The heartscourge fiend was a gigantic broodmother beast. Apparently, it was one of the two most powerful broodmother beasts in the entire Flameyellow Continent.

The heartscourge fiend was a heartscourge worm, only infinitely magnified. It was a 400-meter-long fleshy worm that resembled a giant, blood-red snake. The difference was that its body was far more terrifying than any snake. At the front end was a huge, ferocious mouth. When opened, one could see hundreds of rings of teeth inside that could tear its prey apart. 

At the other end of its body was a hole meant for birthing offspring. At this moment, countless heartscourge worms were emerging from there, floating in the starry sky like a bloody river. Other than its mouth and reproductive opening, the worm’s body was covered in scarlet scales.   

Almost all of the circular scales bulged in the middle and each had spikes on them. The spikes dripped with blood and were obviously poisonous. In short, the heartscourge fiend was a giant insect covered in scales and stingers, with one hole in the back and another in the front meant for birthing and eating respectively. It was a simple, yet terrifying life form.  

Xue Yi’s other lifebound beast was also known throughout the Flameyellow Continent for its ferocity. It was the skyscorch bloodfiend. 

As Tianming studied the beast, he realized that its appearance was quite similar to the Archaionfiend; they both had burly physiques, sturdy limbs, a dragon head, a tail covered in spikes, and a pair of bat wings. The difference was that the skyscorch bloodfiend had sharper teeth and seemed more bloodthirsty. It was also much larger than the Archaionfiend.  

Even if Xue Yi’s current state was equivalent to having sustained a severe injury, he was still a force to be reckoned with, with his two ninth-order tribulation beasts. He wielded a wide sword that was black in the middle, while the edges of the blade were drenched in blood. The shape of the sword resembled a flat, nine-layered pagoda. Each layer had a bloody groove in the shape of a heart. There were a total of sixteen tribulation patterns dancing across the blade. 

Surging with bloodlust and killing intent, the sword resembled a living thing, rather than just a weapon. The bloody grooves throbbed with something like a heartbeat. With every pulse came a resounding roar that assaulted Tianming’s ears. This was the Blood Pagoda Sword. Powerful and domineering, the pagoda-like sword radiated a devastating suppressive force.   

Tianming was ready for a deadly battle.

“Even if he’s much weaker than normal, he’s still terrifying. I can’t be careless!" 

They were up against Xue Yi, the heartscourge fiend, the skyscorch bloodfiend, and countless heartscourge worms.

One heartscourge worm alone was a nightmare, but now there were hundreds of millions of them, piled up into blood-red waves that instantly enveloped the entire battlefield. This was a larger threat than the greenvoid skydevourer.

“More food!” Xianxian's eyes gleamed. The more heartscourge worms there were, the happier it would be.

Now that the opponent had appeared, Xian Xian mobilized the Evernight Curse to deal with the bloody sea of heartscourge worms without having to be told. The Evernight Rose’s dark pollen dispersed and invaded the bloody sea. 

Xue Yi didn’t know how Tianming had defeated and killed Qing Ming; therefore he was still unaware of Xian Xian’s power over a broodmother beast’s offspring. The heartscourge worms rained down on Xian Xian, covering its branches, leaves and vines. In an instant, the Radiant Daffodil and Evernight Rose were submerged in wriggling worms. Xian Xian’s roots split up into countless strands that soared into the sky, piercing and devouring the worms and leaving no trace behind.   

If that was all, there was no way Xue Yi could fight Tianming. However, the heartscourge fiend wasn’t at all like the greenvoid skydevourer, not to mention that he still had the skyscorch bloodfiend. 

At that moment, the heartscourge fiend let out a heartrending and desolate cry that sounded like it had come from the deep sea. It was the sound of whale song. The heartscourge worms that had been confused by the Evernight Curse exploded upon hearing the sound.

Such an explosion threatened to overwhelm the Radix World Tree. This was just the start of the battle, yet half of Xian Xian’s branches, leaves, vines, and flowers had already been blown up. 

“It hurts!” 

In his lifebound space, Xian Xian’s spiritform turned ashen. It was rarely ever in such a state.

It was their first exchange, yet the heartscourge fiend had used unconventional means to prevent Xian Xian from devouring its offspring. What was even more uncomfortable were the beast’s continuous wails. The mournful sound triggered fearful emotions and magnified its horror. This was its ability, the Soulhide Curse.  

“How does it feel?” 

Xue Yi felt that Tianming was too arrogant. Just because he had been lucky enough to kill one ghoul king, did Tianming really think he could take him on?

