Solar Blood Masters

Raphael craned his head upwards, peering at the intricate carvings adorning the canyon entrance. Statues of ancient warriors eroded by time and sandstorms, stood guard. The carvings depicted scenes of creatures locked in mortal combat.

"Hmm… Those warriors… They resemble ants, but… they have WINGS?" He was puzzled.

"Those are the legendary Kepfu Warriors, Big Brother. They're said to be fierce protectors of the Kepfu Queen." Lu Jade explained.

"Those carvings…" Thienika traced a weathered hand across a depiction of a massive worm-like creature with glowing purple eyes. "The Kepfu Queen… Her venom was legendary. A single drop could melt even the hardest stone, they say."

"Fascinating…" Raphael was captivated by the ancient lore but then a series of explosions in the distance above had them all flinching, a sobering reminder of their current predicament. This was a competition and they had to amass eggs.

"Those sounds…"

"We've wasted enough time, the others are already amassing points! Let's go!" Raphael urged.

"Right."

They entered the cave. It was dark and cool; a welcome change from the scorching desert heat.

As they ventured deeper, they came across massive pillars of glowing energy. And from these pillars, translucent tendrils of light reached up and intertwined, holding up the cavern ceiling, preventing it from collapsing.

Glowing, pink crystals studded the pillars. A faint ringing sound resonated from them.

Raphael brushed against one of the crystals with his horns. It hummed, and a wave of calming energy washed over him.

"These crystals… they feel… soothing…"

"They are 'Sunstone Crystals,' Big Brother. They amplify and harmonize Solar Essence. Quite valuable. Qi Hawk gave us a bunch, remember?" Lu Jade explained. He slithered towards a cluster of luminous plants growing near the base of a pillar.

"And those…?" Raphael pointed a finger toward a swarm of tiny, iridescent bugs that buzzed around the crystals.

"Those are 'Lumen Ant Flies.' They feed on the Sunstone Crystals' energy and produce a bioluminescent glow. Quite harmless."

Thienika's staff thrummed softly, "This cavern, it's an ecosystem unto itself, perfectly balanced. There is a harmony here. However, it's not what we seek. Onward."

No Kepfu nests were found here, only beautiful crystal plants. They continued deeper into the cave, following the Shadow Bat's lead.

The atmosphere grew colder and damper as they descended. They eventually arrived in a massive cavern. It was dark, illuminated only by the faint bioluminescent glow emanating from patches of luminous fungi.

"Hmm… That smell…" Raphael's nostrils flared. He was picking up a familiar scent. "I've smelled this before… It was in…" He pondered then it hit him. "It's those Vampire Slugs! The ones I fought back in that ice cave!"

"Look!"

He pointed towards the cavern floor. It was covered in countless mounds of Kepfu Eggs surrounded by black goo. But what truly disturbed them was the sight of hundreds of large slugs clinging to the walls.

These Vampire Slugs were colossal, unlike the ones Raphael had fought in the Blood Forest. Their bodies were thicker, their shells had razor-sharp ridges.

"Hmm, some of those smaller ones are Early Saint Ruler Stage, however, the bigger ones are… Calamity Stage! Such potent Solar Essence. I've never seen them this large before." Thienika observed them with a professional detachment.

Raphael remembered his encounter with those vicious creatures, and his own close brush with death.

"Their weak point is their underbelly. But be careful! They like to roll up and attack. And spit acidic slime?" 

Just after he finished his explanation…

SPLAT!

Two massive Vampire Slugs dropped from the ceiling!

"WATCH OUT!"

They scattered!

WHOOSH!

The slugs crashed into the ground, missing their targets.

Raphael quickly summoned his 'Electric Scale Prison', shielding himself as a barrage of rolling slugs came at him from all sides.

"Damn, they're fast!" He dodged another attack.

Lu Jade reacted swiftly.

His tail throbbed.

Then, in a heartbeat…

The cavern floor and walls erupted!

"Phantom Willow Grass – Blossom Dance!"

Thousands of jade-green tendrils shot forth. They snaked around the slugs and entangled them. Lu Jade's energy intensified. He then yanked on the vines, forcing the slugs to unfold.

"They're ALL YOURS, Big Brother!"

"Leave it to me!" Raphael dashed his hands above and shouted.

"HALLOW FATE ENIGMA!"

Raphael didn't hesitate.

BOOM!

Blue-golden ripples of shadow magic and Blood Essence appeared!

Dozens of long, sapphire-gold swords shot forth from the ripples and pierced the slugs' exposed underbellies with a horrifying accuracy.

"SCREEECH!"

The cavern echoed with their death throes.

Slime splattered.

And from the slugs' lifeless forms, a hundred light-green Solar Consciousnesses materialized with potent throbbing energy.

