Chapter 68

The weak mercenaries had become machines of slaughter, wantonly massacring anyone or anything they could see. Some of the demonic beasts had fallen into a frenzy, madly dashing through the ruins, tearing apart the mercenaries and destroying the already dilapidated ruins. Some of the martial artists who managed to maintain their sanity gathered in small groups, resisting the slaughter from outsiders while searching for hiding places. The martial kings were doing their utmost to gather their strength, resisting the destructive power from the sky, and waiting for the right moment to counterattack.

The people of the ancient empire and the holy land were equally disheveled, praying that their venerables would quickly obtain what they needed while resisting the erosion of the evil aura and the rioting crowds around them.

The sky had turned completely dark, but the flashing lights, dazzling sword blades, and rampant lightning made the area as bright as daylight. The destructive power was so overwhelming that even some of the martial kings felt a chill.

The Red God Plundering Group remained hidden deep underground. Although they could not see the outside, they could sense the terrifying energy fluctuations. In shock, they all sat cross-legged, silently gathering their strength to protect their surroundings.

Because... a greater disaster was about to come...

Boom!! The seven sword beams that were flying suddenly paused, forcefully colliding with the various weapons and energy beams chasing them. Instantly, mountains collapsed, rivers dried up, and the lightning ceased. All the venerables' attacks shattered without a doubt.

The venerables were secretly alarmed and quickly stopped chasing and slaughtering, warily watching the stationary sword beams.

The sky experienced an extremely brief moment of stillness.

Then...

The seven sword beams, positioned in seven directions, began to tremble violently. Terrifying sword storms formed, the sword blades trembling more and more fiercely, gathering more and more, and the storms growing larger and larger.

From the sky to the wasteland city, these massive storms connected heaven and earth.

The terrifying destructive power created a mountain-like pressure, the sharp aura making one's hair stand on end. The expressions of the nine martial venerables grew increasingly solemn, even they felt a bit uneasy.

"Break it!!" The golden warrior-like man roared to the sky, the golden light bursting forth like a blinding sun, colliding with the sword storm in front of him. The clanging sound was deafening, the storm and the golden sun clashed fiercely, but soon, the golden light was shattered, and the sword storm continued to gather and rampage.

The faces of all the martial venerables darkened. Some of them recognized this person, from a certain holy land, a first-stage martial venerable, with a powerful fist technique known as "Crushing Everything." Unexpectedly, he couldn't withstand this storm.

After a brief silence, three martial venerables exchanged glances and acted simultaneously. A mountain, a river, and a crimson blood arrow hit one of the storms at the same time.

Another fierce collision, another terrifying rampage. The sword storm, hit hard, shrank rapidly, the condensed arrow beams collapsed and shot out, causing a massive explosion. Due to the terrifying power, the mercenaries and the ancient city below suffered, a large amount of blood mixed with dust flying everywhere.

However, before these martial venerables could show any joy, the power of the other six sword storms simultaneously surged, and the seventh sword storm, which had just collapsed, reformed.

Almost in the blink of an eye, the seven massive storms collided and intertwined into a whole.

Boom!! The terrifying power that could destroy heaven and earth swept through the entire wasteland city cemetery. The entire space was filled with rampant sword beams, densely packed with no gaps.

All the buildings were destroyed, turning into dust that flew everywhere. Mercenaries were shredded in large numbers, their blood spreading with the wind.

The massive explosions, the piercing screams, and the desperate resistance turned the wasteland city cemetery into a hell.

This was a disaster!! An unimaginable disaster!

Pfft!! A giant sword descended from the sky, piercing through a martial venerable's body, pinning him to the ground, and voraciously absorbing his energy.

The martial venerable let out a piercing scream, struggling frantically, but the giant sword was as solid as a mountain, firmly pinning him down!

Immediately after, the other six sword beams each locked onto a martial venerable, beginning to chase and slash them.

They finally felt the threat of death, struggling and fleeing madly, using all their energy to resist the sword storms.

However, these fierce swords were too terrifying, with unparalleled destructive power. Any attack would shatter instantly before them, posing no significant threat.

Pfft! Pfft! Four martial venerables were shredded in quick succession, their vast energy and blood turning into part of the blood rain. Only four venerables managed to escape this destruction, but their bodies were already in tatters, one of them even reduced to a skeleton. They dared not stop, fleeing madly into the distance.

Absorbing the energy of the martial venerables, the sword storms' power swelled again, destroying all life in the wasteland city cemetery, turning it into a sea of blood.

The sky and the earth were bleak and crimson!

Looking around, it was as if they were in a sea of blood. Even some of the hidden martial kings began to lose their minds, their bodies soaked in blood, falling into endless slaughter and ultimately being destroyed.

Tang Ba and the others gradually could not withstand the pressure, on the verge of collapse, their resistance against the sword storms weakening. Once broken, they would be instantly destroyed.

