A blood-coloured skeleton, tens of metres long, with fangs as sharp as spears and eyes burning with ghostly fire.
If, in person, he was still alive, how huge would his body have to be?
And what kind of existence was it?
Zhang Ruochen didn’t venture to chase after him, not to mention that he was extremely injured right now, even if he wasn’t injured, dueling with the Scarlet Skeleton would more than likely be a perilous affair.
The Holy Book Talented Lady’s face carried some heaviness as she said, “That skeleton is most likely the Blood Demon of that year.”
“Blood Demon?”
Zhang Ruochen felt quite familiar, it wasn’t just that Immortal Orchid King had shouted out its name earlier, it seemed that he had heard of it somewhere else as well.
The blood-coloured skeleton flew further and further away, already hundreds of miles away, and with Zhang Ruochen and Sacred Book Talented Girl’s eyesight, they could only see a small ball form, like a dark red star in the darkness.
The space around them turned cold again.
It was only at this moment that Zhang Ruochen realised that the body of the Immortal Orchid King lying on the ground was quite dried up, with all the blood and qi in his body drained out, leaving him with only a black-brown dry corpse.
The Sacred Book Talented Maiden also wanted to glance at the Xian Lan King’s corpse and continued, “Around a thousand years ago, the Blood Demon was the leader of the Devil Sky Clan of the Immortal Blood Race, and had fought with the Blood Queen to compete for the position of the emperor of the Ten Great Clans of the Immortal Blood Race.”
After the Sacred Book Talented Maiden mentioned this, Zhang Ruochen instantly remembered.
Eight hundred years ago, he had indeed heard his father and Emperor Qing mention the name of the Blood Demon, and it seemed that the two of them had also had some encounters with the Blood Demon when they were young.
Only, Zhang Ruochen was too young at that time and did not remember it very clearly. Moreover, he did not deliberately look up historical information about the Blood Demon, so naturally, he knew very little.
Zhang Ruochen said, ”Eight hundred years ago, the Nine Emperors and Three Empresses stood side by side, and were considered to be the most powerful twelve people of that era. Among them, the strength of the Blood Empress must have been in the top three, with only the oldest Daodei Emperor and Martial Emperor being able to contend with her, and the later-grown Sword Emperor, Xue Hongduan, might also be able to compete with her. What virtues and abilities does the Blood Demon have to be able to compete with the Blood Empress for the position of Emperor?”
The Sacred Book Talented Maiden shook her head and said, “In fact, according to the records of many ancient books, the fight between the Blood Demon and the Blood Empress has always been one in which the Blood Demon had the upper hand. If it wasn’t for some accidents that happened later, the Blood Demon would have been the emperor of the Immortal Blood Race.”
“How is that possible?”Zhang Ruochen was somewhat disbelieving.
One had to know that the Blood Queen at her peak had defeated the joint efforts of Emperor Ming and Emperor Qing. Even the Dao Emperor, who was known as the number one in the world at that time, might not be able to do that.
“That is the truth.”
The Sacred Book Talented Lady added, “The Blood Demon is indeed an unparalleled talent, and at that time, it had caused panic, with many people worrying that once he grew up, he would be the second Underworld King. You should know about the Heavenly Devil’s Stone Sculpture, one of the Kunlun Realm’s Six Wondrous Books?”
Zhang Ruochen nodded and said, “There are a total of thirty-six engravings in the Heavenly Demon Stone Engravings, and it is said to have been left by a great god in the ancient times, concealing thirty-six supreme demonic techniques. An ordinary cultivator who is able to take one of the engravings and cultivate some achievements would also be enough to become a top expert of the world.”
The Sacred Book Talented Maiden said, “The Blood Demon, however, cultivated nine Heavenly Demon stone engravings at the same time and created his own nine sacred techniques that could be passed down to the world based on the nine engravings.”
Zhang Ruochen sucked in a mouthful of cold air, his heart struggling to calm down as he said, “This is too astonishing, no one has ever been able to cultivate nine Heavenly Demon stone engravings at the same time. A cultivator who cultivates two engravings at the same time is also quite rare.”
Even when the young master of the Black Market’s One Piece Hall, Di Yi, who could be called a world-defying genius, had only cultivated one of the stone engravings.
This was because, by cultivating a stone carving to the extreme, one would be able to become a great saint.
“The Blood Demon in his youth was indeed quite terrifying, his qualifications were so high that even the Blood Queen was pressured head on.”The Sacred Book Talented Maiden said.
Zhang Ruochen said, “If the Blood Demon was so powerful, why did he die? Instead, it was the Blood Empress who became the Lord of the Immortal Blood Clan’s ten major clans?”
The Sacred Book Talented Maiden sighed softly and said, “I’m not sure what exactly happened back then. However, there were some rumours, and it was said that a great figure amongst the humans intervened in and teamed up with the Blood Queen to get rid of the Blood Demon. In the end, the Blood Fiend did not cultivate into a Great Saint, or else the fate of the human race in the Kunlun Realm would be unimaginable.”
Zhang Ruochen was still a bit puzzled and said, “Since, when that great figure, intervened in and could get rid of the Blood Demon, why didn’t he get rid of the Blood Queen along with him? If the Blood Queen was killed before she grew up, wouldn’t it have saved a lot of trouble?”
“I don’t know, after all, those are all rumours, it’s hard to tell if there’s any truth to them.”
The Sacred Book Talented Maiden continued, “Originally, everyone thought that the already dead Blood Demon didn’t still have a head remaining? Most likely, the Blood Demon is not dead at all.”
