Divine Emperor Demon Emperor

"Blood Refining Ancestor..." Upon his arrival, the crowd greeted him one after another. A powerhouse at the Primordial Ocean Realm—this was the greatest combat power in all of Yanhuang Country.

Looking at the several hundred Opening Realm experts below, no one noticed a sharp glint flash through the Blood Refining Ancestor’s eyes.

"Everyone, as we agreed, I will strike and kill that beast. Of the three Essence-Raising Fruits, I will take two. I will not involve myself with the remaining one. Who gets it will be a matter of your own skill," the Blood Refining Ancestor said in a raspy voice.

As his words fell, the Blood Refining Ancestor didn’t hesitate any longer. He flew directly into the Iron Armor Beast’s territory. Sensing the intrusion, the Iron Armor Beast let out a furious roar, and terrifying fluctuations of Elemental Power immediately erupted from within the mountain forest.

"Quick, go look! That’s a Primordial Ocean Realm powerhouse in battle!" Hearing the sounds, many Martial Artists charged into the forest. They were desperate to witness a Primordial Ocean Realm expert in action—an opportunity like this was rare.

Everyone entered the Iron Armor Beast’s territory. Lin Yun, following in the crowd, also saw the Blood Refining Ancestor in the sky, cloaked in a bloody light, locked in battle with the Iron Armor Beast.

"So powerful... So this is the strength of the Primordial Ocean Realm..." Watching the Blood Refining Ancestor’s every strike, each imbued with incredible might, many were filled with reverence. In their eyes, the Primordial Ocean Realm represented the ultimate form of power.

’Hm? He’s practicing an Evil Technique...’ Sensing the bloody aura emanating from the Blood Refining Ancestor, Lin Yun thought to himself. The Cultivation Technique the Blood Refining Ancestor used had to be some sort of Evil Technique that absorbed an opponent’s blood and converted it into his own Energy.

However, Lin Yun only glanced for a moment before shifting his gaze. The three Essence-Raising Fruits were real, and they were right there on a branch not far from him.

Three red Essence-Raising Fruits. A flicker of excitement appeared in Lin Yun’s eyes, but he didn’t act rashly. To make a move now would be to make himself a public target; he wouldn’t even know what killed him.

"Die, you beast!" At that moment, the Blood Refining Ancestor in the sky roared. The bloody aura around him intensified, and chains formed from it instantly bound the Iron Armor Beast completely.

"Blood Chain Devour!" With a furious shout, the Blood Refining Ancestor’s Blood Chains began to consume the Iron Armor Beast’s own blood. The beast quickly began to wail in agony as its blood was continuously drained through the chains and devoured by the Blood Refining Ancestor.

The surrounding crowd watched, too shocked to speak. In just a few dozen breaths’ time, the Tier Three Demon Beast—the Iron Armor Beast—had been completely drained of its blood.

Its body desiccated and shriveled, the Iron Armor Beast was now little more than a husk, stiff and dead.

After finishing off the Iron Armor Beast, the Blood Refining Ancestor flew over to the three Essence-Raising Fruits. As promised, he took two, leaving the last one untouched.

"Alright, I will not concern myself with what follows. Whoever obtains this last Essence-Raising Fruit will have earned it through their own skill," he announced to the crowd, his voice raspy.

Hearing this, the crowd’s impression of the Blood Refining Ancestor improved. It was rare for a powerhouse to act this way. He could have easily taken all three Essence-Raising Fruits, but he had still left one for them.

"Thank you, Blood Refining Ancestor," many people called out in gratitude.

Nodding lightly, the Blood Refining Ancestor’s body slowly rose into the air, watching the crowd from high above. But at this moment, Lin Yun, who had been observing him closely, noticed a smug smile on the Ancestor’s face.

