848 Life and Death

The other party didn't stop him because he knew that he was done for. For a proud Sword Saint, he didn't need to use his sword twice on a weakling. It might even be a shame to him! It was just like how he deliberately cued Grai and Wang Zhong to his presence before entering the cave. He did not even bother to launch a sneak attack! In his eyes, they were merely two dead people!

Grai gritted his teeth so as to stay awake. He had to bring the news back; otherwise, everyone would die. Senior…

At this moment, the wind whispered relentlessly in his ears. With the help of the Speed Circuit, his feet were as swift as the wind, but his face was getting paler by the second. His blood could almost form a river as he sprinted through the pathways. He was still standing only because the Blood Race had extraordinary control over their own blood. If he was a normal human, he would have collapsed from such a huge amount of blood loss.

Hang in there! Hang in there!

Gray kept reminding himself, but after all, things like 'will' could not keep him going forever.

Pa!

With his Speed Circuit running at full power, he should have lasted at least half an hour, but now, just five or six minutes after he started running, the circuit in his Soul Sea was already broken. If he sped up the usage of his Soul Power, it would only increase his blood flow and make him lose more blood. It was a vicious circle. The severe blood loss had made Grai unable to support the operation of his own Soul Power.

That powerful Sword Saint's judgment was very accurate; he couldn't even get out of this cave!

Grai's speed plummeted suddenly, and he lost his balance. Without the Speed Circuit and the support of his Soul Power, his legs grew as heavy as lead. At the same time, his head grew heavier, and his eyes slowly began to close. As he collapsed, he caught sight of a group of Mizo Soldiers running towards him at top speed. They were laughing loudly and speaking their native language, as though they were mocking the weakling that had just fallen to the ground.

Immediately following that, a large hand grabbed his arm. Grai wanted to resist, but he couldn't muster up any strength.

That large hand yanked him violently, tossing Grai on his shoulders as though he was a rag doll. Perhaps they were trying to capture him alive, or maybe they wanted to torture him or make him a slave, just like those Mizobudapi people who were captured by the Holy City Army during the landing battle. Living people were always more valuable than corpses.

It was over…

Grai's eyes closed. It seemed that the serious sword injury had caused him to lose his consciousness completely.

Thump thump thump thump thump!

It was the sound of blood pumping around the neck of the Mizobudapi soldier who was carrying him. It was blood with a huge amount of pure energy, flowing vigorously in the blood vessels. It followed a certain rhythm, as though it was tempting and teasing him. It was much like making a starving lion see a live cow or lamb deliberately.

Boom!

An innate desire suddenly came alive in Grai's mind. It was like a natural throb from his soul, and his eyes turned blood red in a flash!

Two fangs that were hungry for blood emerged from his mouth, and he directly bit down at the fresh blood vessels without even thinking about it!

"Ah!"

Although their languages were not the same, this scream was almost like that of a human being.

The delicious fresh blood infused with pure energy poured into his mouth, and it was instantly transformed into energy by his Blood Race's special constitution. Grai's diminishing energy was replenished, and he instantly became sober.

For the Blood Race to control their bloodthirsty nature, the most basic requirement was for them to never get that first taste of blood. For any Blood Race member who had tasted fresh blood, no matter how strong his will was, it would be impossible to get rid of his bloodlust in his lifetime.

Grai hated this bloodlust, but it was not because he was unwilling to kill. From the Federation to the Holy Land, he had been living on animal blood. As such, his Soul Power growth had been sluggish. That was because the power contained in the blood of energy creatures was completely different from animals. However, at this moment, he no longer had a choice. If someone had to take the hard stuff, let it be him!

His bloodshot eyes grew even fiercer at the moment of sobriety, and he bit down even harder with his canine-like fangs. No one had to teach him how to drain his prey of blood. This was a natural instinct of the Blood Race. The canine-like teeth with holes began to generate huge suction force, completely draining the other party of his blood.

The vampire Dharma Idol that had dissipated because of his sword injury began to re-condense behind him. As this was his first taste of fresh dimensional-creature blood, there was an influx of powerful energy entering his body. Although Grai's terrifying sword injury still couldn't heal, at the very least, he felt good. He felt as though he had endless strength and energy.

Several other Mizobudapi soldiers began roaring in anger, and they slashed wildly at Grai with their weapons. Instantly, the narrow cave was filled with Sword Qi and streaks of light. However, none of the attacks managed to even graze the terrifying Blood Shadow.

Hua hua hua hua…

It was like the sound of flowing water, and only flashes of the Blood Shadow could be seen throughout the attacks.

