C1589 An Unfamiliar Ann Ziqing
In the Dark Star, beyond the Primal Blood Continent, there existed numerous domains.
The inhabitants were not limited to the Blood Fiend clansmen; members of the Crypt Clan, Fire Lizard Clan, and a handful of Moonlit Wanderers and Silverscale Tribe also made their homes among these celestial expanses.
As the red moon cast an increasingly eerie and demonic glow, clansmen who were not Blood Fiends were startled and disturbed.
Those cultivators from various domains who gazed upon the red moon found their focus waning and their eyes glazing over.
Many seventh-level warriors from the Fire Lizard and Crypt Clans, after watching the red moon for a time, experienced a sudden loss of consciousness as the vital energy within them was siphoned away unknowingly.
By the time they came to their senses and realized something was amiss, it was often too late, and death was upon them.
Across the vast Dark Star, from the high-blooded Blood Fiends to the Otherkin, a grim tally of deaths mounted.
This was both abnormal and eerie.
Yet, the Blood Fiend clansmen bathed in the red moon's light felt a comforting warmth.
Their blood circulated more vigorously, and the dormant power within their veins seemed to stir under the moon's influence.
They grew agitated, as if infused with an external force, eager to vent this newfound energy.
Deep within their souls, a voice beckoned them, guiding them to converge upon Yu Yuan's location with a natural urge to extinguish his life.
"A familiar sensation..."
As the massive blood shadows, refined by Munch, converged from all directions, Yu Yuan whispered under his breath.
In that moment, he was reminded of the time years ago when Ann Ziqing had erected the blood sacrifice magic circle in Asvetaesi to bolster her junior brother's breakthrough.
The murky blood-red canopy filled the sky, intent on annihilating every mortal and cultivator within Asvetaesi.
Beginning with the cultivators, those of higher realms were most susceptible to the array's influence and would perish first.
Once the cultivators were no more, it would be the turn of the mortals to offer their blood in sacrifice to the magic circle, intensifying its crimson hue and augmenting Ann Ziqing's power.
Now, the red moon in the Dark Star wielded a power akin to, yet far surpassing, that of the blood sacrifice magic circle.
He could sense that those who were not of the Blood Fiend clan, as long as they were within the Dark Star, would begin to perish from the highest to the lowest ranks upon noticing the peculiar red moon.
Simultaneously, the red moon grew noticeably brighter...
The Blood Fiends surrounding him appeared to have been blessed by the divine, their vital energy surging dramatically.
Their vital energy boost was fueled by the demise of other non-Blood Fiend clan members, a result of their vital energy being sacrificed.
"The Otherkin living in your Dark Star are truly pitiable. They might believe that with the Blood Fiends' protection, they won't fall to other mighty beings, nor will they be singled out by the cultivators of the Everlands. Little do they know, when your creator truly has need of them..."
Yu Yuan shook his head, feeling a pang of sympathy for the Otherkin of the Dark Star, "They can only serve as offerings for the blood sacrifice."
An archdemon, towering thousands of feet high and shrouded in a dark red blood mist, let out a roar, its Demonic Eyes ablaze with ferocity and cruelty.
Boom!
Before him was a colossal tiger, scarred and torn to the point where its bones were visible, likely belonging to the same species as the Astral Tigers of the Everlands.
It must have fallen in battle to Munch, only to be transformed into a blood bound slave.
As it growled lowly, the clashing of Sunsilver rang out beside Yu Yuan.
He could just make out a Demon Army of Direfang Tigers, standing their ground around a lifeless star.
The multicolored Direfang Tigers, each as formidable as a mountain and swift and fierce in combat, clashed with the warriors of the Shura, Blood Fiend, and Silverscale Tribes.
A brutal and bloody war had unfolded in a bygone era, the Direfang Tigers fighting valiantly despite their numerous injuries, fearless until the very end.
Ultimately, the Demon Army was decimated, their commander slain by Munch and turned into one of his blood bound slaves.
"I'll help you find release," Yu Yuan murmured to himself.
He knew that the current golden age of the Everlands, commanding respect from extraterrestrial races and holding such an esteemed position, was built on the countless sacrifices of armies like the Direfang Tigers.
If one were to meet their end at the hands of Munch or other Blood Fiends, death would not bring peace, for they would be condemned to an afterlife as a blood bound slave.
The tip of the Baneblade Bloodhell was aimed at the colossal, blood-colored Direfang Tiger, thousands of feet in length. Yu Yuan could see its demon soul brimming with blood, speckled with lights that were foreign to it, all carrying Munch's essence. Upon closer inspection, numerous blood imprints were visible.
These were the slave seals.
They were Munch's means of dominating the Direfang Tiger, using blood to craft puppet strings that would eternally enslave the beast.
"Burst!"
At the mere flicker of a thought, a hundred streams of blood light shot from the Baneblade, cascading down upon the Direfang Tiger like a torrential rain.
The hundred streams of blood light pierced the Direfang Tiger's battered form, severing the hidden evil vitality within.
The Direfang Tiger halted midair as the blade light meticulously sought out and ground to dust the slave seal and Munch's consciousness within it.
