Hearing the Blood Emperor's question, Lan An replied indifferently:
"Believe it or not, that's up to you. This young master has no need to prove anything… At worst, we'll have a fight to the death and see who dies by whose hand!"
"You…" The Blood Emperor nearly spat blood in rage. The faces of the surrounding Blood Kings also turned extremely ugly. This brat was truly too arrogant — he hadn't left even the slightest room for negotiation…
The Blood Kings itched to ignore the Blood Lord's safety and swarm him, grinding this cunning and terrifying youth into minced meat. Unfortunately, they had no right to make that decision…
The commotion here was enormous and had long since alarmed others in the Blood Realm. Among those who appeared were quite a few Blood Princes — all sons of the Blood Emperor and direct competitors with the Blood Lord.
Seeing the Blood Lord in such a miserable state, they secretly hoped Lan An would kill the Blood Lord as soon as possible. However, they didn't dare show it outwardly and could only pretend to look at the Blood Lord with worried eyes…
"Make your decision quickly… Either the Blood Lord dies, or you wait until this young master successfully transmits and I'll release him!" Lan An pressed, his patience reaching its limit.
Seeing Lan An remain so stubborn, one of the Blood Kings' eyes flickered. He finally came up with a plan and hurriedly transmitted a message to the Blood Emperor…
The moment the Blood Emperor heard it, his bloodshot eyes lit up. He looked at Lan An and shouted in a deep voice:
"Listen well! Do not touch this Emperor's final bottom line, or not only will this Emperor sacrifice the Blood Lord, I will also destroy the Transcending Star Blood Formation… Let's see who suffers more in the end!"
The Blood Emperor's tone was stern and sincere, carrying the weight of absolute authority. It was clear that if he was determined, he would do exactly as he said…
Lan An's heart indeed wavered slightly. He wasn't afraid of waging a great war against the Blood Realm, but if the path back to Yuelong Star was destroyed… that would truly strike at his vital point.
"What do you want?" Lan An asked after a moment of silence. He knew being too rigid wasn't the best approach…
Hearing this, a trace of madness flashed in the Blood Emperor's eyes. He gritted his teeth and said:
"Let this Emperor's Blood Pearl enter the Blood Lord's body and link with his life force. If you dare to kill him, the Blood Pearl will automatically detonate with terrifying power. Its explosive force will be several times stronger than this Emperor's full-powered strike as a True Immortal Perfection expert. This is my final concession!"
"What an old fox!"
Lan An cursed inwardly. This was no different from carrying a time bomb with him. If he killed the Blood Lord inside the Transcending Star Blood Formation, the consequences would be unimaginable. And if he brought the Blood Lord back to Yuelong Star before killing him… the explosion from the Blood Pearl might very well flatten the entire Yuelong Star, and there was even a high chance it would violate world rules. Who knew whether those Immortal Kings would sense it and pin the blame on him…
Not to mention, Lan An had no desire to see Yuelong Star suffer the self-detonation of a True Immortal Perfection Blood Pearl because of him. As for whether he could successfully return and try putting the Blood Lord into the Spirit Realm Pearl before killing him — using the pearl's terrifying power to seal the explosion — that was still only a possibility…
Clearly, Lan An had no intention of sparing the Blood Lord's life…
Thinking of this, a glint flashed in Lan An's eyes as he made his decision…
"Understood? Unless you have a way to completely seal the explosion from this Emperor's Blood Pearl, you had best release the Blood Lord as promised!" The Blood Emperor said with full confidence.
Although this young man was powerful, resisting an attack and completely sealing an explosion were two entirely different concepts, and the latter was far more difficult.
In the Blood Emperor's view, Lan An might be able to withstand or dodge the Blood Pearl's explosion to protect himself, but asking him to fully contain the blast so it didn't affect the outside world would be extremely hard…
"Fine, we'll do it your way. However, I won't hand him over to you!" Lan An nodded in agreement.
"Hmph, no need!" The Blood Emperor snorted coldly. He suddenly opened his mouth wide…
A Blood Pearl the size of a basketball appeared in the air. Endless pitch-black blood essence condensed into a solid mass, and a continuous stream of energy that made the surrounding space tremble radiated outward…
"The Blood Emperor's Blood Pearl is already a peak superior-grade item. Once it detonates, the consequences will be unimaginable…" Jin Ni reminded him.
Lan An nodded gravely… If this thing exploded, the damage it would cause to Yuelong Star would be immeasurable…
Under everyone's watchful eyes, the Blood Emperor controlled the Blood Pearl to spin slowly before it entered the already deformed mouth of the Blood Lord in Lan An's hand.
