Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Li Weixuan bore the brunt of it, unable to avoid it, and was almost immediately engulfed within it.

The approaching blood and flesh storm, with its terrifying power that made one suffocate, far exceeded the oppressive force that Feng Yunhong had exerted, sweeping everything in its path with an invincible momentum.

Li Weixuan’s body shook violently, and in an instant, countless wounds appeared.

However, the next moment, an immense sword qi burst forth, clashing with the storm.

Knowing there was no hope of escaping, Li Weixuan chose to face the blow head-on.

The wild force overflowed, the sword light shattered, and Li Weixuan’s body was instantly torn apart.

Taking advantage of this slight reprieve, Ji Liushuang and others exerted all their strength to escape the reach of the storm.

Apart from them, the entire Exploration Team was annihilated in an instant, exploding into a mist of blood under the impact of the storm.

The next moment, the storm receded, leaving a scene smeared with blood.

All around the blood pool, a thick mixture of blood and flesh was smeared everywhere, and apart from Li Weixuan, it was nearly impossible to see any intact corpses.

Soon, as the storm subsided, thick streams of blood converged and meandered into the nearby blood pool.

Fu Qian stood to one side, quietly observing the scene before him, not missing any detail.

The blood and flesh mixture flowing into the blood pool once again presented a clear-cut scene.

Most of the blood and flesh quickly merged into that stinking clump, while Li Weixuan’s broken body was wrapped in fresh blood, slowly dissolving away, and a human-shaped blood shadow slowly took form.

So it was! Fu Qian felt that he now understood the state of this “furnace.”

First of all, Feng Yunhong hadn’t told the whole truth.

Right from the moment he dropped blood into the pool, Fu Qian had had his suspicions.

Over the years, there surely must have been Transcendents of no low realm that fell into this trap. If their deaths were unaffected, then where did their bodies go?

The answer was now quite clear.

Among the blood mist that had exploded just now, apart from Feng Yunhong’s head, there were faces, contorted faces, far more than one.

The owners of those Blood Faces were those Transcendents of no low realm.

They had indeed been devoured, but not by this furnace—it was by Feng Yunhong.

They, just like Li Weixuan now, had all been “eaten” by this Feng Yunhong.

Fu Qian had no doubt that soon, a Feng Yunhong would emerge from within, and Li Weixuan would become one of the many Blood Faces.

As for why Feng Yunhong was capable of doing this, Fu Qian recalled a section about ambergris that he had learned in a fragrance and spice class.

It is said that giant squids have tough beaks and radula that are not easy to digest. When eaten by sperm whales, they accumulate in the gastrointestinal tract, stimulating the intestines, and over time the intestines secrete a special waxy substance that encases the remnants, gradually forming ambergris.

Every Transcendent of a certain strength was an impurity that this furnace could not digest.

What they had just seen in Feng Yunhong was the ambergris formed over the years.

He was not a person, but a conglomerate of all the remnant residues of those Transcendents.

When they first encountered him, the clump of flesh beneath his waist was not controlling him but was enveloping him to prevent him from affecting the furnace.

Therefore, his loss of sanity at that time was completely an act.

“Why did this happen?”

From a distance, Ji Liushuang, with blood on her lips, looked dazedly at the bloody scene in front of her.

Even the Academy’s head…

She was among the luckiest ones, originally at a distance. After hearing Fu Qian’s words, though she didn’t quite understand, she subconsciously prepared herself mentally.

So when Feng Yunhong blew himself up, she was almost the first to escape the range of the storm, only slightly shaken.

Apart from her, only five others survived, including Yuan Xin and Huang Zhaoyan.

They weren’t so lucky. Even though Li Weixuan had given his life for their chance to breathe, without exception, they were all affected by the storm, with the most seriously injured nearly turned into minced meat.

The once-sizable team, in the blink of an eye, was reduced to a mere few individuals.

“How did you know?”

Struggling to get up from the ground, Yuan Xin did not rush to check his injuries. Instead, he stared intently at Fu Qian, word by word he asked.

“Know what?”

Fu Qian looked at the other person’s face, covered in blood.

“I knew there was something wrong with him.”

Yuan Xin pointed toward the direction of the blood pool.

“From the beginning to the end, it was you who told us we were trapped… told us we couldn’t rest… told us to search for an exit inside the ruins…

The whole team has been acting according to your arrangements, and this is the result we have ended up with.

Tell me, how did you know all of this?”

Yuan Xin’s words brought a momentary silence, then everyone stared at Fu Qian’s face, deep in thought.

…

Indeed, on closer inspection, there were quite a few doubtful points; it seemed that this guy had been directing the team’s actions all along.

And there was his strange behavior just now.

Fu Qian’s right hand now had only four fingers; he had just ripped off his little finger and thrown it onto Feng Yunhong’s body.

“Now is not the time to dwell on these issues; we need to figure out a way to get out first.”

Ji Liushuang stepped forward, staring at Yuan Xin with a stern look, stopping him from continuing.

Although she also felt that Fu Qian had many secrets, she didn’t believe it was as Yuan Xin had described.

Fu Qian’s actions were more akin to those of a wholly rational survivor, every move made solely to stay alive.

Don’t forget that it was Fu Qian who had just reminded everyone to run quickly.

Being reprimanded by the goddess of his heart, Yuan Xin, with his eyes red with rage, was no longer respectful as before, but instead looked at her and sneered, unwilling to give in.

Humans! Fu Qian sighed inwardly.

Often, the only reason some people hate you is that you told them the truth.

Even when they are powerless to confront the truth, they often subconsciously want to kill you, as if your disappearance would make the difficulties before their eyes vanish.

Fortunately, dealing with such people, Fu Qian had special communication skills.

The next moment, the air was filled with murderous intent.

The fear of death gripped everyone’s hearts.

Fu Qian smiled as he looked at Yuan Xin.

“Are you mistaken about something? Where did you get the idea that I need to answer your questions?”

At these words, Yuan Xin, who had just been uncontrollable with anger, turned pale as paper.

It wasn’t just him; everyone had the same reaction, and the room fell silent.

Indeed, in these circumstances, did Fu Qian have any obligation to answer any questions at all?

Not to mention that aside from him, almost everyone was injured; even if all six people were uninjured, they might not be a match for a Sixth Phase Transcendent.

Considering the nature of these ruins, anything that happened within would go unnoticed to the outside world.

Having a powerful family was meaningless if you died here. Dead for real, leaving no trace behind, the outside world wouldn’t even remember you existed, much less seek vengeance for you.

Even the former head of the Academy, trapped here for decades, didn’t cause the slightest ripple before ultimately turning into this neither alive nor dead state.

To Fu Qian, the group was nothing more than meat on a chopping board.

If he really wanted to kill, there was nothing that could threaten him.

No, he had already killed one person.

Remembering the dismembered assassin, the group’s hearts sank further.

Especially Huang Zhaoyan’s.

“Fu Qian, don’t be rash.”

Ji Liushuang also lost color in her face, her voice trembling as she tried to persuade him, extremely worried that Fu Qian might lash out in displeasure.

“It’s okay, I never act rashly.”

Fu Qian, smiling, walked beside the blood pool, where a humanoid blood silhouette was slowly taking shape; he turned back to look at Ji Liushuang.

“Do you know what ambergris is?”