Chapter 701: The Blood God Soars into the Sky

Dong Tianze's gaunt figure slowly flew up into the air. As he rose, the anxious members of the Pure Land Sect all found their eyes drawn to his silhouette beneath the glowing Glazed Purification Divine Array.

"Who is that?"

"Is he really going to step beyond the array and face that Thunder Dragon at a time like this?"

The onlookers murmured.

Sun Bin, standing atop a low mountain peak, turned to those beside him and exclaimed, "That's Dong Tianze, Miss Pang's Divine Guard! Don't you remember him? He came from the Sinister Soul Temple. Pang Jian went to the Imperial Dominion just for his sake!"

The members of the Pure Land Sect looked up at Dong Tianze.

"Right, that's Dong Tianze of the Sinister Soul Temple!"

"So it's him!"

***

"Junior sister, were you waiting for him?" Wu Sujin asked in surprise.

Pang Lin pressed her lips together and gave a small nod. "He said Wu Yuan will be coming too."

"Wu Yuan? The heir of the Demon Sect? Why would he come to help the Pure Land Sect?" Wu Sujin asked, baffled.

Pang Lin lifted her gaze toward Dong Tianze, her eyes shimmering with light and her fair face glowing with pride. "It's because I'm here in the Pure Land Sect. And because both of them are my brother's friends."

Before she went to the Resolute Expanse, back when she was still communicating with Pang Jian through the Ghost Altar, she had heard stories of his adventures with Dong Tianze, Wu Yuan, and the others.

They had ventured into Absolute Heaven, descended from the Second World together, fought side by side on the Fey Spirit Continent, and later continued to the Sacred Soul Continent.

Pang Jian never went into detail about the depth of his bond with Dong Tianze and Wu Yuan, but even as a quiet listener, Pang Lin could sense the trust he placed in those two, as well as in Zhou Qingchen, Qi Qingsong, and the others.

Pang Lin raised her voice and said with a mix of nervousness and excitement, "Senior Sister Wu, elders, both Brother Dong and Brother Wu Yuan have ascended to godhood! With two True Gods stepping in, that ancient Thunder Dragon from the Dragon Lair Sect will likely be forced to retreat!"

A wave of gasps followed. "Two True Gods?!"

***

The three sentient sword souls conversed inside the miniaturized Sword Pavilion.

"Fatty Li has gone and raised another monster," the fat elder said grimly. "I just worry this kid will stray too far down a dark path and forget himself."

The thin elder added, "He's only just become a True God. How does he have the guts to challenge Long Xiao?"

The sword soul named Lady Feng knitted her brows. "I can smell traces of many ancient Fey Races on him. There are hints of fallen Rank Ten powerhouses of the Fifth World as well."

"What?!" The thin elder gasped. After a moment of contemplation, he asked, "Back in the day, he used to be a Celestial Phoenix Divine Guard. Could those traces be tied to that identity?"

Lady Feng shook her head.

"No. His aura is strange. It feels like..." she trailed off, hesitant, then cautiously continued, "There are too many bloodlines mixed into him. It reminds me of the Blood Vault that Liu Fu guarded, the one containing the blood essence of the ancient Fey Race and foreign races."

The other two sword souls were shaken, their expressions changing drastically.

***

High in the sky, the colossal azure dragon spewed a wave of lightning to block the approaching Qilin Bell before conjuring a sea of lightning to engulf it entirely.

"This Li Family brat is really looking to die," Long Xiao snarled.

Two battle-hardened Immortal Realm elders from the Divine Treasure Sect had just rushed over when Long Xiao let out a resounding roar.

Massive lightning spheres shot out from the lightning vortexes, exploding on impact and killing both elders on the spot.

"Elder Lin! Elder Qi!"

Li Jie flung out array disks one after another from inside the Qilin Bell. They burst with the radiant brilliance of the sun and the moon as they tore through the sea of lightning.

More array disks soon followed, flying wildly in every direction before embedding themselves into the Pure Land Sect's Glazed Purification Divine Array.

A new set of Dao Seals, distinct from those of the Pure Land Sect, emerged within the array's glow, reinforcing the array and generating new transformations.