Suddenly, the four Mizobudapi soldiers grew stiff, and they could no longer move. They were frozen in their tracks with their swords raised above their heads.

The Blood Shadow zoomed out of the cave at the speed of light, and the air currents caused by it touched the stiff bodies gently.

Pa pa pa pa pa…

All the soldiers fell to the ground, and Grai wiped the blood from the corners of his mouth. There was a little melancholy and remorse on his handsome face, but soon, they were replaced with determination. It was either him or his enemies!

…

Whoosh whoosh…

Wang Zhong's movements were extremely fast. He had activated his Zoom Shadow and left a long afterimage in the cave as he went deeper into it.

The deeper Wang Zhong went, the more surprised he was. This energy cave was much larger than he expected. The intricate road conditions and the criss-crossed trails were like spider webs, as though the entire mountain base had been drilled through. If they had detonated Kenso's Stink Bomb at that previous position, they would merely have made a bigger hole in that particular cave at best. It was definitely impossible to destroy the entire mine.

It was too big, too deep, and too complicated. Even with Wang Zhong's excellent memory, he couldn't remember exactly which route he had taken in the cave. He was also completely clueless about the cardinal directions here. All he had was a faint impression of the path that he had just taken. At the very least, if he accidentally went in circles, he wouldn't take a detour.

That was inevitable. He was running at too fast a pace, and he didn't have time to memorize the routes. All he did was run into any open space and randomly run around based on his instincts.

But even so, he still couldn't shake off the terrifying aura behind him. The other party's perception allowed him to follow closely behind, and he didn't stop scanning for him, locking onto his position firmly. Due to this, Wang Zhong dared not stop for a single moment. Fortunately, he had his Speed Circuit, and he was leading the way. As such, the opponent was not much faster than him, making him able to flee all the way here.

Stop and fight for his life? Wang Zhong would never entertain such a stupid idea. It was a piece of cake for the other party to destroy his Phoenix Rises to Ninth Heaven. It would definitely be seeking death if he tried to fight the other party as the other party was at the level of a Heavenly Soul. There was an insurmountable divide between a Heroic Soul and Heavenly Soul which was impossible to cross except in special circumstances. Currently, this obviously would not fall into the category of 'special circumstances'.

But now, it seemed that he had no choice but to stop. There was nowhere for him to go…

This was a dead end. He had observed that the energy crystals on the walls here had begun to decrease as he entered. Obviously, he had deviated from the main mining area, so the mine had not been dug deeper. Now, all Wang Zhong could see was a dark, gloomy cave wall.

Damn it. When he noticed that the energy crystals on the cave walls had started to decrease, he should have known that there would be a dead end ahead!

The shiny golden figure stood on the other end of this dead end, lighting up the dark cave.

"Why don't you try to run again?" The Sword Saint walked towards him slowly, relaxedly, and with his usual indifferent expression. "In the words of you humans, you seem to think too highly of yourself."

Behind him was a dead end, and in front of him was his imminent death. However, there was no hint of confusion and anxiety on Wang Zhong's face. His lips curled upward, and he smiled. "You speak our language rather well. Who taught you?"

Wang Zhong's words seemed to have a teasing tone, but frankly, he was speaking the truth. The other party's pronunciation was much better than the aliens who had been living in the Holy City for decades. He even got the accent right. If one had listened to him speak, one would think that he was just an ordinary human being.

"Is that such a big deal? It's just the language of inferior creatures." The Sword Saint's face appeared slightly disdainful, while the bright light flowed smoothly between the crystal-clear tentacles on his head. He was just like his tone and expression — flat and calm, as though he was above everything else in the world. "The Mizobudapi civilization is not as isolated as you humans imagine. We know at least thousands of dimensional languages, even that of lowly biological civilizations like yours."

"Is that all? I think you guys also have a special ability when it comes to bragging." Wang Zhong scanned the surroundings as he talked. The bad news was that this was indeed a dead end, not even mouse holes could be seen. He could forget about the mission for now… However, the good news was that the escape passage being blocked by the other party was not too narrow. As long as there was an opportunity, he should be able to charge past the other party.

"Hur, hur, you seem very unconvinced? Human beings are just a group of lowly creatures occupying the Holy Land. Unfortunately, you guys have come to the wrong place. This battle will be the end of humanity."

"Really? But you guys are being thrashed by a group of lower creatures now." Wang Zhong laughed loudly as he accumulated his Soul Power secretly. His three circuits could now be activated instantly, but in the face of such a powerful opponent, he had to muster all his strength and combine them into a single attack in order to get an opportunity to escape. "What did you think about the landing battle? Did you also run away like a loser?"

