"You're not Tang Chen?!"
Upon seeing the colossal nine-headed bat reveal itself, Bo Saixi's pupils contracted sharply.
Tang Chen's martial soul was the Clear Sky Hammer.
Moreover, he only possessed a single martial soul!
"Does that matter?"
Tang Chen, with his disheveled hair, narrowed his eyes into slits.
His thick arm slowly rose, his hand clenched into a fist.
The crimson blood vessels on his arm were clearly visible, forming eerie, sinister patterns that glowed with a malevolent red light.
Staring at the fist raised before his eyes, Tang Chen muttered as if to himself:
"I am the Slaughter King."
"I was, I am, and I always will be!"
"So, die!"
As he uttered those final words.
Tang Chen's voice turned icy in an instant.
At that moment, the surrounding air seemed to freeze solid.
A pair of enormous bat wings suddenly unfurled, blotting out the sky.
Even the sunlight dimmed abruptly.
"Bloodthirsty State—activate!!"
With that declaration.
Tang Chen's eyes swiftly turned blood-red.
His teeth grew sharp and pointed.
Flapping his sky-shrouding wings, clusters of red-and-black flame-like energy formed one after another.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
The moment they took shape, they surged toward Bo Saixi.
These red-black flames seemed to have a homing function.
As Bo Saixi swiftly ascended into the sky, the flames adjusted their trajectory to follow her.
"You can't escape!" Tang Chen's voice, now in his bloodthirsty state, turned hoarse.
On the ground.
Witnessing the bat wings that blotted out the sky.
The evil soul masters couldn't help but tremble.
They prostrated themselves on the ground.
"Great Slaughter King, please accept the most reverent salute from your devout followers!"
"My supreme and peerless King! You shall surely ascend to godhood!"
"This continent will inevitably belong to us!"
Such chants echoed in Ye Tian's ears.
But Ye Tian had no mood to listen.
He glanced up at the sky.
The battle between Bo Saixi and Tang Chen was in full swing.
This was the perfect opportunity to infiltrate the altar.
Clutching the ring in his hand, Ye Tian strode quickly toward the altar.
The surrounding evil soul masters were all fervently worshipping their King.
Very few paid attention to the inconspicuous Ye Tian.
After weaving through the crowd of evil soul masters.
He arrived at the altar's entrance.
Ye Tian's steps came to an abrupt halt.
"Troublesome." He frowned slightly.
At the altar's entrance stood two black-robed evil soul masters guarding the path.
Though evil soul masters occasionally entered the altar's interior.
Each of them presented a token.
This token was clearly a symbol of identity.
But Ye Tian didn't have one.
"What are you doing here!" While Ye Tian was lost in thought.
The vigilant black-robed guardian had already noticed him.
Striding over, his tone was icy: "Your face looks unfamiliar!"
A ripple of unease passed through Ye Tian's heart, but he feigned calm and saluted:
"Guardian, your discernment is sharp. I am indeed new here."
A soul master's memory was far superior to that of an ordinary person—lying wouldn't solve the problem.
Honesty was the better approach.
"What brings you here?" The guardian's voice carried impatience.
Clearly, he accepted Ye Tian's explanation.
This made Ye Tian exhale in relief.
He had guessed that the evil soul masters had gathered most of their forces in the Blood Valley.
Given that, they likely weren't familiar with one another.
The guardian's vigilance had actually taken Ye Tian by surprise.
He hadn't expected that pausing for just a moment would draw attention.
This suggested the altar was of utmost importance to the evil soul masters.
If that was the case, without a token, gaining entry would be even harder.
Ye Tian looked up at the seven-story altar and pointed to the section damaged by Bo Saixi's earlier attack:
"Guardian, the altar's energy replenishment system was destroyed by that titled Douluo named Bo Saixi."
"If it isn't repaired promptly, it might disrupt our King's grand plan!"
Ye Tian had some understanding of formations.
So he knew Bo Saixi had destroyed the altar's energy replenishment system.
Moreover, he suspected the evil soul masters had gone to such lengths to create the beast tide.
