Chapter 959: Sudden Turn of Events

At this moment, at the blood pool in the front hall.

The five city lords, including E Kuai and Chen Yang, were still activating the formation, and by now, all five had gained many more acupoints on their bodies than before.

Chen Yang's entire body flickered with light; upon careful count, there were already nearly two hundred and ninety points of starlight, having opened nearly thirty acupoints in a short time.

Sun Tu and the others had opened a similar number of acupoints, their bodies emitting much brighter starlight than before, and their eyes naturally held a hint of surprise and delight.

Shao Ying and the others watching saw this, their eyes showing envy and longing, but knowing they were far inferior to the five city lords in both status and strength, they dared not say anything.

The formation had been running faster than before; the five-pointed star array above E Kuai and the others had expanded several times, and the blood-colored light pillars it projected were much thicker.

The surrounding blood-colored light barrier had also become much denser, covered with countless runes, emitting a low whistling sound as it operated.

The black statues beneath the five had also changed considerably; their originally black bodies had turned black-red, with streaks of blood light shooting out from within, especially from the statues' eyes, which emitted two long beams of blood light, looking quite eerie.

Sun Tu and the other three looked at the statues beneath them and the changes in the surrounding blood-colored light screen, their hearts secretly alarmed.

Chen Yang and Sun Tu exchanged glances, seeing a trace of unease in each other's eyes.

Fortunately, although the surrounding blood-colored light screen had changed, it still did not emit any binding force, which reassured them somewhat.

Meanwhile, the surface of the blood in the pool had dropped considerably, revealing even larger crystalline bones, almost reaching the bottom.

Splash!

The blood in the pool suddenly churned violently, forming a whirlpool several zhang in size.

Then, a blood-colored light ball the size of a person emerged from the depths of the whirlpool, emitting waves of astonishing energy fluctuations.

These energy fluctuations were quite peculiar, not purely star power or blood qi, but a mixture of the two, very similar to the Sulfur Flame Blood Cloud.

Moreover, the fluctuations from the blood-colored light ball were exceptionally powerful, startling even Sun Tu and the others.

"Holy remains?" Sun Tu and the others saw the blood-colored light ball, cast aside their unease, and showed expressions of surprise and joy.

Although Fang Chan and the others nearby could not see the blood-colored light ball in the pit, they could feel the sudden powerful fluctuations and were all moved, craning their necks to look.

"Fellow Daoists, the holy remains have appeared. Put in more effort!" E Kuai also showed a joyful expression, shouted loudly, and increased the speed of his hand seals, reciting incantations twice as fast.

Seeing this, Sun Tu and the others quickly accelerated the formation.

Boom!

The devouring power of the five statues immediately surged, the blood below churned even more violently, and directly flew up, turning into five pillars of blood that plunged into the five statues.

The blood pool's surface dropped at a visible rate, and in a moment, all the blood was gone, devoured by the five statues.

The scale-like patterns on the surface of the five statues flickered wildly a few times, and their originally black-red bodies turned completely blood-red.

The blood-colored light ball also revealed its true form: a blood-colored light gate, within which seemed to be another world, filled with surging blood-colored mists.

The powerful fluctuations came from within the gate, and there was no sign of the holy remains at the bottom of the pool.

Moreover, with the blood gone, the fluctuations from within the gate grew even stronger.

"City Lord E, what is this? Where are the holy remains?" Sun Tu's expression darkened as he looked at E Kuai.

The other three also looked at E Kuai.

E Kuai sat cross-legged on the blood-colored statue, eyes closed, hands still forming seals, chanting incantations rapidly, ignoring Sun Tu's question.

Boom!

The statue beneath him suddenly emitted dazzling blood light, illuminating his body, dyeing it completely red.

Then, in a series of "puff" sounds, seven or eight thick blood-colored tentacles shot out from the statue, waving up and down, and merged into E Kuai's body.

E Kuai's body trembled like a sieve for a moment, then immediately calmed down. His eyes suddenly opened, now completely blood-red.

Moreover, his body seemed to inflate, swelling considerably, and red lines appeared on his skin, making him look like a demon from hell.

Sun Tu and the other three were startled by E Kuai's transformation.

Among the four, Qin Yuan was the most shocked; he stood up abruptly from the statue and moved to leave.

But at that moment, a crystalline blood light suddenly rose from within his abdomen, radiating outward.

This blood light spun around, turning into a hazy blood cloud that enveloped half of Qin Yuan's body.

Countless runes appeared faintly within the blood cloud, resonating with the statue beneath him, and Qin Yuan's body seemed frozen in ice, unable to move.

Almost simultaneously, blood light also surged from within Chen Yang and the other two, coalescing into blood clouds that enveloped most of their bodies.

Their bodies were instantly immobilized, trapped there.

