Chapter 870: Just One More Whip and You'll Die

The sky was bathed in crimson light, turning the firmament blood-red. The swiftly spreading bloodstains resembled a rolling red curtain, instantly shrouding the void.

The earth mirrored this sight, resembling a blood purgatory. The source of it all was the blood orb, compressed from the entire blood sea, manipulated by Xu Qing. Its inherent instability exuded ferocity and terror, containing the intent to annihilate everything.

All the Yan Yue cultivators who witnessed this scene rapidly retreated, their hearts pounding faster, their very blood feeling as if it might surge beyond their control.

Fan Shishuang's pupils constricted. The exchange between Xu Qing and Ji Dongzi had placed the latter in a position of absolute suppression. From the snapped fingers to the reverse blood manipulation, everything made it clear to Fan Shishuang that he was no match for Xu Qing.

"He hasn't even unleashed any active divine abilities yet..."

As Fan Shishuang thought this, he retreated with even greater speed. Meanwhile, Ji Dongzi, the central figure in this conflict, stood suspended in mid-air, his expression drastically changing. He understood his own divine abilities and their power, so he instantly recognized that the incoming blood orb's destructive force surpassed anything before.

At this moment, the heavens and earth felt like a cage, the pervasive crimson light giving him a sense of inescapable doom and unyielding resistance. Facing this imminent crisis, at this crucial moment of life and death, years of battle experience and instinct left Ji Dongzi with no hesitation. He directly opened his mouth and spat out a golden ray towards the approaching blood orb, which shot straight towards it.

Simultaneously, Ji Dongzi's body seized the opportunity to self-disintegrate, instantly transforming into countless blood shadows that scattered in all directions.

The golden ray he had spat out instantly brightened, forming a dazzling core: a ring crafted from golden bone. It had very little flesh, as if it had been shaven clean, retaining only a single face. At this moment, the face showed terror and let out a wail.

"Master, it's me! Call me Little Fish, I'm one of yours... Master, I miss you, it's all that damned Ji Dongzi's fault..."

This ring was a divine finger, captured by Ding Yi San Er when he sealed Ji Dongzi, and then kept by Ji Dongzi after breaking free. Ji Dongzi had cruelly refined it into this ring artifact.

Now, as it was brought out and used to block the blood orb—perhaps due to Xu Qing's sentimentality, or perhaps because the divine finger's words moved him—the blood orb, in the next instant, still touched and passed through the ring, but caused it no harm whatsoever. In fact, at the moment of contact, it shattered Ji Dongzi's flame imprint on the ring.

Having narrowly escaped death, the divine finger trembled and quickly approached Xu Qing, intending to say something. However, in the next instant, the figure of the Adamant Sect Patriarch appeared before it.

"Hold it!"

The Adamant Sect Patriarch spoke lightly, looking down. He felt this was a highlight of his life, to be able to utter these two words to a deity—something not every spirit artifact could achieve. Although the divine finger's mind was churning, it dared not act recklessly at this moment. It could only show a fawning expression.

Xu Qing paid no attention to their emotions; his gaze was fixed on the sky. After the delay caused by the divine finger, the blood shadows into which Ji Dongzi had disintegrated had mostly scattered towards the horizon. They hadn't fully burst through the blood curtain but, at its edge, had each transformed into dense, myriad figures of Ji Dongzi, numbering in the thousands. Every one of them was Ji Dongzi.

Each Ji Dongzi wore a solemn expression, their eyes brimming with murderous intent and madness, staring fixedly at Xu Qing from all directions. Simultaneously, they spoke with a voice like the Dao itself.

"Sacrifice!""Sacrifice!"

These two words echoed through heaven and earth. As the void rumbled, five scarlet secret vaults abruptly appeared high in the sky, like five colossal volcanoes, emitting thunderous roars. These were precisely the secret vaults Ji Dongzi had formed when he was in the Spirit Hoard realm. Although his cultivation was now at the Return to Void stage, these five vaults still served as the foundation supporting his cultivation. At this moment, he was clearly pushed to his limit, displaying them regardless of the cost.

As the word "Sacrifice" reverberated, the roars of the Heavenly Dao surged from within these five massive scarlet secret vaults, and five figures ascended from them. An eight-armed blood demon, a crimson-scaled glutton, a sheet of scarlet skin, a blood-red eyeball, and a streak of fiery crimson light—these were the Heavenly Daos Ji Dongzi had refined and subdued during his time in the Spirit Hoard realm.

Upon their appearance, they did not approach Xu Qing. Instead, their roars conveyed a sense of absolute resolve as they swiftly ascended, piercing through the blood curtain and reaching the very edge of the sky. They slammed violently, causing the entire firmament to shake and form a swirling vortex that rolled outwards. Hidden scarlet lightning reappeared within it, coiling and striking with astonishing power.

In the center of this vortex, a scene materialized. The scene depicted a void where a colossal Kunpeng was bound by countless iron chains! A dense aura of Heavenly Dao emanated from it—it was the Ancient Heavenly Dao of Wanggu Continent, captured by the Yan Yue Xuantian Clan! Upon closer inspection, each chain could be seen piercing deeply into its body. A massive whip, moreover, was continuously lashing its flesh, leaving it a bloody mess. Numerous glowing imprints adorned the whip, each flashing brightly. Every lash was accompanied by the sound of heavenly thunder, and the ancient Heavenly Dao's mournful wails echoed throughout the world.

The wails contained extreme agony, a plea for death that reverberated through the world, forming a sound that transcended all rules and laws. It spread in all directions, even causing Xu Qing's blood orb to solidify in mid-air.

