Chapter 437: The Holy Nails

“What’s going on?”

Anthony instinctively looked at Li Mochen, then burst into curses: “Fuck you! You’re offering the sacrifice to yourself? You’re insane!”

Li Mochen couldn’t hear what Anthony was saying; he was fully focused. First, he waved the ‘Scepter of Solomon’ and uttered the word ‘Suppress’.

Then the blood energy and the souls all momentarily halted in midair.

Behind him, six ‘Yuan Chen Deity’ manifestations appeared. Unlike the protective deities summoned earlier by invoking the power of three emperors, these were entirely Li Mochen’s own, condensed from his own spiritual energy.

At that instant, the stars of the heavens responded in kind, casting down countless beams of starlight that shone upon Li Mochen’s primordial spirit.

“Command!”

Then Li Mochen held up the imperial seal and spoke another spirit word, manipulating the vast blood energy and the hundreds of soul bodies, surging them toward the direction of Robert Yvonne.

His power was insufficient, but he compensated with technique, continuously controlling at a nanometer-level precision to skillfully achieve his goal.

And this inverted hexagram array also constrained both, gradually bringing the blood energy and soul bodies under his control.

However, under Li Mochen’s manipulation, they did not merge into Robert’s body. Instead, they clashed, attacked, and eroded each other with the mass of flesh and the ‘Devourer of Ten Thousand Souls’ within it, as if水火不容.

This situation intensified, and soon the massive ball of flesh ignited with blood flames. Not only were they scorching hot, but they also warped space, sending out rows of majestic demonic tides and waves of spiritual impact in all directions.

Angela found herself completely futile; within a hundred kilometers, there were few living creatures left.

Those pirate sailors with magic levels below eight had their consciousness shattered by the continuous spiritual impact. Most of the high-ranking powerhouses had also fainted, and the remaining three or five could only barely hold on by hiding in the core protective areas of their ships.

Even she felt immense pressure. If not for her naturally strong soul, she too would have died like those below level eight, fainting first.

“Rise!”

With a gesture from Li Mochen, the ‘Holy Nails’ embedded in Robert’s body flew off one by one. The massive ball of flesh thus broke free from all restraints.

However, the burning blood flames prevented the flesh buds from regrowing and stopped the wind blades from forming.

At the same time, Li Mochen opened his eyes, a brilliant red glow within. Wind gathered around him, nearly forming a tornado, and his aura rapidly increased and rose.

Simultaneously, the same changes occurred around the ‘Blood-Eyed Angel’ Robert Yvonne.

“Divine Authority?”

Anthony squinted, sensing a field of similar frequency resonating and responding between the two.

It was their shared divine authority, ‘Wind of Battle’. Li Mochen was using this method to help Robert Yvonne consolidate her consciousness and restore her intellect. The effect was immediate; the massive ball of flesh that Robert had become was decaying and dissolving.

As time passed, the blood-eyed maid’s body gradually regained human form. Her soul and psychic power were visibly purifying, returning to their original purity.

“He actually succeeded—”

Anthony murmured, a contemplative look in his eyes. He still couldn’t understand how Li Mochen had managed it—replacing the Demon Lord to undergo a blood sacrifice, manipulating such vast blood energy and so many spirits. It was no easy task.

Was it due to Li Mochen’s unique cultivation method? Similar to Eastern practices, centered on stars and related to the Daoist concept of revered deities, granting him abilities and traits akin to a ‘god’?

But wasn’t he afraid of being contaminated by others’ consciousness? He would also have to endure the Devourer of Ten Thousand Souls, wouldn’t he?

Even though the hexagram array was activated by Cassari Gates’ blood, and the latter was dead, his soul becoming the first target of the backlash, Li Mochen, as the user, could not escape it.

Anthony calmed down and continued observing the modified array hub. Then he looked up and saw, five hundred meters above them, a miniature array formed by three hundred and sixty leaf-sized flying swords. The tiny swords circulated within, orderly drawing down starlight.

“This bastard, he really is insane—”

Anthony vaguely grasped Li Mochen’s approach. Though he hadn’t figured out the specifics, he barely recognized it as a secret technique to transfer calamities, shifting the backlash and contamination of the blood sacrifice onto Robert, thereby triggering a conflict between two instances of the Devourer of Ten Thousand Souls.

But such an operation, even a single detail error, would lead to disastrous consequences.

Anthony thought the man should be grateful that his maid had a strong will, still maintaining a degree of clarity. Otherwise, the pressure on Li Mochen would have multiplied.

“Is it a transfer?”

Angela also saw the clue and sighed lightly: “It should be successful.”

A strange light flickered in her eyes. This was a demigod.

“So, Miss Yvonne’s condition is improving, right?”

‘Thunderfoot’ Valit was still watching intently: “But she still seems to be in great pain. Her body and soul are burning.”

Thus, the spiritual impact continued to radiate outward, and Valit sensed intense suppressed emotions within it. Robert Yvonne, amidst the blood flames, was enduring torture that could be considered the ultimate in the world.

“It’s because your lady’s little lover is too greedy.”

Anthony shook his head, seeming to smile bitterly: “He’s blood-forging, tempering Robert Yvonne’s body into steel and bone. It’s similar to how the sea goddess Thetis dipped her son Achilles in heavenly fire and the River Styx, though the effect is much weaker. But once this step is complete, she will possess a stronger divine body and more stable divinity. With a suitable suit of armor, even demigods will find it hard to break her defense.”

The blood flame forging did not last long. As the flames burst, Li Mochen drove a pre-refined ‘Blood Spirit Crystal’ into Robert’s brow to house her now purified soul.

At the same time, Li Mochen pointed at the twenty holy nails stained with Robert’s blood. Using his magic, he made thirteen of them fly up and plunge into the blood flames.

Soon, the holy nails began to transform into ‘sword’ forms, and Li Mochen forcibly drove thirteen legendary-level souls under his control into them, starting the smelting.

The unique properties of the holy nails made these legendary souls scream and wail, while the Devourer of Ten Thousand Souls rapidly annihilated their residual consciousness.

At this moment, the numerous ‘flesh buds’ extending from Robert’s body were also continuously integrated into them.