Equipment Grade: High Heaven

Elemental Affinity: Metal

Upgrade Level: +11

Defense: 8000

Additional Defense: 5300

Soul Compatibility: 20%

Equipment Effect: For 10 seconds, any elemental attack weaker than this item can be absorbed and re-released anytime within.

Destroy this item if the attack was absorbed for over 10 seconds.

+10 Additional Effect: 30% Increase in attack when releasing an absorbed attack.

Upgrade Requirement: 400 Soulpoints

Shen Pojun’s face was deathly pale. Pain wracked the entirety of his body as he tried to resist the aftermath of being struck. Teeth gritted, he snapped his head up to glare at the next ball coming down onto him.

The next soul armament he’d use to protect himself would be the s.h.i.+eld, he decided. It was very possible his soulbound armament would be destroyed, but that was fine. Not even the destruction of his parasol would be too heavy a price to pay to withstand this attack!

It wasn’t just him that was suffering from the battle. Gu Lianhun’s soulforce was clearly weaker than before, meaning the usage of the Nine Cycles of Annihilation had a greater toll than he imagined. If he could withstand the last few attacks, then he’d definitely come out on top over Gu Lianhun. It was possible that he might even be able to win!

Actually, Shen Pojun still had something up his sleeves, something he planned to use the moment he survived the barrage. He originally had the notion of using it to win a pyrrhic victory against Gu Lianhun, since using it would mean suffering from the side-effects. But even then, the side-effects meant nothing if it meant he could win… 

Then as Shen Pojun prepared to send his s.h.i.+eld forward, his eyes widened as they took notice of a figure jumping in front of him.

“One moment, ancestor! Please leave this to me!!”

Bai Yunfei’s voice spoke into his mind a moment later, leaving the man deeply confused.

“You…”

Having hardly yet formed a full sentence, Shen Pojun watched in confusion as a blood-red light suddenly poured out from Bai Yunfei’s person. The aura surrounding him was different than before, it now contained a furious amount of killing intent behind it!

There was a new soul armament in Bai Yunfei’s right hand, a strange blood-colored longsword!

The Vampiric Demon Edge!

Had Shen Pojun been able to see the look Bai Yunfei had, he surely would’ve been frightened by just a bit. For Bai Yunfei was no longer the same, physically speaking. His person was shriveled like a mummy with blood seeping from multiple pores. Practically defying gravity, the blood crawled over the surface of his skin to reach the Vampiric Demon Edge!

Bai Yunfei’s aura would spike dramatically whenever a certain amount of blood was absorbed into the weapon, and in mere moments, Bai Yunfei was already stronger than when he fought against Qin Long. He was a Mid-stage Soul Emperor now!

“Kill!!!”

Though still seemingly rational, Bai Yunfei’s words carried a hint of insanity to them. Howling, he brandished the Vampiric Demon Edge and sent out a single sword stroke!

Elemental Affinity: Darkness

Upgrade Level: +12

Attack: 8000

Additional Attack: 7500

Soul Compatibility: 40%

Equipment Effect 1: Absorb the blood of those slain and temporarily gain a 30% increase in attack.

+10 Additional Effect: Pay a blood price to increase the power of the user and item. Gain 1% attack and 2% increase to overall stats for every percentage of blood taken. 

Duration ends when no more blood is given.

+12 Additional Effect: Heal from all wounds instantaneously. Increase all stats by 300% and dull the sense of pain by 50% for an hour.

All damage sustained within that hour will have its severity amplified by 200% afterward.

Cooldown of 24 hours.

Upgrade Requirement: 400 Soulpoints

More than sixty percent of Bai Yunfei’s blood had gone into the soul armament to activate the +10 additional effect. As a result, his power had practically skyrocketed to unbelievable levels!

Even without the aid of elemental fire or lightning, the strike from the Vampiric Edge had been devastating enough to cut a swathe through chaotic energy!

“Whoos.h.!.+”

And just like that, the seventh ball of darkness was cut and destroyed!

That one sword strike, however, had unfortunately took up all the soulforce Bai Yunfei had to offer. Having initially been surprised, Gu Lianhun had a sneer on his face. It seemed that had been the final piece of resistance Bai Yunfei had to offer.

Still, that didn’t mean everything had gone to plan, and neither did it mean it’d continue that way. Before he could do anything, Gu Lianhun watched as Bai Yunfei suddenly had a resurgence of soulforce!

“Hah!!”

Bai Yunfei howled. Blood-red light exploded from his dried skin with such heat that it seemed like the air was being dried. Then, Bai Yunfei’s body began to swell up again as if it was being refilled—his body had replenished itself with blood in a half-second!

And his aura was still stronger than before!

