Tome of Troubled Times

Chapter 360: Ancient Fury

Zhao Changhe took a deep breath and stepped forward slowly.

The altar was not tall; it was low and wide. It was surrounded by a pool of blood filled with an unknown quantity of blood. The pool released a pungent metallic smell. Blood circled the altar, with strange blood-red patterns extending toward the central array plate, seemingly nourishing it.

This blood seems like it’s human blood. Who knows how many people have been killed just to get this amount of blood... But it doesn’t seem fresh. It seems that the Blood God Cult’s killings have reduced over the years. Most of this blood should have been collected a good while back.

Whether such offerings worked, Zhao Changhe could not tell. He wondered if the sacred artifact could get angry.

Suppressing his disgust, Zhao Changhe stepped onto the narrow bridge over the blood.

The nature of the Blood God Cult had always been like this. Things had improved over the years, and criticizing it was rather pointless. If he could become the interpreter of the cult’s doctrines, then he could steer it toward a better path.

If they had to kill, then why not kill evil spirits or enemy forces? Why harm innocent and weak people to show off their prowess?

This is something that can be changed over time.

As he stepped past the blood and stood before the array plate, its glow intensified. The desire of the token and bead to return “home” was apparent, and it almost led them to break out of the confines of his ring.

Zhao Changhe ignored them and carefully examined the plate.

It was difficult to determine the material the plate was made of, but it somewhat resembled bone. But where and from what kind of being could such a large piece of bone be acquired?

The main body was intact, with only minor cracks. The missing pieces were mainly inlaid elements, creating gaps that disrupted the array’s integrity. Many of these inlays were bead-like, and it was unclear where his bead might fit.

At the center of the array plate was a square slot, likely intended for the blood token. It seemed more like a key than a functional part of the array.

Despite the missing pieces, the main structure was complete. It was clear that the creator had poured their everything into the creation of the artifact, embedding the philosophy of their martial arts into it. Anyone who spent enough time with it could likely develop a comprehensive martial art from studying it.

As someone with the Heavenly Tome, Zhao Changhe did not need others’ interpretations. He could use the tome to understand everything clearly.

Closing his eyes, Zhao Changhe gently touched the array plate, linking his mind and spirit with the Heavenly Tome.

He then found himself amid a chaotic landscape, with the ground shaking, mountains collapsing, and the sky ablaze. Distant screams echoed as unknown people perished. Amidst the chaos, a heavily injured man sat cross-legged, his legs partially submerged in blood as he calmly worked. He used a thick-bladed saber resembling Xue Canghai’s Blood God Saber to carve the plate.

Cult Leader Xue’s Blood God Saber likely was not the same saber, but rather a replica based on the design of the original.

The man carved the plate and set in inlays, his blood mixing with that of others, soaking into the plate as if he was quite literally using his life to complete this final masterpiece.

The surrounding cataclysm did not affect him. The array plate emitted an invisible barrier, keeping natural disasters at bay.

A loud crash sounded as the barrier broke, and someone stormed in, shouting, “Lie[1]! You stole the bone of the Blood Ao[2] from our tribe, and you still dare to sit here in the wilderness? Do you think our tribe is powerless?”

Zhao Changhe noted the name Lie. Was it typical of the ancient era to use single-character names? Or was this man just unique?

Before he could ponder further, several figures rushed in. Even before they arrived, the saber lights they sent out slashed through space and near-instantly reached Lie’s neck.

Cold sweat broke out on Zhao Changhe’s forehead.

Such fast and powerful saber qi! That strike is comparable to the sword strike that Cui Wenjing made in the sky back then. Could it be that any random martial artist in the ancient era was on par with Cui Wenjing?

A flash of blood light burst forth before his eyes.

The original Blood God Saber, which had been carving the array plate, suddenly turned into a streak of blood. The incoming saber qi was effortlessly neutralized, and the heads of several black-clad figures flew off, turning them into fountains of blood.

Lie, without turning his head, continued carving. “You’re asking why I’m carving this array plate in the wilderness? It’s because I need some sacrifices, and I can’t be bothered looking for them.”

The blood from the fountains of blood quickly pooled into the ground and was absorbed by the array plate. As it absorbed more and more blood, the bone-white plate grew increasingly vibrant.

Such malevolence needed no menacing expression. Lie’s calm demeanor was frightening enough as his murderous intent surged high into the heavens.

