Chapter 703: Hong Rongyan Strikes
Translator: Irene_ Editor: X, TYZ
The clay doll's scream echoed as Chi Tong zoomed into their line of sight. Hong Rongyan remained calm as usual, but his chest was tingling with unease.
Chi Tong was moving speedily. The distance between both sides was closing in fast, so there was no chance to dodge.
Plus… the cold gaze Chi Tong was directing toward Hong Rongyan made it clear that any living obstacle that appeared before the former would trigger an attack.
Without time to overthink, Hong Rongyan inhaled deeply, his eyes overflowing with brilliant colors and light.
The light in his eyes spiraled, as if multi-colored rays were being sucked into his pupils. They gathered in the center and spun endlessly, forming a bewitching whirlpool.
Hong Rongyan's body jerked slightly.
With his body as the core, faint halos started shooting outward like ripples.
The halos engulfed the surroundings without any sound. Where they passed, bizzare lusters were left behind.
It was as if the blue sky was being blanketed by layers of rainbow-colored cellophane. The whole scene was somewhat dreamy and strange. These beautiful lights also painted the spotlessly white clouds, turning them into balls of cotton candy.
Hong Rongyan's face was expressionless, his exquisite statue-like features no different from a craftsman's masterpiece. They had a marbly, ice-cold texture, but exuded a realistic charm.
The coarse clay doll on his shoulder was waving its short arms about, as if highly agitated. Its mouth was opening and closing quickly, as if wailing, yet producing no sounds.
Not wanting to be distracted during battle, Hong Rongyan sealed the doll's mouth without a second thought.
Having studied Chi Tong for so long, he was well aware of its powers. Nevertheless, the thought of battling stirred him. The Assembly of Patriarchs had a long history, and the research revolving around God's blood dated back to the ancient times. Like the Blood of God, the elites of each generation within the assembly had undergone virtual battles with the Scarlet-eyed Emperor.
Now, he was finally going to do it in the real world. A real battle.
Yes, from what he saw, the Chi Tong before him was the real deal. The one he had battled against before was disappointing, perhaps due to its incomplete resurrection.
This one, this monstrous and beast-like Chi Tong, was the real one.
A demonic god that had broken free from all reinforced shackles and chains.
This Chi Tong had real value. It could realize and verify the cases and theories that the assembly had accumulated thus far.
Chi Tong paid no attention to the spreading halos. They left no trace in its eyes.
As it passed them in the air, it only felt waves of comfortable breeze grazing across its face.
Without putting up any guard, it had charged into this world, and this world was about to be turned upside down.
Chi Tong's body sank slightly as its almond eyes contracted. Its sharp senses far exceeded that of normal human beings. It could easily spot a floating feather from miles away, so why would it miss the obvious changes in the scenery before it?
It was just that the changes occurred too abruptly and without warning, so it had not been able to react in time, which was evident from the momentary bewilderment on its face. Apart from the sudden variations, Chi Tong was also unable to wrap its head around the sense of familiarity it felt.
Chi Tong turned and locked its somber and desolate gaze on Hong Rongyan and Autumn Water.
Amid the familiar feeling, it could feel the murderous aura surrounding these two people.
Hong Rongyan acutely captured the changes in Chi Tong's expressions. Maintaining its still expression and fast-spinning brain, he gathered that their special camouflage had turned their location into something like a blind spot even though they were not far away from it. However, he was also certain that with its ability, Chi Tong was able to sense their presence.
Just… it had taken longer than expected.
"Could it be that the metamorphosis has impacted its wisdom?" This thought flashed across his mind.
He did not spend too much time theorizing since getting distracted was only going to get him killed.
Chi Tong's silhouette blurred all of a sudden.
Almost subconsciously, the light rays in Hong Rongyan's eyes expanded as he pressed his hands forward.
Bang!
A thunderous explosion erupted, and Hong Rongyan's field of vision became fuzzy.
Chi Tong was suspended in the air 60 meters away. Spider web-like cracks were spreading outward from its body.
There was a wall. An invisible wall.
It had appeared very suddenly, and Chi Tong had not sensed it in time, which resulted in a solid crash. The web-patterned cracks were clear indications of the tremendous force of the impact.
Hong Rongyan was as unperturbed as ever, as if turning a blind eye to the astonishing sight before him.
The unanticipated collision had thrown Chi Tong into a daze. With its formidable recovery abilities, however, it returned back to normal within a few seconds. Not only had the attack failed to faze it, it had aroused the animosity within the monster.
Chi Tong jerked its head up and hissed before pouncing onto Hong Rongyan.
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Xiao Buyu, who was getting ready to butcher the Sky Leaf Division, felt his heart jump. He spun to the side and shouted, "Go! Hurry and check it out!"
