with hissing sounds.

This was the additional property of the Nest Sea Yaksha King’s trident: All is Illusion.

The stone page couldn’t withstand it; in just three to five breaths, it had completely disintegrated, revealing a large hole beneath.

Seeing this, Helian Chuan wasted no words:

“Enter.”

He leaped down first, with the others following close behind.

The monsters that had pursued them this far grew even more agitated, roaring as they too leaped down.

Just by observing their behavior, Helian Chuan knew he had descended into the right place.

Below, it was no longer the stone forest, but a flat valley.

After landing, Helian Chuan advanced in one direction. He had only run a hundred zhang when an arrow volley rained down ahead.

Seeing human weapons here surprisingly brought a sense of relief.

Sure enough, over two hundred Bixia people emerged from the mountain hollow ahead, joining the monsters in ganging up on Helian Chuan and his group.

Leading the charge was none other than General Chongwu.

Helian Chuan let out a long cry, soared into the air, and delivered a leaping slash towards General Chongwu.

His halberd’s fierce aura surged in mid-air, carrying the momentum to split mountains and cleave the earth. General Chongwu dared not meet it head-on and dodged aside.

With a resounding “Clang!”, the halberd struck the ground. From the point of impact, a shockwave spread in all directions, knocking everyone caught in it off their feet.

Just by the sound of metal striking stone, it was clear that this was solid ground, not the strange place they had just left.

The Bixia people and monsters were all scattered and disoriented. Helian Chuan followed up with two more halberd strikes, seeking out General Chongwu again.

Chongwu struggled to parry, disbelievingly asking, “How could you find this place?!”

The structure of these two layered worlds was truly inconceivable. Even though Chongwu had received detailed instructions from Qingyang beforehand, he was still greatly shocked and amazed when using it.

This was neither a formation nor an illusion, yet it was more potent than any of them, even surpassing the effects of ordinary divine descents!

When this place was constructed, he had been full of confidence that he could wear Helian Chuan down to death.

After all, he himself couldn’t find the entrance to these two layered worlds.

But how had Helian Chuan managed to break through it?!

Helian Chuan ignored him, for the Blood Demon had already given its final hint: “It’s straight ahead, just past this mountain hollow!”

Two more ghostly figures emerged from unknown origins, attacking Helian Chuan from both sides, left and right, from his rear flanks.

Their skin was bluish-gray for one and blood-red for the other. They resembled both tigers and apes, possessed tails, and could walk upright.

As they charged out, their forms swelled threefold, growing almost as massive as Granny Zhu, completely blocking Helian Chuan’s path.

Furthermore, they each spewed a mouthful of poisonous gas at Helian Chuan, one green and one red.

The green smoke corroded flesh, while the red smoke paralyzed the senses.

Most terrifyingly, when these two types of smoke mixed, they would explode after two breaths.

As Helian Chuan’s figure was engulfed by the dual-colored smoke, two booming explosions followed, and the white vapor that erupted could instantly cook raw meat.

However, Helian Chuan was not in the smoke.

Unwilling to get entangled with these creatures, he employed his Shadow Stride movement technique the moment the two monsters blocked his way. In a single step, he appeared three zhang away, behind one of the monsters, casually hacking it to death with a strike, then surged forward with powerful strides!

Fifty zhang left!

A roar came from somewhere unknown, and nearby monsters, as if guided, rushed towards him en masse.

Helian Chuan pulled out his cloak and flung it forward: “Clear the way!”

This kid was truly taking it for granted, ordering it around more and more. The Blood Demon, having no other choice, transformed into a streak of red light and swept all the monsters from the path ahead.