"AHHHH!!!!"

A bloodcurdling scream tore through the Celestial Curtain!

Flocks of startled birds took to the sky.

"What’s going on?!"

Several nearby Star Martial Artists turned toward the sound.

They saw him next to the mountain of corpses.

The man in the tunic suit from before was clutching his throat, veins bulging as he fell to his knees in agony. His longsword clattered to the ground.

"Ghk... ghk..."

His scream turned into a low hiss. The middle-aged man lowered his head, covering his face as whimpering sobs escaped between his fingers.

Carried on the foul-smelling mountain breeze, the sound was unnervingly bizarre, like that of a vengeful mountain spirit...

"Hey! What’s wrong? Are you okay?"

Seeing this, his companions rushed over to his side to check on him.

But the moment they touched him, they knew something was wrong.

He was scorching hot, like a branding iron. Wisps of white steam rose from his body, as if all the blood in his veins was ablaze.

"Why is he so hot?"

The companion froze for a moment, then exchanged glances with the others. He took out his walkie-talkie, about to report to headquarters.

But in the next instant!

SQUELCH!

The man in the tunic suit struck like lightning, his hand piercing straight through his closest companion’s chest!

His fingertips ripped open the man’s torso, broke through the ribs, and closed around the heart within.

"...Yang?"

The companion, whose back had been turned to him, stared blankly at the hand protruding from his chest. His pupils shrank, and in the blink of an eye, his heart was brutally ripped out.

Death came too suddenly!

There was no time to react!

"Blood..."

The middle-aged man gripped the warm heart, held it up to the morning light outside the city wall, and crushed it. He let the trickles of blood seep into his throat.

’So sweet!’

Blood smeared the corners of his mouth, making him look like a demon crawled up from Hell.

"Are you insane?!"

The other companions’ faces changed drastically. They instinctively unleashed their Star Force to crush him, but before they could even react, the man easily tore out their hearts as well.

An entire squad of Star Martial Artists, wiped out!

GULP—

Below the city wall, a horrifying chewing sound began.

As he swallowed heart after heart, the flesh on the middle-aged man’s face roiled like boiling water. He aged rapidly, his bones shrank, and his black hair slowly turned white.

In just a few breaths, he had transformed into an unfamiliar old man, shrouded in a bloody mist.

BOOM!

An aura of blood surged toward the heavens!

The terrifying Power of Laws from the Blood Dao activated. Within a radius of several meters, the blood in the Star Beastman corpses reversed its flow, surging toward him as if on a pilgrimage.

The old man gazed toward the city district, murderous intent naked in his eyes, as he guided the blood in his body to temper his flesh.

"Die... All of you must die..."

...

「On the border city wall.」

Several teams from the Star Martial Police Bureau patrolled, using mops to carefully clean the bloodstains from the cracks between the bricks along the edge of the wall.

After last night’s great battle, the entire wall was covered in the foul stench of Beast Blood.

But...

Just then, a tiny droplet of blood fell. As if it had a life of its own, it trickled down the wall, slowly making its way toward the outside.

"What’s this?"

Lin Mofeng bent down and placed his hand over the droplet. His nostrils flared slightly, and his expression suddenly changed. He whipped his head around to look toward the Da Li Mountain Range.

"A blood-attracting phenomenon... It’s the Blood Soul Demon Skill of the Beast God Sect!"

As soon as he spoke,

the people nearby burst into an uproar!

"That old demon isn’t dead?!"

"The Sword God sacrificed himself in that explosion! How are we supposed to kill him now?"

"We’re finished! A Venerable Realm Demon is not someone we can fight against!"

"..."

Instantly, chaos erupted on the city wall as fear spread rapidly through the crowd.

They had only managed to slay the Cult Demons last night thanks to the Jianghai Sword God taking action.

But now, he was gone.

’Our Realms are nothing special...’

’How can we possibly resist a Venerable?’

They were like a dragon without a head!

"Everyone, calm down!"

Just then, Elder Li emerged, leaning on his sword. He placated the crowd, saying, "That Demon is just outside the city wall... We cannot fall into disarray. We must first figure out how to face the enemy! Everyone, calm down!"

His voice fell,

and the clamoring crowd went silent.

But the tense looks on their faces were hard to hide.

"Everyone, the Teacher is right!"

Lin Mofeng nodded and added, "That Cult Demon was severely wounded by Senior Sword God. He can’t possibly be at full strength. We still have a chance to defeat him... Besides..."

As he spoke, he looked back toward the Jianghai City District.

"Senior Sword God is gone. If we retreat now, I’m afraid all of Jianghai City will become a paradise for Star Beasts..."

"If you are willing to fight for Jianghai, then follow me. As for those who are unwilling... I won’t force you. Just stay here and tend to your wounds."

With that,

Lin Mofeng channeled his Star Force and flew from the wall toward where the blood had vanished.

Seeing this, the others exchanged glances. Jianghai was in peril, and the Sword God had just departed. They couldn’t possibly fail him now.

At this thought,

more Star Martial Artists called to their companions and followed closely behind Lin Mofeng.

...

...

「In the mountain forest.」

Countless streams of blood on the ground flowed toward a single point.

The ground was littered with the desiccated corpses of humans and beasts. Lines of blood flowed like a spiderweb being drawn in, all converging on one spot.

"Pah! How disgusting!"

The Venerable sat cross-legged on the ground, guiding the blood essence into his body. He suddenly spat to the side. "Once the side effects of this Blood Dao transformation pass, I’ll go have a proper meal!"

’Blood Dao Transformation’ was a reverse-life technique derived from the Blood Dao Laws, and it came at a great cost.

It defied the Heavenly Dao Laws.

