Meanwhile, Yìng Tiānyáo found herself trapped in a world that looked as though it were drenched in blood.
Shortly before, after losing sight of her brother, she had been left wandering alone through a bamboo forest. Suddenly, out of nowhere, a sky-marten darted out and lunged at her.
Reacting with lightning speed and without the slightest hesitation, Yìng Tiānyáo leaped backward, stepping onto the empty air. She waved her slender, jade-like hand, gathering spiritual energy into a palm strike that came crashing down upon the beast.
The sky-marten, possessing only the strength of the three mortal realms, exploded on the spot.
As the afterimage of the palm faded away, nothing remained of the creature except for tattered, jet-black fur mixed with bloody chunks of flesh that stuck to the bottom of the crater, filling Yìng Tiānyáo with revulsion. The stench of blood mingled with the marten's distinctive, musky odor, assaulting her delicate nose. Enduring her intense discomfort, she set the remains ablaze with a single spell, reducing them to ashes before hurrying away.
Little did she know, the slaughter had only just begun.
Further along her path, she encountered a fierce-spirit tiger at the peak of the fourth mortal realm. Drawing upon her previous experience, Yìng Tiānyáo directly invoked a Saint Stage cultivation technique, summoning the Cyan Sea-Scorching Flame. This bizarre fire possessed an intensely low temperature, so cold that the surrounding air seemed to freeze the moment it appeared. The fierce-spirit tiger was reduced to absolute nothingness the instant it touched the flame.
After quickly clearing the area, she continued on her way.
However, the ferocious beasts she encountered grew increasingly powerful and began appearing in packs. Sensing that something was wrong, Yìng Tiānyáo began holding back her strength, carefully regulating the consumption of spiritual energy within her body. After cautiously bypassing several more packs of beasts, she finally emerged from the bamboo forest.
Before her eyes stretched an endless plain. The starry sky was obscured, and the dim, gloomy light pressed heavily upon her spirit.
"Is this still an illusion? I wonder where that idiot brother of mine is..."
Awoooo—!!!
Several sudden beastly howls snapped Yìng Tiānyáo back to reality.
"Damn it!"
Feeling the pack of beasts closing in from behind, she had no choice but to take flight once more.
How much time passed, she could not tell. The ferocious beasts behind her grew more numerous, and the distance between them steadily closed.
"This won't do! I have to think of something!"
Just as the thought crossed her mind, a azure-crying winged wolf lunged out directly in front of her. This winged wolf possessed the strength of an ordinary Condensed Spirit Realm cultivator. Weighing seven or eight hundred kilograms, its massive wings spanned nearly ten meters, and it sported blue-and-white manes and blood-red eyes. It panted heavily with a terrifying, gaping maw, saliva dripping from its fangs.
With swift eyes and nimble hands, Yìng Tiānyáo immediately employed a Saint Stage technique—the Heavenly Desolation Sacred Steps. Dodging to the side with a swift flash, she raised her hand to counterattack, only to discover two more winged wolves charging at her. These two were virtually identical to the first. Though they had concealed their auras to launch an ambush, Yìng Tiānyáo had detected them and reacted instantly.
"Cyan Sea-Scorching Lotus Flame, explode!"
This technique, taught to her by Yìng Wúyī, possessed immense destructive power. A lotus flower blossomed across the plain, its cyan flames illuminating the pitch-black night.
At the center of the blazing lotus, Yìng Tiānyáo intended to use the distraction to pull back and put some distance between them. Unexpectedly, one ferocious wolf stubbornly endured the burning heat, charged right through the flames, and lashed out with a claw.
Fortunately, Yìng Tiānyáo's garments were no ordinary rags! The moment the winged wolf's claw struck, it shattered into a pulp of flesh, while the recoil propelled Yìng Tiānyáo backward onto the plain.
The dew and mud on the grass left smudges of dirt across her delicate, fair face. Yet she had no time to tend to it. Scrambling to her feet, she looked ahead, and her breath hitched instantly.
An entire pack of azure-crying winged wolves!
Hundreds of winged wolves hovered in the air, fixing their gazes entirely upon her. The weakest among them were at the Spirit Sea Realm, while the leaders at the front radiated an aura comparable to the Return to One Realm! Both sides were searching for an opening.
At that moment, a chaotic, disorganized chorus of beastly howls echoed from behind—the rear pack had caught up as well!
Now, Yìng Tiānyáo's only hope was to find an opportunity to make them turn on each other so she could slip away in the chaos.
Yet, as much as she hoped for this, her plan was utterly dashed. Seeing the beasts close in, they unexpectedly began to coordinate with conscious intent, surrounding her completely.
In an instant, Yìng Tiānyáo was reduced to a fish on a cutting board!
Left with no other choice, she pressed her jade feet against the void and activated her Ice Glaze Sacred Physique. Her pure Yìng Clan bloodline surged, her aura soaring to the heavens as if she were a young supreme! For a fleeting moment, a primal fear took root deep within the ferocious beasts, holding them back from charging forward.
"After all, this is merely a trial."
"In that case... let us all attack together!"
