Blood bait fishing, Star Mark opens his eyes
A dark crimson light, like a curtain hanging from the sky, enveloped the entire Frost Camp, carrying a nauseatingly sweet and pungent stench. The mournful cries emanating from the defensive array grew increasingly shrill, and spiderweb-like cracks appeared on the pale blue light barrier. Demonic energy, like sharks that had smelled blood, surged excitedly outside the barrier.
Panic gripped the camp. The demon warriors desperately channeled their remaining demonic power into the array's core, attempting to delay its collapse. However, all their efforts were in vain under the corrosive influence of the dark red light imbued with the power of laws.
Yun Zhiyu stood by the window, the jade pendant in her hand burning hot like a branding iron, the fear and anger emanating from the two wisps of remnant souls clearly discernible. Su Xiaolou's warning still echoed in her ears, and the cold will locking onto her from the depths of the star mark felt like a thorn in her back.
We can't hesitate any longer!
"Pass on the order!" His voice was hoarse but carried an undeniable decisiveness, instantly drowning out the noise of the camp. "Everyone, abandon the camp and immediately evacuate to 'Sinking Star Valley' in the northeast! Execute the 'Fire Feather' contingency plan, burn all supplies that cannot be taken away, and leave absolutely no nourishment for the demonic energy!"
"Leader!" The personal guard, Yunfeng, rushed in, covered in blood, clearly having just fought a fierce battle with the infiltrated demons. "The formation is about to collapse! You must go first!"
"Execute the order!" Yun Zhiyu shouted sharply, grabbing a bone whistle engraved with ice and snow runes from the table and blowing it fiercely. This was the highest-level retreat order of the Snow Owl clan, and the piercing whistle sounded through the clouds.
He glanced deeply at the trembling jade pendant in his hand, then abruptly pressed it into his robes, concealing it close to his body. Immediately, he turned around, unleashing his demonic power without reservation. A chilling aura swept through the quiet room, instantly causing thick frost to condense on the walls.
"I'll cover the rear!"
Before he finished speaking, his figure transformed into a white lightning bolt, rushing out of the quiet room and directly facing the dark red blood light that was constantly impacting the formation!
The secret underground chamber of Tianji Pavilion.
Through the reflection in the blood pool, Xuan Chengzi clearly "saw" the chaos in the Frost Camp and Yun Zhiyu's desperate counterattack. Instead of showing any surprise, he revealed a sinister smile of triumph.
"Struggle, struggle... The more fiercely you resist, the brighter the 'light' emitted by your soul will be, and the stronger its attraction to 'it' will be!" He changed his hand seals again and chanted incantations. The strange incantations from the "Myriad Manifestations of the Netherworld" echoed in the secret room.
The dark red bloodline connecting the Frost Camp suddenly thickened, its filth, curses, and the power to incite inner demons surging! At the same time, scenes from other forbidden lands such as the Northern Wilderness and the Southern Spring of Youth appeared in the blood pool. The changes in these places intensified abruptly, with more fragments of souls and chaotic laws being forcibly extracted and flowing into the bloodline along an invisible network, adding to its power!
Xuan Chengzi actually used the most dangerous places in the world as his energy source and the resentment of all spirits as his curse to create this inescapable net!
“The bait is fragrant enough, the hook is sharp enough… Return, incarnation of ‘Silence’! Let this world return to the end you hold in your hands!” He opened his arms and roared like a madman.
The outskirts of Frost Camp.
Yun Zhiyu wielded an ice crystal longsword, its blade gleaming with a chilling light. With each swing, it sent up a shower of ice shards, freezing and shattering the demons attempting to break through the gaps in the formation. He also devoted most of his power to fighting against the dark red blood light; the frost-covered sword intent clashed and annihilated the filthy light, producing a sizzling, corrosive sound.
The blood-red light was exceptionally troublesome, not only containing powerful corrosive force, but also seemingly capable of directly attacking the soul. The wails and curses of countless vengeful spirits resounded directly in his mind, attempting to disrupt his mental state.
"Get out of my way!" Yun Zhiyu's eyes blazed with icy blue light as he forced himself to steady himself. He could feel the jade pendant in his arms vibrating to its peak, and the "gaze" of the cold will deep within the star mark becoming clearer and clearer, filled with greed and... a kind of anger after being disturbed.
This bloody light was indeed a "bait" being thrown in!
While desperately resisting, he anxiously sensed the evacuation situation inside the camp. Most of the tribesmen, under the organization of the guards, had begun an orderly evacuation using the secret passages and flying mounts pre-prepared in the camp.
Just then—
Snap—Boom!
The protective barrier of the demon-suppressing array, having withstood the impact for far too long, finally shattered completely! It transformed into countless blue specks of light, which were instantly devoured by the dark red blood light and demonic energy!
Without the protection of the formation, the terrifying demonic energy surged in like a burst dam! The dark red blood light seemed to have a life of its own, splitting into several streams and ignoring everyone else, heading straight for Yun Zhiyu! Their true target was always the jade pendant in his arms!
"Leader!" Yunfeng and the others, who had already retreated to the edge of the camp, were filled with rage and wanted to turn back to rescue him.
