Quickly conquer the martial arts world, and let your fists dominate the heavens!

Murong Bo also believed that, given his healing abilities, he might not die.

However, after the relic's qi and blood entered his body, they were incompatible with the qi and blood of the "three-headed blood viper" in his body.

"Bang!!"

Murong Bo's screams came to an abrupt halt. His body was instantly torn to pieces in the explosion, eventually being completely blasted into dust, scattered all over the ground.

The crimson threads lost their activity and turned into pools of dark red viscous liquid.

After dealing with Murong Bo, Zhao Qingtan put away the Blood Relic, flashed back to Chen Zhan's side, slightly panting, clearly having expended considerable energy using the Six Meridians Divine Sword technique.

Instead, she utilized the vital energy within the relics, requiring minimal effort, using the secret method Chen Zhan had given her.

Murong Bo's remains, blasted to dust, were scattered all over the ground, the blackish-red viscous liquid mixed with stone chips, emitting a pungent stench of decay.

Fa Ling watched this scene, a hint of surprise flashing across her face, but not because of Murong Bo's death.
In his eyes, Murong Bo was nothing more than a pawn to be sacrificed.

His gaze remained fixed on the blood relic in Zhao Qingtan's hand until the crimson mark was removed, at which point he slowly looked away.

"The Dao Lord's methods are indeed strange."

Fa Ling spoke in a deep voice, his tone filled with undisguised solemnity: "What is that crimson bead?"

"According to what you monks call relics."

Chen Zhan responded calmly, his tone tinged with amusement: "However, it's not an ordinary Buddha relic, but rather one condensed from the essence and blood of a monk. How about it? Doesn't this method have similarities to your 'Refining Essence and Forging Blood Technique,' or even complement each other?"

"you!!"

"Impossible! You could never possibly know this technique, much less condense your vital energy and essence into a relic and use it at will! This extraordinary skill is unique to me!"

Fa Ling's expression changed drastically, and he could no longer maintain his previous composure.

He was not afraid of Chen Zhan before, even though he knew that the other party might be the Xuan Yang Dao Master, he was confident that he had the "Three-Headed Blood Serpent" and the "Blood Serpent Puppet" in his hands.

But now, Chen Zhan not only knows his methods inside and out, but also has similar but more sophisticated techniques, which makes him completely panic.

Without further hesitation, Fa Ling moved swiftly, his speed as fast as a ghost, heading straight for the stone platform.

With light steps, he reached the top of the stone platform in a few strides. With a sharp flick of his right finger, countless fine red blood threads shot out from his fingertip, accurately entering the three blood cocoons on the stone platform like a spider web.

"Kakaka-!"

A piercing cracking sound rang out, and the blood cocoon that was originally bound by red silk threads began to vibrate violently. The outer shell of the blood cocoon peeled off continuously, breaking into countless dark red fragments.

As the blood cocoon shattered completely, three figures emerged from it.

Chen Zhan glanced at the person and immediately recognized him.

In the center is Murong Fu, and standing beside him is an old woman, whom he had also met on Taihu Lake.

The other person was a burly middle-aged man, about forty years old, with a strong build and a deep, composed aura. He was probably Deng Baichuan, the head of Qingyun Manor, one of the four great retainers of the Murong family.

The other three retainers had already perished, leaving only him.

The three looked exactly the same as before, but their auras were completely different.

Their bodies no longer seemed to be made of flesh and blood, but rather of countless red and black threads tightly strung together.

The silk threads kept wriggling and entwining, covering every inch of the skin, even replacing the hair and eyebrows.

Upon closer inspection, each thread is a tiny blood snake, its head and tail interlocking to form a complete human shape.

Chen Zhan understood.

The Three-Headed Blood Serpent produces hundreds of blood sacs every month, and each blood sac contains a blood serpent.

Over the years, Putuo Temple has accumulated countless blood snakes.

Some of them were implanted into the bodies of ordinary people, turning into blood tumors that absorbed their vital energy, while the rest were carefully stored by the spirit of magic and used to refine these blood viper puppets.

The three people in front of him, including Murong Fu, were clearly a step ahead of Murong Bo.

His entire body had been assimilated and eroded by the blood vipers, turning him into a mere puppet.

The three people had empty, lifeless eyes, with only red light flashing in their pupils, showing no trace of human intelligence.

Having just emerged from the blood cocoon, it sensed the presence of Chen Zhan and Zhao Qingtan, let out a low roar, and leaped up, charging straight at the two of them.

The blood-red snake threads wrapped around its body hissed as they passed through the air.

"Master, how about trying out the fully-formed 'Blood Serpent Puppet'?"

Fa Ling stood on the stone platform, a smug smile returning to his face: "Their entire bodies are formed from blood serpents, making them impervious to swords and spears, and immune to water and fire. Unless all the blood serpents are completely destroyed, they will never die or perish."

