Chapter 319 - Activating the Ritual

The entire transformation happened in the blink of an eye.

The skin on his hands hardened, and his nails grew longer and sharper, resembling an eagle's talons.

The colour of his hair grew a shade lighter, growing just about a couple centimetres longer.

The toned muscles on his body grew more defined, and his eyes sharpened.

A single left wing freed itself from its restraints, piercing straight through his shirt and stretching out to his left, spanning up to two metres in length.

And along with this transformation, an aura of menace swept unimpeded across the entire clearing.

Be it the Dongran couple near him or the masked townsmen below, all of them instantly felt a cold chill running down their spines. Even Nanlan Qianxue who had already experienced this feeling twice before could not help but frown in response.

This feeling of being in presence of an apex predator was far too terrifying. There was simply no way to grow completely accustomed to it!

Master Dongran's eyes opened wide in horror.

He was no stranger to beastial bloodline transformations.

Throughout his long life, he had encountered multiple martial artists who had managed to absorb a beast's bloodline.

However, Lu Tianzi's transformation felt fundamentally different from any other.

If Master Dongran had to pinpoint what exactly made it different, then it would be the terrifying aura that Lu Tianzi was emanating.

The subconscious trembling of his hands only helped Master Dongran confirm just how serious the situation actually was.

This guy is dangerous!

Alarms sounded off in Master Dongran's head, especially when the winged figure in front of him turned its attention towards him.

Master Dongran never thought this would ever happen to him when facing a First Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist, but for the first time that night, he felt that a dark cloud of doubt had been cast over his heart.

He had spent the past few decades executing his masterplan to perfection, but would he really be able to obtain the outcome that he wanted?

No, that was a pointless question.

He will make it happen, even if he had to trample over this monster in front of him to do so!

"Aaaaaahhhh!" Master Dongran roared in rage as he drove his origin core, tapping on every last bit of Slaughter Essence within his inner world.

All of his Essence energy was channelled to his arm, giving it a surge of strength that surpassed his very limits. At this moment, Master Dongran suddenly burst forth with a power level far beyond what he had ever exhibited in his entire life.

Prior to this, Master Dongran's sword had been locked against the Torrential Sabre, neither of them able to move a bit further.

However, this power equilibrium between them was broken in an instant.

Sparks flew, accompanied by the screech of metal scraping against metal, and Master Dongran's sword was pushed straight down to the ground.

Master Dongran widened his eyes in horror.

Even in such a state, he had still been overpowered by Lu Tianzi's strength?!

But he had no time to stay in a daze.

Just as Master Dongran's blade had been pushed to the ground, Madam Dongran was going through a similar experience.

"Damn it!" Master Dongran cursed before sending a voice conveyance to Madam Dongran. "He is too good at fighting on two fronts. We can't do it this way! Let's strike from the same side and end it once and for all!"

Without even waiting for a response, Master Dongran hurriedly leapt back to create distance between them. On the other end, Madam Dongran mirrored his actions without hesitation.

The two of them then dashed towards each other, standing side by side before pointing their swords towards Lu Tianzi.

Lu Tianzi gazed back at them. Then he slowly lowered his blades before letting out a resigned sigh. "How troublesome. If you are born an insect, then you need to act like one."

"Insect?" Master Dongran gritted his teeth in frustration before yelling in return. "What do you know about the struggles of the commonfolk?! You bastards in the big sects only know how to rely on your background. Do you know how difficult it is for people like us to find the resources to advance our cultivation levels?! I would have thought that the infamous Radiant Raven Sect would be able to understand my thoughts, but they actually sent a young bastard like you to us! How can we just let you benefit from our hardwork?! Even if we have to expend everything we have to take you down today, we will definitely do so!"

"I see."

Lu Tianzi did not say more.

Then with a single flap of his wing, he shot forward like an arrow, charging straight for the Dongran couple.

"Do it!" Master Dongran shouted.

The two of them executed the Dual Sword Requiem once more, this time concentrating their strength at the same origin, firing off a wave of sword energy at the oncoming Lu Tianzi.

Earlier, they had been trying to entrap Lu Tianzi by firing sword energy at him from both directions.

This time, they were focusing on sheer power in a bid to take down Lu Tianzi in one go.

Even though they were merely different forms of the same combat technique, the intensity level of the two attacks were simply incomparable!

This was truly an attack that could take down a regular Sixth Cycle Origin Core realm martial artist!

A silvery light flashed across his eyes as Lu Tianzi kept his eyes fixed on the oncoming wave of sword energy.

His talon-like hand slashed out, clashing with the incoming energy wave without hesitation.

Returning Wraith Sword.

The Moon Culler collided against the wave of sword energy, and the advance of the Moon Culler quickly came to a grinding halt.

Under the intense pressure of the sword energy, Lu Tianzi's slash had actually been held down and prevented from advancing any further!

Wild energy undulations split everywhere, but none of the three allowed themselves to be distracted, focusing on this single clash that could decide the fight once and for all.

The Dongran couple clearly understood that this was their trump card.

If Lu Tianzi had a way to overcome it, they would no longer have anything else in their arsenal for them to beat Lu Tianzi with!

Thankfully, Lu Tianzi had indeed been stopped!

Or so they thought.

But when Lu Tianzi lifted his left hand that held the Torrential Sabre, Master Dongran could not help but feel his heart skip a beat.

"Damn it!" Master Dongran roared, putting every last bit of his strength behind the Dual Sword Requiem.

