Rui Fenhua was struggling, shouting, “I might not make it to the point of saving everyone’s fatal wounds. I’m going to get killed by these blood soldiers first.”

Hearing this, Qin Ruqing glanced in her direction and found that although Rui Fenhua was shouting miserably, the beast soldiers attacking her seemed to always miss.

She hadn’t sustained a single injury, unlike everyone else, who had already been wounded.

Someone as naturally lucky as Rui Fenhua—if she wanted to slack off—could probably survive even if the rest of them died.

Relieved, Qin Ruqing looked away and headed toward the scarlet barrier.

As she moved, she brought her fingers together, casting a spell, and unleashed a rain of heavenly fire.

Like meteors crashing to earth, massive fireballs burst forth with the force of an ocean.

The purple-gold flames swept across the ground, instantly turning countless blood soldiers into smoke.

“The blood soldiers are powered by the blood pool. As long as the blood pool remains, the soldiers will regenerate. I’ve cleared all the soldiers for now, exhausting the energy. They’ll reform and attack again in about fifteen minutes.”

Qin Ruqing’s voice was as ethereal as a celestial melody.

After leaving those words, she dove headfirst into the barrier.

Everyone else felt a sense of heaviness. Essentially, what she meant was that they needed to finish the battle within the next fifteen minutes.

The blood soldiers were endless; without them, the battles against the demon kings were evenly matched, but with their interference, the balance of power would be disrupted.

There were six demon kings and six battlefields.

If one fell, they would all fall.

The collapse of everything would happen in an instant.

No one spoke; instead, their actions grew even fiercer.

—

Inside the barrier, Qin Ruqing once again entered this dark red world.

Before the mission started, Qin Ruqing had already prepared for the worst.

For example, the ancient Beast Emperor might have anticipated human interference and delayed the soul-merging process, purposely setting traps at the summit of Tianxing Mountain.

Despite that, Qin Ruqing had still come.

She gambled that the battle outside had already started, and the beast race had committed nearly 80% of their forces to this fight.

The ancient Beast Emperor lacked the strength to launch such a large-scale war again.

He had no other options.

Just like Qin Ruqing, who had to wager everything on this one desperate attempt.

Now, upon seeing the scene inside the barrier, Qin Ruqing knew she had won her gamble.

At the center of the blood pool, an eerie stillness lingered.

Six bronze statues of beast heads were open-mouthed, continuously pouring blood collected from the war into the pool.

The original body of the Beast Emperor had vanished, replaced by a massive blood cocoon.

The cocoon emitted a faint glow, expanding and contracting like a giant heart pulsing with terrifying energy.

The ancient Beast Emperor couldn’t resist the temptation of this war and had attempted to merge his soul after all.

From the moment she saw the blood cocoon, Qin Ruqing decided to destroy it.

Her eyes gleamed with golden mist, and a complete lotus-shaped apparition appeared on her forehead.

She gathered all her bloodline power, her slender fingers coming together, pressed upright in front of her chest.

Her gaze was calm yet sharp.

When Qin Ruqing made her move, she didn’t hold anything back.

The stillness within the barrier shattered. Sensing danger, the barrier began to defend itself.

The blood pool boiled and bubbled, and swarms of blood soldiers began to crawl out, each one appearing as powerful as an elite fighter.

The blood soldiers moved incredibly fast, reaching Qin Ruqing in the blink of an eye.

Some even launched themselves from the pool, claws outstretched to strike from the air.

But Qin Ruqing ignored them all.

She seemed to be in an indescribable state, her lips pressed tightly together, eyes unblinking, her fingers slowly forming seals.

As if under a crushing weight, each seal she formed was painstakingly difficult.

With each completed seal, Qin Ruqing’s aura grew stronger.

The blood soldiers attacked her, but she endured it all.

When the final seal was formed, it felt as if time itself stood still for a moment.

Sensing danger, the blood cocoon stopped generating blood soldiers.

Instead, a grotesque, blood-soaked beast claw extended from the pool, shielding the cocoon.

Standing in a direct line with the blood cocoon, Qin Ruqing tilted her body and slowly drew a golden arrow, aiming it directly at the cocoon.

Her bow bent like a full moon.

Her expression remained as calm as still water.

Staring at the blood cocoon, she looked like a judge delivering a final verdict.

