Chapter 284: Blood God Tower, Two Hundred Thousand Blood Jade Crystals, Time Flow Rate

Chapter 284: Blood God Tower, Two Hundred Thousand Blood Jade Crystals, Time Flow Suspended!

The blood-colored light curtain was like a heavenly moat separating life from death, completely isolating this pure land before the tower from the apocalyptic scene outside.

Beyond the light curtain, the broken king corpse that had crawled out of the abyss of blood sea was letting out a mad roar that shook the universe.

Its body was mutilated, the hollow in its chest and the half-shaved head bearing witness to the fierce battle it had endured before its fall. Yet, the ghostly light runes swirling around it still exuded an overwhelming kingly might that made souls tremble.

"Roar——!"

It swung its only remaining arm, instinctively smashing it against the light curtain.

With each impact, the entire space trembled violently, and invisible sound waves and ripples of pure force spread out, as if about to tear heaven and earth apart.

However, the seemingly thin blood-colored light curtain was incredibly resilient. No matter how ferociously the king corpse attacked, it only sent ripples of blood spreading across its surface, as steady as a rock, showing no signs of shattering.

Inside the light curtain, the surviving prodigies of ten thousand races, their faces pale, were still shaken.

Some leaned on broken weapons, gasping for breath; others stared blankly at the terrifying figure of absolute death outside the curtain, their foreheads covered in fine cold sweat.

The heart-stopping great escape from moments ago kept replaying in their minds.

When the king corpse emerged from the abyss and the apocalypse descended, just the aura it emitted by instinct had instantly obliterated the powerful "Death Knell," a name on the Hidden Dragon List, both body and soul.

That absolute power—unresisted, incomprehensible, even too extravagant to look up to—had shattered their pride and confidence as heaven's favored children.

They knew well that without the shelter of this Blood God Tower, every living being present, no matter how astonishing their talent or how powerful their hidden cards, would be easily crushed into the most basic particles of the universe under the unconscious attack of that king corpse, leaving not even a trace.

"It... it can't get in..."

Someone murmured in a hoarse voice, breaking the dead silence.

Those words were like a shot of adrenaline, instantly relaxing every nerve stretched to the breaking point.

After confirming absolute safety, heavy breaths rose and fell in succession, and their tense bodies softened. A sense of relief at having survived the disaster spread through the crowd.

After a brief calm, these resilient prodigies finally shifted their gaze from the futilely roaring king corpse to the towering giant tower behind them, which had sheltered them all.

This was the Blood God Tower.

It stood silently at the core of the Blood Forbidden Land, as if it had existed there since time immemorial.

The tower's body was a deep blood color, as if solidified from the blood of billions of living beings, yet it shimmered with a strange luster, not evil, but exuding an indescribable sacredness and majesty.

The giant tower soared into the clouds, its top disappearing directly into the blood-colored sky, with no end in sight.

Looking closely, the tower's surface was not smooth but built from countless enormous blood-colored bricks, each inscribed with dense, extremely complex blood runes.

These runes seemed alive, slowly flowing across the tower's surface, flickering with an ancient and eerie aura.

A vast and overwhelming pressure radiated from the tower, enveloping every inch of space within the light curtain.

This pressure was not pure force suppression but a spiritual impact that reached deep into the soul.

It was like an invisible hand, stirring the deepest ambitions and desires in the hearts of every living being present.

An irrepressible urge quietly sprouted in the hearts of all the prodigies. They wanted to enter this tower, to climb, to ascend layer by layer, finally reaching the top, carving their names upon it, making their fame resound through the ages and echo for eternity.

This urge was so strong, as if it were their innate mission, the ultimate meaning of their path of martial arts.

This was the unique, soul-captivating charm of the Blood Tower—a spiritual seduction acting on the soul level.

In front of the giant tower stood two stone tablets, one large and one small, made of the same material as the tower, also inscribed with countless mysterious runes.

Unlike the tower, the surfaces of these two tablets were densely engraved with countless names, each emitting a faint glow, as if each represented a legend.

"What exactly is this Blood Tower for? And these two tablets—why are there so many names on them?"

A black-robed prodigy from the Netherworld Yellow Spring Sect, staring at the completely unfamiliar names on the tablets, couldn't help voicing his confusion.

His question also voiced the thoughts of most beings present.

Their knowledge of this place was almost blank.

