Chapter 62: Stepping into the Blood River Grand Array

The moment the spatial rift closed, Ye Xiao plummeted into a world of blood.

Beneath his feet lay a viscous sea of blood, and above him stretched a dark red sky.

The Chaos Sword hovered before him, the purple-black patterns on its blade resonating subtly with this domain.

"Is this... the interior of the Blood River Formation?"

Ye Xiao reached out to touch the surface of the sea, a sharp stinging sensation pricking his fingertips.

Countless tiny insects swam within the crimson water, every single one bearing the face of Xu Beichen.

"You've finally come."

Yue Wuxia’s voice drifted from the Chaos Sword, sounding even fainter than before.

A nearly transparent phantom materialized upon the blade. "This is the consciousness space of the Blood Fiend, and also the supreme place to comprehend the Chaos Sword Classic."

Ye Xiao looked out across the boundless sea of blood, where seven bronze pillars loomed faintly in the distance.

A heart beat atop each pillar, and upon the central pillar, Xu Beichen’s phantom was slowly taking shape.

"He is regenerating faster than anticipated."

Yue Wuxia’s phantom drifted toward the sea of blood. "You must comprehend the Chaos Convergence before he fully awakens."

Ye Xiao sat cross-legged upon the bloody sea, the Chaos Sword laid horizontally across his knees.

The patterns on the blade began to flow, wrapping around his arm like living creatures.

"Senior, what on earth is the final stance?"

"It is not a stance..." Yue Wuxia’s voice gradually faded. "It is a realm..."

Before the phantom vanished completely, it pointed toward the depths of the sea of blood.

Following the direction, Ye Xiao saw a bronze palace submerged on the seabed, the patterns on its doors identical to those on the Chaos Sword.

"Thump!"

The sound of a beating heart suddenly echoed throughout the space.

Ye Xiao turned his head to find that Xu Beichen’s phantom had solidified by thirty percent, those scarlet eyes staring straight at him.

"Junior Brother Ye, did you think you would be safe by fleeing here?"

Xu Beichen’s voice carried multiple echoes, and the sea of blood churned in response.

Ye Xiao felt a tightness in his chest, as though countless tiny insects were crawling through his blood vessels.

"Is this... the erosion of the Blood Fiend?"

He hurriedly circulated the Blood Spirit Scripture to resist, only to find his internal vital blood being assimilated by some mysterious force.

Even more terrifyingly, the purple-black patterns on the Chaos Sword began to spread toward his arm.

"It's useless." Xu Beichen’s phantom sneered malevolently. "Here, I am the rules."

The sea of blood suddenly surged into giant waves, transforming into countless bloody spears that stabbed toward Ye Xiao.

He hastily raised his sword to block, only to find the Chaos Sword heavy as a mountain.

"Puff!"

Three blood spears pierced through his shoulders, drawing out arrows of purple-black blood.

Ye Xiao groaned, dropping to one knee upon the sea of blood.

"Can you feel it?" Xu Beichen’s voice was filled with delight. "Your blood is turning into mine..."

Ye Xiao lowered his head and saw that the blood flowing from his wounds was mixed with tiny crimson threads, which were attempting to burrow back into his body.

Gritting his teeth, he tore off a piece of his robe and wrapped it tightly around his wounds.

"A dying struggle."

Xu Beichen’s phantom raised a hand, and twelve skeletons rose from the sea of blood. "Look and see who these are!"

The skeletons wore the garments of various sects, three of them particularly striking—Elder Qingzhu's bamboo staff, Mubai's bronze mirror, and Du Mao's gauntlets...

"A glimpse of the future." Xu Beichen laughed aloud. "When I am reborn, the first person I kill will be that girl named Han Qi!"

Anger erupted like a volcano, and the vital blood within Ye Xiao surged wildly.

The Chaos Sword sensed its master's emotions, and the blood patterns on the blade flared brilliantly.

"That's right..." Xu Beichen’s voice carried an alluring temptation. "Be angry, hate, for only thus can you become the perfect vessel..."

Ye Xiao snapped back to his senses, forcefully suppressing his fury.

He recalled the Sword-Guarding Elder's warning: the Blood Fiend excels at exploiting emotions.

"Almost fell for it..."

He took a deep breath and shifted his attention to the bronze palace on the seabed.

Since Yue Wuxia had pointed him there, it must hold profound significance.

The sea of blood suddenly boiled, and more blood spears shot toward him from all directions.

Refusing to fight head-on any longer, Ye Xiao plunged straight into the sea!