Munch let out a grunt as a hint of blood appeared at the corner of his mouth.
But in that fleeting moment, he sensed the overwhelming support of vital energy under the glow of the red moon, and he was healed instantly.
"Shura, Silverscale Tribe, Starborn..."
Yu Yuan whispered, not even invoking his Divine Visage as he wielded the Baneblade Bloodhell, which emitted arcs of blood-colored brilliance like long rainbows.
At times it resembled a blood river slicing through the heavens, at others, a menacing evil dragon, claws bared and teeth gnashing.
The Baneblade Bloodhell proved particularly adept at dealing with the aberrant creatures of the Blood Fiend. A mere glance at a blood bound slave allowed Yu Yuan to immediately discern its vulnerability.
With the emergence of the blade light, the blood bound slaves refined by Munch, as well as those by other Blood Fiends, burst apart in succession.
Those slain by Yu Yuan could not return their vital energy to the Root of the Solar Meridian, nor could it ascend to the red moon above. Instead, it was all assimilated by the Baneblade.
The Baneblade had indeed feasted heartily.
"With such relentless slaughter, this blade will surely transform into a Divine Weapon."
Yu Yuan smirked, utterly disregarding Munch and the ninth level Blood Fiends present. As he effortlessly dispatched the blood bound slaves, he was, in essence, feeding the Baneblade.
Suddenly, he felt a surge of alertness.
Gazing at the red moon overhead, his expression slowly turned grave.
Blood Fiend nobles like Munch also sensed something at that moment, their eyes fixated on the red moon.
From the cratered surface of the moon, a person emerged from a vast, bubbling Blood Pool, as if rising from a giant bowl of thick, red blood.
It was a woman.
Ascending from the Blood Pool, she levitated, her beautiful face emitting an eerie glow. Her long eyelashes quivered, struggling to open her eyes.
Deep within her eye sockets, her eyes blazed with a scarlet light, mirroring the red moon beneath her.
Whoosh!
Her lithe and elegant form suddenly swelled, growing larger than the recently exploded Direfang Tiger, transforming into a blood-colored specter slightly smaller than the red moon itself.
All the Blood Fiend members watched the blood-colored specter with astonishment.
"Her name is Ann Ziqing. I recently brought her here to meet our creator. Unexpectedly, she has ascended to a ninth level Demon God so swiftly. With her human insights into merging paths, she has become one with our divine essence. She is now indistinguishable from us," Munch declared with solemnity.
He didn't need to elaborate; a ninth level Blood Fiend like himself could detect a familiar essence emanating from Ann Ziqing's blood-colored specter.
It was the scent of kinship.
Regardless of her past, having received the baptism of the Root of the Solar Meridian and acceptance, she was now a bona fide Blood Fiend.
Whoosh!
Yu Yuan, previously encircled by Munch and the rest, was instantly back at one end of the golden bridge due to her emergence.
The other end connected to the Dragon Slaying Stage, now beyond the Dark Star Domain.
Standing on the resplendent golden bridge, Yu Yuan could harness the power of the Dragon Slaying Stage for a clearer view.
He sighed, his emotions tangled.
Ann Ziqing, now a massive blood-colored specter above the red moon, seemed like a stranger to him.
He realized that she, like him, had almost simultaneously broken through to the Unbound Stage.
Ann Ziqing's Solar Spirit had metamorphosed into a true Blood Fiend. She was now an authentic ninth level Demon God, seamlessly integrated with the Solar Meridian.
Ann Ziqing had grown increasingly powerful, yet the bond that once connected her to him had vanished without a trace. Now, her gaze, even from a distance, was steeped in cold indifference, devoid of the playful teasing and the deeply concealed emotions of the past.
Wasn't it he who had encouraged her and Ann Wen to venture to the extraterrestrial realm in search of the Root of the Solar Meridian, to chase the pinnacle of the Way of Heaven? And it was Ann Wen's departure that ultimately enraged the Dark Phoenix. The Dark Phoenix first dispatched the Kylin, then personally intervened, leading to Ann Wen's demise. This set Ann Ziqing on her unwavering path to the Primal Blood Continent, where she fused with the Solar Meridian and embarked on her quest for mastery over blood magic.
Hadn't he foreseen the possibility of this day when he urged her and Ann Wen to leave the Everlands? Why then did he harbor any regrets? Perhaps it was the change in Ann Ziqing's gaze, now stripped of its former essence, that stirred such feelings within him.
Yu Yuan let out a wistful sigh before he began to walk away, retracing his steps across the golden bridge and out of the Dark Star. He gradually faded from the view of the Blood Fiend onlookers, as well as from Ann Ziqing and the watchful red moon.
The previous departure from the Dark Star had required him to unleash the full force of the Dragon Slaying Stage, tapping into the power of the first-generation Dominant Soul. The effort had left him drained of all his power, nearly reducing him to a mere mortal. But this time, his exit was effortless, as he stepped onto the golden column of light emanating from the Dragon Slaying Stage.
Invisible blood lines sought to bind him, yet the blood magic within him rendered these constraints ineffective. In this world, no one else could so easily disregard the rules of blood magic. He walked away with an air of nonchalance that not even the Dark Phoenix could match.
