Neither Tang San nor Xiao Wu harbored any lingering hope at this point.
If survival were possible, who wouldn't want to live?
Yet, they couldn't stand by and watch Tang Sui sacrifice herself alone.
Tang San let out a breath, channeling his qi to his dantian, allowing his voice to spread throughout the domain—
"Sui Sui, I know you can hear me. Xiao Wu will count to three, and you'll open your domain. We'll face the enemy together."
"Crack—"
Sounds of collapse and shattering continued, like a silent response.
Tang San's gaze was profound: "Sui Sui, brother isn't discussing this with you; he's informing you. This time, you won't bear it alone."
"Whether you open your domain or not, we will charge out in three counts."
He knew his sister wouldn't listen to him now, so there was no other way but to force it!
At this critical juncture, he would never let Sui Sui act rashly again!
Determination flickered in Tang San's eyes.
Xiao Wu saw this, closed her eyes, and after a few seconds, reopened her lovely pink eyes. She took two steps forward, standing beside Tang San, interlocking their fingers. She looked at the pitch-black sky curtain that continued to emit cracking sounds and announced loudly, "Sui Sui, I'm going to start counting!"
"One!"
Tang San turned his head, looking at the Titan Giant Ape, who possessed immense defensive and offensive power among them, and said softly, "Senior Titan Giant Ape, we'll have to rely on you shortly... Please try to hold back your strength..."
The Titan Giant Ape understood and nodded. It shifted from its quadrupedal stance to standing upright on its legs, its thick palms beginning to gather earth-brown soul power.
"Two!"
Outside, Tang Sui, whose consciousness was almost gone, lips twitched slightly. Her blurry eyes reflected the highly vigilant spirit masters of the Spirit Hall.
Inside the domain, Xiao Wu carried Tang San and landed on the Azure Ox Python.
The Azure Ox Python straightened its massive, hundred-meter-long body.
With Tang Sui's spiritual power on the verge of depletion, the vast domain had shrunk several times over due to the continuous collapse, as had its height.
It only needed to charge its power for one jump to reach the current top of the domain, and it could rush out the moment the Titan Giant Ape opened an exit.
"Three!"
As the last number fell, Xiao Wu turned to the Titan Giant Ape. The Titan Giant Ape nodded, let out a low roar, allowed the Azure Ox Python's tail to wrap around it, and at Xiao Wu's command, was forcefully flung out from the ground by the Azure Ox Python. The latter also used its tail as a spring, injected soul power, and forcefully sprang up, following close behind the Titan Giant Ape.
"Roar—!"
Under the Titan Giant Ape's precise control, the earth-brown palm cannon shot towards the slightly thin barrier above. Su Dan Novel Network.
At the same time, in the real world, Tang Sui, being held by a Soul Sage, felt something. Her eyelids, stuck together by blood and dirt, trembled minutely, and a sliver of her gaze opened.
The thick, fresh smell of blood rushed into her nostrils.
As her consciousness blurred, Tang Sui only heard a hurried "Be careful," and her body lost its support, falling for a moment before being pulled into an embrace filled with killing intent and the scent of blood.
A few warm drops of blood seemed to splash onto her face, likely due to the proximity.
In her wavering vision, Tang Sui's pupils trembled slightly as they reflected a silvery-white color.
"Boom—!"
Within the crumbling domain, a violently expanding blood-red array pattern swallowed the Titan Giant Ape's strength, blocking Tang San and the others, who were fully prepared to jump out, and pushing them back.
"Roar—!"
The Azure Ox Python let out a roar of apprehension. The Titan Giant Ape was significantly shaken by the recoil. Leaning on the Azure Ox Python's hundred-meter-long body for a precarious foothold, it swayed heavily and landed back at their original position, returning to square one.
"What's going on?!"
Xiao Wu was nearly thrown off the Azure Ox Python's head.
Tang San steadied her, and she managed to regain her footing.
They looked up and realized that the sound of wind rushing past their ears seemed to have disappeared, and so had the sound of the domain continuing to collapse.
"That's..."
Suddenly, Xiao Wu heard Tang San's voice, filled with disbelief.
Above them, the massive blood-red array pattern was condensed before the exit.
The ominous blood-colored pattern was something Tang San had seen in the Slaughter City when entering the Hell Road—the Three-Headed Blood Bat!
Vast killing intent and crimson light formed a barrier. The blood bats, appearing out of nowhere from the splashing blood, chirped and flew at terrifying speeds towards the two other Soul Sages standing nearby.
A large expanse of red blood mist rose from an unknown source, instantly engulfing their patch of forest.
The sickeningly bloody scent filled the air, obscuring their surroundings.
In the area covered by the blood mist, which carried a highly corrosive venom, not only did plants, but also human flesh, were instantly corroded upon contact, even through their clothes.
"Ahhh—!"
The two Soul Sages who failed to release their soul power in time to form a barrier against the blood mist frantically patted their bodies.
Sizzling sounds emanated from beneath their clothes, sending chills down their spines. Like roasting meat, under the horrified and wary gaze of the Thousand Jun Douluo and the others, the arms and backs of the two Soul Sages, even their faces, were instantly reduced to bloody messes, with pieces of flesh and clinging clothing falling to the ground.
"Nana, be careful not to get touched by this blood mist!"
Xie Yue, Yan, and Hu Liena stood back-to-back, vigilant. Yue Guan, Gui Mei, and Thousand Jun Douluo, along with two Soul Douluo-level red-robed bishops and the surviving few Soul Sages, formed a tight circle, warily watching the quietly emerging blood mist.
The Soul Sage who had been screaming in agony moments ago was now a shattered corpse. The flesh on his body was uneven, as if torn apart by some beast, with parts missing here and there.
The Soul Sage who had been holding Tang Sui earlier was even more tragic.
He had been cut in half at the waist, his upper torso frozen in an expression of shock.
But strangely, neither the Soul Sage who died first nor the other two who subsequently touched the blood mist and perished had any blood flowing from their bodies. Even the body cut in half, where blood should have pooled, was a mass of blood-red mist, as if their own blood had evaporated, sending a chill down their spines.
Hu Liena had only seen this peculiar way of dying in one place.
"This, this is..." Thinking of that place that had brought her countless bloody shadows, Hu Liena's breathing trembled slightly.
She could feel her Asura Domain vibrating with excitement, not as a backlash, but as a sense of finding a kindred spirit.
A powerful killing intent surged from her heart, as if she were back to the days of unknowingly drinking the slow-acting poison-laced Yellow Springs Dew, a feeling of expansion filling her entire brain.
If her will hadn't been firm, she would have been blinded by that killing intent.
— — — Author's Notes — — —
Whoohoo, the elders have arrived!
Although it's not finished, this is one chapter, which is also an extra chapter (loudly declared—!).
It's really getting colder. I've been writing this entire time from bed. Little darlings, remember to add or remove layers of clothing. See you tomorrow~