The echoes of the oath before the new Heavenly Gate were still reverberating through the Ninth Heaven, yet Chen Ping had no interest in savouring the glory of ten thousand sects paying homage.
He knew full well that the Soul-Devouring Venerable was a venomous thorn. If he did not pluck it out, it would sooner or later become a mortal threat, perhaps even topple the empire he had only just founded.
After handing full authority over Heavenly Gate affairs to others and leaving a portion of the dragon clan to garrison the place, Chen Ping set off for the Nether Blood Sea. With him were Old Black, Cen Biqing who had hurried over from the Yama Heaven Sect, and more than three hundred of the most elite dragons.
The Nether Blood Sea lay at the extreme west of the Ninth Heaven. It was said to be one of the main battlefields where ancient gods and demons had clashed.
This place felt like a wound upon the world itself. Space was wildly unstable, saturated with chaotic, murderous, and resentful negative energy.
Even before they truly arrived, a nauseating stench of blood and a bone-chilling cold that pierced the soul assaulted them.
From afar, the horizon appeared submerged beneath a boundless dark-red expanse.
It was not the glow of sunset, but a genuine sea formed from the blood of countless gods, demons, and living beings.
The seawater was thick as syrup. When it surged, what rose were not waves, but countless twisted, agonised faces of resentful souls howling in eternal torment.
Above the blood sea, sombre crimson clouds of baleful aura hung all year round. Blood-red lightning flickered within them, emitting low, oppressive rumbles.
Space here was fragile and warped. Black spatial rifts opened and closed like scars in the void, devouring everything they touched.
The ground below was charred black, littered with colossal skeletons and shattered weapons. Some skeletons were as large as mountain ranges. Even after endless ages, they still radiated a heart-stopping pressure.
“Bloody hell, this place is bloody awful!”
Old Black shook his massive dragon head, trying to fling away the sinister chill that clung to his soul.
Even a thick-skinned, tough-fleshed dragon like him felt instinctive discomfort.
Cyan dragon aura swirled around Cen Biqing, purifying the foul energy that drew near. Her cool, clear eyes were grave. “The resentment here has accumulated for countless ages. The laws are in chaos, and our strength will be suppressed to some degree. Everyone, stay sharp.”
Chen Ping nodded. He could sense that even drawing in spiritual energy had become difficult. The air was thick with violent blood-sha energy.
If he could not absorb baleful qi and did not possess such profound reserves, simply staying aloft would have been a struggle.
“According to the fragments of Elder Evil Bone’s memories and the intelligence we gathered afterwards, the Soul-Devouring Venerable’s lair should be in the Soul-Burying Abyss at the deepest part of the blood sea.”
Chen Ping spread his divine sense, but in this chaotic region it suffered heavy interference and could only extend a few dozen li.
“We’ll search slowly. Pay attention to any area where soul fluctuations feel abnormal.”
The dragon army slowed its pace, moving like a cautious giant serpent as it skirted the edge of this forbidden land of death, then carefully ventured deeper into the blood sea’s domain.
The moment they flew over the blood sea, the negative energy intensified several times over.
Countless resentful souls seemed to smell living flesh. Like sharks drawn to blood, they surged up from the sea in endless waves, becoming crimson spectres that shrieked shrilly and hurled themselves at the dragon host.
Individually, these souls were not strong, but there were simply too many, practically infinite, and they feared neither death nor pain. Their attacks struck directly at the soul, making them extremely troublesome.
“Purge them!”
Chen Ping gave the order.
Cen Biqing struck first. Her cyan dragon aura transformed into a rain of azure light that showered down. Wherever it fell, resentful souls melted like snow, screaming wretchedly before turning to green smoke.
The other dragons displayed their divine abilities as well. Dragon breath, lightning, tempests, frost… every kind of innate magic blossomed above the blood sea, clearing away the never-ending tide of wraiths.
Chen Ping did not attack. He remained vigilant, extending his divine sense to its limit, searching for any suspicious trace.
As they flew along the blood sea, they witnessed many bizarre sights: islands formed from piled white bones; the mutilated, colossal corpses of gods drifting half-submerged in the blood; naturally formed crimson whirlpools that devoured everything.
