Chapter 94: The Empress Wants to Recover Blood!

The Blood Moon Holy Land selected disciples to serve the Blood Moon Ancestor. Consequently, the more talented and powerful the disciples were, the happier Elder Chi Yu became. 

After all, the better the harvest, the more rewards she would receive from the Ancestor.

However, her eyes shifted back to Lu Jin.

He had remained incredibly calm throughout the entire process. His methods were indeed extraordinary; the fact that he had nearly killed her newly recruited disciple, Liu Ruyan, was enough to warrant her serious attention. 

Furthermore, Liu Ruyan had been practicing the Blood Demon Art she had bestowed upon her. Combined with the support of the Supreme Bone within her body, the fact that she had still lost so miserably proved just how formidable Lu Jin’s techniques were.

But at that moment, the figure in her line of sight performed an action that left everyone stunned.

Lu Jin, who had already walked out of the array, suddenly turned around and stepped back inside!

“Hmm? What is that boy doing?” 

Elder Chi Yu’s brows knitted slightly. This was the first time she had ever witnessed such a thing.

“What? Why did he go back?”

“He finally made it out, yet he chose to re-enter the Grand Formation! Is he just that confident in his skills?”

“Others are desperate to get out, even facing the threat of death, yet he goes back in! Comparing ourselves to him is truly enough to make one want to die!”

“Is he going back to save people?”

The gazes of the crowd shifted instantly.

Chu Tianxiong’s eyes flashed with a hint of surprise. He couldn’t fathom what Lu Jin was trying to achieve.

Meanwhile, after Lu Jin re-entered the array, he looked up. He stared at the phantom images of blood dragons conjured by the energy released from the eight massive pillars surrounding the Eight Divisions Blood Dragon Altar.

Just moments ago, after he had stepped out of the array, the voice of Empress Qinglian had echoed in his mind.

She said she wanted to recover blood!

*Qinglian, are you eyeing the foundation of this array?* 

Lu Jin asked with a frown.

“Impudent brat! How dare you address this Empress by her given name!”

Upon hearing Lu Jin’s words, Empress Qinglian’s voice flared with sudden indignation.

*Uh… we’ve already become so close, surely calling you that isn’t too much?*

“It is too much!”

Empress Qinglian’s voice was laced with fury. “Throughout the myriad worlds and the ten thousand cycles of reincarnation, this Empress allows only one person to call me by that name!”

Lu Jin fell silent immediately. 

A tremor of unease ran through him; he had never felt the Empress this genuinely enraged before.

*Fine, fine. Lord Empress, please tell me, what do you want me to do?*

The Empress’s voice did not soften. 

“Get yourself under those pillars!”

*Ah?*

“Go!”

*Fine…*

*Boom!*

Lu Jin steeled himself and threw a heavy punch at the base of a giant pillar.

*It’s quite sturdy!*

The ground trembled under the force of the blow, and several cracks spidered out across the surface. 

Then, he began to rain down punch after punch in a continuous, violent rhythm.

At this moment, everyone was utterly bewildered by his actions.

“Damn, what is Lu Jin doing?”

“Is he trying to destroy the array foundation? Heavens, that’s insane!”

“I get it! The disciples inside who can’t get out are going to die. If he destroys the array, they’ll have a chance to survive!”

“Lu Jin is trying to save them! What a righteous brother!”

As these shouts went up, the crowd seemed moved by Lu Jin’s spirit. 

As time passed, the chances of survival for the disciples trapped inside grew slimmer. With powerful figures like Elder Chi Yu of the Blood Moon Holy Land presiding over the event, the members of the other sects didn’t dare to interfere.

Lu Jin’s actions undoubtedly set the crowd’s hearts racing, deeply touching them with his perceived heroism.

However, his behavior caused the expressions of Elder Chi Yu and her subordinates to darken.

“That boy dares to sabotage the array of my Eight Divisions Blood Dragon Altar!”

