Chapter 432 : Birth of a Blood Fiend Beast
432: Birth of a Blood Fiend Beast
Jiang Mo's heart felt heavy, filled with a sense of foreboding, yet the prospect of intervening with the formation now seemed daunting.
A hand suddenly rested on her shoulder, giving a gentle squeeze of reassurance—Yun Qingyue had perceived her inner conflict. Unlike Jiang Mo's indecision, Yun Qingyue maintained a broader perspective. She looked up at the now-clear sky and said, "This was a carefully orchestrated plot, not something we could prevent by stumbling upon it." After a pause, she added, "Even if we stopped this instance, we couldn't prevent the next."
Jiang Mo had always trusted her Senior Sister. Hearing these words, the weight in her heart lightened considerably. She nodded, gazing at the transforming formation below, and clenched her fists: "You're right. Now we can only respond to whatever comes."
The two hadn't initially stopped these people from setting up the formation—partly to see what would unfold, and partly because they understood Mount Xuanyin's many peculiarities. Sometimes, exposing something was better than concealing it, at least allowing for cautious countermeasures.
Yun Qingyue gave a soft "Mmm" of agreement, her gaze also settling on the formation below.
The red-black light within the formation continued to churn relentlessly. The color, which had darkened after absorbing the sky's shadow, began to gradually shed its darkness—the light grew increasingly red, increasingly vivid, eventually transforming into the color of fresh blood. The great formation beneath the ground seemed to become a massive pool of blood, creating the illusion of overwhelming bloodiness with just a glance.
Suddenly, Jiang Mo noticed something moving in the "blood pool." Thinking she might have been mistaken, she hastily pulled Yun Qingyue and asked, "Ah Yue, look—is there something in the formation?"
This "something" referred to a living entity. Yun Qingyue also vaguely perceived what seemed to be a creature thrashing in the "blood pool."
Both drew a sharp breath, simultaneously thinking of the black-clothed figures who had established the formation. But upon reflection, they realized it couldn't be them—after sacrificing their blood, those figures had collapsed like deflated balloons, their bodies shriveling. The two didn't know if those black-clothed individuals were still alive, but even if they were, their forms would certainly not match what they had just glimpsed.
This realization made everything more terrifying. Even Yun Qingyue's hand on Jiang Mo's shoulder tightened involuntarily. Both tensed, their auras heightening, clearly prepared to act at any moment.
At that precise moment, the formation below, which had been brewing for so long, finally transformed.
Suddenly, a massive red figure broke free from the formation's constraints, throwing back its head to release a long howl... It was a ferocious beast with a terrifying, grotesque appearance, its dark red body covered in scales. Its two powerful forelegs scraped at the ground, while a blood-like dark red liquid dripped from its body, corroding the ground like concentrated sulfuric acid with a faint "sizzling" sound.
Had Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue been closer, they would have seen a faint white smoke rising from the corroded area. Though inconspicuous, inhaling this smoke would cause instant unconsciousness.
The two didn't risk approaching and maintained a considerable distance from the ferocious beast. Yet seeing its grotesque form, they couldn't help but be shocked. Jiang Mo, with her limited experience, even exclaimed, "Where did this monster come from?!"
The response came not from Yun Qingyue, but from Sect Leader Zhu, who had appeared behind them at some unknown moment.
Sect Leader Zhu's brows were tightly knitted as she stared at the beast emerging from the formation, her gaze finally settling on the conspicuous blood-red pearl on its forehead. Her voice tightened: "It's a blood fiend beast—someone has been breeding blood fiend beasts!"
Jiang Mo was startled by the sudden voice behind her. With the golden bell's limited protection, her movement nearly drove her into Yun Qingyue's embrace. The latter steadied her with a hand at her waist, and both turned to discover that Zhu Baiyi had somehow followed them without intervening when the black-clothed figures were setting up the formation.
Zhu Baiyi's cultivation surpassed theirs significantly, and as the Crimson Blood Sect Leader, she could summon assistance at any time.
Seeing her, both felt instinctively relieved. Jiang Mo directly asked, "What's a blood fiend beast?"
Before Zhu Baiyi could explain, Yun Qingyue provided the answer: "A blood fiend beast is a monstrous creature formed from concentrated blood-qi. They aren't living beings and lack consciousness—their instincts are controlled by blood-qi... they crave slaughter above all."
The final statement wasn't exaggeration, but the key point—blood-qi comes in two forms: blood fiend qi from slaughter and yin fiend qi from malevolent influences. Neither was benign. Once concentrated enough to form a blood fiend beast, it became like a plague god, bringing death wherever it went. Not only would mortals suffer extensively, but even cultivators could be affected, their nature corrupted.
In other words, once a blood fiend beast emerged, it would at minimum devastate a region, and at worst, throw the world into chaos!
After hearing the explanation, Jiang Mo felt her entire tiger form wilting: "I should have stopped those people."
Hearing Jiang Mo's belated regret, Sect Leader Zhu responded impassively: "The blood-qi had already concentrated. The formation merely accelerated the beast's formation—even without it, this blood fiend beast would have eventually coalesced." After a pause, she added: "Naturally formed blood fiend beasts are more terrifying than artificially cultivated ones, with greater power and influence."
