Chapter 163: The Gap in Strength

Chapter 163: The Gap in Strength

The Black Lai High Priest handed the bronze dagger to Ning Xiaochuan, ordering him to carve flesh from Ji Hanxing’s body first.

This was a deliberate test—to see if Ning Xiaochuan truly dared to consume human flesh.

An overwhelming pressure radiated from the Black Lai High Priest, as if a mountain weighing a half a million kg pressed down on Ning Xiaochuan and Ji Hanxing. A cold smirk played on his lips. "Go on. Weren’t you so eager to devour human flesh? Show me now."

Ning Xiaochuan took the bronze dagger and subtly exchanged a glance with Ji Hanxing.

Even when facing a Martial Venerable, he couldn’t just wait for death. He had to fight—but strategy was key to any chance of victory.

Ning Xiaochuan’s dagger descended toward Ji Hanxing’s arm—only for the blade to land squarely in her palm. At the same time, his body transformed into a streak of rainbow light, moving at blinding speed as he charged straight at the Black Lai High Priest.

"Whoosh!"

Ning Xiaochuan’s figure became a dazzling arc of color.

The Black Lai High Priest chuckled darkly. "I knew you wouldn’t submit. Why struggle pointlessly? An ant trying to shake a mighty tree—how laughable."

He extended a withered hand, casually reaching out to seize Ning Xiaochuan. Wisps of Earth Martial Essence coiled around his fingers, forming a spiraling vortex of energy.

The very fabric of space seemed to twist. Not even a fly could escape that crushing force, let alone a person.

"Whoosh!"

At the critical moment, Ning Xiaochuan’s body dissolved into rainbow light once more, his position shifting unpredictably like a ghostly afterimage. He narrowly evaded the Black Lai High Priest’s grasp.

A faint sound of surprise escaped the High Priest’s lips. For a mere youth in the Divine Body Realm to escape the clutches of a Martial Venerable—this was nothing short of a miracle.

The gap between the Earthly Venerable Realm and the Divine Body Realm was like that between an elephant and an ant.

No matter how fast the ant was, it should never evade the elephant’s strike. Yet this ant had somehow dodged.

"Now—strike!" Ning Xiaochuan let out a thunderous roar, his voice shaking the void as countless bolts of lightning intertwined, painting a scene of awe-inspiring power.

The Demonic Sword within his heart surged to life.

Ning Xiaochuan slammed his palm against the Black Lai High Priest’s back, channeling the sword’s power to voraciously drain the High Priest’s Blood Qi and Earth Martial Essence.

The Black Lai High Priest felt his blood reverse its flow, his Earth Martial Essence scattering uncontrollably. A jolt of alarm shot through him. If Ning Xiaochuan’s cultivation had been stronger, he might have been completely drained.

"Die!"

Though momentarily stunned by the Demonic Sword’s power, the High Priest swiftly sealed his pores, reclaiming control over his Earth Martial Essence. A dark mist erupted from his body, coalescing into a claw dozens of meters wide that descended toward Ning Xiaochuan’s head.

This was the wrath of a Martial Venerable.

The Black Lai High Priest was thoroughly enraged. A supreme Martial Venerable, humiliated by a mere Divine Body Realm youth who dared to steal his Blood Qi—this was an unbearable disgrace.

Ning Xiaochuan sighed inwardly. The gap between his strength and a Martial Venerable’s was simply too vast. He had only managed to absorb a sliver of Blood Qi before the High Priest severed the connection to the Demonic Sword and reclaimed dominance.

But in that fleeting moment, Ji Hanxing had already seized enough opportunity to strike.

"Whoosh!"

Ji Hanxing gripped the Bronze Dagger, transforming into a streak of cold light that pierced through the Martial Venerable's Profound Qi and stabbed into the Black Lai High Priest's body.

"Thud!"

However, the Bronze Dagger only penetrated half an inch deep before being forcefully halted by the Black Lai High Priest. No matter how hard Ji Hanxing pushed, she couldn't advance the blade any further.

The Black Lai High Priest's flesh seemed to have turned into Black Iron, indestructible and unyielding.

"Damn you! You've thoroughly enraged me!"

The Black Lai High Priest's eyes turned completely black, even the whites darkening like ink. A massive vortex formed around his body, sweeping Ning Xiaochuan and Ji Hanxing into its currents and hurling them high into the sky.

His lips stretched grotesquely wider, his teeth twisting into curved, razor-sharp fangs, his entire head morphing into that of a monstrous beast.

With a deep inhale, Ning Xiaochuan and Ji Hanxing were pulled toward his gaping maw.

He truly intended to devour two living humans!

Ning Xiaochuan had exerted his utmost effort, but the disparity in cultivation realms was simply too vast—no amount of wit or strategy could bridge the gap. It seemed death was inevitable today.

Just as Ning Xiaochuan and Ji Hanxing were about to be swallowed, ripples surged through the air like waves crashing toward the Black Lai High Priest.

A streak of white light shot from the distance, swift as a meteor, striking the Black Lai High Priest's chest with a palm strike that dispersed his Profound Qi and sent him flying back over 10 meters.

Freed from the vortex's pull, Ning Xiaochuan and Ji Hanxing tumbled to the ground.

Ning Xiaochuan knelt on one knee, bracing himself against the earth, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His gaze fixed on the white figure, and he exhaled in relief—their savior had arrived.