For a moment, everyone's gaze involuntarily converged on the same figure—the chubby young man in yin-yang robes who called himself a disciple of the Heavenly Mechanism Sect, San Ruo.

From his timely warning when the king corpse emerged, pointing out the path of survival, to the calm on his face now, so out of place with the tense atmosphere around him, it all showed that his understanding of this place far exceeded others'. In everyone's eyes, he had become the sole "insider" here.

Feeling the countless gazes upon him, San Ruo's cynical smile faded a little, replaced by a hint of gravity.

He first looked up deeply at the towering Blood God Tower, a complex emotion flickering in his eyes—awe, longing, and a trace of barely perceptible wariness.

He cleared his throat and spoke solemnly: "Actually, what we usually call the 'Blood Forbidden Land' does not refer to a specific fixed place. In extremely ancient times, the Blood God waged countless ancient wars that swept across the universe. The remnants of those battlefields, still filled with the Blood God's power and laws, are collectively called the Blood Forbidden Lands."

His voice was not loud, but it reached everyone's ears clearly. The noise in the field instantly subsided, and everyone held their breath, listening intently to this ancient secret.

"And this Blood God Tower,"

San Ruo pointed a finger at the majestic giant tower, his tone filled with reverence, "is a creation of the Blood God, the embodiment of his power and will.

Unlike the Blood Forbidden Lands scattered across the universe, there has always been only one Blood God Tower.

It appears randomly in any Blood Forbidden Land, with no pattern whatsoever.

That it appears here now, and that we have encountered it, is, I must say, an unimaginable supreme opportunity for us."

Hearing the words "supreme opportunity," many prodigies' eyes blazed with fervent light.

San Ruo paused and continued: "According to the records in my sect's scriptures, the first appearance of this Blood God Tower was two billion years ago.

Its history can even be traced back to that ancient era when gods fought chaotically and the cosmic order had not yet been fully established."

Two billion years!

This vast, suffocating unit of time made all the prodigies present gasp.

The oldest among them had cultivated for only a few million years—compared to two billion years, they were as insignificant as a speck of dust.

"The Blood God Tower does not test your cultivation realm,"

San Ruo's words once again drew everyone's attention. "On the contrary, realm holds no advantage here. Because the Blood God Tower precisely arranges corresponding opponents based on each climber's specific realm. The higher your realm, the stronger the guardians the tower condenses for you, even to the point of being unimaginably powerful."

"It tests pure, extreme combat power within the same realm!"

"Moreover,"

San Ruo threw out an even more shocking piece of information, "the Blood God Tower has a crucial rule. Once inside, the flow of time within will be completely different from the outside world. You might spend tens of thousands of years inside, while for the outside world, it might be just an instant."

Time flow!

This news was like a heavy bomb, causing an uproar among the crowd.

Especially for these prodigies in their rapid growth phase, the meaning of time was self-evident.

Tens of thousands of years inside, an instant outside—this was practically the ultimate cultivation sanctuary tailor-made for them!

Seeing the uncontrollable excitement and fervor on everyone's faces, San Ruo's expression grew even more serious: "Don't celebrate too soon. To obtain this opportunity, you need to see if you have the ability. The Blood God Tower has ninety-nine floors, and the difficulty of climbing increases geometrically."

"The first twenty floors can be considered a 'welfare' from the Blood God. The guardians are powerful, but for all of you present, they are not too difficult—in fact, they are relatively weak among those of the same realm."

"However, starting from the twenty-first floor, the difficulty will suddenly increase. You will face true experts of the same realm. After the thirty-first floor, each floor's guardian will be a strong one among their peers, each possessing the strength to challenge those above their level."

"Until the fiftieth floor!"

San Ruo's tone grew heavier: "From this floor onward, you will face the true prodigies who have stepped into the 'Half-Step Divine Forbidden' domain, condensed from the imprints of ancient and modern geniuses!"

"And the eightieth floor is another chasm. From there, the guardians will be those who have truly entered the 'Divine Forbidden' domain! Even within the Divine Forbidden, there are vast differences in strength. As for above the ninetieth floor... let's put it this way: if the phantoms condensed there were brought into reality, they would be the most brilliant, era-illuminating supreme beings in the two-billion-year river of time, past and present."

"Of course, risk and reward go hand in hand. The higher you climb, the richer the rewards you will receive."