The moment the Blood Pearl entered the body, it immediately resonated with the Blood Lord's life force, their heartbeats synchronizing…
Moreover, the Blood Pearl was quite miraculous. It actually released its Blood Immortal Power to slowly heal the Blood Lord's injuries, so there was no longer any need to worry about his life.
Lan An could now confirm that the Blood Emperor had spoken the truth. If he wanted to kill the Blood Lord, the first thing he would need to do was prevent the self-detonation of a Blood Pearl equivalent to a peak-grade treasure.
"You may proceed!" The Blood Emperor nodded, no longer intending to stop Lan An.
After all, he was the ruler of an entire world. He still had confidence in one of his own Blood Pearls…
"Until we meet again!" Lan An retracted the Five Dragon War Chariot, cupped his hands in a casual farewell as if seeing off an old acquaintance, and carried the Blood Lord toward the Star Guidance Hall.
"Wait!"
Right at that moment, a somewhat serious and anxious voice rang out…
Everyone turned to look. From among the line of Blood Princes, a handsome and refined young man with skin as pale as albinism stepped forward. He swept his gaze across the Blood Imperial Clan members, then looked at Lan An and said coldly:
"Imperial Father, this person is cunning and treacherous, full of schemes. I believe we should send two Blood Kings to monitor his movements and prevent him from doing anything insane before releasing Eldest Brother Blood Lord!"
"Second Prince speaks wisely. Blood Emperor Great One, please consider it!" A group of Blood Kings' eyes lit up. They stared intently at the Blood Emperor. This was a chance to earn merit, and it would be very easy to carry out…
It turned out this young man was another son of the Blood Emperor — the Second Prince of the Blood Imperial Clan. Although his status couldn't compare to the Blood Lord's, he still had considerable prestige. As soon as his words were spoken, quite a few Blood Kings immediately voiced their support.
The Blood Emperor listened to his Second Prince and the important ministers. A profound glint flashed in his eyes as he pondered for a moment. Finally, he selected two of his most trusted Blood Kings and looked at Lan An, asking in a heavy voice:
"These two will accompany you all the way to the other side to monitor the Blood Lord's safety, then bring him back safely… Do you have any objections?"
"Can I even have objections?" Lan An shrugged and asked.
"No, you cannot!" The Blood Emperor cut him off immediately.
"Then why the hell are you still asking?!" Lan An said with contempt.
"You…" The Blood Emperor nearly spat blood again. Fine… this Emperor will endure it.
Once everything was settled, Lan An carried the Blood Lord and, together with the two Blood Kings, entered the Star Guidance Hall under the scrutinizing gazes of the Blood Imperial Clan. They stepped into the chamber containing the Transcending Star Blood Formation that would take them back to Yuelong Star…
"Hiss, they've already transmitted so many?" Lan An took a deep breath. The number of powerhouses he had seen in the chamber earlier had decreased by nearly two-thirds, clearly indicating that a powerful force had already descended upon his star.
Lan An's expression turned extremely ugly. Watching the Blood Clan figures jumping into the Transcending Star Blood Formation with surging killing intent, he wished he could slaughter them all on the spot.
"Aren't we going?" One of the Blood Kings appointed by the Blood Emperor looked at Lan An and laughed coldly. His name was Xue Lie… reportedly the Eighth Blood King beside the Blood Emperor.
The other Blood King was the Sixth Blood King, named Xue Lian…
Xue Lie and Xue Lian were both Blood Kings the Blood Emperor trusted the most. Their task was to monitor Lan An, protect the Blood Lord during the transmission, and then safely bring the Blood Lord back to the Blood Realm…
Lan An swept his gaze around and noticed that the female attendant from the Star Guidance Hall was looking at him with terrified eyes. Clearly, she also knew what had happened not long ago…
In her eyes, the gentle and kind Young Master Xue Mie had actually taken the Blood Lord hostage. It was simply too terrifying…
Lan An grinned with a friendly smile, then didn't spare the Blood Imperial Clan members even a single glance. Holding the Blood Lord, he leaped into the Transcending Star Blood Formation…
"We will not disappoint Blood Emperor Great One!" Xue Lie and Xue Lian bowed respectfully toward the Blood Emperor in unison, then closely followed Lan An and jumped into the formation as well.
In the blink of an eye, the group disappeared…
No one noticed the flash of viciousness and delight that suddenly appeared in the Second Prince's eyes at that moment…
"Blood Emperor, that little thief's strength is terrifying… I'm afraid our Blood Imperial forces on the Yuelong Battlefield will find it very difficult to stop him!" One of the Blood Kings thought of the seriousness of the situation and spoke cautiously.
"This Emperor naturally understands. However, for the sake of the Blood Lord's life… we can only take the risk. At worst, we temporarily halt the attack on Yuelong and focus on invading other stars!" The Blood Emperor sighed.
