As the crimson blood mist pervading the sky erupted, exuding a corrupting evil aura.
Gu Yuan and the other two held their minds firm, resisting the encroaching malevolence.
"Humans, you truly deserve to die!" an enraged voice boomed within the blood mist.
A grotesque, mutated creature appeared before Gu Yuan and the others.
It stood at least three meters tall, its muscles bunched together like tumors, yet atop this colossal frame sat a head the size of a normal human's, exuding a peculiar strangeness.
Gu Yuan regarded the muscular monstrosity with caution.
Unable to suppress his urge, he willed his Dao Fortune Heaven Diagram to investigate.
Lines of information unfurled, accompanied by waves of contamination, all of which were purified by the golden radiance emanating from the Dao Fortune Heaven Diagram.
【Name】: 【Wu Tan】
【Race】: 【Human???】
【Destiny】: 【Blood God's Kin (Purple)】, 【Demonic Physique (Green)】, 【Blood Mist Soaring (Green)】, 【Flesh and Blood Elixir (White)】, 【Non-human (Gray)】
【Realm】: 【Half-step Fourth Stage Demon】
Wu Tan harbored immense hatred. He was just one step away from completely absorbing the flesh and blood sphere, transforming into a Fifth Stage Great Demon, achieving eternal life, becoming a kin of the Blood God, and even ascending further to become the Blood God's son.
His blood-red eyes fixated on the three humans before him, who had disrupted his path to immortality, leaving him in his current deformed state.
He had initially anticipated only a human with fire-attribute true qi, but instead, a rare lightning-attribute martial artist had appeared.
Those who were transforming into demons like him feared lightning power even more than actual demons.
With a colossal stride, the creature advanced, its immense strength cracking the surrounding ground.
Bending its body, it unleashed a ferocious surge of power, charging at Gu Yuan like a demon god.
A crazed expression contorted Wu Tan's face. The blood mist behind him coalesced, forming a blood-red armor that exuded an evil aura.
Seeing Wu Tan charge directly at him, Gu Yuan's internal lightning began to stimulate his physical body in a peculiar manner, while the fire energy from the Li Elephant Space in his eyes joined the lightning in this stimulation.
The blood qi, cultivated through the Great Whale Art, began to transform in a unique way, integrating into Gu Yuan's physique. Crimson patterns appeared on his skin, radiating explosive power. His muscles bulged like cast iron, and a blood-red flame ignited around Gu Yuan, laced with sparks of electricity.
This was the reward Gu Yuan had chosen: "Lightning Fire Whale Annihilation Body!"
*Hoo!*
White steam billowed from his nostrils, the result of massive water evaporation from his body. Gu Yuan's body temperature had now reached an astonishing one hundred degrees Celsius.
Qian Xiang · Tian Xing Jian.
The power of Heaven formed a protective membrane, shielding Gu Yuan's vital points from harm.
With a long roar!
A figure enveloped in blood-red flames, akin to an ancient ferocious beast, carrying a torrent of blood qi, tore through everything in its path and collided head-on with the charging Wu Tan.
Boom!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
The two figures, one large and one small, became streaks of lightning. Despite Wu Tan's immense size, he exhibited incredible speed, their collision a blur to the naked eye. They tore through the air, their immense power gouging craters into the ground, sending shards of rock flying.
Qin Erlang and Wu Gui exchanged bewildered glances, unsure of what to do. They watched the flame-engulfed Gu Yuan, his muscles bulging, a stark contrast to his usual handsome demeanor, exuding an aura of immense power.
"Er Lang, did you know Gu Yuan had a move like this?" Wu Gui asked Qin Erlang, who had previously sparred with Gu Yuan.
Qin Erlang rolled his eyes, clearly disinclined to engage with Wu Gui.
Sheathing his Fangtian Huaji, he stretched his limbs. A surge of blood qi, slightly inferior to Gu Yuan's, erupted from him. Qin Erlang's eyes strangely turned black, not with an eerie glow, but with an aura of noble divinity.
This was his activation of his innate physique: the Grand Duke Godly Body.
He tapped the ground, causing it to erupt, mud and debris scattering.
Qin Erlang shot towards the two combatants. As geniuses, they could not afford any weaknesses; they might not be skilled, but they couldn't be a vulnerability!
Wu Gui shook his head, "So crude! Lacking any elegance!"
His folding fan vanished. His palms formed seals, his gaze filled with reverence as he boomed,
"By decree! The might of the Three Mountains and Five Peaks shall be mine!"
Earthy yellow power surged from the ground.
Crackling—
A series of bone-cracking sounds echoed. His body rapidly swelled and grew taller, his skin transforming from fair to an earthy yellow. His waist-length black hair also gained an earthy yellow sheen. A brown mountain imprint appeared on his brow, and a powerful aura swept in all directions.
With a command, the once slender figure instantly grew to a height almost matching Wu Tan's, delivering an unparalleled visual impact.
With a single step, the ground within a five-meter radius shattered. He transformed into a streak of light, charging towards the three engaged in battle.
Wu Tan, seeing another muscular man appear, and one of similar stature, felt as if he would vomit from sheer vexation.
