Chapter 2031: The Blood Empress
The two Blood Beasts flapped their wings and quickly descended into the Endless Abyss as they disappeared into the darkness.
“The precepts of heaven and earth here are completely different from the outside world. The Endless Abyss sure is complex, and I have no idea how this place was formed.” Kong Lanyou whispered.
Zhang Ruochen nodded. “As Kunlun Realm revives, the Endless Abyss had become even more bizarre, and the suppression of outsiders had become much greater.”
This was the third time Zhang Ruochen had entered the Endless Abyss, so he could clearly feel the various changes inside the abyss.
Compared to before, the Endless Abyss now had an even stronger suppressive effect on one’s saint Qi and spiritual power, not being able to mobilize even one percent of one’s power.
Only one’s physical strength could be used freely. After all, this belonged to the strength from within, and not relying on external factors.
The precepts of heaven and earth inside the Endless Abyss were extremely powerful, as if they were independent of the Kunlun Realm.
Even with Zhang Ruochen’s cultivation strength as a Nine-step Saint King, he could not help but to still feel palpitations, as if his mind could be totally consumed by the Endless Abyss at any moment.
The dark devouring energies contained in the Endless Abyss were feared even by the cultivators of the Path of Darkness. Under normal circ.u.mstances, even a Supreme Saint-realm powerhouse would stay far away from the Endless Abyss, and dare not step foot into it w.i.l.l.y-nilly.
The two Blood Beasts descended very quickly, and it did not take long for them to arrive at the first level of the Endless Abyss.
Zhang Ruochen remembered that Yan Liren had used the Blood G.o.d’s Swordbreaker to kill all Blood Beasts on the first level with a single blow.
But now, he could clearly sense that there were a large number of Blood Beasts on the first level again, but for some reason, they had not ventured outside. Otherwise, the Sect of the Blood G.o.d would have been in deep trouble.
“Your Royal Highness, there is no need to worry. Without orders, these Blood Beast will never leave the Endless Abyss.” Qiu Yichi smiled charmingly.
Zhang Ruochen turned and looked at Qiu Yichi, asking a little coldly. “What are you planning to do with all these Blood Beasts?”
“Just some experimental specimens.” Qiu Yichi said softly.
Zhang Ruochen frowned slightly. “What experimental specimens?”
Qiu Yichi only showed a faint smile but did not answer.
Seeing this, many thoughts unwittingly flashed through Zhang Ruochen’s mind as he vaguely thought of something. Nonetheless, he was not entirely sure.
Looking at how Qiu Yichi was, she would probably not answer any questions now.
So if he wanted to get to the bottom of these matters, he had to go to the second level of the Endless Abyss, and meet the person behind Qiu Yichi.
Boom!
Quite abruptly, the dimension in the Endless Abyss quaked as a ma.s.sive blood-colored brilliance emerging from the bottomless gully, causing an area thousands of miles in radius to be lit up in dark red, forming thick blood clouds as the pungent scent of blood radiated.
Zhang Ruochen had already seen such a scene when he entered the Endless Abyss for the first time.
It was just that the b.l.o.o.d.y brilliance that time only covered a radius of hundreds of miles, and the scale was far from comparable to now.
Rumor had it that this blood Qi was left behind by the Blood Empress, and it will erupt every once in a while, and this blood Qi was the catalyst causing the savage beasts to transform into Blood Beasts.
Although he had never approached that area, Zhang Ruochen surmised that that place should be the entrance to the second level.
Be it the former Grand Master of the Sect of the Blood G.o.d, or Yan Liren, or that Blood Demon all entered the second level from here, and no one knew what happened after that.
Sure enough, the two Blood Beasts flew towards the gully where the blood was gus.h.i.+ng out.
After entering the gully, Zhang Ruochen found his vision completely obscured by a blood light, and even when he used his Eye of Divine Seal, he was unable to see his surroundings clearly.
After a good while, the blood light disappeared.
“This…”
Both Zhang Ruochen and Kong Lanyou had shocked expressions.
The reason was none other than the situation on the second level was completely different from what they had expected.
They had thought the second level would be even darker than the first, a scene of desolation.
But instead, the second level was not dark at all, and it was a brightly lit world.
At the same time, the world was not desolate at all, but was rather vibrant with life.
Looking down, there were continuous mountains and rivers, with dense and lush plants on them. Some of the trees seemed to be even taller than the peaks, with large, dense branches that covered the sky.
Qiu Yichi chuckled and said. “Surprised, yes? When I first came to the second level, I too had the same expression both of you have now. If you did not come here in person, you will never expect the Endless Abyss to actually look like this.
Zhang Ruochen was really shocked. He had almost suspected that he had left Kunlun Realm and entered another world altogether.
