Remains, Investment Reward: Blood-Soaked Battle Soul Talisman

Deep within the Blood Phoenix Secret Realm.

A figure clad in blood-red robes stared fixedly at the name hovering at the zenith of the sky.

"She... she really came."

The young man's murky, turbid eyes flickered with a trace of barely concealed excitement.

"Thousands of years... I've finally waited for someone like her..."

"Han Shi."

A man shrouded in black robes, Yin Huaxuan, approached and bowed respectfully.

This was the first time he had ever seen the enigmatic and unfathomable Han Shi—whose status within the Demon-Summoning Sect was so lofty that even he didn’t know the man’s true name—display such emotion.

Han Shi’s methods could only be described as otherworldly.

The Blood Phoenix Secret Realm was a place where even sixth-realm martial artists couldn’t defy its rules unless they employed overwhelming external force to destroy the entire realm outright.

Yet Han Shi could allow him, an Inner Breath Realm cultivator, to move freely within it.

And more.

Despite appearing no older than twenty, Han Shi’s knowledge and experience made Yin Huaxuan feel like a frog at the bottom of a well.

There was another thing.

Ever since entering the Blood Phoenix Secret Realm, standing before Han Shi had given him an inexplicable, suffocating pressure, as if a bone were lodged in his throat.

After a moment, the blood-robed youth’s expression smoothed back into calm indifference.

"How goes the task I assigned you?"

"This secret realm will undoubtedly run red with blood."

"Good. You’ve been useful. Spending decades in the Qingyuan Sect couldn’t have been easy."

Han Shi seemed to be in a rare good mood.

"For the prosperity of our sacred sect, this humble one would gladly sacrifice everything..."

Yin Huaxuan dared not claim credit.

Han Shi waved a hand dismissively, his lips curling in a faint smirk.

"Your rewards will not be lacking."

"Yes."

Yin Huaxuan bowed again.

Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a pale golden skeleton nearby, its bones still pristine and gleaming despite the decayed remnants of its clothing.

It was almost... lifelike.

And the crimson runes etched into the bones seemed...

Brighter than the last time he had seen them?

......

First Layer of the Blood Phoenix Secret Realm.

The crackling sound of snapping branches echoed through a twisted, desiccated forest.

"Ying Bing is terrifying..."

Tie Qi withdrew his gaze from the sky and frowned at the goosebumps rising on his arm.

"Something feels off about this place."

His Observation Divine Realm had been honed through the "Tenfold Ambush Battle Diagram" of the Gangdou Sect, granting him exceptional prowess in group combat and an acute sensitivity to killing intent.

And right now, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was watching him.

Yet no matter where he looked, the area was devoid of life—not even a single living creature in sight.

"What the hell?"

Tie Qi scratched his head in confusion.

No living beings, yet the stench of blood lingered in the air.

He took a few more steps forward and finally found the source—tattered garments hanging from a branch, their owner nowhere to be seen.

"Strange."

Just as he moved closer to inspect them—

Crack.

The trees around him suddenly split open, revealing gaping maws.

Their branches writhed like awakened serpents.

"Tree demons?"

The thought barely formed before—

Whoosh!

A branch lashed through the air with a shrill whistle, striking like a venomous whip.

Snap!

Tie Qi staggered, his qi and blood churning violently.

He swiftly steadied his breathing, his halberd whirling into an impenetrable defense.

After exchanging several blows—

"Break!"

His halberd condensed inner breath into a surge of martial might, and behind him, the phantom of an armored general materialized.

With a single thrust, he impaled the tree demon.

But—

Before Tie Qi could even sigh in relief, his expression darkened.

Creak... creak...

The entire forest stirred to life.

Countless trees twisted and swayed, their branches dancing like a swarm of awakened vipers.

The sky was blotted out.

"This is bad..."

Tie Qi was forced into a desperate battle.

Each tree demon was only at the Inner Breath Realm, but their numbers were overwhelming.

Worse, their bodies were as tough as his own tempered physique, making them incredibly difficult to deal with.

Even with the phantom general bolstering his strength, his halberd swings grew slower and heavier.

......

Half an hour later.

"If this drags on, I’ll be completely drained before I can break free."

Tie Qi gritted his teeth and made a decision.

With a forceful slap against his thigh, his upper body suddenly launched into the air, attempting to vault over the treetops.

