Chapter 922: The Blood Sacrifice

Zhang Tianshu and Ge Tianyu's assault caused Xiao Nanfeng no small amount of pressure.

From a distance, Ye Sanshui shouted, "Protect His Majesty at any cost!"

The zombie kings roared in unison.

The four zombie kings that had just been knocked away now flew back and surrounded Xiao Nanfeng protectively.

"Senior Brother, don't fight me over Blue Lantern's bronze compass. Let me have this one. I'll help you get another one in the future," Zhang Tianshu murmured.

Ge Tianyu shook his head. "This bronze compass is mine. You can wait for the next one."

"We'll see who takes Blue Lantern down first, then," Zhang Tianshu replied.

"Very well!"

The two cultivators charged forward.

"Die!" Xia Xingchen roared.

The five zombie kings joined the fray as well.

Ge Tianyu sneered. "A group of early-stage Boundless Immortals? Ha!"

His fists flew like lightning. He unleashed three massive attacks that flew toward three zombie kings, who had no time to dodge and were forced to meet the attacks head-on.

The three zombie kings were sent flying. They coughed up black blood.

Meanwhile, Zhang Tianshu took on three other opponents with ease. Only Xia Xingchen managed to withstand the heavy blow, knocked back but uninjured. The other two zombie kings both spat out black blood, heavily wounded.

"The Yuqing yin pillars are truly incredible. I'm almost a late-stage Boundless Immortal," Ge Tianyu exclaimed with satisfaction.

"This overwhelming strength does feel fantastic, doesn't it?" Zhang Tianshu laughed.

The zombie kings, heedless of pain, charged forward once again. Even so, Ge Tianyu and Zhang Tianshu were too strong. They tried out various techniques on the zombie kings, who were nothing more than training dummies to them, as they adapted to their newfound power.

Perhaps due to their mutual suspicion of each other, they were watching each other closely. Neither made a move to target Blue Lantern or Xiao Nanfeng just yet.

Xiao Nanfeng and Blue Lantern frowned, their expressions grim. The battle was clearly turning against them, and Shi Tianbei's group hadn't even made a move yet.

"Your Majesty, this isn't looking good. In addition, I can sense the presence of an overwhelming formation here. If it's activated, we'll suffer heavy casualties," Blue Lantern warned.

"In that case, we'll have to retreat," Xiao Nanfeng replied.

"We can't. The formations in the vicinity have just been activated and reinforced with the might of three bronze compasses. The four heavenly gates have all been barred now.

"Oh?" Xiao Nanfeng narrowed his eyes. He immediately made a decision. "We'll go with what you prepared in advance, then. I'll give the command."

"Got it!" Blue Lantern replied.

Xiao Nanfeng took a deep breath and shouted, "Senior Uncle, Yang Chuan, Yu'er, Ye Sanshui, Mountain Lord Xia, regroup around me! Quickly!"

The cultivators fighting in the distance felt a surge of hope, thinking that Xiao Nanfeng might have a plan. They were unable to take down their opponents; if the fighting dragged out, they would surely lose. After all, Shi Tianbei was still just watching the fight unfold.

"Very well!" the others replied.

They knocked their opponents aside as they headed toward Xiao Nanfeng.

As they closed in on him, Shi Tianbei suddenly narrowed his eyes. "Junior Brothers, I suspect Xiao Nanfeng's planning something. Finish him off quickly—stop trying to outmaneuver each other."

"Understood!" Ge Tianyu and Zhang Tianshu replied in unison.

They struck the zombie kings, sending them flying. Then, the two of them rushed toward Xiao Nanfeng's group, quickly closing in on them.

"Hold them back!" Xiao Nanfeng ordered the zombie kings.

The five zombie kings formed a shield against the six Boundless Immortals.

"Ha! As if these zombie kings can stop us," Zhang Tianshu sneered.

The six elite cultivators glanced at the zombie kings with disdain as they slapped them aside.

"Self-destruct! Blow them to pieces!" Xiao Nanfeng ordered.

"What?" The enemies froze.

"Explode!" Ye Sanshui commanded.

Without hesitation, the five zombie kings self-destructed in a massive explosion. The fiery blast engulfed the elite cultivators.

"Damn it!"

"Bastard!"

"Xiao Nanfeng, you'll pay for this! Such explosions won't harm us!"

Amidst their curses, the six cultivators retreated to avoid the full brunt of the explosion.

As htey did so, two enormous blue beams emerged from the flames.

"No—they're trying to escape! Don't let them run!" Shi Tianbei cried out.

He charged forward with the Mountain Lords under his command.

"What?" Ge Tianyu and Zhang Tianshu blanched. They rushed through the flames, bracing against the aftermath of the explosion.

As they did so, they saw the shadows of two bronze compasses surrounding Xiao Nanfeng's group. Blue light glowed brightly around them.

"Damn it, they're using those bronze compasses to teleport!" Zhang Tianshu cried out.

