Daqian Martial Saint

Behind the stone gate lay a vast space, its most striking feature a pool of crimson blood. The surface of the Blood Pool was placid, disturbed only by the occasional bubble that popped with a faint sound.

The Blood Robe Man stood firmly atop a stone platform in the center of the Blood Pool. His expression was sinister, a cold sneer playing on his lips.

At this sight, Situ Ba’s expression instantly grew wary. His eyes locked onto the Blood Robe Man.

Gu Qingchan, clad in a pale blue court gown, had her Profound Ice Divine Needle hovering in midair. It pulsed with a crystalline blue light, ready to unleash a fatal strike at any moment.

“I’m right here. What’s the matter? Too scared to follow?” the Blood Robe Man taunted, his eyes filled with mockery.

“Be careful. It’s a trap,” Gu Qingchan warned, the blue light around her shimmering.

Situ Ba’s expression was grim. The Spiritual Energy at his brow flared as he scanned the surrounding aura. In the next instant, he let out a cold snort. “Enough of your cheap tricks!”

FWOOSH~

Light surged from the long saber in Situ Ba’s hand. A highly condensed blade of light swept toward the Blood Robe Man like a tidal wave.

“Now!” Situ Ba bellowed. His figure flickered as he shot toward the Blood Robe Man.

VMMMM—VMMMM—VMMMM—

Seeing Situ Ba make his move, Gu Qingchan was wreathed in flowing blue light. The Profound Ice Divine Needle hovering before her shot forward, streaking toward the Blood Robe Man. Her attack lacked the ferocious power of Situ Ba’s, but it carried an extreme chill, an aura that threatened to freeze everything solid.

The brilliant arc of Situ Ba’s saber light carried a fearsomely sharp aura, as if it would cleave in two anything that stood in its path.

The Blood Robe Man did not retreat. With a wave of his hands, his Blood Chain danced, and a crimson barrier instantly coalesced before him to meet Situ Ba’s attack. With a thunderous BOOM, the barrier and the blade of light clashed, erupting in a blinding flash and a violent wave of energy.

The force of the blow seemed to make the entire chamber tremble, and the thick stench of blood filled the air.

“Die!” An aura of brilliant light erupted around Situ Ba. As his blade gleamed, he leaped into the air, hurtling toward the Blood Robe Man.

Just as Situ Ba soared through the air, a gigantic, blood-red hand suddenly shot out from the Blood Pool. Radiating an aura of endless gloom and immense pressure, it reached for him relentlessly.

“What is that?!” Situ Ba’s face fell, a flicker of horrified disbelief in his eyes.

His Spiritual Sensing had detected no danger just a moment ago. But now…

But Situ Ba was an experienced Veteran Grandmaster, after all. Though caught by surprise, he reacted instantly. True Essence erupted from his body, and his speed surged.

But as fast as he was, the blood-red hand was just as fast. It seemed to meld with the space itself as it clawed at Situ Ba.

“Breaking Army Slash!”

In that desperate moment, Situ Ba bellowed. The light of his saber filled the air, sweeping forward like a hurricane to strike viciously at the blood-red hand.

SWOOSH!

A bloody light flared from the hand, clashing with the saber’s gleam in a dazzling midair explosion.

“Damn it!” A thunderous roar echoed from within the light. He had managed to slice off a part of the massive hand, but the lower half of his body was now caught in its grip.

An immense force washed over Situ Ba, threatening to drag his entire body into the Blood Pool. The instant the hand touched him, he felt his True Essence being corroded by some unknown power, growing sluggish and heavy as if tainted by filth.

His True Essence surged as he struggled with all his might, but the colossal, blood-red hand was viscous and heavy, pinning him in place.

Seeing his plight, the space between Gu Qingchan’s brows shone. Blue light flowed as the Profound Ice Divine Needle before her shot out in an instant, flying to Situ Ba’s aid in an attempt to freeze the giant, blood-red hand.

The crystalline needles, radiating a bone-chilling cold, shot through the air like a meteor shower. But they had only reached mid-flight, not yet near the giant hand, when the Blood Robe Man intercepted them.