Amidst the apocalyptic scenery of lightning, fire, collapsing mountains, and severed rivers... it looked like the world had truly been taken over by hell.

One of the disembodied heads was somehow still alive, and it somehow spoke without vocal cords, “Your blood... is flowing too... Are you also... a sacrifice?”

Lie replied indifferently, “With the heavens falling, does it matter whose blood it is? The world is a furnace, everyone is a sacrifice.”

The head fell silent.

“At this point, does it matter who the bone of the Blood Ao belonged to? Were you all just planning to take it to your graves? Fools. If I had the time, I’d kill all of you just to avoid the annoyance.”

The head retorted, “You’re not strong enough...”

Lie continued carving, “So what? I’m at least strong enough to kill you.”

The head fell silent once again.

“You say my strength is not enough, but a single slash still resulted in your death,” said Lie proudly. “This slash will be engraved in the essence of this array plate. If someone ends up inheriting it in the future, they can derive an entire saber art from this slash and my engraved will... perhaps it could be called... the Vicious Blood Saber Art?”

As he spoke, the blood pool began to churn as if rejoicing.

The head said incredulously, “You... You’re still thinking of passing down your skills? Didn’t you always claim to live only for this life?”

“People change,” Lie answered calmly. “I was a slave. I comprehended the Dao through countless life-and-death battles. No one helped me, no gods favored me. People wanted me to serve them, gods wanted me to kneel... so I killed them all, be they man or god.”

Zhao Changhe’s heart quivered.

Incredible... A slave comprehending the Dao without a teacher? Was it because of the spirit qi of the previous era or was this person just that much of a genius?

Lie continued, “I forged my own Asura Body, embodying my killing intent, striving to gain control of my life, allowing no one to obstruct me. What did it matter to me what happened after my death? Whether you called me Blood God or Blood Demon, I didn’t care about my reputation after my death?”

“...And now?”

“Back then, I wanted nobody to mess with me, but now, I have decided to mess with you.” Lie looked up at the blood-colored sky, his once-calm face finally showing the ferocity befitting of the title Blood God. “A sealed heaven, a game between gods and demons. If he dies, the world ends? Why should it?!”

The head blinked.

It could no longer understand what Lie was saying.

Tchk!

Lie made the final engraving, and the blood light of the array plate flared brightly. It seemed that it was complete now.

He carefully embedded the various bits and pieces he carried into the plate, saying, “The world does not need to depend on anyone... If he dies, he dies. At most, the era collapses, but the world remains. If I survive the collapse of the era, I will personally shatter this sky, and I shall scatter the gods and Buddhas.”

“And if you don’t survive?”

“Then I shall make it so that those who come after me can use my blood to tear open the sky!”

Snap!

With that, Lie inserted a blood token into the plate.

At that moment, the wilderness began to collapse. The sky split open, lightning crashed and thunder boomed, and the fires of hell consumed the earth. The corpses, including the head, were instantly reduced to ash.

Simultaneously, a pillar of blood light shot up from the array plate, piercing the heavens.

“People call themselves Night Emperor or Sword Emperor, thinking they’re gods... yet the Heavenly Dao crumbles, and they all become dust.”

Within the blood light, a figure wielding a saber rose up, slashing at the heavens, “Whatever lies beyond the Heavenly Dao... In this collapsing era, why not slash it open and have a look?!”

Boom!

The entire world turned blood-red, and vision was lost completely.

After an unknown length of time, the sky began to rain blood, softly drenching the land.

The array plate cracked and scattered, its cracks bearing witness to a quixotic fury in an attempt to slash the heavens.

Zhao Changhe was speechless.

Daoist Yuxu, is this what you meant when you said that this demonic god wasn’t very strong? Maybe he wasn’t that strong before, but at this moment, he clearly reached the pinnacle...

Oh right... while the people of the current era see them as demonic gods... but in Lie’s eyes, the gods and Buddhas he wanted to get lost were different beings altogether. Maybe they didn’t even exist... and this engraved slash merely records the struggles of ancient humans.

Zhao Changhe looked at his own body.

Lie had said something earlier... “I forged my own Asura Body.”

It looks like there’s no escaping being the saint now.

1. This is the guy’s name, not the word “lie.” Lie here is written as 烈, which can translate to the following: strong, violent, intense, staunch. ☜

2. This is referencing the giant sea turtle Ao from Chinese mythology. ☜