The Creation of the Heavens and All Realms

Chapter 41: Blood Soul

The giant crater echoed with constant rumbling. Nearly a hundred Innate-level experts had been besieging Ming Kui for nearly half an hour; the once relatively flat ground had been ravaged by the battle’s aftershocks, leaving it riddled with craters and potholes. The stone pillars lining the Spirit Lake had been completely shattered, and hundreds of them fell into the lake, causing the water level of the vast Spirit Lake to rise by more than a foot! Zhou Tianci and his companions were gradually figuring out the Ming Kui’s tactics. The Ming Kui was indeed powerful—its strength and defense both reached the Gangqi Realm level—but it was not invincible. As long as they could pierce its scales, the black aura emanating from its body would leak out, much like a martial artist bleeding, and as a result, its power would steadily weaken. Liu Yuntao’s fists, Wan Wusheng’s iron ruler, Huang Shuyi’s folding fan, and Zhou Tianci’s Qianjun Sword… The four of them relentlessly attacked the wound on the Ming Kui’s chest, while the ferocious creature was forced to retreat time and again, creating a one-sided battle. However, Liu Yuntao and the others dared not let their guard down. They discovered that aside from its strength and defense, Ming Kui’s self-healing ability was also astonishingly powerful; as they attacked its wounds, the wounds were rapidly healing. During the assault on Ming Kui, numerous Xiantian-level powerhouses displayed their unique abilities. Not to mention Liu Yuntao and Wan Wusheng—who were already super-powerful late-stage Xiantian cultivators—but even Huang Shuyi, though he had only demonstrated mid-stage Xiantian strength, was only a hair’s breadth behind the other two, ensuring no one underestimated his status as the head of the Huang family. The most surprising figure, however, was Zhou Tianci. Despite being at the early Xiantian level, he was able to unleash attacks approaching the late Xiantian level, dealing severe damage to Ming Kui. It is certain that after this battle, Zhou Tianci will rise to become one of the leading figures among the Innate-level powerhouses in Jiangzhou. “Four Symbols Combined Strike!” Amid the chaotic melee, the young disciples of the Four Great Clans formed a formation. The auras of over 50 Xiantian cultivators merged into a single, unified energy. The ethereal forms of the Four Divine Beasts—the Azure Dragon, the White Tiger, the Vermilion Bird, and the Black Tortoise—appeared simultaneously. The four ethereal forms quickly fused, transforming into a beam of light over a meter long that shot toward Ming Kui. “This is a Primordial Spirit attack!” Zhou Tianci realized immediately upon seeing the ethereal beam of light. When it came to the power of the Primordial Spirit, no one could match Zhou Tianci; his Primordial Spirit had fused with the Tree of Eternal Creation, making it virtually indestructible. Of course, the amount of Primordial Spirit power Zhou Tianci could actually harness was extremely limited, equivalent only to the absolute limit of the mid-Innate realm. Zhou Tianci had once selected the martial art secret technique *Eyes of the Underworld* at the Tower of the God of War—a form of Primordial Spirit attack—so he was fairly familiar with such techniques. However, *Eyes of the Underworld* was created by a Post-Heaven martial artist, and its method of Primordial Spirit attack was quite crude; it was no match at all for the Four Great Clans’ Four Symbols Combined Strike. Zhou Tianci estimated that even someone at the Gangqi Realm would likely be unable to withstand this beam of light. Everyone else was well aware of the light arrow’s power. The Four Great Clans had built their foundations on the Four Symbols Formation, and the Primordial Spirit Attack was the very essence of that formation. With over fifty Innate-level practitioners combined, the power of the Four Symbols Formation was nearly at the limit of the Innate realm—even Liu Yuntao wouldn’t be able to withstand that Primordial Spirit Attack! The group moved back slightly, waiting for the Ming Kui’s demise. The light arrow traveled at an incredible speed, piercing Ming Kui’s body in the blink of an eye. Ming Kui’s body seemed to freeze in place, and his blood-red eyes dimmed. “It really is the Four Great Clans’ secret weapon!” Some marveled at the light arrow’s