Seeing this, Zhao Qingtan picked up the broken half of the Qingfeng sword from the ground and was about to step forward.
She had just taken a step when Chen Zhan stopped her with his hand: "Let me do it."

At this moment, three human puppets that had pounced down from the stone platform were already close in.

Countless blood-red and blackish-red serpents wriggled wildly on their bodies. Even before you got close, a thick, foul stench swept over you, making you want to vomit.

Chen Zhan's expression remained unchanged, but his dantian stirred slightly.

Over the years, the Qi and Blood Divine Tiger within my Dantian has become vastly different from what it once was.

As he focused his mind, the Divine Tiger of Qi and Blood seemed to have developed sentience, slowly turning its head within its dantian to look out at the outside world.

Sensing the sinister aura emanating from the Blood Serpent Puppet, the Blood Tiger's eyes widened in fury, unleashing a roar that resonated throughout its dantian. A surge of immense blood energy erupted, instantly flowing through Chen Zhan's entire body via his meridians.

Visible crimson blood surged from his body, condensing into a fine layer of blood-red scales on his skin.

Dragon and snake patterns intertwine and entwine on its scales, covering its entire body and exuding a majestic yet violent aura.

As soon as the scales took shape, Murong Fu and his two companions pounced on him, their sharp claws, wrapped in blood-serpent threads, simultaneously grabbing at Chen Zhan's head, heart, and other vital organs with the force to tear through the air.

Chen Zhan neither dodged nor avoided, but raised his right hand, which was covered with dragon and snake scales, and waved it lightly.

The movements appeared casual, like swatting a fly.

"Wow—!"

A piercingly sharp shriek suddenly rang out in the cave, the sound wave spreading outwards like an invisible blade.

Even though everyone present was a master at the Tongxuan Realm or above, they couldn't help but feel a stinging pain in their eardrums and a surge of blood and qi.

The three Blood Serpent puppets, which were the first to be hit, directly bore the brunt of the sonic wave.

They seemed to have encountered a gale-force wind, their figures instantly frozen in mid-air, the blood-venomous threads wrapped around their bodies trembling violently under the vibration of the sound waves.

These blood serpents detached from the puppet and scattered in all directions.

"Puff puff--"

Countless blood serpents exploded in the air, turning into pools of blackish-red viscous liquid that splashed onto the ground and stone walls with a dull thud.

Without the support of the blood serpents, the figures of Murong Fu and the other two collapsed instantly, falling from mid-air and crashing to the ground, turning into a pile of scattered blood serpent threads.

With a mere flick of his wrist, the three blood viper puppets were utterly destroyed. Chen Zhan's actions in defeating the three puppets were clean and swift, yet he did not stop.

The Divine Tiger of Qi and Blood within his dantian continued to roar, its immense power of Qi and Blood surging forth endlessly.

The dragon and snake blood armor covering his body was gradually perfected at a speed visible to the naked eye. Each scale became more delicate and tough, and the dragon and snake patterns moved across the armor as if they had come to life.

Immediately afterwards, a pair of blood-red wings suddenly sprouted from his back. The wingspan was more than ten feet, and the feathers were formed from pure blood and qi, exuding a violent aura.

At the same time, his body doubled in height, and his already upright figure became even more robust, completely enveloped in blood armor.

With a gentle sweep of its wings, a powerful gust of air swept outwards.

Chen Zhan's figure soared into the air, like an ancient deity descending. In a flash, he appeared above the stone platform, hovering in mid-air.

"Does the abbot think it would be better to use the absorbed blood and qi in this way?" Chen Zhan's voice came from the blood armor.

Fa Ling looked up, staring intently at Chen Zhan, completely stunned.

He suddenly realized that Chen Zhan was always ahead of him.

He used the blood and qi of the Blood Serpent to occupy a human body and form a human puppet. He thought this was the pinnacle of his blood and qi manipulation, but in front of Chen Zhan, the human puppet was no match for him.

What unsettled him even more was that the Dragon-Snake Blood Armor Chen Zhan was displaying at this moment was like a meticulously sculpted work of art, with clear patterns and a majestic aura.

In comparison, the ugly, blood-sucking human puppets he created were utterly insignificant.

A thought suddenly exploded in his mind.

It seems that his thinking has been wrong all along.

He absorbed the essence and vital energy of the people, transforming it into power for the monks in the temple to absorb, thereby enhancing their strength.

Alternatively, one could allow the three-headed Blood Serpent to directly possess a physical body, transforming it into a monster that is neither human nor demon, which would also enhance one's power.

But he never thought that the essence and blood absorbed from the human body were the most important, not only for increasing lifespan and rejuvenating, but also for opening up a completely new path of martial arts.

Chen Zhan, standing before me, had clearly embarked on a completely new path of martial arts.

