Chapter 93: Eight Blood Runes

As they were fighting in his own room, Fu Jiao had the advantage. His higher cultivation level gave him more speed and more strength. No matter the distance between them, he could cross it with only one move. And if they were fighting close to each other, he would have a clear superiority in terms of strength and reflexes. Moreover, he had the experience of fighting against demonic beasts stronger than him. Most of the time, he could rely on the help of other hunters. But there were also moments where he had to defend against a superior beast and survive long enough to either flee or be rescued by his comrades.

Fu Jiao jumped toward Luodu Bu and pushed some blood runes out of his way with his wind wheel. His fire wheel around which the image of a silver claw was visible went straight for the demonic cultivator's throat. Luduo Bu tried to block the stabbing motion but it suddenly turned into a slashing attack. Surprised, Luduo Bu had just enough time to angle his 'Red Frenzy' and protect his stomach. But the force of the slash and the surprise sent him against a wall.

Using his 'Blood Runes' to its limit, he circulated his 'Bloody Cavalry' martial art in his body. By doing so, the blood runes got closer to him. Three of them stayed right in front of him as protection. They resonated with his 'Closing the Bit'. His halberd was held in front of him as a defense and the three blood runes rotated around him.

Fu Jiao kept on attacking. Every one of his strikes got intercepted by the blood runes. But every time, the runes got pushed backwards and Luduo Bu was now completely back to the wall with no way out. He quickly took a decision.

Opening a small faint in his defense, he tried to bait Fu Jiao. However, he got the opposite answer. Instead of attacking where the defense got weak, he struck its strongest point. Surprised by this, Luduo Bu's defense failed and blood gushed out of his shoulder. He had blocked the brunt of the attack, only letting the fire wheel penetrate his shoulder superficially.

Luduo Bu still tried to use this lapse of time to attack Fu Jiao. He dodged and jumped back, immediately ready to attack again relentlessly. The blood runes did not lose this opportunity to strike. Luduo Bu changed his tactic as well. The commotion they were causing would attract many people. If he could not even deal with one Fu Jiao, he had not chance against several experienced hunters fighting alongside him.

It was best to risk it all now than to wait for certain defeat later. Too self-conceited, he had misjudged his victim's actual strength. Not only was he almost a Mortal Warrior, but he also had way more experience in fighting than Luduo Bu, and fighting against stronger foes at that.

Luduo Bu decided to take the risk. He used his blood runes to attack very close to him. He got slashed superficially on both arms and legs but the runes kept Fu Jiao at bay. Then Luduo Bu went for the offense. He rushed the old hunter with both his halberd and his runes. Fu Jiao was not able to keep up with all the simultaneous attacks. Thus, he produced more Qi around him. This was not Qi Manifestation, he was just increasing the Wei Qi around him.

This was a natural layer of Qi protecting every human's body. However, it got influenced by his martial art 'Winged Metallic Mane'. And the image of a lustrous mane made of silver appeared. It was still pretty vague but anyone could see it without much effort. His own hair looked like it got extended into this beautiful mane. The blood runes now had a tough time getting inside his defense. As such, all their attacks only left superficial wounds.

The fight kept going and the blood frenzy of Luduo Bu got higher and higher. The more the fight continued, the more insane and angry he got. Very soon, he was attacking without any consideration for his own body. He was only protecting his vitals. During the fight, he received many injuries on his arms, legs and even two slashes to the face and some to his chest.

Both fighters were a bloody mess. The fight had been very short in reality as both of them moved extremely fast. Outside, a dozen of hunters were coming to Fu Jiao's bedroom having heard the commotion. They were all armed and ready to fight the intruder.

Naturally, Luduo Bu did not know that, but he knew that reinforcements were coming and sooner rather than later. They had made way too much noise. He relinquished the blood runes protecting him and sent them to attack Fu Jiao with him.

Fu Jiao had fought against four blood runes since the beginning of the fight but now they almost doubled in number. The surprise was enough to harm him. The blood runes were attacking instinctively so Luduo Bu could not use them to attack specific spots. However, they were naturally drawn to blood, so they were aiming for lethal spots.