But—

Swish!

The branches wove into a net midair, slamming him back down.

A tree demon king loomed over him.

Its aura was unmistakably stronger than his own.

"Is this the end of my journey in the Blood Phoenix Secret Realm...?"

Bitter resignation filled Tie Qi’s heart.

Exhaustion and pain blurred his vision, dragging him into memories of the past.

A cripple could still practice martial arts.

But what about a man with no legs?

Things others took for granted required his utmost effort—even something as simple as using the latrine.

Compared to his fellow disciples, he was nothing but a broken remnant.

All he could do was push himself harder than anyone else.

While others ran, he crawled on his hands, hauling himself down the mountain and back up again. At first, a single trip took days. He survived on dry rations tied around his neck and dew for water.

Later, after forcibly opening his meridians with only half a circulatory system, his master crafted him a pair of mechanical legs.

When he finally stood—

The mockery, the despair, the uncertainty—he left them all behind.

But those legs weren’t truly his.

His body remained incomplete.

Now, within the Blood Phoenix Secret Realm, rumors spoke of a Flesh-Meld Fruit capable of restoring his missing limbs.

Yet the gap between him and that hope seemed insurmountable—no matter how hard he fought.

The tree demon king’s branch-tip gleamed like a blade, hurtling toward his face.

"Could it be... that I simply didn’t try hard enough?"

Tie Qi’s heart was eerily calm. Not a trace of resentment—only confusion.

Crack!

A crisp snap rang out.

Tie Qi blinked in bewilderment.

The tree demon before him was now engulfed in flames, thrashing in agony.

"Huh?"

He had tried setting them ablaze before, but even oil couldn’t ignite these creatures.

Who—?

Before he could look up—

A figure swept past, snatching up a longsword. With a single flick of a finger, the blade erupted in flames.

Behind the youth, a searing sun seemed to materialize.

Solar Wheel Sword Canon.

"Die."

In the span of a breath, countless embers scattered from the sun’s halo, guided by the sword’s edge in a torrent of fire.

Hiss—!

The explosive rain of flames pierced through the tree demon king’s body.

After a sickening series of cracks, the demon king collapsed.

The remaining tree demons recoiled, not daring to approach.

"Li... Li Mo?"

Tie Qi gaped at the radiant figure before him, momentarily stunned.

"Glad I made it in time."

Li Mo sheathed his sword and grinned.

The two had shared drinks just the night before, bonding over their shared bravado.

In short, they were the kind of men who could boast wildly and still find common ground.

"Li Mo, you should go."

"Leave this to me!"

The flicker of hope in Tie Qi’s heart dimmed again.

That sword technique just now—its power was unmistakably that of a supreme martial art.

Li Mo was only at the Inner Breath Realm, having not even condensed his Mystic Core yet.

Being able to activate such a sword technique to slay enemies above his level was already astonishing—of course, he wouldn’t be able to recover his energy immediately.

He definitely wasn’t in a state to flee. All he could hope for was that this youth, whom he’d met once before...

“Huh?”

“You want to fight on your own? Fine, fine.”

Li Mo hadn’t expected the other’s willpower to be so tenacious—even in this state, he still wanted to battle.

After a moment’s thought, Li Mo took something out.

“Open your mouth.”

“Hah?”

Before Tie Qi could even speak, he felt something slide down his throat.

“Brother Li, why’d you shove something weird into my mouth when I wasn’t looking!?”

“I wasn’t bluffing yesterday, you know.”

Li Mo chuckled.

Tie Qi froze.

After swallowing whatever Brother Li had given him, why did he feel...

an itch creeping up his lower body?

At the same time, a prompt echoed in Li Mo’s ears:

[Congratulations, Host. You have successfully invested in ‘Tie Qi,’ aiding him in restoring his disability and preserving his life.]

[Investment Reward: Bloodsoaked Battle Soul Talisman]

[Bloodsoaked Battle Soul Talisman]: “A single-use item. Allows the summoning of an ancient battle spirit to possess the user, drastically increasing combat power. The user grows stronger the longer they fight. Duration: Fifteen minutes.”

“Not bad at all.”

“Too bad there’s only one...”

This thing was practically the perfect trump card.

Especially since who knew what variables awaited in the Blood Phoenix Secret Realm? With this in hand, he felt a little more confident.