Chapter 929: Blood-Stained Starry Sky

"Through countless eons, all gods turned to dust; only I remain, the Lord of the Other Shore!" The Other Shore Flower fiercely fought, simultaneously shouting, "I hope the fifth kill is a dog's head!"

He interfered with the old celestial dog battling Wu Xingkun, periodically shooting out several eerie blue leaves that cleaved through the cosmos, targeting the old celestial dog.

In fact, he himself was far from at ease.

In the void, blue leaves withered and fell. Under the terrifying blade energy of that leader, which could cleave the cosmos, many of the Other Shore Flower's tendrils were severed, and blue liquid spilled forth.

At the edge of the universe, the situation was extremely critical.

The Kui Niu roared, a cascade of lightning, as it grappled with the black crow. However, this ferocious bird from the Yang Realm was terrifyingly powerful; its black feathers spread wide, and its dark aura surged, blocking the lightning. Each time it slashed through the air, it left dreadful wounds on the Kui Niu's body, causing blood to gush forth.

Heavenly Blade Wu Xingkun was formidable, but the old celestial dog was equally terrifying. The two were locked in a fierce, white-hot battle, a true clash of titans.

"Roar!"

The old celestial dog roared, its pale golden body standing upright, taller than a man, fighting like a human. Its large paws continuously clashed with the Heavenly Blade, sending sparks flying. The overflowing energy pulverized nearby asteroids into dust.

Its entire body shimmered with brilliant golden light, like an evil deity from the dark abyss. After deflecting the Heavenly Blade with one paw, it left several dreadful, bleeding gashes on Wu Xingkun's shoulder, nearly severing his neck and causing blood to spatter everywhere.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Blade energy soared skyward, vast and white, like a cluster of stars burning together, coalescing into an eternal light that shot towards the old celestial dog.

Finally, a terrifying blade light struck the old celestial dog again, almost severing one of its forelegs. The void itself was filled with cracks.

Both fought with red-rimmed eyes, locked in endless, desperate combat.

However, the old celestial dog possessed a substitute death talisman, a trump card that invisibly increased its chances of victory, making it arrogant and confident. The atmosphere in this place was suffocatingly oppressive.

"Woof!" A dog's bark shook the heavens, and the entire starry sky grew dark. The celestial dog devoured the cosmos; it was unleashing a dreadful grand divine ability, its blood-red maw swallowing everything.

Instantly, the sky and earth turned dark, and visibility dropped to zero. The divine ability was world-shaking; the old celestial dog used its most powerful innate divine art, intending to swallow Heavenly Blade Wu Xingkun alive.

"Old Blade!" cried the Other Shore Flower.

The leader sneered, blocking his path with a three-pointed, double-edged blade, attacking relentlessly to prevent him from providing aid.

On the other side, the Kui Niu bellowed, completely enraged. Having walked alongside Heavenly Blade Wu Xingkun until today, sharing life and death, its entire body bristled with thunder, every inch of its skin bathed in lightning, and its form radiated chaotic energy as it moved to rescue Heavenly Blade Wu Xingkun.

"Caw!" the black crow shrieked, its ruby-like eyes emitting dreadful light, constantly pouncing and blocking the Kui Niu's path.

*Crack!*

Lightning interwoven, the black crow's feathers fell away, battered during the Kui Niu's frantic, desperate assault. They danced in the cosmic void, sparking with electricity, a dazzling sight.

"Haha..." The old celestial dog's laughter boomed, making the void reverberate and crack. It had swallowed Wu Xingkun, and blood still stained its maw.

Some was Wu Xingkun's, and some was its own.

"Wu!" the Kui Niu roared.

*Whoosh!*

Suddenly, a blazing blade light tore through the darkness, cleaving this section of the starry sky. It erupted from within the old celestial dog's body, its smile froze, and the celestial dog's form rapidly disintegrated into pieces.

Finally, with a bang, the old celestial dog disintegrated, and Heavenly Blade Wu Xingkun emerged. The gleaming long blade in his hand shone as brilliantly as a sun, illuminating the cosmic void.

Heavenly Blade Wu Xingkun staggered, covered in blood. Without a doubt, being suppressed by that divine art and swallowed into the old celestial dog's "belly world" was a dreadful torment; another person might have been instantly crushed into a bloody pulp.

He was covered in wounds, some so deep that bone was visible.

*Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!*

He continued to swing his blade, without a moment's pause, striking at the old celestial dog's shattered body, hoping to kill it again and nullify the substitute death talisman within it.

