Max’s feet slowed as he approached the crystalline wall of ice, his eyes narrowing sharply. At first glance, it seed like another section of frosted cavern. But as he looked closely, he noticed sothing strange—inside the ice was an entirely different space, like a hidden world encased in frozen ti.
It was an enormous cave with jagged stalagmites rising from the floor like teeth, and massive stone pillars holding up the ceiling like the remains of an ancient temple.
Dragon-shaped coils were etched into the icy rock, and phoenix-like carvings adorned the sides of the walls—artifacts or statues, he couldn’t tell. Their presence was grand, almost sacred, but they weren’t what caught Max’s attention.
In the very center of the cave, glowing with a pulse that seed to beat like a living heart, was a massive mound of lava. But it wasn’t like any ordinary lava. It was shaped like a peach—smooth, round, thick, and glowing from within with a dark crimson light. It exuded intense heat even through the cold air.
Suspended above it, drops of red liquid fell slowly from an unseen source above, each drop landing into a shallow bowl-shaped dip at the top of the peach-shaped lava. This bowl was now filled with a thick, viscous red liquid, and each drop made it glow even more brightly. The mana in the air surged from that liquid—it rippled like waves through the cavern, intense and powerful, almost oppressive.
"What... is this?" Max muttered, genuinely stunned. His instincts told him this wasn’t just so random blood pool—this was sothing ancient, sothing beyond precious.
"Blood?" he whispered again, narrowing his eyes.
Behind him, a gasp echoed through the chamber.
Senior Brother Mack had finally caught up, only to stop dead in his tracks. His eyes widened the mont they landed on the glowing red liquid. "Oh my God..." he breathed. Then his voice rose, full of disbelief and hunger, "Is this... the Ten Thousand Year Old Demonic Blood?"
Max turned his head slightly, catching the tremble in the man’s voice. That na alone confird what Max had already sensed—this treasure was no ordinary treasure. The mana leaking from it was enough to make any Legend Rank cultivator lose their composure.
"What is the demonic blood?" Max asked, voice calm, indifferent on the surface.
But Mack didn’t answer properly. He let out a sharp sneer and growled, "As if I’d tell you."
That didn’t matter. Max already understood enough. If sothing could make a ruthless genius like Mack lose his breath and tremble, then it wasn’t just rare—it was priceless.
And if this demonic blood had truly been gathering for ten thousand years, mana, fla essence, and unknown properties from the lava, then even a single drop could be enough to transform the soul or reconstruct one’s body.
Max had no intention of letting it fall into soone else’s hands.
Without hesitation, Max raised his Blue Dragon Sword. It roared to life, coated in black flas and surrounded by the brilliance of his level 2 severing sword concept. The entire cavern seed to quake as his sword swept forward.
But Mack had already moved.
The mont Max acted, so did he. As if their thoughts were connected, they lunged toward the sa treasure at the sa ti.
Max’s eyes flickered with cold light.
In that instant, he realized sothing. He only had two options—either clash with Senior Brother Mack right now and settle this with blood, or try to race ahead and claim the Ten Thousand Year Old Demonic Blood first.
Max’s gaze remained steady as he stared at the glowing pool of Ten Thousand Year Old Demonic Blood, its crimson surface shimring with terrifying mana. He wanted to take them all.
But it was in liquid form, which made things difficult. Max clenched his fists slightly. If it were like the lightning essence stones he’d obtained in the Berserk Lightning Region, things would’ve been much simpler.
Stones, being solid and with defined structure, could be pulled into his storage space with the help of his space domain. But liquid—especially sothing as volatile and rich in mana as this demonic blood—was another matter entirely.
His spatial domain couldn’t contain or teleport it. Not yet, anyway. Which ant Max had no other choice but to take the hard route... defeat Senior Brother Mack first.
He turned, eyes calm yet charged with terrifying intent. In that mont, four distinct auras burst from his body—each more powerful than the last.
A crimson heat wave of fla, wild and untad. A crackling net of lightning, sizzling through the air. A slicing pressure that made the void scream, cutting through reality with pure sword intent. And finally, an invisible ripple of distortion that bent space slightly, warping the air around him.
The ground trembled under his feet.
"F-Four level 2 concepts?!" Senior Brother Mack stuttered, his voice shrill and full of disbelief. His face, which had once been fierce and domineering, paled instantly. His eyes darted wildly between the lights and elental forces surrounding Max, and for the first ti, genuine fear settled into his bones.
He had never... not even once... heard of soone mastering four concepts to the level of 2. Not at Master Rank. Not at his age. Not in any sect or holy ground. And now that person was standing in front of him... an enemy.
Max suddenly vanished.
In the blink of an eye, he reappeared just inches from Mack’s face, like a phantom stepping through space. Mack stumbled backward in horror, tripping over his own feet. "No! Don’t co close!" he shrieked. But it was no use. His instincts scread that he could not win this. Not against this kind of monster.
Max’s voice was cold and low, but calm, like a reaper declaring judgnt. "It was good that after I stole the flower, I chose to run instead of killing you two back then. But you just had to chase , didn’t you? You just couldn’t let it go. So now... I have no choice but to kill you."
He raised his Blue Dragon Sword. The weapon blazed to life, drawing from all four of his concepts. Sword energy tore at the surroundings like a tidal wave. Black flas coiled around the blade like demonic dragons. Red lightning danced across its edges, crackling madly. And the space itself quivered as if unable to contain the devastating fusion of laws. Then—
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