Zhao Hong and Han Xiu were ensnared by a suction force, dragged from the distant horizon and forcibly brought before the crowd.
Under everyone’s gaze, they appeared utterly disheveled.
Yet, it wasn’t just their disheveled state.
Compared to when she had left moments ago, Zhao Hong was far weaker. Her face was covered in blood, with crimson streams pouring uncontrollably from her eyes, mouth, ears, and nose.
Coupled with her heart-wrenching gasps and coughs, she looked as if she were on the brink of death.
Han Xiu, however, aside from her disheveled appearance, showed little change from before. Her injuries were not severe.
This indicated that Zhao Hong’s condition wasn’t caused by Blood Mist Heavenly Venerate’s forceful capture but by some other reason.
Recalling earlier events, people realized that the awe-inspiring blood-red longsword must have been Zhao Hong’s doing.
Zhao Hong had pretended to leave but had hidden in the shadows, preparing a sneak attack.
It had to be said, Zhao Hong’s move was quite impressive.
If not for Blood Mist Heavenly Venerate’s intervention, even the leaders of the Wind and Thunder Sword Sect and Nine-Star Heavenly Mountain might not have been able to handle it.
But unfortunately, no one had anticipated that Blood Mist Heavenly Venerate would be so formidable.
With ease, he dismantled Zhao Hong’s strategy.
And he dragged Zhao Hong, who had been hiding, out into the open.
“Zhao Hong, so what if you were once a renowned genius of the All-Heavens Starfield?”
“Times have changed. Dare to attack this Heavenly Venerate, and I’ll show you the consequences.”
Blood Mist Heavenly Venerate looked at the pitiful Zhao Hong without a trace of pity; instead, his gaze turned ferocious.
He clenched one hand, and a blood-red staff appeared in his grip.
The staff, though blood-red, had extremely sharp ends.
With a squelch, Blood Mist Heavenly Venerate thrust the blood-red staff into Zhao Hong’s neck.
As it pierced her, the staff began to change.
The blood-red hue turned pitch black, revealing that the red was a special kind of power.
As the staff penetrated Zhao Hong’s body, that special power surged into her.
Zhao Hong was in immense pain. Though she had stood defiantly moments ago, she now collapsed to her knees in the void, clutching her neck, her face contorted in agony.
“Master!!!”
Seeing this, Han Xiu tried to rush forward to help.
But another flash of blood-red light shot out, and Han Xiu’s body was also pierced by a blood-red staff.
This staff went straight through the top of her head.
After being pierced, Han Xiu could no longer make a sound. She stood motionless, as if she had lost consciousness.
Yet her eyes remained open.
People knew she wasn’t dead or unconscious; the pain was so intense she could no longer even scream.
Seeing Zhao Hong and Han Xiu subjected to such cruel methods, Chu Feng was consumed with rage.
“Blood Mist Heavenly Venerate, I’ll tear you to pieces!!!”
As Chu Feng roared, the veins on his face bulged.
“Argh—”
But just as his roar erupted, it was followed by a low groan.
The crowd’s expressions shifted as they looked.
The leader of the Wind and Thunder Sword Sect had approached Chu Feng.
His Wind and Thunder Sword had pierced through Chu Feng’s body.
“Tear me to pieces?”
“Today, if you don’t hand over that treasure, I’ll show you what it means to wish for death.”
The leader of the Wind and Thunder Sword Sect glared at Chu Feng viciously, yet his eyes held a trace of satisfaction.
Due to earlier events, he had long harbored a deep hatred for Chu Feng. Now that he could finally deal with him, he felt immense gratification.
“You’d better kill me today, or… I’ll have your wretched life.”
Though Chu Feng’s face was pale and he appeared extremely weak, his gaze was ferocious.
He wasn’t speaking idly.
Today, Chu Feng had come for the All-Heavens Sect.
He had already shown enough respect to the five major powers.
Yet, in this situation, the leaders of the Wind and Thunder Sword Sect and Nine-Star Heavenly Mountain continued to press him aggressively.
Not only did they harm Chu Feng, but they also hurt his friends.
Using his friends’ lives to threaten him and tormenting them as leverage.
Chu Feng saw it all and kept it in his heart.
If he survived today, he would make them pay with their lives.
“You don’t seem to understand what it means to be in mortal peril.”
Another voice sounded—it was the leader of Nine-Star Heavenly Mountain.
He approached the leader of the Wind and Thunder Sword Sect, his palm open, revealing a transparent jade bowl containing three insects.
The insects looked identical, pitch black, as if forged from dark steel.
Yet they were alive, true living creatures.
Each insect exuded a different power.
One was wreathed in flames.
Another radiated chilling frost.
The third emitted poisonous gas.
“Nine-Star Corpse-Eating Insects.”
Someone in the crowd gasped upon seeing the insects.
The gasp was filled with fear.
These insects were infamous.
Those familiar with Nine-Star Heavenly Mountain knew of the Nine-Star Corpse-Eating Insects.
A type of ancient poisonous insect, they were raised by Nine-Star Heavenly Mountain using the blood of ferocious beasts and special methods, turning them into terrifyingly potent creatures.
They could enter the body, harm the soul, and inflict unimaginable pain.
A single insect wouldn’t kill, but those who endured its torment never lived normally again.
Most, after suffering the insect’s torture, became disfigured and turned mad, unable to return to normal.
Even the best healing methods were powerless.
Because these insects targeted the soul.
Nine-Star Heavenly Mountain loved using these insects for interrogation and torture.
Due to their fearsome reputation, some would confess immediately upon seeing them.
“Since he’s so stubborn, let’s use them to make him talk,” the leader of Nine-Star Heavenly Mountain said to the leader of the Wind and Thunder Sword Sect.
“Very well.”
The leader of the Wind and Thunder Sword Sect nodded, then pulled the Wind and Thunder Sword from Chu Feng’s body.
The leader of Nine-Star Heavenly Mountain then sent the insects directly into Chu Feng’s body through the wound.
“Argh—”
As the insects entered, Chu Feng let out a roar of agony.
His body alternated between bursts of flame, frost, and poisonous gas.
In the blink of an eye, Chu Feng was tormented beyond recognition, a far cry from his earlier state.
Typically, those tortured grew weaker, their screams starting loud but fading as they weakened.
But Chu Feng was different. His screams grew louder, more piercing than thunder, more resonant than a beast’s roar.
If not for the anguish in his voice, it would have sounded like a battle cry.
Those who understood knew this was normal, a result of the insects’ poison.
Under its effects, though the victim suffered immense pain, their body didn’t weaken. Instead, they became unusually excited and physically stronger.
This perverse reaction was because the poison drained the soul’s power.
It ensured the victim had the stamina to endure the brutal torment without passing out, remaining conscious to feel every moment of pain until their mind collapsed.
