"Run!" Yun Peng's face changed drastically as he roared! All the disciples of the Yun Family and the Vermillion Bird Alliance disciples fled rapidly toward the exit.

The Azure Dragon and Black Tortoise factions, being closer to the cave entrance, became targets for Luo Jiang's merciless slaughter!

Roar! In front of the open clearing, amidst the surging masses, a streak of blood-red afterimage flashed rapidly between the dense formations of the Azure Dragon Gang and the Black Tortoise Alliance. Every flicker resulted in a burst of scarlet rain. Upon closer inspection, the ranked mages, Taoists, and warriors were all decapitated with a single, clean strike, much like stalks of wheat sheared by a blade. Countless heads tumbled to the ground amidst the soaring, discarded blood.

The sudden change caught everyone off guard; those killed didn't even realize what had happened.

"Crimson Blood Demon Sword!" Someone immediately recognized the attacker as Luo Jiang, and the crimson longsword in his hand confirmed to everyone that it was the legendary, most terrifying, peerless vicious weapon.

"My God! Run!" Those who reacted quickly bolted toward the fork in the path.

"It was Elder Blood Tiger who seized the Crimson Blood Demon Sword." The White Tiger Alliance members also recognized the sword wielder as Blood Tiger Luo Jiang and couldn't help but cheer loudly, but the scene that followed left everyone dumbfounded!

The blood-red figure shuttling through the Azure Dragon Gang's ranks suddenly curved in an arc, dashing toward the cheering ranks of the White Tiger Alliance.

Thwack! Thwack! In the blink of an eye, dozens of White Tiger Alliance members were impaled together—it was Blood Tiger Luo Jiang, piercing through their chests with astonishing speed.

"Wh-Why?" The impaled White Tiger Alliance members wore expressions of utter disbelief, perhaps never imagining that Luo Jiang would turn his blade on them.

"He's being controlled by the Demon Sword!" Feng Yuanming roared: "Flee!"

All of this happened in that fleeting instant. The White Tiger Alliance members immediately realized the gravity of the situation and fought desperately to escape toward the junction. The entire open space erupted like disturbed ants, everyone gripped by extreme terror.

Boundless fear spread instantly. In that moment, everyone recalled the terrifying legends of the Crimson Blood Demon Sword, but now, they were witnessing the slaughter that only existed in myth! All were utterly horrified.

Everyone wished they could fly away from this place immediately, but humans only had two legs. Even with wings, could they truly escape that blood-red figure?

It was too late. Everyone surged toward the fork, but there were simply too many people from the two major alliances. Shocked by the preceding bloody scene, over thirty thousand people scattered like disturbed ants, crying out for fathers and mothers, scrambling on hands and feet, crawling and stumbling. Some of the fainthearted simply wet their pants, and a foul stench immediately permeated the air! No organized retreat was possible. Of course, facing Luo Jiang’s terrifying speed and power, even an organized defense would only result in being slaughtered.

Many attempted to attack the blood-red afterimage, but their Dou Qi or magic only struck phantoms lingering in the void. This only served to further enrage Blood Tiger Luo Jiang.

Roar! Continuous furious roars! Like a petrel flying through a raging storm, the blood-red afterimage darted up and down, and in the blink of an eye, another large group fell!

"Get out of my way, don't block me!" Fear caused everyone to lose all sense, collapsing into chaos. In order to save their lives, some even resorted to killing their companions blocking the path with a swift blade. This madness seemed highly contagious.

Soon, a large number of people lay cut down by their own kind, all to gain even a sliver of space to escape.

But Luo Jiang, having succumbed to the demonic influence, acted like a bloodthirsty beast, charging wherever the crowd was densest. Every sprint and flash resulted in screams and corpses strewn across the ground, either heads separated or chests pierced by a massive hole. In just a short while, at least three thousand people had been killed.

Then, waves of blood rain soared into the air, accompanied by rhythmic thump-thump-thump sounds as countless heads rolled unevenly onto the ground.

Ah! Everyone was overwhelmed with terror!

Heavens, what speed was this!

"Break through!" More people immediately realized they had to push through the fork, otherwise staying here meant certain death! Many mages desperately launched attack spells toward Luo Jiang, who guarded the entrance to the fork.

Hmph! Like a wounded wolf, Luo Jiang let out a low growl that was almost inhuman, conjuring countless afterimages that swept through the dense crowd like a gale. No one could track his true form.

Where the afterimages flashed, blood sprayed, and severed limbs flew. In a moment, the vanguard of people charging forward fell down in a single line. No one saw how Blood Tiger Luo Jiang attacked, because his speed was simply too fast. Magic, Dou Qi, Fire Talismans—all struck only the residual images he left in the air.

