<h4>Chapter 414: Frantic Self-Detonation</h4>


    Bai Lixi smiled faintly and said, “This brat is always surprising people.”


    “Bai Lixi, do you know that youth?” Bai Lixi’spanion beside him asked.


    Bai Lixi’s expression did not change as he nodded gently, “I know him. He is the White Robed desman. We can stop staring at the battlefield. As long as we follow this brat, I can guarantee there to be no danger. We can even gain some small benefits.”


    “Really?!”


    Bai Lixiughed and said, “It is up to you whether you believe me or not. I will only say one thing. The biggest winner on Qianren Ind was this brat. Even the Bloody desman, the ughterer of Thousands, and the others had not gained as much as him. They could not evenpare to his scraps.”


    The few people behind Bai Lixi whispered to each other. Their expressions disyed their doubt of Bai Lixi’s words. They obviously did not believe him.


    However, Bai Lixi merelyughed and ignored these people. Regardless what others thought, he had made up his mind.


    The battle seemed incredibly intense already. The strong winds blowing had not ceased in the least. Everyone anxiously waited for the moment the battle ended.


    “Ah…”


    Just at this moment, another sharp, miserable cry came from the battlefield. Everyone’s chest turned cold. Another half-step Martial Monarch had just died.


    “Indeed, a peak high-rank Blood Demon has horrifying strength. Half-step Martial Monarchs who usually move around with ease have suffered two fatalities today.”


    “These half-step Martial Monarchs are truly fearless. They should have fled after they met a peak high-rank Blood Demon. If they die, it would be very unfortunate.”


    “What do you know?! Half-step Martial Monarchs are not truly Martial Monarchs. For them to advance to Martial Monarch, aside from clearing all sorts of requirements and needing sufficient Essence, the most important thing is to open the sea of consciousness, increasing the strength of their Mental Energy.


    “If their Mental Energy is not strong enough, they can never break through the barrier to Martial Monarch. Out of this group, several of them are approaching the limits of their lifespan. If they do not stake their all on this, they will not have any more opportunities.”


    With the death of another half-step Martial Monarch, the crowd started discussing again after a moment of silence.


    “Secret manuals that temper Mental Energy are the rarest secret manuals on the continent.”


    “A peak high-rank Blood Demon normally only appears in the core region of the Demon Battlefield. That is where even a Martial Monarch would not dare tread casually. Now that they found a peak high-rank Blood Demon in the inner region, how could they give it up?”


    When the cultivator who voiced his doubts earlier heard this, he finally understood why this group of half-step Martial Monarchs risked their lives like this.


    When Xiao Chen heard this, he pondered on it. They were reaching their limits. If they did not risk their all, they would not have any more chances.


    Hence, even though they know the danger, even if they have to face this group of cultivators with malicious intentions after vanquishing the Blood Demon, this group of half-step Martial Monarchs had no other choice. They could only stake their all on this.


    As time slowly passed, another three half-step Martial Monarchs died. The group of eighteen had now reduced to thirteen.


    After fighting for so long, the aura of the peak high-rank Blood Demon had weakened significantly. His initial berserk and overwhelming aura, which had been felt from ten kilometers away, could no longer cause any pressure to the people two thousand meters away.


    As the sun set in the west, the Blood Demon approached his limits. After all, a peak high-rank Blood Demon could not defeat a group of close to twenty half-step Martial Monarchs.


    ---


    In the center of the battlefield, a ck-robed old man with an overwhelming aura and a sword in his hand said with a grave expression, “We are almost there. We few will stop him from self-detonating. Old Ge, Old Huang, Old Chang, and Old Mu, we will leave the iing cultivators to you.”


    After a pause, the old man continued, “I will hold on to the Demon Core first. After everything is over, we will split it evenly. Does anyone have any issues with this n?”


    “Old Qin, rest assured. Everyone trusts the credibility of the Holy Fire Manor,” the six people he had named replied. They obviously trusted this old man without question.


    Actually, this group of people hade to the Demon Battlefield before. Old Qin had been the organizer everytime they did so.


    This person’s credibility, plus the power behind him, was the reason they would not squabble internally and fight with each other. Everyone trusted him.


    A few people surrounded the ck-clothed Blood Demon. He emitted ck smoke, and the baleful aura in his eyes felt overwhelming. He roared ferociously. He had wanted to use a secret technique to flee several times, but the cultivators had blocked his path.


    Wounds of varied sizes that covered the Blood Demon quickly healed. However, the healing speed was far slower than the rate at which he collected new injuries.


    Numerous killing moves with overwhelming force struck the Blood Demon. His lifeforce diminished rapidly; he was approaching his limits.


    “I’m not resigned to this! After a thousand years, I finally broke through. Yet, you despicable group of humans caused my thousand years of effort to go to waste! If I have to die, then everyone will die with me!”


    The ck-clothed Blood Demon seemed to turn mad as he spoke with a maniacal expression. His skin started to swell quickly.


    Old Qin’s expression remained unchanged. His deep eyes maintained their calm. He said, “Very good. He is going to self-detonate. Take action now!”


    “Boom! Boom! Boom!”


