Translator: CinderTL
Hong Zhe relaxed, his gaze shifting to Jiang Yushan, who had fallen to the ground.
The shadow void was of paramount importance, leaving no room for error.
Yet, just as his expression softened, it abruptly tightened again.
He sensed a sharp, murderous intent surging from behind, making the hairs on his neck stand on end.
Without hesitation, he instinctively summoned the Corpse Coffin to shield his back.
However, the Corpse Coffin failed to block the attack, being effortlessly pierced through.
Only then did Hong Zhe realize that his assailant was wielding nine transparent blades.
A divine sense attack!
The moment this thought flashed through his mind, the nine invisible blades had already pierced his Sea of Consciousness.
The divine sense power contained within these blades was not particularly strong; under normal circumstances, Hong Zhe would have dismissed them as insignificant.
But his Sea of Consciousness and divine soul had just been severely damaged by the shadow void.
Now riddled with countless wounds, his Sea of Consciousness and divine soul were in no condition to withstand a fresh assault.
"Ahβ!"
Hong Zhe let out a piercing scream, his body trembling uncontrollably.
A shadow flashed, and an impossibly swift figure materialized like a phantom.
A razor-sharp, pitch-black claw pierced Hong Zhe's back, tearing through his chest.
Staring at the claw protruding from his chest, Hong Zhe felt his life force and all his strength rapidly draining away.
Simultaneously, a torrent of corpse qi surged from the claw, sealing his divine soul and dantian.
Hong Zhe instantly lost all awareness of the outside world, becoming nothing more than meat on a chopping block, utterly helpless.
Song Wen retrieved Hong Zhe's corpse and swooped down toward Jiang Lanruo.
Jiang Lanruo's cultivation was weaker than Hong Zhe's, and the damage to her divine soul was far more severe.
She had only just recovered enough to stand, enduring waves of searing pain from her Sea of Consciousness as she struggled to rise from the crater left by her fall.
Jiang Lanruo suddenly noticed Song Wen hurtling toward her, her heart clenching with dread.
Where's Hong Zhe? Did he escape? Or... has he already fallen?
The moment this thought surfaced, an indescribable panic surged through her. She hastily summoned her flying sword and slashed at Song Wen.
However, in her current state, she could barely muster a fraction of her true strength.
The flying sword wobbled weakly, its movements sluggish and feeble. Song Wen casually flicked it aside, sending it spinning far away.
As Song Wen's razor-sharp claws drew closer, Jiang Lanruo's mind raced in terror.
"Don't kill me!" she shrieked frantically. "I'll do anything! I'll be your slave, your servant!"
Song Wen, who had been about to crush her skull with a single strike, immediately changed his attack, seizing Jiang Lanruo's slender, pale neck.
"You'll... agree?" Song Wen asked, his expression puzzled.
"Didn't you... say you've admired me for so long?" Jiang Lanruo gasped, her voice strained and broken by the iron grip of Song Wen's claws. "I can... serve you forever."
A faint twitch tugged at the corner of Song Wen's mouth.
This woman actually believed his earlier words, thinking he truly coveted her beauty?
Yet, truth be told, her beauty was indeed remarkable, rivaling even Ye Bing's.
A cold smile flickered across Song Wen's face as he abruptly tightened his grip.
Jiang Lanruo's neck snapped instantly, her head falling backward, her beautiful eyes wide with disbelief and resentment.
Song Wen caught the severed head, devoured its divine soul and blood essence, then casually tossed the mummified corpse into his storage ring.
With a swift movement, he reappeared beside Jiang Yushan.
Jiang Yushan remained unconscious, slumped limply on the ground, his eight tentacles drooping lifelessly.
Song Wen studied the tentacles for a moment before turning his gaze to Jiang Yushan.
A faint dusting of dark green powder clung to Jiang Yushan's hair.
This was the substance Hong Zhe had used to transform the shadow void into its current state.
Song Wen reached out to touch the powder, but his hand froze mid-air.
Judging by Jiang Yushan's condition, the dark green powder seemed harmless to humans, but Song Wen dared not take the risk.
