Proving Immortality Starting with Hextech Runes

Chen Xu gritted his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead, and pressed his left hand tightly against the wound, trying to use his remaining spiritual power to suppress the ever-spreading dark red evil energy.

Behind him came Luo Xiao's furious roar, and the booming sound of the blood-red trident cleaving the rocks caused rocks to fall from the cracks.

The rubble hit the three of them on the back. Ruan Qin groaned, while Li Di gritted his teeth and held his jade flute above his head to block it.

"Crawl forward! Don't look back!" Chen Xu's voice was hoarse from the pain, but it carried an undeniable determination.

The depths of the crack were pitch black, with only the faint sonic light emanating from Ruanqin's fingertips barely illuminating the path ahead.

After crawling for about half an incense stick's time, a faint sound of flowing water suddenly came from ahead.

Chen Xu's heart stirred, and he gestured for the two to stop, while he listened intently.

The sound of flowing water did not come from the sea, but from the "gurgling" sound of some kind of mechanism in operation, mixed with a faint smell of blood.

He dipped his finger into the mark on the rock face and sniffed it.

It smells like blood-fiend crystals, but much stronger than the ones at the nodes.

"Be careful, there might be an ambush ahead." Chen Xu lowered his voice and took out a Xuan Yin Thunder Pearl from his storage bag, holding it in his palm.

Ruan Qin also tensed up, gathering sound wave threads at her fingertips, ready to launch interference at any time.

Li Di held the jade flute to his lips, his lips moved slightly, and a faint wisp of tidal power quietly spread out, attempting to conceal the aura of the three of them.

After turning a corner, the crack suddenly widened into a natural grotto about ten zhang square.

In the center of the grotto stands a black stone pillar, as thick as two people could hug, its shaft covered with twisted, blood-red runes.

A blood-red crystal the size of a human head floats at its top, slowly rotating and emitting a viscous, dark red mist.

The rock walls surrounding the grotto were embedded with the skeletons of dozens of monks.

Blood-red chains were wrapped around the skeleton, with the other end of the chains connected to a stone pillar.

With each rotation of the crystal, the chains tighten a little, and wisps of black soul smoke rise from the skeleton and are absorbed by the crystal.

"It's a Blood Soul Sacrifice Array!" Ruan Qin's expression changed drastically.

"This is an evil array used by the Blood Sea Cult to quickly refine Blood Fiend Crystals, and those skeletons..."

Before the words were finished, heavy footsteps came from the entrance of the grotto.

Luo Xiao, carrying a blood-red trident, appeared at the rift with two Blood Shark Guards, a cruel smile on his face:

"You think you can escape by hiding here? The Blood Soul Array deep within this Soul Burial Vortex is your final resting place!"

The two Blood Shark Guards attacked simultaneously, their crimson scimitars drawing two arcs of blood-red light as they hurtled towards Ruan Qin and Li Di.

Li Di waved his jade flute, and a tidal barrier appeared in front of him, but it was shattered by the bloody light. He was shaken back three steps, and blood spilled from the corner of his mouth.

Ruan Qin quickly retreated, her fingertips weaving sonic threads into a net that barely managed to entangle the curved blade of another Blood Shark Guard, but the threads broke rapidly under the corrosive influence of the blood demon.

Chen Xu's eyes narrowed, and he hurled the Xuan Yin Thunder Pearl, which exploded at the feet of the two Blood Shark Guards.

The violent explosion sent debris flying everywhere. Blood Shark Guard screamed as he was thrown away by the shockwave.

Luo Xiao snorted coldly, swept his trident horizontally, blocking all the aftershocks of the explosion, and then leaped up, thrusting the trident with earth-shattering bloodthirsty power toward Chen Xu.

Chen Xu dodged to the side, simultaneously drawing his silver-white spear and activating the "Mysterious Water Dragon Awakening Technique." A surge of azure spear energy roared forth like a giant dragon, colliding with the trident.

With a loud "boom", Chen Xu was shaken back several steps, his hand split open, and blood flowed down the gun barrel.

Luo Xiao remained motionless, his smile deepening.

"Mid-stage Core Formation? You managed to survive one of my attacks, so you've got some skill. However, you're doomed today!"

Luo Xiao swung his halberd again, the blood-red trident leaving three afterimages in the air, piercing Chen Xu's throat, heart, and dantian respectively.

Chen Xu's pupils contracted sharply, and his spear danced in front of him, forming a screen of azure light, barely blocking the first two attacks.

The third afterimage grazed past his ribs, leaving a deep, bone-revealing wound.

The power of bloodlust instantly invaded his meridians, and Chen Xu felt a wave of dizziness, causing his spiritual energy to stagnate.

"Senior Brother Xu!" Ruan Qin exclaimed in shock, her fingertips frantically sweeping the sonic threads toward Luo Xiao, only to be casually dispersed by him.

