Chapter 447: Flesh and Blood Dissolving

A golden sword light and a cyan palm strike converged simultaneously, erupting in a deafening roar. Yet Li Wuxing’s attack moved even faster, a dark, shadowy blade piercing toward Xu Sanyan’s neck. With all three attacking at once, Xu Sanyan seemed to have no escape.

Boom!

The giant palm shattered, the sword light dissipated, and a surging shockwave swept outward, swirling with vibrant, blinding colors.

Below, countless houses collapsed, and the citizens stumbled and fell, but no one cared. All eyes remained fixed on the sky.

As the radiant glow faded, a figure hovered in mid-air. Xu Sanyan’s original azure robes had been reduced to dust, and even the great banner that constantly draped his shoulders had snapped under the battle’s aftershocks. Clutched in his monstrous hand was a murky gray fruit—the secret realm fruit, revealed to the world for the second time.

Hiss!

The crowd below gasped, their eyes wide with disbelief. How could he have emerged unscathed from such a devastating assault? Not even a scratch remained!

Where Xu Sanyan had stood moments before, a monstrous creature now loomed. It possessed two legs and four arms, its face twisted into a ferocious grimace. Three pitch-black eyes glared down, and fangs jutted from its lips, as if yearning to devour flesh.

“A dao body?” Associate Magistrate Qin murmured, his expression grave.

“A Body Cultivator!” Li Wuxing’s voice was low and grave.

At their realm, few still cultivated the dao body. Spells far surpassed the dao body in power, and relying on physical resilience against spells carried too many unpredictable risks, making it a dangerous path. Thus, few specialized in it.

Yet this man had honed his body to such an extreme that their combined full-force attack hadn’t even scratched him!

“Heh, is this all you’ve got?” Xu Sanyan’s voice pierced the air, his tone sharpening to a grating pitch that sent shivers down their spines, like nails scraping across glass.

No one replied, their minds focused entirely on preparing for battle.

The luminous barrier above grew denser, transforming the clear sky into a crimson expanse. Sunlight filtered through the blood-red canopy, bathing the world in a crimson veil, as if the end of days had arrived.

Whoosh!

The wind howled louder. Within Qianzhou City, an eerie silence reigned, while the other four prefectural cities descended into chaos. The populace scattered like headless flies, fleeing desperately to escape the formation’s reach.

As the Great Formation activated, some civilians found themselves trapped at its edges. Those who tried to escape screamed in agony as their bodies melted like wax before a raging fire, flesh evaporating into wisps of bloody vapor that rose into the sky like endless plumes of smoke.

Moments later, only a pile of white bones remained scattered on the ground, without a trace of blood.

The scene terrified the onlookers, who recoiled in horror, afraid to touch anything.

Outside the formation,

Prefect Sun Yingtang of Qianzhou stood with a grim expression, his aged face so dark it seemed to drip with water. Jiang Yu, standing beside him, didn’t dare breathe too loudly.

Sun Yingtang didn’t recognize the formation, nor did he know how to break it. Brute force proved utterly ineffective; no matter how he attacked, it remained impervious.

The Old Ancestor of the Jiang Clan, standing nearby, was equally helpless, left with no choice but to wait for the formation to dissipate on its own.

Meanwhile, within Qianzhou City, multicolored lights flashed as the battle raged fiercely. With a thunderous roar, the combatants separated.

Xu Sanyan stood proudly, the scars on his body rapidly healing, returning to their original state in the blink of an eye.

Li Wuxing clutched his severed arm, his face contorted in shock. His entire limb had been torn off at the root, blood gushing like a small stream.

Associate Magistrate Qin, whose cultivation was weaker, had taken a palm strike to the chest and lay motionless on the ground, his fate uncertain.

Prefect Jiang took a deep breath, his eyes hardening with resolve as he glared at Xu Sanyan. “This entire affair is my fault, and I will end it!”

If he hadn’t given his consent in the first place, none of this would have happened. Now, Prefect Jiang was taking full responsibility, determined to drag Xu Sanyan down with him.

With these words, his body began to swell like an inflating balloon, his wide official robes straining, then bursting…

Li Wuxing gritted his teeth, forcing himself to charge at Xu Sanyan once more, desperate to buy Prefect Jiang time.

Commander He, standing beside him, silently joined the assault. Though his strength was inferior, he had to contribute what he could.

Xu Sanyan narrowed his eyes, glanced skyward, and smirked cruelly. “No need to rush. You’re all going to die!”

With that, he ignored the approaching attackers and focused on channeling his spiritual power. A torrent of spiritual energy surged skyward, merging into the crimson firmament.

The moment had arrived!

“Invert!”

Xu Sanyan roared at the heavens. Instantly, countless formation patterns in the sky writhed like tadpoles, then slowly diffused like ink in water, completely enveloping the barrier. Not a single ray of light could penetrate the blood-red gloom.

Li Wuxing’s eyes were bloodshot from the emotional turmoil. He unleashed a massive fist with his remaining arm, heedless of the blood spraying from his severed limb.

Qin Shutong, watching from below, noticed something strange: Li Wuxing’s blood wasn’t falling downward; instead, it was flying upward into the sky…

Something’s wrong!

Qin Shutong frantically looked at her father in her arms. The blood Associate Magistrate Qin had spat onto the ground seemed to have gained life, coalescing into crimson droplets that floated upward, also heading toward the sky.

Boom!

A deafening roar erupted as Qin Shutong instinctively looked up. To her astonishment, Li Wuxing’s attack had been blocked by a swirling crimson orb of light!

An orb had materialized beside Xu Sanyan, completely enveloping him and rendering him impervious to all attacks.

Seeing this, Qin Shutong felt a wave of despair wash over her. Even with so many people working together, they were no match for him. Her only hope now rested on Prefect Jiang.

Within the crimson sphere, Xu Sanyan stood with his three eyes tightly shut, his mind focused solely on controlling the formation. The rising blood beads slowly merged into the surrounding orb, deepening its crimson hue.

Suddenly, screams erupted from the street below:

“Mother!”

“Father, what’s wrong, Father?!”

“Ah! My hand!”

Qin Shutong raced to the street and scanned the scene. A wave of horror washed over her.

The crimson light raining down from the sky seemed corrosive. The exposed skin of the townsfolk began to fester and dissolve, their wounds burning as if scorched by flames. Flesh turned to vapor and drifted skyward.

Qin Shutong watched helplessly as an old man collapsed to the ground, melting away in an instant, leaving only a skeleton.

But that wasn’t all. The ancient tree beside him withered rapidly, its life force draining away.

A malevolent formation…

This was a malevolent formation!

Qianzhou City had become a living hell, and the one responsible for this horror was the man she had once loved.

Qin Shutong stood frozen, her gaze drifting upward to the sky, to Xu Sanyan trapped within the spherical barrier. She murmured to herself,

“Why…?”

“Why would you do this?”

Tears streamed down her cheeks. Suddenly, she felt a stinging sensation on her skin. Looking down, she saw a small, festering wound had appeared on her exposed wrist.

Xu Sanyan, hovering in the sky, seemed to hear her question or perhaps sense her presence. His gaze swept downward, locking eyes with hers.

One, a true demon, looked down from the heavens.

The other, her face etched with sorrow, stood filled with bewilderment.

(End of the Chapter)