Bai Qi's decisive action did indeed prevent the further spread of infection, but his severed right hand was still not dead. After detaching from Bai Qi's body, this ineffable thing seemed to gain a life of its own, spraying scarlet, pungent blood from countless mouths.
Bai Qi quickly retreated, creating distance to avoid the blood splattering on him. After all, who knew if the blood had any parasitic capabilities? It would be incredibly frustrating to be re-infected just from a splash. Fortunately, the ineffable entity wasn't tough and had no defensive capabilities. Bai Qi's dragon breath swept over it, reducing it directly to ashes.
But just as Bai Qi finished dealing with his right hand, the ancient god, sword in hand, lunged at Bai Qi, swinging at his head. Having learned from his previous experience, Bai Qi was now wiser and wouldn't foolishly take the sword head-on with his body again. With a flash, Bai Qi dodged the ancient god's attack, reappearing behind it. The ancient god tried to turn and attack again, but Bai Qi was still a step faster. His dragon claws lashed out, instantly tearing off the ancient god's sword-wielding arm, followed by a flying kick that sent the ancient god tumbling away.
The sword before him was indeed peculiar, and Bai Qi had no means to bypass its effects with his current abilities. However, if he couldn't deal with the sword, dealing with its wielder was just as effective. The ancient god's newly grown arm lacked the protection of scales and was extremely fragile. Under Bai Qi's dragon claws, it was torn to shreds without exception. The ancient god, rising from the ground, glared at its damaged right arm and then at the sword lying at Bai Qi's feet, its eyes filled with malice and hatred. But soon, these emotions vanished, replaced by a cunning glint.
The ancient god chuckled eerily and looked at Bai Qi, saying, "Take it. If you dare, pick up this sword. I assure you, you'll receive an unexpected surprise." Seeing the ancient god's smug expression, it was highly probable that this entity was banking on Bai Qi not daring to risk picking it up. After all, the mere wounds inflicted by the sword would mutate; who knew what other surprises awaited Bai Qi if he were to pick it up.
Just as the ancient god thought, Bai Qi indeed lacked the courage to pick up the sword on the ground. However, not daring to pick it up didn't mean he would let the other party have it. Bai Qi quickly constructed an independent pocket dimension, throwing the sword into it. Then, with a surge of power, he flung the sword, along with the pocket dimension enclosing it, into the main world. This way, the ancient god, trapped here, would have no way to threaten him with the sword, no matter how hard it tried.
As expected, without the sword's augmentation, the ancient god was no longer capable of posing any threat to Bai Qi. Under Bai Qi's subsequent barrage of attacks, the ancient god was soon riddled with wounds and on the brink of death. Bai Qi had never encountered a living ancient god before and had briefly considered severely disabling it and capturing it for research. However, he quickly abandoned this idea. Researching a living ancient god was inherently extremely dangerous, let alone doing so in the main world. A slight misstep could lead to destruction and losses beyond Bai Qi's capacity to bear. With no other choice, Bai Qi reluctantly put the ancient god down, from all aspects. To ensure it wouldn't play any tricks like faking its death, Bai Qi tried every method he could think of to confirm its demise. Only when he was certain it was truly and utterly dead did Bai Qi feel at ease.
"Oh! No! Lord Ertos! Why!?" Just as Bai Qi was about to survey the battlefield, a familiar voice reached his ears. Then, he saw the mysterious woman from the volcano mansion appear out of nowhere. Her voice was filled with sorrow as she looked at the long, lifeless snake. She rushed forward in a few quick strides, unconcerned about the blood from the snake's body staining her. This was no ordinary blood. After all, the snake was an ancient god. Even with its complex composition, the blood it shed was genuine ancient god blood. Like ancient god aura, ancient god blood possessed strong invasive and polluting properties, even more so than the aura. Even though the woman had been by the snake's side for a long time and had some resistance to such invasions, direct contact with fresh ancient god blood at such close range still caused significant pollution to her body.
Seeing the woman crying profusely as her body mutated, Bai Qi frowned. While her cross-species love was deeply moving, moving as it was, Bai Qi could not abandon a fresh ancient god carcass for the sake of love. After all, an ancient god's corpse was a treasure trove. Take the snake's body before him, for instance. Not to mention the vast amount of ancient god blood, its hard scales, if peeled off, could be made into a set of armor imbued with ancient god aura. Though the snake scales seemed fragile before Bai Qi, almost like paper, incapable of withstanding a single claw strike, this was because his opponent was the incredibly powerful Bai Qi. For ordinary people, these scales would be impenetrable even by nuclear bombs. Of course, whether the person inside could withstand a nuclear blast after the armor was made was another matter. Then there was its flesh and blood, filled with terrifying energy. Ordinary people who consumed it could gain immense power instantly, though this power undoubtedly came with risks. Rashly consuming ancient god flesh and blood would instantly lead to pollution, turning one into a mindless, bloodthirsty monster. This was the result of rash consumption. If it were meticulously studied and analyzed, and the negative effects removed, even if the enhancement effects were weakened, the sheer amount of flesh and blood could provide Bai Qi with immense combat power. Therefore, no matter what, Bai Qi could not leave it behind.
With a wave of his hand, Bai Qi's telekinetic power enveloped the woman, tossing her aside. Bai Qi then stepped forward to collect the snake's body. Bai Qi's thought was that the woman was of no use, and to simply crush her would be too cruel, so he moved her aside. Seeing Bai Qi's rough handling of the snake's corpse, the woman, already disoriented by the pollution, instantly flew into a rage and lunged at Bai Qi like a madwoman. Even though her attacks couldn't even break through Bai Qi's defenses, it was clear she was beyond saving. With a wave of his hand, Bai Qi sent her to her demise.
After a simple treatment of the snake's body, Bai Qi, just as he did with the sword, created an independent space, stuffed the corpse into it, ensuring that the emanating ancient god aura was completely isolated within the space, and then placed it into his personal inventory.
"I'm done. Open the door."