Yin Xinzhao had never been to the Blood Lake, so he had no idea how formidable Black Crow Divine Lord truly was. Pei Wenxuan, on the other hand, knew perfectly well, though for reasons of his own, he saw no reason to offer a warning. His mind raced as he considered how best to preserve himself.
A martial artist sidled up to Yin Xinzhao and whispered a few words in his ear. The killing intent in Yin Xinzhao's eyes blazed: "A disciple of the Great Thousand Blood Grounds? A mere disciple of a second-rate power dares spout such arrogance here? Get lost!"
Black Crow Divine Lord had possessed the body of
Black Crow Divine Lord turned his head and let out a raspy chuckle. "Boy, what did you say? Say that again."
Yin Xinzhao grew even more furious. "Dare speak such nonsense again, and I will take your worthless life!"
Black Crow Divine Lord nodded repeatedly. "This Lord has not ventured out into the world for many years, and it seems the youngsters these days are all this bold." Even as he spoke with a smile, he extended a hand and lightly pointed toward Yin Xinzhao.
Yin Xinzhao hadn't taken Black Crow Divine Lord seriously at all. After all, in his eyes, the man was nothing more than a disciple of a second-rate power—hardly worth a second thought. If the fellow truly angered him, he could simply kill him here, and the Great Thousand Blood Grounds wouldn't dare make a peep.
But the moment Black Crow Divine Lord's finger jabbed forward, he sensed that something was wrong. A dense aura of death suddenly shrouded him, as though he were about to perish at any instant.
A small crimson point of light rapidly expanded before his eyes, flooding his vision and overwhelming every one of his senses.
Before Yin Xinzhao could even register what was happening, he heard a soft crack from his waist—the identity token that had hung there all this time had disintegrated into fine powder in a single heartbeat. As the dust billowed outward, a streak of radiant light shot from where the token had been and slashed toward the crimson glow.
The red light shattered, and the radiant streak continued onward without pausing, hurtling down toward Black Crow Divine Lord.
Having already suffered once from such a mechanism—in the lake's central palace, where Pei Wenxuan's identity token had slain him outright—Black Crow Divine Lord had no intention of making the same mistake twice. The instant he attacked, his toes tapped lightly against the ground, and his figure drifted backward. Though his body retreated, he left behind a blood shadow in his place that matched his form exactly, a doppelganger of sorts, its aura indistinguishable from his own.
The radiant streak struck the blood shadow head-on. With a wet splatter, the shadow dissolved into a pool of blood, and a pungent stench erupted skyward.
Having cleaved through the shadow, the radiant light finally dissipated into nothing.
The entire area fell deathly silent. Everyone except
Yin Xinzhao's face had gone pale as parchment. Even now, he had no idea what had just happened. All he knew was that the identity token his master had expended tremendous effort to forge had been forcibly activated by someone, and his trump card for saving his own life had been spent.
That identity token would only activate on its own when his life was in genuine danger. In other words, had that radiant streak not shielded him, he would already be a corpse.
What on earth had just happened? Yin Xinzhao's thoughts were in complete disarray.
"Are Cave Heaven and Blessed Land disciples really this shameless nowadays? How dreadfully boring." Black Crow Divine Lord shook his head. He had tried to kill Pei Wenxuan earlier and failed, and now his attempt on Yin Xinzhao had been thwarted as well—both times blocked by the divine abilities triggered by their identity tokens. He turned to look at Yang Kai and smiled. "These people are far inferior to you."
Among all the young prodigies gathered here, the only one who caught Black Crow Divine Lord's eye was Yang Kai. Only Yang Kai could truly trade blows with him and survive—escaping alive under his relentless pursuit across ten thousand li.
Yang Kai let out a cold snort.
"Who exactly are you?" Yin Xinzhao no longer dared look down on Black Crow Divine Lord. Anyone capable of nearly killing him with a single strike was certainly not someone the Great Thousand Blood Grounds could ever produce.
He had originally thought that the opening of the Blood Demon Cave Heaven would be his chance to shine and stand above all others. He never expected to encounter one terrifying individual after another in this place.
Black Crow Divine Lord turned his head toward Pei Wenxuan and smiled faintly. "As for who this Lord is—why not ask your companion?" What he said about himself would carry little weight, but if someone else vouched for it, the effect would be quite different.
Many gazes turned to Pei Wenxuan.
Pei Wenxuan stood at a considerable distance, his aura coiled and ready, poised to flee the instant anything seemed amiss. When Black Crow Divine Lord's gaze landed on him, his heart lurched, and he very nearly bolted on the spot.
Yet Black Crow Divine Lord spoke with a genial smile: "Rest easy. Since you have all made it here, I will not lay a hand on you."
Pei Wenxuan wasn't sure whether to believe that, but on second thought, if Black Crow Divine Lord truly wanted him dead in this place, he probably wouldn't be able to escape anyway.
Steeling himself, he felt considerably more at ease and spoke in a deep voice: "This is Black Crow Divine Lord."
"Divine Lord?" Everyone was stunned, nearly doubting their own ears. Since ancient times, only those who had achieved Upper Open Heaven were qualified to be called Divine Lords. This Blood Demon Cave Heaven couldn't even admit those at the Open Heaven stage, let alone Upper Open Heaven masters. Moreover, none of them had ever heard of the title "Black Crow Divine Lord."
Pei Wenxuan continued, "Divine Lord was imprisoned here by Blood Demon Divine Lord. His divine soul was not destroyed, and he has been reborn by possessing the body of Zhou Yi from the Great Thousand Blood Grounds."
A collective chill ran through everyone's scalps.