He twitched his nose a few times, muttering to himself, "The scent of this substance... it's somewhat similar to the Bodhi Spirit Core."
With a flick of his wrist, he produced an empty jade bottle. A gentle wave of his fingers caused the powder on Jiang Yushan's body to rise into the air, coalescing into a thin stream that flowed into the bottle.
Song Wen sealed the jade bottle with a stopper and applied two layers of Restrictions before storing it away.
He patted the tentacle, but it remained unresponsive. Frowning slightly, he began to ponder how to deal with the shadow void.
His first thought was to feed it to the Nether Fox. Given the shadow void's power, it would undoubtedly allow the Nether Fox to break through its bottleneck and advance to the fifth-tier.
However, the Divine Blood Gate clearly valued the shadow void highly, suggesting it possessed extraordinary qualities. Feeding it to the Nether Fox felt like a wasteful misuse of such a rare resource.
As Song Wen considered whether to interrogate Hong Zhe's divine soul to uncover the shadow void's secrets, he suddenly felt the tentacle twitch slightly.
He immediately retreated several steps, his expression wary as he stared at the tentacle.
A ten-zhang-tall shadow emerged from Jiang Yushan's severed head.
This shadow was the body of the eight tentaclesβa spherical mass covered in fleshy nodules, with a massive maw and two slender eyes.
The eight tentacles suddenly coiled together, launching the body forward in a direct assault on Song Wen.
Simultaneously, the tentacles began to phase into phantom shadows, becoming ethereal and intangible.
Song Wen, who had been about to retreat, immediately understood the creature's intentions and stopped in his tracks, allowing it to approach.
The phantom shadow collided with Song Wen's body and vanished without a trace.
Within Song Wen's Sea of Consciousness, a monster with eight tentacles materialized.
Before the creature could make any move, it was suppressed by the hovering Black Hole, rendered as helpless as a dead dog.
A faint smile curled Song Wen's lips as he summoned Jiang Yushan over with a wave of his hand.
While Jiang Yushan remained unconscious, Song Wen ended his life and devoured his soul.
However, Song Wen refrained from consuming Jiang Yushan's blood essence, preserving the corpse intact.
After scanning the surroundings to ensure nothing had been overlooked, Song Wen soared into the air, fleeing deep into the Rotting Miasma Ridge.
Having flown only tens of thousands of miles, Song Wen's aura began to plummet rapidly as the cultivation boost from the Blood Spirit Sacrifice waned.
In an instant, his cultivation level plummeted to the early-stage Void Refinement Stage.
Fortunately, unlike other cultivators, Song Wen's body wasn't severely depleted of blood essence, preventing extreme physical weakness.
Apart from a significant loss of spiritual power, he felt no other discomfort.
Song Wen casually found a mountain cave and entered it.
After setting up a concealment formation, he retrieved Hong Zhe's corpse.
He took out a meditation cushion, sat cross-legged, and activated the Corpse King's Rebirth Art. Then, he placed his hand on the corpse.
Instantly, Hong Zhe's divine soul, blood essence, and spiritual power surged into Song Wen's body.
His recently weakened aura surged violently once more.
The spiritual power flowing from Hong Zhe's body far exceeded his original cultivation level, causing his cultivation to advance rapidly.
Suddenly, an invisible bottleneck appeared, halting his progress.
"The bottleneck of early-stage Void Refinement!"
He continued to devour spiritual power, determined to break through the barrier in one fell swoop.
The surging spiritual power, like a raging flood, transformed into a series of colossal, surging waves that relentlessly battered the bottleneck.
Under this relentless assault, the barrier began to tremble, on the verge of shattering.
Just as Song Wen believed he was about to break through the bottleneck and advance to mid-stage Void Refinement, the external spiritual power suddenly began to wane.
Hong Zhe's body was nearly drained of its remaining spiritual power.
(End of the Chapter)
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Translator's Corner
πSorry for the delayed chapters. Had a technical issue. To read ahead please go to the site. It is always updated first.
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