They had to withstand Lu Tianzi's next attack!

The Astral Way Inscription symbol on the Torrential Sabre glowed with a brilliant azure light, and the sabre started emanating an intense aura of its own.

Activate.

The Torrential Sabre slashed down, slamming right into the wave of sword energy.

Sword and sabre crossed, and the wave of sword energy instantly dissipated from the two-pronged attack.

And along with the disappearance of the sword energy, the Dongran couple similarly lost the last glimmer of hope in their hearts.

There was no longer any ways for them to win.

Behind them, Lu Tianzi's returning sword light gathered and struck out towards them, but they had already completely depleted their energy in that last strike. There was simply no time for them to gather their strength and defend against something that was coming from behind.

Slash-!

The dazed Master Dongran instantly regained his senses, gasping in horror as fresh blood sprayed onto the ground.

"Chan'er!" Master Dongran hurriedly held onto Madam Dongran's falling body.

At the very last moment, Madam Dongran had used her own body to shield Master Dongran from the sword light, taking the full hit herself to keep Master Dongran unharmed.

"Bu, you must live on…" Madam Dongran grasped Master Dongran's arm. "Even if we failed this time, I am sure you will be able to succeed in the future. Don't ever give up…"

"Chan'er…!" Master Dongran teared up as he gazed upon the pale face of his beloved wife. "What are you saying? How can I ever do this again without y-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the Moon Culler had severed his head in one clean strike.

Madam Dongran's eyes widened in horror, but her horror did not last long either.

She might have already received a fatal blow, but Lu Tianzi was not intending to simply let her bleed to death.

Slash-!

Madam Dongran's head fell to the ground, rolling to a stop beside her husband's limp body.

With that, the Dongran couple, heads of the esteemed Dongran Family, had finally left this world.

Now that things were settled here, Lu Tianzi turned to look towards the crowd below the stage.

They were still in a state of complete chaos, and many of them had already started fighting amongst themselves, perhaps having grown confused at who was the enemy.

With all of them fighting for their lives, not even a single one of them had realised that their leader had already been killed on stage.

Even Aged Crow who was supposed to be on stage with them had fainted from the shockwaves of their fight.

How pathetic…

Lu Tianzi stretched a hand out towards the crowd, and an immense pressure immediately fell upon everyone present.

"Argh!"

The fighting stopped in an instant as everyone was forced to focus on withstanding the pressure instead. One by one they fell to their knees, unable to move a single step.

"You already won?" Nanlan Qianxue casually leapt onto the stage after witnessing this scene.

By now, her clothes had been dyed red from the fighting, and her long hair was almost dripping with fresh blood.

"Are you ready?" Lu Tianzi asked in return.

Nanlan Qianxue nodded solemnly.

"Then I will start."

Lu Tianzi released the pressure on the townsmen, leaving them scared and breathless while he directed his Origin Force towards the Sky Crystal in the middle of the clearing.

The moment his Origin Force entered the Sky Crystal, it was like the Sky Crystal had received a signal, directly bursting apart into countless small fragments.

Shatter-!

Shatter-! Shatter-! Shatter-! Shatter-!

Linked by a trail of light that seemed to symbolise a shared fate, the four Sky Crystals at the corners of the clearing immediately followed suit, shattering into pieces.

Not just that, but the numerous Sky Crystals placed in the vicinity started shattering one by one as well.

With each Sky Crystal that shattered, the emblem of light on the ground grew brighter.

With each Sky Crystal that shattered, the masked townsmen felt their hearts beating faster.

Faster, and faster, and faster…

"What's going on?" one of them clutched his chest in pain. "My heart… it hurts!"

"Something is wrong!"

"Help! Save me!"

One by one, the masked townsmen fell to their knees, most of them clutching their chest in agony.

Now, even without Lu Tianzi's pressure, they were no longer in the state to fight.

It was as though they were suffering from an intense poison, and their strength was rapidly draining from their bodies.

Thud-!

The first masked townsman fell to the ground, his body limp and motionless, the light in his eyes lost forever.

And then the next, and the next…

More than a thousand of them fell within a matter of seconds, the Slaughter Essence from within them gathering to form a sphere of darkness above the clearing.

But they were only the first wave to fall.

Underneath the mansion, a large group of people were being held prisoner, kept barely alive and too weak to break free.

Under the effect of the sacrificial ritual, they suffered the same fate as the masked townsmen, falling into a state of eternal sleep while their Slaughter Essences passed through the walls and were drawn into the sphere of darkness above.

Further away, there were quite a few groups of martial artists that had come seeking the bounty promised by the town lord.

Even though they had not offered up their blood as sacrifice, they were still caught in the range of the ritual.

They, too, fell to the ground one by one, unable to resist the mysterious powers of the sacrificial ritual.

Their Slaughter Essences were similarly absorbed into the sphere of darkness that hovered in the air.

While their numbers were not as high as the others, their individual strength was much greater.

This was the reason why they had the confidence to target the leader of the Blazing Wings. Unfortunately, their higher cultivation levels only ended up serving to benefit others.

Nourished by the number of deaths, the sphere of darkness grew at a rapid pace, reaching a point where it was almost as large as the mansion itself.

This sphere of darkness was rapidly absorbing all remnants of Slaughter Essence energy in the area, including that of those who had lost their lives just prior to its appearance - this naturally included the Dongran couple.

And then it completely burst apart, forming two streams of Slaughter Essence energy that headed straight for Lu Tianzi and Nanlan Qianxue, directly entering their inner world!