It was a door made of green rock, with its streaks of big cracks marking its age. Flanking both sides of the door were giant human-like statues.
At its center, there was the head of a beast showing its fierce teeth, its eyes were two crystal clear gemstones reflecting brilliant green light.
What a sudden, peculiar turn of events.
The Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples were completely astounded as they saw the appearance of a giant circular formation.
"What is going on?!"
"Is this part of the Baptism by the Holy Words too?"
"Such an intense amount of energy!"
None of them knew what was happening, because they had never seen something like this before.
Fang Zhengzhi, too, was bewildered.
But he knew that such a change wasn"t related to him. Because when his fist met with Tian Xing"s, an immense amount of pressure was rapidly released.
So, even after the Baptism by the Holy Words…
He still couldn"t match Tian Xing"s level?
Of course, Fang Zhengzhi couldn"t naively expect that he would immediately be able to crush all his enemies right after his Baptism. After all, the difference between Tian Xing"s and his power was too huge.
He didn"t know how the red flashes of lightning appeared, or how the huge circular formation took shape, but he could feel a hefty amount of force upon his chest.
And his body involuntarily took a few steps back, knocking onto Chi Guyan.
And at that instant, he felt a tender feeling, then two hands wrapped around his waist. These hands wielded immense power.
This cus.h.i.+oned Fang Zhengzhi"s backward thrust to a safe stop.
But the pressure on his chest gradually intensified, especially when he between the impact of two forces.
And at this moment…
Chi Guyan moved. A snake"s tail, which glowed faintly, emerged from behind and whipped at Tian Xing at lightning speed.
"Boom!" came a loud noise.
These actions, from the collision of Fang Zhengzhi"s and Tian Xing"s punches, to the snake"s tail las.h.i.+ng at Tian Xing, seemed almost instantaneous.
But Tian Xing was still Tian Xing.
One of the strongest warriors in the Holy region, the Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain. Even if he was injured, he would never back down.
Not only that…
He could still advance a step, though it was only one step.
And of course, this wasn"t because Tian Xing had a change of heart, was willing to bury the hatchet and patch things up, then have tea together and talk about life.
But it was because he saw the red flashes of lightning and the huge, round formation above him, especially the green rock door that was opening slowly.
"Huh?" Tian Xing"s glanced above without changing his stance, as he continued to pressure ahead. His face, though, revealed some degree of surprise.
And at this moment…
Something strange happened again.
Nangong Hao, who was injured by Fang Zhengzhi"s sword, suddenly charged forward at an unfathomable speed, to the extent that there was a blur behind him.
"That"s really fast!" Fang Zhengzhi was shocked. Never did he expect Nangong Hao to recover so quickly and seize this situation to his advantage.
There was no way to run.
Because the pressure from Tian Xing"s fists was forcing upon his chest and he was being supported by Chi Guyan at his back.
How could he dodge this sword?
"Pshh!" Blood was spilled in the air.
That was the sound of Nangong Hao"s Wuwei Sword piercing through flesh. Blood spilled in the air but, oddly, did not fall.
Instead, it flew upward rapidly, as though it was sucked by a ma.s.sive gravitational force, toward the giant round formation.
This happened in the blink of an eye.
And the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples watched with their eyes wide open.
Especially the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples…
They were so astonished as though their eyes were about to pop out. Their bloodshot eyes were not a result of fatigue, but utter shock and anger.
And of course, the Heaven Dao Pavilion and Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples weren"t the only ones who were shocked.
Tian Xing, too.
His eyes stared at the crystal-clear tip of the sword, which pierced through the body from the back, then at the droplets of blood that was rapidly flying upward.
"Nangong Hao?!" Tian Xing slowly turned his head and looked at the hand which wielded the Wuwei Sword, then at the person who was dressed in scholarly attire behind him.
As the Nine Pinnacles Mountain Leader, one of the strongest warriors in the Holy Region…
It had been long since Tian Xing was stabbed in the back with a sword. This had to somewhat related to his powers, but it was also attributed to his sense of caution.
The Holy Region was a dangerous place.
And Tian Xing wasn"t one to trust others easily. In contrast, after all these years, he did everything cautiously.
This, however, didn"t mean that he did not guard against the "less powerful individuals".
He knew that, even if these "less powerful individuals" were given the opportunities, they would not have the ability to do him any substantial harm anyway.
And for Nangong Hao…
Tian Xing had once evaluated his abilities.
Nangong Hao"s wasn"t weak, perhaps he could even be considered strong. But of course, that was within the scope of the Rebirth State, or maybe even the Sage State.
Well, that was only the Sage State.
But most importantly, Nangong Hao initiated the attack toward Fang Zhengzhi before him, even at the most crucial juncture when Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan were being Baptized by the Holy Words.
Tian Xing did not understand, why would Nangong Hao"s sword pierce right through him.
Was this all a ruse?
No!
This couldn"t possibly a ruse. When Nangong Hao unleashed his attack on Chi Guyan and Fang Zhengzhi at that crucial period, he used all his might, as though he willed them to perish at that very moment.
If this was a ruse, wouldn"t it be too big of a risk?
