The Blood Sunflower Demon Emperor's so-called recruitment was really just a ploy to buy time. He was, after all, a Demon Emperor who had lived for ages. From the sheer ferocity with which
He could also see that this youth possessed an extraordinary number of methods, each more bizarre than the last. He was undoubtedly a genius of the highest caliber among human cultivators.
Though the Blood Sunflower Demon Emperor did not yet know the full extent of Jiang Chen's background, any human cultivator capable of subduing a True Dragon as a companion was an absolute top-tier genius blessed with supreme fortune.
Such a genius had to be eliminated. No matter the cost, he had to die!
What Jiang Chen didn't know was that behind the Blood Sunflower Demon Emperor's honeyed words lurked a murderous intent as sharp as a blade.
The Blood Sunflower Demon Emperor smiled sinisterly. "The bloodline of the Demon race is supreme and exalted. You insignificant human — you dare look down upon the Demon bloodline?"
"Supreme and exalted?" Jiang Chen scoffed. "The Demon race are nothing more than cosmic locusts, devouring everything wherever they go. Among all the Heavenly Emperors across the myriad realms, how many are actually of the Demon race?"
The Blood Sunflower Demon Emperor chuckled darkly. "The affairs of the myriad realms — a mere mortal brat like you presumes to speak on them? You look down on the Demon bloodline? Very well. Today, this Emperor shall teach you a proper lesson, so that before you die, you will understand what true, powerful Demon bloodline is — and why it is invincible!"
At these words, Jiang Chen's expression turned grave.
Though he didn't know what scheme the Blood Sunflower Demon Emperor was hatching, he dared not let his guard down. He turned to Little Xuan. "Brother Long, retract your true form and conceal yourself."
Little Xuan wasted no words. He instantly shrank to the size of a speck of dust and hid himself against Jiang Chen's body.
Jiang Chen calculated the time. He had been under the effects of the Emperor's Presence Imperial Armor Talisman and the Emperor's Presence True Force Talisman for nearly a full shichen already.
The last quarter-hour. He had to end this in a decisive battle. No matter what scheme the Blood Sunflower Demon Emperor was plotting, he had to land a killing blow within this final quarter-hour.
With this resolve, Jiang Chen summoned the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain once more.
"Smash it!"
With a flick of his hand, the hundred-zhang Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain hurtled toward the formation below like a meteor.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Once, twice, three times!
The mountain crashed down again and again, growing larger with each strike, its destructive force mounting relentlessly. After fifteen or sixteen impacts, the outer formation finally shattered completely.
All of the demonic clouds and blood fiend energy were swept away in an instant!
Jiang Chen recalled the Primordial Magnetic Gold Mountain and immediately drew the Five-Color Divine Light Sword. It transformed into a bolt of lightning and slashed toward the Blood Sunflower Demon Emperor. "Die!"
But the Blood Sunflower Demon Emperor showed no trace of fear on his face. Instead, a look of resolute finality settled over his features.
In the next instant, the Demon Emperor's hands moved in a series of rapid seals. Two torrents of dense bloodline aura erupted from his palms, flooding outward like a tidal wave.
The remaining sixty-odd maidens — demon soldiers who had once been human cultivators — were engulfed by the overwhelming surge of bloodline energy. Their bodies shuddered as though jolted back to life.
In the next heartbeat, those maiden demon soldiers charged together with frenzied intensity, hurtling toward Jiang Chen like live explosives.
"Brace yourself, boy! Bloodline Restoration — detonate!"
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
The maiden demon soldiers slammed into Jiang Chen one after another like cannonballs, detonating their own bodies in catastrophic explosions. The force of each blast was terrifying, sending shockwaves that sent Jiang Chen's blood surging uncontrollably.
"Bloodline Restoration?" Jiang Chen's heart clenched with alarm as a chilling recognition dawned. Bloodline Restoration was one of the most fearsome secret arts of the Blood Demon clan.
The Blood Demon race would absorb the vital blood essence of captured cultivators and refine it into demonic bloodline energy. They could then release that energy and return it to the cultivator-puppets they had created.
Though it seemed like a simple act of returning bloodline energy, the restored power was ten to twenty times greater than the original. Moreover, this surge of bloodline energy would compel the cultivator-puppets to self-detonate, unleashing devastating destructive force.
Of course, this secret art came at a tremendous cost to the caster as well. A large-scale Bloodline Restoration like this was the very definition of killing a thousand enemies while losing eight hundred of one's own.
The Blood Sunflower Demon Emperor had truly been backed into a corner. He had only recovered twenty to thirty percent of his strength to begin with, and after being ambushed by Jiang Chen, his cultivation had plummeted to less than half of that.
If Jiang Chen broke through his defenses, death was a certainty.
That was why he had resorted to Bloodline Restoration without hesitation — even if it cost him a hundred years of accumulated power, he would blow this boy to smithereens right here and now.
If Bloodline Restoration involved only one or two puppets, the destructive force might not be overwhelming. But with over sixty of them detonating simultaneously, the combined bloodline eruption would be enough to wound even a Heavenly realm powerhouse. An Emperor realm cultivator caught in the blast would die without question!
Having unleashed his Bloodline Restoration, the Blood Sunflower Demon Emperor regained his composure and adopted the bearing of a victor. He knew that this battle — he had already won.
This brat was dead for certain.
The only drawback was that after performing Bloodline Restoration, his grand comeback plans would be delayed yet again. The technique would cost him several more decades of accumulated power. For the next few decades, he would have to hide away like a turtle once more, unable to show his face to anyone.
Otherwise, the moment he was discovered, human powerhouses would come hunting him down, and that would be catastrophic.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!