"No time to explain—run! You can't break the Death Blood Hex!" Luna urged frantically.
Evan Chu's heart skipped a beat. He had never seen Luna so anxious before—this Death Blood Hex from the Beast King was definitely no joke. Maybe it even packed the power of a self-detonation.
He instantly activated teleportation, fleeing the scene at top speed. Almost at the same moment, the Beast King's massive dragon body dissolved into a cloud of blood mist, which, together with all the blood pooled in the crater, surged after Evan in the direction he escaped.
The blood mist was every bit as fast as Evan's teleportation—maybe even faster. In just a few breaths, it was right behind him. Evan kept shifting directions with instant movement, but no matter what, he couldn't shake off the blood mist.
"What the hell is this thing? It's insane—faster than my teleportation! What am I supposed to do now?" Evan cursed as he watched the blood mist closing in.
"Find a huge water source and dive in—it's your only chance to dodge the Death Blood Hex! Hurry, there's no time!" Luna shouted.
Heaven never seals all roads. When the blood mist was less than ten meters away, Evan spotted a massive lake up ahead. Without a second thought, he plunged straight into the water and instantly activated Watershift to dive toward the bottom—barely escaping the blood mist by a hair. He felt like he'd just survived a disaster.
The blood mist seemed wary of the water at first, but still drilled in. In an instant, the vast lake surface turned blood-red, and the mist continued chasing Evan toward the depths, as if it had eyes and knew exactly where he was.
But the deeper it dove, the thinner the blood mist became, gradually diluted by the lake water. Before it could reach Evan, it faded away completely. The entire lake, however, had turned into a bizarre blood-like liquid. Because of this, later generations called it Bloodlake, and they say you can sometimes hear faint dragon roars echoing from within.
This time, Evan truly witnessed a heaven-defying technique—one that burns life itself to activate. As for the consequences, he had no idea, but one thing was clear: he'd dodged a deadly crisis. Even after activating Watershift, cold sweat broke out all over his body. It was honestly mind-boggling.
Staring at the blood-like lake water, Evan couldn't help asking, "Big Sis Luna, what's so terrifying about the Death Blood Hex? Why did you panic like that?"
"The Death Blood Hex isn't as destructive as outright self-detonation," Luna explained. "Self-detonation wipes out everything nearby, but the Death Blood Hex targets a single foe. Death means the target faces annihilation, and casting the hex means trading your own life for your enemy's—it's mutual destruction, plain and simple.
This Death Blood Hex is insanely dangerous. If that blood mist touches you, it doesn't matter how heaven-defying your defenses are—you're done for. No one can save you. The mist slowly devours your soul, and in the end, your body gets assimilated and you die.
Unless you've reached the Immortal Realm and can form a constant energy barrier around yourself, there's no way to avoid it. And you're nowhere near that level yet. Honestly, I was scared out of my mind just now—the Beast King is way too vicious." Luna said slowly, leaving Evan startled and rattled.
"So you're saying the self-detonation was just a bluff—the real move was the Death Blood Hex? Then why did he hand over his storage ring? Wasn't he afraid I'd just run off?" Evan asked, puzzled.
Evan had a ton of questions about the Beast King's actions, but only Luna could really answer them—she'd shown up in person, ready to kill the Beast King, so clearly she'd seen through his tricks.
"The Beast King was so badly wounded—do you really think he wanted to live? His son was killed, Beast King City was destroyed; he lost all will to go on. Giving you his storage ring was just to lower your guard. Evan, you seriously walked right up to death's door this time. I was honestly worried sick." Luna complained.
"Ha, but look at me now—I'm perfectly fine! With you and Jade Chu and Tom Chu around, nothing bad's going to happen to me. Still, I never thought the Beast King would have something like the Death Blood Hex. That's seriously wild." Evan grinned.
"Be careful from now on. The Death Blood Hex is actually a Dragon Clan technique—you'll learn it yourself once your bloodline fully awakens. But it's only used when there's absolutely no other choice, because casting it means your soul is wiped out, with no hope of reincarnation or rebirth. Same goes for self-detonation," Luna warned.
Evan didn't say anything more, but inside he was thrilled—he'd just gotten the Ghost King's and Beast King's storage rings, and who knows what treasures were inside. Maybe he'd be so excited he wouldn't sleep for days.
