477: Asura Blood Night

Asura City.

A phantom-like figure silently blended into the noisy and chaotic crowd at the city gate.

Duan Yulong, a Disciple of the Profound Nether Sect, had been defeated by Yu Qingchen in Tianxiao Prefecture. Like a bird startled by the mere twang of a bowstring, he had fled through Xuesha Prefecture before finally plunging into Asura City.

“Yu Qingchen... Di Jintian...!” Duan Yulong huddled in the shadows of his cloak, his teeth chattering and grinding, his nails digging deep into his palms, bringing a flicker of twisted pleasure.

Every failure and every flight was like a poisonous insect gnawing at his Divine Soul, grinding his former arrogance into bone-deep resentment and madness.

“Just you wait... Once my Nine Nether Sacred Body reaches Major Achievement and I have devoured the essence and Divine Souls of the thousands of living beings in this Asura City... you will all pay the price!”

Inside him, that wisp of cold will belonging to the Nine Nether Supreme fluctuated slightly, transmitting a greedy and urgent intent that further stimulated his eyes to glow with a bloodthirsty crimson.

Night fell heavily, like a thick piece of velvet soaked in ink.

The moonlight became viscous and piercing, casting the twisted outlines of Asura City's buildings into even more hideous shadows.

Duan Yulong knew the time had come.

Like a ghost blending into the night, he quietly appeared deep within a remote dark alley.

At the end of the alley, several Loose Cultivators, reeking of alcohol and shoving each other while cursing over a piece of low-quality Ore, became his chosen first sacrifices.

“Jie jie jie...” An uncontrollable, low, eerie laugh echoed in the darkness.

Duan Yulong suddenly tore off his cloak, revealing a face distorted by extreme excitement.

He threw his hands open, his fingers like hooks, and his pitch-black nails instantly grew over a foot long, wreathed in Nine Nether Devilish Qi.

“All of you, become my nourishment!”

Woo—!

A shrill ghostly howl suddenly tore through the deathly silence of the dark alley!

Pitch-black claw shadows, carrying a bone-chilling cold that could freeze the Soul and an Aura of foul corrosion, lunged like lightning toward the dazed and startled Loose Cultivators!

Before the claw shadows even arrived, a terrifying suction force had already enveloped them. The Loose Cultivators felt a sharp pain in their Divine Souls, as if they were being forcibly ripped from their bodies. They couldn't even let out a scream, only staring in despair with wide eyes.

Just as the foul claw shadows were about to touch the heads of the prey!

“Impudent!”

A thunderous roar, carrying a pure and fierce Saber Intent, crashed into the narrow dark alley like a torrent of metal!

Shink!

A cold blade light struck the claw shadows with incomparable precision!

Boom!

The claw shadows and the blade light collided violently!

A violent burst of energy exploded, shaking the stone walls on both sides of the alley and sending debris crumbling down.

Mo Cang's figure appeared at the mouth of the alley, his long saber pointing diagonally at the ground, the blade still vibrating and humming.

His eyes were sharp as a hawk's, firmly locked onto Duan Yulong.

“What petty scoundrel dares to practice such demonic methods in Asura City!”

Mo Cang's voice was like a great bell, making the air hum.

Alarm bells rang in his heart. The creature before him, looking like a malevolent ghost, had a sinister and eerie Aura that gave him a sense of extreme danger.

Duan Yulong licked his dry lips, the blood-red light in his eyes intensifying. Instead of fear, a surge of excitement welled up within him.

“Perfect! I'll use your Law Realm Tenth Level essence and Divine Soul to help my Sacred Body take another step forward!”

Before his voice had even faded, Duan Yulong's figure suddenly blurred!

Only a distorted afterimage remained where he stood, while his true body transformed into a cloud of black smoke wreathed in dense Nine Nether Devilish Qi, lunging straight at Mo Cang!

His hands danced rapidly, and countless fine black threads shot out from his fingertips like living things, instantly weaving into a giant demonic net that covered the entire alley—‘Nine Nether Soul-Entwining Silk’!

The threads were silent, yet they emitted a poisonous Aura that caused the Divine Soul to stagnate, sealing off all of Mo Cang's space to dodge.

Mo Cang's pupils constricted, and he roared, “Battle!”

The long saber in his hand erupted with piercing profound light, the blade instantly lengthening as he struck out with a bold and sweeping saber technique!

The blade light was like a raging tide, carrying an indomitable Aura as it hacked fiercely toward the demonic net descending upon him.

Chiii!

The blade light and the demonic net rubbed against each other violently, producing a series of cutting sounds.

Mo Cang's saber momentum was incredibly violent, forcibly tearing a huge hole in the tough demonic net.