At a glance, from all directions, he could not see the edge of the land at all, and he could only imagine how vast this world was.
Moreover, he discovered that this world was filled with a strange power, which was different from the saint Qi of heavens and earth from the outside world, and seemed to have a great beneficial effect for strengthening one’s body.
If this were to spread out, one can only imagine the uproar it will cause.
“So many powerful Blood Beasts.” Kong Lanyou whispered.
Looking around, Kong Lanyou found thousands of Blood Beasts, and among their numbers were many Blood Beasts of Saint King-realm in the mountains and the forests, making one feel like they have come into the wilds.
If these Blood Beasts were under control, then it was undoubtedly an extremely terrifying force.
After entering the bright world, the flying speed of the two Blood Beasts became significantly faster.
Zhang Ruochen secretly mobilized the saint path precepts in his body, wanting to explore the reality of this world.
“I can use the Precepts of Time, Dimension and Truth, but the others are extremely suppressed.” Zhang Ruochen’s thoughts ran quickly.
Time, s.p.a.ce, and truth were all Ancient Eternal Paths, and were the most special. No matter how bizarre the Endless Abyss was, it was unable to shut them out.
Of course, this was also due to Zhang Ruochen’s attainments in the Path of Time, Dimension and Truth were extremely profound, otherwise, it would have been difficult for him to put them to any use.
With three Ancient Eternal Paths, and a body beneath the realm of a Supreme Saint, Zhang Ruochen still had enough power even when inside the second level of the Endless Abyss.
“Your Highness, we are almost there!”
Just as Zhang Ruochen was deep in thought, Qiu Yichi’s voice suddenly sounded.
Hearing that, Zhang Ruochen snapped out of his thoughts and cast his gaze straight ahead.
A steep mountain towering into the clouds appeared before Zhang Ruochen. It was fully crimson in color, as if it was bathed by ma.s.sive amounts of blood before.
On the top of the peak was a very quaint-looking palace, hidden in the clouds, appearing and disappearing from time to time, as if it was a celestial palace, full of mystery.
When the Blood Beast approached the blood-colored mountain, Kong Lanyou could not help but frown slightly as she said, “Cousin, this mountain feels very sinister, there’s thick blood seeping out of it. It seems like that’s no ordinary blood, and should be divine blood.”
Zhang Ruochen bore a grim expression and said, “It is indeed divine blood. This entire mountain is probably stained red by divine blood. I really have no idea what happened here.”
After entering the second level of the Endless Abyss, there were undoubtedly even more questions in Zhang Ruochen’s mind. The secrets of this place were more than he had imagined.
Finally, the two Blood Beast landed on the square at the top of the mountain.
With a flash, Zhang Ruochen and Kong Lanyu darted off the back of the Blood Beast.
A thin grey-robed elder greeted him and bowed to Zhang Ruochen. “The Master of the Guardian Dragon Pavilion’s Heavenly Pavillion, pays his respect to Your Royal Highness.”
The grey-robed old man was not anyone else but the tenth emperor eight hundred years ago, the Supreme Elder of the Sect of the Blood G.o.d, Yan Liren.
“Supreme Elder, it has been a while since we last met, it seems like you are living life well.” Zhang Ruochen said with a rather cold voice.
Yan Liren showed a pained expression, saying. “I would seek Your Highness’ clemency. My hands were tied.”
“Where is Lingxi?” Zhang Ruochen asked immediately.
Yan Liren said. “Your Highness, be rest a.s.sured, while I brought her back to the Endless Abyss, I have not harmed her at all.”
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen breathed a sigh of relief. He did believe that Yan Liren would not lie to him.
No matter what, Yan Liren was also the master of the Heavenly Pavillion of the Guardian Dragon Pavilion, and he believed that Emperor Ming would not misjudge someone.
“Your Highness, please.”
Qiu Yichi also appeared on the square and made a side-way inviting gesture.
Zhang Ruochen’s expression was calm as his eyes were cast onto the palace not too far away as he moved forward step by step.
Upon seeing this, Kong Lanyou closely followed behind Zhang Ruochen without any hesitation. No matter how dangerous the front was, she would definitely advance alongside Zhang Ruochen.
Eight hundred years ago, she failed to stop Chi Yao, and could only watch as Zhang Ruochen died under Chi Yao’s blade.
Now, she will never let something like that happen again. She will not hesitate, even if it meant staking her life in the process.
Yan Liren shook his head slightly, and followed after them. There were many things that were already out of his hands.
As they stepped into the palace, Zhang Ruochen and Kong Lanyou both showed a surprised look. They had discovered that the layout and decor there were the same as Shengming Palace eight hundred years ago. This layout made them feel like they had gone back eight hundred years in time.
The internal decor of the palace was so familiar to them that it automatically evoked old memories.
