Legend of Swordsman

When Jian Wushuang was in the Qishen Temple, he hadn’t fully realized the gravity of the situation.

But now, watching those cultivators at the Great Ascension Stage about to undergo the Shura Trial, he knew that perhaps not even one out of a hundred would survive.

After all, the trial was incredibly brutal.

“If the Blood River Ancestor had a powerful inheritance, maybe he could really make it happen!”

Unfortunately, the Blood River Ancestor was merely a successor of the Divine Eye secret technique.

Even after generations of harvesting cultivators from the Ancient Continent, he was only able to gather a group of Blood Demon Guards to serve him.

The cultivators of the Ancient World were in a very different situation compared to Jian Wushuang’s own trial back in the Qishen Temple.

These people still believed they were ascending, but in reality, they were like birds in a cage, kept in the dark by the Blood River Ancestor.

Unless they could become Dao Lords, there was no escaping his control.

But under the Blood River Ancestor’s command, becoming a Dao Lord was nearly impossible.

The Blood Demon Guards selected through the trial were merely tools for the Blood River Ancestor. Most of the treasures they obtained had to be handed over to him.

Otherwise, death awaited them.

Without treasures or a powerful inheritance, the thought of surpassing the Blood River Ancestor and breaking free was nothing short of delusional.

Thus, the Blood Demon Guards never even considered rebellion.

Perhaps at first, they had thoughts of resisting, but those thoughts were eventually ground down.

Now was not the time to pity them.

Because they had their own troubles to deal with.

The Blood Demon Trial was about to begin, and it was the highest level of Blood Demon Trial.

Hundreds of Yuanshen and Great Ascension Stage cultivators were about to be thrown into the Shura Grounds on the southern shore.

At that point, every cultivator would be closely monitored.

Even if their aura was concealed, with so many cultivators, they would surely be spotted by the naked eye.

“To deal with the ordinary folk, an illusion technique would be sufficient. But when a large number of Blood Demon Guards arrive, I fear we’ll be hard-pressed to move!” Zi Yu Immortal worried aloud.

Everyone was anxious at that moment.

But there were no good solutions.

Suddenly, one of Tian Can Elder’s disciples blurted out a foolish question.

“If we can’t cross by land, why not fly over the Blood River?”

Tian Can Elder shot a glare at his disciple and snapped, “You idiot! Do you think the Blood River Ancestor got his name for nothing?”

“The reason he’s called the Blood River Ancestor is because he controls the Blood River. Even a fly flying over it would not escape his notice. While crossing briefly might go unnoticed, if you fly along the river for any length of time, you’re bound to be detected!” True Immortal Wuhou explained calmly before continuing, “I do have a plan to get us across the Shura Grounds on the southern shore.”

Zi Yu Immortal and Tian Can Elder’s eyes lit up as they eagerly asked, “What plan?”

“Fight our way out!”

True Immortal Wuhou answered seriously, but his words caused both Tian Can Elder and Zi Yu Immortal’s faces to darken.

Fight their way out?

That plan was even more foolish than what Tian Can Elder’s disciple had suggested.

The Blood Demon Trial was an important event, and several powerful True Immortal would definitely be stationed there.

If they were discovered, there would be no chance of escape.

“Perhaps you misunderstood my intention. I’m not suggesting that we reveal our identities and fight our way out. Instead, we should disguise ourselves as trial participants and fight our way to the edge of the Asura Arena. Do you understand now?” True True Immortal Wuhou chuckled, feeling that these people were thinking too slowly.

It was also possible that, due to the constant tension over the past few days, their minds had become somewhat sluggish from the lack of relaxation.

Especially Elder Tian Can, who took a deep breath before asking, “And what do we do when we reach the border?”

At that moment, Fairy Ziyu finally caught on, exclaiming in surprise, “Once we reach the border, of course, we run!”

The others were stunned for a moment, then quickly understood.

The logic was actually quite simple.

In the Blood Demon Trial, the strongest participants were only at the pinnacle of the Mahayana stage. Those who oversaw the trial were aided by a grand formation, and the outer perimeter was guarded by ordinary Blood Demon guards—at best, at the level of the three-step formation.

The core area, however, was home to several vice commanders, all of whom were at the level of eight-step True Immortals. Why would they bother with such trivial matters?

It was likely that their main responsibility was to observe promising trial participants with exceptional talent.

Among millions of cultivators, a few extra individuals wouldn’t be noticed.

Once they reached the border, using a supreme treasure to conceal their aura and slip through the formation to evade the guards would be relatively easy.

Upon realizing this, they immediately decided to adopt True Lord Wuhou’s method.

…

“All units, hear my command! Begin deploying the trial participants from the flying boats. Ensure they are scattered across different regions of the Asura Arena!”

“Yes!”

Hundreds of Blood Demon guards—all of whom were True Immortals, with some as strong as five-step True Immortals, and others at the more common level of three-step True Immortals—moved into action.

As for the stronger figures, they resided within the Blood Demon Hall in the sky. They wouldn’t bother with such mundane tasks, delegating everything to their subordinates.

At this moment, inside the hall, three True Immortals were present.

Two of them were vice commanders of the Blood Demon Hall, and the third was Wu Taidou, a member of the same clan as True True Immortal Wuhou.

These three were all eight-step True Immortals, possessing formidable strength.

“Taidou, my friend, it’s been a while, hasn’t it? The last time we ventured into the Vortex Domain was three hundred years ago!” said a young alien with azure scales covering his body and curved horns on his head. He raised his wine cup in a hearty gesture. “Come, let’s have a drink first!”

Wu Taidou smiled warmly and responded, “Indeed, it has been many years!”

The three had once adventured together and had become life-and-death companions.

This time, Blood River Patriarch had a collaboration with the Beast Taming Sect, and Wu Taidou had been sent, giving the three of them a rare opportunity to sit down and share a drink.

“By the way, I heard this trial is of the highest level, and it’s being presided over by Brother Jiye. Looks like he’ll be gaining quite a few talented subordinates this time!” Wu Taidou said enviously.

Though Wu Taidou was a strong member of the Beast Taming Sect, naturally gifted in beast control and now an eight-step True Immortal, commanding several seven-step True Immortal demonic beasts, he still couldn’t compare to the vice commanders of the Blood Demon guards. While he might have more subordinates than them, their quality was far inferior.

The most critical issue was that maintaining these beasts consumed vast amounts of resources. Every day, feeding his legion of demonic beasts was an immense expense.

It was nothing like being a Blood Demon, where they had their own territories and could venture out for battles and adventures. Whatever treasures they obtained, they would merely hand over to the more powerful figures.

It was a dream setup.

The azure-scaled warrior laughed at Wu Taidou’s words, pointing at the handsome young man with a pale blue face across from him. “Jiye, since Brother Taidou is here, you should show some generosity. You’ve had a stroke of good fortune lately!”

“Please, don’t tease me,” Jiye True Immortal responded humbly. “While the talents from the trial may be under my command, they ultimately serve as the patriarch’s guards. How could I dare to benefit from it?”

Though he was modest, Jiye’s exceptional talent and strength were undeniable. He had emerged from the Asura Arena and, in less than a millennium, had already reached the eight-step True Immortal level.

He was highly gifted, incredibly powerful, and greatly favored by the Blood River Patriarch.

He was also one of the patriarch’s closest confidants and was regarded as the most likely candidate to ascend to Dao Lord in the future.