One Pound Meat, One More Attribute Point

Su Heng released part of his aura, immediately dominating the entire sky with his overbearing presence.

The dome of the sky seemed to be burning, the temperature around swiftly rising, as beams of bright light scattered toward the fog-enshrouded ancient city in the distance. Some of the monsters within, although mutated, still retained an instinct for survival deep in their hearts. Sensing the threat, they jumped into the blood-red river without a second thought.

However, it was futile.

Houses ignited and collapsed amidst violent explosions, kicking up dust and smoke.

First, massive amounts of white steam rose in the rapid river, then the water level quickly dropped, exposing the moss and fish carcasses within. The blood-soaked, deformed monsters roared towards the sky, but the intense light firmly pressed them to the ground. The strong radiation and heat evaporated the last traces of moisture in their bodies and then ignited their remaining organic matter, like chunks of red-hot charcoal. The entire city was ablaze.

Among them, some powerful Martial Artists had already run out of Lishui Ancient City and now looked back with horror on their faces.

First, they saw the great fire rising from the city and the curtain-like black smoke; then they saw the gold sun in the sky. Unmatched majesty, unparalleled power. As the temperature rapidly soared, the whole world seemed to be distorting, with trails of green smoke rising from the cracked ground.

"What on earth is happening!" They gasped harshly, sweat beading on their foreheads, "And what’s with that sun?"

Sadly, they were destined never to get the answer to their questions.

Their Spiritual Mechanisms within issued dire warnings, and in an instant, the sun in the sky turned into an eye of an Ancient God, high above, gazing down at all beings. They exploded with all their Power, resisting with all their might, but to no avail. In a matter of moments, the flesh on those Martial Artists was ignited, becoming huge torches consumed by flames tens of meters high, burned to ashes.

Witnessing Su Heng withdrawing his will, Ban Poluo’s face showed shock as he hurriedly said, "Your power is unmatched, your will envelopes the Four Seas."

Feeling as if such praise was too dry,

Ban Poluo’s eyes rolled around, a flash of Spirit Light crossed his mind, and he excitedly added, "Although those Martial Artists have lost their lives, even in Hell, thinking that they died by your hand, as Martial Artists, they would probably puff out their chests, thumb up, and boast to others with pride."

Li Hongxiu looked at the smile on Ban Poluo’s face, seemingly stunned by the shamelessness displayed by this monk.

Disgusted, she said, "Dead is dead, there is no so-called Hell."

"This is not necessarily the case." Ban Poluo simply smiled.

"Hm?"

Su Heng raised an eyebrow lightly, as if he had discovered something.

"What happened?" Li Hongxiu’s peripheral vision was always on Su Heng, most of her spiritual power was in the Blood Realm, and the distant environment was blurry.

"It’s not a big deal, someone is coming." Su Heng stroked his chin.

Although the previous attack was just a wide-scale annihilation, and Su Heng did not use his full strength, even so, not an ordinary Cultivator could withstand such an attack.

This person not only survived, but also appeared to have no serious injuries.

Ignoring Su Heng’s overpowering aura filling the entire sky, with anger and despair, he charged toward this direction. Feeling that person’s astonishing will, a touch of curiosity arose in Su Heng’s heart.

...

...

...

Meanwhile, within the Blood Realm.

Following Su Heng’s command, Li Hongxiu immediately began to execute the mission Su Heng had entrusted to her.

The recently quiet Taibola Volcano erupted again, violently, with an awe-inspiring presence. The dull, thunderous sounds like creation itself rippled through the void, sweeping across the entire world. A crimson pillar of fire a kilometer wide shot into the sky, heavy clouds gathering overhead showcasing a doomsday-like dark red, with lightning crisscrossing and large chunks of molten lava plummeting down with a roar.

Several sizable cities had been established around Taibola Volcano on the surrounding plains, with no shortage of inhabitants, all of whom were impressive Cultivators.

But even so,

When the deep rumbling passed rolling over them,

These Cultivators still felt as if they couldn’t catch their breath, as if they were at the center of a storm.

"What’s going on, could it be a massive invasion of Demon Gods from the mystical heaven?" someone grabbed their weapon, excitement on their face.

Massive meteors fell from the sky.

But they exploded before reaching the city, like scattering fireworks.

Each city had Arrays specifically set up by Li Hongxiu; otherwise, given the scale of Taibola Volcano’s eruption, these cities would probably have to be rebuilt from ruins in less than three days.

"Look there, what is that!?" an astute Demon Cultivator cried out in shock, pointing towards the mouth of Taibola Volcano.

Everyone looked in that direction.