Furthermore, it was impossible for Nangong Hao to predict that Fang Zhengzhi and Chi Guyan would be Baptized. Even Mu Qingfeng and himself did not see this coming.
So, this was not a ruse.
But Nangong Hao"s sword has indeed stabbed on him.
Tian Xing could never wrap his head around this.
Of course, he didn"t have much time to ponder any further. As his blood flew up toward the giant circular formation…
He felt enveloped by a terrifying wave of gravitational force.
It was as though all the blood in his body, or perhaps even his whole body, was being sucked into the giant round formation.
"Blood Offering! You actually used Blood Offering!!" For the first time, fear was revealed in Tian Xing"s eyes, as he panicked deep inside.
Because the gravitational force above him was too intense.
Although he didn"t know how Nangong Hao managed to do it, he could tell that the Blood Offering Ill.u.s.tration above him was very unusual.
Eight rays of light…
And they were all bright the sun and moon. He was fairly certain that there was some kind of forbidden technique involved, and most importantly, eight people were sacrificed for this.
"Blood Offering?" Fang Zhengzhi thought to himself after hearing what Tian Xing said. Nonetheless, he couldn"t care less about what the Blood Offering meant.
And of course, he couldn"t be bothered with why Nangong Hao"s sword would suddenly change direction and stab into Tian Xing"s chest instead of himself.
He only cared that now Tian Xing…
Was starting to panic!
Since Tian Xing was panicking, Fang Zhengzhi shouldn"t show any fear. Not only that, he must also seize this extremely rare opportunity.
The Leader of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain, eh?
One of the strongest warriors in the Holy Region, eh?
You"re so powerful…
But have you seen a fist as big as this?!
Fang Zhengzhi didn"t ask these aloud, because he was a man of action.
A punch!
He delivered this punch while suppressing the force on his chest.
And it landed directly on Tian Xing"s face!
"Boom!" A deafening thud.
This punch was. .h.i.t with such an explosive force that Tian Xing was flung backward, b.u.mping against Nangong Hao who was behind him.
And it was this punch that made Nangong Hao"s sword pierce fully through Tian Xing"s body.
"Pshh!" Blood once again spewed out and rained upward into the giant circular formation above.
This made the eight rays on giant circular formation glow more intensely, and suddenly the green rock door opened a little more.
Bright red rays shone from inside the green rock door, painting the sky in red, while an aura of evil emanated from the red rays.
"Blurgh!" Tian Xing spewed a mouthful of blood.
And this pool of blood, too, rose above into the formation.
At this moment, Mu Qingfeng had a change in expression.
Previously, he was very worried for Chi Guyan, but now it turned to shock. He saw the giant circular formation in the sky and Nangong Hao behind Tian Xing…
He could never have expected that things would turn out this way.
"Blood Offering?! It"s really Blood Offering!" Mu Qingfeng didn"t shout at Nangong Hao for him to stop, as he realized it would just be a waste of time.
And most importantly, he knew that once the Blood Offering was activated…
There was no way to stop it.
"Brother… actually stabbed Tian Xing?!" Nangong Mu was absolutely shocked as he stared at the Wuwei Sword that had fully pierced through Tian Xing"s body.
But a brief moment later, he returned to his normal expression, then rushed at full speed toward Nangong Hao and Tian Xing.
And Yan Qing continued to follow closely behind Nangong Mu.
"Master!"
"Leader!"
All of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples, as well as the few Nine Pinnacles Mountain Sage State warriors, suddenly felt something was wrong.
Because judging from Tian Xing"s abilities…
He would not be so easily punched by Fang Zhengzhi like this.
But not only did the punch smashed on his face, he did not retaliate after that.
This seemed quite odd.
Suddenly, many figures rose from the ground and rushed toward Tian Xing at lightning speed.
And a sight like this…
Naturally made the Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples charge forward.
"Attack!" A loud cry commanded. A few hundred Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples raised their swords and ran toward the Nine Pinnacle Mountain disciples.
"Stop!" ordered the Fu Xi Valley Elder Gu Yuan, previously calm and composed but now started to seem anxious.
But it was too late.
A few hundred swords slashed on the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples.
"Pshh!"
"Ah!"
Blood was spilled and screams of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples filled the air. The Heaven Dao Pavilion returned to a state of chaos.
And peculiarly, the blood that was purged from the bodies of the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples, too, did not fall to the ground. Instead, it flew up toward the sky.
Blood was raining upward.
"What?" Mu Qingfeng, who was rus.h.i.+ng toward Tian Xing, noticed blood flying upward and turned extremely anxious. "Stop!" He yelled.
He tried to stop them.
But it was too late.
While the Nine Pinnacles Mountain disciples tried to save their leader, a few hundred Heaven Dao Pavilion disciples stabbed them from the back. How would the collective power of a few hundred Sword Radiance be any less?
The air was filled with pools and droplets of blood flowing upward.
They fused into the giant circular formation in the sky, and the eight colored rays grew in brightness with the amount of blood sucked in the formation until they shone like eight more suns in the sky.
Gold, silver, white, blue, red, green…
And in the center of the eight rays was a reddish glow which permeated the air with its evil aura. The green rock door was now completely open.