    Suddenly a strong energy burst forth from the middle of the battlefield. It caused the red clouds above to tremble and turn into a scarlet whirlpool of clouds.


    The whirlpool formed hurricanes. Many people could not open their eyes due to the wind.


    An overwhelming, baleful aura hid in the wind; it felt like a malicious spirit moving through the crowd. Those with weak willpower fell instantly.


    “That Blood Demon is about to self-detonate!”


    When the crowd felt that surging energy, they became very excited. This fight had finally reached its end.


    Regardless of the results, the group of half-step Martial Monarchs was bound to be exhausted. At that time, they could not hold back so many people attacking together.


    “Chi!”


    However, just as that energy had almost reached its peak, ten resplendent lights of various colors scattered the whirlpool in the sky. It vanished without a trace.


    The battle ended. The strong wind that had blown for so long finally came to a stop; the dust settled.


    Xiao Chen muttered to himself, “They managed to stop him from self-detonating. It looks like this group of half-step Martial Monarchs was quite prepared.”


    “Boom!”


    The moment the dust settled, a dazzling multicolored light fired out from the Blood Demon. All sorts of Secret Treasures flew into the air.


    At a rough count, there were at least a hundred Secret Treasures. Of which, two or three of were the rarely seen peak Medial Grade Secret Treasures.


    Only humans could use Secret Treasures. Demons collected Secret Treasures so they could attract the attention of humans and kill them while they were distracted.


    In order to attract more humans and eat their hearts to improve their strength, Demons had to collect many Secret Treasures. The stronger Blood Demons had many horrifying Secret Treasures.


    “They are Secret Treasures. He was worthy of being a peak high-rank Blood Demon. He had unexpectedly collected so many Secret Treasures.”


    “Ha! Ha! We have not waited here in vain. With so many Secret Treasures, it’s all worth it now.”


    “Hurry up! The Blood Demon is already dead. If we don’t advance now, there will be no more chances.”


    Naturally, the cultivators who had waited for so long would not want to miss this chance. If they allowed that group of half-step Martial Monarchs to react, it would be toote.


    “Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!”


    Countless figures rushed towards the center of the battlefield. All of the cultivators looked extremely excited, as though they had already obtained the Secret Treasures.


    The peak Superior Grade Martial Kings in the air rushed to the ground. Using their advantageous position, they led the pack.


    Xiao Chen stood quietly on the eagle. He maintained a calm expression. He did not rush forward with the others.


    The atmosphere of the crowd had already influenced Bai Lixi. However, just before he rushed forward, he saw Xiao Chen, unmoving. So, he stopped as well.


    “Bai Lixi, go quickly. If we are any slower, we will not snatch anything.”


    “Indeed! There may be many Secret Treasures, but there are more cultivators than Secret Treasures. If we arete, we will not even get the lousiest Secret Treasure.”


    Bai Lixi’s gaze was resolute as he said, “No need. You can go first. Be careful. Those half-step Martial Monarchs are not easy to deal with.”


    “Bai Lixi, you are too cowardly. Half-step Martial Monarchs are scary. However, how could half-step Martial Monarchs who has exhausted their strength fighting the whole day hold back so many people?”


    “Ha! Ha! In that case, we will go first. You can wait here alone. When you don’t get anything, don’t be jealous.”


    A few peopleughed and flew forward. They all did not take Bai Lixi’s words to heart.


    Bai Lixi alsoughed bitterly; he did not say anything. Anyway, he trusted his instincts. Since Xiao Chen had not moved, he definitely had his reasons.


    “Sou! Sou! Sou!”


    When the crowd arrived a thousand meters away from the center, suddenly, six old men appeared. They wore nk expressions as their clothes fluttered without any wind.


    Their auras were frighteningly powerful. They did not feel like cultivators who had fought for the whole day. It seemed like they had saved their strength and had not exhausted themselves at all.


    When their aurasbined, it felt like a tall mountain pressing on the advancing cultivators, making it difficult to breathe.


    “No good. They are peak half-step Martial Monarchs in their optimal states,” When they felt the auras of the six, the peak Superior Grade Martial Kings did not hesitate to flee.


    Strong wind, lightning, frost, mes, earth wall, and white mist…six different attributed states from the six half-step Martial Monarchs spread throughout the surroundings.


    In an instant, the storm of energy that had stopped stirred up once again. All kinds of energy intertwined. Even the air became a sharp, killing weapon as it exploded out continuously.


    Hundreds of cultivators could not retreat in time, and the berserk energy sted them back and ripped them to shreds. The few cultivators who managed to escaped were severely injured; their flesh was torn apart as they fell to the ground.


    Only a handful of cultivators with defensive peak Inferior Grade Secret Treasures had barely escaped unscathed. However, the Secret Treasures shattered and became useless.


    Because Bai Lixi’spanions had advanced a momentter, they had not noticed the situation ahead. By the time they reached the front line, they coincidentally ran into the first wave, the strongest attacks. They did not even have the chance to flee. They were sted apart, left without aplete corpse.


    Half-step Martial Monarchs…what was a half-step Martial Monarch? They were cultivators who had cultivated for a long time as Martial Kings. Their states and Essence had reached the very summit of what Martial Kings could achieve.