Hai Yan knew there was no escaping from so many Zhēnzūn working together against him. But he refused to accept fate. A man who should have died long ago, clinging to life with the aid of evil cultivator arts, was determined to leave this realm and claim the final victory.
"You had better let me go, or I will overturn Lingyun Continent itself!"
From within the protective "mother sac," Hai Yan roared his threat.
Jian Dan's lips curved with mocking amusement. Anyone could see this was already a life-and-death struggle, with no room for mercy. His so-called threat was nothing more than hollow bluster.
"Oh, you brat. Back when you stole my spirit herbs, I already knew you were no good thing. If not for your master shielding you, I'd have torn you apart then and there, instead of letting you live until today. Who knows how many innocents you've harmed just to drag your cursed life this far."
The Nine-Tailed Beast King idly played with her nails, her voice lilting, taunting Hai Yan as if toying with prey.
"You wretched old fox, stop stirring up trouble. Your beast clan territory was never beyond my reach!"
"Oh my, already flying into a rage? You can covet my clan's long lifespans all you want, but envy will not make it yours. Otherwise why would it be me, standing here to destroy you today, while you cower inside that stinking sac, too afraid to step outside?"
Hai Yan's insults slid off her like water. The Nine-Tails even swayed her hips as she stepped forward, smiling radiantly. "You can only skulk in shadows, scheming your tricks. The moment you step out of that blood sac will be the moment you are reduced to dust."
Her words fell, and in the same breath her form rippled, transforming into her true body. A colossal nine-tailed fox, its height nearly matching the blood sac, manifested before the crowd.
Her entire form was draped in regal violet fur, a gleaming nine-petaled mark glowing between her brows. Nine lush tails swayed in unison, and with a bound she leapt upon the blood sac, her gleaming claws striking down with lethal force.
Behind Tian Zhuo Zhēnzūn, Jian Dan stifled a laugh. This was precisely her style: less empty talk, more direct action. Why waste words?
The Nine-Tails' sudden strike set the tone. As one of the most ancient and powerful beast cultivators among the Mahayana, her taking the lead spurred the others into motion.
In an instant, attacks from every Zhēnzūn converged, battering the blood sac from all sides.
The "mother sac" reacted to the assault, activating its self-defense. Numerous thick tendrils burst forth, whipping and lashing against the incoming strikes.
Inside, Hai Yan sat submerged in the pool of blood at the center, directing every tendril with grim focus. But his true gaze was fixed upon a body lying within a crystalline coffin at the bottom of the pool. At last, he made his desperate choice.
This body was the vessel he had prepared for his ascension. Untouched by karma, untainted by sins, it might just slip past Heaven's all-seeing gaze.
Already, half of his Primordial Soul was merged into it. That meant the body's original soul still lingered, while his own divided half slumbered within. If he could awaken within that shell, then victory would be his.
For years, his damaged soul had kept him trapped. He had sent fragments out again and again to gather resources, to sustain his life. His soul had grown unstable, so he devised this gambit: nurture himself upon another's soul while preparing a vessel as his escape. If he succeeded, he could replace the host seamlessly, deceiving Heaven itself, and secure one last chance at survival.
This was Hai Yan's ultimate contingency, his retreat should he fail to break through Lingyun Continent's barriers. Now, with no choice left, he was forced to wager everything on this final gamble.
His eyes glinted with ruthless resolve. He would not allow these attackers to gain an easy victory. Even if half his Primordial Soul was shattered, he would drag them down with him.
The blood pool began to boil, surging with reckless abandon. The blood sac thrashed violently, swelling and spinning, lashing out with its tendrils in a frenzied storm.
The Nine-Tails expanded her fox form, her nine tails whirling like a storm, forcing the blood sac back into place. The other Zhēnzūn's strikes followed one after another, hammering its surface relentlessly.
Scars split open across the blood sac. Crimson ichor gushed forth. The Nine-Tails tore a third of it open with a single slash, Tian Zhuo's sword light deepened the wound, then Mo Yao's blade shadow crashed down, followed by Yun Yun's ice dragon plunging straight into the breach.
The dragon forced the fissure wider, until Jue Song's staff, blazing with Buddhist radiance, slammed down. The blood sac smoked and sizzled like flesh against a hot iron, black miasma hissing upward as the corruption burned.
Seeing her chance, Jian Dan struck with her Senior Brother Jian Xu. Their twin sword-lights pierced the gap, ripping it even wider.
The Nine-Tails thrust a foxfire-wreathed claw inside, her bewitching voice echoing:"Come out!"
And with one pull, she dragged forth a towering figure, its entire body drenched in blood.
Hai Yan had been waiting for this. Using her force, he burst free of the sac. Blood from the pool clung to his form, shrouding him in scarlet. Behind him, the shriveled "mother sac" withered into nothing, sinking into the seabed trenches.
Before Jian Dan stood a blood-drenched figure nearly two meters tall. Yet her heart remained steady, for Yue Liang whispered softly in her ear:
"Zūnshàng, this is the one."
"I know. This time, no matter what, we cannot let him escape. Stay sharp. Evil cultivators excel at soul division. Do not let him slip a fragment away."
"Zūnshàng, rest assured! I will support you with everything I have. He will not escape, not even with a breath."
Yun Yun's gaze hardened at the abomination before them, neither man nor beast, neither demon nor ghost. Without hesitation, she summoned two ice dragons to strike.
The Nine-Tails, now thoroughly disgusted, flicked her claws and hurled a foxfire straight onto Hai Yan. The flames spread instantly, burning away the reeking blood covering his body.
Jue Song's prayer beads spun around him, awaiting his moment. When his eyes fell upon the vile figure, a golden light flashed within them. "Amitabha. Such wickedness cannot be forgiven!"
He gestured, and the beads shot forth like golden comets.
Hai Yan instantly teleported aside, evading Yun Yun's twin ice dragons, only to be pierced by Jue Song's beads.
The protective blood covering his body was pierced through, though the beads' glow dimmed afterward. Scarlet liquid surged once more, patching the wound, but his figure visibly shrank.
Tian Zhuo's sword-light followed at once, Mo Yao's blade-shadow only a breath behind. Both attacks slashed into his form.
Hai Yan's eyes blazed with venomous red light. With a sweep of his arm, he summoned his weapon: a crimson dao blade, etched with ancient runes, exuding suffocating evil qi.
The blood blade hummed with malevolence, glowing darkly from hilt to edge.
Hai Yan swung it once, parrying Tian Zhuo and Mo Yao's strikes. Then, with a savage counter, two blood-red blade shadows screamed toward their faces.
Jian Dan's voice rang out sharply:
"Zhēnzūn, dodge quickly!"