She released her fingers, and the arrow shot forth like a beam of light.

At the same time, Tianxing Mountain emitted a piercing scream that could shatter eardrums.

A massive amount of spiritual energy was drained, and everyone felt the pull of some profound law.

This arrow carried the force to pierce the heavens.

A vortex suddenly formed in the blood pool, centered around the cocoon and the beast claw.

The claw rose high, grasping at the golden arrow, trying to block this world-shaking attack.

The golden light was trapped by the claw, causing a massive shockwave.

Dark clouds gathered over Tianxing Mountain, and the sky was stained with blood.

“This is the Chaos Art: Judgment Arrow.”

“Guided by the bloodline, as long as the blood flows, the judgment will not end.”

Qin Ruqing’s voice was soft and gentle.

She stood on the open ground near the blood pool, her figure swaying in the flickering firelight, radiating a sense of isolation from the world.

Blood dripped from the corner of her mouth, stark and bright, but her eyes were frighteningly bright, filled with both calm and madness.

This arrow, burning her life force, was not something the beast claw could withstand.

The golden light broke free, piercing through the beast claw.

It shot straight ahead, tearing through the blood cocoon and shattering the barrier.

The remaining power dissipated into the air.

Qin Ruqing clutched her chest, swaying.

But she still had the strength to smile, because she clearly heard the sound of something piercing flesh.

With a soft squelch, she even felt someone else’s—perhaps human—heartbeat pounding in her ears.

Thump, thump.

For a moment, the heartbeat nearly stopped.

Qin Ruqing held her breath, then felt it explode with force.

It was a sound of fury, blood exploding outward from the heart, roaring through the body.

The roar was so loud that every demon king and human warrior on Tianxing Mountain looked toward the blood pool, terror in their eyes.

The blood cocoon had ruptured, and crawling out of it was a grotesque, blood-soaked, deformed creature.

It let out angry gasps as its body solidified, resembling the previous Beast Emperor, yet not quite.

Its head was covered with eyes, so many that there was no empty space—only whites and blood-red pupils, swirling in all directions.

A single glance could cause mental disorientation and dizziness.

It stood upright, its legs as thick as mountains.

On either side of its back grew rows of beast claws, four on each side, all different in shape.

The most terrifying feature was the gaping hole in its chest.

There was no blood or flesh inside, just an empty void through which the landscape behind could be seen.

At the edge of the cave, blood continued to flow out in a steady stream, as if drawn by an invisible force, preventing it from healing.

“Your Majesty!” Several demon kings shouted in terror, trying to rush over to help.

Feng Mingyue and the others desperately blocked their way.

Fifth Youlin seemed to have resorted to some forbidden primal technique, blood dripping from the corner of his mouth as his lifespan burned away.

Rui Fenhua muttered under her breath, “A little luck here, a little luck there… Hey, you all really don’t care about your lives, do you? I’ve saved up this much luck for years, and it’s like cutting a piece of my heart!” Despite her words, she didn’t hold back on using her luck.

All the monster’s massive eyeballs turned at once, eventually locking onto one direction.

There stood a human woman, her black hair flowing lightly, a smile at the corner of her lips.

She appeared so small in front of the monster, having to look up to meet its gaze.

But behind her rose a giant lotus-shaped manifestation, pure and radiant like heavenly light, towering even over the beast.

“We meet again.”

“Since our parting at the Void Realm, how have you been?”

Qin Ruqing smiled, her tone like greeting an old friend after many years of separation.

The ancient Beast Emperor’s rage simmered within his flesh, making his voice eerily calm, “It’s you.”

“It was you outside Tianxing Mountain, spying on me.”

Qin Ruqing chuckled, admitting, “Yes, it was me. So, it seems we share a fated connection, Your Majesty.”

“At the Void Realm, you hid your true identity well. A descendant of chaos… it’s enough for me to personally kill you.”

“It wasn’t that I hid well, but that you were preoccupied with devouring the Soul-Eating Ebony, which weakened your power. Otherwise, with your keen eyes, you’d have spotted me right away, wouldn’t you?” Her voice trailed off playfully.

Qin Ruqing couldn’t tell if the Beast Emperor was angry, but judging by the increasing flow of blood from the hole in his chest, it seemed he wasn’t pleased.

