Chapter 144: Escape

Chapter 144: Escape

Just as Xia Zheng broke free from the range of the Blood Clan’s altar, he sensed that the flying stones beneath him were suddenly halted by some formidable force. The two powers clashed, seemingly equal in strength, and ultimately annihilated each other.

He only caught a fleeting glimpse before noticing that the half-human, half-stone female statue appeared to lift its head and look directly at him. In a voice filled with seductive allure, it whispered, “You are my child as well; you cannot escape your mother’s grasp.”

“Absurd!” Xia Zheng shook his head to dispel the bewitching voice, then swiftly spread his wings and took flight. Several figures soon pursued him relentlessly. Yet, his mission was accomplished—he had disrupted the Blood Clan’s mysterious ritual, though its true nature remained unknown.

Thud!

A rebounding force from a barrier struck him, followed by a surge of mysterious energy that caused his wings to dissipate rapidly. Xia Zheng realized he could no longer fly and began to descend quickly. With dozens of meters left before impact, he was already in a plummeting posture.

However, blessed with a unique imaginative ability, he conjured a smooth, icy slope out of thin air beneath his feet, allowing him to slide down like skiing, arriving on the ground unharmed.

The pursuing Blood Clan members were stunned by this sight. They also landed and pressed the chase.

Darting into a fir forest, Xia Zheng activated his divine eye and weaved rapidly through the trees, demonstrating a familiarity that outpaced his pursuers. He emerged ahead of them, escaping the woods and entering a beautiful garden.

But the garden was no longer deserted. Two Blood Clan maidens, resembling twin sisters, stood there—one with a single ponytail of fiery red hair, the other with short, ear-length blue hair.

Both wore black-and-white maid uniforms, adorned with white crescent-shaped headpieces. One gripped a weapon resembling a meteor hammer; the other held a short bow, aiming directly at him as a radiant arrow suddenly ignited.

“Not good,” Xia Zheng instinctively summoned a floating shield. The arrow’s light struck the shield, which held for a few seconds before shattering.

Seizing the moment, Xia Zheng dodged and slipped into a nearby bush.

“It’s useless. Here, we are the masters; you are the intruder. You cannot hide,” the girl’s voice echoed. Then, with the sound of whooshing, a sense of danger surged.

Xia Zheng had no choice but to leap out. With a crash, the bushes where he had concealed himself were shattered by the meteor hammer. The red-haired maid floated about ten meters away, a wicked smile playing on her lips.

The meteor hammer, seeming alive, swiftly pursued him. Xia Zheng rolled aside and suddenly clenched his hand into a claw. The air was grasped and condensed into a colossal white palm that snatched the meteor hammer.

“Not bad,” the red-haired maid sneered, “but…” The meteor hammer snapped apart, and its chains extended rapidly, twisting and coiling like a serpent’s coils, enveloping Xia Zheng.

A suffocating sensation overwhelmed him—this high-speed spinning chain seemed to deplete the oxygen in the surrounding air, making breathing difficult.

“Dripping Sword!” Xia Zheng still had two energy beads in his mouth. After absorbing one, he replenished his spiritual power and immediately unleashed the Dripping Sword technique.

Dewdrops on the grass behind the red-haired maid surged skyward, transforming into dozens of flying swords that pierced her back in an instant.

A sharp hiss escaped the maid as she was pierced through, and the chains ceased their rotation. She collapsed on the grass.

“Luna!” The blue-haired maid shouted from afar. Her arms suddenly multiplied in speed, seeming to manifest seven or eight limbs as she rapidly loosed arrows.

Each arrow bore a different attribute: the Rock Arrow with immense force, the Flame Arrow burning fiercely, the Frost Arrow chilling to the bone, and the Poison Arrow condensed from venom. Like a Gatling gun, the four types of arrows rained down in a furious barrage.

Xia Zheng simultaneously summoned his floating shield for protection while controlling more Dripping Swords. The dew and moisture from the surrounding plants were drawn toward him, transforming into hundreds—no, thousands—of flying swords.

“Attack!” Xia Zheng pointed at the blue-haired maid, and the flying swords surged toward her.

A piercing howl shattered the air, sending a jolt through Xia Zheng’s heart and clouding his mind. The flying swords faltered, their trajectory slowed.

In that instant, the red-haired maid stepped before her sister, absorbing the flying swords. They clanged against her body, tearing her clothes to shreds, but her flesh remained unscathed.

Her torn uniform revealed delicate skin beneath. Though her chest was modest, her waist, hips, and thighs were exquisitely beautiful.

By contrast, the blue-haired maid had a fuller bosom but a slimmer figure elsewhere. Though twins, their physiques were distinctly different.

“Anna, restrain him. I want to tear him apart,” the red-haired maid commanded coldly.

“Yes, ma’am,” the blue-haired maid replied, lowering her short bow. She crouched and placed her hands on the ground, murmuring incantations. A six-pointed star pattern erupted from the earth, rapidly expanding.

“Blazing Ice Sword!”

A pale blue light shot forward. Luna roared as her arms transformed into muscular limbs, then she swung a powerful punch.

With a ground-shaking crash, the Blazing Ice Sword struck her fist, freezing her solid.

“Divine Thunder!”

Xia Zheng unleashed a mental strike, instantly knocking the blue-haired maid unconscious and causing the six-pointed star on the ground to vanish.

“How despicable!” the blue-haired maid struggled weakly before succumbing to the Divine Thunder’s power.

Xia Zheng smirked. “Thanks for the compliment.”

Before Luna could thaw from her icy prison, Xia Zheng slipped past the two and fled beyond the garden’s bounds.

Seconds after Xia Zheng’s departure, five or six Blood Clan warriors arrived and rescued the unconscious Anna and the frozen Luna.

“Where is that human?” an elder with two long horns on his forehead asked.

Luna, still enduring the flames but gradually expelling them, replied painfully, “Sorry, Elder, he escaped.”

Anna was revived by a Blood Clan woman with wavy golden hair. “That human’s strength is formidable, rivaling our strongest.”

“Yes, we have discerned that he is not one of the Star Radiant warriors among humans,” the woman responded.

“Do we pursue?” asked a man with thick, seaweed-green hair and prominent lips.

The elder waved his hand. “No need. He is too fast for us to catch. He is likely a scout. Humanity will attack eventually, but the Eternal Region is under our control. This is our home turf; let them bleed dry.”

“Pity. The resurrection of the Mother Goddess was interrupted by that brat. Otherwise, we could have taken the initiative to strike,” the woman sighed.

Another Blood Clan woman spoke, her hair styled in a noble updo, nearly white with a flaxen hue, a golden chain adorning her forehead. “The Mother Goddess conveyed a message to me—a prophecy that this human will one day wage a fierce battle against us, posing a grave threat.”

“Very well. Since that is so, we will fully activate the formation and summon most of the royal family’s strongest warriors. Humanity will pay an unbearable price for this battle,” the elder decided, leading the group back along their original path.

Soon, they vanished into the garden. A moment later, a spatial tremor signaled the activation of some powerful formation.