“Elder, the boy is courting death. Why don’t we just strike him down now?”

“Heh, there is no need for us to act. The energy of the array will blast him to pieces on its own!”

Elder Chi Yu’s eyes were cold. Previously, she hadn’t intended to kill Lu Jin. A disciple with such peerless talent would have brought her immense benefits if handed over to the Blood Moon Ancestor. 

Even after Lu Jin had beaten Liu Ruyan into such a pathetic state, she hadn’t planned on ending him.

But now that Lu Jin dared to provoke the majesty of the Blood Moon Holy Land, she had to teach him a lesson.

“Devas, Nagas, Yakshas, Gandharvas, Asuras, Garudas, Kinnaras, Mahoragas!”

“Eight Divisions of the Heavenly Dragon, hear my command! Suppress and kill this child!”

*Roar!*

Following Elder Chi Yu’s command, dragon roars echoed from within the array. The eight blood dragons transformed into various monstrous apparitions, shaking the very void as they whistled down toward Lu Jin!

*Lord Empress, what now?*

Lu Jin felt a bit helpless.

He was attacking their foundation, so he was clearly being targeted. The eight scattered blood dragons originally couldn’t do much to him, but now that the Eight Divisions had taken form, they unleashed a destructive power ten times stronger than before. It was becoming impossible for Lu Jin to continue breaking the foundation!

“Is the defense this Empress gave you just for show?”

To his surprise, even at this critical juncture, Empress Qinglian’s voice remained indifferent.

*Alright!*

Inside Lu Jin’s Dantian, the spiritual power of his Jindan surged. In the blink of an eye, he activated his dragon-pattern defense!

*Boom!*

Dragon patterns spread across his entire body, forming a protective shroud of Astral Qi. Faint dragon phantoms seemed to swim across the surface of the light.

In the next second, the eight monsters slammed into him with frantic violence!

*Dong—!*

A thunderous boom resonated. The space within the array shook incessantly. Trapped disciples who were too close were instantly vibrated to death by the aftershocks; those further away were left half-dead from the impact. The interior of the bloody array became an even more gruesome sight.

“This…”

“I can’t look! It’s too bloody!”

“Lu Jin is being targeted! What can he do now?”

The crowd was horrified.

At the exit of the array, the disciples who had made it out could clearly feel the energy fluctuations. The soul-shaking power left Long Xiwei, Yan Mo, and the others slack-jawed with shock.

Chu Tianxiong’s gaze was icy. A glow of spiritual light had already gathered in his hand, preparing him to launch a sneak attack on Elder Chi Yu, who was controlling the array.

However, to everyone’s utter astonishment, Lu Jin’s defense remained completely intact under that terrifying assault!

“What?”

Elder Chi Yu stood frozen in disbelief.

“What a powerful defense! The treasure on that boy is extraordinary. However, leaving it in your hands is a waste of a god-tier gift!”

At this moment, Elder Chi Yu’s gaze turned murderous. Her desire to kill Lu Jin intensified.

“Big Sable, go!”

Seeing that even the Eight Divisions of the Heavenly Dragon couldn’t break Lu Jin’s defense, Elder Chi Yu reached out, and the large sable in her arms instantly lunged forward!

*Swish!*

The sable charged into the array. In an instant, it transformed into a monster with the head of a sable and the body of a man. Its size ballooned until it stood three zhang tall, and it charged toward Lu Jin with explosive speed!

But at that moment, Lu Jin, who hadn’t stopped for a second, delivered a final punch that shattered the earth. He dove headfirst into the tunnel he had cleared, vanishing into the vibrating red spiritual energy of the underground hole!

***

Footnotes:

TN1: Eight Divisions (八部天龙): Refers to the eight groups of non-human beings in Buddhist cosmology (Devas, Nagas, etc.), often used as a motif for powerful formations in Xianxia.

TN2: Zhang (丈): A traditional Chinese unit of length, roughly 3.3 meters or 11 feet.