That was a gift from the Blood God, enough to drive any King-level, or even Emperor-level existence, to madness.

San Ruo’s words painted a vivid picture of the opportunities and challenges within the Blood God Tower, setting every prodigy’s heart ablaze.

They were the favored children of heaven, born with endless glory and halos, their very bones steeped in the pride of pushing limits.

The emergence of the Blood God Tower was, without doubt, the ultimate stage for them to prove themselves and even etch their names into history.

Just then, another being—a prince from the Tai Xu Cosmic Kingdom—pointed at the two stone tablets and asked loudly, “Then, are the names on these tablets the records of all who have successfully climbed the tower throughout the ages?”

Qin Feng also turned his gaze to the two stone tablets.

On the larger tablet, there were only a handful of names; counting carefully, no more, no less, exactly ten. On the smaller tablet, the names were densely packed; at a glance, there must have been no fewer than a hundred thousand.

He scanned the names meticulously, finding none he recognized—all were utterly unfamiliar.

At the very top of the large tablet, he saw this line:

[First: Dao Yi, Ninety-First Floor.]

[Second: Chan Miao Yin, Ninety-First Floor.]

[Third: Tian Ji, Ninety-First Floor.]

[…]

“Yes.”

San Ruo nodded, giving an affirmative answer. “These tablets indeed bear the names of all tower climbers throughout history. However, not everyone is worthy of having their name recorded; the tablets only preserve the top-ranked existences. The higher the floor you reach and the shorter the time you take, the higher your rank.”

He pointed to the larger tablet, his expression solemn. “This is the main tablet, bearing only ten names.

These ten represent the most astonishingly talented supreme beings in terms of combat power at the same cultivation level over the past two billion years.

Among them, those still alive today have almost all become gods who overlook the universe.

As for those who unfortunately fell, they left behind immortal legends in their own eras—one can only sigh in regret.”

Then, his gaze shifted to the smaller tablet, and he continued, “As for this smaller one, it is called the secondary tablet. It records a total of one hundred thousand names, from the eleventh to the one hundred thousand and tenth place.”

“One hundred thousand names—sounds like a lot, doesn’t it?”

A meaningful smile curled at the corner of San Ruo’s mouth as he looked around at the crowd. “But I can tell you with full responsibility that even the achievement represented by the last name on this secondary tablet, the one hundred thousandth, is far from something any of us here can easily attain.”

His words caused some of the originally confident prodigies to furrow their brows.

San Ruo seemed to see through their thoughts, and his tone grew even more serious. “I know you don’t believe me, so let me give you an example of someone you all know well. Most of you here come from cosmic nations around the Tian Xuan Ancient Kingdom—so you must all know the Tian Xuan Monarch, right?”

At these words, a low murmur of discussion arose in the arena.

The Tian Xuan Monarch was a name that thundered in their ears.

He was a true legend—astonishingly talented, righteous at heart, who broke away from the powerful Feathered Clan royal family with extraordinary resolve. Relying solely on his own strength, he cultivated to the Marquis realm and single-handedly founded the Tian Xuan Ancient Kingdom, now renowned far and wide.

More importantly, it was said that the Tian Xuan Monarch had long set foot in the legendary “Divine Forbidden” domain, making him a top-tier existence even among Marquis-level experts of the same rank, such that ordinary King-level experts dared not provoke him lightly.

Such a living legend—his formidable strength was deeply ingrained in everyone’s minds.

“The Tian Xuan Monarch—strong enough, isn’t he?”

San Ruo’s voice echoed in everyone’s ears. “Yet even someone as astonishingly talented as he was failed to leave his name on this secondary tablet!”

“What?!”

“Impossible!”

The entire arena erupted in uproar, with almost everyone showing expressions of disbelief.

The Tian Xuan Monarch, who seemed nearly invincible in their hearts, didn’t even qualify to be on the secondary tablet?

“According to records, the Tian Xuan Monarch once entered the tower to challenge it. He indeed reached the eightieth floor through his own strength and successfully touched the ‘Divine Forbidden’ domain. However, the time he took to finally clear the eightieth floor was a full two thousand five hundred years slower than the record of the one hundred thousandth place on the secondary tablet at that time!”

Two thousand five hundred years!

This number struck like a heavy hammer, pounding into everyone’s hearts and making them gasp in shock.