Fang Chan, Duan Tong, Xuan Yuan Xing, Shi Chuankong, and the fat elder from Xuanzhi City, the five people near the pit, saw this and their expressions changed; they instinctively moved forward.

A blur of figures, and three figures appeared in front—Shao Ying, Zhu Ziyuan, and Zhu Ziqing.

"Several of you, the five city lords are activating the formation. It's best not to disturb them," Shao Ying said blandly, releasing a powerful pressure that bore down on Fang Chan and the others.

Fang Chan and the others felt as if a great mountain were pressing down on them, their bodies sinking, their breathing difficult.

They looked at Shao Ying in shock and instinctively stopped.

Among those present, only Madame Liuhua stood quietly by the side, her expression calm, neither speaking nor acting.

Inside the blood formation, E Kuai slowly opened his eyes and turned to look at the four.

His eyes now emitted a piercing red light, cold and sharp, with no trace of the previous gentleness.

Seeing E Kuai's expression, Sun Tu and the others felt a chill in their hearts, as if falling into an abyss.

"City Lord E, what are you doing?" Fu Jian struggled hard, but the blood cloud around him, though seemingly thin, was as steady as Mount Tai, not trembling at all. He forced a smile and asked.

"The holy remains have not yet appeared. The four of you cannot leave suddenly. Without you, how would this blood formation operate? So I had to act to keep you here," E Kuai said with a faint smile, unhurriedly.

"E Kuai, stop pretending. It seems everything here is your scheme. But we have been careful and have not let our guard down. When did you tamper with us?" Sun Tu shouted coldly.

"The Sulfur Flame Blood Cloud!" Chen Yang looked at the crystalline blood cloud around him, his eyes suddenly flashing, and blurted out.

The other three's expressions changed slightly upon hearing this.

"As expected, Fellow Daoist Chen is the most perceptive and reacted first. Indeed, the Sulfur Flame Blood Cloud is a wonderful thing!" E Kuai laughed.

"City Lord Sun, City Lord Fu, didn't you say earlier in the Sulfur Flame Mist Sea that you hadn't obtained the Sulfur Flame Blood Cloud?" Qin Yuan suddenly remembered something and looked at Sun Tu and Fu Jian, asking.

Sun Tu and Fu Jian's expressions froze upon hearing this.

Seeing their expressions, Qin Yuan immediately understood that the two had lied; they too had obtained the Sulfur Flame Blood Cloud but kept it secret for some purpose.

"So the sudden appearance of so much Sulfur Flame Blood Cloud in the mist sea was your doing. You started scheming against us back then. City Lord E, what exactly do you want?" Chen Yang took a deep breath and asked slowly.

"You'll know soon enough!" E Kuai's blood-red eyes swept over the four, and he laughed uproariously, his hands forming seals continuously.

Amid the laughter, the surrounding blood formation blazed with light, countless blood-colored patterns emerged out of thin air, intertwining to form a blood-colored formation several times more complex.

Countless patterns also appeared on the surrounding blood-colored light screen, which then flashed and suddenly turned into a semi-solid blood-colored light barrier, enveloping the entire pit along with Chen Yang and the other five.

The statues beneath Chen Yang and the other four also burst into dazzling blood light, engulfing their bodies and surging into them.

Sun Tu and the other three's expressions changed, and they struggled desperately, but the blood cloud restraints held their bodies firmly, unable to move, and they could only watch as the blood light from the statues invaded their bodies.

Earthworm-shaped blood-colored patterns appeared on their surfaces, writhing like living things on their bodies. The four trembled, their faces showing pain, and they couldn't help but scream.

Fang Chan and the other five were greatly alarmed by this sudden change.

"City Lord!" Fang Chan saw Sun Tu's miserable state, panicked, and disregarding Shao Ying's strength, rushed forward.

Duan Tong, Xuan Yuan Xing, and the fat elder saw this and immediately followed.

Shi Chuankong, however, did not follow but retreated a distance.

Shao Ying sneered, immediately met them, and waved his hand, his palm shining with white light.

Five streams of sharp force shot out like a gale, like five divine swords sweeping through the air, leaving five deep grooves on the ground, the sharp finger force spreading, enveloping Fang Chan and the other four.

Zhu Ziyuan and Zhu Ziqing followed closely, flying forward.

...

At this moment, in the rear hall, Han Li was walking quickly outward.

His expression suddenly changed, and he stopped abruptly, then fell to the ground with a thud.

Blood light surged from his abdomen, forming a blood-colored cloud that enveloped his body.

"This... the Sulfur Flame Blood Cloud had been tampered with!" Han Li scanned his body with his divine sense and immediately sensed the source of the blood cloud.

In his lower dantian, two blood-cloud-like lights appeared, filled with countless tiny blood-colored runes, emitting a powerful binding force that firmly immobilized his body.