Chapter 259: Hunters and Prey
The moment Yao Yan stepped into the spatial door, everything in front of him seemed to blur, as if he had entered a void space where nothing could be perceived. After a moment, a strand of pitch-black flame suddenly appeared and entered his body, with no chance for any reaction, not even any resistance from his body.
"This is the sub-flame derived from the Void Devouring Flame's Heavenly Fire?!" Yao Yan felt the presence of a flame inside him. It was invisible, intangible; he could sense it but not touch it. It silently hovered near his chest, eerily strange.
At the same time, a powerful suction force swept toward him from afar, completely engulfing him.
After a moment of daze.
Yao Yan entered a unique world, and the instant he did, he felt the overwhelming killing intent in this place. It was as though the very air was thick with the smell of blood. The sky was dark red, without a sun or moon, without mountains or rivers, and without any rich energy. All that surrounded him was endless desolation and heaviness.
The suffocating stench of blood and oppressive atmosphere were enough to drive the weak-hearted into madness.
The ground was dark black, and stepping on it felt as though it was solid and weighty.
"The spatial power here is incredibly condensed, unlike the outside. Even a Dou Zun would have a hard time tearing it apart... This place seems more like a sealed world!" After training in the Divine Flame Avatar, Yao Yan had become increasingly sensitive to spatial forces. As soon as he entered this space, he could tell something was wrong.
At the same time, his mind recalled information from the original text. The massive portals that had risen around the plaza earlier seemed somewhat similar to the Desolate Gate depicted in the original text!
The Desolate Gate was controlled by the four elders of the Hun Clan. They were all above eight-star Dou Shengs but were killed by Xiao Xuan a thousand years ago. They had survived in a state of living corpses, and the Desolate Gate was the artifact they had refined to create the Great Death Array!
The full array's power was never thoroughly described in the original, as one of its parts was taken by Xiao Yan, leading to a strategic defeat for the Hun Clan, and the array was forcibly broken apart.
"The complete version should be able to seal a nine-star Dou Sheng…" Yao Yan thought to himself, his Hun power spreading out from his brow as he attempted to scan the world around him. However, he quickly felt a suppression against his Hun power.
"The suppression is moderate, not too impactful for combat, but my sensing range is severely limited!" Yao Yan furrowed his brow. At his peak Hun power level, he could cover an entire area with his spiritual sense. Right now, however, he could only sense a radius of a few miles. Beyond that, everything was blurred, as though it had been affected by something.
"Most crucially, the energy of this world is so scarce. Once my Dou Qi runs out, replenishing it will be very difficult… But this won't affect me much. Even without pills, I can wreak havoc here just with my physical strength!" Yao Yan smirked, his expression tinged with amusement.
Without any further hesitation, he locked onto a direction and began hunting for prey! Since the Hun Clan's Dou Shengs already knew about his ability to devour the Hun Devouring Clan, there was no need for him to hold back. This time, he was aiming to devour to the peak of the Nine Turn Dou Zun and pave the way for his breakthrough into Dou Sheng!
"Whoosh~"
A streak of purple-blue light shot through the air.
...
On a distant mountain peak, three men of varying sizes were "feeding" on a corpse. Black flames swirled in front of each of them, devouring the blood essence and Qi from the corpse, absorbing it into their bodies to strengthen their bloodline power.
"Finally, the day of the bloodline baptism has arrived… It feels wonderful," one of the tattered men sighed, his eyes filled with a mix of enjoyment and coldness.
Every bloodline baptism for the Hun Clan resulted in a flood of clan members entering the blood sacrifice world. Some succeeded in killing their way out, some became others' nourishment, and some chose to stay behind, waiting for the next baptism to start again, hunting others, stealing their bloodline power to gradually enhance their own talents.
The three of them were the same. They had killed their way from the Dou Huang stage to the Dou Zun stage, going through three rounds of bloodline baptisms, and had reached the six-star Dou Zun level!
This was already their fourth bloodline baptism.
"Big Brother, once this baptism ends, we should leave," said the dark-red-haired man, licking his lips with a sinister smile.
"Yeah, it's time to get out. We've been stuck here for nearly a hundred years. If we don't leave soon, I'm going crazy!" said a tall, burly man with a crazed look in his eyes. After nearly a century in this world, everyone's mindset changed. The lack of energy in this place made it hard to improve strength, and they had to rely on hunting bloodthirsty monsters and their own kind to gain power.
Nevertheless, for ordinary people, this place was still a treasure. With enough ability, anyone could rise from the bottom!
Step by step, they could reach higher levels.
With their former talents, the Dou Zun level was unimaginable, but now, they had become powerful figures, having reached the six-star Dou Zun level. Their bloodline talent had also greatly improved. Once they left this place, they would ascend to unimaginable heights!
"Don't worry, I know. We've endured so much suffering, it's time to enjoy ourselves. But before we leave, we must improve our bloodline power. If we can raise our bloodline to the ninth or even divine grade, breaking through to Dou Sheng in the future won't be difficult!"
The man called Big Brother looked greedy for a moment, then continued, "I heard one of the newcomers has bloodline power that might have reached the divine grade. He even awakened his clan's mark. If we devour him, our bloodline power will increase substantially!"
"Listen to Big Brother!"
"Good!"