The Blood Realm was invading many stars, not just Yuelong Star. But there was only one Blood Lord…
"Alternatively, we could continue increasing the number of troops invading Yuelong to assert our dominance. Although that little thief Lan An is formidable, he may not be able to contend with the endless waves of powerful Blood Clan experts we can send!" Another Blood King suggested in a low voice.
"For now, monitor the situation and battle reports. This Emperor will make further decisions later… Even if we ultimately cannot conquer Yuelong, we must still seize the Fox Clan and bring them back for me!" The Blood Emperor's eyes flashed with greed. His bright red tongue licked the corner of his mouth, filled with lust…
The group of Blood Kings exchanged glances. Remembering the seductive and enchanting Fox Clan women shown in the Recording Jade, their lower abdomens immediately heated up with desire. They lowered their heads and shouted in unison:
"Blood Emperor is wise and brilliant!"
…
Inside the void, Lan An and the two Blood Kings transmitted side by side. The Blood Lord was carefully protected in his hand to prevent the unlucky bastard from being crushed by the void — if the Blood Pearl exploded, it would be disastrous…
In front of and behind them, one could vaguely see quite a few Blood Guards, Blood Generals, and Blood Envoys also being transmitted. Clearly, reinforcements were being sent to Yuelong Star…
"This transmission process is much faster than the formation from Yuelong to Manhuang because it uses blood essence as energy. At this speed, Young Master should successfully return to Yuelong Star in about two more days…" Jin Ni said with some excitement.
Her Young Master had trained for a long time and achieved terrifying results. His entire strength had undergone a heaven-shaking transformation…
This time, upon his return, he would complete the Main Quest and open a brand new door…
As someone who had always accompanied Lan An, Jin Ni felt both proud and honored… Her Young Master truly lived up to being chosen by the System. A hundred-year mission had been completed in less than one-tenth of the time. He was simply too outstanding…
While Lan An and Kim Nhi waited eagerly for a bright future…
On the final day of transmission, a sudden change occurred…
The Eighth Blood King — Xue Lie — who had been quietly monitoring the Blood Lord's condition the entire time, suddenly unleashed the full power of a Half-Immortal realm expert and viciously slapped down toward the Blood Lord's head…
Although Lan An had been focused on the transmission, he had remained vigilant against the two Blood Kings at all times. His heart jolted as he reacted instantly, countering with a Star Explosion Fist…
BOOM…
Following the collision, the already somewhat fragile Transcending Star Blood Formation suddenly shook, causing the faces of everyone being transmitted to change drastically…
"Xue Lie, have you gone mad? Do you want to die?!" Xue Lian also had no idea what was happening and roared in fury…
However, they were currently inside the void, where the environment was extremely sensitive… Even though his strength far surpassed Xue Lie's, he didn't dare to strike him down…
"Haha, Blood Lord, you little beast… Along with the rest of you, follow this old man to your deaths!" Xue Lie threw his head back and laughed wildly. His laughter was filled with madness and overwhelming hatred…
He released his own Blood Pearl and summoned his Blood Slaughter Corpse Puppet. Without another word, he launched an all-out attack toward the Blood Lord in Lan An's hand, clearly intending to detonate the Blood Emperor's Blood Pearl immediately…
"Xue Lie, if you have something to say, say it slowly!" Lan An was horrified. He activated the Void Gate to create distance from Xue Lie.
Even he didn't dare counterattack in such a dangerous place…
"Xue Lie, have you lost your mind?!" Xue Lian's eyes turned blood-red as he rushed forward to block Xue Lie…
Crack…
After the collision between the two Blood Kings, the Transcending Star Blood Formation finally began to show spreading cracks…
"Lost my mind my ass! This old man has waited for this day for far too long. For the Second Prince… for her… I am willing to sacrifice my life to eliminate the Blood Lord and, incidentally, make that bastard Blood Emperor suffer until he dies of heartbreak — hahaha!" The more Xue Lie spoke, the more excited he became. He even fully unleashed his Blood Clan True Form…
Lan An's heart pounded wildly. He secretly cursed the Blood Emperor's ancestors eighteen generations back. That bastard had actually kept a white-eyed wolf like Xue Lie by his side without realizing it… Only death could serve as punishment.
Today, he had been dragged into this mess…
"Blood Slaughter Corpse Puppet — explode!"
In the horrified eyes of the group, Xue Lie commanded his Blood Slaughter Corpse Puppet to charge toward the Blood Lord and Lan An before detonating with a deafening blast…
CRACK!!!
At that moment, the Transcending Star Blood Formation showed clear signs of collapsing…
The situation had become extremely critical…