Chapter 1076 Like a Monarch
As the high priest's voice rang out, the island of the Red Moon's headquarters immediately trembled. Many temples built on it shook, and among them, nine temples radiated a crimson light.
It formed a diagram of nine stars.
In this area, because of the light of the nine suns, the world had lost its red color. Only the radiance emitted by the Crimson Goddess' mortal skin and the high priest remained. Now, there were nine more light sources.
As this crimson light flickered, ancient auras spread out from each of the nine Red Moon temples. Accompanied by blood churning like a river and baleful aura, the sound of hooves gradually became audible.
Soon, nine figures walked out.
The first figure was a four-armed nonhuman, and their gender was indiscernible. All that could be seen was a withered armor wrapped around them, exuding a sense of decay and the passage of time. Three of their four arms appeared decayed and entwined with iron chains.
However, on the fourth arm, the ashy-black hand held a spear, with blood dripping from its tip.
The second figure was a human, donned in the same blood-red armor. Flames of red fire burned beneath the helmet, and they held a spear in their hands as well.
As they walked out one after another, the nine figures were completely reflected in the world.
There were humans and nonhumans among them, each one different. They were clad in identical armor, with their heads and bodies wrapped within.
On the armor, there were engraved runes and totems resembling the appearance of Crimson Goddess. Despite being blood-red, they gave off a sacred aura. Each one rode on a blood-red warhorse.
These nine horses were also clad in armor, and looking at the exposed flesh, it seemed as if their skin had been forcibly stripped away.
As they advanced, blood flowed beneath them.
Their eyes were bright red and their teeth sharp. They looked like horses but in reality, they were like demon beasts. They didn't have four legs but six.
The appearance of these nine beings and their nine horses caused a commotion on the entire battlefield. The Red Moon side was excited, while the Moon Rebel side was frightened.
The energy fluctuations emitted by these Red Palace's blood guards summoned by the high priest were so strong that they seemed to be able to crush everything.
They were extremely close to the Soul Accumulation realm.
It could even be said that they were only a small step away from stepping into the Soul Accumulation realm.
Clearly, reaching the Soul Accumulation realm wasn't just a matter of sufficient cultivation base, but also required some special conditions. Hence, until now, in the entire Moon Worship Region, other than the ruler's children, there were almost no new Soul Accumulation experts.
Even this clone of Divine Sparrow was only at the half-step Soul Accumulation realm. As for what realm her main body had reached, that information was now submerged in history.
At present, the only one who had reached the Soul Accumulation realm was the high priest.
However, his Soul Accumulation realm was a product that was pieced together and enhanced, and it had fatal flaws.
Hence, the appearance of these nine ancient blood guards had a huge impact on the battlefield. With their participation, the advantage brought about by the Moon Rebel battle souls would be gone.
But Li Xiaoshan's footsteps did not stop; instead, his speed increased. His eyes revealed a fighting spirit, and at this moment, his whole body began to burn.
This burning wasn't substantial but internal.
With the burning, his appearance actually reversed, no longer aged but transformed into a middle-aged look. His aura also reached the peak of his life.
As he sped, his words rang out.
"Throughout my life, I have experienced more than seven thousand life-and-death battles. Initially, I fought over a thousand battles at the same realm, then I comprehended the essence of slaughter, and I was able to battle beyond my realm!"
"I can fight all nine blood guards who are of the same realm as me alone."
Li Xiaoshan let out a deep shout and his speed erupted. He actually transformed into nine afterimages and rushed toward the nine blood guards who were moving forward. He instantly arrived before them and slashed out with the long blades.
The collision resulted in a deafening sound. Li Xiaoshan spat out blood, his body retreated three steps before forcefully stopping. At the same time, the nine blood guards also came to a sudden halt.
At the next instant, a horse trembled and its body directly split into two from the center. The armor of the nonhuman blood guard on it also emitted cracking sounds and shattered, revealing the withered body of the nonhuman.
The body actually couldn't withstand it either and a blade mark appeared. This mark grew larger and larger and became clearer. Finally… this nonhuman blood guard's body, like the warhorse, split into two.
On the ground, one of the nine shining temples dimmed and the temple collapsed.
Li Xiaoshan's peak-level blade strike was really terrifying.
Licking away the blood at the corner of his mouth, the battle intent in Li Xiaoshan's eyes intensified. At this moment, he didn't care about his life and death. Moreover, he was aware that there was a limit to the number of times one could resurrect through the Moon Rebel Hall.
His upper limit had already been reached.
However, he didn't care. He brandished his long blade and rushed over again.
On the other side, the expressionless Divine Sparrow stepped on the sea of fire and headed straight for the high priest.
However, the foundation of the Red Moon Shrine was still there.
The high priest's expression was calm. He lifted his right hand and pressed down on the ground again.
"Blood generals, appear!"
The ground rumbled and three areas caved in. Three temples that emitted an ancient aura rose from them. Different from the other temples, these three gave off the feeling that they had existed for endless years.
