The Void King

7. The Bloodstone Sinkhole

In that split second, Zhou Feng felt death reaching out for him. His limbs felt heavy, his breath ragged. He’d been in the water for two days, without food, every last drop of energy spent. He stumbled, lunged forward — and saw the cave mouth just two meters ahead.

 

Behind him, the demonic ape was closing in. Only seven meters separated them.

 

It leaped. He leaped.

 

One meter… half a meter…

 

A massive shadow fell over him. The ape’s huge hand swept down, claws outstretched. Zhou Feng braced himself for the end.

 

Then — from deep within his sea of consciousness — the Buddhist prayer beads gave out a sharp, resonant ding! A wave of warm golden energy burst from him in all directions.

 

The ape’s palm slammed into that invisible shield. The impact sent Zhou Feng flying forward. He tumbled headfirst through the cave entrance and rolled across the stone floor.

 

Pfft! He spat out a mouthful of blood, his body aching all over. But he was inside. He was alive!

 

"I made it… I’m alive!" He gasped in disbelief, his heart hammering wildly. The beads had saved him once again.

 

But his relief was short-lived. A deafening roar shook the rock around him, followed by heavy thuds — the ape was pounding against the cave entrance, trying to claw its way in. Dust rained down from the ceiling.

 

"It can’t get in… it can’t fit!" he realised. The entrance was barely three meters high, too small for that giant creature. But it wasn’t giving up anytime soon.

 

He turned to look deeper inside the cave — and froze. This wasn’t a natural cavern. It was a network of tunnels, over a hundred narrow passages branching off in every direction, each barely a meter high. The walls bore claw marks and the faint scent of wild beasts. This was a monster den.

 

Panic flared in his chest — but he took a deep breath and steeled himself. "Out there is certain death. In here… at least I have a chance."

 

He crawled into one of the passages, moving slowly and cautiously. It sloped downward, deep underground. As he went further, something surprised him — the air grew richer, warmer, humming with faint spiritual energy.

 

Fifteen minutes later, light appeared ahead. He crawled forward and peered out — and his eyes went wide.

 

He had emerged into a massive underground sinkhole, hundreds of meters across. And rising right at its very centre was a colossal formation: a blood-red crystal pillar five or six meters tall, glowing with a deep, pulsating light.

 

A giant Essence Blood Stone.

 

Zhou Feng’s breath caught. It was priceless — enough to fuel the entire Zhou family’s cultivation for over a hundred years. But coiled all over it, resting on the warm stone, were hundreds of blood pythons, their scales glistening like wet rubies, tongues flickering.

 

"One wrong move… and I’m dead," he whispered. Each python alone was no match — roughly equal to the first level of Body Tempering — but hundreds together? Even a fifth-level expert would be overwhelmed.

 

He retreated into the shadows, his mind racing. "First things first — I need strength."

 

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the smaller fist-sized stones he’d found scattered along the passageway — more than ten of them. He sat cross-legged, closed his eyes, and placed one against his chest.

 

He guided his internal energy to absorb it. The stone dissolved into a warm, thick current that surged through his meridians, filling him with renewed power and vitality. He could feel his blood and qi strengthening, his body knitting itself back together faster than normal.

 

Hours passed. He opened his eyes — they shone with renewed vigour. He was stronger than before.

 

"Incredible… with all these stones, I could reach the second level of Body Tempering in no time."

 

Just as he reached for another stone, something caught his eye — growing in a small patch of soil near the sinkhole’s edge was a clump of pale blue grass.

 

"Heart-Clearing Grass!" His heart leaped. It purified the body, cleansed impurities — and if he mixed it right, it could strip that stubborn demonic ape blood from his skin.

 

That was his way out.

 

But it grew barely ten meters from the base of the giant bloodstone — and the pythons were everywhere. He watched them, counting, timing their movements. Every few minutes, one would shift position, but most remained still, basking in the bloodstone’s warmth.

 

"If I move too fast… they’ll strike," he murmured. "But if I’m careful… and patient…"

 

He sat perfectly still, planning his every move. He couldn't afford a single mistake. Not here. Not now.