In the span of a breath, over a thousand more lay fallen!

Feng Yuanming, carrying Jian Li on his back, could barely stand: "What do we do?"

"Don't make any sudden moves!" Jian Li said: "Their random attacks will only enrage Luo Jiang. Current Luo Jiang is like a wild beast; absolutely do not provoke him! While he's distracted by that massive group from the White Tiger Alliance and Azure Dragon Gang, we circle around from the flanks. Keep separated; grouping up will only draw Luo Jiang’s attention."

The initially panicked Yun Peng and the others immediately calmed down, directing the Yun Family disciples to move along the edges and walls toward the fork. On the other side, perhaps due to extreme fear, the already collapsed crowd no longer dared to charge toward the entrance, each holding onto a slim hope that others would serve as scapegoats.

However, Luo Jiang’s movements could not be measured by conventional logic. In an instant, he rushed back, killing wherever the crowd was thickest.

"Now is the time," Jian Li said tensely.

"Go." At this moment, calm command and tacit cooperation became the key to escape. Over a thousand Yun Family disciples moved swiftly along the sides of the fork, while the center of the clearing remained chaotic, a mass of wildly fleeing people. Many watched Luo Jiang charge back and tried to seize the chance to break out, only to be struck down by Luo Jiang’s renewed assault. They died instantly.

Soon, the thousand-plus Yun Family disciples escaped with almost no losses. Of course, quite a few members of the Azure Dragon Gang, White Tiger Alliance, and Black Tortoise Alliance also managed to flee.

Although Luo Jiang's speed was astonishing, he was still only one person. No matter how powerful, he couldn't guard the fork completely. However, the current Luo Jiang was also swiftly pursuing them.

Jian Li made a decisive move. As soon as they exited the fork, he immediately commanded the Yun Family forces to separate from the main body of escapees, branching off like a small tributary from a major river into another side path. Amidst the chaos of ten thousand people, this maneuver escaped Luo Jiang's notice.

In the distance, the demonic Luo Jiang continued his frenzied slaughter in a true Shura field, a horrifying sight!

Jian Li and the Yun Family members, who had managed to escape by reacting early, were so terrified they didn't dare look back, frantically rushing toward the northwest—the direction leading from the tenth layer of the illusion realm to the ninth. Behind them followed the remnants of the Black Tortoise Alliance, White Tiger Alliance, and Azure Dragon Gang disciples who had escaped by sheer luck.

At this moment, everyone had only one thought: escape, escape desperately, ensuring that demon did not catch up.

Hngh! Such pain! It felt as if my entire body was on fire, scorching hot! The blurred haze slowly cleared. The last memory in my mind was being thrown out by Yun Ju and hitting the ground.

Clearly, I had been knocked unconscious then! My body still felt like it was burning, frighteningly hot. It seemed I was truly badly injured this time. I forced my mind to clear a little, but my head felt like it was half-filled with water; even a slight shake produced a clanking sound inside my skull, followed by a dizzying, world-spinning sensation. It was agonizing. I fought the urge to vomit and struggled to lean back against the wall. Yet, this simple action seemed to drain my life's strength; my body felt limp, completely refusing to obey the commands of my brain. Accompanying this was a tidal wave of internal tearing sensations and broken bones, and the weakness-induced dizziness surged uncontrollably. I almost succumbed to unconsciousness again.

But my subconscious screamed that I absolutely could not pass out again, or I would never wake up. Fighting the urge to succumb to the dizziness, I desperately tried to regulate the chaotic energy within my body!

It took a long while before the debilitating dizziness subsided. I regained a sliver of strength, managed to raise a hand, and felt around in my spatial pouch, pulling out some items. Unexpectedly, it was the Magic Clock. Checking the date, I was startled: I had been unconscious for three days.

Placing the Magic Clock down, I continued to grope—I was actually looking for healing medicine, but at this moment, only my right hand seemed functional.

What a pathetic state. The series of unexpected events had severely taxed my brain cells. Even now, I still couldn't understand why Luo Jiang hadn't died, and why, after the Demon Sound and Demon Bell went to such trouble, Luo Jiang obtained the Crimson Blood Demon Sword while Luo Xiao, the one who could control Luo Jiang, was killed.

And whether Master could escape Luo Jiang’s pursuit, what would be the fate of those outside the cave, and the condition of Feng Qingtian and Tong Lei—these were all things I urgently needed to know.

But with my current gravely injured state, I could do nothing. I must focus on healing my body first. Finally, I managed to pull out a bottle of healing medicine from the spatial pouch and gulped it down. Honestly, this was the most perilous event in both my lives combined, and I didn't know if I should feel fortunate to still be alive.