The two responded in unison. Just as they finished speaking, their gazes locked onto the distant figure. The madman, whose eyes glowed with madness, grinned cruelly. "Today is really our lucky day. We just drained one, and here comes another... A four-star Dou Zun. With this kind of power in their first entry, their bloodline concentration should be even higher than this kid's!"
With that, he leapt into the air and shot toward the newcomer. He hadn't had this much freedom to use his Dou Qi in a long time. Normally, in this world, they had to conserve it, but now, with so many fresh "supplements," there was no reason to hold back.
...
In the distance, Yao Yan, who had been enjoying the scenery, sensed something and quickly turned his gaze toward the approaching figures. Their scrutiny was so obvious that he immediately noticed. Before he could even greet them, they charged directly at him—too aggressive.
They were moving at an astonishing speed, surrounded by blood-colored lightning, resembling a berserk dinosaur charging toward him in a wild and brutal manner. There was no attempt at communication. All he saw in their eyes was madness and bloodlust.
"Die!" the berserk man roared in his heart. As soon as he locked onto Yao Yan, the blood-colored lightning surrounding him expanded rapidly, and in just a few breaths, it turned into a blood-red lightning beast enveloping his body, causing his speed to skyrocket to an extreme.
The spatial power in this area was stable, and Dou Zuns couldn't tear the space apart to escape. They could only dodge or take the hit!
Yao Yan didn't expect his opponent to be so brutal. He didn't even bother to exchange greetings before launching an attack. This made Yao Yan reflect on the quality of Hun Clan members. He clenched his fist and swung it heavily toward the incoming figure.
"Boom!"
A massive explosion rang out, and the sky was torn by gusts of violent wind. The blood-colored lightning power instantly enveloped the entire area. The sound was so loud that even the two watching in the distance revealed cruel smiles. In their eyes, that person would either be dead or severely wounded.
The madman's physique was extraordinary by nature. His cultivation method enhanced his physical strength, and with the support of an advanced Earth-tier combat technique, the power he unleashed in an instant would be enough to overwhelm a seven-star Dou Zun. Let alone the four-star Dou Zun before him—there was no way he could withstand that hit!
"Don't break him too easily. It'll be troublesome to clean up!" the dark-red-haired man frowned, muttering under his breath.
"Don't worry, his blood lightning attack is fully under control. It won't happen like last time," the Big Brother calmly replied, clearly well aware of their younger brother's situation.
...
In the distance, as the blood-colored lightning rampaged through the sky, the lightning gradually dissipated.
The madman, who had been wild just moments before, suddenly found himself fully awake. Looking at the unscathed, handsome young man in front of him, he realized his arm had shattered upon impact. His full-strength attack had felt like an egg smashing into a mountain!
Danger! Extreme danger!
In that instant, the madman felt an indescribable sense of crisis. Every hair on his body stood on end, urging him to run. But his arm had already been grabbed by Yao Yan, like being caught in a vice. He couldn't escape. With the space around them stable, there was no way to tear through it...
Cold sweat poured from his forehead, fear consuming him.
"Nice strength~" Yao Yan commented, a faint smile playing on his lips. "I like this kind of 'ready-made' blood food!"
"I..." The madman, drenched in cold sweat, felt the suffocating aura of death engulf him. He wanted to beg for mercy. After nearly a hundred years of fighting for his current strength and talent, he met this monster. He was unwilling to accept it!
But before he could speak, Yao Yan kicked hard, his body enveloped in Gu dark-golden light, and his physical strength surged to its peak. He slammed his foot into the madman's stomach.
"Boom!"
An indescribable force crashed down, and in an instant, the madman lost all ability to think. His bones cracked, his organs shattered. The surroundings seemed to recede rapidly. His back hit something solid, and a booming sound echoed in his ears.
The air was blasted away as the madman's body was driven deep into the ground.
When the dust settled...
Yao Yan, in black clothes, stood firmly on the ground. His foot was planted on the madman's head. He looked toward the two people rushing toward him, smiling faintly. With a sudden burst of force, he crushed the madman's head, and blood and unknown fragments splattered everywhere.
As he finished off his opponent, the black flame at his chest seemed to sense something. It floated out of his body, transforming into a dark whirlpool that began to consume the madman's essence, just like when he devoured the Hun Devouring Clan, extracting everything inside the madman's body and pouring it into Yao Yan.
An indescribable feeling of nourishment spread throughout his body. In just an instant, Yao Yan felt closer to breaking through to five-star Dou Zun. If he fully absorbed this man's essence, breaking through to five-star Dou Zun would be a certainty.
"Truly the Void Devouring Flame… I can only imagine how powerful the true form of the Void Devouring Flame is," Yao Yan thought, reflecting on the power that even Hun Emperor Hun Tiandi found tempting.
"Where did this monster come from!"
"How is this possible?!"
The two figures, still far away, suddenly stopped. Their eyes widened in shock before they turned and fled, not daring to stay near Yao Yan. Anyone who could take out their younger brother with a single strike had strength beyond anything they'd ever encountered.
Even if their younger brother was a six-star Dou Zun, they didn't think anyone could kill him with a single strike.
Not even a single strike—just one kick!
This kind of monstrous physical strength was terrifying! They knew how dangerous a powerhouse with this kind of body could be. They didn't have to worry about Dou Qi consumption and could unleash their full power while replenishing their energy by hunting others.
Now, all they cared about was getting as far away from Yao Yan as possible.
(END CHAPTER)
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