Deep within the ruins, Lin Lang stood atop a crumbling altar, his fingers weaving intricate seals with practiced speed.

Nine blood-red talismans circled him, levitating in the air. Each one pulsed with dense, malevolent energy, and the atmosphere was thick with the faint, mournful wails of vengeful spirits.

He closed his eyes, focusing his formidable spirit to decipher the ancient restrictions on the altar. Just a little more, and the seal on the hidden treasure would break.

Suddenly—

Crack!

A sharp, jarring sound echoed through the chamber.

A blood-colored jade pendant hanging at his waist shattered, crumbling into fine dust that slipped through his fingers.

Lin Lang’s eyes snapped open. His pupils constricted into pinpricks.

“Lin Ya… is dead?!”

His face darkened like storm clouds. The killing intent in his eyes nearly solidified into a tangible force. The surrounding blood energy erupted in sympathy with his rage, shaking the entire altar violently.

“Who?!”

He raised his hand, fingers clawing at the empty air.

A screen of bloody light materialized before him, projecting the final feedback from the Blood Demon Soul-Locking Curse he had planted in Lin Ya’s body.

In the image, Lin Ya’s corpse was bleeding from all seven orifices, the black blood spreading across the floor like a spiderweb.

But in the next instant, a sword light descended like divine retribution.

It was fast. Cold. Merciless.

The frost-white light froze the blood instantly, then shattered the connection. The curse mark he had planted was severed by that single, casual strike!

Boom!

The blood screen exploded, erasing Lin Lang’s remnant consciousness attached to the curse. He saw nothing of the attacker’s face.

“Damn it!”

Furious, Lin Lang let out a cold, rattling laugh. His eyes blazed with crimson light, and his aura surged uncontrolled, causing the surrounding space to distort.

The pressure of a Half-Step Nascent Soul cultivator rolled out in terrifying waves. Like Shen Xing, he had suppressed his cultivation for ten years just for this Godfiend Battlefield.

Lin Lang rose to his feet and waved his sleeve.

The nine blood talismans ignited instantly, transforming into ferocious blood pythons that coiled around him, hissing and roaring at invisible enemies.

His younger brother was at the late Golden Core stage and armed with numerous defensive treasures. He shouldn’t have been killed so easily. And to casually break his tracking curse with a single sword strike…

This made him think of one person.

Shen Xing.

The Shen and Lin families were bitter enemies. Shen Xing certainly had the capability. But his brother would never be foolish enough to provoke Shen Xing directly, and Shen Xing wasn’t the type to kill out of mere boredom without profit.

So, was it someone from another sect? A hidden expert?

As the thoughts churned in his mind, the blood pythons grew more violent, their thrashing causing the altar’s restrictions to flicker dangerously.

“Whoever you are…”

His voice sounded as cold as the abyss.

“…don’t let me find you!”

Ancient Bronze Hall

Shen Xian had casually severed Lin Lang’s backup plan without giving it a second thought.

He turned his attention to the jade slip floating above the high platform. Just as he was about to make his move, his gaze sharpened.

The severed blood lines on the floor were reforming.

Like living snakes, they slithered together, coiling upward toward the blood-colored jade slip. The slip trembled, and thick, viscous drops of blood seeped from its cracks.

An eerie heartbeat echoed throughout the hall.

Thump—thump—

Each beat caused the desiccated corpses on the floor to twitch.

Suddenly, they sprang to life. Their withered bodies swelled and twisted, skin tearing as bones elongated. In moments, they transformed into seven blood puppets, each standing over ten feet tall.

Jagged bone spurs erupted from their joints, and blood-colored ghost fires ignited in their empty eye sockets. The air grew heavy with the scent of corrosive blood poison.

Shen Xian’s eyes darkened.

The restrictions around the jade slip had been fully triggered.

He acted decisively.

Heavenly Abyss Snow Illumination Sword Scripture!

