"Chen Xin!"
Seeing Chen Xin rush into the ruined city,
Feng Bailong and Yu Yuanzhen's faces both changed drastically.
Chen Xin's sword heart was known for its purity and firmness—
how could he possibly be deceived by mere illusions?
Only Ning Fengzhi seemed to realize something.
A pained flicker crossed his eyes.
"This city… there's something terribly wrong with it—"
Before he could finish, his words faltered.
Above the city, clouds burst with multicolored light and radiant auspice.
A seven-tiered Glazed Pagoda appeared, its tiles shimmering in shifting hues beneath the dim heavens.
Beneath the eaves, tiny wind chimes rang clear and delicate.
"T-that's… the Nine-Treasure Glazed Pagoda…"
With a flick of his sleeve, Ning Fengzhi too darted toward the city.
Moments later, confusion and greed flickered across the faces of Gu Rong, Feng Bailong, and Yu Yuanzhen.
A strange, corrupt power clouded their minds—
it showed them their deepest desires, magnifying that craving beyond restraint.
"Sect Master Ning! Senior Feng Bailong!"
Li Zhexian's expression darkened.
From the very start, when he had first entered this secret realm,
he had felt an ominous dread toward this ruined city.
If his suspicions were right…
This was the inheritance ground of the Rakshasa God.
Li Zhe Xian's fingers tightened slowly around his sword hilt.
"I thought the traces of the Rakshasa God had vanished from the world…"
"But to think—this secret realm still exists."
He had doubted it before:
Even if Bibi Dong possessed extraordinary talent—
without a complete divine inheritance,
how could she ever have succeeded the Rakshasa position?
"If the Asura God governs slaughter and judgment, only brushing the edge of corruption…"
"Then the Rakshasa God is corruption incarnate—pure, unadulterated evil."
"Twisted. Deranged. Insane. Malevolent."
"The Asura Secret Realm was merely tainted by the Rakshasa's shadow—and it became a city of endless slaughter."
"Then what kind of hellish abyss must this true Rakshasa Realm be?"
He knew full well this ruined city was a den of death.
But his seniors—Chen Xin, Ning Fengzhi, Gu Rong—had already rushed in.
But his seniors had already gone in.
Li Zhexian had no choice but to follow.
Just then—
his eyes sharpened suddenly.
Amid the countless treasures floating above the city,
three drops of dark purple blood pulsed with divine, overwhelming might.
"That is…"
"The Blood of a God!!!"
Li Zhexian had always prided himself on a tranquil, unshakable mind.
He saw through illusions.
He was never swayed by worldly temptation.
But at that moment—
the sight of those three drops shattered that composure to pieces.
"What if… just what if it's real?"
"If it's real—then Zhuqing can be saved!"
Li Zhexian gripped the Qinglian Sword,
his body erupting into countless streams of sword qi,
and charged into the forsaken city without hesitation.
He did not seek riches.
He did not seek power.
He sought only a sliver of hope—
The faint, impossible hope
of saving the girl who remembered his love for the color purple,
and who had once bled her very life dry for him.
He knew it might all be illusion—
a mirage, a trap, a bottomless abyss.
But still—
"What if… just maybe…"
Rumble—!
Rumble—!
Within the secret realm, surging waves of Spirit Power burst toward the heavens.
Powerhouses of every sect, like moths to flame, hurled themselves madly toward the ruined city.
One after another, they ignited their Spirit Power, desperate to reach it first.
...
Outside the secret realm, the onlookers paled in horror.
From their vantage point, they could see no treasures above the city—
only that the strongest figures of the realm had gone mad,
charging toward that cursed, silent ruin as though possessed.
"Bibi Dong!!!"
Dugu Bo's green robe flared as he soared into the sky,
his figure looming over the air above Spirit City.
Billowing clouds of blue and crimson mist enveloped the heavens,
casting everything below into an ominous, oppressive gloom.
Hissss—
Hissss—
Suddenly, a shrill serpent's cry pierced through the sky.
Before the horrified eyes of the crowd, a ten-headed Jade Crimson Serpent Emperor manifested in the roiling clouds of poison.
Dugu Bo sat cross-legged atop the central serpent head, his face dark and grave.
"What trickery have you played?"
"Why have Li Zhexian, Chen Xin, and the others all rushed into that ruined city?!"
His furious roar rolled like thunder through the skies above Spirit City.
"This may be your Spirit City—"
"You may be surrounded by several Titled Douluo—"
"But today, this old man demands an answer!"
"Push me too far, and I'll see corpses covering every inch of your precious city!"
"Do you believe me—or not?!"
All the spirit masters of Spirit City panicked.
And deep down, they all cursed him silently:
—Old poisonous lunatic, fine, ask your question, but why must you always threaten to bury the entire city with you?!
Tang Cang and Tang Yuan also rose abruptly, faces twisting with rage and shock.
They wanted to scold her as Dugu Bo did—
but the words caught in their throats.
None dared speak a single syllable.
In the shadows, Ghost turned to Yue Guan and said darkly:
"Can you still neutralize that old poison's venom?"
Yue Guan's gaze fixed on the massive ten-headed serpent and he ground his teeth.
"That old poison's growth is terrifying…"
"Five years ago he was the weakest among the Titled…"
"Now his aura exceeds even mine!"
"As for his poison…"
"I'm afraid it won't be easy to neutralize!"
His Martial Soul was the Immortal Herb—Singular Velvet Sky Chrysanthemum.
Although he was not specialized in detoxification, when Dugu Bo was weaker than him, he could neutralize it. But now... he was helpless.
...
On the throne above, Bibi Dong's exquisite face flickered with a glint of killing intent
"This secret realm…"
"…even I, the Pope, have not seen its depths."
"These powerhouses must have discovered something extraordinary—thus they entered."
"Those within are pillars of the continent.
No one is more concerned than I."
"This city is shrouded in mystery—
perhaps the light screen fails to project its interior clearly."
"But there is no need to panic.
Each participant bears a life-saving key—
if danger arises, they can exit instantly."
At her words,
the restless murmuring slowly died down.
But Dugu Bo remained seated atop the serpent's head,
eyes cold and mistrustful.
He clearly did not believe a single word.
...
On the divine mountain peak,
the Worship Hall's elders stood grim and silent.
"To enter that city… is to truly step into the secret realm itself."
"What kind of divine remnant could emanate such overwhelming malice?"
Qian Renxue's slender fingers clenched within her sleeve.
Her six wings flared open as she soared toward the Angel Temple.
"That woman must be plotting against Li Zhexian."
"...But she's not the only one who bears a god's inheritance."
...
The city's crimson gates were rotten and decayed.
The iron studs were covered in rust.
The entrance lay empty—no guards, no sound.
Only two towering statues—each over ten meters tall—
stood flanking the gate,
each holding a scythe, their faces obscured.
The flowing robes carved upon them
were rendered with such lifelike detail—
the folds and flutter of fabric so real
it felt more human than stone—
and all the more terrifying for it.
Even as Li Zhexian's heart raced toward the Blood of a God,
his mind remained razor-sharp.
He knew exactly what kind of place he was stepping into.
The moment he crossed the gate—
his brows furrowed.
His gaze locked on the scythe-bearing statue to his right.
Clang—
A faint metallic sound rang out.
A single rusted rivet fell from the gate and struck the ground.
And before Li Zhexian's eyes—
the scythe-bearing statue slowly leaned forward.