Though facing danger, the vampire man remained calm. He chose not to turn and attack Ming Qi's true form, which was pursuing him from above, but instead chose to attack the three shadowy figures that were surrounding him from below. He adjusted his position mid-attack, narrowly avoiding attacks from behind.
Seeing the vampire man attack the three shadowy figures, Ming Qi wasn't surprised. He was a seasoned warrior, and the shadowy figures were only meant to temporarily confuse his opponent, a fact he must have already grasped.
However, Ming Qi was also a seasoned warrior. Seeing the vampire man's body tilt slightly during his full-throttle fall, he understood. He immediately slowed down, then used Celestial Shift to travel through time and space once more.
Bang!
The blood-red longsword and the three swords collided simultaneously, the immense force of the impact causing the air within a hundred meters to completely warp and deform.
The vampire man's blood essence seemed incredibly powerful. With one strike, he achieved two goals at once, not only repelling all three figures but also slowing his own descent, allowing him to land easily and turn back to fight at any moment.
By this time, Ming Qi had already stepped out from behind the vampire man, stabbing him in the back with the Fire Emperor Sword in his hand.
A master of this caliber would be sensitive to any disturbance in his surroundings. The vampire man immediately sensed Ming Qi's presence and retracted his sword, attempting to block the blow.
However, he hadn't anticipated Ming Qi's sudden surge of speed, far surpassing his own!
The sword effortlessly pierced the vampire man's back, more than a foot in length. The vampire man staggered twice, but the blood-red sword still struck. The clash of swords crushed the vampire man, his sword nearly slipping from his grasp, and he plummeted like a kite with a broken string.
By this point, the two men were only a short distance away from each other. The vampire man landed heavily on the ground, blood gushing from his back. His hands gripping the blood-red longsword trembled slightly.
"I'll make you pay!"
The vampire man raised his head and roared. Suddenly, blood gushed from his eyes, and his entire body was enveloped by a blood-red halo. He then swiftly lifted off the ground and flew towards Ming Qi.
The blood-red halo grew larger and larger as it spun, and in the blink of an eye, it became a massive blood ball filled with surging blood energy. Raging roars could be heard from within, like those of an ancient ferocious beast.
Ming Qi couldn't figure out the reason for the vampire man's actions. Suddenly, a chill trembled in his heart, remembering what he had heard from the Purple Star Jade Master before: vampires possess a racial ability that can destroy both themselves and the enemy. They mobilize all their essence, blood, vitality, and even their future luck to launch a suicidal attack. This attack allows a vampire to easily perish together with an enemy two realms higher than themselves.
Ming Qi was suddenly shocked at the thought. This vampire man was already incredibly close to the Martial God realm, two realms higher than him. What kind of existence was that? He couldn't even imagine it. Even with the power of the Epiphyllum, he could only contend with the Martial God. A clash would surely crush him to ashes.
Ming Qi didn't dare to delay. With a flash of the Golden Bridge of All Heavens, he arrived at Bai Bing's attic and without hesitation, stuffed Bai Bing into the divine map space. He then activated the Golden Bridge of All Heavens again. Seconds later, he appeared on a small mountain peak a hundred miles away.
As Ming Qi landed, he saw a blood-red cloud rising from Yingxue Mountain Villa in the distance, as large as a mountain. A circle of blood-red ripples spread across the ground, flattening everything in its path.
The ripples spread for dozens of miles before finally settling, and even then, the blood-red cloud in the sky hadn't yet dissipated.
Ming Qi sighed inwardly, what a close call! Had he reacted a little slower, he would have perished instantly.
Feeling lucky, he thought to himself that if it weren't for the Purple Star Jade Master's casual remark, given the situation at the time, he would have most likely faced the blood ball's attack head-on.
After a moment's deliberation, Ming Qi suddenly felt an unprecedented sense of exhaustion throughout his body, even struggling to stand. After holding on for a few seconds, he finally gave up and slumped to the ground.
The three figures had vanished, and the power of the Epiphyllum had dissipated, as if all his strength had been completely drained.
Squatting on the ground, Ming Qi began to recall the previous time when the Epiphyllum spirit had activated its power. After a while, he came to a vague conclusion: the use of the Epiphyllum spirit had very demanding prerequisites. First, all other spirits had to be activated, and second, a connection with the void was required. It seemed that the immense power brought by the Epiphyllum spirit no longer came from this world, but was drawn from the endless void.
The current weakness and lack of strength were probably the aftereffects of the Epiphyllum spirit's power, and it was unknown how long it would last.
After resting for over half an hour, Bai Bing's strength had recovered considerably. She then remembered that the vampire man's restraints still seemed to be on her body. She opened the divine map space, and sure enough, the vampire man's restraints were still there.
"I didn't expect you'd come..."
After freeing herself from the restraints, Bai Bing's expression softened, and she looked at Ming Qi and said.
Ming Qi spread his hands, expressing his frustration. "I reached the City of the Gods and found you weren't there, so I came to check. I almost died here."
Ming Qi's words were true. If she had fought the vampire man's suicidal attack head-on, she would have been dead.
Bai Bing was immediately surprised. "You've been to the City of the Gods?"
"Not only that, I've been there, I've even recaptured the City of the Gods."
Ming Qi fully understood Bai Bing's surprise. After all, it's difficult to freely access outside information when under someone's control. Moreover, the coalition forces had only just captured the City of the Gods, and even those within the City of the Gods might not have known about their movements before, let alone her.
Upon hearing that the City of the Gods had truly been taken, Bai Bing was stunned and speechless for a moment. Ming Qi thought she was surprised that the City of the Gods had been recaptured, but before she could say anything, Bai Bing shuddered, "Since the Tianzui Camp lost the City of the Gods, they've begun to attack the very essence of Tianhuang."
Hearing this, Ming Qi was the one to be shocked.
Could it be that the Tianzui Camp had other plans, and that the siege of the City of the Gods was just a temporary measure? Was their goal to use the City of the Gods to contain something?
Seeing Ming Qi's confusion, Bai Bing explained, "The origin of Tianhuang involves the gods of Tianhuang, and the ultimate target of the Tianzui camp is the gods. If the gods don't appear, they have no way of finding them. That's why they're besieging the City of the Gods, hoping to force the temple's members to contact them. Now that the gods haven't arrived, and the City of the Gods has been recaptured, I'm afraid the Tianzui leadership will directly destroy the origin of Tianhuang. Then, the gods of Tianhuang will surely appear!"
After hearing this, Ming Qi suddenly understood. No wonder he had been puzzled by the Tianzui army's 200,000-man siege instead of attacking. Logically, with such a powerful force, they could easily capture the City of the Gods.