They finally understood, with visceral clarity, how cheap so-called geniuses were before this Blood God Tower, spanning two billion years.

Even a Divine Forbidden powerhouse like the Tian Xuan Monarch could only leave in obscurity—how much hope did they have of leaving their names on these tablets?

“In the long two billion years past, within this cosmic region we call the ‘1300 War Zone,’ only one person, according to records, has ever successfully ascended the secondary tablet.”

San Ruo’s voice drifted softly, dropping another bombshell.

“Who?”

Ye Luo, the son of the Stone Emperor, couldn’t help but ask, his voice low and hoarse like grinding rocks.

“The Thunder Emperor.”

San Ruo slowly uttered the name. “His final ranking was ninety-nine thousand one hundred and twenty-third. His achievement was also the eightieth floor, taking thirty thousand years.”

The Thunder Emperor!

Another legend that had circulated through the 1300 War Zone for countless ages.

Just then, another sharp-minded prodigy raised a key question: “Since it’s a battle against beings condensed within the tower, victory is victory, defeat is defeat—why would it take such an immense amount of time? Thirty thousand years… was it a protracted battle lasting thirty thousand years?”

This question was also the doubt in Qin Feng’s mind.

How could a single battle last tens of thousands of years?

“No.”

San Ruo shook his head, and a mysterious smile finally appeared on his face—a smile that lit the fuse of fate for everyone present.

“Because almost all prodigies aiming for higher rankings enter the Blood God Tower carrying large amounts of Blood Jade Crystals.

Inside the tower, they constantly challenge their limits, gaining insights in battle and absorbing more and more Blood Jade Crystals, thereby breaking through their own innate limits, achieving a leap in potential, and pushing to higher floors!”

“So…”

San Ruo’s gaze slowly swept over every being present, his voice carrying a strange allure. “Now, those of you with a large number of Blood Jade Crystals are blessed. You can spend time inside the tower freely, fully converting the power of those crystals into your own, and charging toward a realm you never dared to imagine before. As for those… without Blood Jade Crystals…”

He didn’t finish his sentence, but the implication was clearer than any words.

At these words, before the Blood God Tower, the region that had just enjoyed a temporary peace born of shared escape, in an instant, plunged to freezing point.

The once harmonious atmosphere vanished without a trace.

Gazes full of vigilance, greed, and undisguised, icy killing intent swept back and forth among the different beings.

The air seemed to solidify; an intangible aura of slaughter spread wildly. Heavenly winds churned, thunderclouds gathered—a bloody feast was on the verge of eruption!

Everyone understood.

Blood Jade Crystals!

Earlier, in the Blood Source Sea, the vast majority had been dazzled by the successive revelations of secret treasures and inheritances, neglecting those Blood Jade Crystals that were extremely hard to absorb.

But now, within the time-frozen Blood God Tower, the value of Blood Jade Crystals was magnified infinitely!

They were no longer merely treasures to enhance innate talent; they were the sole ladder to higher achievements!

Even more lethal was the cruel law everyone knew: killing a being who had refined Blood Jade Crystals would grant you all the crystals they had refined!

Now, with the King Corpse roaring outside, they could no longer go out to collect unclaimed Blood Jade Crystals.

The only path left was… to kill and seize the treasure!

Kill the other, seize the blood jade crystals he has painstakingly amassed!

The more blood jade crystals one possesses, the higher the limit one can reach within the tower!

Even if there is a cap on absorbing blood jade crystals, and time alone cannot fully smooth it out, it is still infinitely better than entering empty-handed!

This is not merely a stroke of fortune; it is a ultimate destiny-altering opportunity that can change one's entire life!

"Kill!"

A hoarse roar erupted from an unknown source, like a fuse igniting a powder keg.

Boom—!!!

A bloody battle erupted in an instant!

Heaven and earth shattered, divine light burst forth.

A peak Black Hole-level powerhouse bearing seven blood jade crystals was instantly besieged by three peers of the same rank.

Brilliant secret art light illuminated the entire sky, and violent psionic shockwaves spread in all directions. Almost simultaneously, brutal slaughter erupted in every corner.

Allies turned against each other, old foes fought to the death, and strangers risked their lives for a faint, elusive hope.

The entire area before the Blood God Tower instantly transformed into a bloody Shura field.

