Chapter Seventy: The Blood Demon Bat

Chapter Seventy: The Bloodfiend Bat

Part Ten: Sword Dance in the Empty Mountains, Violet Lightning Startles Demons, Fire Clouds Enshroud the Ancient Crossing of Taihang; A Struggle for Marvels

The gray radiance of the stone stele surged, countless threads shooting outwards, transforming the area within tens of yards into a dimly glowing array. Everyone was startled and cried out, “A teleportation array!” The young maiden murmured, “Who would have thought this small Fourfold Sleeping Dragon Array was actually guarding a teleportation formation!”

Qingkai, Xie Liang, and Ye Hua hurriedly put away their treasures and gathered with the others. The maiden and her attendants also stood quietly to the side, not daring to make any rash moves, uncertain where this teleportation array might lead. As they puzzled over it, the array suddenly flared with light, and a ripple spread through the air. More than a dozen strange, black, double-winged bats appeared, each with wings spanning several yards. There was one particularly large bat, its body a demonic crimson—perhaps the leader.

Fear gripped the hearts of the crowd, but before they could recover, the bats’ confusion faded. With a shrill cry, they swooped upon the group. Everyone hurried to unleash their magical weapons. Qingkai shouted, “Brothers, form a circle! Do not scatter!” His Infinite Staff flared with dark light as he swung it at an oncoming bat.

Ye Hua quickly positioned himself behind Qingkai, encircling Ouyang Tai and Li Yulin. He slashed out with his sword, catching a bat that failed to evade in time. The sword light struck its wing, and the bat screeched, veering aside and shedding a rain of black blood. The group hastily used their treasures for protection, hearing only sizzling and seeing threads of blue smoke rise. The treasures’ glow flickered erratically, and all were shaken: “Who would have thought the blood of these fiends would be so strange!”

The situation was dire for the maiden’s group; though numerous, they were in disarray. The monstrous blood bat charged at a yellow-robed handmaiden with incredible speed. Paralyzed by terror at the bat’s ferocity, the handmaiden failed to summon her magical weapon. Her mistress, the self-styled Mistress of Dreamcloud, saw this from afar and sent a flash of white light streaking forth, but it was too late.

The blood bat seized the handmaiden by the crown of her head; she immediately fainted. With a screech, the bat bit down, and in moments the yellow-robed girl shriveled and withered. The bat released her, hovering in midair as the lifeless body crashed to the ground. The other handmaidens cried out in grief, “Fourteenth Sister!” Two of them darted forward to retrieve her.

But the other bats swarmed in. Mistress Dreamcloud’s eyes blazed with fury. “Hongxia! Hongyun! Return at once!” As she spoke, beams of cold light shot out, and the Beihai Celestial Dragon she commanded materialized, charging at the bats. Streaks of white light scattered the bats, and fragments of flesh and blood rained down.

The blood bat, meanwhile, shrieked and dove at the two handmaidens, Hongxia and Hongyun. Mistress Dreamcloud shouted, “Wicked beast, how dare you!” She pointed at the blood bat, her sleeve rippling as dozens of fine water jets shot out with lightning speed. The bat dodged, but one jet pierced its right wing, leaving a bloody hole. The bat howled in pain, bloodlight flickering over its body; in a blink, the wound had vanished. It gazed warily at the maiden.

It glanced sidelong at the other group. Seven stood on the ground, fending off the attacks of five or six bats, while several wounded bats lay unmoving, their breaths faint. In the blink of an eye, several had been slain. If this continued, they would soon be wiped out entirely.

With a piercing cry, the blood bat summoned the surviving bats to cluster around it. It then seized a severely weakened bat and drained it dry in an instant, dissolving the withered corpse into a cloud of black mist. The other bats shuddered in terror, not daring to move; the blood bat’s aura grew stronger.

It repeated this with another bat. Those watching below were astounded: the bat was devouring its own kind! Soon, the blood bat’s power surged, and the onlookers paled, exchanging glances—they finally understood. This was akin to the human cultivators’ merging arts.

Qingkai shouted, “Brothers, we cannot let this fiend continue!” He hurled his Infinite Staff at the blood bat. Xie Liang’s twin swords blazed, slicing through the air, and Ye Hua’s Crimson Crow Dagger flashed with violet light, not to be left behind. Qingshi’s curved hook swept out, and the others unleashed their own techniques.