power, while others were filled with dread; the Innate-level cultivators of the Four Great Clans, however, wore expressions of pride. Ming Kui’s aura was fading; it seemed its end was near. Following the light arrow, Huang Shuyi was the first to charge at the Ming Kui. His folding fan was half-open in his hand, its edges glowing with a blue light as he slashed directly at the Ming Kui’s head. Though the fan was small and light, in Huang Shuyi’s hands, it was no different from a sharp axe in terms of both force and sharpness. This was truly the art of wielding the light as if it were heavy! The folding fan struck Ming Kui’s neck, and the creature instantly collapsed to the ground, motionless. Huang Shuyi was overjoyed. In his view, Ming Kui’s spiritual essence must have suffered severe damage—perhaps even been shattered—otherwise, why would it show no reaction? With that thought, Huang Shuyi quickly grabbed Ming Kui and closed the fan, thrusting it into its chest. “The credit for slaying Ming Kui must go to the Four Great Clans!” Huang Shuyi’s eyes flashed with determination. The Four Great Clans had suffered heavy losses on this expedition to Shepan Mountain, yet in the end, they had come away empty-handed. If word of this got out, it would deal a significant blow to their prestige. By claiming the final blow, Huang Shuyi hoped to use the slaying of Ming Kui to demonstrate the Four Great Clans’ strength, bolster their prestige, and ensure that those Innate-level experts would dare not underestimate them. However, things did not go as planned. Huang Shuyi’s scheme had backfired. He had assumed that Ming Kui, having been struck by the Four Symbols Formation’s attack on its spiritual core, was no longer capable of resistance—but that was not the case. Huang Shuyi used his folding fan to forcefully tear open the wound on Ming Kui’s chest. Though Ming Kui’s scales were formidable, Huang Shuyi applied force from within its body, aided by the sharpness of his divine weapon, causing the wound—which had originally been no larger than a fist—to expand to one chi in length. Huang Shuyi then struck the Ming Kui’s chest with another palm strike; the illusory image of the Azure Dragon pierced through its body, sending it flying more than ten zhang away. At that moment, not only Huang Shuyi but everyone else believed the Ming Kui was dead—except for Zhou Tianci and Wan Wusheng. Wan Wusheng was meticulous in his thinking. As the others slowly closed in on the Ming Kui, he led his men in a slight retreat, for he could not believe that the Ming Kui—described in ancient texts as possessing immense supernatural powers—could be defeated so easily. Zhou Tianci, however, sensed the Law of Destruction emanating from the Ming Kui. Now that the Ming Kui had lost its ability to resist, that Law of Destruction manifested with striking clarity—its source lay within the Ming Kui’s body! “If the Ming Kui truly was born of the Law of Destruction, then it certainly won’t die until that Law has dissipated!” Zhou Tianci thought to himself. However, he couldn’t reveal this to anyone, so he could only step aside on his own. An unexpected turn of events occurred. Just as the Innate-level martial artists from the Four Great Clans surrounded Ming Kui and prepared to lift it up, Ming Kui suddenly opened its eyes. Those blood-red eyes became even more terrifying; under their gaze, two Early Innate-level powerhouses were rendered unable to move and had their heads sliced off by Ming Kui’s sharp claws. “Roar!” Ming Kui crushed the two men’s skulls in a few bites, then let out a long, piercing howl to the heavens. Its howl echoed through the massive crater, sending a chill down everyone’s spine. “Damn it!” Huang Shuyi gritted his teeth, filled with utter hatred for Ming Kui. The four great clans had already suffered heavy losses, and now, to top it all off, two more Innate-stage cultivators had perished. Huang Shuyi struck out in fury. The True Essence in his palm transformed into Gāng Qi, revealing his Late Innate cultivation level. Gāng Qi was far more powerful than True Essence, and the Azure Dragon it manifested was even more solid and distinct. The one-zhang-long Azure Dragon coiled around Ming Kui and suddenly surged with power, intent on tearing it to pieces. Zhou Tianci was very familiar with this move—it was the “Coiling Azure Dragon” technique from the *Azure