In the heart of this chaos, Qin Feng stood silently. He did not strike, nor did he even leak a trace of his aura.

Watching this mad spectacle, deep within him, there was only secret delight and burning fervor.

Others fought desperately for a few or a dozen blood jade crystals, while he held a full hundred thousand!

Time!

What he had worried about most was not having enough time to refine this vast quantity of blood jade crystals.

He had even prepared to spend thousands or even tens of thousands of years drifting in the desolate void of the cosmos.

Now, the appearance of the Blood God Tower had perfectly solved this problem!

Time stood still within the tower!

For him, this was an incredibly wonderful piece of news!

He could, without any scruples, spend endless years inside the tower, gradually and completely merging the power of these hundred thousand blood jade crystals into his own foundation.

Moreover, he had the protection of the Imperial Golden Nail, which could resist the spiritual seduction of the blood jade crystals to the greatest extent. As long as time was sufficient, he could absorb them infinitely!

This bloody storm sweeping over everyone was, for him, merely the prelude to the path to the supreme peak.

Here, he would undergo an unprecedented ultimate transformation!

...

Amid the bloody battle, countless beings fell.

The blood-colored light barrier emitted by the Blood God Tower, originally meant to shield everyone from the corpse kings outside, had now ironically become an inescapable arena.

All survivors were trapped in this narrow space, only ten thousand miles in diameter. Behind them roared the corpse kings; ahead lay the only path to survival—the Blood God Tower. Yet the ticket to this path had to be bought with the lives of their own kind.

"Kill him! He has ten blood jade crystals!"

A piercing shriek broke the brief stalemate. A being covered in cyan scales, eyes bloodshot and seemingly mad, swung his bone blade, which erupted with a ghastly green light, without hesitation at the companion who had just been fighting alongside him against the corpse kings.

The attacked one had no time to react before his head flew into the air. From his headless torso spurted not blood, but a silver liquid psionic energy.

The moment his body disintegrated, ten blood-red crystals emerged from within, radiating an alluring luster.

This bloody scene, like a drop of cold water into boiling oil, instantly ignited the accumulated greed and fear of the entire crowd.

"Attack!"

"Seize them!"

Chaos, in an instant, reached its peak.

Every being understood that the words of the three weaklings were not alarmist.

The opportunities within the Blood God Tower were directly linked to the number of blood jade crystals.

Killing one being meant an average of about ten blood jade crystals in hand, meaning more time inside the tower to push limits, achieve higher accomplishments, and widen the gap with other prodigies!

Moreover, slaying an opponent was not just for the blood jade crystals. Every being who had survived until now had secret treasures fished from the Blood Source Sea in their spatial rings, and resources they had hoarded as their last resort.

The difference in time flow within the Blood God Tower made it an ideal place for seclusion, a golden springboard for a leap in strength and an astonishing catch-up.

Resources were the foundation of all this.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

In an instant, the light of divine abilities illuminated the entire blood-colored barrier, and collisions unleashed devastating psionic storms.

Blades and shadows, flesh and blood flew.

The fragile alliance formed just moments ago against the corpse kings crumbled and vanished in the face of absolute interest.

Some beings with weaker wills or those aware of their insufficient strength, upon witnessing this hellish scene, had their greed completely overwhelmed by the instinct to survive.

Without hesitation, they turned into streaks of light, recklessly charging toward the towering blood-colored tower.

For them, grabbing more blood jade crystals was already a luxury; surviving and entering the tower was the only choice.

Yet, between life and death, choices were not easily made.

Just as these beings were about to rush into the Blood God Tower, a vast, serene, yet supremely majestic golden Buddha light spread from the center of the battlefield.

That stone Buddha, who had been sitting cross-legged, as if isolated from the world, slowly opened his eyes.

He made no superfluous moves, only calmly raised a stone hand and pressed it down in the air toward those attempting to flee the battlefield.

Hum—

Space seemed to freeze at that moment.

Array barriers constructed from golden runes appeared out of nowhere, instantly sealing all paths leading to the Blood God Tower.

Those at the forefront crashed into the barrier and were instantly shattered into dust by the terrifying power within, not even letting out a scream.

The entire scene fell silent.

All beings, whether in the midst of slaughter or preparing to flee, stared in disbelief at the stone Buddha.