This wasn't the first time Xu Qing had seen this ancient Heavenly Dao. However, unlike their previous encounter, Ji Dongzi wasn't merely using the sound of the Heavenly Dao to suppress him. He was... sacrificing his own Heavenly Daos!

In the blink of an eye, his five Heavenly Daos shot into the void. There, they disintegrated on their own, merging into the whip, adding five more imprints to it and slightly enhancing its power. This disintegration was irreversible, meaning Ji Dongzi would permanently lose those five Heavenly Daos. This would severely impact his cultivation, and recovering them would require an astonishing price. This was also why he hadn't revealed this move in his previous battle with Xu Qing.

Such a sacrifice naturally yielded astonishing power. In an instant, one of the iron chains binding the ancient Heavenly Dao loosened and rapidly descended through a gap in the firmament. With a clattering sound, it landed in the world, specifically within the region of the Ding Ghost Chariot Dark Forest. It swiftly swung towards Xu Qing, striking him with an irresistible and unavoidable force, accompanied by a thunderous boom.

Xu Qing's entire body shuddered as the iron chain lashed directly across him, sending him reeling back a thousand zhang. The force within it transformed into countless red lightning bolts that coursed through his entire body. The Nine Li Shamanic Armor fully resisted, trembling violently under the red lightning. The nine illusory heads roared, and signs of cracking appeared on its surface.

Xu Qing's soul swayed, and his eyes revealed shock. Yet, beneath this outward appearance, a hint of surprise was concealed. He could sense the terrifying power of this iron chain, but the Shamanic Armor's defense had absorbed the full impact for him. Although the Nine Li Shamanic Armor appeared to be shattering after enduring the attack, Xu Qing clearly sensed that the Nine Li was actually showing signs of premature integration. It seemed that a trace of Ancestral Shamanic essence existed within the chain, which, through this strike, had merged into him. In Xu Qing's previous judgment, the Nine Li's nine heads were not its true Xuantian Ancestral Shaman form; only when his cultivation broke through to the Return to Void stage would it be possible for its nine heads to merge and reveal its true Ancestral Shaman form.

"That chain binding the ancient Heavenly Dao actually has such an effect..."

Xu Qing's heart stirred as he gazed at the void where the Heavenly Dao was bound. A sudden conjecture arose in his mind.

"The God-Slaying Grand Formation from back then..."

Xu Qing narrowed his eyes, not dwelling on the thought. Noticing that the descending iron chain showed signs of disappearing after one strike, he immediately bit his tongue and spat out a mouthful of blood. His body trembled, and his divine form also showed signs of collapse, creating an appearance of barely withstanding the attack, unable to resist further.

In the sky, due to the information asymmetry, Ji Dongzi could never have predicted the chain's effect on the Nine Li. Seeing Xu Qing's appearance, he was caught in a dilemma, and a look of madness appeared on the face of every one of his figures.

"Sacrifice!!" This time, he sacrificed his own life force. In the next instant, all of Ji Dongzi's bodies rapidly withered, transforming directly from their youthful appearance into old men, and even more than half of the figures eventually turned to ash. Such dense life force, upon rushing into the void, finally brought forth the second iron chain.

In an instant, the second iron chain descended, unleashing immense power as it fiercely lashed towards the seemingly vulnerable Xu Qing. Xu Qing spat out three mouthfuls of blood, his divine form collapsing instantly, his flesh mangled, with even some of his bones exposed. His Nine Li Shamanic Armor was mostly shattered, barely clinging to his body. He appeared so severely wounded that he seemed on the verge of death if he took a third lash, and he desperately fled into the distance. At the same time, a sense of danger emanated from him, as if he still had a trump card up his sleeve.

This made the cautious Ji Dongzi hesitant to approach. However, the battle had progressed to such an extent that he had already paid too great a price; if he didn't completely kill Xu Qing, the consequences would be endless. So Ji Dongzi gritted his teeth. Life was singular, and he was unwilling to risk it. Yet, life force and Heavenly Daos could be reacquired as long as he survived. Therefore, with determination in his eyes, he spoke again.

"Sacrifice!"

This time, he sacrificed his cultivation! His Return to Void cultivation erupted from him in that instant, as if all the Daos he had refined and all the rules he had comprehended transformed into meteors, streaking directly towards the land of the Heavenly Dao. After disintegrating there, the third iron chain descended as he wished.

"Die!" Ji Dongzi roared, and the iron chain lashed out, whistling as it struck Xu Qing.

Before the strike, Xu Qing had presented a severely wounded appearance. Now, even after spitting out more blood, revealing more bones, and with his Shamanic Armor further shattered, he still appeared heavily injured, as if he would perish if he endured a fourth lash.

Ji Dongzi's body trembled, and his expression showed grief and indignation. He didn't understand why Xu Qing wasn't dead... But by this point, even without knowing the reason, he had seen through the pretense. So his remaining figures instantly merged into one. Suppressing his inner turmoil, he suddenly fled into the distance. The moment he departed, Xu Qing, who had appeared incredibly wretched, lifted his head, his brows furrowed.

His Nine Li form, with Ji Dongzi's help, had successfully integrated halfway. Only half remained for it to fully merge and display its Ancestral Shaman form. But the opponent had actually stopped lashing.

"Useless." Xu Qing's gaze turned cold. All his injuries instantly healed, and his aura, due to the halfway integration of the Nine Li, became even more terrifying than before. He began to walk towards Ji Dongzi.

"Then the remaining half can be resolved by suppressing you." In the distance, after sensing all this, a torrent of emotions erupted within Ji Dongzi, causing him to spurt out a large mouthful of blood.