Dragon Palm*. Having slain two Innate-level cultivators, the Ming Kui had regained some of its strength. Upon closer inspection, one could see that its wounds were shrinking—clearly, the saying that the Ming Kui, a creature of the “Law of All Things,” grows through slaughter was no empty claim. Facing the Azure Dragon formed from Gāng Qi, the Ming Kui let out a series of roars, clamped its sharp claws tightly around the Azure Dragon, and then unleashed a powerful aura that actually scattered the Gāng Qi outright! “You vile beast, die!” Huang Shuyi unfurled the folding fan in his hand into a semicircle. Already razor-sharp, the fan—enhanced by the Gang Qi—became nearly indestructible. With a series of “clang, clang, clang, clang” sounds, Huang Shuyi struck the Ming Kui more than a dozen times, inflicting numerous wounds across its body. “Ming Kui hasn’t recovered yet! Let’s all attack together—don’t let it escape!” Realizing Ming Kui’s power had significantly waned, Huang Shuyi shouted immediately. The others rushed over and surrounded Ming Kui once more. Seeing this, Ming Kui staggered back two steps. Faced with the overwhelming might of so many Innate-level experts, its ferocious and brutal aura did not waver in the slightest. To everyone’s astonishment, Ming Kui suddenly snapped off one of its own horns and swallowed it whole. Black liquid oozed from the broken stump—a sight never before witnessed on Ming Kui. “What is it trying to do?” Everyone paused in their movements. After swallowing its own horn, Ming Kui’s aura surged violently, and its wounds healed rapidly. Scales regrew over the injured areas, and within a few breaths, it had returned to its pre-injury state. Ming Kui bared its massive jaws, revealing gleaming white fangs. Before anyone could react, the Ming Kui charged into the crowd. Its speed was astonishing, and its claws were as sharp as divine weapons; it cut through the crowd as if no one were there. In a flash, three Xiantian cultivators were sliced in half at the waist. After slaughtering the Xiantian cultivators, the Ming Kui let out a series of eerie screeches. With a few leaps, it arrived right in front of Zhou Tianci. “It’s here to seek revenge,” Zhou Tianci thought instinctively as he saw the glint of hatred in the Ming Kui’s eyes. During the previous ambush, Zhou Tianci had inflicted damage on the Ming Kui on several occasions, and the creature was clearly well aware of this. That was why, after breaking through the encirclement, it immediately charged straight at Zhou Tianci. Zhou Tianci was not afraid. His Qianjun Sword hummed softly as he thrust it steadily toward the fracture in the Ming Kui’s horn. To Zhou Tianci’s surprise, he had misjudged the Ming Kui’s intentions. The Ming Kui did indeed harbor resentment toward him, but its goal was not revenge—it was to escape! The Ming Kui leaped over Zhou Tianci and headed straight for the pit wall. “It actually knows how to play tricks now? Is this really the same Ming Kui that used to know nothing but slaughter?” Zhou Tianci paused in surprise. But it wasn’t easy for the Ming Kui to escape. On level ground, Liu Yuntao was just as fast as it was. Before the Ming Kui could start climbing up, Liu Yuntao grabbed it like a mighty warrior and hurled it back, sending it crashing down right in front of Zhou Tianci once more. “Why do I feel like I’m at odds with this thing?” Zhou Tianci thought with a wry smile, but his sword moved just as swiftly. The Thousand-Jun Sword sliced open the wound on the Ming Kui’s chest once more, driving it back. In the midst of the battle, a red bead fell from the Ming Kui’s chest and was instinctively caught by Zhou Tianci. The moment the red bead touched his hand, Zhou Tianci froze in shock. “This is a Blood Soul—the Ming Kui actually has a Blood Soul inside it…” Zhou Tianci couldn’t help but feel ecstatic, completely forgetting to pursue the Ming Kui. By the time he came to his senses, the Ming Kui had already scrambled up the vines and escaped into a snake den. Seeing the Ming Kui vanish into the snake den, everyone looked dejected yet breathed a collective sigh of relief—the pressure the Ming Kui had put on them had been overwhelming. Although they hadn’t achieved complete victory, they were now out of danger. Just then, Huang Jue suddenly walked up to Zhou Tianci, pointed at him, and said, “You actually let the Ming Kui get away!”