Beastmaster of the AgesBeastmaster of the Ages
"Don't tell me that this is the true effect of Vitasteal.... Back then, I only unlocked the side effect but not the main one. Was the key the Archaionfiend Eye of a centuroptic beast all along?" Tianming looked at the red compound eye that almost seemed like a beehive. It wriggled in his palm and looked a little gross, but terrifying all the same.
"The upgraded Vitasteal can make people instantly lose their senses and consciousness, as if their souls had been killed. It uses my cosmoforce, which is limited at the end of the day. Perhaps my Vitasteal won't be as powerful as the effects of this Archaionfiend Eye and will have a far smaller range, but it should still be a great help in combat, right? Maybe it’ll even be effective against foundationeers, like the original eye was, once I have more cosmoforce." According to Yue Lanfeng, not even foundationeers dared to come down the blood path.
"The fact that the eye was still able to exert so much power even after the original centuroptic beast that possessed it is dead means that the upper limits of Vitasteal's effects must be stronger than what I felt just now." Many people from Bluemaple suffered damage to their astral brains even though they were far, far away from the Archaionfiend Eye. Its power was not to be trifled with.
"I wonder if those darkfiends will let me leave. Then again, the blood path still continues on beyond this spot." With all those darkfiends above him, Tianming was in no rush to leave. Since he had obtained a new weapon in his arsenal, he felt confident enough about going farther down.
The blood miasma seemed even denser down there. "Perhaps the Archaionfiend Eye wasn't the source of this blood miasma."
It got so thick down there that the miasma congealed into liquid form. It was thanks to the Sky Plundering Eye that Tianming managed to hold on to his will and prevent his astral organs and body from being invaded by it.
"Is this the end?" There was a wall at the deepest part of the path that seemed even thicker than the Sky Palace Formation. "I wonder if I can open this with my Sky Plundering Hand."
Right as his left hand touched the wall, it suddenly shuddered as if it were the skin of a gigantic beast and a powerful wave of energy sent Tianming flying! His organs were shaken and damaged; even his Sky Plundering Hand suffered a cut!
"There should be something else down there! Looks like my Sky Plundering Hand is capable of doing something to it, but my cosmoforce isn't enough to weather the blowback. There seems to be nothing I can do for now." His cultivation level and cosmoforce were simply far too lacking. If he had access to omnisentient power, things might be different. However, he was out of range, and the red dust epidemic had basically rendered it useless.
"I've taken enough risks today, and even got an amazing haul like that Archaionfiend Eye. I'll just make a mental note of this place and come back when I'm stronger." Having almost died, his heart was nervously beating. Either way, he had managed to strengthen his Sky Plundering Eye, which would no doubt be a trump card he could use without others knowing better until it was too late.
"The darkfiends up there haven't left yet. I'm not sure if I can even leave." He didn't dare to mess around, since there were simply too many darkfiends. He hid within the empty husk of the Archaionfiend eye for now. The darkfiends didn't realize that their sacred object of worship was no more.
As he waited, he had Yin Chen send some bodies crawling up through the gaps between the darkfiends. It was small enough that it could pass through. Soon, Yin Chen told him that the darkfiends farther up had begun to leave the blood path and return to their caverns. Eventually, all of them would leave!
"Phew, I survived." Surviving a trial like this must come with some benefits down the line. After an hour passed, the darkfiends began leaving the blood path in a respectful manner. Tianming made sure to wait for quite a while before making his move.
"I wonder if Yue Lanfeng's group and Jian Qinghe are still alive...." Given the situation, chances were that they hadn’t made it out unscathed.
"They are... still alive!" Yin Chen said when some of its bodies up there spotted them.
"Really? How?" Even Tianming had been forced down the blood path in the chaotic darkfiend stampede. Surely, they would have a hard time as well even if they were hiding within holes in the cavern walls.
"Maybe the darkfiends weren't able to do much when they're squeezed so tightly against each other?" As he wondered, he flew out of the blood path unabated. Using Fiveway Blitzrun, he rapidly zipped upward. Thunderclaps and lightning flashes erupted nonstop. Eventually, he emerged from the blood path to the exit of the Darkfiend Den.
Yue Lanfeng and the rest hadn't waited for him at the entrance. Instead, they went out to the astralscape and Yin Chen guided Tianming to their location.
"Not a single one of them has perished or appears injured. How's that possible?" Tianming was filled with doubt. As he made his way there, the group spotted him. They were just about to bid farewell to Jian Qinghe and were frozen with shock and joy when they saw Tianming.
"Sir Li!" They hurriedly came over to receive him. "Sir, how’s it possible...?"
Yue Lanfeng and the others from Bluemaple had seen Tianming fall into the depths and were certain that he was dead. They seemed even more shocked than Tianming, not knowing what to say and bursting out in laughter and joy.
"This is great news! Sir, you’re no normal personage! You’ve truly been blessed with great fortune," Yue Lanfeng said with full gratitude.
"Most importantly, you emerged with a sound mind, unlike other survivors!"
"Impressive!"
The other cultivators seemed to be happy for him as well. The tension from the shock seemed to fade away.
"Don't worry, I'm fine." Tianming's relationship with them had considerably improved since the moment he had been threatened by the so-called Four Eminents of Cang Jue. "How’d all of you survive that horror?"
"Us?" Yue Lanfeng turned back and looked at Jian Qinghe. "It's thanks to that honored personage."