The maiden’s group, too, recovered their composure and hurled their treasures. The blood bat, seeing dozens of magical weapons converging, shrieked—aware this was no ordinary attack. It erupted in a blaze of bloodlight, summoning a cloud of blood to shroud itself and its surviving kin, masking their forms. The treasures vanished into the blood cloud, and no one could see what transpired within. Only the surging of the cloud, each person’s soul-thread connected to their weapon, gave any sense of the battle inside.

Suddenly, all faces changed. Cries rang out: “No! Withdraw your treasures!” A monstrous cry echoed overhead; the blood cloud churned, condensing into a colossal, blood-soaked form that absorbed the entire cloud. Dozens of magical weapons quivered and moaned where they were lodged in its flesh.

Everyone frantically tried to recall their treasures, but an immense force seemed to bind them; the weapons resisted, refusing to return, their spiritual light fading. Terror deepened—their treasures’ power was draining away!

Ye Hua’s face turned pale with shock: “This monster, half bat and half lion, must have attained the Third True Realm!” He gathered his inner energy, his pallor flushing with a sudden rush of power, and beckoned to his Crimson Crow Dagger.

The dagger, embedded in the fiend, flared with violet light and slowly pulled free, then shot back into Ye Hua’s hand, though its aura was now greatly diminished.

The monster gazed at Ye Hua with a strange look, but before it could turn away, another white treasure returned to Mistress Dreamcloud’s hand. Ye Hua wasted no time, fearing his elder brothers’ treasures would be irreparably damaged.

With a flash of white light, he produced a single-edged blade—one he had obtained from the black-clad elder. Harnessing his entire power, his body shone with golden light. The veins in his right arm burst, unleashing all the inner energy he had accumulated over time.

This was the sixty-ninth technique from the Great Clarity Scripture: Sacrificing Self to Subdue Demons. To harm the enemy, one first harms oneself—by rupturing one’s own meridians, one unleashes a force never before attainable.

Ye Hua swung the blade at the fiend, unleashing a blast of white light filled with murderous intent. The monster, seeing it approach, flapped its wings to summon a blood-red shield, but the white light pierced it effortlessly. Startled, the fiend tried to evade, but the blade struck its wings. Though its hide was tough and its protective arts formidable, a flash of red and a stream of blood burst forth. The monster’s power faltered, and all the treasures lodged in its body broke free.

The beast slowly turned to Ye Hua, eyes blazing with rage. It opened its mouth and shot a beam of red light at him. Ye Hua, heart pounding, used his Ghostly Shadow Evasion, flickering into afterimages to dodge. But the fiend seemed to anticipate his movements, firing successive beams. As soon as Ye Hua revealed himself, a blood-light was upon him; he leapt aside, but pain lanced through his left arm as the light struck him. Rolling across the ground, he felt half his body go numb.

“Junior Brother!” his fellow disciples cried in alarm. Though their treasures were depleted, they struck at the blood bat again.

The fiend spat another blood cloud at their weapons, severing the connection between mind and treasure; the spiritual light within dimmed. Hovering above Ye Hua, the beast screeched, as if toying with its prey.

Though Ye Hua’s body was numbing, his mind remained clear. Realizing his life hung by a thread, he glanced sideways and saw that his desperate leap had landed him within the teleportation array’s bounds. The stele shimmered nearby. Gritting his teeth, he thought, “If I want to live, I must activate the teleportation array—no matter where it leads, danger or not, I have no other choice!”

The monster, meanwhile, had also entered the array in pursuit. Ye Hua thrust a finger at the stele, pouring his purest energy into it. Instantly, the stele blazed with light; a gentle white radiance spread, awakening the ancient array. Runes flashed to life, and a pillar of light shot skyward. The blood bat recoiled, instinctively trying to flee, but the array had already sealed the space; the light column enveloped them both.

Straining to look at his brothers, Ye Hua tried to speak, but no words emerged. Across several yards, their faces were contorted in horror, mouths moving, but he heard only silence. All at once, his vision blurred white, and he knew nothing more.