Yìng Tiānyáo took a long, deep breath, opened her eyes, and let out a gaze filled with murderous intent!
"Awoooo—!!!"
"Roar—!!!"
Sensing her murderous intent, several winged wolf leaders raised their heads in howls, while the rest of the ferocious beasts pawed the ground, roaring to bolster their courage.
"Insolent beasts!"
"Do you few wretched creatures truly think this princess fears you?"
With a flick of her slender arm, a Heavenly Stage jade sword materialized in her hand. The sword was named Huān Sù, and it was Yìng Tiānyáo's usual weapon of choice.
Without hesitation, Yìng Tiānyáo struck first. A fierce, violent cry of the sword echoed through the pack.
"Ice Feather Sword Song!"
Streaks of sword qi shot outward, carrying a biting chill as they slashed into the oncoming beasts. The slightly weaker ones were sliced apart on the spot, transformed instantly into chunks of meat. The beasts' formation was thrown into disarray, temporarily blocking them from closing in.
Seizing the opportunity, Yìng Tiānyáo resolutely charged in a single direction. With the ferocious beasts densely packed and countless in number, remaining in one spot would only trap her in a passive position.
Wielding the Huān Sù heavenly sword, stepping with the Heavenly Desolation Sacred Steps, and clad in the Quasi-Supreme artifact—the Snow Tiger White Armor Skirt—combined with her own formidable strength, she resembled a goddess descending from the heavens as she plowed into the beast pack with unstoppable force!
Yet, the ferocious beasts were simply too numerous.
After what felt like an eternity, Yìng Tiānyáo felt as though she had traveled a great distance, yet she remained trapped at the very center of the pack. The surrounding beasts seemed endless, impossible to completely exterminate.
"Sword Dance · Ice Whisper!"
Accompanied by surging waves of sword qi, the Ice Feather sword intent cut through her enemies like harvesting wheat, turning yet another batch of beasts into heaps of minced flesh.
Holding her jade sword, her white dress stained with blood and grime, Yìng Tiānyáo had no time to tidy her dirty face. Looking out across the plain, a distinct "path" had been carved into the ground, winding and twisting through the deep, dark, ink-blue night.
Upon closer inspection, it was paved entirely with severed limbs, chunks of flesh, and mangled corpses! Some were sliced as smooth as if cut by a blade, their wounds frozen and perfectly preserved, while others were burned beyond recognition... all congealed together in the bloody mud, staining even the immortal herbs crimson.
It resembled nothing less than a scarlet wasteland!
Wielding her sword again and again caused Yìng Tiānyáo to grow numb, her body beginning to stiffen. Under such prolonged, intense vigilance, her senses grew weary and dull.
"It's not over yet! This is still... far from enough!"
"This princess... this princess must get out of here!"
"I must!"
Yìng Tiānyáo muttered to herself, her voice hoarse and raspy.
How long she had been fighting, she could no longer tell. The beasts grew fewer, the blood-soaked path grew longer, and the occasional "small mound" along the way only made it less than pristine. Viewed from afar, it resembled an endless chain of black mountain ranges!
"Almost there! Just a little more!"
Swish—!!!
Suddenly, a thick wave of deathly intent flooded Yìng Tiānyáo's mind, making every hair on her body stand on end and snapping her exhausted nerves instantly taut!
Driven by the threat of death, Yìng Tiānyáo whipped her sword around, thrusting backward at a bizarre angle.
Slash—!
Her long sword pierced flesh, and the sensation of the jade weapon embedding itself into a body traveled up her hand. At the same time, a streak of red-shadowed sword light grazed past her ear.
Both parties violently leaped backward. A droplet of crystal-clear blood welled up from the side of Yìng Tiānyáo's pretty face, trickling down her cheek before freezing into a tear-sized bead of icy blood.
Only then did Yìng Tiānyáo fix her piercing gaze on the shadowy figure before her, realizing with a shock that it was a living human!
Though sheltered from worldly affairs, Yìng Tiānyáo was far from foolish. Had her exquisite heart not warned her just in time, she would already be a corpse.
Without wasting words, she lunged at the shadowy figure, wielding the Huān Sù sword infused with both Ice Feather sword intent and a bone-chilling frost.
This single sword strike offered not a sliver of mercy.
The outcome was predictable. The shadowy figure did not even have time to wail before being cleaved apart by the sword light alongside several beasts that had closed in around him, all of them falling onto the endless plain.
"Hah!"
Yet, before she could even process the sensation of taking a life for the first time, several piercing auras of slaughter locked onto her once more.
"This really is endless!"
Yìng Tiānyáo remained surrounded by hundreds of ferocious beasts, and those that had survived until now were absolute monsters. The weakest among them possessed the strength of the Return to One Realm, and there was even one at the peak of the Return to One Realm!
Above the beast pack hovered seven shadowy figures, each guarding a different direction, while stranger auras could be felt steadily approaching from the distance.
Her body, however, was already beginning to show signs of exhaustion, and her situation was anything but optimistic.
At that moment, she felt truly trapped in a desperate abyss...