’Something isn’t right...’ In his heart, Lin Yun felt that things weren’t so simple. Everything had gone far too smoothly. Even if the Blood Refining Ancestor was a Primordial Ocean Realm expert, a Tier Three Demon Beast shouldn’t have been that easy to kill. It was all too perfect.

’I should back off and see what happens.’ With a foreboding premonition in his heart, Lin Yun quietly retreated. At the same time, two other people in the crowd were also discreetly backing away, just like him.

It was the Monk and the Daoist. Apparently, they had also realized something was amiss. The two of them slipped out of the crowd and, just like Lin Yun, found a safe spot to observe from a distance.

The crowd, completely oblivious to the departure of the three, had their eyes fixed on the Essence-Raising Fruit. This was a Spirit Fruit that could help them break through to the next Small Realm. 𝙛𝒓𝓮𝒆𝔀𝒆𝙗𝓷𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝒄𝓸𝓶

Hundreds of people, but only one Essence-Raising Fruit. In an instant, the first person made his move. This man, with a Cultivation at the Seventh Layer of Opening Realm, launched himself toward the Essence-Raising Fruit.

Seeing this, someone in the crowd shouted, "You want to snatch my Essence-Raising Fruit? Dream on!"

"Hmph, the Essence-Raising Fruit is mine."

With the first person making a move, the rest of the crowd scrambled to rush towards the Essence-Raising Fruit. A bloody struggle naturally broke out along the way. In just a moment, dozens of Martial Artists at the Second and Third Layers of Opening Realm were killed.

"Hmph. You dare covet the Essence-Raising Fruit with no strength to back it up?" A Martial Artist at the Eighth Layer of Opening Realm killed a man at the Second Layer of Opening Realm with a single strike, then continued rushing towards the Essence-Raising Fruit without pausing.

For the sake of a single Essence-Raising Fruit, the scene had turned into a mountain of corpses and a sea of blood. Nearly all Martial Artists below the Fifth Layer of the Body Refining Realm were dead, and hundreds of corpses lay scattered about.

Of the original group of several hundred, less than a hundred remained. The weakest among them had a Cultivation at the Sixth Layer of Opening Realm.

Staring at the Essence-Raising Fruit, the dozens of surviving Martial Artists no longer acted rashly. The weak were all dead, and now no one dared to be the one to stick their neck out.

"Hehe. Thank you all for helping me with my breakthrough. Rest assured, I will give you a proper burial." The voice rang out just as everyone was locked in a stalemate.

At these words, everyone turned to look. A figure in fiery red emerged from the woods. It was a young man, but his clothes were identical to the Blood Refining Ancestor’s.

"Blood Refining Young Master, what is the meaning of this?" Clearly, someone in the crowd knew the young man’s identity. He was the sole Disciple of the Blood Refining Ancestor, known as the Blood Refining Young Master.

Hearing this person’s question, the Blood Refining Young Master let out a bloodthirsty laugh. "Haha, no wonder people say you’re all as dumb as pigs. Use your brains for a second. If there really was an Essence-Raising Fruit, why would it ever be your turn to get it?"

Listening to the Blood Refining Young Master’s wild laughter, everyone—except for Lin Yun and the other two who had already fled—finally realized something was wrong. That’s right, if there wasn’t a conspiracy, how could a treasure like the Essence-Raising Fruit ever fall into their hands?

As the Blood Refining Young Master laughed, the Blood Refining Ancestor slowly descended to his side. Looking at the dozens of survivors, he smiled and said, "Everyone, I’m sure you all know of my Blood Refining Technique. And my Disciple’s own Blood Refining Technique has recently reached a critical point for a breakthrough. It requires the blood of some Martial Artists. So, on behalf of my Disciple, I would like to thank you all in advance."

The Blood Refining Ancestor’s voice was raspy, sending a chill down the spines of all who heard it.

At this point, everyone understood. This was a trap set by the Blood Refining Ancestor, all for the sake of using their blood to help the Blood Refining Young Master achieve his breakthrough.