"Boom!"
As the two stepped forward, following the pitch-black chains deeper into the endless earth, threads of blood-red lightning, imbued with terrifying divine power, wrapped around them like cocoons spinning silk, constantly devouring the spiritual energy within their primordial spirits.
"Hmph?"
"It seems we've reached the deepest part of the Blood Sea Floating Coffin. The laws here are already beginning to expel us. Our spiritual energy is being depleted. General Hu, be mindful of your spiritual energy distribution and don't fall prey to these blood threads!"
"Understood!"
Hu Yan Zan flicked at the blood threads on his body, but they wouldn't come off. Instead, they intensified, clinging tightly. The dense blood threads seemed like divine blood seeping from his pores.
Although they could already see two pitch-black chains, and according to their estimations, only about ten miles lay ahead, which would have been a mere blink of an eye in the past, it was different now. With every distance they traveled, the blood threads wrapped around them increased their consumption of spiritual energy. Even they felt a heavy pressure. Slowly, their chests began to feel constricted, and every step was incredibly arduous.
"Devour Netherflame!"
At a certain moment, Hu Yan Zan and Shang Shitu, unable to bear the strain any longer, knelt on one knee, gasping for breath.
Even for those as strong as them, it was this difficult. This demonstrated just how terrifying the divine power contained within these blood threads was!
Hu Yan Zan shouted, and several small clusters of pale green Netherflame erupted from the center of their brows, entering their nostrils like gas.
Streams of peculiar pale green divine light enveloped their physical bodies, and the energy from the Netherflames continuously replenished their losses.
After a short while, they recovered their breath and stepped forward again. This time, each step plunged them three inches deeper into the earth, and their legs trembled violently.
"We're almost there."
"Keep pushing!"
At the end of their sight, a deep crimson blood-red light flickered in the darkness.
The distance was not far, only a hundred zhang, but traversing this hundred zhang felt like an immense force bearing down on them. The blood threads wrapped around them began to turn a deeper crimson, and the consumption of spiritual energy surged exponentially.
Every five steps they took, they began to devour Netherflame. Later, it became every single step.
This short hundred zhang was as difficult as ascending to heaven. The closer they got to the deep crimson blood-red light, the more unbearable the terrifying pressure and the mad consumption of spiritual energy became for Hu Yan Zan and Shang Shitu. Soon, the Netherflame contained within one cluster of divine fire was depleted.
This cluster of divine fire contained hundreds of Netherflames, including those from some top-tier, unclaimed primordial spirits. In the past, this would have been enough to help them advance a small realm. But in their current situation, even hundreds of Netherflames were not enough to offset the blood threads' consumption. The spiritual energy replenished by devouring the Netherflame was exhausted in the blink of an eye.
"Ah!!" They began to roar in discomfort, releasing the pent-up oppression in their hearts. One step, two steps, their footprints began to sink deeper, from the initial three inches to now past their ankles.
...
"Kaka ka~~"
At this point, they were only fifty zhang away from the deep crimson blood-red light. The pressure and the consumption by the blood threads had made their veins bulge and their faces turn red. Sweat poured down their faces like someone was pouring water over their heads.
"Gegge ge~~"
"What's happening?"
Outside the Blood Sea Floating Coffin, Huang Zhong, who had been quietly guarding the physical bodies of Shang Shitu and Hu Yan Zan, suddenly stood up, looking at their bodies in alarm. Layers of blood mist were being expelled, only to vanish completely in the next moment.
"What exactly is happening inside?"
The significant dissipation of divine blood within their physical bodies made Huang Zhong feel a vague sense of unease.
Meanwhile, inside the Blood Sea Floating Coffin, as they crossed the fifty zhang mark, the immense pressure began to make their bones hum. Layers of blood mist were squeezed out, enveloping their primordial spirits. Some areas even began to crack with fine fissures. The moment the blood threads touched the divine blood, they became even more ferocious, tripling their consumption rate.
"Ah~~~"
"Quick!!"
They roared towards the sky. Three clusters of fiery gold divine fire began to madly expel Netherflame to replenish the spiritual energy lost by their physical bodies. As for the spiritual energy of this world, it was strange. The moment they discovered the pitch-black chains, they could no longer absorb and convert it.
The final fifty zhang took them a full day to cover only thirty zhang. Of the Netherflame contained within the twelve clusters of fiery gold divine fire, six had been completely depleted.
The forbidden area here was far beyond what they could tread. If not for the abundance of Netherflame they possessed, they would likely have run out of spiritual energy and their divine blood would have dissipated, leading to their deaths midway!
"Boom!!"
They finally reached the twenty zhang mark. The deep crimson blood-red light was still faintly flickering.
Twenty zhang was close, but even when they looked intently, they couldn't discern the source of that deep crimson blood-red light.
Suddenly, a thunderous roar shook the heavens, as if issuing a command. As the thunder subsided, the blood threads wrapped around them became even more frenzied. They easily broke through their primordial spirits and directly pierced into them.
The primordial spirits appeared transparent, but after the blood threads penetrated, they inexplicably vanished. To their disbelief, they began to extract divine blood, which could only be possessed by the physical body, and ravenously devoured their divine blood and spiritual energy.
"Where is Taotie!"
"Where is Bai Hu!"
They roared unwillingly. Although they didn't know how these blood threads managed to extract divine blood even after penetrating their primordial spirits, this was far more dangerous and fatal than devouring spiritual energy. Spiritual energy consumption could be replenished by Netherflame, but there was no other way to replace divine blood.
Once their divine blood was depleted, they would undoubtedly turn into withered bones, just like the divine corpses ahead, forever suppressed here until eternity. Su Dan Novel Network
"Roar!!"
Two thunderous roars echoed. In the darkness of the heavens, four terrifying blood-red lights flashed, devouring a path and charging forward.
In front of the White Tiger's forehead, behind the two of them, Taotie's massive maw devoured endless black energy. The moment the two divine beasts appeared, the blood threads that had pierced their primordial spirits frantically retreated. They clung to their physical bodies, continuing to devour spiritual energy, but no longer divine blood!
Even the terrifying divine light of the blood threads dimmed considerably.
"That was close!"
Hu Yan Zan's face was pale. In just a few breaths, one-third of their divine blood had dissipated. With pale faces, they had no choice but to abandon further progress. After consuming hundreds of Netherflames and a large quantity of pills, they sat down to adjust their condition.
With such a scarcity of divine blood, venturing further would be a plunge into an abyss with no return. To proceed deeper, they had to adjust themselves to their optimal state.