Liu Hanyan said uncertainly, "Wasn't that place razed to the ground hundreds of years ago? And wasn't there a demon-expelling array there? The demon spirits shouldn't be building their nests there, right?"
"The Demon-Expelling Formation?" Mo Zhizhou shook his head: "That was hundreds of years ago. According to records, people were often sent to maintain the formation at first, but later, all the blood demon energy disappeared, and the Blood Demon Sect and the Demon Spirit also vanished in the desert. No one was ever sent to maintain the formation again."
"Are you saying that the demons are using that place as their lair again?"
Mo Zhizhou nodded, but Liu Hanyan was still puzzled: "Demon spirits usually need a lot of blood and evil energy to grow, so building their nests here is not good for their growth, right?"
Night Owl disagreed: "But they can train blood slaves, and they can also take advantage of this remote place to cultivate more demons."
Liu Hanyan and Rong Jiaojiao both gasped in shock, feeling that this demon spirit was even more cunning than a human.
After discussing for a while, the group decided to go to the ruins of the Blood Fiend Sect to find out what was going on.
However, none of them had been to the Blood Fiend Sect ruins. After searching for several days, they finally found a small section of broken wall peeking out from the sand dunes.
"Is this the ruins of the Blood Fiend Sect?" The group flew in the air, circled around, and discovered a few exposed sections of broken wall.
"It doesn't look like there are any demonic spirits here." Rong Jiaojiao looked at the desert without any bloodlust and turned to Zi Ling on her shoulder, saying, "Zi Ling, sense carefully whether there are any demonic spirits or demonic seeds."
Zi Ling pricked up its ears, a glint of lightning flashing in its purple eyes. It leaped down from Rong Jiaojiao's shoulder and paced back and forth on the sand, its nose twitching slightly. Suddenly, it stopped in front of a broken wall, its fur bristling, and let out a low growl.
"Something's wrong!" Qi Lan immediately went on alert, her longsword already drawn.
Liu Hanyan looked around and suddenly noticed several lines on the broken wall that had been almost worn away by the wind and sand. She reached out and gently touched them, and the lines actually shone slightly.
"It's a hidden formation!" Mo Bai strode forward and examined it carefully. "It may require a specific method to activate."
Night Owl tried to channel spiritual energy into the patterns, and the patterns immediately lit up. The ground began to tremble, and the broken wall slowly moved away, revealing a downward staircase.
"It's started already? Could there be some kind of trap?" Liu Hanyan asked in surprise.
A cold wind blew from the depths of the stairs, carrying a faint smell of blood.
The group exchanged glances, and Mo Bai said, "We'll only know if there's a trap after we go in."
Zi Ling transmitted her voice to everyone: "I sensed the aura of demonic spirits, and many demonic seeds as well."
Qi Lan stepped in first, sword in hand: "Be careful."
The stairs meandered downwards, and the walls were inlaid with glowing blood crystals, casting a dark red glow on the passageway.
The further down you go, the thicker the air becomes, making it difficult to breathe.
Suddenly, Zi Ling stopped abruptly and bared her teeth at the darkness ahead.
The next second, countless blood-red eyes lit up in the darkness.
"Blood bats!" Mo Zhizhou quickly took two steps back. "Don't let them get close!"
Thousands upon thousands of blood-red bats surged in like a tide.
Qi Lan's sword light was like a curtain, Liu Hanyan's silver needles danced, and the Night Owl's mechanical arm spewed flames.
Rong Jiaojiao's Demon-Suppressing Stele floated above her head, forming a protective light shield.
In the midst of the fierce battle, a massive Blood Bat King suddenly attacked from above, its sharp claws aimed straight for Rong Jiaojiao's throat.
Zi Ling transformed into a bolt of lightning and charged forward, engaging the Blood Bat King in a fierce battle.
"Zi Ling!" Rong Jiaojiao was about to help when the ground suddenly collapsed. Caught off guard, everyone fell into the abyss.
When Rong Jiaojiao struggled to get up, she found herself in a huge underground palace.
Seven blood-red stone pillars stood around the perimeter, and in the center was a boiling pool of blood.
Even more terrifying, dozens of humanoid bodies were submerged in the blood pool, each with black crystals embedded in their chests.
"This is... cultivating a demonic seed!" Mo Zhizhou, who arrived shortly after, turned pale.
The blood pool suddenly surged, and a giant formed from solidified blood slowly rose to its feet. Two dark, hollow eyes and a mouth-like black hole opened and closed, emitting sounds:
"Finally... we've got fresh blood food..."
The voice of the Blood Pool Giant echoed through the underground palace, causing the blood crystals on the stone pillars to fall in a flurry.
Rong Jiaojiao's Demon-Suppressing Stele trembled with a buzzing sound, and the three-colored runes flickered on and off.
"Form the formation!" Qi Lan's sword was planted into the ground, and the cyan sword energy spread out like ripples.
The group quickly moved closer together, forming a defensive formation back to back.
The Blood Pool Giant slowly raised its arm, which was formed from rotten blood, and dozens of soaking bodies suddenly opened their eyes and turned to face the crowd.
The black crystals on their chests shimmered with an eerie light.
"These are people parasitized by demonic seeds, and some of them are even cultivators!" Mo Zhizhou's golden compass spun wildly. "Be careful not to get touched by them!"
Liu Hanyan's voice trembled: "No wonder we didn't see their bodies before, so they were brought here."
Zi Ling bristled and growled, then suddenly leaped into the air.
Lightning burst forth from its forehead, weaving an electric net in the air.
The first three demonic parasites to rush in crashed into the electric grid and immediately began to convulse.
"Well done!" Rong Jiaojiao seized the opportunity to throw out a spirit fire talisman, and the flames engulfed the parasite.
However, after the black smoke dissipated, only black ash remained on the ground and the crystal on his chest was completely unharmed.
Rong Jiaojiao didn't know if these crystals were useful, but she still waved her hand to put them away.
Seeing that the fire attack was effective, everyone used fire and lightning spells to attack. Upon seeing this, the Blood Pool Giant roared angrily, causing the entire underground palace to tremble. It swung its giant arm violently, and a towering wave of blood surged from the blood pool, sweeping towards the group.
"Back off!" Mo Bai quickly formed a hand seal, and an earthen wall rose from the ground, temporarily blocking the impact of the blood wave.
Night Owl's mechanical arm quickly transformed into a giant metal shield, blocking the way for everyone: "This blood is corrosive, don't get it on you!"
Liu Hanyan's silver needles danced, drawing streaks of cold light in the air and repelling the onrushing demonic parasites. Her brow furrowed: "These parasites can't be killed; we can only temporarily repel them!"
Qi Lan's eyes sharpened: "Attack the black crystals in their chests! That's the core!"
Upon hearing this, Rong Jiaojiao immediately manipulated the Demon-Suppressing Stele, and the three-colored runes condensed into a beam of light, which struck the chest of a parasite.
The black crystal emitted a piercing cracking sound upon being struck, and the parasite froze in place before turning into a pool of black blood.
"It works!" Rong Jiaojiao exclaimed happily.
Seeing his puppet destroyed, the Blood Pool Giant roared in anger, and even more parasites crawled out of the blood pool, swarming towards the group.
Zi Ling darted across the battlefield, shattering several crystals in the blink of an eye. However, being relatively small, it was quickly surrounded by several parasites, and its situation became critical.
"Zi Ling!" Rong Jiaojiao was frantic with worry and was about to rush to her aid when a dark shadow flashed by—
P.S.: This was supposed to be tomorrow's chapter, but I typed it too fast, hehe. Everyone, please read this chapter first! (Heart emoji)
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