Chapter 129: A Breakthrough in the Heat of Battle!

At the critical moment, Shang Lu’s long whip lashed out, striking and snatching the blades from Du Feng and Liu Zhi’s hands, preventing them from self-mutilation. However, this defensive maneuver left Shang Lu exposed, and he was splattered with filthy blood and rotting flesh. To his surprise, the foul matter did not corrode his body. A moment later, he realized it must be the anti-toxin effect of the Xibian tail he carried. Unfortunately, he only possessed a single segment, which was insufficient to protect Du Feng and Liu Zhi as well.

He channeled his blood energy, vibrating the filth from his body along with the bits of rotting flesh that scurried about, unable to find a wound to burrow into. With a mouthful of blood energy, he roared, "Stay calm! Do not be bewitched by the demonic aura of the Blood Age God!" The shout, resonant as thunder, brought Du Feng, Liu Zhi, and their horses back to their senses.

"Withdraw from the skirmish and find a way to cleanse the poison and rot!" As Shang Lu commanded, he unfastened a bundle from his saddle and tossed it to Liu Zhi. "Inside are medicines, boy’s urine, black dog blood, and various talismans I scavenged from the armory. Try them all and see what works!"

Liu Zhi caught the bundle but did not retreat. Instead, he and Du Feng channeled their blood energy to prevent the parasites from drilling deeper into their flesh, spurring their horses forward to continue the charge. Gritting his teeth against the searing pain of the rot burrowing into his body, Du Feng squeezed out, "We’re already poisoned; there’s no rush for that. While we can still move, let us help you draw away a group of villagers!"

Their official horses were equally valiant; despite the poison and their wounds, they endured and, rather than fleeing, surged forward with even greater speed. Meanwhile, the villagers who had been worshipping around the mound were driven by the Blood Age God to swarm the trio, intent on intercepting and tearing them apart. Completely bewitched, these villagers believed they were endowed with divine power, making them impervious to blades and bullets. They sought to tear apart those who offended their god and offer their flesh and organs as sacrifice. Clearly, their minds had been deranged by the "Divine Feast." They failed to realize that if their own "god" could be wounded, they could hardly be invulnerable.

In an instant, the three men charged into the crowd. Sanniang drifted from her oil-paper umbrella, clearing a path for Shang Lu by knocking aside the maddened villagers. Though she appeared delicate, her strength was immense, and she struck with precision, ensuring none of her targets suffered fatal injuries. Once struck, the villagers would fall into a daze, unable to rise. Liu Zhi and Du Feng shouted to draw the attention of the erratic crowd, splitting off in opposite directions. Many villagers were successfully lured away, leaving Shang Lu a clear path to the top of the mound.

Seeing its efforts thwarted and its enemy closing in, the Blood Age God was enraged. It unleashed a massive wave of rotting flesh. Aware that Shang Lu had means to resist the poison, it changed its tactics, imbuing the rot with demonic aura to turn it into sharp, swift projectiles. Shang Lu flicked his wrist, unleashing the Spirit Snake Whip technique. The beast-hide whip moved with a life of its own, coiling like a serpent to deflect the incoming debris. Though the demonic aura numbed his hand with pain, Shang Lu was emboldened—he realized the entity's power had fallen to the Pulse-Connecting Realm. The explosion of the three paper talismans and the ravaging divine power had cost the deity an entire cultivation stage.

Though still stronger than him—roughly at the peak of the Pulse-Connecting Realm—it was far more manageable than a being of the Marrow-Cleansing level. He might not even need the Nuo mask. Finding its projectiles ineffective, the Blood Age God sprouted countless rotting tentacles, attempting to ensnare Shang Lu and his mount. Shang Lu circled the entity to avoid capture, aided by Sanniang, who deflected any tentacles that bypassed his defenses.

With Sanniang’s help, Shang Lu’s burden was lightened. He controlled his horse while lashing out with his whip, channeling his divine power into each strike to sear the creature's flesh. With his free hand, he hurled pouches of boy’s urine and black dog blood at the entity. While these exorcism items had little physical effect, they seemed to wound it mentally. The boy’s urine, in particular, sent the Blood Age God into a frenzy, driving it to bombard Shang Lu with arrows of toxic blood and stones of rotten flesh.

Despite his divine power and Sanniang’s aid, Shang Lu was still at a disadvantage. The deity possessed bizarre abilities, even manifesting its own "domain" through pools of pus. Even with the protection of the Xibian tail, the miasma slowed his movements, and tentacles constantly erupted from the ground to seize him. Though they appeared evenly matched, Shang Lu was actually struggling; only his vast blood energy and Sanniang’s interference kept him in the fight.

Sensing this, the Blood Age God intensified its assault to force a mistake, mocking him, "So what if you ambushed me with those paper dolls? Even weakened, you are no match for me! What other tricks do you have left?"

"If my strength is inferior to yours," Shang Lu thought, "then I shall raise it to match yours and beat you to death!"

He refused to let the battle drag on, especially with his men still poisoned. Making his decision, he began to circulate his internal cultivation manual while still in the saddle, channeling his blood energy to breach the final meridians and reach the peak of the Pulse-Connecting Realm. The Blood Age God was infuriated by the human's audacity to cultivate during a life-or-death struggle, but it was also delighted, seeing an opening to strike while Shang Lu was distracted.

"Since you court death," the god roared, "I will oblige!"

Amidst its laughter, a forest of sharp, blood-stained tentacles erupted from its body, converging upon Shang Lu like a gaping, ravenous maw.