"You have the sight of ants," replied the Sword Saint as he smiled scornfully.

Boom!

A surging field of air instantly shrouded the area. Powerful Soul Power and a sense of oppression washed over Wang Zhong like a hurricane, almost making him breathless!

A weird clown mask instantly appeared on Wang Zhong's face. Traces of airflow that were visible to the naked eye appeared, and at the same time, Wang Zhong's Soul Power exploded.

"With Will Comes Power — Zoom Shadow, Dominating Constitution!"

A bright white circuit instantly appeared on Wang Zhong's body, spreading all over it like blood vessels. White light flowed through the circuit like electricity, and the energy constantly fluctuated.

There was a hint of curiosity in the Sword Saint's eyes. He had seen Wang Zhong use this technique before. It was a little different from what the Mizobudapi people had noted as they fought human beings. Humans at this level should have very slow or obscure Soul Power reactions, much like a three-year-old kid trying to push a huge tire. However, that was not visible in this teenager. This was also one of the reasons why he was not in a hurry to kill him. The war had just begun, and both parties had to take their understanding of each other to a deeper level. Be it novel weapons or combat power, anything that was unconventional was worth studying.

However, before the Sword Saint could take a closer look, Wang Zhong had already leapt forward in the next second. He stepped on the upper walls of the cave as though he could hang upside down. His rapid inertia and the Soul Power 'attachment' beneath his feet made him free of gravity at this moment. He had chosen one of the most tricky methods to charge past the other party, and at the same time, bright light could be seen glowing from his hands.

With Will Comes Power — Heroic Crosswheel Slash!

The rotating light slash tore into the surrounding air directly, appearing sharp and unstoppable! It was also thinner and sharper than before! The energy force of the Heroic Crosswheel Slash might not be as powerful as that of Phoenix Rises to Ninth Heaven, but its visual effects and range were absolutely powerful. What Wang Zhong needed right now was just an opportunity.

Everything seemed to be going in accordance with Wang Zhong's plan. The only thing he was wrong about was the reaction of the Sword Saint. He not only did not stop the sword slash, nor did he even dodge. A white light shone from his body, emitting the same kind of sharpness and color a streak of Sword Qi would have.

Sword Defense!

Bang~~

The Heroic Crosswheel Slash hit its mark instantly, but only a sharp bang could be heard. With Sword Defense, the other party's body seemed as though it was covered with a powerful coat of defense. The powerful force of the Heroic Crosswheel Slash seemed to be rendered useless by the Sword Defense and was shattered directly, dissipating into the surrounding air.

Sword Qi was not only used for attacks. The research and control of the sword by the Mizobudapi people had reached an astonishing level. The other party had stood there with a smile, neither dodging nor fighting back. He merely stood at the exact same spot, but Wang Zhong's carefully concocted escape plan had already been crushed.

Wang Zhong was definitely surprised. With his path forward obstructed, he forcibly twisted his body as he ran on the cave walls. Just then, the voice of the Sword Saint echoed throughout the entire cave. "In human terms, your attack is merely around ten thousand Grassos whereas my Sword Qi defense is around a hundred thousand Grassos. Even if I let you have ten thousand years to cut through my defense, you wouldn't be able to do it."

Wang Zhong didn't respond. From the moment he carried out his plan, he had to follow through. It was just that he realized that Mizobudapi people seemed to like showing off even more than humans.

Forcibly escaping was the only option for him, but if he couldn't force the opponent to a suitable distance, he would never dare to move closer. The power gap was too disparate, and the other party seemed to be a Sword Saint who specialized in melee combat. Wang Zhong was clear that his little tricks would not have an effect in such a high-level confrontation. Thus, he had to keep his distance!

At the same time as he landed on the ground, he put his hands together, and energy surged from his palms. Without waiting for the Sword Saint to finish showing off, a phoenix had formed from his hands and charged forward.

Phoenix Rises to Ninth Heaven!

Both of them acted at lightning speed. However, before Wang Zhong could react, something flickered before his eyes, and he felt like his body was about to explode. The supposedly strong Dominating Constitution effect formed by the Power Circuit was nearly shattered into pieces.

Boom!

Wang Zhong was sent flying backward like a cannonball. He crashed into the interior cave wall with a terrifying force, causing the whole cave to tremble and rubble to fall from the cave wall continuously.

"You foolish, lowly creatures truly don't know your place."

The leisurely expression on the Sword Saint's face remained unchanged as he slowly walked towards Wang Zhong, who was covered in rubble. It was as though he was a cat playing with a mouse.