"The honored guest truly wishes to enter the Blood Mist?" The elven elder looked at Xia Yi, along with Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan beside him, and couldn't help but advise.
In a world where strength reigns supreme, having multiple wives or concubines was very common. Even among the elves—a matriarchal race ruled by a queen—many powerful and high-ranking individuals were accompanied by several partners.
It was nothing out of the ordinary.
However, people usually kept such relationships discreet. Like Xia Yi, openly bringing two female companions to the Blood Mist—trying to have it both ways and still look righteous—wasn't unheard of, but typically ended in disaster.
"Elder, please allow us through," Xia Yi didn't bother explaining. At this point, there was no turning back. He directly placed a soul-forged life crystal in front of the elder.
The Blood Mist was normally only accessible to elves. Humans and beastkin had to pay a certain fee to enter.
Xia Yi didn't have elf currency and couldn't be bothered to ask the price. A soul-forged life crystal was more than sufficient.
"In that case, I won't try to stop you," seeing Xia Yi's resolve, the elder no longer insisted. Intense space magic surged from his body, and a spatial spell appeared around the three of them.
As the spatial wave swept over them, Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan instinctively tried to release their martial spirits, but Xia Yi lightly tugged at them, reminding them not to act rashly.
"So powerful!" The elven elder looked at the trio with surprise. Even though they hadn't resisted, the aura that leaked when Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan had almost released their spirits startled him.
Even Ye Xinglan wasn't weaker than he was, and Yuanen Yehui… her strength was already on par with the strongest elven elders.
He couldn't help but glance curiously at Xia Yi, wondering what kind of man could win the hearts of two such exceptional women.
As the space magic activated, Xia Yi felt a wave of dizziness and then found himself surrounded by blood-red mist.
The crimson mist not only blocked vision but severely suppressed spiritual power as well.
"There's something in the mist," Xia Yi scanned the surroundings. Even though the mist suppressed his spiritual power, it could still extend somewhat. Within the red fog, he sensed a massive figure watching them menacingly. A terrifying aura surrounded it, and the moment his spiritual power touched it, it was shredded to pieces.
"Is this Blood Mist place about monster fighting and leveling up too?" Xia Yi grumbled inwardly. Wasn't this supposed to be a place to test true love? What's with the monster fights?
"Maybe it's to see if we'll abandon each other in danger? That's kind of a low-level test, though," he muttered.
"We should go check what kind of thing is in here," said Ye Xinglan, as her Star God Sword materialized in her hand. Her eyes were full of burning battle intent and excitement. Invisible sword qi seemed to be slicing open the space around her.
"I also want to see what kind of ghost or monster dares to target us," Yuanen Yehui said as she slashed her hand through the air. A purple-black longsword appeared before her. Six pairs of fallen angel wings unfolded from her back. The space behind her instantly darkened as if swallowed by shadows.
After releasing their martial spirits, both women's auras transformed dramatically. They stepped forward, standing to Xia Yi's left and right, shielding him.
"If the Blood Mist plans to use some Holy Spirit creatures hidden in the mist to test whether we'll abandon each other in danger, they're about to be sorely disappointed," Xia Yi thought, looking at the two women radiating intense fighting spirit. Finding anyone in the elven race who could match them in battle wouldn't be easy.
Even if such people existed, they wouldn't be sent into a place like the Blood Mist.
ROAR! A colossal creature emerged from the crimson fog. It was covered in red scales and let out a deafening roar as it lunged at the trio.
The roar was so intense that even the sky seemed to change color. Violent winds swept out, causing the red mist to boil and churn. Xia Yi and the others instantly looked up, full of vigilance.
It was a massive beast, towering over 100 meters tall, its body like a small mountain. It was covered in heavy, irregularly-shaped blood-red scales. Its enormous head took up nearly a quarter of its entire body.
Its giant eyes were filled with madness and chaos. A thick tail trailed behind it. Its gaping mouth could easily swallow most soul beasts whole.
"That's a Tyrannosaurus! The king among sub-dragons. How did it become like this?" Xia Yi was shocked when he got a clear look at the creature. His expression turned serious. Eight snow-white fox tails appeared behind him as he entered his Spirit Possession state and stepped in front of Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan.
If it had been any ordinary creature, it would be fine. But a Tyrannosaurus rivaling an Ultimate Douluo? There was no way he'd let Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan take such a risk.
Its eyes showed no reason, only violence and bloodlust. It was clearly not in its right mind.
He couldn't afford to reason with it—only by defeating it could they figure out what was going on.
Why was a Tyrannosaurus appearing on the Tianxuan Continent?
ROAR! The blood-scaled Tyrannosaurus moved extremely fast. In the instant it appeared and Xia Yi saw its figure clearly, it had already closed in.
Xia Yi and the two women activated their soul rings in unison.
For Xia Yi, his seventh, sixth, and fourth soul rings lit up at once:
Martial Spirit Avatar, Insulated Claw, Demon-Expelling Strike I.
Xia Yi's body suddenly grew to match the Tyrannosaurus in size. He raised his fist and punched directly at the monster's head.
ROAR! The Tyrannosaurus, clearly provoked by Xia Yi's bold move, opened its mouth and fired a blood-red beam at him. At the same time, it didn't slow down and charged toward the trio.
Yuanen Yehui and Ye Xinglan, intrigued by Xia Yi's martial avatar form, didn't dwell on it—now wasn't the time. They quickly flew to the sides without hesitation.
The blood-red beam clashed with Xia Yi's fist—and at the moment of impact, the beam suddenly lost its color, turning into a colorless energy that collided harmlessly with his punch.
It was effortlessly broken.
Although Xia Yi wasn't sure what the beam's effect was, his Claw was the ultimate technique against all skills. Using it here was undoubtedly the right move.
(End of chapter)