The ancient Beast Emperor quickly demonstrated his anger through action.

He wasn’t calm—he was enraged to the extreme.

The sun in the beast realm fell, and a blood moon rose.

It seemed as though night had suddenly descended, making all the beasts even more frenzied under its light.

From each of the Beast Emperor’s eyes, beams of red light shot out.

Every beam struck the ground, causing the earth to quake violently.

Soon, the middle caves of Tianxing Mountain began collapsing, and the mountain itself, towering like a ruler, started to tremble as if it might fall.

The Beast Emperor, however, paid no heed. In a half-mad state, his eight beastly claws stretched out like weapons, each one moving fluidly, swinging at Qin Ruqing like chains.

But every strike was blocked by a radiant golden lotus petal.

The ferocity of his assault fueled the Beast Emperor’s frenzy, though he didn’t seem to have lost his mind.

His countless eyes gleamed with savage cruelty. “The interruption of the ritual isn’t entirely irreversible. I should’ve known—you’re the descendant of that one, wielding the power of chaos, able to merge all things!” His voice boomed like thunder, carrying overwhelming force.

“With your flesh and blood as the catalyst, I will succeed!”

“You think you’re ugly, yet you dare dream of devouring me? Why don’t you take a good look at yourself? You’ve got all those big eyes but not an ounce of self-awareness…” Qin Ruqing, coughing up blood, retorted sharply as the massive lotus behind her clashed violently with the Beast Emperor.

The Beast Emperor became fully enraged. His fury bred hatred.

He no longer sought to kill Qin Ruqing merely to use her flesh and blood.

He also wanted to make her suffer.

To make her suffer in body and soul.

“You seem to care a lot about those small companions of yours?” the Beast Emperor suddenly asked.

A sense of foreboding struck Qin Ruqing, and her attacks became even more fierce. “I’d rather crush your skull!”

But the Beast Emperor saw through her bravado, and he began to laugh hoarsely.

The night grew darker, and the blood moon in the sky turned so red it seemed to drip blood.

Strangely, it was still supposed to be daytime.

It felt as if a drop of ink had fallen into clear water, spreading thick darkness everywhere.

Qin Ruqing suddenly felt her hair stand on end, and the lotus image behind her instinctively trembled, glowing brighter to ward off the encroaching darkness.

The Beast Emperor’s blood-covered head slowly twisted into a strange smile, his grin mirrored in each of his countless eyes.

The rasping laughter doubled the sense of mental corruption.

“Moonfall,” the Beast Emperor softly uttered two ancient words.

It was as if an invisible hand had suddenly pressed down hard.

Feng Mingyue, Fifth Lingyu, Tang Zifeng, and all the others were immediately crushed to the ground, their faces twisted in agony, lungs collapsing under the immense pressure, as if their organs would burst before Qin Ruqing’s eyes.

Though she wasn’t crushed like them, Qin Ruqing also felt her body straining, one knee on the ground, breathing heavily.

She glanced at her companions, her eyes wide, pupils contracting in response to the intense emotions, the whites of her eyes growing, a chilling sight.

The Beast Emperor relished the expression on Qin Ruqing’s face, smiling cruelly.

He was deliberately torturing her.

He could have easily killed those ants with a single blow, but he didn’t.

He enjoyed the pleasure of torturing them, and even more so, the fear and panic now barely hidden on Qin Ruqing’s face.

Thin strands of power surged from all directions.

They were born of fear, of every negative emotion, and the Beast Emperor absorbed them, further bolstering his might.

This was the true power of “Moonfall”—the ability to feed on fear.

To summon the power to make the moon fall was terrifying!

How could one not be afraid?

How could one not fear!

The Beast Emperor laughed wildly in his heart.

To fully savor this fear, he wasn’t in a hurry to kill the ants. What he truly desired—the greatest fear—had yet to appear.

The Beast Emperor stood like a giant, his massive beastly form blotting out the sky.

He looked down at Qin Ruqing, a sense of satisfaction rising within him.

Being huge was the most direct and undeniable power. It was the ultimate truth in this world!

“You dared to act today—I’ll give you that courage,” the Beast Emperor spoke.

“Even if you interrupted the soul fusion, I will make sure you understand that my power is beyond your comprehension, beyond your reach!”