The sky was vast and the dark clouds gathered, the earth was boundless and blood waves surged to the heavens.
At the very instant the Great Array shattered, all the Blood Fiend resentment lost its restraints, and countless resentful souls let out mournful wails.
In that moment, the blood waves, spreading for tens of kilometers, suddenly surged, as if they intended to use the hatred of the Blood Fiend to swallow the world, charging indiscriminately at every living thing nearby.
The closest targets, of course, were those from the Magical Path who had previously used the Array Core to restrain the Blood Fiend resentment.
This Array Formation had originally been designed to collect the Blood Fiend resentment and souls of the Human Tribe, and its purpose was only collection—so those resentful souls trapped within could only wail endlessly.
In the blink of an eye, of the nine remaining demonic sects, seven were instantly wiped out.
Only two were left, and they had only a handful of stragglers, fleeing in panic.
At that moment, thunder rumbled in the sky, and heavy rain poured down.
This was the reaction of the Heavenly Dao.
Such dense Blood Fiend resentment, if left unchecked, would undoubtedly lead to the birth of something even more terrifying.
The Thunder Tribulation had already silently condensed, dark clouds converging from all directions at a single point.
As a bolt of lightning that pierced the world flashed, in that instant, heaven and earth made their intent known!
Xu Ping’an furrowed his brows tightly.
He never expected the other side would use such a method, forcing the Array Formation to go berserk and forcibly halting its operation.
An Array Formation that lost its operation would certainly go out of control.
After all, the nature of an Array Formation is to twist heaven and earth, borrowing the power of the world to fulfill one’s own ambitions.
The Heavenly Dao naturally loathes such things.
And Blood Fiend resentment, even more so, is something that heaven and earth detest—so it was precisely for this reason that the Thunder Tribulation condensed so rapidly.
Xu Ping’an had no time to care about anything else and dashed toward the Golden Boat.
With his innate Body of Chaos, immune to all laws, neither resentment nor Blood Fiend could affect him at all—neither his spirit nor his body.
But inside the Golden Boat, within the Tianming Bell, there were three ordinary girls. They were not Chaotic Bodies.
They were living beings.
Now that things had spiraled out of control, and the Blood Fiend Resentful Souls could sense they were locked onto by the Heavenly Dao, once they detected any living beings nearby, those completely maddened Blood Fiend Resentful Souls would certainly pour all their hatred onto the three of them.
There was no time to hesitate. Xu Ping’an, relying on his Chaotic Body, dashed madly through the Blood Fiend Qi.
Even if those Blood Fiend Resentful Souls sensed Xu Ping’an’s presence, they could not affect him at all.
All they could do was roar and claw at him relentlessly.
But Xu Ping’an ignored them completely, heading straight for the Golden Boat.
At that moment, in the sky above, Pei Qingxuan also sensed the condensation of the Thunder Tribulation.
Such a level of wrath from heaven and earth—even though she had not yet reached the realm of immortals—she could still clearly sense it.
“Husband!!”
Pei Qingxuan subconsciously looked down.
At that moment…the entire land was swallowed by the Blood Ocean, and even she could not see through this ocean of resentment.
‘Rumble~~’
The earth began to tremble, and the roar spread further and further away.
For hundreds of miles in every direction, whether people, livestock, or fowl, all felt the surging, murderous aura of the Blood River.
The animals a bit closer immediately turned and fled, while those farther away lay trembling on the ground.
At this moment, the entire world quaked in fear at this bloody ocean!
Pei Qingxuan knew Xu Ping’an’s abilities were extraordinary, but when she looked down upon the bloody waves that had swallowed all living beings, no matter how much she trusted Xu Ping’an, she could not just wait calmly any longer.
She formed the Sword Seal with her hands and recited a Protective Spell.
“Radiant Sword Pivot, reveal my true form, qi of steel as bones, thunder and fire as lapels, a thousand blades stand upright, a hundred evils retreat, the mysterious sheath contains heaven and earth, the dragon’s cry guards the soul—activate!!”