The stress accumulated and Fu Jiao made a mistake. He let a spot open for Luduo Bu. Immediately, he took the opportunity and landed a decisive strike in Fu Jiao's flank. The slash was not that deep but when Fu Jiao tried to grab the weapon, it disappeared. It wasn't the 'Red Frenzy' halberd but a layer of blood from the 'Blood Runes' method that had extended from the actual weapon. And the real halberd was ready to stab. It pierced through Fu Jiao's heart.

Despite this lethal injury, Fu Jiao kept moving. As a late Mortal cultivator, he could survive some time without blood flowing through his veins thanks to his Qi. But this time was limited to some seconds. Knowing he was dead for sure, Fu Jiao stopped defending and grabbed the halberd with both hands. No matter how hard Luduo Bu tried, he could not get his weapon back. Fu Jiao took a deep inspiration and roared as loud as he could.

His 'Prideful Roar Chases Away the Thunder' was at its most powerful ever. Fu Jiao literally poured everything he had in it. His throat was going to be forever destroyed but he didn't care since he was dead anyway. On the receiving hand, Luduo Bu's head began to buzz. Many of his capillaries exploded and his eyes got injected with blood. He had to drop his halberd and cover his ears not to go deaf.

Finally, Fu Jiao died, his body still standing, grabbing the halberd with a ferocious air on his face.

Luduo Bu could not hear the hunters running as fast as they could after this attack, but he could imagine the situation. Despite his injuries, he tried to take back his halberd. In his condition, he had to try three times just to grab the shaft. His internal ear had been messed up and he was battling just to stand still.

When he finally grabbed the shaft though, he circulated his 'Blood Runes' method and all of Fu Jiao's blood got sucked into the shaft. The strong body of the Silver Lion collapsed on the ground as a brittle old man, no trace of his past radiance remaining.

The moment the hunters got inside the room, Luduo Bu had at last condensed his eighth blood rune. This was the completion of the third layer out of seven layers overall. This was a significant step in this method. Right now, the blood runes could move even farther and faster. Moreover, they were infused with even more Evil Qi. The first two guys to enter the room were both 8th-grade Mortal cultivators. However, they both got killed instantly as they were not ready for four blood runes to attack their vital points.

Too hasty to save their leader, they got careless. Luduo Bu was ready to go slaughter the other hunters. The blood from his last victims gathered up into the air and fused with the existing blood runes. To forge the ninth rune, he would need either vast amount of blood or the blood of a Mortal Warrior. However, Mortal Warriors were not existences he could contend with right now, not even with his new level of mastery. First of all, he had trouble against a 9th-grade Mortal who was only a vagrant cultivator. But most importantly, he was terribly injured right now. Without the blood runes, he had no way to fight against the remaining hunters.

To try and alleviate his injuries, he summoned back two blood runes in his body to use their blood. This was a secret technique of the 'Blood Runes' method, 'Flowing Blood'. By circulating the blood inside the runes within his body, he could speed up his recovery, however it was dangerous as the blood runes would also spread their Evil Qi within him. But Luduo Bu did not care about this as he needed to recover his strength in order to survive. Right now, his mind was in chaos and he did not think clearly at all.

The evil blood circulated in his body as the other hunters were setting up their battle formation. Luduo Bu was absolutely tired and had no pill to recover his strength. He really had underestimated this foe, just like he had underestimated Cao Yun both times. This thought came to his mind and he got more and more mad. Suddenly, he felt something strange move in his own mind. Even though he had never worked on his mind or spirit, he was feeling such a disturbance. It clearly meant that it wasn't something small.

As the two blood runes were dissolving into his bloodstream, their Evil Qi also went into his meridians. He completely lost control of it.

While both the blood and the Evil Qi passed through his system, the pain was unbearable. He felt the Evil Qi seeping through his flesh as well and his bleeding began to stop. He did not heal completely, but the hemorrhage had mostly stopped. As the tension was getting higher and higher, the hunters ready to attack and him recovering, Luduo Bu felt a tremendous pain in his head.

He tried again and again to control the Evil Qi that had escaped his intent, but it was as though another will was leading it. And it was the case, his inner demon had finally been fully born. It had no mind of its own but held the same hatred as Luduo Bu. Using the confusion of Luduo Bu and the Evil Qi, it tried to break through and take over its host, just like a parasite.

