Living In Another World With A Farm Chapter 8497: Lucky survivors (1)

With a serene expression, Zhao Hai soared ahead. All of a sudden, a faint ripple ahead drew his focus. Being in a mode of complete composure, he picked up on even the tiniest disturbances. That's precisely why every minor ripple in his path grabbed his notice.

His body shifted, sending the blood lotus beneath him rushing toward that spot. In an instant, he hovered right over the disturbance. Observing closely, Zhao Hai spotted that the ripple stemmed from within the blood sea, specifically below its surface. Without delay, he plunged into the blood sea, eager to uncover the source of that anomaly.

Before long, Zhao Hai reached the depths of the blood sea. There, a fractured sword emerged before him. Its hue was bronze, though now it appeared quite worn. Innumerable magical formations adorned its blade, yet they glowed faintly at present. Dark blemishes dotted the sword, gradually creeping toward untouched sections. Though their advance was sluggish, it persisted. Each day, whenever this darkness reached a formation, that formation would fade entirely, draining of all vibrancy.

Spotting the sword, Zhao Hai's gaze sparkled. He recognized it as the bronze statue. He possessed full knowledge of the formations etched into the bronze statue. He also understood its sword-like transformation. This familiarity allowed Zhao Hai to identify the sword as the bronze statue without doubt.

Examining the sword's damaged form, it spanned merely two-thirds of its former size. The blade's point looked severed. Myriad black marks clustered at the tip. The whole sword exuded an aura of lifelessness, yet Zhao Hai sensed a spark of life within it. He understood clearly that this life force originated not from external sources, but from deep inside the sword. Someone alive lingered within the blade.

Nevertheless, Zhao Hai realized he couldn't free the individual trapped inside just yet. Nor could he attempt it prematurely. First, he needed to mend the sword before extracting the person. Forcing them out now risked severe injury to the captive. He refused to take such a chance.

With that in mind, Zhao Hai's intent stirred. The blood lotus promptly released a pulling force, drawing the sword straight into itself. In truth, this was merely a minor complication. Once the sword vanished into the blood lotus, he followed suit, stepping inside along with it. The extra steps arose because Zhao Hai suspected the black mist was more complex than it appeared. Direct contact with the mist might allow escape, but invoking spatial power outright could alert others. By funneling the sword through the blood lotus into the space, suspicions stayed low. Even witnesses would assume the blood lotus held its own internal storage as a magical artifact, sparking no deeper inquiries. Thus, the space remained undetected.

The moment the sword crossed into the space, a system prompt rang out. "High-level energy surge detected. Initiating extraction. Extraction unsuccessful. Extraction unsuccessful once more. Extraction unsuccessful yet again. Extraction unsuccessful repeatedly. Extraction accomplished. High-level death energy obtained. High-level death energy integrated. Integration complete. Space enhanced!" Accompanying the announcement, Zhao Hai felt a subtle tremor ripple through the space, then subside.

Glancing about, Zhao Hai saw no alterations. Puzzled, he recalled the prompt instantly. His eyes gleamed as he shifted, entering the hell dimension. Upon arrival, he noted vast transformations in the hell dimension. The bone mountains endured, but their skeletal structures had shifted. No longer stark white, they now resembled a pristine jade tone. The yin energy throughout the infernal domain had thickened considerably. The blood pools in the infernal realm had deepened to a richer crimson. Yet Zhao Hai sensed unmistakably that the blood essence within those pools had intensified. Above all, every undead spirit in the infernal realm had advanced. Even the freshly formed, mindless ones surpassed their prior strength, gaining several levels at least.

Though Zhao Hai yearned to test these changes personally, he recognized pressing duties awaited. Thus, he withdrew to the primary space. The sword remained in its ruined state, failing to revert to bronze form. Inspecting it, Zhao Hai observed the damage had worsened. He promptly channeled a spell into the sword. Simultaneously, with a gesture, several unbound souls from the hell space materialized, merging directly into the blade.

No sooner had the souls entered than the sword burst into radiant light. It quivered faintly, then morphed into a vast formation. Abruptly, a cluster of figures materialized within the array. At that instant, the space's alert blared, "Unsubmitted awareness detected. Commencing suppression!" A surge of white radiance then enveloped the group. Unconscious as they were, they offered no opposition to the glow. The light bathed them and faded, yet they remained asleep.