“Trying to save him? You’ll have to ask me first!” The Blood Robe Man’s voice was cold, laced with Killing Intent and scorn. As his figure flickered, his Blood Chain danced madly, its crimson light blocking the Attack of every Profound Ice Divine Needle.

Seeing Gu Qingchan blocked by the Blood Robe Man, Situ Ba’s heart sank. ‘It seems I have no choice but to risk my life today.’

BOOM!

A powerful aura suddenly erupted from Situ Ba. It was as if a vast power had awakened within him, instantly elevating his strength by a whole level.

A Burst Secret Technique!

This was his last resort, a technique that came at a great cost and one he would never use lightly. But now, with his life on the line, he couldn’t afford to hold back.

SWISH!

Dazzling arcs of blade light flared to life, illuminating the chamber like flashes of lightning. Wherever the light passed, the bloody glow on the giant hand was snuffed out.

Situ Ba broke free, but his face held none of the joy of a narrow escape. His expression was grim, as if he were being watched by some terrifying entity.

SPLASH!

The very instant Situ Ba broke free, a great wave of water from the Blood Pool surged up, rushing toward him like a tidal wave. The water seemed to carry a bizarre power that sent a chill down his spine.

SWISH!

Situ Ba’s heart clenched. He swung his saber again, a sharp blade of light slashing toward the surging wave of blood.

BAM! BAM! BAM!

The blade of light collided with the bloody water, creating a deafening roar. Situ Ba’s saber became a blur of motion, flashes of light erupting as he masterfully executed his Breaking Army Saber Technique. Each slash contained astonishing power as he tried to sever the surging wave.

But the bloody water was seemingly endless, surging in from all sides. Each of Situ Ba’s strikes could only sever a small portion of the deluge, failing to halt its overwhelming advance.

“A thousand armies may retreat, but none can evade my blade!” Situ Ba’s eyes blazed with fury. As he roared, his aura grew even more violent, like a tempest crashing upon the shore. The saber in his hand moved like a full moon rising, casting out brilliant rings of light that swept in all directions, cutting down all the bloody water in their path.

BAM! BAM! BAM!…

Wherever the rings of light passed, the surging blood was split asunder, falling back as a rain of gore.

Just as the power of Situ Ba’s attack reached its zenith, a figure silently emerged from within the falling spray of blood. It was an old man in a gray robe, his frame shriveled like Withered Wood. His Spiritual Energy was so concealed that, had they not seen him with their own eyes, they would never have detected his presence.

The gray-robed elder moved like a phantom, appearing instantly before Situ Ba. He flicked a withered finger, and a ripple of blood-red energy shot toward him.

‘What?!’ Only when the crimson ripple appeared did Situ Ba even sense the old man’s presence. Terror seized his heart. He hastily swung his saber to defend himself, but the arc of light only managed to block a fraction of the attack’s power.

The crimson ripple, however, seemed to possess the power to pierce through anything. It effortlessly passed through his Protective True Essence and struck his body.

“Argh!” A sharp pain shot through Situ Ba’s entire body. The crimson ripple had pierced straight through his chest. Blood gushed out like a fountain, staining the front of his robes.

‘A Top Grandmaster!’ Situ Ba was utterly horrified. The gray-robed elder was a Top Grandmaster. ‘So this is the card the Ten Thousand Demons Sect was hiding!’

WHOOSH!

Gritting his teeth against the excruciating pain, Situ Ba shot backward, trying to create some distance and buy himself a moment’s respite.

But the gray-robed elder clearly had no intention of giving him that chance. He stuck to Situ Ba like a shadow, attacking again with even fiercer strikes.

Situ Ba was trapped in a desperate struggle, suppressed by the elder’s relentless attacks until he could barely breathe. But he had been through countless life-or-death battles in his two hundred years of Cultivation. At this critical moment, his mind grew perfectly calm.

His long saber danced, its light surging, as he sought an opening in the gray-robed elder’s defenses—a sliver of hope for survival.

‘I will not die here!’