Chapter 853: Suspected Fourth God

A vast sea of blood permeated the sky, shrouding the firmament and turning the entire heavens blood-red. From a distance, it looked as if the apocalypse had arrived, transforming the very world.

Amidst the surging blood sea, a black-robed figure stood high above, exuding an overwhelming aura of power that seemed to encompass all creation. In comparison, Xu Qing, standing in the rainforest, was clearly outmatched in terms of aura. A tremendous pressure also welled up within him. Every inch of his body trembled. A profound sense of life-or-death crisis rapidly emanated from the formidable prodigy.

Strong, incredibly strong. This was the most powerful prodigy Xu Qing had encountered to date. Neither Tuo Shishan nor Fan Shishuang had evoked such a clear feeling in Xu Qing. He could fight the former and contend equally with the latter, but facing this Ji Dongzi, Xu Qing clearly knew he was no match.

So he sharply retreated, activating his cultivation. Countless soul threads burst forth from his body, instantly forming his Fourth Deity Form. This transformation was completed in an instant, and he retreated further.

"Though you are clever, by seeing me, you have forfeited your right to live," Ji Dongzi stated calmly from the sky. He raised his right hand and pressed it towards Xu Qing from a distance.

With that gesture, the sea of blood surrounding him, which had shrouded the sky, immediately surged with immense waves, rolling fiercely. It expanded its reach for a thousand miles, sweeping towards Xu Qing like a true ocean. Wherever it passed, the void shattered and the heavens and earth roared. The rainforest within a thousand-mile radius, centered on Xu Qing, trembled. All vegetation was dyed blood-red, and all mud turned into blood-mud.

All life within a thousand miles wailed in agony at that instant. Regardless of their form, be they fierce beasts or strange entities, all instantly turned into blood, rising in wisps and connecting with the incoming blood sea. Countless streams of blood rose into the sky, as if transforming the area into a cage of blood. Furthermore, within this blood sea, a large number of blood shadows were hidden. They gazed hungrily at Xu Qing, emitting sharp screeches as they lunged from all directions.

Their aura was earth-shattering, sealing off all escape routes. The feeling of life-or-death crisis erupted even more intensely within Xu Qing at this moment. His expression darkened. Sensing his retreat routes were sealed, he simply stopped retreating. The moment he turned, Xu Qing's Fourth Deity Form's divine source spread, and anomalous energy surged, blurring his surroundings.

At the same time, a sound like a deity's whisper emanated from Xu Qing's mouth: "Blood!"

This single word, echoing through the heavens and earth, instantly caused the blood sea pressing down from the sky to violently shake. The blood rising from the rainforest also paused, beginning to twist. A tremendous pulling force, as Xu Qing's Blood Authority unfolded, appeared out of nowhere, pulling the blood sea, intending to form a vortex belonging to Xu Qing. Once formed, this blood sea would be under Xu Qing's control.

"A decent authority. So, what are your limits?" Ji Dongzi asked calmly from mid-air. He then raised his right hand and waved it again. Immediately, the blood sea erupted once more. All the blood shadows within it shrieked in unison and melted. A terrifying scene entered Xu Qing's sight, stirring turmoil within him.

There were thousands of blood shadows in the blood sea. As each melted, it formed a large quantity of blood that merged into the sea. This caused the blood sea, in the blink of an eye, after hundreds of blood shadows had melted, to surge in range to six thousand miles, then seven thousand, eight thousand, nine thousand... until it reached ten thousand miles.

The ten-thousand-mile blood sea stirred up an overwhelming force, its mere aura creating a destructive momentum. Even though Xu Qing possessed the Blood Authority, such an explosively expanding blood sea ultimately still made him feel immense pressure. Moreover, ten thousand miles was not the limit. As more blood shadows merged, it grew to twenty thousand miles, then thirty thousand, forty thousand... until finally, after thousands of blood shadows had melted, this blood sea reached a terrifying one hundred thousand miles.

The affected rainforest likewise stretched this far. One hundred thousand miles was too vast, with no end in sight. It seemed to have truly replaced the sky, thundering down towards Xu Qing, and astonishingly, it was still expanding. Xu Qing's entire body shuddered. He felt his physical body nearing its limit and becoming unstable, while his soul was torn with pain.

In this moment of crisis, Xu Qing's battle intuition played a crucial role. With determination in his eyes, he gathered his Blood Authority from its dispersed state, consolidating it around his body to form a sanguine glow, which violently spun, transforming into a swirling vortex. Within the vortex, amidst the blood-red, he transformed his body, dissolving his physical form into countless dispersed blood droplets. Since he could not resist, he chose to merge into it. At the same time, the hundred-thousand-mile blood sea from the sky fell upon the earth.

A roaring sound emanated, its scope reaching millions of miles. Within this range, numerous cultivators from the Yan Yue Xuantian realm noticed it. Each was shaken to their core, turning to gaze into the distance. They were all horrified. The hundred-thousand-mile rainforest where the blood sea descended was instantly reduced to ashes. All vegetation, all fierce beasts, and all strange entities perished simultaneously. The ground trembled, forming depressions that were filled by the blood sea.