"Who are you?" The Black Lai High Priest glared at the white figure, his eyes venomous and ferocious. With a furious roar, he sent rocks and dirt flying from the ground, all hurtling toward the mysterious figure.

It was a woman clad in Daoist robes, enveloped in white mist, with strands of radiant light swirling around her. Her long hair fluttered like willow catkins.

Yet, her form remained indistinct—as if she didn't exist in this Space, but rather in another Time altogether.

"Spiritual Void Venerable," Ning Xiaochuan murmured, staring at the enigmatic woman shrouded in white mist.

The entrance to the Emperor's Tomb had been sealed shut—even a Martial Venerable would struggle to breach it. Only the Spiritual Void Venerable, who wielded control over Time and Space, could come and go as she pleased.

The Black Lai High Priest transformed into a black storm, charging toward the Spiritual Void Venerable with a force like a tidal wave, devastating the land like a demonic god.

Yet the Spiritual Void Venerable stood firm as the Pillar Stabilizing the Sea, unmoved by the raging tempest.

But the moment she moved, she vanished from sight, reappearing above the Black Lai High Priest. A white Immortal Ribbon shot from her sleeve, striking like a Divine Bridge from heaven, crashing down upon him.

The Black Lai High Priest's palm sprouted scales, transforming into a massive claw dozens of meters long, like a monstrous beast striking at the heavens, capable of tearing apart stars.

This was a battle between two Martial Venerables, their destructive power immense. Everything within hundreds, even thousands of meters was obliterated, leaving no living creature unscathed.

Ning Xiaochuan, Ji Hanxing, and the other two fled the area at top speed.

This was a battle at the Martial Venerable level—they had no place in it. A single casual technique from a Martial Venerable could kill them instantly.

"Spiritual Void Venerable is actually this powerful? She can fight a Martial Venerable head-on, and rumors say she's not even twenty yet. Could it be that Yue Wuyang's title as the youngest Martial Venerable is about to be snatched away so soon?" Yu Qianqian was shocked. Though both were geniuses, the Spiritual Void Venerable's strength seemed almost excessive.

Ji Hanxing said, "Becoming a Martial Venerable isn’t so easy. Let’s get out of here quickly. Though the Spiritual Void Venerable’s cultivation is extraordinary, defeating a Martial Venerable is impossible."

"To the Underground Forest!" Ning Xiaochuan sat cross-legged on the Double-headed Stone Beast’s back, his Meridians churning violently. Blood Qi surged around him, forming crimson mist that rippled like bloody waves.

Yue Mingsong frowned. "Why go there? That’s where the Blood Realm Gate is. There might be hordes of Blood Fiend Generals gathered there—it’d be suicide!"

"The most dangerous place is the safest."

Ning Xiaochuan channeled all his strength to suppress the Blood Qi within him. Though he had only absorbed a trace of the Black Lai High Priest’s Blood Qi, that tiny strand contained an overwhelming amount of energy—the most terrifying essence of a Martial Venerable’s blood.

His body was on the verge of bursting from the strain, nearly consumed by the Demonic Sword’s backlash.

This was an extremely perilous situation. At any moment, his Meridians could shatter, leading to his death.

Ji Hanxing asked, "What do you mean by the Blood Realm Gate?"

"Those Blood Fiend Generals pour out from the Blood Realm Gate. The Natives’ experts are using the Yin-Yang Furnace to manufacture these killing machines."

Yue Mingsong quickly recounted everything he and Ning Xiaochuan had encountered, explaining it to Ji Hanxing and Yu Qianqian.

After hearing it, their faces paled. They hadn’t realized the Natives were plotting something so grand. If they succeeded, the entire Emperor's Martial Palace could be destroyed, and all warriors from the Yulan Empire would be driven out of the Emperor's Ruins.

"To control so many Blood Fiend Generals, they must still be relying on the Yin-Yang Furnace’s power. The Yin-Yang Furnace must still be in the Blood Realm. If we can seize it, we can take command of those Blood Fiend Generals. This is our only chance now," Yu Qianqian said.

The plan was unanimously agreed upon by Ning Xiaochuan, Yu Qianqian, and Ji Hanxing. Left with no choice, Yue Mingsong had no choice but to join them in infiltrating the Blood Realm.

Though they knew the risks were immense, there was no alternative.

Failure meant death.

Success would make them heroes who saved the Emperor's Martial Palace, likely earning them immense rewards.

Would they succeed or fail?

It all rested on the four of them.

Reaching the edge of the Underground Forest, the four of them dismounted from the Double-headed Stone Beast and cautiously advanced into the woods.

Yue Mingsong, having been inside the Underground Forest before, led the way at the front.

Passing through layers of thickets and stepping over thorns, they soon spotted a blood-red cave entrance in the distance, emitting thick waves of Blood Qi. It resembled a bloody maw, waiting for prey to willingly step into its jaws.

Squads of Nether Knights, Yin Soldiers, and Corpse Fiends continuously poured into the Blood Realm Gate, vanishing into the Blood Qi.

"Is this the Blood Realm Gate? Where’s the gate?" Ji Hanxing frowned, finding it hard to believe that this seemingly ordinary cave could be the perilous entrance to the Blood Realm.

"The Blood Realm has two gates. The outer one was forged from Mystic Stones and Chimu Iron—worth a fortune... cough—I, uh, pried it off." Yue Mingsong pulled out a massive door panel from his Heaven and Earth Bag and slung it over his back, using it as a giant shield.