Likely to harvest the souls of the dead and fuel the altar.
The guardian's gloomy eyes flicked toward the charred section of the altar, then back at Ye Tian.
After confirming that the aura Ye Tian emitted was unmistakably that of an evil soul master, he relaxed slightly: "You understand this stuff?"
"I've dabbled a bit." Ye Tian replied modestly.
"Good. That earlier attack did indeed damage the altar's energy replenishment formation." The black-robed guardian let his guard down further, clasping his hands behind his back: "Right now, the Right Elder is repairing the formation."
"If you can assist, it'll count as a significant contribution!"
Ye Tian feigned delight: "Thank you, Guardian! Once I've earned this merit, I won't forget your recommendation!"
The black-robed guardian let out a strange laugh, his withered hand patting Ye Tian's shoulder: "You're a smart one."
"Follow me. I'll take you to the Right Elder."
"Many thanks, Guardian!" Ye Tian replied with exaggerated gratitude.
Upon entering the altar.
Ye Tian realized it was bitterly cold inside.
Not a physical cold.
But a bone-deep, soul-chilling dread.
"The death energy here is overwhelming."
Ye Tian noted silently.
He roughly estimated that to accumulate such dense death energy.
At least hundreds of thousands of souls had to be concentrated here.
"This Blood Valley must have been an ancient battlefield."
Ye Tian had a rough guess.
Following the guardian, he continued upward.
Soon, a figure clad in black armor, resembling a knight, came into view.
"Feng, what brings you here?" The black-armored knight spoke without turning, his voice devoid of emotion.
"Right Elder, I've brought someone skilled in formations." The guardian named Feng chuckled, rubbing his hands.
"Oh?" The Right Elder turned, eyeing Ye Tian with interest: "You know formations?"
"I once stumbled upon an ancient text, so I have some understanding."
Ye Tian pretended to be eager, his eyes red with excitement as he bowed deeply, as if desperate for recognition.
Seeing this, the Right Elder smiled.
In Ye Tian's eyes, he saw greed.
This young man clearly craved status.
Those driven by greed were easiest to control—as long as they were given enough benefits.
Understanding this, the Right Elder said casually: "Since you're here, you must have noticed the altar's formation is damaged."
"I'll give you a chance to repair it."
"Do this well, and when our King conquers the continent, you'll at least be granted a dukedom!"
"Thank you, Right Elder!!" Ye Tian's face lit up with exaggerated joy.
But inwardly, he scoffed.
Even Qian Renxue had nearly sacrificed herself trying to recruit him.
And he hadn't agreed.
A mere dukedom as bait?
How laughable.
But he wouldn't waste time arguing with the soon-to-be-dead.
Seeing Ye Tian's ecstatic expression, the black-armored Right Elder smiled.
Young people were so easily fooled.
What was a dukedom? Once the King became a god.
The entire continent would kneel at his feet!
Boom!
At that moment.
The altar trembled violently.
Dust and debris rained down.
Frowning, the Right Elder muttered: "Though the altar's defensive formation consumes soul energy, to prevent further damage, we have no choice but to activate it."
With that.
He produced a jade pendant.
Ye Tian recognized it at a glance—it was the core controlling the entire altar's formation.
The Right Elder channeled his soul power into the pendant.
Soon, the altar shook again.
But this time, the tremors were far milder.
Once they subsided.
Ye Tian could clearly sense the surrounding death energy thinning.
Likely drained to power the barrier.
"The energy replenishment system is on the fifth floor. Go repair it immediately!"
After activating the formation, the Right Elder's face was slick with sweat.
Clearly, the cost of maintaining the formation was high.
"As you command!" Ye Tian bowed respectfully and continued upward.
"Feng, keep an eye on him. Don't let him try anything."
Once Ye Tian was out of earshot, the Right Elder waved at Feng.
"Understood." Feng followed Ye Tian upstairs.
As Ye Tian climbed, he heard footsteps behind him and turned to see Guardian Feng.
Feng let out a strange laugh: "The Right Elder sent me to assist you."
He made no mention of his true purpose—to supervise Ye Tian.