He could not understand why he minded the monster this much, to the extent of giving up the perfect opportunity to get rid of the Sky Leaf rookies.
He had to be crazy!
He cursed inwardly, but led his teams toward the direction of that intimidating hiss without hesitation.
Upon seeing the blood elementalists move away, Xu Jing let out a breath of relief. His eyes turned hazy, while his emotions were complicated. The blood elementalists were not as strong, but somehow they performed even better.
If the blood elementalists had come down for them, the Sky Leaf Division would have fallen into an unimaginably chaotic and dangerous plight.
A bitter smile surfaced on his lips.
He knew what the problem was, and so did everyone else. Yet, there was no good solution. The Sky Leaf Division was simply too inexperienced; only time and endless battles would allow them to gradually adapt.
There were no shortcuts.
"What do we do now?" a teammate's voice broke Xu Jing's train of thought.
Xu Jing sorted his mind before answering, "Let's go over and take a look."
As he got ready to move, he noticed the stillness of his surroundings. Turning around, he caught sight of his teammates' wan faces and their sluggish stances.
"Just a quick look. We'll maintain a safe distance and be able to react to any movements. They're not our match when it comes to strength."
His teammates immediately exhaled in relief, which agonized and pressured Xu Jing.
The battle had greatly threatened his team's morale.
They were greeted by a shocking sight when they arrived close to the scene.
Xiao Buyu and his team, which had arrived there slightly earlier, were not in any better shape. The blood elementalists had their jaws wide open and had not even sensed Xu Jing's arrival.
Xiao Buyu's face was as pale as a sheet and his eyes were filled with unprecedented terror, as if he had thought of something unimaginably horrifying.
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Hong Rongyan set his brightly lit eyes on Chi Tong while maintaining a grave expression on his face.
The clay doll on his shoulder had lost its liveliness and kept quiet out of fear.
In midair and covered in blood, Chi Tong appeared rather pitiful. However, its eyes were fixed and murderous as it glared at Hong Rongyan.
The wounds on its body were healing visibly and quickly became non-existent.
What a frightful ability!
A toppling and overturning wave of pressure was released toward Hong Rongyan. He remained unmoved even as a huge wound was inflicted on Autumn Water's body, stretching across her right shoulder to her left abdomen and almost splitting her into two.
At the most crucial moment, Autumn Water had accepted the fatal blow on Hong Rongyan's behalf.
He was indifferent to it because he could determine what state Chi Tong was in.
Few knew Chi Tong better than he did.
If he was not mistaken, Chi Tong had activated the blood spiritual force within God's Blood and started the blood refinement. The scale at which the blood spiritual force surged was something only God's Blood could reach.
Other than [Deathly Seeds of Demonic Consciousness], the blood refinement was another largely coveted achievement of Chi Tong.
When it came to blood refinement, no one else could go against Chi Tong. Even the Scarlet-eyed Emperor had only managed to acquire a negligible amount of knowledge.
Chi Tong's undeniable recovery and regeneration abilities meant that it was basically immortal.
Yet, having activated the blood refinement, Chi Tong's wisdom had apparently taken a huge dip. God's Blood was something he had gathered and refined from the blood of countless dire beasts. It contained a vast amount of pure blood spiritual force, but also remnants of brutality. When refined slowly, there was no problem suppressing its beastly nature, but now that Chi Tong had completely activated the refinement process, he would inevitably be affected by those remnants.
Hong Rongyan could not understand why Chi Tong would take such a risk.
Could it be that there had been a dangerous situation?
Hong Rongyan guessed inwardly that Ai Hui could have given it a blow, forcing it to act unexpectedly.
To others, immortal Chi Tong was unbeatable. To Hong Rongyan, however, its cunningness and unpredictable mind were far more dangerous than its physical powers.
A slight arc appeared on the corner of Hong Rongyan's lips.
Through probing and investigation, he had already found a method to deal with Chi Tong.
Chi Tong observed as the scenery before it started to revolve around that man in the black cape. The sky was spinning, the clouds were spinning… everything was spinning.
Except that man.
Chi Tong growled and charged at Hong Rongyan.
However, just as it was about to dash forward, Chi Tong lost control of its body, as if it had fallen into a torrential whirlpool. It extended its arms in the hope of getting a grip, but there was nothing.
It wanted to roar, but was horrified to realize that it could not make any sound.
It struggled with all its might, attempting to steady itself. It was desperate to grab something. Anything for it to borrow some energy.
Yet, no matter how it waved its arms, there was nothing for it to hold onto.
The dizziness it was expecting did not take over. Instead, an indescribable sense of familiarity flooded its senses.
So familiar, yet it had no recollection…