This being, who had from start to finish appeared aloof and lofty, as if disdainful of any conflict—the second on the Hidden Dragon List—had actually stepped in personally, sealing everyone's retreat!

"Roar!"

At the same time, the Lion God statue on the other side also moved.

He let out a sky-shaking roar, and the sound waves materialized into solid barriers, complementing the stone Buddha's golden array, completely turning this area into an airtight cage.

A cruel, unspoken understanding formed among these top prodigies.

Clearing the field.

Before entering the Blood God Tower, a thorough clearing of the field.

Eliminate all the weak, concentrate their blood jade crystals and resources into the hands of the few strong.

"Ah—! You will all die a miserable death!"

"Why are you doing this! Let us in!"

The trapped creatures let out desperate roars, madly attacking the golden barrier, yet it was like mayflies trying to shake a tree, unable to budge it in the slightest.

The Stone Buddha remained indifferent, his ancient, well-like eyes sweeping across the scene. Finally, he moved.

His figure appeared as if by teleportation before a powerhouse at the Ultimate Black Hole level, and with that same stone hand, he struck out, plain and unremarkable.

The powerhouse roared, channeling all his strength and summoning his lifebound treasure in a desperate attempt to resist.

Yet, under the Stone Buddha's seemingly slow palm, all his defenses crumbled like paper.

The stone palm descended, silent and soundless, and the powerhouse's body, along with his soul, turned into the most primitive stone dust, scattering in the air. Over thirty Blood Jade Crystals floated quietly, casually summoned by the Stone Buddha.

This scene utterly shattered the psychological defenses of all survivors.

Even an existence of the Stone Buddha's caliber had begun a massacre for the Blood Jade Crystals.

There was no longer any hope of luck in this slaughter.

Qin Feng stood silently at the edge of the battlefield, coldly watching it all.

His heart was devoid of any ripple; in those deep eyes, there was only cold calculation and resolution.

This opportunity to enhance his strength was far too crucial.

It directly determined whether he could complete the death mission issued by the Cosmic Will and forge the supreme [Terminal Singularity].

Compared to this path of martial arts that concerned his future, what were the lives of these alien races?

The universe was a dark forest, and all races were hunters.

Mercy was the greatest cruelty to oneself.

"What does it have to do with me?"

A cold arc curled at the corner of Qin Feng's mouth.

On average, each creature carried ten Blood Jade Crystals.

Kill a thousand, and that's ten thousand.

Kill ten thousand, and that's a hundred thousand!

And at this moment, there were still thirty to fifty thousand living beings in the arena!

What an immense wealth this was!

"Kill!"

Without further hesitation, Qin Feng's figure moved.

He did not draw attention like the Stone Buddha but instead became a shadow merging into the chaos, silently beginning his own hunt.

Whoosh—

A faint, barely perceptible golden light flashed.

A feathered race prodigy, locked in fierce combat with an opponent, suddenly froze. A tiny red dot appeared on his forehead, and then all vitality drained from him; his massive body crashed to the ground with a thud.

The moment he fell, Qin Feng's figure had already appeared beside him. He reached out, grabbed the spatial ring and the dozen or so Blood Jade Crystals that had precipitated, and stowed them away in an instant. The entire process was fluid and lightning-fast.

Inch Light.

In such a chaotic battlefield, this elusive killing technique became the most efficient harvesting tool.

Qin Feng transformed into the most ruthless Grim Reaper, his figure flickering across the battlefield.

The Crimson Gold Wings granted him unparalleled mobility, and the solid foundation from the Eternal Singularity made him nearly tireless. Every time he appeared, it marked the fall of a life.

His target was clear: he specifically went after those who were relatively weaker or deeply engaged in battle and unable to watch their backs.

Qin Feng was like the most seasoned hunter, precisely identifying and preying on his quarry.

On the battlefield, he was not the only one in action.

The Lion God Statue roared repeatedly; each swipe of its claws tore through space, dragging several creatures into the void and shredding them to pieces.

Ye Luo, the Son of the Stone Emperor, though not as proactive as the Stone Buddha or the Lion God Statue in sealing off the entire arena, was equally ruthless.

He transformed into a ten-thousand-zhang stone giant, and every stomp triggered a violent earthquake, sending the surrounding creatures' blood and energy into turmoil before he struck them down with thunderous force.

