Translator: CinderTL
Chi Qi looked up and suddenly noticed a vast, crimson sea had appeared amidst the swirling yellow smoke overhead.
The blood sea resembled an enormous, inverted bowl, descending rapidly, clearly intending to trap him within its depths.
Chi Qi's gaze sharpened. He drew his longbow taut, the string stretched like a full moon as a black arrow materialized.
In the next instant, the arrow shot forth like lightning, its speed so extreme it left only a fleeting afterimage in the air.
The afterimage struck the blood sea, instantly unleashing a torrential spray of blood rain as a ten-mile-wide hole tore through the crimson expanse.
Chi Qi's heart tightened. Even his full-powered arrow had failed to completely shatter the blood sea. With a swift movement, he surged toward the gaping hole.
As he neared the opening, a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from his left.
Chi Qi glanced sideways and saw a spear over ten feet long hurtling toward him.
The spear was pitch-black as ink, its tip flickering like a venomous serpent's tongue.
With a wave of his hand, Chi Qi summoned his towering shield from below, sending it soaring to intercept the spear.
The moment the spear and shield collided, a deafening roar shook the air.
A thick layer of azure light erupted from the shield's surface, its runes swirling as it withstood the spear's relentless assault.
Before Chi Qi could even catch his breath, another chilling killing intent descended from above.
It was the same short blade from earlier.
Chi Qi didn't have time to raise his shield and could only brace himself with his earth-yellow protective shield.
The blade still failed to pierce the shield, but it sent Chi Qi and his shield hurtling back several hundred meters, halting his escape.
As Chi Qi regained his footing, he noticed that the hole in the blood sea had already sealed itself. The splattered blood rain seemed to be drawn back by some invisible force, merging once more into the crimson sea.
Moreover, the blood sea's rim had now settled onto the ground, completely trapping him.
"Chi Qi, you can't escape!"
A thunderous roar echoed from above. Chi Qi looked up and saw a figure emerging from the blood sea.
"Hmph! You think your mere early-stage Void Refinement cultivation can kill this venerable one? What a fool's dream!"
Chi Qi scoffed coldly. As he spoke, another arrow shot forth, aimed directly at the figure above.
The moment the arrow struck, the figure exploded into a cloud of blood mist.
The arrow's lingering force pierced through the mist and struck the blood sea above, blasting another massive hole over five kilometers wide.
Chi Qi immediately realized that the figure he had struck was merely an Incarnation.
Chi Qi shot upward, aiming for the blood-red hole above.
But the blood sea surrounding him and overhead suddenly sprouted countless blood-colored tentacles. Like endless spears, they thrust toward him from every direction.
Faced with thousands of these blood-colored tentacles, Chi Qi knew he couldn't possibly shoot them down one by one. Even if he exhausted all his spiritual power, he wouldn't be able to destroy them all.
He swiftly formed several magic seals and channeled them into his shield.
The shield instantly split into four segments, which began to rotate rapidly around him.
Bang, bang, bang...
Dull, thunderous booms echoed as the tentacles repeatedly struck the shields. Though the shields held for now, Chi Qi couldn't even maintain his position, let alone escape through the hole above. He was tossed about in the air like a rag doll.
Chi Qi gritted his teeth, straining to maintain the shields' operation.
The silver light on the shields flickered erratically, as if they were on the verge of collapsing.
"Who exactly are you? Why are you attacking me?"
Song Wen's figure reappeared from the blood sea, his smile unwavering as he watched the struggling Chi Qi below.
"A hundred and thirty years ago, you and Jiang Lanruo chased me down like a rat, nearly killing me, all to protect the secret of the 'shadow void.' Do you remember?"
A look of shock suddenly flashed across Chi Qi's eyes.
"You're the Divine Transformation Stage cultivator from back then... But you were only at the early stage of Divine Transformation back then!"
Song Wen replied, "That person was none other than me!"
The surprise in Chi Qi's eyes vanished instantly, replaced by an uncontrollable, burning desire.
"Don't think you've already won just because you've trapped me! In just one hundred and thirty years, you've leaped from the early stage of Divine Transformation to the Void Refinement Stage. You must be hiding a world-shattering secret. Kill you, and all those secrets will be mine!"
Chi Qi flipped his hand and produced a black arrow. Unlike the arrows he had conjured with spiritual power earlier, this was a real, lethal weapon.
He nocked the arrow and drew back the bowstring. In that instant, a murderous aura that could terrify gods and demons surged forth like a tidal wave.
Before the arrow even left the string, Song Wen felt as if he were being watched by a venomous serpent, yet his face showed no fear.
He glanced at the top of the blood sea, where the blood-red hole had already sealed shut.
This meant no one could see what was happening here.
"Divine Eye of Annihilation!"
As Song Wen whispered these words, crimson light gradually began to emanate from his eyes, as if two bottomless, blood-red abysses were opening within them.
As Chi Qi watched the crimson glow intensify in Song Wen's eyes, a sudden premonition of disaster surged through him. He released his grip, and the arrow shot forth with explosive force.
The blood-colored tentacles that had been relentlessly battering his four surrounding shields shattered into blood mist upon contact with the black arrow.
The arrow pierced through the air like a hot knife through butter, hurtling straight toward Song Wen.
Song Wen's eyes erupted with two crimson beams of light, intercepting the arrow mid-flight.
The arrow and the crimson beams collided in mid-air.
The arrow's originally razor-sharp black radiance gradually dimmed under the crimson beams' assault. Its momentum plummeted, and it fell to the ground like a lifeless piece of ordinary iron.
The crimson beams continued their descent, striking the protective shields surrounding Chi Qi.
Chi Qi's heart burned with anxiety. He realized he had not only lost control of the arrow but was also losing control of the shields. No matter how desperately he channeled his spiritual power to stabilize them, his efforts proved futile.
Finally, the silver light on the shields completely dissipated. The four shields merged into a single, weakened barrier that plummeted to the ground.
Immediately afterward, the crimson beams struck the earth-yellow protective shield.
The protective shield crackled ominously, hairline fractures spiderwebbing across its surface. With a final boom, it shattered completely.
A blade flashed into existence, the Soul Cleaving Blade following closely behind the crimson beam, aimed directly at Chi Qi's face.
His defenses repeatedly shattered, Chi Qi panicked. Seeing the dagger hurtling toward him, he instinctively raised his longbow and swung it at the blade.
The dagger clashed against the bow with a piercing metallic clang.
Though the bow blocked the blade, countless streams of Golden Sharp Qi erupted from the impact, surging toward Chi Qi.
The Golden Sharp Qi tore across Chi Qi's body, leaving bloody gashes that resembled the wounds of a thousand cuts.
In an instant, Chi Qi was drenched in blood, his clothes shredded, looking like a demon clawing its way out of hell.
Despite his gruesome appearance, these superficial injuries weren't enough to cripple him.
However, the Golden Sharp Qi had not only ravaged his flesh but also invaded his Sea of Consciousness.
Chi Qi felt his divine soul being slashed by countless blades, the pain unbearable.
"Aaaah—!"
A piercing scream tore from Chi Qi's throat.
Just then, a sound like tearing air echoed through the battlefield. A blood-colored tentacle lashed out from behind Chi Qi, piercing his heart while he was distracted.
(End of the Chapter)