The Xuan Gang Sword Heart Mantra was a body-protecting Protective Spell secretly passed down among the sword cultivators of the Floating Cloud Sect.
Not only could it protect the body, it could also safeguard the soul.
But Pei Qingxuan knew very well—while the Xuan Gang Sword Heart Mantra was powerful and sufficient for ordinary protection, the bloody ocean below was no ordinary place.
In this world, she had never seen such dense Blood Fiend gathered, but even knowing this, she did not hesitate in the slightest.
As for where to go, she was unsure, but the Golden Boat was certainly the first place she would head.
With that thought, the Nine Phoenix Sword swelled to ten meters in length.
She stepped onto the flying sword, formed seals with both hands, a look of determination on her face, and charged decisively toward the bloody sea!
‘Splash!’
The moment her body entered the Blood Ocean, what should have been a sea formed of Blood Fiend Qi actually displayed an almost tangible physical reaction.
This alone proved the condensed Blood Fiend had begun to influence the operation of the Heavenly Dao!
No wonder the Heavenly Dao responded so swiftly.
Fortunately, while Pei Qingxuan was not skilled at aquatic combat, she could still hold her breath.
The moment her spiritual sense spread outward, she felt a wave of intense pain, as if countless small blades were swirling and stirring in her mind, so painful she almost cried out.
Cold sweat immediately broke out on her forehead.
But she had no time to scream, nor did she dare.
She quickly formed a breath-holding seal with one hand, a Sword Heart Seal with the other, maintained control of her flying sword underfoot, and used her spiritual sense to search for Xu Ping’an’s location.
If she cried out now, her true qi would scatter and her concentration would be lost.
Husband! Husband, you must not come to harm!
The Blood Ocean reacted the instant Pei Qingxuan burst into its domain.
For Xu Ping’an, no matter what they did, they could not affect him in the slightest, but this Pei Qingxuan was different.
In an instant, all the Blood Fiend Resentful Souls focused their attention on Pei Qingxuan.
Suddenly, she felt a splitting headache, her whole body drenched in cold sweat, and even the hands forming Sword Seals trembled from the pain.
Yet she gritted her teeth and withstood the bone-piercing agony, charging toward the Golden Boat.
As she drew closer, the Blood Fiend Resentful Soul’s aura grew denser.
But near the Golden Boat, it seemed the Blood Fiend Resentful Souls had begun to shift their focus, gathering in the direction of the Golden Boat.
Seeing this, Pei Qingxuan’s almond-shaped eyes widened, and a trace of fear surged in her heart.
The Blood Fiend Qi only reacts to living beings—could it be…this Blood Ocean has already sensed Xu Ping’an’s presence and is devouring him?!
Anxious to the extreme, she poured all her spiritual energy into the flying sword beneath her feet, yet could only move forward at a snail’s pace.
As she neared the Golden Boat—only a few hundred meters away—the crushing pressure upon her suddenly vanished.
The world before her, previously filled with the Blood Ocean, suddenly became empty.
And when she saw, within the blood-red vortex, Xu Ping’an standing before a gourd, the taut string in her heart instantly relaxed.
“Husband!!”
A cry escaped her lips, her previously steely will instantly dissolved.
Her sword slipped from her hand, and as she nearly collapsed, a figure rushed forward and caught her.
Long robes fluttered in the wind, hair streamed with the breeze.
When Pei Qingxuan saw who had caught her, relief flooded her heart.
Without thinking, she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him.
“Mmm!”
Xu Ping’an, completely unprepared for his wife’s sudden attack, was stunned for a moment.
When he finally came to his senses, he realized Pei Qingxuan was already covered in Blood Fiend Qi—probably because of the pain—her whole body was soaked as if pulled from water, fragrant sweat pouring from her.
Xu Ping’an couldn’t help but feel both amused and distressed. He raised his hand and gently stroked her cheek.
“My dear wife, how could you be so foolish? To charge into such a place of Blood Fiend—how am I, your husband, supposed to dote on and comfort you now?”