"Go!" Yun Zhiyu shouted without turning his head. He slammed his ice crystal sword into the ground, formed hand seals, and his demon core spun at an unprecedented speed, even widening the cracks on its surface once more!
"Ice Prison...Sealed Away!"
Centered on him, the frigid frost domain expanded instantly! The earth froze, the air solidified, and the demonic energy and the streaks of blood light rushing into the camp slowed down abruptly, their surfaces covered by a thick layer of ice!
This was a forbidden technique he unleashed by burning his very essence, designed to buy him a final bit of time to escape!
However, the power contained in that dark red blood light was extremely high, and the ice seal only lasted for less than three breaths before it shattered!
A streak of blood-red light, like a venomous snake, slammed into Yun Zhiyu's protective demonic aura!
"Pfft—!" He was struck as if by a heavy blow, spitting out a mouthful of blood mixed with ice shards. He flew backward and crashed heavily into the broken wall behind him, causing the wall to collapse with a roar.
He struggled to stand up, but felt as if his internal organs had shifted, and his demonic energy was sluggish. The fear emanating from the jade pendant in his arms was almost tangible.
Is it over...?
He looked up at the dark red light that had gathered again and was lunging at him like a giant python, and a hint of despair flashed in his eyes.
At this critical moment—
Buzz—!!!
A terrifying will, indescribable in its vastness, antiquity, and imbued with a sense of ending and nothingness, suddenly descended from the direction of the Starfall Scar!
The sky seemed to darken completely at that moment.
It wasn't the clouds that were blocking the light; rather, all the light was being swallowed up by the scar that stretched across the sky! Inside the Starfall Scar, the purple prairie fire that had previously only occasionally churned was now exploding wildly, densely packed, like countless... eyes opening!
A strange beam of light, condensed to its extreme and so dark it seemed to absorb all colors, ignored the distance in space and shot straight from the center of the Starfall Scar towards the Frost Camp, towards... that dark red blood light, and Yun Zhiyu, who was locked by the blood light!
Wherever this gray beam of light passed, space rippled and twisted, and sound, light, and even... time became blurred!
It struck first despite being behind, accurately hitting the dark red light that was devouring Yun Zhiyu!
There was no earth-shattering explosion, no violent clash of energy.
The dark red blood light, which contained Xuan Chengzi's lifelong cultivation and drew upon the power of several forbidden lands, was so filthy yet powerful that it melted away silently the moment it was touched by the gray beam of light, just like ice and snow meeting the blazing sun.
Not to defeat, not to purify, but something far more thorough—to erase! As if it had never existed!
After erasing the bloodstains, the gray beam of light continued its momentum, gently sweeping over the spot where Yun Zhiyu had just been standing.
Boom!
The remaining ruins behind him, along with the earth, vanished in an instant, leaving a smooth, mirror-like surface without a trace of dust, only absolute... nothingness!
At the last moment, Yun Zhiyu instinctively rolled to the side, narrowly avoiding the direct piercing of the gray beam of light. However, even as the faint scent of the beam swept past, one of his arms instantly lost all feeling, as if that part of his "existence" had been temporarily stripped away! The jade pendant in his arms emitted a faint, mournful cry, as if it had endured extreme pressure!
He looked up in horror at the sky.
The Starfall Scar has truly... "opened its eyes"!
That cold will was no longer just a gaze, but carried an indifference as if looking down on ants, and... a pure "appetite" that had been successfully attracted by the "bait" of the ants!
Xuan Chengzi's plan was partially successful. He did indeed lure out the terror from the depths of Star Mark. But he far underestimated the level of this "terror"!
This is a power that they cannot control or even understand!
After the gray beam of light leveled the area, it did not continue to attack Yun Zhiyu. Instead, it swept slowly across the entire ruined Frost Camp like a searchlight, sweeping over the remaining demon race members who had not yet completely evacuated and were trembling under the demonic energy and terrifying pressure.
Wherever it passed, the demonic energy subsided and the blood light dissipated, but what it brought was not salvation, but nothingness, which was more terrifying than death.
Ultimately, the gray beam of light seemed to have found no more interesting "food" and slowly retreated back into the Starfall Scar. The strange phenomena in the sky gradually subsided, but the scar seemed to be deeper and more active than before.
The terrifying pressure receded like a tide.
Yun Zhiyu slumped in the ruins, breathing heavily. A piercing pain shot through his severed arm, but what chilled him even more was the experience of facing ultimate terror. The jade pendant in his arms had dimmed considerably, and the two remnant souls seemed to have been significantly impacted by the gray beam of light that had swept past them, becoming listless.
The surviving demons in the camp were still in shock. Looking at the land that had been wiped into nothingness, their faces were filled with bewilderment at surviving the disaster and a deeper despair.
Su Xiaolou's communication talisman had long since burned out, and there was no further news.
Xuan Chengzi... probably won't fare any better. Forcibly summoning such a being will inevitably result in a backlash.
The secret of the Star Mark has not only not been solved, but has instead revealed an even more ferocious and indescribable aspect.
Looking at the dim jade pendant in her arms, and then at the scar in the northern sky that seemed to mock the powerlessness of all living beings, Yun Zhiyu's heart sank into an abyss.
The fishing rod is broken, but the bait survives.
But between the angler and the fisherman, who is the real prey?
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