195: Xueyin Pill

The Hall Master stood before the shattered railing. The blood flowing from the wounds on his arms did not fall to the ground. Instead, it transformed into wisps of bloody mist that coiled around his body. The ferocious smile on his face twisted even more grotesquely as he reached into his robe and pulled out a pill the size of a longan fruit. It was dark red all over, and its surface seemed to writhe with countless tiny, moving droplets of blood.

As soon as the pill appeared, the air was immediately saturated with a cloyingly sweet, nauseating scent of blood, mixed with an indescribable, sinister chill and resentment. It was as if the faint, sorrowful weeping of countless women echoed in one's ears.

"Blood Yin Pill..." A fanatical and pained look flashed in the Hall Master's eyes, and then he unhesitatingly swallowed the pill!

"Gulp."

The moment the pill entered his stomach—

"BOOM——!!!"

A violent, sinister, and overwhelmingly terrifying aura erupted from the Hall Master's body, shooting towards the sky! The flesh around the wounds on his arms visibly squirmed and healed at a rapid pace. Dense, bloody mist spewed from the pores all over his body, making him look like a demon god who had crawled out of a sea of blood!

His aura surged continuously, instantly breaking through the boundary of the Half-step Martial Emperor stage, approaching infinitely close to the true Martial Emperor realm! Although it was only a false Peak fueled by the pill's potency, the pressure that surpassed that of a Martial King was utterly real! The lake surface, centered on the pleasure boat beneath his feet, began to churn violently, forming a bloody whirlpool!

"This pill is forged from the primordial yin blood of three hundred maidens, mixed with the essence of vengeful souls... It was originally a supreme treasure prepared for my breakthrough to the Martial Emperor realm!" The Hall Master's voice became hoarse and strange, as if layered with countless overlapping voices. "Today, I shall use it on you all!"

"I want you all—dead!"

As the last word "dead" was spat out, he moved!

There were no complex Moves, just a simple palm strike!

A massive bloody hand, covering an area of three zhang, completely condensed from viscous bloody mist, descended like a collapsing mountain! Accompanied by the shrill wails of aggrieved souls, it pressed down fiercely towards the four people on the deck! Before the palm even arrived, the terrifying pressure caused the wooden structure of the entire pleasure boat to groan as if on the verge of disintegration. The corpses on the deck were crushed into pulp, and the lake surface caved in, forming a huge, palm-shaped deep pit!

There was no way to dodge! No way to block it!

"Four Symbols Formation—Black Tortoise Shield Formation, ACTIVATE!!!"

Qin Feng roared hoarsely. This was a moment of life and death!

Xia Ya's eyes erupted with unprecedented, resolute light. She thrust the giant tooth sword into the deck beside her and gripped the sides of the shield with both hands. The bones throughout her body emitted explosive cracks under unbearable strain. Her Half-Step Martial King True Qi, mixed with a power that seemed to burn her life's Origin, poured unreservedly into the giant shield in her hands! The flowing cloud inner armor shone brightly, yet it still couldn't completely offset the terrifying pressure. Fine beads of blood began to seep from the surface of her skin!

"Black Tortoise·Shouldering the Heavens!!"

The tortoise-shell patterns on the surface of the giant shield suddenly lit up with a dazzling, earthy yellow light. A massive, mountain-like, solid-as-earth Black Tortoise phantom appeared behind her, roaring at the sky! The phantom merged with the giant shield, transforming into a massive Qi shield ten feet in diameter with ancient, simple patterns. It fearlessly slammed against the descending bloody palm!

Qin Feng and Ji Ruxue almost simultaneously flashed to Xia Ya's left and right sides. Qin Feng placed his left hand on Xia Ya's left shoulder, his pure Hunyuan True Qi surging into her body like a great river. Ji Ruxue pressed her right hand against Xia Ya's right shoulder, injecting her icy, sharp Moon Shadow True Qi as well! Two types of Qi, vastly different in nature yet equally powerful, were harmonized by the Formation's profound mysteries, becoming the foundation supporting the Black Tortoise Shield Formation!

