Chapter 118: Chapter 118: Blood Path Vs Battle Path
The battlefield had become an arena of gods and monsters.
Dust, heat, and the stink of scorched earth hung thick in the air, veiling the figures locked in mortal combat. The once-lush clearing had been reduced to a cratered field of cracked stone and charred soil. From the depths of the gully carved by Hang Feng’s mighty strike, Li Wuji rose like a specter.
"Courting death..." he muttered, lips curling into a sneer as his body arched forward. With but a flicker of motion, his fist flew through the air like a falling star. Members of the party were hardly able to resist the fist force, they were horrified by the brute strength of the combatant in their midst.
[Devil Flame Fist Art – Third Move: Fist Demon]
The moment his fist launched, the atmosphere twisted. The air cried out under the force of the strike. The energy around him turned oppressive, as though the heavens themselves were reluctant to witness the collision. It was a supernova triggered by the high attainment level in one’s martial arts, in a backwater place like this, such a person was exceptionally rare.
~WHOOOOM~
The mighty slash of Hang Feng’s saber—what moments ago had seemed like an ocean birthed of steel—was obliterated, its shadow scattered like frightened birds. Yuan Yi’s eyes widened as her instincts screamed at her to duck. She dove behind a fallen tree just as the shockwave roared past.
"What... what just happened?" gasped one of the warriors, barely finding his voice. The movement and execution speed of both fighters was simply unbelievable, move after move they caused tremors and cracks on the earth below.
In a breath, the battle had turned. Hang Feng, who stood tall as a mountain, was sent hurtling backward, carving a trench in the ground as he crashed through mounds of dirt and broken trees. ~THUD THUD THUD~
"Our lives aren’t our own," Yuan Yi murmured, her voice distant. "Not when such beings walk among us..."
A truth she had long suspected now unfurled before her eyes. If one wished to rise within the upper echelons of the martial world, one must walk with demons or become one. It was a path of pain, sacrifice, and death. But it was also power.
Li Wuji stood firm amidst the swirling ash, arm still extended, the glow of his inner Qi slowly dimming. Even after such an attack, he showed no signs of fatigue. Only his eyes burned—crimson, resolute.
"Heavens..." murmured a young cultivator from behind. "If he ever breaks into the Sky Gathering Realm, the heavens themselves may tremble."
"Silence," Yuan Yi snapped, without turning her head. "The fight is not over."
All eyes turned to the rising figure from the trench. Hang Feng emerged, blood streaming from a gash across his forehead. His massive frame was dented and bruised, but far from broken. His glare bore into Li Wuji like a lion spotting its rival.
"Marvelous!" he bellowed, his voice echoing off the distant cliffs. "It’s been over a decade since my blood ran this hot. Come, boy! Let me show you what it means to walk the Battle Path!"
With a grunt, Hang Feng raised his blade once more.
[Tyrant Saber Art – First Move: Overlapping Slash]
A tide of saber shadows burst forth from his weapon, each slash overlaid with the next like an endless tide. The earth trembled as the strikes whipped forward—waves of steel washing toward Li Wuji like a tempest. Even loose rocks and debris were caught in the wave, disintegrated before they could even touch the saber shadows.
Yuan Yi braced herself. The wind was like knives. This... this is the power of one who has reached the Adept stage with Earth-tier arts...
Li Wuji’s expression turned cold.
"Let me show you the difference between earth and sky," he said quietly.
He inhaled slowly. His hands came together in a seal, and the energy within him surged like a tidal river breaking through a dam. The crimson hue around his body darkened, thickened. The scent of rust and rot crept into the air.
From the edge of the group, the solemn-faced warrior spoke again.
"That aura... it reeks of death."
Yuan Yi’s heart clenched.
No... not just death. It’s blood.
"The Blood Path," she murmured.
Among the countless paths to power, the Blood Path was the most abhorred—fueled by sacrifice, and strengthened through death. It was the path of butchers and madmen... and now, Li Wuji.
"So it’s true," Hang Feng growled, his voice like thunder over broken earth. "You walk the bloodied road of demons. Good. Then I have no need for mercy."
More saber shadows flew.
But Li Wuji’s eyes gleamed with eerie calm.
[Blood Path Secret Technique – Red Flood]
From the ground, a sinister ripple spread outward like the reflection of a pebble cast into a pool. But there was no water.
Splash. Splash. Splash. ~ The party members looked around, confused. There was no rain. No pond. Yet the sound persisted.
Then it emerged.
From the crimson-tainted earth rose a grotesque pillon—a totem of blood, bone, and anguish. Skulls crowned its top like ceremonial offerings. Runes carved from Qi dripped from its form. It pulsed with malevolence as though it were alive.
BOOM ~
The Red Flood surged forward.
The Saber shadows met the bloody pillar—and shattered like glass. The torrent of blood did not stop. It advanced, devouring Hang Feng’s Qi like a beast long starved.
Hang Feng took one step back. Then another.
"No... no!" he roared, raising his saber once more. But it was too late.
CRACK!
The Red Flood exploded, hurling spectral blood blades in every direction. Hang Feng was consumed in the torrent—his scream lost beneath the roar of malevolent Qi.
Is this... the end? he thought, as the weight of the Blood Path bore down on him. The ground beneath his feet crumbled, and the light dimmed from the sky.
Yet, even then—he stood. Bloodied. Scorched. But not yet broken.
He steadied himself and lifted his saber with a trembling hand.
"I—will—not—fall!"