With a thought, Evan shot up out of the lake. Staring at the vast, blood-red water, he couldn't help sighing—this Death Blood Hex was truly terrifying. He'd have to be careful from now on; his life was more important than any heaven-defying loot. If you're dead, all the treasures in the world mean nothing.
Sean Xiao and the Shade Lord had already gone to find Roxy and Ivy, so the two girls were safe now. Evan decided to check out the Ghost King's storage ring first—after all, he'd risked his life to get it.
Landing on a deserted hillside, Evan took out the Ghost King's storage ring, erased its soul imprint, and peered inside. What he saw nearly made him think he was dreaming—the ring held tens of millions of Netherstones.
Of course, Netherstones weren't much use to Evan, but the ring was packed with rare medicinal herbs—some were even soul-type medicines, which were perfect for Luna. What really got Evan excited was the dozens of Netherghost Violet Orchids inside.
Dozens of Netherghost Violet Orchids—anyone could guess what that meant. Evan finally felt secure; at least the Frostbane Sect's problems were solved. The ring also held some Ghost Clan martial manuals and fine weapons, but he couldn't care less about those. Maybe he'd sell them at auction later for more Netherghost Violet Orchids.
(This chapter isn't finished yet~.~ Click next page to keep reading the rest!)
"The Ghost King was loaded! If I ever get the storage rings of Zander Xiang and the Nether Monarch, I might not even need to risk those deadly places—I'd finish my missions early. Man, just thinking about it gets me hyped! Oh, right, there's still the Beast King's storage ring. Wonder what surprises that one's got for me!" Evan said excitedly.
After erasing the soul imprint from the Beast King's storage ring, Evan scanned it with his divine sense—and was instantly dumbfounded. He stood there like a defeated rooster, speechless for a long moment before finally blurting out:
"Damn it! That bastard Beast King totally scammed me—there's nothing in this ring, it's completely empty! I risked my neck for this and got played!"
"Heh, what did you expect? The guy hates you—he'd drink your blood and eat your flesh if he could. Why would he ever let you get his treasures? Giving you that empty ring was just to lower your guard. Did you really think he'd be grateful you spared his life? That's way too naive," Luna laughed, clearly enjoying Evan's frustration.
"Empty or not, I'm satisfied just getting the Ghost King's storage ring. Now that both the Beast King and Ghost King are dead, it's time for the Shade Lord to take over their territories. First, though, I need to check on Roxy's injuries!" Evan said.
With a flash, Evan unleashed several instant movements and arrived at Nine-Shade City—which was now nearly flattened. Seeing the devastation, Evan could only sigh; he knew he was the main reason things had ended up this way.
"Roxy and the others have already left. You could try searching elsewhere, but I'm sure the Shade Lord left you a clue," Luna said.
Evan didn't want to linger in the wreckage of Nine-Shade City, so he flew onward. Sure enough, after traveling hundreds of miles, he spotted a mark left by Sean Xiao—a Stellar Force imprint on a massive stone tablet, written in the script of the Azure Tide Ruins. Evan recognized it instantly.
He knew that even if someone from the Netherworld saw those words, they wouldn't understand them—just like he couldn't read Netherworld script himself. Maybe a few Human Clan members could, but they were rare here, and this was Shade Clan territory, so humans were even scarcer.
Sean Xiao's message was simple: Roxy had been taken away and wasn't in any immediate danger. If Evan wanted to find them, he should head to Skyspear City, three thousand miles from here.
Evan knew all about Skyspear City—it was a special Shade Clan stronghold, like Grimchart City was for the Ghost Clan. It was a hub for recruiting talent, and many Shade Clan elites gathered there.
Without hesitation, Evan smashed the stone tablet to pieces—he didn't want anyone tracking their movements. Then, locking onto his destination, he used instant movement to arrive above Skyspear City.
He didn't want to draw attention, so he kept a low profile, blending in with the travelers on the main road as he entered Skyspear City. The city had guards, but they weren't as strict as Nine-Shade City's—entry just cost a hundred Netherstones.
Once inside, Evan asked Jade Chu to scan the city for where Roxy and the others were staying. The Shade Lord was still badly injured, and Skyspear City was crawling with experts—many of whom had been eyeing the clan leader's seat for ages. If word got out that the Shade Lord was wounded, anyone could make a move, and who knew what kind of chaos would erupt. (Author's note: Hospital discharge tomorrow morning, late night update, three chapters tomorrow—thanks for waiting!)