Suddenly Luduo Bu found himself in a giant blue ocean. He had no idea what was going on, but he was in his own sea of consciousness. Panicking, he tried to move around but he was paralyzed. Looking down, he saw that around his feet the blue water had turned into thick blood. And the blood was quickly expanding around him. Luduo Bu tried to move his feet but they were completely frozen.

The expansion of the blood became faster and faster. Very soon, his entire sea of consciousness was a blood ocean. His head almost split in two under a brutal headache and he saw the image of the person he hated the most, Cao Yun.

"Chen Guo!" Screaming his hatred, Luduo Bu wanted to remember his goal. Despite his lack of experience he had understood. The Evil Qi had penetrated his mind and was slowly corroding it. If he could not control it, he would become a feral beast. But no matter what, he did not want to let go of his grudge. Luduo Bu was a very vindictive man and the humiliation he had suffered could not go unanswered.

But he had misjudged the situation and the more agitated he was, the more hateful and spiteful he was, the less chances he would have. The reflection of his mind in the ocean of blood was not him anymore, it was his inner demon.

Luduo Bu suddenly fell down within this blood and his inner demon got out. As he was drowning in his own sea of consciousness he saw this distorted image of himself smiling down at him. The only thought in his mind was his desire to slaughter Cao Yun and all his close ones. Unknowingly, he was strengthening the thing that had taken over his body.

In the real world, Luduo Bu was literally fuming a red mist. He was not emitting Qi but blood, the blood of the two blood runes. His wounds had been closed but he had lost a bit of his own blood. His eyes were no more injected with blood but they were entirely red. All semblance of conscious had left him. He took his 'Red Frenzy' and rushed outside. The blood runes were now perfectly obeying him.

In fact, this mist of blood had suddenly opened all of his acupoints and even the gates allowing for Qi Manifestation. However, they had done so with such brutality that he would never be able to cultivate ever again. But this was not a problem as Luduo Bu's mind was slowly being digested inside his own sea of consciousness. Only one thought was still animating him, the desire to kill, and Cao Yun in particular.

The blood runes now perfectly under his control, the feral Luduo Bu slaughtered all the hunters. He was almost like nine men fighting thanks to his blood runes. As such, he was easily able to fight off the battle formation of the experienced hunters. When they died, their blood gathered and strengthened the blood runes even more.

Luduo Bu did not stop there. He was raging like a rabid dog and went further inside Fulao. This night, he slaughtered absolutely everyone without any mercy, men, women, elderly, children. He was no more human. This was the danger with demonic cultivation. The methods were immoral to begin with but they could also easily corrupt your mind. Most demonic cultivators were able to become powerful at a record speed but they completely collapsed rather quickly and turned into abominations of various kinds.

Luduo Bu had instantly reached 1st-grade Mortal Warrior by opening all of his acupoints and even some of his gates. Usually it took humans several months and sometimes several years to open the acupoints without any danger. But it was always possible to force them open. By doing so, they would be damaged beyond repair. As such, Qi was always leaking and your health would decrease very fast until your inevitable death.

However, thanks to the 'Blood Runes' method, the blood itself was keeping the Qi from leaving Luduo Bu's body. However, even if he regained his sanity, which was almost impossible, his body was ruined for Qi cultivation. And with this lack of sanity, despite the ability of his body to manifest Qi, he had no way to do so. Qi Manifestation was dependent upon one's mind as well, it was not a natural occurrence.

When the sun rose, everyone in Fulao was dead and Luduo Bu was covered in blood. He was still panting like a rabid dog and he turned his sight on the Wubei Sect. A tiny part of his intellect was still there. Cao Yun was inside this sect and he needed to kill him. Despite the orders from the demonic cultivators within the sect, Luduo Bu had kept an eye on Cao Yun and knew where he was training. He knew about his Seamless Qi Vortex and instinctively, he went there. All that did not come from Luduo Bu but from his inner demon.

Cultivators, and especially demonic ones, could produce what was known as an inner demon. In most cases, this was a deep emotion linked to an obsession, a regret or something similar. This inner demon could grow and even take over someone's mind. This was not really an independent being, more of a distorted reflexion of the cultivator himself. Luduo Bu obviously had an inner demon since his first fight against Cao Yun and it had grown further after the official duel. Right now, this was the only thing left of his sanity. His hatred was so big that it took over his senseless body.

There was only one thought in his mind. He wished to see Cao Yun suffer and die.