The secret realm was extremely dark.
Before the two was a withered forest, filled with viscous blood and scattered bones everywhere.
Coupled with the strong smell of blood, it gave people a chilling feeling.
After walking in the forest for an unknown amount of time, Ye Cangtian and Elder Long's vision finally saw a few wooden houses.
However, under the rendering of this environment, the wooden houses appeared incredibly eerie.
As they approached the wooden houses, another lake appeared in their sight.
Strangely, the lake was dark red, as if it were blood, and it was dotted with crosses.
Upon closer inspection, figures were impaled on each cross.
Their clothing was relatively uniform, consisting of animal hides and leather armor, clearly indicating they were from the Imperial Dragon Manor.
These individuals were all bowing their heads, in a state of unconsciousness, their blood flowing continuously from the crosses into the blood-red lake.
Seeing all this, Ye Cangtian's face instantly turned cold.
Regardless of whether the entity here was amusing itself with these people or had some other purpose, as a member of humanity, he could not accept such a situation.
"New distinguished guests have arrived, welcome, welcome."
"Welcome, everyone, to the Blood Pool. I am the master of this place, the Blood Pool Venerable."
At this moment, a sinister voice echoed, and then the doors of the row of wooden houses opened, revealing three figures in an instant.
Leading them was a man in a blood-colored robe, the Blood Pool Venerable who had spoken.
Behind the Blood Pool Venerable were a man and a woman, both wearing black robes, serving as his Blood Generals.
The three of them appeared no different from humans, but their eyes were blood-red, and their aura exuded an evil presence.
The moment Ye Cangtian saw the three, his brows furrowed tightly.
The male and female subordinates opposite him both possessed peak Earth-level strength, while the Blood Pool Venerable's aura was even more terrifying, reaching the ninth level of the Quasi-Heavenly realm.
It could be said that he was only one step away from reaching the true Heavenly realm.
With such strength, if Elder Long were not present, he would likely be in grave danger on his own.
Thinking this, Ye Cangtian glanced at the Blood Pool Venerable and slowly asked, "Blood Pool Venerable, you were once a powerful human. Why do you torment these people like this?"
"Because I am lonely, because I need power, I need strength, and more importantly, I need happiness..."
"Therefore, I plan to turn them into blood slaves, so they can become immortal beings. In the end, they should be thanking me!"
The Blood Pool Venerable glanced at Ye Cangtian and said mockingly.
He had been here for countless years and rarely encountered outsiders. Perhaps only a few would arrive over tens of thousands of years.
These outsiders could not only become blood slaves but also serve as his entertainment and even for his cultivation.
Therefore, every time an outsider arrived, the Blood Pool Venerable became particularly excited because these people were fresh blood here.
"Blood Pool Venerable, those people are not dead yet, right?"
"If you release them, we don't have to fight. You can still survive here peacefully..."
Upon hearing this, although Ye Cangtian was burning with rage, he calmed down.
The people hanging on the crosses were not dead yet, so it would be better to get them down first. Negotiation was undoubtedly the best option at this moment.
"Heh heh, kid, what are you going crazy about!"
"If I release them all, won't I lose my happiness? How can my cultivation improve?"
The Blood Pool Venerable was amused to the point of anger. He had just explained the role of these humans, yet the other party seemed not to have heard it, which truly ignited a trace of his anger.
"It seems that polite persuasion won't work. Then I have no choice but to be impolite!"
Hearing this, Ye Cangtian wasted no words and drew out the Reaper's Scythe.
There was no other way; the condition of the people on the crosses was extremely weak. If they were not treated promptly, they might truly die from excessive blood loss.
Therefore, he had to act quickly.
"Hahaha, what is this situation!"
"On my territory, before I've even made a move, an ant is already impatient. Truly rare!"
The Blood Pool Venerable looked at Ye Cangtian's stance and burst into disdainful laughter.
He could tell that this kid was only at the seventh level of the Quasi-Heavenly realm. Although his strength was not bad, he was still quite a bit weaker than himself.