"What do we do?!" Tang Hao shouted anxiously, her beautiful face pale, her eyes filled with intense fear. These fierce swords were too terrifying, easily slaying martial venerables. What were these things?!

Tang Ya gritted his teeth and roared, "Keep holding on!! Their target is the martial venerables; they can't take care of the entire wasteland city. If we hold our ground, we might survive this. Remember, don't provoke these fierce swords!"

"The question is, can we hold on?" Tang Qing swung his battle knife wildly, resisting the sword shadows in the sky.

In this critical moment, the ancient battle knife in front of Tang Yan suddenly emitted a dragon-like roar, creating intense spatial ripples. Without warning, it contained a terrifying power. Instantly, it not only knocked down Tang Ba and the others but also caused their struggling flame region to collapse, allowing the rampant sword blades and blood to surge in, with Tang Yan and the others being the first to suffer.

"No..." Tang Hao's eyes widened, and she screamed in anger. As the old patriarch's personal guard, she could not allow the old patriarch's beloved grandson to be killed in front of her, even if she disliked him.

However...

The ancient battle knife emerged from the ground, hanging above Tang Yan's head, trembling violently. Waves of energy formed a hazy shadow, like a person or a demonic beast. In the next second, the ancient battle knife released dense sword beams, forming a similar sword storm that enveloped the entire area, destroying all nearby sword blades.

As for the surging blood, it was all absorbed by the ancient battle knife!

Yes! Absorbed!! The blood wrapped around its patterns, seeping into its core.

"This is..." Tang Ba and the others were secretly alarmed, looking at the ancient battle knife in disbelief. They felt a sense of unease from the shadow, an unexplained unease!

Tang Yan did not notice the outside situation, still sitting cross-legged, fully focusing on the Immortal Derivation Technique. However, as the blood energy in the sky surged, the blood mist around him became active, autonomously consuming the surging blood.

Tens of thousands of mercenaries and tens of thousands of demonic beasts were all dead, the sky and earth completely filled with blood. The life essence contained within was so abundant that it could make many martial kings lose their minds, but it became a great supplement for the Immortal Derivation Technique!

The sword storms continued to rampage, and many remaining martial artists, unable to hold on, were shredded or drowned in blood, losing consciousness and being shredded, turning into part of the blood river in the sky.

The seven giant swords stood in the air, greedily consuming the essence of the blood. From a distance, they looked like seven vortices devouring the essence of the blood.

The entire wasteland city cemetery had become a cemetery for mercenaries, a prison of blood. There were three particularly strange places: one was the ancient battle knife by Tang Yan, consuming the surging blood; the second was the paper figure at the center of the ruins, torn into pieces by the sword blades, stained red with blood, but still continuously gathering the spirits of the dead; the third was the old man smoking a pipe, tightly curled up in the ruins, like a small boat in a storm, always on the verge of capsizing but never being killed.

Gradually, Tang Yan felt his body about to burst, the essence of the blood surging into his body more and more, faster and faster, far exceeding the amount consumed by the Immortal Derivation Technique.

Above the dantian, the life mist began to compress and condense, forming a liquid mass, enveloped by a dense blood mist. From a distance, the mist looked like a curled-up infant, and the liquid mass like the infant's heart, pulsating powerfully!

Was the Immortal Derivation Technique advancing to the next stage?! The mist forming a clear infant shape indicated that the Immortal Derivation Technique had entered the second stage!

A series of runes began to appear in his mind, the second-stage accompanying martial technique—Life Destruction Technique!

The Life Destruction Technique, as the name suggests, destroys life! It can instantly absorb a person's essence and blood, and with the help of the "mist infant" containing abundant life force, rapidly enhance one's strength and burst with super combat power. Although powerful, it is destructive to the body and comes with severe aftereffects—unconsciousness, weakness, and the inability to use spiritual energy for a short time.

Tang Yan had no time to study the "Life Destruction Technique" at the moment. The surging blood was still flooding in, and the infant-shaped mist had already formed, with a powerful liquid heart at its core.

To avoid any accidents, Tang Yan tried to multitask, accelerating the circulation of his spiritual energy, activating the ghostly green fire, and letting it burn and refine the blood containing abundant energy.

Tang Yan couldn't tell if this was an opportunity or a crisis. He was fully focused on the Immortal Derivation Technique, absorbing the life essence, triggering the ghostly green fire, and absorbing the excess spiritual energy to temper his body.

Tang Yan had never thought about breaking through to the Martial Master stage so quickly. He had planned to consolidate for three to four months, but now... he had to break through, or the energy would destroy him.

Others yearned for breakthroughs, but Tang Yan was "reluctant," which sounded hard to accept. However, Tang Yan was well aware of the danger. A forced breakthrough with an unstable foundation would be a隐患 for future cultivation. After this forced breakthrough, Tang Yan would need to spend more time consolidating, and unless he thoroughly stabilized, he could not advance to a higher level.