CHAPTER 857: CHAPTER 580: THE BUTTERFLY OF THE GREAT DREAM (MONTHLY TICKET & SUBSCRIPTION REQUESTED)

The voice came from the bottom of the canyon.

"An ancient cultivation cave mansion?" Lu Chenzhou hesitated slightly, then turned into a flash of lightning and shot downwards.

"Trying to run? Leave your life here for me!" The Blood Flood Dragon Demon Venerable opened its mouth, a beam-like breath shot out, swallowing everything, arriving in an instant.

Lu Chenzhou’s Protective Golden Light blazed fiercely, but was still pierced through; half his body was dissolved away.

The Withering and Flourishing Law spread out, restoring his body.

This Spiritual Embodiment of his was far weaker than his true body; many Divine Skills and some Body Techniques could not be used.

But Insight into Dao and techniques remained connected.

With Fifth Rank Withering and Flourishing Dao, even injuries on his clone could be healed instantly.

However, the clone’s power was nearly exhausted, becoming increasingly faint.

"Hmm? Not dead yet!"

The Blood Flood Dragon Demon Venerable raised his hand, conjuring a blood-red spear, which howled as it stabbed forth to kill.

Lu Chenzhou flickered aside, dodging the blow; the spear stabbed into the cliff, tearing a rift six hundred miles long into the earth.

"Both are Eight-Pattern Demon Clan—Gu Yue may be formidable, but is mostly weird and undying, while the Blood Flood Dragon excels at direct combat."

Among all Lu Chenzhou had faced, this foe was second only to the self-slain Red Lotus Demon Venerable.

"What a pity, if my true body were here, what would a Blood Flood Dragon amount to?"

Just as Lu Chenzhou was about to escape,

From amidst the cliff ahead, an endless forest of rock spires sprang forth, forming a pair of gigantic stag antlers stretching three hundred miles.

The antlers softened, writhing and extending like tentacles, weaving a sky-encompassing net to ensnare him.

Within, he collided everywhere into invisible barriers holding him back.

Lu Chenzhou was not panicked; to slay a Devouring Country Demon Venerable was already a gain—if need be, he’d abandon this clone.

The stag-antlered middle-aged man’s robes drifted; behind him appeared a pair of massive black antlers and a dense cluster of tentacles.

Antlers became bow arms, tentacles became bowstrings.

In the void, ten thousand Black Flame Arrows solidified.

Ten thousand rays of black light ripped through the heavens, sweeping out indiscriminately.

Boom! Boom! Boom! Earth-shattering explosions shattered half of the Great Rift Valley, collapsing a thousand miles all around.

After the dust settled, Lu Chenzhou had vanished without a trace—whether he escaped, or was blown to nothingness, was unknown.

"Hmph, to make me use my second Innate Divine Ability, he does have some skill." The Mountain Forest Demon Venerable’s gaze was cold and sinister.

The Blood Flood Dragon Demon Venerable grinned: "Big brother’s [Black Absolute Thousand Dao] truly is extraordinary."

The Demon Race, above all, venerate bloodlines.

Both the Blood Flood Dragon Demon Venerable and Mountain Forest Demon Venerable were Eight-Pattern Demon Clan.

An ordinary Seven-Pattern Demon Venerable could at best comprehend three Innate Divine Abilities, unless one obtained Demon Saint Blood Essence or Treasures to ignite their bloodline potential.

Eight-Pattern Demon Venerables could comprehend six Innate Divine Abilities.

Nine-Pattern Demon Venerables, nine.

Of course, as with Cultivators, more Divine Skills is not always better.

Some Seven-Pattern Demon Venerables, by chance, cultivated a single Divine Skill to the limit, and so became formidable in duels.

In fact, even among Nine-Pattern Demon Venerables, few ever comprehended nine Divine Skills, as it cost immense time and actually hindered promotion.

But all else equal, more Divine Skills means more versatility—greater strength, without a doubt.

The Mountain Forest Demon Venerable frowned: "Although that man is dead, I sense he was but a clone—his true body is hidden somewhere."

The Blood Flood Dragon Demon Venerable said coldly: "Once the Meat Forest Ritual is complete, and the Will of the Stars replaces Kun Gu’s Will, it won’t matter where he hides."

"And as for this Ancient Cultivation Cave Mansion, that must be taken care of. The two Daoist Soldiers at the door are manageable, but that Sword Formation Barrier is hard to break."

