603 Boundless Blood World
Even in the king domain, he couldn’t manage to kill his opponent? It was a baffling setback for the white-robed king.

As if to answer, from the periphery of his sight, the arm he had severed soared through the air, reattaching itself to the king corpse with a resounding snap. The king corpse flexed his newly rejoined limb, fixing the white-robed king with an unsettling stare.

“How?” the white-robed king stammered, his confidence waning. “How can you survive even after your heart’s been pierced?”

Endless speculations swirled within his mind. “Are you from the sect?” The Sacred Heart Sect was renowned for its arcane techniques that allowed its disciples to displace their organs and regenerate limbs. For them, reattaching a limb would be trivial.

But a nagging doubt persisted. Being one of the leading figures of the Sacred Heart Sect, one of the vaunted Four Great Protectors, why would someone from his own sect attack him? And he wasn’t acquainted with anyone from the sect with such formidable prowess.

“Who sent you?” The king’s internal alliances and rivalries were intricate. But none had previously escalated to the precipice of mortal combat. Especially now, with their overarching objectives, infighting would be counterproductive.

Still, the king corpse remained ominously silent, his inability to vocalize adding to this mystery. He slowly clenched his fist, triggering an alert stance from the previously complacent white-robed king.

Suddenly, a plume of dust billowed toward the king.

“You’re using kids’ tricks?” he scoffed, his aura pulsating, effectively dispersing the airborne particles.

Within moments, the king corpse had retreated hundreds of meters, leaving the white-robed king in contemplation. He ascended, hovering momentarily, scanning the horizon where the king corpse had vanished before gently touching down.

To the west lay Pingwang county, currently embroiled in a fierce conflict between the three sects and six clans. Was the king corpse attempting to draw him into this tumultuous region?

“Have the three sects and six clans finally discerned the Supreme One’s plans in Qingzhou?” the white-robed king pondered. As he thought about it, he realized something. The mysterious attacker wasn’t from the Sacred Heart Sect despite the deceptive semblance of their techniques.

All of it seemed like an elaborate ruse. Perhaps one or multiple factions among the three sects and six clans had gotten wind of the sect’s nefarious plans in Qingzhou and dispatched scouts or assassins in response.

The white-robed king calculated, fingers tapping methodically. “The timing aligns perfectly with the Supreme One’s predictions. The three sects and six clans discovered the Qingzhou incident precisely when anticipated.”

The only deviation in the entire plan was his failure to cultivate the peak king realm puppet in the time decreed by the Supreme One. The unexpected emergence of a strong self-awareness, the meddling of Tang Pi, the striving for autonomy, and the greatest unpredictability within the blood sea plan.

Gazing up at the tumultuous blood sea overhead, he summoned the scarlet blood bead to his hand. As it emitted a radiant crimson glow, the sky’s blood sea responded tumultuously, its waves agitating fiercely. Below, countless Qingzhou citizens raised their eyes in awe and dread.

“We have no time to spare,” he concluded. Determinedly, he said, “I must pour this energy directly into Wang Kun, forging him into a king realm puppet.” He knew that should the three sects and six clans uncover the truth, they would inevitably dispatch their elite to thwart their scheme.

The glow of the scarlet blood bead intensified, its power causing the atmosphere to tremble. As the blood sea bellowed its rage and spectral laughter echoed eerily, the white-robed king settled into a meditative pose, focusing his intent on transferring the immense energy into Wang Kun.

…

Meanwhile, Qin Huai, having guided the king corpse on a detour around Qingzhou City’s western perimeter, sensed the tumult of the blood sea. He sat, feeling its powerful undulations. “What could the white-robed king be planning?” he mused, consulting his Heart’s Eye Pavilion.

Qin Huai’s realization was immediate. “Is he intending to upgrade Wang Kun? To create a puppet at the king realm?” And with a moment’s introspection, he knew that he still had control over the blood sea, a power surpassing the influence of the scarlet blood bead.

“Daozi!” Qin Huai greeted with cupped fists.

The Heart’s Heart Pavilion’s attempts to get rid of Zhang Youji had also caused Qin Huai’s status to rise. Zhang Youji’s ability to navigate undetected, even among those of equal strength, was uncanny.

If his mystical techniques were effective against enemies like the white-robed king, it would be a force to reckon with. Besides, Zhang Daozi’s offensive strength was not to be underestimated. Otherwise, the white-robed king wouldn’t be so afraid.

“Through this reconnaissance, I’ve found out the nature of the king domain under the white-robed king, one of the Sacred Heart Sect’s four major protectors,” Zhang Youji commented, surveying their surroundings.

His gaze shifted toward where the king corpse had departed. Still ten miles out, Daozi’s sensitivity to detect it at such a distance was astonishing.

In that brief moment, Zhang Youji’s standing in Qin Huai’s eyes elevated further. The True Path Sect’s Dao Child indeed lived up to his reputation.

“What’s our next move, Brother Qin?” Zhang Youji asked, glancing skyward. “Our little reconnaissance seems to have ruffled some feathers. Perhaps we should rattle them a bit more? Even minor disruptions might prove beneficial.”
Qin Huai pondered, “The white-robed king’s top priority in Qingzhou is the blood sea plan and the cultivation of the king realm puppet. Our interference has likely pressured them to hasten the plan, fearing the intervention of the six clans and three sects. Let’s just have to keep interfering with their progress.”

An unspoken intent lingered in Qin Huai’s thoughts: acquiring the fragments of the boundless blood world. The prospect of claiming such a valuable king domain was too tempting to ignore. Why decline such a prize? The more the merrier.

“It’s best if we can drag it out until the people from the six clans and three sects arrive. Once we fully understand the opponent’s domain tactics, we might find a strategy to neutralize it.” Qin Huai proposed, “Let’s leave a king realm expert here forever.”

Zhang Youji’s eyes gleamed with intrigue. “Your insight mirrors my own thoughts, Brother Qin. Imagine the reaction if we, in the visceral prefecture realm, were to kill a king. Our names would echo throughout the lands,” he added jestingly toward the end.

“It would be the three of us,” Qin Huai corrected. At this moment, the king corpse gently landed on the ground.

“May I ask how I should address this brother?” Zhang Youji greeted, cupping his fists at the king corpse.

The corpse met Zhang Youji’s gaze, a cold and emotionless stare. An awkward silence ensued.

“He’s mute and communicates solely through sign language,” Qin Huai quickly explained. The king corpse, after all, was a puppet, devoid of speech.

To demonstrate, he manipulated the puppet to emulate sign language gestures inspired by some anime he’d seen in his former life. His hand speed was so fast that Zhang Youji was dazzled.

“Is that sign language? It seems vaguely familiar,” Zhang Youji mused.

Chuckling, Qin Huai explained, “It’s a unique sign language devised by Brother Wang. I can only rely on instincts to understand it.”

Curious, Zhang Youji asked, “What did Brother Wang say?”

With feigned seriousness, Qin Huai ‘translated’, “Brother Wang said there are matters he must attend to. We shall reconvene tomorrow.”