I could only pray that Master and the others managed to escape Luo Jiang’s pursuit.

A cool sensation flowed down my throat into my body, quickly spreading. This healing medicine was truly potent. After a short while, I felt my body recover slightly; at least I could manage to stand up.

I quickly leaned on the Dragon Shadow Sword to stand upright and hurried toward the exit. Along the way, I occasionally spotted wisps of bloodstains and terrifying sword marks, which only intensified my anxiety. I prayed Master Jian Li was alright.

Before long, I reached the end of the passage, only to be confronted by a solid wall. Evidently, it had been blasted shut by powerful magic. I didn't know what had happened. Had the people outside noticed something was wrong?

I reactivated my Eye of Death Desire, attempting to sense anything, but there was absolutely no response. What should I do?

At this moment, I suddenly recalled that Yun Ju seemed to have stuffed something into my robes just before he died. I instinctively reached into my chest and pulled out a blue scroll—it was the Dungeon Escape Scroll that Yun Peng had previously given to Yun Ju.

"Live on, find the Blade of Destiny, and bring Yun Shang back." Yun Ju's tragic, resolute roar before death was still vividly echoing in my mind.

"Damn it! Why did things turn out like this? Ah, Brotherhood! I swear eternal enmity with you all!" I felt my chest was about to explode, and I couldn't help but roar out loud.

I didn't understand why Elder Yun would leave me the chance to escape. In that situation, he could have easily torn the scroll and fled calmly. Why? Why would he choose to leave that chance to me?

But regardless, I was alive because of Yun Ju's self-sacrifice.

Forcing down the impulse to tear the scroll and escape the underground palace! I desperately forced myself to calm down! I couldn't leave now. This scroll was something Yun Ju died to leave me; I absolutely could not leave the Sacred Domain space just like that.

At least I must find the Blade of Destiny first, otherwise Yun Ju's sacrifice, and this entire journey through the illusion realm, would be meaningless.

And Yun Shang, abducted by the Brotherhood—what fate awaited her? I dared not even imagine.

My mind involuntarily drifted to the first time I met Yun Shang, Yun Xi, and Tong Lei.

"Demon Bell, you had better not harm Yun Shang, or even if you are Qian Yue's own sister, I will not spare you." For the first time, I hated someone so intensely.

But I knew clearly that all this had to wait until after I left the Sacred Domain space. The immediate priority was finding the Blade of Destiny as quickly as possible.

Thinking of this, I forced myself to calm down again. In my current state, I could do nothing. I must focus on recovering my body first.

I sat back against the wall and finished the healing medicine I hadn't consumed earlier, then cautiously began regulating the energy flow within my body.

After a while, the chaotic energies inside me calmed considerably, and my strength returned. My body felt completely restored, and what’s more, the intensity of my Dou Qi seemed slightly stronger than before. I wasn't surprised by this result; breakthroughs from intense combat were often more significant than those from tedious training.

The remaining task was to hurry and find the Blade of Destiny.

Following the passage, I returned to the stone platform where the Crimson Blood Demon Sword had been seized. The ground was riddled with pits and potholes, scattered with debris, dust mixed with the residual shockwaves of the recently exploded magic and clashing Dou Qi, all testifying to the earth-shattering battle that had taken place here not long ago.

The skeleton on the platform, no longer supported by the Crimson Blood Demon Sword, had long since collapsed with a crash. Its helmet had rolled off the platform, leaving behind a nearly disintegrated skeletal structure leaning forward in a strange posture, prostrate upon the stone.

He must be Kagah, the previous owner of the Crimson Blood Demon Sword, known as the Crimson Blood Maniac. Thinking of this, a strange mix of hatred and annoyance welled up in my heart.

This world became so complex and insane because of people like Kagah. Whether it was Nalan Qiushui, Luo Xiao, or Hong Tian—they were all the same. Perhaps Master and I were too, but seeing the lifeless bones on the platform, I suddenly felt an inexplicable sadness and contemplation.

No matter how domineering or powerful you were in life, in death, you were ultimately just a pile of white bones, unable even to receive the basic respect of being buried properly. Perhaps this was the punishment bestowed by Heaven, the will of the cosmos. Wielding the invincible Crimson Blood Demon Sword, yet ultimately trapped and killed within this Sacred Domain space—what an immense torture and scourge for a proud martial artist.

However, these thoughts flashed through my mind only briefly. Soon, I was drawn to the scattered armor and messy jewelry on the platform.

Perhaps due to the erosion of time, these ornaments and armor were covered in a thick layer of dust. Yet, I immediately recognized them as the Crimson Moon Ultimate Equipment that all warriors dreamed of, the same type worn by Jidu and Rahu—the Saint War Set.