Jiang Chen had just entered the Dragon Blood Pool.
The Dragon Blood went wild, relentlessly assaulting his physical body. A terrifying power, like countless invisible hands, constantly tore at his flesh.
It felt as if he was being ripped apart alive!
Jiang Chen’s face twisted in agony. His pupils constricted. Even though his physical body had already reached the limit of a Saint Tier High-level Profound Weapon, it still seemed fragile before this Dragon Blood.
After all...
this blood had belonged to a terrifying being that once sought to transform into a dragon, a creature with one foot already in the Demigod Realm.
The Dragon Blood in its body had been tempered by a heavenly tribulation!
It was comparable to the blood of a True Dragon!
"God-slaying Sword—devour it!"
Jiang Chen roared.
Golden light surged around him, causing the entire Dragon Blood Pool to boil as ripples spread across its surface.
The ripples connected one after another, merging together.
They formed a whirlpool.
It spun at high speed.
WHOOSH!
At the center of the whirlpool, countless streams of energy converged on Jiang Chen, and wisps of Dragon Blood flowed into his body.
Both his physical body and his cultivation were making their final push.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Like refined iron being forged a thousand times, Jiang Chen’s body let out a terrifying, deafening roar that made one’s blood surge. An incredibly dreadful energy gathered around him. The aura he exuded grew stronger and more terrifying by the second.
As Jiang Chen absorbed the Dragon Blood from the Dragon Blood Pool, a crimson Light Cocoon gradually formed on the surface of his body.
It completely enveloped him.
The Ancient Azure Dragon Sword also slowly rose into the air, shrouded within the Light Cocoon.
’Almost there. I can feel it... I’m getting closer and closer to the Emperor Realm...’
A brilliant golden light shone from Jiang Chen’s eyes.
He was completely immersed in his final sprint toward the Emperor Realm, unaware that at this very moment, a demoniacal figure was hunting Luu Fei and Gai Shi within Unrivaled Sword Valley.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The terrifying rumbles were deafening.
A cold expression settled on Demon Zhantao’s face. He looked at Gai Shi and Luu Fei, their mouths full of blood, and sneered, "Hehehe, in my entire life, I, Demon Zhantao, have never suffered such humiliation. How dare Jiang Chen throw me out! Anyone associated with him deserves to die!"
"When he comes back and finds you two crippled because of your connection to him, he’ll surely blame himself, won’t he!"
Demon Zhantao wore a savage grin.
His face was twisted, making him look exceptionally terrifying.
As it turned out...
After being defeated by Jiang Chen and thrown seventy kilometers back, Demon Zhantao discovered he could no longer return to that seventy-kilometer mark.
It was as if an invisible force was blocking him.
In Unrivaled Sword Valley, one could only advance, never retreat.
Once you fell back, you could only continue retreating all the way out of Unrivaled Sword Valley.
This meant he had lost all hope of obtaining the Ancient Azure Dragon Sword. How could Demon Zhantao not be furious? On his way back, he defeated every expert he encountered and drove them out of Unrivaled Sword Valley.
When he ran into Gai Shi and Luu Fei and learned they were Jiang Chen’s friends, Demon Zhantao’s rage became uncontrollable, and he swore to cripple them both.
If Gai Shi hadn’t recently had a significant breakthrough in strength, the two of them would have been crippled and thrown out of Unrivaled Sword Valley long ago.
"Demon Zhantao, don’t get too arrogant! You’re dead when Jiang Chen gets back!" Gai Shi sneered, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth.
"Demon Zhantao, if you dare to harm us, our boss will never let you off!" Luu Fei added.
"Hmph. First, you two can get the hell out of Unrivaled Sword Valley!"
Demon Zhantao snorted coldly. His formidable body erupted with a terrifying power that swept everything away!
"Demon Dragon Battle Fist!"
Demon Zhantao roared as black light pulsed around him.
Black light coiled around his fists as he ruthlessly smashed them forward.
The expressions on Gai Shi and Luu Fei’s faces changed in unison. They both attacked at the same time, forming a True Essence Shield to protect themselves. But Demon Zhantao’s terrifying black fists carried a destructive force that instantly sent Gai Shi and Luu Fei flying backward, out of Unrivaled Sword Valley.
BAM! BAM!
The two men’s bodies trembled violently as they crashed hard onto the ground outside Unrivaled Sword Valley.