But the substitute death talisman was extraordinary, crafted by a certain Divine King from the lineage of Grand Martial Heavenly Venerate. In an instant, it caused the old celestial dog's fragmented body and blood to reassemble. Enveloped in divine light, it was impervious to external attacks, and then it fully recovered!

"You killed me again, do you feel a great sense of accomplishment?" the old celestial dog sneered, a chilling smile on its face, its eyes no longer ancient, but deep and terrifying. "I allowed it on purpose. It would have been better to swallow you, but even if I couldn't, you've lost half your life. Let's see how you can contend with me now!"

The situation was dire. Heavenly Blade Wu Xingkun showed signs of decline. He had killed the old celestial dog twice, yet his opponent had revived each time, full of vigor and restored to peak condition, leaving him helpless.

In this universe, he had reached the absolute peak, yet he had not ultimately become a god. The old celestial dog was also at this level, and its body, nourished by Yang energy, was tough and powerful, making it incredibly difficult to kill.

Now, with one side weakening and the other strengthening, Wu Xingkun found himself increasingly strained.

Meanwhile, the Kui Niu also fell into peril. Even with billions of streaks of lightning erupting, it couldn't kill the old crow, merely wounding it several times.

However, its own injuries were more severe.

The Other Shore Flower's situation was also dire. Besides confronting the leader, it had to guard against the surrounding Manifestation-level experts, who had ambushed it multiple times.

At this moment, sap splattered, blue leaves fluttered and constantly fell, and it was significantly wounded.

The situation was very serious; the combat power of the Yang Realm was despair-inducing.

"Kill!"

At that moment, Heavenly Blade Wu Xingkun roared, his robust body erupting with dazzling runes. He completely transformed into a blade, merging with his own gleaming long blade—a terrifying sight.

He resembled a snowy white bolt of silk, inscribed with intricate, profound runes. He traversed the void, nearly bisecting the old celestial dog at the waist, leaving a dreadful wound from which dog blood splattered.

Heavenly Blade Wu Xingkun, transforming his body into a blade, soared skyward and attacked towards the Other Shore Flower's location. He struck at the other Manifestation-level experts, effectively relieving the Other Shore Flower's plight.

One of them was directly pierced by the Heavenly Blade, then exploded, annihilated in body and spirit.

*Whoosh! Whoosh!*

Another person tried to block, but the Heavenly Blade shattered their weapon, and that individual was also cleaved in half, their soul light extinguished, utterly dead.

A third person was also impaled by the Heavenly Blade. By this point, Heavenly Blade Wu Xingkun could no longer maintain his blade form; he manifested his true body, gasping for breath, his face ashen white, his blade-wielding hand trembling slightly. Without a doubt, this exertion was immense.

The Manifestation-level expert pierced behind him, despite their anger and reluctance, ultimately disintegrated, their soul light completely obliterated by the blade energy left within their body.

A dog's bark shook the heavens as the old celestial dog, consumed by rage, pursued them.

Simultaneously, the black crow and the leader battling the Other Shore Flower also grew furious. They converged on this location, charging fiercely, aiming to seize the opportunity to eliminate Heavenly Blade Wu Xingkun.

The Kui Niu roared, and the Other Shore Flower went berserk, battling them fiercely.

This area was terrifying; murderous aura surged to the heavens, and even chaos trembled.

The Netherworld Universe was eerily silent, the atmosphere utterly oppressive.

People knew that Heavenly Blade Wu Xingkun and the Other Shore Flower likely faced a grim future. After all, their opponents' three main powerhouses all possessed substitute death talismans, while they were constantly expending their vital essence and suffering injuries, growing progressively weaker.

For a time, everyone felt a heavy weight on their hearts, seeing almost no hope.

Indeed, Heavenly Blade Wu Xingkun was nearly disemboweled by a pale golden claw that almost ripped out his heart. His chest was ripped open, several ribs were broken, and he was sent flying.

His situation was dire. Battles of this caliber were life-and-death struggles, and the expenditure was immense.

Elsewhere, the Kui Niu had even been torn apart once by the black crow, its blood splattering across the starry sky. Had Heavenly Blade Wu Xingkun not risked his life to rescue it, the Kui Niu's soul light would have been extinguished.

"Ah..." The Other Shore Flower roared. While entangled in fierce combat with the leader, it was ambushed by several Manifestation-level evolvers. Its body sustained heavy damage, and many of its roots were severed.

The situation was critical; a man, a mount, and an Other Shore Flower were on the verge of being annihilated!

"Who else can save them?!"

In the star sea, the hearts of many people rose to their throats; they were too worried and sincerely hoped they would not be defeated and perish.

"Is the Netherworld truly far inferior to the Yang Realm? Just a few individuals have come, and they are about to obliterate our highest combat power here. It's truly heartbreaking and despair-inducing!"