"There’s nothing for it; we’ll have to wait for Grandmother’s Ninth Clone to arrive."

The two Demon Venerables ascended on clouds and left.

...

Blood Tree Great World.

This world had a strange shape, like a Blood Mountain suspended in the Ruins Sea, roughly three million kilometers tall;

At its center, thick, stinking blood formed a sea a thousand miles in diameter.

At the bottom of this blood sea lay the silent skulls of three hundred billion humanoid creatures.

Blood-red vines, entwined like copulating serpents, threaded among the bones, rooting over a thousand miles.

All the vines converged at the blood sea’s center, faintly forming the figure of a hunched old woman, with skin like withered wood, a hunched body of flesh and blood a hundred miles tall, standing lonely between heaven and earth.

The tallest peaks in the mortal world were no higher than her knees.

Around the giant were more than ten auras—some human, some demon—of the Heavenly Realm.

Each had an umbilical cord, linked to the giant’s base, supplying it with Blood Food plundered from the Three Thousand Worlds.

An alluring, enchanting red-haired woman reclined with arms crossed and legs cocked on the giant’s blood-colored throne, seemingly dozing.

Suddenly, her crimson pupils cracked open; lips parted; a breath of blood issued forth; nine fierce markings on her brow combined into a crescent moon.

"With thirty billion lives as firewood, and the will of this world as fuel, forging the Netherworld Blood Demon Array—this Grandmother will surely ascend to Demigod!"

"Black Mountain is utterly useless—even as a Divine Agent, he’s still mud that can’t be shaped, a mere low-grade Eight-Pattern being."

"Unless the Divine doesn’t appear, once I reach the Late Stage of Eight Realms, who in the Three Thousand Worlds could rival this Grandmother?"

The Eye of Truth appeared, and the projection of the Blood God descended.

"Blood Demon, how goes the search for Tiger Clan Essence Blood?"

"My lord, three kinds of Tiger Clan Essence Blood have been found, all at the Seventh Level; Eighth Level cannot be found, and as for Ninth Level Tiger Clan, hopes are slim."

The Blood God was also troubled, sighing: "Indeed, a hard thing to find. Back then, it was this God who personally slew Lu Wu’s Ten Tiger Generals—they’ve long since vanished to dust; only a few worthless descendants remain.

However, in his recent studies of Great Wilderness chronicles, the Witch discovered that at the Eight Realms Ceremony of Li Sword Immortal from the Heavenly Sword Sect, one of the Ten Tiger Generals, Wood Whisker Tiger, in pursuit of Mo Li, seemed to have sealed a wisp of its Essence Blood in amber and presented it to Mo Li. Human experts love to hide inheritance relics throughout the Three Thousand Worlds—focus your search on the Eight Realms Sword Immortal Inheritances; this may be the only chance of finding Ninth Level Tiger Clan Essence Blood."

The Blood Demon Grandmother’s eyes lit up: "My lord, that Ancient Cultivation Cave Mansion in Kun Gu Realm belongs to a Sword Cultivator."

The Blood God was greatly pleased: "Excellent, look quickly to see if it is Li Sword Immortal’s."

Kun Gu was a territory developed in partnership by the Lord of Mountains and Them, now at the final stage of assimilation.

After the Blood God’s projection faded, the Blood Flood Dragon’s projection appeared.

"Grandmother, when will you come to Kun Gu? That Ancient Cultivation Cave Mansion, we can’t break through it...

A human expert has noticed this place—the Devouring Country was slain."

The Demon Race cannot inherit human legacies; they can only use force to break into the mansion.

But what Eight Realms Sword Cultivator has left—how could it be so easily breached?

The Blood Demon Grandmother’s brows knitted: "Who is it? Three Suns Immortal? Cold Moon? Or someone from the Xia Realm?"

"Unclear, probably a Heart Cultivator... Right, he wields the Prisoner Demon Hand and excels at illusions—he must be a descendant of the Ancient Emperor Lanshan."

After hearing the projection, the Blood Demon Grandmother suddenly thought of the Hanhai Realm.

This man bears a resemblance to that Great Dream Ancestor.

"He may be the Heart Emperor’s reincarnation spoken of by the Blood God. You two handle him carefully. I will dispatch my Ninth Blood Demon."

"With Grandmother’s incarnation personally arriving, success is assured."

The Blood Flood Dragon flattered her, then the projection faded.