“Unfortunately, we cannot go back anymore.” Zhang Ruochen sighed softly.
If he could, he really wanted to go back to eight hundred years ago, and continue to be the Shengming Crown Prince. Emperor Ming would not go missing, and he would have nothing to do with the Immortal Vampires, and Chi Yao would not have been his enemy… How beautiful everything was back then.
However, that was impossible, and was just a fantasy deep down in his heart.
“Greetings, master.”
At this moment, Qiu Yichi suddenly bowed and saluted extremely respectfully.
At this moment, Qiu Yichi had completely put away her beguiling charm, and looked extremely serious.
Zhang Ruochen turned around and a tall figure caught his eyes as the figure walked over slowly from a distance.
It was a stunning woman that looked extremely young, at most twenty years old, yet her eyes were extremely deep, revealing the vicissitudes of time.
The woman was dressed in a dark green palace dress, her long blood-colored hair tied up high, with a jasper phoenix hairpin inserted into the bun. Her every move exuded a compelling n.o.bility, making her looking very distant.
Slowly, the woman came closer, and her gaze stayed on Zhang Ruochen, meeting him in the eyes.
Zhang Ruochen gathered all of his spiritual power as he stared at the stunning woman before him, without feeling the slightest of power fluctuation on her. Yet, he could feel a terrifying invisible aura, and even if Zhang Ruochen’s mind was resolute, it still felt somewhat unbearable.
Without a doubt, there was a huge gap between him and the stunning woman, and even if his cultivation strength was ten times, or even a hundred times stronger, it will not be able to bridge this gap.
“Chen’er, you’re finally here. It’s really difficult for Mother to see you.” A smile appeared on the face of the stunning woman. Her eyes were soft and gentle as she stretched her hand out to touch Zhang Ruochen’s face.
However, Zhang Ruochen took a step back, as he drew a distance between him and her as he stared at her. A moment later, he said. “No, I’m unworthy of the Blood Empress of the Immortal Vampires.”
Upon hearing this, the stunning woman sighed and withdrew her hand.
“I’ve come to the Endless Abyss now, and you should also release Mu Lingxi and Chi Kunlun now. No matter what you want to do, you can come at me, there is no need to involve people around me.” Zhang Ruochen said.
“Mu Lingxi is my daughter-in-law, and Chi Kunlun is my grandson, how can I do harm to them? The reason I got someone to bring them to the Endless Abyss because I wanted to see them. Why do you have to be angry?” The stunning woman did not get angry, and her tone was still very gentle.
Zhang Ruochen said. “Let me repeat this again, I have nothing to do with the Immortal Vampires.”
“Do you hate the Immortal Vampires so much?” The stunning woman frowned.
Zhang Ruochen said. “Yes, how can I have any goodwill towards this group that only knows destruction? When they destroy all others, they will self-destruct. The Immortal Vampires is a race that should not have existed at all.”
He had witnessed many lives in Kunlun Realm being slaughtered by the Immortal Vampires, and have their blood drained dry. That kind of sight made him angry, so much so that he wished he could destroy the Immortal Vampire down to the root.
“Chen’er, your thoughts are too extreme. There is naturally a reason for the existence of the Immortal Vampires. Just as there is light, there must be darkness. Everything in the world is relative, losing one thing means the balance of the universe will be broken, and that will be a disaster.” The stunning woman said very meaningfully.
Zhang Ruochen retorted. “Balance? Isn’t everything the Immortal Blood doing breaking that balance? It’s not that I am too extreme, but you are too self-righteous.”
Hearing this, the stunning woman was a little helpless as she shook her head and said. “It is rather meaningless trying to tell you now. You will come to understand it later. I’ve made some dishes myself, accompany me for this meal!”
“Did you think I’m here especially to eat the food you’ve cooked?” Zhang Ruochen asked rhetorically.
The stunning woman turned around and said as she walked. “If you want to see Mu Lingxi, come with me.”
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen’s eyes suddenly turned serious. He did not want to be led on by the nose by the Blood Empress, but when it came to Mu Lingxi, he had to choose to compromise.
As he tightened his fist, Zhang Ruochen exhaled deeply, doing his best to calm himself down.
He noticed that after meeting with the Blood Empress, his mood had become very irritable, and he had lost all composure. This situation was undoubtedly very bad.
“Cousin, guard your mind. Auntie is your biological mother after all. I believe she will not harm you.” Kong Lanyou reminded him.
Zhang Ruochen turned and glanced at Kong Lanyou, then nodding gently as he said. “Yeah, I’m fine. Let’s go.”
As he said that, Zhang Ruochen and Kong Lanyou set off together as they followed behind the Blood Empress.
No matter what the Blood Empress wanted to do, at this moment, they could no longer take a step back.