Xiao Chun fell back, sitting behind Xia Ya, her hands desperately pressed against Xia Ya's back. Her Myriad Medicine Body operated at full capacity. Emerald-green life energy, like the gentlest tide, frantically poured into Xia Ya's nearly collapsing Meridians, repairing every injury and nourishing her burning Origin. Simultaneously, a portion of this vital energy also seeped into Qin Feng and Ji Ruxue, alleviating their consumption and pressure.

The four were as one, their Qi interconnected, their wills linked!

"BOOM——!!!!!!!!"

The massive bloody palm and the Black Tortoise Qi shield collided violently!

Time seemed to freeze at this moment.

A terrifying explosion did not occur immediately. The two forces at the point of contact frantically eroded, ground down, and crushed against each other! The vengeful faces on the bloody hand madly tore at the Qi shield, while the Black Tortoise phantom on the shield steadily suppressed the bloody energy! Ripples of substantial shockwaves spread outwards in circles. Wherever they passed, the upper structures of the pleasure boat were torn apart and tossed aside like paper! Two other nearby pleasure boats were directly capsized, and a water curtain dozens of zhang high erupted from the lake surface!

"Crack..."

A faint yet crystal-clear cracking sound came from the giant shield in Xia Ya's hands.

On the surface of the giant shield that had followed her through life and death, reinforced by the Fire Refining Hall, spiderweb-like cracks actually appeared! Within the cracks, earthy yellow light and bloody energy intertwined and fought frantically!

"Pfft—!" Xia Ya violently spat out a mouthful of blood. The bones in her arms emitted a teeth-grating creaking sound, as if they were about to shatter completely the next moment! The light of the flowing cloud inner armor dimmed sharply, showing signs of minor damage!

Qin Feng and Ji Ruxue grunted simultaneously, blood trickling from the corners of their mouths. The skin at the base of their thumbs, where their hands pressed against Xia Ya's shoulders, split open, dripping with blood.

Xiao Chun's face was as pale as paper, the vitality of her Myriad Medicine Body continuously pouring out.

But that Black Tortoise Qi shield, covered in cracks—did not shatter!

It stubbornly held against that terrifying bloody hand that seemed capable of crushing everything!

"What?!" The ferocious smile on the Hall Master's face froze. For the first time, an expression of disbelief appeared in his eyes. "Impossible!!"

He had swallowed the Blood Yin Pill, temporarily gaining power close to that of a Martial Emperor. This palm strike should have been enough to easily crush any Peak Martial King! The opponents were merely a Half-Step Martial King defending, two Early Stage Martial Kings assisting, and a Grand Martial Master healing... How could they possibly block it?!

"BREAK FOR ME—!!!" The Hall Master looked like a mad demon, recklessly driving the potency of the Blood Yin Pill. The bloody palm's light intensified again, the wails of aggrieved souls resounding through the heavens!

The cracks on the Black Tortoise Qi shield spread once more, seemingly on the verge of collapse.

Right at this moment—

"His power is waning!" Qin Feng suddenly shouted sharply. His Sword Heart's Clear Perception allowed him to keenly sense an extremely subtle, yet undeniably real, fluctuation in the power at the core of that bloody palm! "The pill's effects can't last!"

As if confirming his words, the Hall Master's aura suddenly experienced a momentary disturbance. Although it was immediately suppressed, that pressure infinitely close to a Martial Emperor indeed showed a trace of looseness!

The side effects of the Blood Yin Pill were beginning to manifest!

"Hold on!" Qin Feng gritted his teeth, injecting the last trace of his Hunyuan True Qi into Xia Ya's body. Ji Ruxue remained silent, her eyes cold as ten-thousand-year profound ice, her Moon Shadow True Qi likewise given without reserve. Xiao Chun could no longer speak, only desperately squeezing out the potential of her Myriad Medicine Body.