The Blood Demon Grandmother muttered to herself.

"It’s all that damned Lu Chenzhou’s fault for destroying my Blood Vine clone. The crucial [Nascent Wood Blood Crystal] must have fallen to that brat."

Grandmother’s clones were not ordinary energy avatars, but independent living beings.

These beings even had their own will.

They would grow on their own, and upon reaching the Seventh Realm, be harvested by Grandmother.

The Blood Vine Demon Emperor had the potential to become a Demon Venerable—such a clone was rare, even for Grandmother.

More importantly, to let Blood Vine make waves in the Xia Realm, Grandmother even gave it the Heaven and Earth Treasure [Nascent Wood Blood Crystal].

This treasure was precious—a single one in the Great Wilderness could buy an intermediate world; even Eighth Realm Experts were tempted by it.

"Once I absorb the power of the Blood Sea and step into the Late Stage, I’ll go to Mystic Sky and seize Lu Chenzhou."

...

Meanwhile.

Primordial Mountain Cave Heaven.

Lu Chenzhou’s face was pale, his eyes bloodshot, his aura unsteady.

In the end, he chose to self-destruct his Spiritual Embodiment, ending it himself.

"Mountain Forest, Blood Flood Dragon... My Spiritual Embodiment could handle the Devouring Country Demon Venerable, but against two Middle Stage Eight-Pattern Demon Venerables working together, I was no match. If only my true body were present."

"Young master, are you alright?" The Fox Woman looked at him in shock—her master’s cultivation in the Heart Sutra had never before been injured.

"It’s nothing, just need to rest awhile." Lu Chenzhou took out Three Soul Mysterious Water and drank it down, with a bottle of Earth Immortal Dew—his depleted spiritual power slowly recovered.

A month later, he was lively and vigorous once again, restored to his peak.

"The Rotten Heart Sutra is a Supreme Divine Skill. By slaying the Devouring Country Demon Venerable, I’ve completed the final tribulation of the sutra’s eighteenth layer—attaining Perfection."

On the Martial Arts Tree, yet another Martial Art blossomed and bore fruit.

[Rotten Heart Sutra: Perfection]

"My true body’s power is strong for now, but my clone is lacking—I need a Spiritual Divine Ability. I’ll have to push the Rotten Heart Sutra to Seventh Rank Supreme!

Once I comprehend a Spiritual Divine Ability no weaker than the Nine Tribulation Lotus, and pair it with Prisoner Demon Hand, I will have a hope of defeating Blood Flood Dragon and Mountain Forest.

But now, my Great Dream Dao is only Fourth Rank—it’s hard going to grasp a divine ability. If I raise it to Fifth Rank, it should be much easier."

Thinking of this, Lu Chenzhou opened the Candle Dragon Store, and directly entered the [Heavenly Candle Pavilion].

This was a treasure pavilion accessible only to Seventh Realm experts of Tianxia; all treasures within were at least Heavenly Grade, with some being Heaven and Earth Treasures.

Because such treasures were rare and most had been used up, only seven remained in the shop.

Lu Chenzhou fixed his eyes on a wordless ancient stele radiating a boundless aura.

[Void Stele, Seventh Rank Heaven and Earth Treasure, from Void City, can be used for Dao Enlightenment; effect is random and depends on the individual; worth 6 High Grade Primordial Stones or 600,000 Mid-grade Primordial Stones.]

[Note: 50% discount for Military Leader]

"The Void Stele works much like a low-tier Unity of Heaven and Man.

If used for the cultivation of a Fifth Rank Dao, the gain is limited; but for a Fourth Rank Dao, it’s like swallowing several Demon Venerables at once."

Ordinary Seventh Realm experts would not lightly spend 600,000 Primordial Stones to exchange for it.

But Lu Chenzhou, as Military Leader, had a half-price privilege, and this benefit lasted as long as he remained in office.

After deducting 300,000 Mid-grade Primordial Stones, an ancient stele fell into his palm.

Lu Chenzhou returned to the Primordial Mountain Cave Heaven and began to comprehend the stele at once.

As a mysterious sensation flooded in, visions of Heaven and Earth Creation appeared before his eyes.

Illusions formed by myriad laws and rules, including the Doomsday Mill, emerged before him.

Lu Chenzhou searched with his gaze, finally finding in the starry sky a seven-colored butterfly, dreamlike and illusory.

It shifted and flickered, as if existing in different dimensions.