Chapter 485: The Corpse Demon and the Blood Ao

Chapter 485: The Corpse Demon and the Blood Ao

Just from its sheer size, it felt like something no human could ever match.

Many of the Spirit Tribe’s members that were on the sacred mountain kneeled toward the Blood Ao, trembling with fear.

Even though they saw that it was a creature that devoured people and knew that it was definitely not their guardian ancestral god, they still kowtowed purely out of terror.

Sisi was incredibly anxious.

She instinctively wanted to go and help, but when the Blood Ao appeared, her own people kneeled down in droves, neglecting the prisoners they were supposed to be watching. As a result, the old forces began resisting again, making Sisi so furious she nearly coughed up blood.

Luckily, her main force consisted of the Xia forces she brought in from outside. These people did not even know which side the Blood Ao belonged to. All they knew was that the people they had been fighting before had started acting up again, so they quickly suppressed them, keeping the situation under control.

Sisi had no choice but to stay on the sacred mountain to oversee matters, forcibly suppressing her urge to go and help. She was extremely worried.

Can Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling really win against such a formidable foe?

The next moment, she saw Zhao Changhe leap forward, gripping his saber with both hands and striking fiercely. “You couldn’t possibly be this big. Who are you trying to intimidate with such deception?!”

Sisi: “?”

At the same time, Yue Hongling became one with her sword, streaking toward the Blood Ao’s eye like a bolt of lightning.

No one noticed that a dark, shadowy gu slipped out of Zhao Changhe’s ring and darted straight toward the Blood Ao’s forehead.

Clang!

A terrifying wall of blood and qi erupted around the Blood Ao. The saber and sword struck the wall of energy, both being shaken back, forcing them to flip back.

The wall of energy was slightly weakened by impact, allowing the gu to seize the opportunity to slip inside.

Subsequently, both the gu and the Blood Ao let out sounds of surprise.

The corpse demon had intended to use its ancient Beast-Controlling Technique to take control of the Blood Ao, but quickly realized it was futile... because this Blood Ao was not a Blood Ao at all. Its soul had already been taken over by another entity.

Possession...

A human has taken over the body of the Blood Ao?

The situation of the Blood Ao was unlike his current state of residing in a gu. It was a true possession, a fusion of body and soul, making the entity now essentially the Blood Ao.

In the end, the corpse demon’s Beast-Controlling Technique could only partially affect it, causing the Blood Ao’s body to stiffen and become less responsive to the other being’s commands. But as for communication with the beast’s spirit, it was met with an impenetrable wall. The corpse demon was utterly unable to communicate with the Blood Ao’s spirit.

The other entity was equally astonished and said, “A Profound Control Realm elder of the Ancient Spirit Tribe? I didn’t expect a soul to remain here...”

Due to the corpse demon’s attempt to seize control, the Gigantification Technique of the Blood Ao was dispelled, and its massive body began to shrink, quickly transforming into a blood-red Ao, about one zhang in size.

Although it was still much larger than the giant turtles and tortoises people usually saw and could be called a giant, it was ultimately of a much more acceptable size now.

Zhao Changhe seized the moment when it was stunned, raising his saber to strike the Blood Ao’s head. “I knew it! Even the turtle shell that Lie used for the array plate was only a few zhang wide, yet here you are, a newborn pretending to be able to cover the sun and the sky... Let’s see if you’re really impenetrable!”

Ripples of pure soul energy emanated from the gu, forming a tangible barrier to resist the blood light’s assault. But as the Blood Ao had noted, a physical body, or lack thereof, indeed made a difference.

The enormous power contained within the Blood Ao’s body was far beyond what the corpse demon could withstand in its current state.

Yet by a twist of fate, the corpse demon’s abilities counteracted the Blood Ao’s. Its body became stiff, showing signs of disunity between body and soul, as if both sides were vying for control.

For Zhao Changhe and Yue Hongling, this made Blood Ao an easy target. It appeared seemingly easier to hit than when everyone had ganged up on the corpse demon back then.

The corpse demon shouted fiercely, “One of you, attack its forehead and disrupt its spiritual platform! The other, pierce through his crown to sever his connection with heaven and earth. If you can disrupt the connection between body and soul, I can seize full control of this body! If I fall first, everyone here will die! Hurry, I can’t hold him for long!”

Yue Hongling did not need further instruction. Her sword, like a rainbow piercing the sun, was already striking toward the Blood Ao’s forehead.

At the same time, Dragon Bird unleashed a crescent blade light, viciously striking the Blood Ao’s crown with a thunderous explosion.

The blood sea scattered across a hundred li, and within the Ao Pool, all the forbidden land envoys touched by the blood light had their bodies wither and were entirely drained, becoming nourishment for the Blood Ao. The energy around the Blood Ao grew even more vibrant.

Yue Hongling found that her blood and qi had fallen into extreme disarray. Her blood and qi had become so chaotic that it felt as though her body would explode. In this state, she could not exert the attack power she desired. The difference between her and the Blood Ao was overwhelming, and she could barely withstand the effects of just its aura alone.

Maybe Zhao Changhe could bear it—after all, he specifically trained for it.

But what about herself?

Would she end up being a burden in this battle?

Yue Hongling’s gaze grew more resolute, and as the setting sun cast its light through the gap in the sacred mountain, a faint golden glow surrounded her.

The Blood Ao muttered in shock, “Sword Emperor...”

The ancient sword Dragon Emperor began to hum and resonate. Even though it was the sword of the ancient Azure Dragon and had no relation to the Sword Emperor, it still recognized the aura of an emperor.

The emperor of swords was still an emperor.

Zhao Changhe had been unaware that Yue Hongling had a relationship with the Sword Emperor, yet the Blood Ao had mentioned him twice. One bearing the intent from his early years and the other from his later years...

The flashy techniques he had learned were likely from the Sword Emperor’s youth, as he had yet to reach the core of the sword tomb.

However, when Yue Hongling roamed the jianghu in her early years, she had ventured into an unknown secret realm and obtained a fragmented legacy. Perhaps that was the incomplete intent of the Sword Emperor in his later years.

Finally, the ancient sword Dragon Emperor began to radiate a golden imperial qi, merging completely with Yue Hongling’s sword intent. A radiant light shot into the blood sea, shredding the once-impenetrable barrier to pieces.

The tip of the sword pierced the Blood Ao’s forehead, and a pained howl echoed across the entire secret realm.

From the time she parted ways with Zhao Changhe, to her battles in Bashan, her journey into Miaojiang, her assassination of the pacification commissioner, her confrontation with Shi Wuding, her insights into the sword, and her understanding of the Heavenly Blood Jade... She had silently accumulated until now and had reached a critical juncture.

There was a faint sense of the second layer of the Profound Mysteries coming from her, and it seemed like she was about to break through, with just a sliver left to go.

1. Note that the Huasheng (化生) here is the same term used for the Transformative Lotus. ☜

2. In Buddhism, an arhat is a kind of saint. According to some schools of thought, an arhat is one who has gained insight into the true nature of existence, has achieved Nirvana and has been liberated from the endless cycle of rebirth. Other Buddhist schools, including the larger current of Mahayana, consider the arhat path as imperfect (as it cannot reach the height of a buddha) and urge the believers to distance themselves from it and embrace the path of a bodhisattva, which does eventually result in buddhahood. ☜