As for the old man beside him, since he had not spoken or made a move, he simply ignored him.
Speaking, he flicked his finger and said teasingly, "You two entertain this kid. Don't let anyone look down on us."
"Yes!"
Without a word, the male and female Blood Generals responded and then drew their weapons, charging towards Ye Cangtian.
"Hmph! Who are you looking down on? Sending two ants, do you think they can deal with me?"
Seeing the two Blood Generals charge forward, Ye Cangtian snorted coldly, and a flash of anger finally appeared in his eyes.
He had clearly released his aura, yet the other party sent two Earth-level experts to deal with him. They truly didn't take him seriously.
In the next moment, Ye Cangtian ferociously charged forward, sweeping the Reaper's Scythe horizontally.
Clang! Clang!
With a single horizontal sweep, two crisp sounds were heard.
The two Blood Generals reacted quickly, immediately blocking the Reaper's Scythe with their weapons, but they had severely underestimated the sharpness of the Reaper's Scythe.
In just an instant, the Reaper's Scythe sliced through both their weapons and their bodies.
It must be remembered that the Reaper's Scythe was the weapon of the strongest in the Dark Relics, the Lord of Darkness. Even if it hadn't reached the level of a divine artifact, it was close.
How could the weapons of these people withstand it?
"This..."
Seeing his two subordinates cut in half, the Blood Pool Venerable froze on the spot.
He knew in his heart that his two subordinates were no match for Ye Cangtian. The reason he sent them was to wear down the opponent and to observe his fighting style.
But who would have thought that the opponent was so strong, defeating them in one move? It could be said that he saw nothing of what he intended to see.
In the next moment, his face darkened, and he said furiously, "Kid, you're seeking death!"
As he spoke, a blood thorn appeared in the Blood Pool Venerable's hand.
With a flash, he instantly appeared before Ye Cangtian, and the blood thorn began to move.
Clang clang clang...
In an instant, the fierce battle erupted. Within just a few rounds, Ye Cangtian was suppressed by the opponent.
Ye Cangtian had extremely strong spiritual power and could fully perceive the Blood Pool Venerable's attacks. However, his physical cultivation was two levels lower than the opponent's.
Therefore, he was greatly inferior in speed.
Often, he could sense the opponent's attack route but couldn't dodge due to his physical limitations, suffering considerable losses.
What made it even more difficult for Ye Cangtian was that the opponent's blood thorn, whenever it grazed his wounds, could draw away a portion of his blood.
Although not much, it seemed to directly feed back to the Blood Pool Venerable, slightly increasing his aura.
If this continued, he would be no match for the opponent.
With no other option, Ye Cangtian created some distance, preparing to use a powerful move.
"Oh ho, kid, you're getting agitated? Then I'll play with you."
The Blood Pool Venerable, seeing the Reaper's Scythe in Ye Cangtian's hand emit a bright light, with the spiritual energy forming sword qi expanding by one to two times, knew that the opponent was getting serious.
So, he didn't hesitate and instantly concentrated all his spiritual energy onto the tip of the blood thorn.
Then, his entire being and the blood thorn seemed to merge into one, transforming into a blood-red beam of light that shot towards Ye Cangtian.
Seeing this scene, Elder Long, standing by the side, also wore a solemn expression.
After all, in terms of strength, Ye Cangtian was not yet a match for the Blood Pool Venerable. A head-on clash of powerful moves might not guarantee victory. He had to be prepared to rescue him at any moment.
Boom!
With a rumbling sound, violent spiritual energy surged outwards, instantly leveling the surrounding wooden houses.
In the next instant, a figure flew backward out of the raging spiritual energy.
No!
To be precise, it was half a figure, because only the upper half of the Blood Pool Venerable's body flew out; his lower half had disappeared.
He fell heavily to the ground, his face filled with pain and disbelief.
He couldn't understand why an ant, weaker than himself, could unleash such a powerful attack, not only destroying his blood thorn weapon but also his body.