“This is just the beginning. Please enjoy.” 

……

Lan Huang was in the middle of a one-on-one battle with the armored bloodfiend. With each attack, the earth shook and the sky darkened.

Although the bloodfiend’s cultivation realm was currently suppressed, its flesh remained strong, comparable to Lan Huang’s. It spewed Skyscorch Bloodphlegm, an ability that resembled Meow Meow’s Soulchasing Hellthunder in that it could invade the body and burn the blood. Lan Huang's body soon turned red as it began burning from within.

“It burns!” Lan Huang circulated its nine kui seas, but dispelling the heat wasn’t that easy.

Every time the bloodfiend bit its flesh, it would inject Lan Huang with Skyscorch Bloodphlegm. Although Lan Huang's Kilofold Rings had ripped numerous wounds in its opponent’s body, that kind of physical injury wasn’t as lethal. If this continued, Lan Huang wouldn’t be able to keep fighting alone. Xian Xian could have lent support, but it was now struggling to protect itself after the massive detonation.  

“We have to deal with the heartscourge fiend first, so it can’t keep making that sound!” Tianming turned to Ying Huo and Meow Meow.

They reacted quickly; it had only taken them one glance to realize the crux of the problem. The heartscourge fiend that continuously produced heartscourge worms and cast its curse over the battlefield was key. 

However, Xue Yi had seen this thousands of times. Guarding the heartscourge fiend, he sneered at them. "How funny! Even when I was ten, my opponents wanted to get rid of it first. It’s been more than two hundred years, but your tricks are the same.”  

“Good ideas never go out of style!” 

In an instant, Tianming and the two beasts shot toward him. On the left, Ying Huo unleashed Infernal Haze; on the right, Meow Meow flashed with lightning. Meanwhile, Tianming went straight for Xue Yi, the three of them attacking at the same time. 

Hexapath Samsara Sword—Animacorpus Eradication! Splitting the Grand-Orient Sword into two, Tianming pierced through the void. Wherever his sword went, he was able to rip a hole in space.

Xue Yi held the Blood Pagoda Sword in both hands. At the same time, the Soulhide curse, which had been magnified several times, had already affected his opponents’ souls. Tianming was able to resist the curse, but Ying Huo and Meow Meow were both affected to a certain extent, thus slowing down. 

Bloodriver Devourer! The heartscourge fiend bellowed, its huge mouth spewing a stream of blood. The torrent swept across like stormy waves, then condensed into a huge blood-red ocean. 

The beast took to the bloody ocean like a water snake in a pond, moving freely. Unfortunately, Tianming and his lifebound beasts were all trapped in the cold, poisonous blood. Once contaminated, their entire bodies began rotting. Not even Tianming’s Ancient Deepstar Godbody could resist its power.  

Proficient in various battle arts, Xue Yi flaunted the arrogance of a man capable of taking on his enemy alone. In his hands, his sword almost seemed light. The power of the sword transformed, forming blood-red lotus flowers that blocked the Grand-Orient Sword with ease. At the same time, Ying Huo and Meow Meow were forced into retreat by the heartscourge fiend’s abilities.  

Under such circumstances, Xian Xian and Lan Huang would most likely be crushed; Tianming didn’t have much time. 

“He’s strong, worthy of his position as the third ghoul king!” Tianming took a deep breath.

“What should we do?” Despite its best efforts, Meow Meow found it hard to move freely in the bloody ocean. Its lightning abilities had been completely suppressed.

“Let’s try something else.” 

Although Tianming seemed irritated, he had thought of numerous strategies in his head.

“What?” 

“You two distract Xue Yi while I slay the heartscourge fiend!” 

The formation on the crimson star seemed to shake even harder, an indication that it was about to break.

“Alright!” 

Xue Yi was surprised when Ying Huo and Meow Meow aimed for him instead. After all, they were the smallest opponents he had ever encountered.

Ying Huo's Skyscorch Featherblast and Meow Meow's Myriad Thundernet were simultaneously unleashed. Although they were small, they were beasts with nine hundred and ninety-nine stars in their eyes and Xue Yi didn’t dare dismiss their abilities. Swerving to avoid their attacks, Xue Yi swung his sword, creating a massive, bloody wave that broke Meow Meow’s Myriad Thundernet.  

“What are you up to?” 

Xue Yi froze for a moment, only to watch as Tianming wrapped the heartscourge fiend in his chain. Then, pulling hard, he slammed the beast to the bloody ground.