They punched at the group in desperation, but to no avail. Xiao Nanfeng's group vanished in a flash.

"How could they have escaped? It's impossible. The bronze compass should only have been able to target Blue Lantern. How did they all make it out?" Ge Tianyu exclaimed.

"There were two bronze compasses—Blue Lantern must have gotten a second one somehow. But from where?" Zhang Tianshu exclaimed.

"Damn it!" Ge Tianyu cursed.

Just then, Ge Tianyu and Zhang Tianshu, along with their four disciples, felt a chilling sense of danger.

"What?" They whirled around to see Shi Tianbei and the five Yuqing Mountain Lords charging at them with their swords drawn.

Still reeling from Xiao Nanfeng's escape, the cultivators hadn't expected such treachery from their own side.

"Shi Tianbei, what are you doing?!" Zhang Tianshu shouted.

They and their four disciples were simultaneously attacked in a calculated ambush. Blood sprayed everywhere.

Shi Tianbei sent a sword through Ge Tianyu's head, killing him instantly. A Mountain Lord sliced off one of Zhang Tianshu's arms.

Shi Tianbei sneered. "What am I doing? There are some treasures too good for the likes of you. Xiao Nanfeng really did provide the perfect opportunity. I was wondering when I'd have a chance to deal with all of you—he made it easy for me, haha!"

"No!" the cultivators cried out.

"Kill them!" Shi Tianbei commanded.

"Die!" the Mountain Lords roared in unison.

Another wave of fiery explosions erupted as the two sides clashed viciously.

On a small island on the mirrored Eastern Sea within the purple moon illusory realm, Xiao Nanfeng and his group suddenly flashed into existence, having been transported through spacetime.

They crashed to the ground.

"Where are we?" Yu'er exclaimed. After looking around, her eyes widened. "This must be what you and Blue Lantern were doing back then! You were setting up a teleportation array?"

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "Blue Lantern created this array using his two bronze compasses. It was originally designed for the outside world, and we weren't sure if it would work in the purple moon illusory realm. Thankfully, it does."

"Good thing you planned ahead, or we would have been in serious trouble," Yang Xingyan said, exhaling in relief.

"We suffered significant losses," Ye Sanshui said, frowning.

Five zombie kings had self-destructed—five Boundless Immortals, wasted in an instant.

"Surviving is what matters most. Better the zombie kings than us," Yang Xingyan consoled.

Yang Chuan grimaced. "How are we supposed to fight back against someone like Shi Tianbei? He's growing too strong too quickly. How are we supposed to win?"

Xiao Nanfeng frowned. "Perhaps things aren't as bad as we expected."

"Hmm?" Everyone turned toward Xiao Nanfeng in surprise.

"When Blue Lantern activated the teleportation array, I saw Shi Tianbei and the five Mountain Lords charging forward—but not at us," Xiao Nanfeng recalled.

"They weren't after us?" Yu'er exclaimed, surprised.

Xiao Nanfeng nodded. "Shi Tianbei and his Mountain Lords were focused on Ge Tianyu's group, and with killing intent at that."

"An internal schism?" Yu'er exclaimed.

"What? Infighting?" The cultivators' eyes widened.

"I don't know what happened next, but it's very likely. This is good news for us," Xiao Nanfeng said.

"Let's go back and have a look, then!" Yang Xingyan exclaimed.

Everyone nodded.

"Wait. Let Blue Lantern stabilize the teleportation array here first. If something happens, we may need it again."

"Understood!" Everyone nodded.

Blue Lantern quickly reinforced the formation and reset it before the cultivators took to the air.

They carefully cloaked themselves with fog and returned to the vicinity of the Eastern Heavenly Gate.

By then, the guards around the gate had all vanished. Outside the gate was a blue membrane; in the distance, a group of Yuqing disciples were fleeing in terror.

"Interrogate them!" Xiao Nanfeng commanded.

Yang Chuan and Ye Sanshui rushed forward, quickly subduing the Yuqing disciples and bringing them over.

"Don't kill us! Don't feed on us!" the disciples screamed, utterly terrified.

"Look into my Heavenly Eye," Yang Chuan commanded.

A third eye appeared on Yang Chuan's forehead, glowing as it hypnotized one of the disciples.

"What happened? Who's trying to kill you?" Yang Chuan demanded.

"The hierarch! He ate those Boundless Immortals and unleashed countless blue flames. He's intending to burn all the Yuqing disciples in the Sieve of Heaven alive. I don't want to die, I don't!" the hypnotized disciple cried out, his voice trembling with terror as he recounted the horrifying scene.

"Devoured several Boundless Immortals? Why would Shi Tianbei do such a thing?" Yang Chuan asked, stunned.

"No, this is a blood sacrifice," Blue Lantern explained. His features were grave. "Shi Tianbei is using the souls of all the Yuqing disciples as a medium from which to draw power. He's trying to absorb all the Yuqing yin pillars into his body."