Suddenly, a man with completely black eyes had appeared. Although his strength was not comparable to Gu Yuan's initial burst, every time Wu Tan attacked him, he would evade with a peculiar agility, his attacks consistently missing.
If Wu Tan had focused on attacking the damaging Gu Yuan, this nuisance could have been endured, and while the damage might have been significant, prolonged exposure would have been unbearable, like an infuriating fly.
Now, another one had arrived. Both were engaging him in a physical confrontation. Was this a sign of disrespect?
A furious expression contorted Wu Tan's face. The armor, previously torn by Gu Yuan's attacks, reformed from blood mist and reabsorbed into his body.
His already densely packed muscles became even more grotesque, and his height surged from over three meters to over four meters.
Roar!
At this point, Wu Tan had lost all semblance of human consciousness, leaving only a beast-like instinct for slaughter!
His attacks became more savage, disregarding injury, focusing all his power on Gu Yuan. Just then, Wu Gui, transformed into a three-meter giant, arrived on the battlefield. He unleashed a punch imbued with millions of pounds of force, creating a massive indentation in the flesh giant's muscle, the surrounding air exploding from the impact!
Boom!
Ah!
Bang! Bang! Bang!
A roar of pain echoed through the heavens and earth. The four-meter-tall flesh and blood giant was sent flying, tumbling across the ground for dozens of meters before finally stopping.
Gu Yuan and Qin Erlang stared dumbfounded at the three-meter-tall, earthy yellow muscular dwarf. Then they turned to look at the flesh and blood giant, who had been blasted dozens of meters away.
They exchanged glances, their eyes betraying their shock. Was this the carefree young master Wu Gui they knew?
Wu Gui looked at the two with a strange expression, then at Wu Tan, who was being blasted away. A peculiar excitement lit up his face. He bent his knees slightly, and shot forward like a missile towards the struggling Wu Tan.
His three-meter-tall body crashed down upon Wu Tan, who was trying to get up.
Boom!!
By decree! Mount Divine Collapse!
*Hoo!*
Wu Gui took a deep breath in mid-air. His legs suddenly inflated like balloons, and his once earthy yellow muscles took on the color and aura of obsidian, radiating an aura of indestructibility.
The flesh and blood giant, having just managed to stand, looked up at the rapidly descending Wu Gui.
He roared to the heavens!
Collision!
Rumble!
The area within dozens of meters suddenly sank as the boundless force crushed and shattered it.
*Hoo~Breathe, Hoo~Breathe*.
The blood and flesh giant's body, supported by its black obsidian legs, continuously inhaled the crimson mist. Its shattered form began to regenerate and reassemble!
Seeing this, Gu Yuan realized that ordinary attacks would no longer inflict significant damage on Wu Tan, and he would soon recover.
The blood-red patterns on his body vanished. Gu Yuan took a deep breath, drawing in the spiritual energy from hundreds of meters around him like a whale swallowing the ocean. A sheathed long saber suddenly appeared in his hand.
This was a reward he had chosen from the imperial treasury, a saber once wielded by a master swordsman, imbued with an extremely sharp sword intent. He rarely dared to use it, as its consumption was immense, and he had kept it sealed in his storage space, meticulously maintained daily with a sword-nurturing technique.
Closing his eyes slightly, faint traces of lightning flickered on his skin as he contemplated that move!
Divine Firmament Imperial Lightning Nine Slashes · Lightning Slash!
As the name suggested, to cut through lightning, one had to unleash a speed faster than lightning itself. While Gu Yuan did not yet possess such speed, he was far beyond his current realm.
Lightning flashed continuously. Gu Yuan bent his knees, his left hand holding the saber, his right gripping the hilt.
An aura of ultimate speed, capable of cleaving through the world, began to rise. Invisible sword qi emanated outwards, leaving shallow marks on the ground.
This caused Qin Erlang to retreat to a safe distance. Watching Gu Yuan's aura surge, he mused, "Gu Yuan, Gu Yuan, how many more trump cards do you have? You're becoming increasingly interesting."
Gu Yuan suddenly opened his eyes. A spark of electricity materialized in the void, carrying a sharpness that forced Qin Erlang to squint.
*Hoo!*
He exhaled a deep breath of white air, crouched low, and faint electrical currents flickered in the void.
Clang!
A sound of drawing a saber echoed. Qin Erlang's vision was consumed by a flash of white light, accompanied by a thunderous boom.
A blue-white saber light flashed across the earth. Gu Yuan instantly traversed dozens of meters, appearing behind the still-uncomprehending Wu Gui and Wu Tan.
The sound of the long saber sliding against its sheath echoed, finally ending with a clang.
Countless saber qi erupted!
Countless blood lines erupted from the flesh and blood giant behind Gu Yuan, densely packed, dismembering Wu Tan into pieces!
Gurgle.
Wu Tan's head rolled a few times, his face still etched with disbelief. Finally, as countless electrical sparks flared, the flesh and blood giant's corpse turned into charred remains.
Wu Gui, who had long since retreated to safety, had returned to his normal form. He stared, dumbfounded, at Gu Yuan's back.
He murmured, "So handsome!"