At the massive vent of the volcano, dark red lava streamed horizontally.

And swarms upon swarms of strange creatures crawled out; like a black tide, they surged rapidly in all directions. Resembling reptiles magnified countless times over, their appearances were much more ferocious. Lengths varied from three feet to thirty feet, including the Titan Worm Saint that towered tens of meters high.

Most were covered in black metallic armor, with alien-like oval heads and enormous mouths filled with sharp teeth.

Now, they howled up to the sky, their piercing screeches compressing together to form a frightening infrasound wave. Even at great distances, nearby houses trembled, windowpanes shattering one after another.

Some lower-cultivation martial artists covered their ears, yet still felt nauseous as if their insides were in a washing machine.

Boom!

The Titan Worm Saint, with its vast black body, passed by the city’s edge.

The ground shook noticeably, cracks spread, and plumes of poison gas and sulfur spewed forth.

Their feet were like massive long spears, their brutish heads resembling that of dragons, and their cheeks were covered with dense compound eyes—as the Worm Saint’s gaze swept over, even the bravest of demon cultivators fell silent, a chill penetrating their hearts, fear unabated on their faces.

And this was far from the end.

All sorts of insect hordes emerged from the cracks in the ground.

Insects the size of human brains flew in the air, responsible for conveying Su Heng’s will precisely.

Spirit Void Dao Wood dropped down its branches from the cloud-covered firmament, and herds of Flying Dragons swooped in, some even radiating the aura of Divine Beasts, revered beyond measure. Having reached the current realm in his cultivation, combined with the Eight-Nine Mysteries Skill and the Demon Engine, Su Heng could now decode the bloodline secrets of Divine Beasts and had applied this technology to these Flying Dragons.

Flocks of Flying Dragons passed overhead like dark clouds, their flapping wings generating gales that nearly swept entire buildings into the sky.

It took a long while after all the Flying Dragons had passed, for someone in the town to gulp down their saliva, with an expression caught between shock and fear.

They had never seen such a disciplined and formidable army, nor had they ever imagined such a divine force hidden within the Blood Realm.

"Could this mean the launch of a war?"

"But, in this world, what kind of enemy warrants such a solemn response from the Northern Border Demon Dragon!?"

Almost everyone here was ignorant of the answer to this question, caught in panic, with but a few bowing their heads in contemplation.

—

Bang!

Elsewhere in the town square.

With a muffled sound, Lilith and Shi Teng’s figures crossed and then split apart.

"Not bad, you’ve improved a lot in martial arts over this period." Shi Teng held a long stick in his hand, dressed in black martial outfit, with a full set of twelve-pack abs, and his arms and thighs were significantly more muscular than a normal person’s. With every step he took forward, like a beast hunting, Shi Teng exuded a dangerous aura.

"However, the blade in your hand is not pure enough; you’re distracted by something," Shi Teng stopped, his gaze intense.

"I’m sorry, Master," Lilith apologized sincerely, acting very meekly before Shi Teng. A noticeable bruise was on her left shoulder—if Shi Teng hadn’t stopped in time during their sparring, it would have been her head that burst open.

"I was thinking about my origins, I’m a bit worried that something might happen on my father’s end." Lilith greatly respected Shi Teng, who was in charge of teaching her martial arts.

None of this was a secret; she didn’t hide anything.

"Oh?" Shi Teng’s gaze softened a bit, shaking his wrist, he retracted the long stick, then said, "If any problem arises, your master would not mind stepping in to resolve it."

Lilith smiled, about to speak, when a loud noise came from afar.

A dark swarm of Flying Dragons flew overhead.

Shi Teng’s gaze sharpened, surprised as well.

Before he could ask, a flash of red light appeared beside him, and Li Hongxiu materialized within their view.

Seeing the deployment of these Flying Dragons, Lilith guessed how matters had unfolded, volunteering, "It seems my father also couldn’t stop the outbreak of the Divine Plague; the situation is dire now."

"Indeed." Li Hongxiu nodded, "Several cities are affected now, spreading rapidly."

"The Divine Plague, what is that!?" Shi Teng exclaimed in surprise.

Only then did Li Hongxiu remember that Shi Teng had been solely focused on his cultivation and was unaware of the recent events. Martial artists’ spiritual power was strong, and communication did not take much time.

"This issue starts with the Descenders..." A flash of red light twinkled in Li Hongxiu’s eyes.

She transferred some information to Shi Teng on a spiritual level.

"Damn it!" Upon understanding the situation, Shi Teng was immediately furious, "These beastly creatures are truly lawless, to see us as nothing but grasshoppers, preposterous!"