Zhang Ruochen fell into silence, staring at the dried up corpse of the Immortal Orchid King on the ground, feeling a chill.
Was the Immortal Orchid King’s Saint Soul actively flying into the Scarlet Skull?
Or was there a force within the Scarlet Skull that absorbed his Saint Soul and blood, into it?
If it was the former, it was certainly the best.
After all, even if Immortal Orchid King had control of the Blood Demon’s head, he might not be able to make much of a wave.
If it was the latter, that would be a rather terrifying thing.
It would also mean that a thousand years ago, the Blood Demon hadn’t completely died, and had at least preserved a head that had been hidden within the Immortal Orchid King’s body.
“Boom!”
In the distance, more than a thousand miles away, an ear-splitting sound was heard.
Immediately after, a blood-red beam of light shot up into the sky, tearing through the darkness and penetrating the earth and sky.
Zhang Ruochen was secretly startled and immediately executed his Body Technique, stamping his feet on the cliff wall and rushing to a hundred feet high, peering into the distance.
There was that blood-red alien light again, reflecting the hundreds of miles in every direction into a dark red colour, appearing extremely bizarre.
Suddenly, Zhang Ruochen saw a dark red spot at the centre of that foreign light.
That was ……
That was the blood-coloured skull that had flown away earlier.
Could it be that it was the one that had redirected the blood-red alien light, back out?
More than a thousand miles away, the blood-coloured skull released a sea of blood mist that circled around the foreign light for several times before finally rushing into the gully.
Gradually, the blood-red alien light, retreated back into the gully, and the entire world turned dark again.
Zhang Ruochen returned to the ground and told the Sacred Book Talented Maiden what he had observed.
The Sacred Book Talented Maiden gazed at it carefully, her expression becoming heavier and heavier as she said, ”If, I’m not wrong, it’s very likely that it’s really the Blood Demon that has come to life. He should have sensed the blood aura left behind by the Blood Queen, and thus, immediately flew over.”
“It’s not that there isn’t such a possibility.”Zhang Ruochen said.
The Sacred Book Talented Maiden’s brows knitted lightly as she solemnly said, “This matter is already beyond our capabilities, we cannot go over there again, there is most likely something quite terrifying present there, forcing ourselves to go and explore, we will surely get ourselves killed.”
Just a single Blood Demon was already more than Holy Book Talent Maiden and Zhang Ruochen could handle. In case they encountered another danger, the consequences would be unimaginable.
“Whether it’s the secret of the Endless Abyss or the appearance of the Blood Demon, both are of great importance, I have to immediately rush back to the Central Imperial City to report to the Empress and urge the court to clean up the hidden dangers of this place as soon as possible.”
The Sacred Book Talent Maiden raised her head and stared at Zhang Ruochen, saying, “I will report truthfully to the Empress what you have done for the imperial court. Together with last time, the stone talisman you brought back from the netherworld sealed the passage between the Kunlun Realm and the netherworld, preventing the undead from continuing to enter the Kunlun Realm. All of these feats add up to offset even the biggest offences you have committed before.”
A cold colour emerged on Zhang Ruochen’s face as he said, “I’ve never worked for the court, I’m just doing, what I think is right. It would also be best if you don’t tell her about me. Even if I did something right or wrong, there is no need for her to judge.”
“Zhang Ruochen.”
The Sacred Book Talented Lady shouted, and after a pause, seeing Zhang Ruochen’s very tough appearance, only then did her tone soften a little more, saying, “Do you want to be hunted down by the imperial court all the time, to be a sinner who can only go incognito, to be on the verge of death at all times, and never be able to be reunited with your own family? Is this what you want? Who the hell are you? Is it Lin Yue, is it Zhang Ruochen, or is it your current identity in the Blood God Sect? Don’t you want to live with honour?”
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes were a little misty as he whispered, “I want to …… very much.”
However, soon enough, the sharp colour returned to his eyes, like a stone statue devoid of any emotion, as he shook his head and said, “This matter, you’d better stay out of it, and you can’t control it either!”
After saying this, he left with determination.
The Sacred Book Talented Maiden reached out her hand, wanting to pull Zhang Ruochen back. However, Zhang Ruochen looked like he was thinking about something, his eyes were filled with blood as he violently threw his hand and pushed her away.
The Sacred Book Talented Maiden collapsed to the ground, coughing non-stop, with blood flowing out of her mouth again, her face as pale as paper.?It was as if Zhang Ruochen woke up when he heard the coughing, realising that the Sacred Book Talented Maiden had been seriously injured. In the end, her physical body was no different from a weaker ordinary woman.
“I’m sorry, just now ……”
Zhang Ruochen helped her up, wanting to explain, but not knowing where to start.
The Sacred Book Talented Maiden gently shook her head, a trace of misery hidden in her eyes as she said, “Everyone has their own choices, you can reject my good intentions towards you, but, I can also insist on what I want to do. Even if, I really can’t manage this matter, at least I’ve tried my best and can have no regrets.”
Zhang Ruochen’s expression was complicated as he said, “I was worried that I would drag you down and ultimately harm you.”
“I said, no complaints.”
The Sacred Book Talented Lady’s eyes, staring at Zhang Ruochen, were very firm and unwavering.
Zhang Ruochen gazed at the Sacred Book Talented Girl and clearly saw something in her eyes that shouldn’t be something a friend should have.
For some reason, Zhang Ruochen actually had some panic and immediately averted his gaze, not daring to meet her eyes, saying, “Let’s leave the first echelon first and go back to the ground, and let’s not talk about anything …… else for now!