Li Di also tried his best to play the jade flute, attempting to use the power of the tide to interfere with Luo Xiao's movements, but the effect was minimal.

Luo Xiao grinned maliciously and thrust out his trident again, this time targeting Chen Xu's heart.

The blood-fiend power emanating from the wound under Chen Xu's ribs was like a maggot clinging to his bones, frantically eroding his meridians.

Every breath was accompanied by excruciating, tearing pain, and the flow of spiritual energy was extremely sluggish.

He watched as the crimson light rapidly expanded in his field of vision, feeling the crimson color in front of him growing darker and darker, and his consciousness began to blur.

At the critical moment, Chen Xu gritted his teeth and twisted his body sharply to the left.

"Sizzle!"

The trident grazed his chest with terrifying force.

The tough robes tore like paper, and the sharp halberd tip slashed a deep, bloody gash across his chest, flesh rolled back, and blood gushed out like a fountain.

The immense impact sent him staggering backward, the excruciating pain nearly causing him to faint.

However, this desperate sidestep ultimately allowed him to avoid a fatal blow to the heart.

"A desperate struggle!" A hint of surprise flashed in Luo Xiao's eyes, which then turned into even stronger contempt and rage.

"Today, all three of you will die here, becoming sacrifices to my Blood Soul Array! With your flesh and blood and souls, I will help you achieve the Great Crystal Formation!"

Just as Luo Xiao grinned and raised his trident, preparing to deliver the final blow to Chen Xu, a sudden change occurred!

In the center of the grotto, the slowly rotating Blood Fiend Crystal suddenly began to tremble violently without warning.

The vibration was much stronger than before, and even emitted a piercing buzzing sound.

The dark red mist that had been spreading out in a regular pattern suddenly became violent, surging out like uncontrolled flames.

Its color deepened instantly, almost turning into a thick, dark purple.

A terrifying suction force, more than ten times stronger than before, suddenly erupted from the crystal core!

"Snap! Snap! Snap!"

The blood-red chains binding the skeletons of dozens of cultivators on the surrounding rock walls of the grotto were stretched to their limit as if being frantically pulled by an invisible giant hand.

The ear-piercing sounds of metal scraping and bones cracking were incessant.

The bones that had long since lost their lives broke apart under the immense force of the chains.

Even more bizarrely, the black soul smoke emanating from the skeleton was no longer wisps of smoke.

Instead, it was a torrent of pitch-black vengeful spirits, like a fountain!

These vengeful spirits converged into several thick black torrents, rushing into the violently trembling blood-fiend crystal.

The concentration of bloodthirsty energy within the entire grotto instantly soared to a suffocating level.

The air was as thick as blood, and the heavy pressure made Ruan Qin and Li Di turn pale instantly, almost unable to breathe, and even the circulation of spiritual energy became extremely difficult.

The twisted, blood-red runes on the stone pillars now shone like red-hot irons, emitting an eerie and malevolent light.

"Oh no! The Blood Soul Array has gone out of control!"

"It...it's forcibly extracting the remaining soul power from all the bones, trying to complete the final sacrificial condensation ahead of schedule!"

Ruan Qin's voice was filled with extreme terror.

She could clearly sense that the energy contained within the Blood Fiend Crystal was increasing exponentially.

That destructive fluctuation left her with no doubt that once it fully erupted, it would be devastating, not to mention the three Core Formation cultivators.

Even Luo Xiao, who is at the Nascent Soul stage, would not be able to escape unscathed!

Luo Xiao's sinister smile froze instantly, replaced by a look of surprise and uncertainty.

He understood the power of the Blood Soul Array better than Ruan Qin; the violent scene before him was definitely not a sign of normal completion.

It's more like... the core of the formation was interfered with by some uncontrollable external force.

Or the accumulated energy exceeds the carrying capacity limit, and it is about to completely collapse and explode.

"Boom!!!"

Just as everyone's attention was drawn to the out-of-control core of the Blood Soul Array...

Without warning, an even more terrifying upheaval occurred on the rock wall above the grotto.

A muffled, loud bang suddenly exploded.

The entire grotto shook violently, as if it had been struck by an invisible, primordial beast.

This tremor far exceeded any previous one.

Huge chunks of rock crashed down like a landslide.

The entire space groaned under the weight of the pressure, and huge cracks spread wildly across the four rock walls like a spider web.

Even more terrifying was that, along with this devastating tremor, an indescribable, terrifying force, like an invisible tsunami, crushed down from above.

Chen Xu, Ruan Qin, and Li Di were the first to be hit, as if struck in the chest by an invisible giant hammer. They all spat out a mouthful of blood and instantly fell into a coma due to serious injuries.

Even Luo Xiao, who was at the Nascent Soul stage, was like a small boat in a raging sea in the face of this sudden and immense force.