"Tsk tsk, those two must be Jiang Chen’s sworn brothers, right? How pitiful. It’s their own fault for getting mixed up with a troublemaker like Jiang Chen!"
"Hmph, if it weren’t for Jiang Chen, Demon Zhantao wouldn’t have gone crazy and driven us all out."
"What do you guys think Demon Zhantao will do to them?"
"This is Heaven’s Edge Island, after all. He probably doesn’t dare to kill them outright!"
"I heard that Jiang Chen has already broken through to the ninety-kilometer mark in Unrivaled Sword Valley..."
"That’s impossible, isn’t it? He’s not even at the Emperor Realm. How could he have gotten that far?"
The crowd whispered amongst themselves, their heads close together.
In the crowd, Ma Jun, looking relaxed, raised an eyebrow as a cold glint flashed in his eyes. ’The ninety-kilometer mark of Unrivaled Sword Valley? Even back when I was at his cultivation level, I only made it to seventy-eight kilometers. This Jiang Chen’s talent is truly terrifying. Hmph. But no matter how strong his talent is, as long as he’s snuffed out in the cradle, he’s no threat at all!’
A chilling light flashed in his eyes as his gaze fell upon Gai Shi, Luu Fei, and Axiu.
VMM!
With a flash of light, Demon Zhantao walked out from Unrivaled Sword Valley.
Ma Jun was startled for a moment, then an insidious smile spread across his face as he sent a telepathic message, "Demon Zhantao, long time no see!"
"Hm?"
Demon Zhantao paused, then noticed Ma Jun’s presence and couldn’t help but frown. "Ma Jun? What are you doing here?"
"I’m hunting Jiang Chen!"
Ma Jun continued, "He injured my younger brother, and I’m here for revenge. Unfortunately, he escaped into Unrivaled Sword Valley... By the way, Demon Zhantao, these three are Jiang Chen’s sworn brothers. What do you plan to do with them?"
"Oh? You have an idea?" Demon Zhantao glanced at Ma Jun.
Ma Jun said lightly, "I wouldn’t presume to have an idea, but I just think that simply crippling their cultivation would be letting them off too easy. If you ask me, don’t be in a hurry to cripple them. First, seal their cultivation, then tie them up in front of Unrivaled Sword Valley. Torture them with the cruelest methods. I refuse to believe that Jiang Chen is so hard-hearted that he would ignore the deaths of his own brothers!"
"Hahaha, you really are a wicked one! Why didn’t I think of that? Good, let’s do it!" Demon Zhantao roared with laughter.
With Ma Jun’s help, he quickly sealed the cultivation of Gai Shi, Luu Fei, and Axiu.
They were tied to several wooden stakes.
The stakes were erected in front of Unrivaled Sword Valley.
The two villains even found three other experts to wield long whips and strike the trio repeatedly. Gai Shi and the others were shocked and enraged to the extreme.
But unfortunately...
they were completely powerless to resist!
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
Outside Unrivaled Sword Valley, Gai Shi and the other two were tightly bound to three wooden stakes. Before each of them stood a man holding a long whip covered in thorns and barbs. Buckets of saltwater sat on the ground. The whips flayed their skin and tore their flesh, and then saltwater was thrown on their wounds, making them wish for death.
"Ma Jun, Demon Zhantao, you’ll die a horrible death!"
"It hurts so much I could die..."
Gai Shi roared.
Ma Jun looked on mockingly. "And who do you think you are?"
Demon Zhantao was even more gloating. "You can only blame yourselves for following the wrong person! Whip them harder!"
CRACK! CRACK! CRACK!
The sharp cracks of the whips and the agonized screams of Gai Shi’s group echoed throughout Unrivaled Sword Valley.
The beating lasted for three whole days.
Even with their astonishing willpower, after enduring for three days, the three were utterly exhausted. There wasn’t a single patch of intact skin on their bodies. Some of their flesh had even begun to rot, with flies and maggots crawling on it...
"Their bones are pretty tough, huh? It’s been three days and they’re still not dead?"
"Looks like my beating wasn’t vicious enough. Jiang Chen still hasn’t shown himself? Beat them harder!" Demon Zhantao roared.
Just then, a furious roar suddenly erupted from the depths of Unrivaled Sword Valley.
An incredibly terrifying storm followed, and the cold, furious roar, filled with infinite killing intent, echoed across all of Heaven’s Edge Island...
"Ma Jun! Demon Zhantao! You are courting death!"