"Trying to escape?" Xu Beichen snorted coldly, and countless whirlpools instantly formed in the sea of blood.

The descent was like passing through a viscous gel; for every zhang he dropped, the pressure multiplied tenfold.

Blood seeped from Ye Xiao's ears and nose, and his vision began to blur.

The Chaos Sword emitted a faint glow, carving out a small zone of safety for him.

By the light of the sword, he saw countless fragments of memory drifting in the water—

Scenes of a young Xu Beichen being bullied by fellow disciples, his trembling when taking a life for the first time, his ecstasy upon obtaining immortal bones—and finally, fragments of the Blood Fiend's whispering temptations.

"So that's how it is..." Ye Xiao suddenly understood. "Xu Beichen was a victim as well..."

The moment this thought arose, the resistance of his descent suddenly eased.

The bronze palace was now close at hand, and the patterns on its doors resonated with the Chaos Sword, automatically parting a narrow gap.

The instant Ye Xiao squeezed through the crack, an enraged roar erupted from Xu Beichen above the blood sea.

There was no water inside the palace; it was a vast, circular chamber with a beating crystal heart suspended in the center.

"This is..."

Ye Xiao drew closer and discovered a drop of golden blood sealed within the heart.

The Chaos Sword flew toward the heart of its own accord, its tip gently touching the crystal surface.

"Clang!"

Amidst a crisp ringing of the sword, fine cracks spiderwebbed across the crystal heart.

That drop of golden blood drifted out and sank directly into the space between Ye Xiao's brows!

Excruciating pain washed over him like a tide, and Ye Xiao clutched his head as he fell to his knees. Countless unfamiliar scenes flashed back through his mind!

Sword dances beneath the starry sky, slaughter amidst a sea of blood, the decisive battle before the giant bronze doors... and finally, the scene of Yue Wuxia fusing a drop of heart's blood into the blade.

"Chaos... neither righteous nor evil..."

Ye Xiao muttered to himself, and the wounds on his body began to heal.

The Chaos Sword hovered before him, the patterns on its blade gradually shifting to a pure, brilliant gold.

The sea of blood violently trembled, and Xu Beichen’s angry roar pierced through the palace walls: "You actually dare to touch the Sword Heart!"

Ye Xiao opened his eyes, golden patterns revolving within his pupils.

He gripped the Chaos Sword, feeling the surge of an entirely new power within his body.

"So this is the true Chaos Sword Classic..."

There were no longer any fixed stances; instead, one could freely command the chaotic energy of heaven and earth according to one's will.

He waved the sword gently, and a golden sword qi silently swept past, slicing through the thick palace walls as though they were tofu.

The moment the sea of blood rushed backward into the hall, Ye Xiao stepped forward and instantly reappeared upon the surface of the sea.

Xu Beichen’s phantom had solidified for the most part and was frantically draining energy from the seven bronze pillars.

"You're courting death!" Xu Beichen made a grasping motion with both hands, and the entire sea of blood rose into the air, transforming into a ten-thousand-zhang blood dragon that lunged at Ye Xiao.

Ye Xiao did not dodge or evade, holding the Chaos Sword horizontally before his chest.

When the blood dragon was less than three zhang away from him, the sword suddenly burst with dazzling golden light.

"Chaos... Convergence."

Three simple words, yet they seemed imbued with the fundamental laws of heaven and earth.

Wherever the golden light passed, the blood dragon disintegrated inch by inch, reverting into mere crimson water that plunged back into the sea.

Xu Beichen’s phantom twisted violently. "Impossible! How could you possibly comprehend this level!"

Ye Xiao did not answer. In a single step crossing a hundred zhang, he thrust the Chaos Sword straight toward Xu Beichen's chest.

The moment the blade touched the phantom, the seven bronze pillars shattered simultaneously!

"No—!"

Xu Beichen let out a reluctant roar, and his phantom dissolved into mist.

The sea of blood began to boil and evaporate, the space violently shaking.

"It's collapsing..."

Just as Ye Xiao was searching for an exit, a beam of blood-colored light shot upward from the seabed, striking him precisely in the chest!

It was Xu Beichen's final counterattack—a drop of demonic blood condensed to its absolute limit.

Excruciating pain blackened Ye Xiao's vision, and he felt that drop of demonic blood beginning to erode his heart.

The Chaos Sword flew back automatically, its tip gently pressing against his chest to temporarily seal the spread of the demonic blood.

"I must... go back..."

He used his remaining strength to tear open space, and the moment he tumbled into the rift, the entire blood sea realm collapsed with a deafening crash.