Even someone at the Earth Venerable Realm like himself could only use it once.

But fortunately!

This one time was enough to escape a great catastrophe!

"Hmph, what damn Sword God?"

"Still too young!"

"Never thought I could achieve Blood Rebirth, did you?!"

The Venerable turned to look at the city wall, a cold smirk playing on his lips. "Once I’ve recovered, I’ll go slaughter everyone in that city."

The ancient city wall was tall and imposing, the clamor of human voices unceasing.

That was a gathering place of even richer blood qi...

The Venerable licked his lips.

WHOOSH—

A fierce wind swept past!

Several streams of Star Force descended around him.

They sealed off the area, and profound array lines appeared, forming a ribbon-like ring of stars.

Lin Mofeng and the Star Martial Artists had arrived!

"Everyone, be careful! This Demon has just revived, but don’t let your guard down!"

Lin Mofeng shouted, directing the nearby Star Martial Artists to spread out in all directions, surrounding the Venerable from above.

Fierce winds battered the mountain forest.

Killing intent raged!

"Heh, a bunch of ants dare to act so presumptuously?!"

The Venerable from the Beast God Sect sensed their auras, dusted off his behind, and rose unhurriedly. "You don’t actually think... that you stand a chance against me just after my transformation, do you?"

"How naive."

As his voice fell,

RUMBLE!

A mountain-sized phantom of a giant beast appeared behind him!

The pressure of the Venerable Realm descended upon everyone.

"Everyone, watch out!"

Li Daoming hovered to the west, his fingertips weaving an Array as he manipulated the array lines in his hands, attempting to forcibly seal off the Venerable’s position.

But it was useless!

The phantom beast broke free of the Star Force Chain, easily tearing the seal apart. It rose up and swept its arm toward the surrounding Star Martial Artists.

BOOM!!!

In the face of such an absolute power difference, the gap was obvious. The phantom raised a limb and swept it out, blasting the surrounding group apart and sending them all crashing down below the city wall.

BANG! BANG!

Everyone came crashing down.

Dust and smoke filled the air...

"One, two, three..."

The Venerable raised his finger, counting the people present, a cruel smile on his lips. "You’re all excellent supplements. I was just worrying about having no one to nourish me, and you arrived at the perfect time!"

At this,

he raised his hand and drew upon the Power of Laws of the Blood Dao.

The next moment,

BZZZT!

everyone’s face turned deathly pale. The blood in their bodies began to boil, on the verge of being ripped from their flesh.

Suddenly!

A flash of light like a blazing sun streaked across the sky...

...heading straight for the Venerable.

Its residual heat stirred the air, and in an instant, the mountain forest was engulfed in roaring flames.

"What is this?"

The Venerable was horrified. He looked up at the sky.

The scorching white light was blinding.

’Impossible...’ 𝑓𝑟ℯ𝘦𝓌𝘦𝘣𝑛𝑜𝓋𝑒𝓁.𝑐ℴ𝓂

The intense heat seared him.

His consciousness began to fade...

’I can’t die... How could I...’

BOOM!

The blazing sun devoured everything...

The white light filled everyone’s vision. Elder Li covered his eyes to avoid being injured by the glare, and the others did the same.

A few breaths passed.

Only when they felt the temperature drop

did everyone open their eyes. They saw a golden arrow embedded in the Venerable’s forehead, melting everything around it before slowly dissipating...

"He’s dead?!"

Elder Li, still shaken, looked up at where the arrow had vanished, finding it hard to believe.

’He died just like that?’

’Even though this Venerable from the Beast God Sect was already heavily wounded, he wasn’t someone who could be killed so easily...’

’Yet this person killed him with a single arrow?!’

"Such a powerful surge in the Power of Laws. This is the mark of a kill from a Divine Weapon."

Hearing this, Lin Mofeng walked over and knelt beside the Venerable’s corpse, carefully examining his wound. The more he looked, the more shocked he became.

’His Divine Soul was completely annihilated.’

’The person who just attacked...’

’...directly obliterated this Demon’s foundation!’

’Forget about reviving now.’

’I doubt even a speck of dust is left!’

"What a terrifying arrow! Who was that?"

Hearing this, the Commander asked the surrounding Martial Artists, "Does anyone recognize it?"

Everyone shook their heads.

"Well, no matter. To have someone with such means is a great fortune for our Jianghai. I never expected there to be such an expert in the city!"

Elder Li stroked his white beard, shaking his head in amazement. "To be able to kill a Venerable Realm expert in one shot... such power is no less than Senior Sword God’s..."

At these words,

the others fell silent, their faces filled with sorrow.

"Teacher..."

Hearing Elder Li’s words, Li Zixuan’s eyes dimmed. She rubbed her arm as a wave of sadness washed over her, her expression mournful.

’Teacher, are you really gone?’

...

...

「Fuhai Villa Complex.」

The morning light was faint.

On the balcony.

The lingering heat was oppressive.

Qin Yang had one eye closed, his fingers resting on the Sun-Shooting Bow, which was aimed directly at the city gate.

"He’s dead, he’s dead!"

Xiaobai ran out of the room, phone in hand, and excitedly rubbed against Qin Yang’s arm. "You really shot that Demon dead, Master!"

"I know..."

Hearing this, Qin Yang lowered the Sun-Shooting Bow and let out a long breath. The weight in his heart finally lifted.

’Another danger eliminated!’

Just then,

the system’s voice rang out once more.

"Holy crap! The host actually killed a Venerable Realm expert for the second time?"

"Cutting the weeds and pulling up the roots... Host, you’re ruthless!"

"Congratulations, Host. Your reward is the Heart of Law..."