Chapter 1148: Blood Pool Fierce Spirit

The Four-Crowned Asura King was ostensibly pursuing Luzhu. In reality, it was a ruse to secretly allow the hidden Asura King A-Ri to destroy the Blood Pool. Such a massive scheme would naturally require thorough preparation.

Jiang Fan was secretly excited. Once the Blood Pool was gone, Central Plains would finally have a glimmer of hope.

However, the next moment, the pool water violently churned! Five whirlpools appeared! At first glance, it seemed ordinary, but from an overhead perspective, one would realize they formed a human's eyes, nostrils, and mouth! A human face appeared in the Blood Pool! The Blood Pool was alive! This was why spatial storage devices couldn't contain it! Because it was sentient, if it resisted, the spatial storage device's ability to contain it would fail.

The eyes of the human face widened, and its lips turned downwards. It showed a look of fury. Terrifying negative emotions surged forth with it. The massive ancient sinkhole violently trembled, and countless black cracks appeared in the void with crackling sounds. It was like a mirror that had been smashed but still clung together, poised to shatter at any moment!

Even Jiang Fan, who was ten miles away, saw spatial cracks appear before him. Startled, he quickly grabbed Luzhu and fled into the distance.

Asura King A-Ri, at the epicenter of the cracks, suffered an unimaginable assault! A dense cracking sound emanated from his body. His body was covered in numerous cracks, like a shattered porcelain doll. He seemed about to burst apart at any second. Blood mixed with a large amount of negative energy gushed from his seven orifices. An expression of extreme pain contorted his face. Even he couldn't withstand the emotions emanating from the human face!

Yet, he showed no fear. Instead, he pulled out a crystal and let out an angry laugh: "I knew the Blood Pool had a spirit all along! This is for you!"

An incredibly powerful holy light burst forth from the crystal! Under the light, the giant face immediately distorted, and agonizing screams echoed from the pool. As Asura King A-Ri tossed the crystal into the pool, with a colossal bang, all the blood water exploded upwards, transforming into a human-shaped, sanguine creature in mid-air! This was the Blood Pool's true form!

At that moment, the crystal, brimming with holy light, was embedded within its body. It caused the humanoid creature to writhe, twist, and struggle in agony. Moreover, its body slowly turned back into blood water, dripping back into the pool. The creature in the pool was being killed. Once it died, the Blood Pool would no longer be as difficult to deal with as before. In fact, as long as one could get close enough, a spatial storage device could contain it!

However, before Asura King A-Ri could rejoice, the malevolent spirit in the Blood Pool glared fiercely at him. Before vanishing, it raised a finger and pointed at Asura King A-Ri! An unprecedented wave of immense dark emotions surged into his body!

Asura King A-Ri clutched his head and roared in pain, struggling violently in mid-air. His body rapidly swelled. He was transforming into a Giant King. However, under the suppression of his powerful will, he reverted to his Asura form. But he couldn't maintain it for long, and his body began to swell again. Moments later, in an explosion that spewed blood mist, he transformed into a Giant King over twenty zhang tall! Three purple stars adorned his brow. He was, astonishingly, a Three-Star Giant King!

Jiang Fan's expression darkened from afar. The Blood Pool hadn't been completely eliminated; instead, a Three-Star Giant King had appeared? Even a One-Star Giant King was incredibly difficult to deal with, let alone a Three-Star one?

What made Jiang Fan's heart pound even more was what followed. The Three-Star Giant King suddenly turned his head. His massive eyes fixed on Jiang Fan and Luzhu! Having just transformed into a Giant King, he had no memory of his past Asura form. At this moment, he was merely an entity with bleached memories, completely dominated by negative emotions like slaughter, greed, and gluttony! Jiang Fan and Luzhu were merely food in his eyes.

He let out a colossal roar, and the shockwave emanating from him became almost tangible. It swept towards them with overwhelming force. Jiang Fan's scalp tingled! He decisively embraced Luzhu and used the Cloud Shadow technique to escape.

However, the shockwave instantly dispersed his Thunder Dragon, causing both of them to fall. Luzhu slowly regained consciousness amidst the violent impact. The first thing she saw was Jiang Fan's face, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth, an expression of pain on his features. She dazedly turned her head. A Giant King over twenty zhang tall, with three stars on his forehead, was clearly visible.

"Zhuri?" she murmured. "He transformed into a Giant King?" Her pupils contracted. She instantly understood their predicament. She was severely wounded, unable even to move, let alone stop him. Her death was inevitable.

Drip! A drop of warm blood landed on her cheek. Only then did she realize that Jiang Fan was holding her. She was alive because Jiang Fan had saved her.

"Put me down and run for your life," she weakly struggled, trying to pull away from Jiang Fan's embrace.

Jiang Fan, however, held her tightly, his gaze fixed intently on the Three-Star Giant King, his expression grave: "You are my wife; I must protect you." Things hadn't reached their final stage yet. He still had a glimmer of hope.

Luzhu's delicate body trembled. Her heart felt as if it had been struck by an electric current. Facing a Three-Star Giant King, Jiang Fan was still determined to protect her. Didn't Jiang Fan know he would die? She looked at Jiang Fan, her eyes showing tenderness for the first time: "Fool, that's a Three-Star Giant King. He'll kill you in an instant. You have a spatial imprint; you can teleport away. Don't worry about me anymore; I'll only drag you down."

Jiang Fan looked down at her and smiled faintly: "Have you forgotten what your husband said? If the whole world is against you, then my enemy is the whole world! What's a mere Three-Star Giant King?"

Luzhu's heart stirred, and her beautiful eyes widened slightly. Previously, when Jiang Fan had said these words, she had merely smiled. There couldn't possibly be such a foolish man in the world, she had thought. Now, she saw him. There truly was a foolish man, selflessly willing to become an enemy of the entire world for her. Her heart felt as if it had been struck hard by a hammer. It knocked open the tightly sealed door within her heart. A long-forgotten wave of emotion slowly welled up. But with it came immense shame. Jiang Fan regarded her as his beloved wife, someone he would protect with his life, yet she had only ever seen him as a tool to be used.

Her eyes dimmed, and she whispered: "You should still go. I'm not worthy."

How could Jiang Fan leave? He still needed Luzhu to form an alliance with the Four-Crowned Asura King.

"Wife, don't say discouraging things," he said. "I will always stand before you!" He immediately pulled out his Void Fishing Rod and cast it towards the Blood Pool. His only hope was the crystal that had fallen into the Blood Pool, the one imbued with holy light. It could suppress the Blood Pool. Moreover, its appearance matched the holy crystal Mingye had obtained! If they were the same kind of object, then this crystal could potentially revert Zhuri, the Three-Star Giant King, back into an Asura! If not, then Jiang Fan still had a chance to escape. Luzhu would have to fend for herself.

Whoosh! Jiang Fan silently pictured the crystal's appearance, and the fishing line shot out. The next moment, it hooked the crystal. Without hesitation, he pulled hard. A brilliant, yet somewhat dimmed crystal was reeled back! The holy light on it was far less potent than before. It had been almost entirely consumed in the battle against the Blood Pool's malevolent spirit. He hoped the remaining bit of holy light would be effective.

He snatched the crystal. Before he could act, the air before him suddenly vibrated violently. A terrifying aura, accompanied by a colossal shadow, enveloped them. The Three-Star Giant King had leaped directly in front of them! A massive vertical eye, illuminated by the light of the three purple stars, appeared exceptionally ferocious!