The hundred-thousand-mile blood sea, vast and boundless, changed the landscape. As it continuously churned, droplets of fresh blood rapidly rose from within, gathering together to form Xu Qing's body. The moment he appeared, he spat out a mouthful of blood. His face was pale, his Deity Form was fracturing, and his body rapidly retreated. Although at the last moment he chose to resolve it by merging, the immense power disparity between them still left Xu Qing severely wounded.

"Nothing more than this," a cold voice echoed from the void in front of Xu Qing, just as his body reformed and he sped backward. What appeared in Xu Qing's sight was a finger materializing out of thin air, pressing towards him with the power of annihilation.

Even though he was at an absolute disadvantage, Xu Qing remained calm. He clearly understood that in this battle, every move had to be meaningful; any trace of panic would lead to extremely severe consequences. So his eyes instantly turned black. The power of poison restraint erupted across its full range, forming endless black mist that assaulted the appearing finger. The finger immediately developed black spots, showing signs of decay. While its advance was blocked, it also began to melt. But the next moment, a second finger appeared from another direction, likewise pressing towards Xu Qing.

The instant it descended, seven clumps of ghostly fire rose from Xu Qing's body, then extinguished one by one. It was precisely the Seven Lamp Ghost Fire Curse. As they extinguished, the second finger also began to decay as it approached. Meanwhile, Xu Qing's retreat speed increased.

A soft exclamation echoed at this moment. Clearly, Xu Qing's continuous counter-measures had surprised Ji Dongzi.

"Somewhat interesting."

After the soft exclamation came a light chuckle. Immediately following, what appeared before Xu Qing was no longer a finger, but a complete, blood-red hand! Its aura was far more violent than before, and an irresistible will surged within it, suppressing the mind. It even contained divine power! Ignoring the poison restraint and the ghostly fire curse, it descended before Xu Qing, replacing everything in his sight. The sense of life and death was unprecedented!

Xu Qing wanted to resist but found it difficult to sustain. His body violently trembled. His Deity Form directly collapsed, turning into countless soul threads that reeled back, then rapidly reassembled, only to collapse again. It collapsed again and again, until the soul threads could no longer converge and scattered in all directions, revealing Xu Qing's main body within, with his eyes closed. Ji Dongzi's hand, piercing through the soul threads, was about to press down on Xu Qing's main body.

Xu Qing's eyes suddenly opened, revealing purple pupils. He had been waiting for this very moment; everything before had been to weaken the enemy to some extent. A purple moon twisted out of the void between Xu Qing and Ji Dongzi's palm. It was not an illusory moon but a real entity, small at first. But it instantly expanded, growing larger and larger. Upon it, stone tablets and the names of numerous believers could be seen. At this very moment, countless temples of the Purple Lord across the Black Spirit Domain trembled. Countless believers prostrated in worship, their faith converging to form a purple light that shone brightly in the Mountain Sea Domain, before Ji Dongzi.

His palm immediately turned purple, and its momentum paused. He tried to withdraw, but it was too late. The rapidly expanding purple moon violently charged, carrying immense force, pressing towards the palm. It instantly collided with the palm, pushing it back with a resounding roar. The spreading ripples outlined Ji Dongzi's figure, which had been hidden in the void behind the hand.

This figure rapidly solidified, revealing a face with a hint of surprise. He was about to continue his attack, but the next instant, dazzling purple moonlight erupted, bathing his entire body. At the same time, the soul threads that had scattered when Xu Qing's Deity Form collapsed previously rapidly surged from all directions. Their target was not Xu Qing, but Ji Dongzi. Millions of soul threads encircled him, forming a binding force.

All this took time to describe, but in reality, it happened in a flash of lightning. The moment Ji Dongzi was struck by the purple moon and entangled by the soul threads, Xu Qing's eyes blazed with intense killing intent. He raised his right hand and violently clawed towards Ji Dongzi.

The surroundings trembled. At this instant, ripples appeared in the heavens and earth, as if transforming into a well. The well water rippled, reflecting all of Ji Dongzi's techniques, as well as all fragments of his past and future. It even encompassed Ji Dongzi's soul! Within it, all of Ji Dongzi's unknown secrets were also contained.

For example, his soul... Xu Qing's eyes narrowed upon seeing it. Ji Dongzi's soul was not a single wisp, but a full ninety-seven wisps! Inside each wisp, a golden divine tablet was enshrined. On the ninety-seven divine tablets, ninety-seven figures were carved. Their appearances differed, but all exuded a divine aura. This scene shook Xu Qing's mind, because the divine tablets were clearly carved with ninety-seven gods. Xu Qing had previously seen the remains of one of these idols in the rainforest of the Mountain Sea Domain!

To Xu Qing, this Ji Dongzi felt more like a vessel, containing divine tablets! Xu Qing did not know if this was some kind of ritual, but he instinctively recalled what the Fifth Imperial Prince had said in the Human Emperor's Palace: Anomalous energy within the Yan Yue realm had increased threefold year-on-year in recent years. After the Yan Suppression King took notice, he once said that it was suspected... Yan Yue was brewing a fourth deity!