He groaned, his protective blood aura fluctuated violently, and he was pressed firmly to the ground by this enormous force.

"Click... snap..."

The cave's dome, under the combined effects of the falling boulders and the terrifying pressure, finally collapsed completely.

The seawater instantly filled the entire cave.

The powerful impact will affect everyone present.

The broken bones, shattered chains, and the violently trembling blood-fiend crystal were all swept up in it.

Cold, dark, heavy, violent...

This was Chen Xu's last vague feeling before he fell into a coma.

He felt himself being swept up by an irresistible turbulent current, tumbling and crashing in endless darkness.

Ruan Qin and Li Di had long since disappeared into the murky water and tumbling boulders, their fate unknown.

Luo Xiao's furious roar seemed to be isolated by the seawater, becoming distant and indistinct.

Only that out-of-control Blood Fiend Crystal emitted a dim, dark red light in the murky seawater.

……

I don't know how much time passed; it might have been a moment, or it might have been a long century.

The intense rolling and collision sensations gradually subsided.

But the terrifying water pressure that was everywhere and almost crushed people still existed.

……

I don't know how much time passed; it might have been a moment, or it might have been a long century.

The intense rolling and collision sensations gradually subsided.

But the terrifying water pressure that was everywhere and almost crushed people still existed.

The water flow also seemed to have become relatively calmer.

Chen Xu was propelled by a relatively stable undercurrent, his back slamming heavily against a hard stone surface.

The strong recoil caused him to groan and choke on a mouthful of salty seawater.

The violent coughing tore at the wound on his chest, and the excruciating pain forcibly pulled him back to consciousness from the brink of unconsciousness.

He struggled to open his heavy eyelids.

What lies before me is no longer a collapsed grotto, nor a deep ocean trench.

A vast space emitting a faint, eerie blue light came into his blurry vision.

The cold, damp air, carrying a strong salty smell, entered his nostrils.

Chen Xu tried to circulate the "Qingyuan Technique," but the residual blood evil power in his meridians clung to him like a maggot, causing him excruciating pain that made his vision go black and almost made him faint again.

He could barely muster a sliver of spiritual energy to press down on the wound and prevent the evil power from further eroding his internal organs and consciousness.

As the dizziness subsided slightly, Chen Xu struggled to prop himself up against the cold stone wall, finally able to see the scene before him clearly.

This is a magnificent, breathtaking underground space, as if an entire underwater mountain range had been hollowed out.

The dome is so high that its top is invisible, hidden in the darkness.

At the heart of the space stands the unimaginably massive ruins of a building.

Its material presents a deep, dark black color, with a surface that flows with a water-like luster.

Even after countless years of erosion, one can still feel its former glory and sturdiness.

Most shockingly, above the entrance to this magnificent building, lies a massive skeleton, as large as a mountain!

The white bones of the skeleton gleamed with a metallic sheen.

On the enormous skull, several broken horns pointed diagonally to the sky, and the empty eye sockets were so deep they seemed capable of devouring souls.

A chilling pressure that made one's soul tremble, even across vast distances and long periods of time.

It still weighed heavily on Chen Xu's heart, making it almost impossible for him to breathe.

"Uh..." Chen Xu groaned, his body involuntarily curling up, his back pressed tightly against the cold, slippery, dark stone wall.

He forced himself to circulate the "Qingyuan Technique," but could only barely protect his heart meridian and a trace of clarity in his mind.

Since the location was unknown, Chen Xu dared not rashly use another disposable training dummy.

He could only grit his teeth and not dare to completely lose consciousness.

He struggled to lift his heavy eyelids and looked once more at the magnificent, breathtaking core of the ruins.

The colossal skeleton, as large as a mountain, loomed above the entrance to the magnificent building.

The empty eye sockets seemed to connect to the deepest abyss, and just looking at them made his soul tremble.

They were almost completely swallowed up and assimilated by that invisible pressure.

"What kind of sea monster's skeleton is this...?" Chen Xu was horrified.

Just then, the residual blood evil in his meridians suddenly backfired.

The dark red and blackish-red aura instantly broke through the weak suppression of the "Qingyuan Technique" and frantically eroded his internal organs and consciousness.

Chen Xu spat out another mouthful of foul blood mixed with black smoke, his consciousness struggling on the verge of complete collapse.

At this critical moment of death, the terrifying pressure emanating from the giant skeleton seemed to sense the filthy bloodthirsty power belonging to the Blood Sea Cult within Chen Xu's body.

Like a sleeping behemoth awakened, an even more violent will of rejection suddenly erupted from the depths of the skeleton.

hum...

Chen Xu felt as if his soul had been struck hard by an invisible giant hammer, and his entire sea of ​​consciousness went blank in an instant.

However, this targeted and terrifying will did not affect his soul entirely.

It's more like a cleansing, an extreme rejection of "foreign objects"...