The Black Jade from the Crystal Clan turned his entire body into indestructible black crystal, charging recklessly across the battlefield. Any divine ability that struck him only sparked a shower of flames.

Then there was Shui Mo of the Water Clan, the Golden Armored Beast Tark...

All the prodigies on the Hidden Dragon List had now revealed their most ferocious sides, madly plundering Blood Jade Crystals.

This feast of slaughter, orchestrated by the top powerhouses, was both efficient and brutal.

The weak creatures before them were no different from lambs waiting to be slaughtered.

Desperate wails and furious curses were all drowned in the relentless torrent of spiritual energy.

Time slowly passed amid this bloody purge.

One day, two days... one month, two months...

The intensity of the killing gradually decreased as the number of survivors sharply dwindled.

The initial chaos and frenzy slowly transformed into a more tense, more dangerous game of confrontation and hunting.

Those who survived were all battle-hardened powerhouses, each becoming extremely vigilant.

Most of the top prodigies, after plundering several hundred Blood Jade Crystals, unanimously stopped.

They knew well that a cultivator's body and soul had a limit to how many Blood Jade Crystals they could absorb.

Blood Jade Crystals enhanced one's aptitude and potential, but this transformation was not instantaneous; it required a long time to digest.

Several hundred Blood Jade Crystals were already enough for them to cultivate for an extended period within the Blood God Tower, and it was even likely that some would be wasted because their own aptitudes couldn't fully absorb them.

Yet, in this gradually calming blood-colored purgatory, one figure still tirelessly continued the slaughter.

It was Qin Feng.

He seemed to have no limit.

When the Lion God Statue had already stepped aside with a satisfied grin, beginning to tally his gains, Qin Feng was still killing.

When Shui Mo of the Water Clan had wrapped himself in a water curtain, isolating himself from the outside world to meditate and recover, Qin Feng was still killing.

When Black Jade of the Crystal Clan felt that continuing was too risky and chose to lie low and observe, Qin Feng was still killing.

His figure was like a ghost; his Inch Light was precise and deadly.

Every flash of golden light signified the transfer of a spatial ring and dozens of Blood Jade Crystals.

His actions made all the powerhouses who had stopped look askance, their eyelids twitching uncontrollably.

"This guy... what a killing spree!"

Ye Luo, in his ten-thousand-zhang stone giant form, spoke in a rumbling voice, a hint of wariness he himself hadn't noticed creeping into his tone.

"Doesn't he know there's an absorption limit? Once he exceeds it, the Blood Jade Crystals will tempt him with the Blood God's allure. Isn't he afraid of becoming a madman driven only to kill?"

Shui Mo, behind his water curtain, stared solemnly at Qin Feng's figure.

"The name 'God of Slaughter' is indeed well-deserved."

The golden-armored colossal beast, Tak, spoke in a low voice.

They could not comprehend.

In their eyes, Qin Feng's actions had surpassed the bounds of reason, resembling more a primal, frenzied instinct.

They did not know that Qin Feng was shielded by the Imperial Golden Nail, capable of suppressing all inner demons and external evils.

Though the Blood God's seduction was potent, before the will of the supreme human existence, it could stir no great waves.

Given enough time, there was no upper limit to the number Qin Feng could refine!

In his view, the Blood Jade Crystals before him were not too many, but far from enough!

The combat power Qin Feng unleashed also sent a soul-deep shudder through every living being except that unfathomable Stone Buddha.

Especially the Lion God Statue—his gaze toward Qin Feng was filled with complexity.

He could sense that at this moment, Qin Feng's aura was several times more formidable than it had been in the Sea of Blood Origin.

That sharp edge, that pure killing intent, left him without absolute certainty of victory.

"Damn it! To think he has grown to this level!"

The Lion God Statue seethed inwardly.

He blamed all of this on the Stone Buddha.

In his view, the Stone Buddha clearly had the power to crush Qin Feng, yet remained motionless—his intentions were inscrutable.

"His heart must be treacherous."

The Lion God Statue's wariness of the Stone Buddha even surpassed his murderous intent toward Qin Feng.

……

Time, in this eerie atmosphere, passed for a year.

When Qin Feng slew the last target he had set his sights on, within the crimson light barrier, utter silence finally descended.

The arena that had once teemed with tens of thousands of beings now held only a sparse thousand or so figures.