Gazing at the group in astonishment, Zhao Hai recognized the bloodsucker team and the divine arms battalion among them. He even spotted Zhu Yong and Gou Zi. This discovery filled Zhao Hai with immense delight. He'd assumed them lost forever, yet here they endured. The revelation thrilled him deeply. He swiftly probed their conditions with his mental energy, discovering severe wounds that explained their prolonged stupor.

Without hesitation, Zhao Hai formed the great Vajra wheel seal and bellowed, "Soldiers!" With his cry, a golden Buddha emblem materialized overhead. Gradually, the emblem descended, enveloping the group. Ultimately, it permeated their forms and vanished into the earth.

As the Buddha emblem fully dissolved, the group stirred. Each shifted slightly, then gradually lifted their eyelids. Recalling something vital, they leaped to their feet, scanning their surroundings. Upon sighting Zhao Hai, bewilderment struck first, followed by pure joy across their faces. But sorrow swiftly overtook their expressions. In unison, they dropped to their knees before Zhao Hai. Wen Yuming and Chang Jun, at the forefront, wailed, "Island master! Wuwuwuwu!" Their words dissolved into heavy sobs.

Observing them, Zhao Hai swiftly shaped the Fudo seal with his hands. He declared, "Lin!" His utterance resonated like tolling bells at dawn and dusk, stirring their souls. Though grief lingered, calm gradually returned to them.

Fixing his gaze on Chang Jun and Wen Yuming, Zhao Hai spoke gravely, "Chang Jun, explain what's happened. Who dares oppose my blood slaughter sect? Tell me!" Still enveloped in absolute rationality, he posed the most logical inquiry, the one weighing heaviest on his mind.

By now, Chang Jun had regained his composure. With a face etched in grief, he replied, "Island Lord, it's divine punishment! Our blood slaughter sect has faced divine retribution!" His tone brimmed with profound dread, as if uttering those words invoked boundless terror. He even shuddered involuntarily at their mention.

"Divine punishment?!" Zhao Hai recoiled in shock upon hearing it. Never had he envisioned the blood slaughter sect's downfall stemming from divine punishment. Of course, he understood the concept well. As a core disciple of the blood slaughter sect—and the most cherished one at that—nearly every secret of the sect lay open to him. Zhao Hai had seized every chance to gather knowledge, devouring virtually all records in the blood slaughter sect. Thus, he knew divine punishment intimately.

In essence, divine punishment meant an assault from a supreme being in the upper realm upon a lower realm sect. The spiritual array sect had vanished in a single night due to such a strike. Back then, the spiritual array sect wielded immense power. Zhao Hai had never anticipated the blood slaughter sect suffering the same fate. The realization stunned him utterly.

"Detail it for me—what precisely occurred," Zhao Hai urged Chang Jun right away. As a direct disciple of the blood slaughter sect, Zhao Hai held far greater insights than Chang Jun or the rest. Despite their island lord-level prowess, their standing in the blood slaughter sect paled beside his. Hence, countless classified sect documents eluded their access.

Zhao Hai knew divine punishment as an upper realm powerhouse's onslaught against a lower realm sect—a fact known to all. What escaped common awareness, though, was that the ten great sects stood immune to such judgments. Lesser sects faced divine punishment due to lacking upper realm patrons or because those patrons had perished, inviting upper realm assaults. The ten great sects differed entirely. Each boasted ancestors in the upper realm, shielding them from rival powerhouses. Thus, divine punishment never touched the ten great sects. The blood slaughter sect followed suit, with its upper realm supporter—the very founder residing there—ensuring their safety.

Yet now, they endured divine punishment. Under absolute rationality, Zhao Hai deduced one stark possibility. Calamity had befallen the blood slaughter sect's upper realm ally. The founder must have met some dire end. Otherwise, divine punishment could never strike the blood slaughter sect. It was inconceivable.

This very thought left Zhao Hai reeling. He demanded a full account from Chang Jun. He needed to identify the assailant against the blood slaughter sect. Only by pinpointing the foe could he gauge his adversary. And knowing the enemy would let him devise strategies to confront, vanquish, and eradicate them!