Nine streaks of frost-white sword energy erupted, interweaving into a deadly net. The blood puppets, having just lunged into mid-air, were shredded into bloody mist before they could even scream.

Yet, the moment the mist touched the ground, it coalesced.

The puppets reformed instantly, their bodies undamaged. As long as the blood lines remained, they were immortal.

Shen Xian didn’t panic. He simply pushed spiritual energy into his eyes.

Void Reflecting Spirit Mirror.

Ripples of dark blue light spread across his vision. The ancient runes along the edge of his iris lit up, glowing with faint golden light.

The world slowed down. The chaotic blood energy resolved into structured lines.

Golden light swirled in Shen Xian’s pupils, piercing through the illusions. The mess of blood lines on the floor wasn’t random; it was a sophisticated ancient formation. The seven desiccated corpses were merely the ‘formation eyes,’ drawing energy to maintain the puppets’ undying bodies.

To an ordinary Golden Core cultivator, this would be an impossible deadlock. But before Shen Xian, whose divine sense rivaled the Divine Transformation stage, these secrets were laid bare.

“So that’s how it is.”

He snorted softly. The Traceless Sword in his hand vibrated.

The frost-white sword energy on the blade condensed until it was almost solid.

Swoosh—

Sword light flashed.

He didn’t aim for the puppets. He aimed for the floor.

Crack—

The invisible connection between the seven corpses and the jade slip was severed instantly.

Shen Xian frowned slightly. These seemingly slender lines possessed astonishing toughness; severing them had actually strained the Traceless Sword. The frost-white energy on the blade dimmed significantly.

But the effect was immediate. The puppets collapsed into piles of bone and rot.

However, the moment the last blood line was severed, a sudden change occurred!

The blood-colored jade slip erupted with blinding light.

The bloodstains on the ground began to writhe, outlining a complex, glowing ancient formation. The air grew viscous and heavy, as if the entire hall had been submerged in a sea of blood.

“So this is the true restriction…”

Shen Xian’s gaze remained calm.

The Profound Heaven Golden Silk Armor beneath his robes activated automatically, erecting a three-foot golden light barrier. The encroaching bloody mist crashed against the gold light, emitting a teeth-grating sizzling sound, but it couldn’t break through.

Shen Xian flipped his hand.

A silver needle, as fine as a hair and three inches long, appeared between his fingers. A tiny Lingxi Pearl adorned its tail, glowing with soft light.

The Nine Orifices Exquisite Needle. A mid-grade spirit treasure specialized in breaking formations.

Shen Xian’s wrist flicked.

Shoo!

The needle shot out like a streak of silver lightning. The Lingxi Pearl burst with a radiant, seven-colored glow, tracing a profound trajectory through the air before piercing the absolute weakest node of the blood formation.

Ding—

A crisp chime rang out.

The churning blood formation shuddered to a halt. The needle vibrated violently, and the Lingxi Pearl unleashed a shockwave of prismatic light that shattered the blood patterns inch by inch.

The viscous bloody mist let out a piercing shriek, churning madly as it tried to reform, but it was firmly suppressed by the seven-colored glow.

Crack—

With a sound like shattering glass, the entire blood formation exploded.

The bloody mist contracted, condensing into seven drops of dark red essence blood. These drops hovered around the jade slip, rotating slowly in a stable orbit.

On the ground, the formation patterns faded into grayish-white powder. The suffocating oppression in the hall vanished instantly.

“Done.”

Shen Xian’s figure flashed, closing in on the high platform. He reached out to grab the blood-colored jade slip.

But the moment his fingertips touched the jade—

Hiss!

The jade slip twisted and deformed.

The seven drops of dark red essence blood merged instantly, transforming into a ferocious blood python. It lunged with impossible speed, coiling tightly around his right arm.

Before Shen Xian could react, its sharp, venomous fangs pierced his flesh, sinking deep to devour his essence blood.