“Dao Lord…no wonder he disappeared for more than ten years.” Fa Ling murmured to himself.

"So, Daoist Master and I are kindred spirits! Daoist Master has indeed gone further than I have. This kind of technique makes it impossible to sense any fluctuations in true qi. It can condense such divine power solely from blood and qi. It is truly amazing, truly amazing!"

He was convinced that Chen Zhan's sudden disappearance back then must have been due to a similar opportunity, just like his own, which led him to harm the common people and devote himself to cultivating this martial arts of qi and blood, thus gaining his current strength.

"However, even the Daoist Master's martial art might not be able to defeat this humble monk, right?"

Fa Ling suppressed her smile, clasped her hands together, and gave Chen Zhan a slight bow.

His figure standing beside the bronze cauldron seemed to fade slightly as he spoke, as if he were about to merge into the air.

"boom--!"

Without warning, Chen Zhan was suddenly struck hard in the chest. A violent force came from the void and slammed his massive body directly into a stone wall.

With a loud "boom",
The stone wall was smashed, leaving a huge crater, with stone chips flying everywhere.

After he was thrown away, another monk named Fa Ling appeared where he had just been in mid-air.

The newly appeared spirit's form also faded somewhat, while the spirit beside the bronze cauldron instantly returned to its original state.

Two spirits appeared in the field at the same time, one standing beside the bronze cauldron and the other floating in mid-air, as if one of them was in a phantom and could freely switch between reality and illusion.

Chen Zhan flew out of the deep pit in the stone wall, his dragon-snake blood armor intact, clearly indicating that the attack had not harmed him.

But Fa Ling's move was indeed strange; he hadn't sensed the slightest aura of that figure that could switch between reality and illusion.

"The power of the Profound Realm?"

Chen Zhan asked in a deep voice, his gaze sweeping over the two spirits.

"That's not all!"

The voices of the Dharma Spirits came from both figures at the same time, carrying a hint of smugness.

Having been verbally humiliated by Chen Zhan multiple times, he now finally had the upper hand and naturally wanted to launch a counterattack to vent his anger.

As soon as the words fell, one of the two spirits suddenly became completely illusory, its form merging entirely into the void, becoming formless and colorless, and no longer able to be sensed by any trace of its aura.

The other spirit, unarmed, flashed in front of Chen Zhan and his fist came straight for his face.

This time, Chen Zhan was on high alert, his blood surging, ready to respond at any moment.

But just as he raised his hand to block, a tremendous force suddenly came from the void and slammed into his back.

His body jolted violently, and he involuntarily retreated forward. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw the illusory figure of the magic spirit flicker in the void for a moment before disappearing again.

Zhao Qingtan, who was standing to the side, was also a little confused and couldn't understand the situation on the field at all.

In her eyes, Chen Zhan seemed to be repeatedly pounded in the void by an invisible force. Although the Dragon Serpent Blood Armor was strong enough, it could not withstand such an unpredictable attack.

In just three or four blows, a tiny crack appeared on the originally flawless Dragon Serpent Blood Armor.

"The Dao Lord's tortoise shell is really hard, isn't it?"

The two spirits spoke at the same time. One voice came from beside the bronze cauldron, and the other came from somewhere in the void, both ethereal and eerie.

Chen Zhan laughed, completely unconcerned about the attacks he was receiving.

The body's blood and qi surged automatically, instantly mending the gaps in the blood armor.

He simply stood still, closed his eyes, and let the attacks from the magic spirits rain down on him.

Sometimes it was smashed against the left stone wall, and sometimes it was blasted against the top of the cave on the right. The entire underground space was destroyed beyond recognition, with stone chips and stalactite fragments scattered all over the ground.

The magic spirit's attacks became faster and faster, its figure constantly darting through the void, and its attack angles becoming increasingly tricky.

However, although gaps appeared repeatedly in Chen Zhan's Dragon-Snake Blood Armor, they were always instantly repaired by his blood and qi, and he was never able to harm his body.

Suddenly, Chen Zhan snapped his eyes open, a surge of red light erupting from them, and a cold smile curled at the corner of his lips:
"caught you!"

"Bam—!"

Another punch landed on Chen Zhan's chest, and Fa Ling's face had just revealed a smug smile.

He then discovered that his arms were tightly bound by the dragon and snake patterns on Chen Zhan's dragon and snake blood armor, as if they were clamped by two iron pincers, and he could not move.

At the same time, the Qi and Blood Divine Tiger within Chen Zhan's dantian suddenly exerted its power.

An unimaginable divine power erupted from his hand.

"Kakaka-"

A crisp cracking sound rang out, like glass shattering.

It was as if Chen Zhan had forcibly pulled a phantom figure out of the void, accompanying the appearance of this figure.
The air in the entire underground space began to distort, as if an invisible membrane was breaking apart. (End of Chapter)