"Food!" Thienika didn't wait. She extended her roots and devoured the souls.

"Their souls are weak, but it'll suffice," she commented with satisfaction.

Raphael and Lu Jade wasted no time.

"Let's get those EGGS!"

"BLACK POOL!"

"Jade Sun Cycle – ABSORB!"

Raphael's hands released dark energy. He lowered his head, and those eggs vanish into his vortex of shadow.

Channeling the energy of his Sun Cycle, Lu Jade drew the eggs into its amber core with a mesmerizing hum.

Their point totals on the black flags increased rapidly.

…

Raphael – 112 Points

Lu Jade – 93 Points

…

"YES! We've hit the JACKPOT!"

"This is too easy…"

A short while later, Thienika finished her feast.

Her roots retracted to their rightful place within those strands of starlight hair that flowed gracefully around her weathered face. Her silver-bark skin glowed with renewed vigor.

"How are you feeling, Grandma?" Raphael asked.

"I am well. The Vampire Slug's combined Solar Consciousnesses were very good, but…" She paused and checked her essence reserves. "My cultivation level has yet to increase. I'm still at Calamity 1st Layer."

Raphael nodded. "No worries, Grandma, we've still got time."

"There are MORE eggs further inside, Master! Follow me!" The Shadow Bat beckoned.

They followed.

"Big Brother… we're breezing through this competition, don't you think? I bet the other territories haven't amassed as many eggs as us! We might even be in the lead."

"Do not underestimate the competition, Little Lu." Thienika's words carried a warning. "Yama Yaguai is a land where only the strong survive, and this event… It'll test the very limits of your souls. Those who enter the Great Divine Tribulation, they are all powerful in their own right. Remember that."

Lu Jade nodded, he understood, but as his gaze shifted towards Raphael who seemed lost in his own thoughts, he couldn't help but wonder.

'What's he thinking about? It's not those eggs, those points. Could it be about Qi Fenwei? Or… that Bull Mountain Demon?'

…

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

Four colossal pillars of solid blackness materialized in the sky above the mangled remains of Gastaroid. They plunged downwards with a terrifying speed and slammed into the crimson sand and formed a square formation around his shattered form.

Each pillar radiated an infernal glow.

And from their tips, a fine, ash-like particle rained down, which started enveloping the Bull Mountain Demon's scattered parts.

The sand around Gastaroid began to churn. It was swirling, rising as if pulled by an unseen force. Earth and stone coalesced.

And within that chaotic whirlwind, a new, monstrous form was taking shape.

"As if I'll let you."

Lord Lingshi watched with narrowed eyes. This brazen display of defiance wouldn't be tolerated.

"Nihilistic Stroke!"

He extended a mental hand. It grasped a massive paintbrush dipped in purest black ink. With a swift motion, he erased the pillars from his 'World Canvas'. They vanished in a blink.

But then…

They reappeared.

Both on the canvas and in reality!

"What?!" Lord Lingshi stared in shock. "My Nihilistic Stroke… it's being nullified by those pillars? But how?"

"Muwahaha!"

From the heart of the dust cloud, a triumphant laugh shook the desolate landscape.

The dust cleared.

And there, fully restored, stood Gastaroid.

His molten form was now larger, more menacing. New fissures had appeared on his chest. They glowed red with an intensity that could melt even the hardest stone.

"Turtle, your canvas is SHIT compared to my Bull Demon Pillars! Muwahahaha!" He roared with unrestrained glee.

"They are fragments of my VERY soul, forged within the heart of Kongming Mountain's volcano! They cannot be erased by a simple stroke! You're WEAK! PATHETIC! A relic of a bygone era! Today, I'll crush you! I'll grind your shell into dust and use your bones to decorate my throne room! You hear me?!"

"It would seem so…" Lord Lingshi sighed. This Bull Mountain Demon was a troublesome opponent, but those insults and boasts were nothing but a passing wind.

"However, this persistence you bear witness to, it is merely a reflection of my own boredom. For a thousand, thousand years, I've slumbered beneath those jade groves. And now, It seems my rest has come to an end."

His gaze shifted as a realization dawned. "This Bull Mountain Demon is a worthy opponent! It would appear I'll have to show some effort."

He then shook his shell and summoned more bamboo shoots from his grove. They unfurled instantly into dozens of 'World Canvases'. Before each canvas, a paintbrush materialized, each dipped in a different color ink: black, white, red, blue, even a few glittered with gold and silver.

"World is my Canvas!"

They were a terrifying yet beautiful display!

"Now then… Let the true game commence."

Seeing this display of power, Gastaroid didn't panic. He simply grinned and absorbed the 'Bull Demon Pillars' into his molten form.