The air was thick with an unshakable stench of blood, and the ground was covered in a deep layer of spiritual energy crystals and debris.

Those who survived were none but the strongest of the strong, the elite of the elite.

Each wore a cold expression, their eyes flickering with vigilance and killing intent, maintaining an absolutely safe distance from one another.

Qin Feng hovered in midair, his divine sense stirring slightly as he swept across the entire field.

His gaze lingered a moment longer on over forty figures.

"Chosen by the universe's will as opponents, are they…"

Qin Feng clearly sensed that these forty-plus beings carried a faint aura conflicting with his mission.

They were all competitors who had accepted the task to hunt him.

"Should I eliminate them all here?"

A thought arose in Qin Feng's mind.

With his current strength, coupled with his limit speed of sixty times the speed of light, launching a surprise attack here would give him a high chance of severely wounding or even killing most of them.

But this thought was quickly dismissed by himself.

"No… striking now would yield more loss than gain."

His gaze was deep as he analyzed calmly: "These beings chosen by the universe's will as final-stage opponents are no simple characters.

Each one surely has a life-saving trump card and unknown killer moves.

Fighting them here, even if I win, would consume enormous resources and might even expose all my cards, drawing the Stone Buddha's covetous gaze."

"The urgent task is to enter the Blood God Tower, use the resources at hand to elevate my strength to a new level, and truly step into the legendary 'Divine Forbidden' domain. By then, dealing with them will be as easy as turning over my hand."

With that thought, Qin Feng reviewed his gains over the past year.

In his spatial ring lay a full two hundred thousand Blood Jade Crystals!

As for resources, they were scarce—many beings died with resentment, preferring to self-destruct their spatial rings rather than give them to Qin Feng.

"Two hundred thousand… enough."

Qin Feng murmured to himself, his killing intent slowly receding.

At that moment, the golden barrier that had sealed the entire arena for a year melted away without warning, like snow under sunlight.

The Stone Buddha, who had been sitting cross-legged, had risen at some unknown time. He silently withdrew his secret technique, as if it were a trivial matter.

This meant the path to the Blood God Tower had reopened.

The crowd was stunned at first, then realized, their eyes blazing with fervent light.

Qin Feng cast a deep glance at the Stone Buddha's back, his brow furrowing almost imperceptibly.

"Strange… this fellow seems to be helping me."

The Stone Buddha had set up the formation, creating a perfect 'breeding ground' environment, allowing Qin Feng to plunder Blood Jade Crystals without restraint.

Now, when Qin Feng had gathered enough and was ready to stop, he had withdrawn the formation at just the right moment.

All of this seemed too coincidental.

"He is clearly a strongman of the Stone Clan, a mortal enemy of humanity…"

A flicker of doubt crossed Qin Feng's mind, but he had no time to delve into it.

Whatever the Stone Buddha's schemes, before absolute power, all conspiracies and tricks would be futile.

Strengthening himself was the eternal, unchanging truth.

He thought no more. With a movement of his form, he transformed into a dazzling streak of light, and like the remaining thousand-plus prodigies, he charged without hesitation toward the colossal blood-red tower radiating infinite allure.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh—

One by one, streaks of light plunged into the tower and vanished.

……

When Qin Feng's figure passed through the Blood God Tower's intangible portal, an indescribable sense of temporal-spatial dislocation instantly enveloped him.

It felt as if he had crossed eons of time, yet also only an instant.

When he opened his eyes again, the scene before him had completely changed.

He was not inside a tower-shaped structure, but had arrived in a boundless, peculiar world.

This world had no sky, no earth—every direction was filled with a vast, crimson blood mist.

These mists were so dense that even his violet-gold spiritual power could barely penetrate tens of thousands of meters.

Within this deathly silent blood mist, countless blurry humanoid silhouettes stood motionless, numbering in the hundreds or thousands, stretching beyond sight.

Qin Feng focused his gaze, his pupils contracting slightly.

Each silhouette was exactly the same size and height as himself.

In their hands, they held a spear formed of spiritual energy, and the armor they wore was unmistakably power armor in the same style as his own Star-Swallowing Battle Armor.

These phantom figures were actually replicas identical to him!

As he observed all this, a cold, emotionless will directly resounded in his mind.

[Challenger: Qin Feng]

[Timing has begun]

[Do you wish to begin the challenge?]

(End of this chapter)