Zhao Hong and Han Xiu were caught in the suction's grip. From a distant point in the sky, they were forcibly dragged before the crowd.
In the eyes of everyone present, the sight was thoroughly wretched.
Yet it was more than mere wretchedness.
Zhao Hong, compared to when she had just departed, was far weaker. Blood covered her face, and from her eyes, mouth, ears, and nose, blood surged outward uncontrollably.
On top of that, her ragged, heart-rending coughing made her look as though she were on the verge of death.
Han Xiu, however — aside from looking disheveled — did not appear much different from before. Her injuries were not serious.
This told everyone that Zhao Hong's condition had not been caused by Blood Fog Heavenly Venerable forcibly capturing them. There was another reason.
And when people recalled the earlier events, they all came to realize that the mighty, crimson longsword from moments ago had been none other than Zhao Hong's doing.
Zhao Hong had pretended to leave earlier, only to hide in the shadows and prepare a devastating ambush.
One had to admit — it was a genuinely formidable move.
Had it not been for the Blood Fog Heavenly Venerable's intervention, not even the Wind Thunder Sword Sect or the Nine Star Heavenly Mountain's Sect Master might have been able to handle it.
But unfortunately, no one had anticipated that the Blood Fog Heavenly Venerable would be this powerful.
He had dismantled Zhao Hong's attack with effortless ease.
And then dragged her out from where she had been hiding.
"Zhao Hong — so what if you were once a genius renowned across the Myriad Realms Star Domain?"
"Times have changed. To dare raise your hand against this Heavenly Venerable — then this Heavenly Venerable will show you exactly what the consequences are."
Blood Fog Heavenly Venerable looked down at the wretched Zhao Hong. Rather than pity, his gaze turned vicious.
He clenched one hand, and a blood-red rod materialized in his grip.
The blood-red rod, however, had extremely sharp tips on both ends.
With a sickening squelch, the Blood Fog Heavenly Venerable drove the crimson rod straight through Zhao Hong's neck.
And after the rod pierced her body, it began to change.
The blood-red rod turned pitch black — the crimson hue had been a special sort of energy.
As the rod bored through Zhao Hong's body, that special power surged into her flesh.
Zhao Hong writhed in agony. She, who had been bold enough to stand back up on her own, collapsed to her knees in the void, clutching her throat with both hands. Her face twisted into a mask of pain.
"My Lord!!!"
Seeing this, Han Xiu rushed forward to help.
But another streak of blood light flashed — and Han Xiu's body, too, was pierced by a blood-red rod.
That rod passed straight through the top of Han Xiu's head.
After being skewered, Han Xiu could no longer make a sound. She went completely motionless, as though she had lost all consciousness.
Yet her eyes remained wide open.
People understood — she was not dead, nor had she lost her awareness. She was simply in such excruciating pain that she could no longer even produce a scream.
Watching Zhao Hong and Han Xiu suffer such cruel treatment, Chu Feng's fury erupted.
"Blood Fog Heavenly Venerable — I will tear you to pieces!!!"
As Chu Feng roared, veins bulged across his face.
"Ugh—"
But the moment his roar left his lips, a low, choked sound escaped instead.
The onlookers' expressions shifted.
The Sect Master of the Wind Thunder Sword Sect had appeared before Chu Feng.
The Wind Thunder Sword in his hand had already pierced through Chu Feng's body.
"Tear me to pieces?"
"If you don't hand over that supreme treasure today, I'll show you what it means to wish you were dead."
The Wind Thunder Sword Sect Master stared at Chu Feng with a vicious glare, yet there was a unmistakable trace of satisfaction in his eyes.
After everything that had happened, he had long grown to hate Chu Feng to the bone — and now, at last, he could finally deal with him. The sheer pleasure was intoxicating.
"You'd best kill me today. Otherwise… I will take your wretched life."
Though Chu Feng's face was deathly pale and he looked utterly drained, his gaze was razor-sharp and savage.
He was not merely saying empty words.