Jiang Mo easily understood this explanation—the difference between naturally ripened fruit and force-ripened fruit. But either way, blood fiend beasts were clearly calamitous. Having already arrived here, they couldn't allow this beast to escape!
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"Sect Leader, while it hasn't fully formed, let's eliminate it," Jiang Mo declared boldly, her eyes gleaming.
Without responding, Sect Leader Zhu immediately produced a magical weapon and began her attack—she didn't have a fixed weapon, sometimes using knives, sometimes swords, sometimes bare hands. But confronting a blood fiend beast required distance; getting too close risked contamination from its blood-qi. So Zhu Baiyi drew out a purple-gold bow, raised and drew it, and decisively released an arrow.
This arrow wasn't physical but composed entirely of concentrated spiritual energy. Higher cultivation resulted in stronger arrows. With Zhu Baiyi's current cultivation, her arrow's power was considerable, and as long as her spiritual energy didn't deplete, the arrows would continue flowing.
Indeed, Zhu Baiyi's initial attack wasn't limited to a single arrow. She rapidly drew the bowstring, causing spiritual light to flash from the purple-gold bow, instantly sending seven or eight arrows toward the blood fiend beast.
The blood fiend beast lacked clear consciousness but still possessed instinct, instinctively avoiding vital areas when attacked.
As Zhu Baiyi fired seven or eight consecutive arrows, the newly formed blood fiend beast immediately sensed danger and turned to avoid a frontal assault. A series of "clinks" and "clangs" followed as all the arrows struck the thick scales covering its back... The sound resembled metal striking metal—Jiang Mo and Yun Qingyue could even see sparks where the arrows struck, but the damage ended there.
"Ah..." Jiang Mo couldn't suppress a sigh, seemingly disappointed.
Dissatisfied with the result, Zhu Baiyi prepared to conjure more arrows when suddenly a white feathered arrow appeared at her side. Looking up along the arrow, she unsurprisingly saw Yun Qingyue offering it.
Yun Qingyue spoke concisely: "Use this."
Zhu Baiyi instinctively accepted it but didn't immediately fire. She glanced down at the jade-like delicate arrow in her hand, displaying both surprise and hesitation: "This..."
Jiang Mo's attention was also drawn to this exchange, her eyes widening instantly.
Ignoring their surprise, Yun Qingyue frowned and urged: "Time is short—act quickly."
Zhu Baiyi had been hesitating, but these words cleared her mind, setting aside further considerations. She raised her hand, nocked the feathered arrow on the bowstring, and with a single pull and release, the arrow transformed into a streak of white light shooting toward the blood fiend beast.
This arrow moved faster than Zhu Baiyi's previous ones, reaching the beast before it could dodge again. The blood fiend beast hadn't moved, still presenting its heavily armored back to counter the attack...
With a "thwack" sound, the arrow penetrated as if into flesh, the previously impenetrable back armor now seeming paper-thin.
Whether Jiang Mo and the others were surprised remained unknown, but the mindless blood fiend beast was clearly stunned. It suddenly raised its head in a long howl, turning to face precisely toward Jiang Mo's group—though they had been tracking with concealed forms and remained in a semi-hidden state, impossible to detect with the naked eye. Yet the enraged blood fiend beast demonstrated remarkable sensitivity; even with its blood-red eyes unable to see them, it still located its targets.
Before Jiang Mo's group could act, the blood fiend beast suddenly raised its two front claws that had been scraping at the formation's edge and slammed them down forcefully. With a "boom" that seemed to shake the earth, the beast, half of its body still trapped in the formation, completely broke free from its constraints.
With the ferocious beast unleashed and ready to wreak havoc, the three present naturally couldn't stand idly by.
This time, Yun Qingyue simply offered a handful of arrows. Zhu Baiyi and Jiang Mo were again shocked, their eyes widening. Both wanted to dissuade her, as with their discerning eyes, they easily recognized these feathered arrows were crafted from phoenix feathers—phoenixes, both divine and auspicious beasts, naturally countered such malevolent entities. Otherwise, how could the thick-skinned blood fiend beast be so easily penetrated?
While phoenix feathers were effective, was such extravagance necessary? The little Swan Goose, who once held a year-long grudge over losing a single feather, now displayed a generosity that made their hearts tremble. They worried both about future grudges and about her plucking herself bare.
Zhu Baiyi hesitated to speak, but this wasn't the time for such concerns. After giving Yun Qingyue a deep look, she accepted the arrows.
Jiang Mo scanned Yun Qingyue up and down, finally focusing on her glossy black hair—her Senior Sister's hair was black, shiny, and abundant, showing no signs of baldness, so presumably there was no issue?
As she indulged in these random thoughts, Yun Qingyue herself began using a bow and arrows, firing one arrow after another.
Jiang Mo inhaled sharply, quickly stopping her and producing two sharp daggers from her palm: "Ah Yue, why not try these instead?"