After all, Feng knew.
If Ye Tian succeeded in this task.
His status would immediately surpass Feng's.
So, Feng opted to stay polite.
This Ye Tian might just become his ticket to glory.
Hearing this, Ye Tian smirked inwardly.
He knew exactly why Feng was here.
A stranger like him wasn't easily trusted.
But Ye Tian wasn't concerned.
He had no intention of cutting corners.
Repairing the formation and planting explosives weren't mutually exclusive.
No matter how strong the altar's defenses were, they couldn't withstand sabotage from within.
"Guardian Feng, I heard there's a god's inheritance in this valley. Is that true?"
Ye Tian struck up a conversation.
The rumors Dai Mubai and the others had picked up undoubtedly came from low-ranking evil soul masters.
So asking about this wouldn't expose him.
In fact, it would reinforce Feng's belief that he was one of them.
For Ye Tian's probing, Feng replied dismissively: "Since this will be announced soon anyway, I'll tell you."
"This Blood Valley is just an ordinary valley—there's no god's inheritance here."
"But what we're doing now is summoning a god's inheritance!"
"So in a way, your question isn't entirely baseless."
"Summoning an inheritance?" Ye Tian blinked—this was his first time hearing of it.
Feng continued casually: "Our King is, in a sense, the half-chosen of the God of Slaughter."
"But the God of Slaughter's inheritance ground, Slaughter City, was destroyed by some nobody named Tang San."
"Without the inheritance ground, the god's projection can't descend to our world."
"So we're gathering the purest energy—souls—to forge a temporary bridge, allowing our great god to reach our world."
Ye Tian nodded as if understanding, praising: "Our evil soul masters are truly formidable!"
"Haha, I agree! This world will be ours sooner or later!" Feng laughed arrogantly.
Arriving on the fifth floor.
They entered a room lined with white metal.
Intricate patterns were carved into the metal—clearly formation circuits.
But a large, charred hole marred the floor ahead.
Afternoon sunlight streamed through it.
The formation circuits around the hole had been obliterated.
This was why the formation wasn't functioning.
After a quick glance at the surrounding circuits.
Ye Tian summoned a Taiyi Divine Needle.
Kneeling by the scorched metal.
He began redrawing the patterns, using the needle as an engraving tool.
The Taiyi Divine Needle was incredibly sharp.
Etching the metal was as easy as drawing on paper.
Soon, he'd restored a section of the formation.
Watching from the side, Feng's jaw dropped: "I never expected you to be this skilled!"
His eyes filled with envy as he clasped his hands: "In the future, I'll rely on you for support!"
"Guardian Feng, I'd never forget your recommendation." Ye Tian smiled faintly: "Don't worry, I'll make sure you get your share."
Feng laughed heartily.
He'd truly found a benefactor.
Ye Tian's words put him at ease.
Waving, Feng said: "Keep working. I'll check the other floors for damage."
Seeing Ye Tian's skill, Feng felt a twinge of jealousy.
This achievement would undoubtedly be credited to Ye Tian.
While he'd only get scraps for standing guard.
By inspecting the other floors, Feng hoped to find other flaws.
Discovering formation defects could also count as a contribution.
Before Ye Tian's arrival, Feng wouldn't have bothered.
But envy was a powerful motivator.
Eager to earn merits of his own, Feng grew restless.
"Go ahead." Ye Tian smiled.
This was exactly what he wanted.
Once Feng left, Ye Tian didn't immediately plant the explosives.
Instead, he continued repairing the formation.
But he subtly altered some circuits, redirecting energy flows to a corner.
At the same time.
He prepared to place the explosives there.
This way, the blast would be amplified by the formation's energy.
Half an hour later.
Ye Tian retrieved a pitch-black, menacing bomb from his storage and placed it in the corner.
The thick death energy masked the bomb's aura.
Unless inspected closely, no one would notice the cylindrical metal object.
Ye Tian wasn't worried about the bomb being discovered.
After all, he rarely used explosives.
No one would suspect this innocuous-looking cylinder could annihilate every evil soul master present!
(End of Chapter)