This was indeed the case. These three temples were the first batch of temples to be built here.
At that moment, the gates opened and the ancient aura spread out. Three blood red coffins flew out and their lids exploded in the air. Three withered corpses walked out.
As the wind blew, their bodies rapidly filled up and they transformed into three old men in the blink of an eye.
Upon closer inspection, one could see that their temperaments were extremely similar to the high priest's. As they walked out, their eyes opened and they looked at Divine Sparrow.
Divine Sparrow's expression froze. At the next instant, the three old men shuttled through the void and appeared beside Divine Sparrow. Each of them raised their hands and the phantom of a world appeared.
The cultivation they displayed was actually at the Soul Accumulation realm.
But their great world wasn't real but illusory. This caused their combat strength to be inferior to the Soul Accumulation Realm but it was enough to suppress all Nihility.
However, Divine Sparrow wasn't an ordinary person. As the previous Lord of the Moon Rebel Hall, to be able to seal a clone of her in the Moon Rebel Hall until now, her methods were also astonishing.
She was actually able to fight against these three old men alone. Although she was at a disadvantage, the three old men couldn't take their attention away from her.
However, as the three old men continued to fight, their great worlds slowly turned from illusory to real. It was as though they were reviving and their combat strength continued to increase. Divine Sparrow's situation became increasingly dangerous.
What was even more astonishing was that in the worlds of the three old men, there were projections that were also awakening at the same time.
This scene caused the minds of the cultivators on both sides to rumble. Red Moon was excited, while Moon Rebel was shaken.
The battle between the two sides was world-destroying. The energy fluctuations spread through the entire large region. The sky changed colors and the mountains and rivers on the ground were shaking.
Red Moon's side looked as they used their divine techniques to suppress everything.
The forces that relied on the Red Moon put in even more effort. Among them were the sects, the Underworld Order Race, the Sound Seeker Race, and so on. The Yin Yang Flower Sect even activated their dream ritual art.
Large amounts of hazy fog invaded the cultivators of the Moon Rebel Hall, causing them to reveal blank expressions. Even if they would wake up very soon, a moment of daze was a difference between life and death on the battlefield.
In an instant, the advantage of Moon Rebel persisted to decrease. They could only narrow the range and stall for time, waiting for the outcome within the Crimson Goddess' mortal skin.
Seeing this, Xu Qing immediately summoned the artifact spirit to confront the high priest.
The high priest had experienced the battle in the Bitter Life Mountain Range and was cautious of the Moon Rebel Hall now. Even now, he didn't personally attack. Instead, after glancing at the artifact spirit, he raised his right hand and pressed down on the ground again.
A dark glint flashed in his eyes as he spoke in a deep voice.
"Blood children, revive!"
The island trembled intensely. Other than the three ancient temples and the eight temples that emitted red light, all the other temples collapsed and caved in at this instant.
Vortices appeared that formed caverns.
There were no less than thousands of caverns on the entire island.
Beams of blood light emitted from these caves. Numerous blood beasts that Xu Qing had encountered in the desert back then leaped out of these caverns.
They gazed sinister and fiendish.
They were so densely packed that they transformed into an endless sea of beasts.
It was as though the interior of the island was completely hollow and that there was a cavern there that stored countless blood beasts.
The moment they appeared, they let out bloodthirsty roars. This sound contained madness, hunger, and greed.
They soared into the sky from all directions and rode the sea of blood toward the battlefield in the air.
Wherever they passed, it would be a sea of red. When the cultivators of the Moon Rebel Hall saw this scene, their emotions fluctuated and their expressions turned solemn.
The captain narrowed his eyes and gazed at the high priest, transmitting his voice to Xu Qing.
"Little Qing, this old ghost is too cautious. We have to think of a way to get him to come over. After that, just watch. I have a way to deal with this thief."
Xu Qing nodded when he heard this. He glanced at the countless blood beasts below and his eyes revealed a hint of blood.
He knew these blood beasts extremely well. After all, he had reared and incubated many of them in the past few months. Moreover, the first time he encountered them, his cultivation was only at the Nascent Soul realm. Even then, with his authority, he had made the large number of blood beasts kneel and submit.
Right now, his cultivation base was completely different from before. Hence, Xu Qing didn't hesitate at all. The authority of the Red Moon rose in his body and the secret repository behind him rumbled as it materialized.
The moon within the secret repository emitted moonlight which spread out of the secret repository and illuminated the island with him as the center.
Under the moonlight, the ground turned red. All the blood beasts paused in unison and instinctively gazed at the Moon Rebel Hall. They each let out anxious roars, as though they were struggling but also terrified. It was as though in their eyes, wherever they looked, there was an existence that was supreme to them.
This scene shocked both sides of the battlefield. The expression of the high priest changed for the first time as he gazed at the Moon Rebel Hall.
Under their gazes, Xu Qing's elegant figure strode out of the Moon Rebel Mirror step by step like a monarch.