Throughout the cosmos, several venerable figures sighed deeply, filled with sorrow.

They all rushed skyward, wanting to help, but ultimately stopped, disheartened, clenching their fists. Individuals of their caliber were simply not qualified to be there; they wouldn't even withstand a single claw strike from the old celestial dog before being pulverized.

"Bang!"

At the edge of the universe, the Other Shore Flower disintegrated, transforming into vast sheets of blue light rain—its blood!

However, it was not dead. Regenerating from a single drop of blood, it quickly reformed its true body, but its aura was noticeably weakened, far from its previous state.

"Little Prince Other Shore, you're still not capable, huh? Hehe, your Netherworld simply doesn't have enough impressive, awe-inspiring evolvers. We'll kill as many as come. Are there any more coming?" the leader shouted with a laugh.

"Hehe, come on then, who dares to come next? Dare to show yourselves, and we'll slaughter every last one of you!" The old celestial dog also burst into laughter, its blood-red maw and snow-white fangs exposed, its eyes chillingly cold, making it appear utterly ferocious.

"Caw, if you dare to come, we dare to kill every last one!" the black crow declared coldly, its crimson eyes flickering with chilling light.

Relying on their substitute death talismans, they were full of confidence, while Wu Xingkun, the Kui Niu, and the Other Shore Flower grew increasingly weak, facing imminent death at any moment.

"Damn it, who can kill them?!" In the starry sky, many were indignant, especially some hot-blooded youths who cried out.

In a certain section of the cosmos, on an unremarkable life-bearing planet.

Within a mountain range, there were several hunter families.

On a large bluestone, an old man sat cross-legged, continuously inhaling. He was thin and withered, yet he ceaselessly swallowed mysterious light beams that coalesced from the void.

"Grandpa, what's wrong with you?" a pretty little boy asked from nearby.

"Grandpa is old and has no strength left," the old man replied. "I'm desperately absorbing some cosmic essence, hoping there's enough time. I need to go fight bad guys."

At that moment, even more light beams surged into his body.

Those nearby were unaware, but anyone standing in outer space would be astonished, for they would discover that energy was rapidly diminishing, converging towards a certain mountain range on this planet, with dense energy transforming into countless tiny light beams.

"Grandpa, you're acting strange today. Why are you different from usual?" the pretty little boy, no more than three or four years old, asked with confusion and suspicion.

"Grandpa is old and will be leaving soon. He probably won't be able to come back again," the old man said, stroking the boy's head with deep affection while continuing to swallow the light beams. "You and your sister must listen to your parents more from now on."

"Grandpa, what are you talking about? You're strong and can live for hundreds more years!" A girl in white came over, her large eyes pure, showing concern. She sensed something was amiss, so she squatted down and held the old man's arm.

The old man also affectionately stroked her head and said, "A person's life is merely a cycle. There's no difference between seventy, a hundred, or ten thousand years old. Everything that needed to be experienced has been, every flavor tasted—the sweet, sour, bitter, spicy, and everything in between. Aspirations and frustrations, hope and despair—all have been sampled. There's nothing left to cling to. My journey has reached its end, and I should depart with composure. You are all good children; I hope you live happier lives from now on."

His withered body began to emit a faint glow, gradually brightening, as if it had been ignited.

"My good children, you must all live well. I hope you can grow up without worries."

Suddenly, the old man vanished. As soon as he finished speaking, he transformed into a soaring beam of light that tore through the cosmos, hurtling towards the edge of the universe.

At that moment, a pair of hunter parents returned. They dropped their prey and ran wildly to the spot. Their strength was actually considerable, but they were far inferior to the old man.

They had been orphans adopted by the old man since childhood, guided by him in their cultivation as they grew up. But they had never seen him act before. This last time, they saw it, but it was also their final farewell.

"Father, Mother, where did Grandpa go?" the little boy innocently asked.

"Grandpa has left!" the hunter parents told their two children, tears in their eyes, for they knew they would likely never see the old man return in this lifetime.

They had a premonition that this was a permanent farewell.

In another part of the universe, within a silent expanse of stars.

On a desolate planet, a pale-faced middle-aged man coughed and said, "Must even a consumptive like me shine brightly and make a contribution? My combat power is insufficient; I can only spill my blood across the starry sky, hoping my death can drag down someone of the same level. Here I go!"

He too vanished, transforming into a beam of light, rushing towards the edge of the universe.

At this moment, several more individuals set off. The last Manifestation-level experts of the Netherworld Universe all emerged, charging towards the edge of the universe, knowing full well that death awaited them.