Bai Yunfei had used the +12 additional effect of the Vampiric Demon Edge!

Raising the soul armament above his head, Bai Yunfei unleashed a second slash onto the eighth black ball!

“Im—impossible!” Gu Lianhun shrieked, the transparent visage of his face was already twisted up in confused frustration. “To the underworld with you!!” He cried out again.

“Bzz…crackle…crackle…”

With him as its center, s.p.a.ce around him started to splinter as the spatial energy grew more and more convoluted. Cracks tore open with devastating speed toward Bai Yunfei!

This was his next strongest attack after the Nine Cycles of Annihilation!

“You’re the one that should die!!”

Bai Yunfei’s aura was reaching a frantic fervor by this point. Both his eyes were bloodshot as multiple parts of his body started to tear open again. Once more, the blood from his body was crawling toward the Vampiric Demon Edge!

He was activating the +10 additional effect once again!

This was a reckless and insane thing to do!

From a Mid-stage Soul Emperor, Bai Yunfei’s aura skyrocketed almost to the point of becoming a Late-stage Soul Emperor!

Both of Bai Yunfei’s hands clasped onto the sword. He raised it over his head, and for that one moment, his entire body seemed to have become an extension of that sword. Letting out a roar, he delivered a stunning downward stroke!

Time came to a stop for a moment as even Shen Pojun seemed unable to move a single part of his body but his eyes. They tracked the beam of light sent from Bai Yunfei’s sword toward the cracks of s.p.a.ce coming at them before watching the two explode into a beautiful mixture of light…. 

……

Moments pa.s.sed before Shen Pojun was able to see more of his surroundings. The cracks in s.p.a.ce had halted their advance, leaving everything around him and Bai Yunfei fine and undisturbed.

Then he took notice of the ‘b.l.o.o.d.y’ figure standing in front of him. It came to him as a shock, to see Bai Yunfei’s status, but he came to a stop before he could even take a step forward.

That was because Bai Yunfei had suddenly swiveled his head back to stare at Shen Pojun. Just one look had been enough to stop Shen Pojun in his tracks. His mouth dropped slightly open as he began to tremble… 

Both of Bai Yunfei’s eyes were completely red, as if dyed with blood and killing intent!

That killing intent was so potent that it left Shen Pojun with horror!

The horror faded away when he saw something akin to conflict in Bai Yunfei’s eyes. He was fighting the bloodl.u.s.t! Snarling, Bai Yunfei loosened his right hand and dropped the Vampiric Demon Edge so it could disappear back into his s.p.a.ce ring.

“Pft!!”

Blood was expelled from his mouth the moment the sword was detached from his hand. Multiple parts of his skin cracked and split open so that blood could flow out in volumes that made Bai Yunfei’s body almost unrecognizable. 

Tragic beyond tragic, Bai Yunfei looked so terrifying that Shen Pojun felt his skin crawl just looking at him.

“Huff…huff…”

It hurt Bai Yunfei to move even a muscle on his face. Grunting from the pain, he forced his hands together and began to form a string of handseals.

Soul Ignition!

The remaining soulforce within his body exploded throughout his body at once. Like a flood, heat burst out from his originseed to fill his body with new soulforce!

The effect was instantaneous. Reinvigorated, Bai Yunfei’s movements were swift as he popped a blood-red pill into his mouth. A soft green light began to glow from his Vitality Bracelet as it fed even more of its warmth into his body to aid Bai Yunfei’s rejuvenation.

Vitality Bracelet’s additional effect:

+10 Additional Effect: Increase healing rate by 10% for every time 10% of vitality is lost. When user is in a near-death state (Under 10% vitality), increase healing rate by 200%.

His strength was now back to the levels of an Early-stage Soul Emperor. Thanks to Soul Ignition and the pill he had just taken, Bai Yunfei could feel himself as fresh and powerful as when he first started. A quick pulse of soulforce was all it took for him to evaporate the remaining blood on his body and return his skin back to its original color.

“Ancestor, please ingest this pill, it’ll recover half your soulforce.”

He fished another pill to hand to the awed Shen Pojun behind him.

“You…you…”

Shen Pojun stared. He could hardly make a coherent sentence right now.

The series of events that had just transpired since Bai Yunfei’s appearance had been far too much for Shen Pojun to take in. Like the swings of a hammer, each event he saw delivered a new blow of shock to his heart. Never in his three centuries of life had he ever been so stunned.

Then when he was in this stunned state, Bai Yunfei’s word jolted him out from it!

“Ancestor, I’ve been using a soul skill to increase my strength, but I can’t hold out much longer. Please recover your strength quickly, we should be able to win now that he’s weakened!!”