True God Li Yuanli had been one of the greatest array masters of the Abyss. The treasures he left behind for Li Jie were capable of amplifying any sect's protective array.

This reckless venture was Li Jie's way of reinforcing the Glazed Purification Divine Array, preventing the ancient Thunder Dragon from breaking through it any time soon.

"You dare to stand in my way?" Long Xiao bared his jagged fangs in a chilling grin, a vicious gleam flashing in his eyes. "Since you're so eager to play the hero, I'll just crush your Divine Treasure Sect first to let you understand the price of recklessness."

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

Long Xiao's declaration echoed across the entire Western Loam.

The artifact refiners and cultivators in the Divine Treasure Sect wailed in despair upon hearing his words, cursing Li Jie bitterly for bringing catastrophe down upon their sect.

Just then, a gaunt figure emerged from the radiant glow of the Glazed Purification Divine Array.

"Dong Tianze!" Li Jie gasped, recognizing Dong Tianze as the madman roaming Eight Trigrams City in a trail of slaughter, hell-bent on killing Pang Jian.

He never expected someone like Dong Tianze to appear at the Pure Land Sect's most perilous time.

"So it was you." Long Xiao's eyes flickered in surprise. "You drew in a cluster of Fortune outside Absolute Heaven and swiftly vanished afterward."

In the blink of an eye, the Thunder Dragon shed his dragon form, transforming into a man of normal stature. His nostrils flared as he sniffed out the heavy stench of blood rolling off Dong Tianze's body, expression darkening.

"Liu Fu's death...was your doing!" Long Xiao exclaimed with deliberate loudness.

"Liu Fu's death was your doing!"

"Liu Fu's death was your doing!"

"Liu Fu's death was your doing!"

Long Xiao's voice echoed across the continent. All the cultivators watching the confrontation between him and Dong Tianze heard his words loud and clear.

Liu Fu was a True God of the human race. If Dong Tianze was truly involved in his death, it was a crime beyond forgiveness.

It was the height of irony for such a monster to suddenly appear and stand up for the Pure Land Sect.

Having just arrived on the Western Loam, Dong Shangqing's face changed drastically when he heard Long Xiao's accusation.

Probing with a secret technique, he quickly confirmed that the blood essence of fallen Fey Gods and foreign race powerhouses indeed emanated from Dong Tianze.

Suddenly, the mystery surrounding Liu Fu's death and the plundering of the Blood Vault he guarded seemed to fall into place.

"It wasn't me." Dong Tianze snorted coldly, offering no further explanation. Instead, he raised his sword and struck without hesitation.

Long, blood-red rivers of light unfurled from every swing of the Bloodthirsty Sword. Shadowy figures surged forth from those rivers of light alongside the howls of fallen Fey Gods and the roars of foreign race powerhouses.

Beings from tens of thousands of years ago, such as the Colossal Apes, the Celestial Serpents, the Golden Elephants, as well as powerhouses from the Demon Scale Race and the Ghost Race, rapidly took form within the blood-red rivers of light.

They cackled wickedly as they charged toward Long Xiao.

"You still deny it wasn't you?" Long Xiao's expression darkened as he slowly clenched his fist.

Thunder rumbled in his palm as dozens of fine lightning bolts shot from between his fingers, meeting the blood-colored rivers of light head-on.

Though Dong Tianze was a newly ascended True God, his attack was met without a shred of arrogance. The ancient Thunder Dragon did not dare show the slightest carelessness in this battle. He even summoned the towering Nine Heavens Thunder Divine Tree.

Then, turning toward Dong Shangqing in the distance, Long Xiao threatened, "Dong Shangqing, if you dare interfere, I will destroy the foundation of your Ancient Law Sect before leaving the Abyss!"

Dong Shangqing's face darkened. "Have you gone mad? If you want to leave, then just leave! Why do you need to drag others down in your madness? Don't forget, your Dragon Lair Sect is still on the Sacred Soul Continent. Do you really care nothing for the lives of your kin?"

"This is a personal grudge!" Long Xiao roared furiously. "Su Wanrou unleashed the Poison Scourge on my domain, killing many of my kin. This is payback before I leave! If you stand in the way, I'll make your sect pay the price! I don't care about what comes after!"