However, those broken black threads did not dissipate. Some coiled around the long saber, frantically corroding the spiritual light on the blade, while others bypassed the blade's edge like venomous snakes, stabbing directly at Mo Cang's vital points!

Mo Cang let out a muffled groan, feeling a bone-chilling force that pierced straight through his Divine Soul flooding in through the saber hilt. His arm went numb instantly, and his blood circulation stalled.

He hurriedly circulated the massive Spiritual Qi within his body, a layer of Protective Aura rising from his surface to forcibly shake off the approaching threads.

But his movements were ultimately half a beat too slow. A few tricky demonic threads broke through his Protective Aura defense, leaving several charred wounds that reached the bone on his tough arm guards. Black Qi swirled around the wounds, and the flesh quickly began to necrose!

“What a bizarre Demonic Technique!”

Mo Cang was inwardly alarmed, but the sharp pain instead aroused his ferocity.

He stomped hard on the ground, the solid flagstones shattering with a bang. He used the force to leap into the air, trying to escape the entanglement of the demonic net.

At the same time, he rotated his long saber, the blade light layering upon itself to form an airtight barrier of saber Aura!

“A deathbed struggle!”

Duan Yulong sneered, his figure following like a shadow, pressing close.

He thrust out both palms, each palm condensing a rapidly spinning pitch-black vortex that emitted a terrifying suction force—Nine Nether Essence-Devouring Palm!

The center of the vortexes seemed to connect to a bottomless abyss, frantically tearing at Mo Cang's Protective Aura and the Spiritual Qi dissipating around him.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

The pitch-black vortexes slammed hard against the saber Aura barrier Mo Cang had set up!

Mo Cang's saber Aura barrier, which condensed all his strength, actually thinned at a speed visible to the naked eye, as if being gnawed by an invisible giant mouth!

Even more terrifyingly, streams of pure power were being uncontrollably and forcibly pulled from his body, merging into that bizarre vortex!

Mo Cang's face turned pale instantly, the veins on his forehead bulging, and bean-sized drops of sweat mixed with blood rolled down.

He felt his strength draining away rapidly, like sand in an hourglass.

The opponent's Demonic Technique was too malicious; it not only devoured Spiritual Qi but was also corroding his life Origin!

If not for his solid Foundation and iron-like will, any ordinary Law Realm cultivator would have likely been sucked dry into a withered corpse already!

“Break for me!”

Mo Cang's eyes were bloodshot as he let out a roar like a trapped beast.

He suddenly bit the tip of his tongue and spat a mouthful of heart's blood containing his essence onto the blade!

Buzz!

The blade vibrated violently, the dimmed saber Aura instantly surging, forcibly shaking open a slight gap in the pitch-black vortexes pressed against the blade!

He seized this split-second opportunity, ignoring the churning pain inside him, and poured all his remaining strength into his arms to strike out a life-risking blow—Bloody Battle of the Eight Desolations!

The blade light transformed into a blood-red rainbow that tore through the night, hacking straight for Duan Yulong's head!

“A cornered beast still fighting—futile!”

A flash of contempt crossed Duan Yulong's eyes. Facing this strike, he didn't even try to dodge.

He spread the five fingers of his right hand, and Nine Nether Devilish Qi instantly condensed in his palm, transforming into a pitch-black bone shield inscribed with countless agonized ghostly faces—Ten Thousand Ghost Nether Shield!

Meanwhile, his left palm continued to maintain the Nine Nether Essence-Devouring Palm, firmly sucking in Mo Cang's saber momentum to weaken its power.

Rumble!

The blood-red blade rainbow slammed fiercely against the pitch-black bone shield!

A violent shockwave of energy exploded in a ring, completely destroying the walls on both sides of the dark alley. Broken stones and wood shot out in all directions like a rainstorm!

Mo Cang's life-risking strike was incredibly powerful, forcibly hacking the bone shield until it was covered in cracks, and the shock also sent Duan Yulong's blood and Qi churning.

However, that was all!

Although the bone shield was covered in cracks, it did not shatter.

With his full-strength strike blocked and his internal power being frantically devoured, Mo Cang could no longer suppress his injuries. He felt as if he had been struck by a heavy hammer; his Protective Aura completely collapsed, he sprayed blood wildly, and he was sent flying back like a broken kite, crashing heavily into the ruins dozens of yards away.

The long saber flew from his hand and landed diagonally in the ground, letting out an unwilling cry.

He struggled to stand up, but the movement aggravated his severe internal injuries. He spat out another mouthful of blood, his Aura becoming extremely withered.

“Law Realm Tenth Level? Nothing more than this!”

Duan Yulong looked at the heavily injured Mo Cang lying on the ground, a cruel light of excitement flashing in his eyes.