"Muwahahaha! I'll bury your fat ass beneath this desolate sand! You won't even have TIME to finish your painting, turtle!"

He slammed his massive fist into the earth.

BOOM!

An earsplitting crack resounded as a monstrous tremor rippled outwards, creating a chaotic shifting of sands and trembling earth. The impact shattered the ground, creating a spiderweb of fissures that extended for miles!

From these fissures, massive chunks of earth, some larger than Gastaroid himself, began rising!

Ancient trees were uprooted. Roots were snapping with the sounds of a thousand cannons firing in unison!

"What's happening?!"

"The EARTH! It's moving!"

"RUN! Before…"

Their warnings were cut short as massive slabs of earth slammed into each other and conjured a chaotic display of destruction.

Even a few Kepfu Eggs, dislodged from their nests deep beneath the dunes, came raining down from the upheaval, which caused many contenders to go into a frenzy.

"EGGS! I see EGGS!"

"Get out of my way!"

"They're MINE!"

They scrambled, ignoring the falling debris. They were blinded by greed.

Gastaroid, however, didn't care for those distractions. His focus was solely on one thing: crushing Lingshi, and as such, his molten form moved forward. He surfed upon a wave of rising earth chunks with a terrifying speed, for this was a Calamity's wrath, a force of nature!

"Damn that Bull Mountain Demon!"

Qi Fenwei, whose flight path had been disrupted, found herself dodging a massive rock that whizzed past; its heat singed her amethyst armor. "Hmph! Such a troublesome brute! I'll deal with you LATER!"

She leaped from one floating earth chunk to the next, desperately trying to regain her balance. It was in that moment, of momentary distraction.

WHOOSH!

A white blur shot towards her back!

"Die, bird!"

Splinter Roc's katana came slashing!

Qi Fenwei reacted instinctively, "Archon! PROTECT!"

She twirled and blocked his attack with a deafening CLANG!

Simultaneously…

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

"Red Chariot – Grazing Mogul!"

Multiple Circular Spell Diagrams appeared. Lu Ruby's chariot unleashed its terrifying barrage of fire blasts! They converged on Qi Fenwei from above.

And to make matters worse…

"TYRANNICAL SPEAR!"

Hellphet's spear came crashing through the rocks below her.

She was trapped!

Assaulted from above, behind, and below! Her wings were pinned!

"Tsk! These BASTARDS! They're forcing me to use THIS move so early…"

Her eyes narrowed. She extended Archon towards the sky.

"ARCHON! Devour ME!"

WHOOSH!

The orange eye upon her blade dilated.

And then as all those attacks were about to collide, Qi Fenwei's form was consumed in a brilliant flash of light, leaving behind…

Nothing.

BOOM!

"Huh? Where did she go?!" Lu Ruby's jaw dropped as she watched the dust settle. Her attacks had connected. Yet, there was no trace of her enemy.

Splinter Roc also stared, confused. "That was… strange."

Then…

WHOOSH!

A figure materialized before them.

"What?!"

It was Archon. It hovered in the air, no longer a mere blade, but something more.

Larger!

Its orange eye radiated a potent energy.

And around it…

Lullaby was twirling! The silver sword danced as if being wielded by that very monstrous entity.

They were both baffled. This power defied logic.

But Splinter Roc was a seasoned warrior.

He reacted instinctively.

"Taste my blade, DEMON!"

He dashed forward, unleashing a flurry of lightning-fast sword strikes, but Lullaby deflected every blow!

"Too SLOW!"

Then Archon struck!

It sliced at Splinter Roc's chest with a terrifying force that had the very air itself crackling!

BOOM!

The impact sent Splinter Roc hurtling into the ground! He lay in a crater, his white feathers were scattered, his katana chipped.

Archon's orange eye glared at Lu Ruby.

"It's your turn to EAT DIRT, snake! Just like that pathetic peacock!" Qi Fenwei's voice boomed from within the monstrous sword. She was in control!

"You…!" Lu Ruby was outraged, but she also recognized the shift in power. Her initial arrogance was now replaced by a sliver of fear.

She hissed acid towards Archon, but it simply absorbed it.

"Pathetic."

"Dammit! Her Solar Essence has skyrocketed. And she swatted away Splinter Roc like a bug. I can't contend with her, not in my current form. Then my only option…"

"RED CHARIOT – RETREAT!"

Lu Ruby commanded her chariot to flee. She wasn't ready to face this monstrosity, not when her own cultivation was still so low. It was better to amass Kepfu Eggs.

"Hellphet! COME!"

Her loyal draconic elephant companion quickly followed, and they vanished into the swirling dust clouds.

Archon's orange eye narrowed as it watch them flee. But it didn't pursue. There were other, more important matters to attend to.