As the two palms struck Xu Zimo’s back, a loud boom echoed, and his body was sent flying through the air.
But before the elders could even breathe a sigh of relief, the space nearby was suddenly torn apart by a pair of sharp claws. A massive beast emerged and flew into the sky with Xu Zimo on its back.
Beasts possessed far greater strength and speed than humans. In the blink of an eye, the creature soared into the air.
The eight elders of the Blood Race panicked. Some even considered burning their own blood essence to stop the beast.
Seeing the Red Lotus just ahead, the chaotic beast used its momentum to hurl Xu Zimo toward it.
Then it turned to face and block the eight elders.
…
“Damn it, stop him!” someone shouted below.
“He’s trying to seize the Myriad Dao Red Lotus and unleash the Nether Blood Sea!” the Grand Elder cried out in alarm.
Because the forbidden realm wasn’t completely sealed, if the blood sea was released and broke through the seals, and without the Red Lotus to suppress it, the consequences would be catastrophic.
The massive beast hovered in midair, not attacking, but doing everything it could to hold the elders back.
Xu Zimo reached for the crimson lotus now within arm’s reach.
The blood dragon, still being suppressed by the Red Lotus, began to thrash violently. The lotus itself started to tremble.
With a metallic clang, Xu Zimo drew his curved blade, Shadow Tyrant.
He unleashed the pure force of his blade intent, severing the suppression of the Red Lotus and tearing through the void.
Without the Red Lotus to contain it, the blood dragon was completely freed.
It absorbed the endless energy of the Nether Blood Sea and roared furiously at the members of the Blood Race.
It appeared to have gained intelligence and was filled with rage and hatred.
Now unbound by the dragon, the Myriad Dao Red Lotus no longer resisted and was swiftly stored into Xu Zimo’s spatial ring.
At this point, the Blood Race had no capacity to deal with Xu Zimo, the chaotic blood sea had thrown everything into disarray.
The blood dragon’s body grew larger and larger, constantly breaking through the incomplete seal of the forbidden zone.
As the seal weakened, the dragon absorbed more power.
Soon, a second and then a third blood dragon began to appear.
“Get all the young ones out of here!” the Grand Elder shouted.
This kind of chaos wasn’t something the younger generation could handle, and they were the future of the clan.
As the backbone of the Blood Race’s future, their safety was paramount.
Xu Zimo immediately handed the Myriad Dao Red Lotus to the God Emperor and said, “Recover quickly.”
“Don’t worry. My Heaven’s Will is still intact, only shattered, not destroyed,” the God Emperor said excitedly as he accepted the lotus.
“Restoring Heaven's Will isn’t the same as re-establishing it. The process is much faster.”
“Then do it fast. We may not have much time,” Xu Zimo said seriously.
“What do you mean?” The God Emperor frowned, then quickly understood.
“This energy...”
He turned toward the east, sensing something awakening in that direction.
“I know what it is,” the God Emperor said solemnly.
He looked down at the Myriad Dao Red Lotus in his hands, his whole body trembling slightly.
Becoming a Grand Emperor, what an immense honor that once was.
To stand at the pinnacle of existence, when all of creation could only look up in awe.
He, the God Emperor, had once reached that peak, thinking it would be the beginning of endless glory.
But his Heaven's Will had been shattered. He had lived through countless eras in hiding, like a rat in the shadows.
He dared not walk in the light. He knew that if others discovered he was still alive, the entire Divine Gate would be overthrown.
The Divine Gate still stood only because people believed that toppling it wasn't worth the cost.
Now, after wasting away through several ages, he was finally ready to climb back to the top and reclaim his glory.
Watching the God Emperor’s silhouette fade into the darkness with resolve, Xu Zimo finally turned his gaze back.
The Blood Race was in complete chaos. The seal over the forbidden land was nearly destroyed.
As more and more blood dragons emerged, it became obvious the Blood Race’s forces were no longer enough.
All eight elders and the clan’s other strong fighters had joined the battle, but the death toll was high.
Corpses lay everywhere. Screams of agony echoed all around.
“The Divine Blood Lineage has betrayed us!” someone shouted.
“Are they crazy? What do they gain from this? The Myriad Dao Red Lotus won’t save their lineage!”
“Who knows? But I think their lineage no longer deserves to exist.”
Shouts rang out in every direction. The number of blood dragons kept growing, and the sky itself was torn open.
The Nether Blood Sea howled above, and the Blood Race clearly lacked the manpower to stop it. At this rate, their race, which had lasted dozens of eras, was on the brink of annihilation.
Just then, a thunderous boom echoed from the east side of the Blood Race.
A tremendous aura erupted into the sky, breaking through the churning blood sea and shooting into the heavens.
Then, a man stepped through the air, each stride shaking the sky and earth, moving slowly toward them.
He wore a long, blood-red robe, so large it completely cloaked his figure.
The robe was backed with red skin, but what truly drew everyone's attention was the man’s skin itself.
His skin was blood-red, and so were his eyes, crimson and fierce.
Dark red spiritforce coiled around him. As he walked forward, even the turbulent blood sea above seemed to freeze in place.
The man’s gaze was deep and indifferent as he looked down at the chaotic Blood Race.
“A-a-ancestor…” someone stammered, staring at him in disbelief.
There was only one ancestor truly revered in the Blood Race’s history, the Divine Blood Lord.
The one who once fought Grand Emperor Heng Yu for the Heaven's Will of the world. In his time, he was the most promising figure of all.
In fact, the details of the Divine Blood Lord’s death had never been made public. Aside from the eight elders, the rest of the Blood Race didn’t know what became of him.
Many rumors had swirled.
Now, with the Divine Blood Lord’s return, how could the race not rejoice?
“Ancestor!” the Grand Elder quickly stepped forward and dropped to his knees in greeting.
“So... it has finally erupted,” the Divine Blood Lord said with a faint sigh.
“Ancestor, it was the Divine Blood Lineage that betrayed us! They stole the Myriad Dao Red Lotus and made it impossible to suppress the blood sea!” the Third Elder quickly explained.
“Enough, Old Third!” the Grand Elder barked at him.
This situation had clearly been caused by the elders’ injustice toward the Divine Blood Lineage. Their rebellion was no accident.
Realizing this, the Third Elder lowered his head and quietly stepped back.