Heaven’s Wrath! Golden Cicada Body!

What was happening? Was blood spurting from his head? No, his body seemed unharmed. A momentary lapse in focus caused Zhou Chuanyong to be startled by the simultaneous wails resonating around him.

“Ah!”

“Heavenly Punishment! It’s heavenly punishment!”

“Watch the sky!”

The battlefield dynamics shifted abruptly. The Sacred Heart Sect members, once aggressive and relentless, were now frantic, dodging the onslaught of surrounding martial artists and demons. Many retreated, disrupting the initial rhythm of their attack.

Zhou Chuanyong abruptly looked upward. Above him, dozens of blood-red light beams rained down as if signaling the apocalypse. But curiously, the catastrophe appeared to target only the Sacred Heart Sect members.

The sounds of collapsing earth and screams formed a cacophony, amplifying Zhou Chuanyong’s growing desperation. As he observed, the light pillars didn’t vanish instantly but fell in sequence, causing an earth-shattering impact. The blood pillars transformed the battlefield into a horrifying spectacle.

Zhou Chuanyong stared in disbelief at the blood sea in the sky. The king had never mentioned such a power. Moreover, the blood sea array was supposed to be under the king’s control.

The entity birthed from the blood sea, Wang Kun, should be an ally. How could this be happening?

An outrageous thought suddenly flashed in Zhou Chuanyong’s mind. Could it be that Wang Kun, imbued with the power of a million vengeful souls, had been defeated by Qin Huai? The mere thought sent chills down his spine.

In the midst of his horror, Zhou Chuanyong realized his Sacred Heart Sect army had suffered over twenty casualties — all elite warriors of at least fifth-level bone pattern realm. They were strong fighters, their loss equivalent to a major blow to the sect.

“Zhou Chuanyong, your end is near,” Kong Binghuang declared coldly, confident about the identity of the unseen figure orchestrating the attack from the blood sea. The tactics resembled those of the Qingzhou Alliance’s young master, Qin Huai.

“My end?” Zhou Chuanyong snarled back, “If I’m going to die, I’ll take you both down with me!”

His body swelled suddenly, as if inflated, while an enormous amount of blood and qi surged out. The explosive sound echoed in Kong Binghuang and Tang Pi’s ears, causing them to freeze momentarily before retreating.

“Move! Zhou Chuanyong is self-destructing!” Kong Binghuang bellowed.

But it was too late. Zhou Chuanyong lunged at them, his gigantic body ballooning further, bearing down on them like an avalanche. The mention of a self-destruction by a fifth-level visceral prefecture realm expert sent chills down the spines of those present, prompting them to flee.

Boom!

A massive explosion followed, with flesh and blood transforming into deadly projectiles. The blood and qi adhered to the ground and the warriors, gnawing at them relentlessly. Even the most resilient bodies and skin were shattered by these blood-colored parasites.

“Ahh!” A Wuji Mountain warrior shrieked in agony as his arm slumped weakly to his side, ravaged by the deadly blood parasites.

Not just him, the surrounding Kun Peng demons and Sacred Heart Sect disciples were equally horrified after being infiltrated by the blood-colored worms. Their bodies would instantly go numb and lose control.

“What’s happening? I can’t move my hands!”

Panic set in, and everyone frantically tried to escape from the encircling blood worms. In the ensuing chaos, some even wielded their weapons against their enemies. Within moments, numerous martial artists fell.

In the vicinity, Kong Binghuang, the primary target of the attack, sat cross-legged on the ground. His face pale, he activated the windward scroll, using wind blades to cut through the blood worms on his skin.

Nearby, Tang Pi adopted a different strategy. He sat quietly, attempting to use his blood essence to eradicate the worms.

“You’re using your blood essence to eliminate these blood worms?” Kong Binghuang asked, surprised.

“Humph! I’m a pure-blooded species, unlike you low-grade humans,” Tang Pi retorted.

Despite their exchange, both shared a similar sentiment regarding Zhou Chuanyong’s extreme measures. A fifth-level visceral prefecture realm cultivator had sacrificed himself so readily, a clear indicator of the fanaticism within the Sacred Heart Sect’s core members. The thought of meeting the cult’s leader, who could inspire such devotion, intrigued Kong Binghuang.

Despite past grievances, the immediate concern was to join forces with the Kun Peng clan to fight the white-robed king, a formidable opponent already in the king realm.

“Let’s eliminate these obstacles first,” Kong Binghuang suggested, standing and expelling a mouthful of black blood before charging at the remaining Sacred Heart Sect disciples.

“Humph! Sounds good to me,” Tang Pi grumbled, struggling to his feet, his body swaying from the injuries. Unfazed, he joined Kong Binghuang in the attack against the remnants of the Sacred Heart Sect.

…

A few miles away, on a haystack, a bloodied, thin figure collapsed. It was Zhou Chuanyong, but he was no longer the towering figure from before, his body now that of an ordinary person.

“I never imagined I’d have to use the golden cicada technique, honed over eighty years, in such a place,” Zhou Chuanyong muttered, resentment filling his eyes.

He had planned a total annihilation of Wuji Mountain and the Kun Peng clan, leaving Kong Binghuang and Tang Pi without a force to command. But things had taken an unexpected turn.

He glared at the blood sea overhead. “Qin Huai! One day, I’ll take your head and make you beg for death!”

Suddenly, a blood pillar expanded in his field of vision, causing Zhou Chuanyong to dodge abruptly. It left a deep crater where he had just stood, a chilling reminder of the close call.

No, he thought, I must report this to the king. This is beyond the capability of the blood sea array.

The array was designed to harness life, blood, and soul power to nurture a king realm entity under their control. This god-like ability was unexpected.

With this thought, Zhou Chuanyong dashed toward the Heart’s Eye Pavilion, dodging the continuous rain of blood pillars. His nimble movements, now free of his giant physique, even outpaced Kong Binghuang.

“Hahaha… You think you can kill me with these little tricks?” Zhou Chuanyong jeered at the sky, venting his anger.

The setback in his cultivation progress due to the golden cicada technique angered him. He had many more decades of cultivation ahead, and he wondered how many of these cycles he could complete in his limited lifespan.

As the blood pillars fell more frequently, Zhou Chuanyong’s defiant smile grew brighter.

“Are you flustered and exasperated? If you can’t handle it, come down and face me!” He continued his provocations, attempting to regain his equilibrium.

Suddenly, he felt an unmistakable killing intent looming overhead. He looked up to see a familiar, handsome face, one he had never seen before, yet was deeply etched in his heart.