The majestic Black and White Divine Mountains stood tall, surrounded by a vast expanse of scorched earth, where the white mist had temporarily vanished.
Above this desolate wasteland hovered Lady You Lan and General Ku Meng. Opposite them, at a distance, was the warship of Chen Jiu from the Xia Clan. They had remained calm and composed, facing each other from afar.
“Hmm?” Lady You Lan’s expression subtly changed as she gazed into the distance.
Four teams arrived in succession.
“Oh, so this must be the team from the Dark Abyss?” The leader of the last arriving team was a golden-robed youth with a smiling demeanor. He spoke loudly and casually, “What’s going on? According to the rules of the Temple of Time and Space, when a powerful Demigod is sent down, they usually bring along two others! Why does the Dark Abyss only have two left? Could it be that one of them is already dead—slain by the Xia Clan?”
“Although the Xia Clan is weak, their accumulated strength over countless eons is not to be underestimated. Their subordinate must have truly perished,” remarked Wu Ma Hai, the leader of the Earth Temple’s team, with a sinister grin.
“My name is Chen Jiu,” said the leader of the Blood Blade Tavern, ‘Chen Jiu,’ who was the most courteous of all.
“Wu Ma Hai!” the golden-armored youth replied.
The golden-robed youth’s smiling gaze then settled on the distant elder, ‘Mountain Master Mei,’ and he grinned widely. “Wu Huang, I heard you’ve finally broken free from the Temple of Time and Space’s control. I didn’t expect you to get involved in this as well. Ha! It’s been such a long, long time. I still remember our last battle—I haven’t forgotten it at all!”
Mountain Master Mei’s brows slightly furrowed. “Sword Emperor, are you looking to start a fight?”
“There’s no need. Inside the Red Stone Mountains, our enemies are the dangers within. Perhaps we can even cooperate with each other,” the golden-robed youth chuckled.
Mountain Master Mei merely grunted in response and said nothing more.
Both of them had once been Reincarnators of the Temple of Time and Space and had fought each other before. Of course, Mountain Master Mei had already regained his freedom.
“That idiot Nuo Nuo An,” Lady You Lan cursed inwardly, “his death has drawn in these other fellows.”
But she wasn’t worried.
They all had detailed intelligence on the Red Stone Mountains. To conquer it, they didn’t need to fight each other. They only needed to survive the many perils within to obtain what they desired. They could even cooperate! This was also why the Blood Blade Tavern’s team had no fear of Dongbo Xueying seizing treasures—he was even allowed to join their team.
Lady You Lan’s gaze turned toward Chen Jiu’s warship in the distance. Her voice turned icy cold. “Enough! Xia Clan, do you really think that Dongbo Xueying alone can threaten me? Hmph! I advise you to hand over the Divine Scroll willingly!”
She had lost her patience.
“Hand over the Divine Scroll?” A voice filled with suppressed fury and killing intent rang out as a white-robed youth materialized from the void—none other than Dongbo Xueying.
“You Lan!” Dongbo Xueying’s eyes burned with fury. His right hand produced a crystal orb, which shattered with a sharp crack. Countless tormented souls howled as they flew out, then vanished under the guidance of the laws of heaven and earth.
“Did you see them? Did you see these souls?” Dongbo Xueying pulled out orb after orb filled with countless tormented souls, crushing them one by one to release the souls and free them to return to the heavens. “These are the souls of my Xia Clan’s people whom you slaughtered! They had no enmity with you, living peaceful lives, yet you butchered them all, torturing their souls until they were filled with resentment. And you still dare to ask for the Divine Scroll?”
Dongbo Xueying’s voice was cold, yet beneath that coldness, it seemed as though a volcano was about to erupt.
Orb after orb shattered.
Innumerable souls returned to the heavens.
This scene left the Xia Clan’s transcendents aboard Chen Jiu’s warship watching in silence, their hearts heavy with sorrow.
“Oh? I forgot to mention—I devoured a hundred million souls of your Xia Clan,” Lady You Lan licked her teeth, revealing her pearly whites. “Delicious! No wonder the Demon Gods of the Dark Abyss love the souls of mortals from the Material World. Absolutely exquisite!”
Dongbo Xueying’s pupils constricted, his fury threatening to tear his chest apart.
Just then—
Buzz!
A colossal, spectral head suddenly appeared beside Lady You Lan and General Ku Meng. The head wore a war helm, beneath which were eyes of dark yellow, like an endless ocean of death. Though it was only a spectral projection and not a World Projection, it still made Dongbo Xueying and the leaders of the other four teams feel uneasy.
“Great Demon God,” Lady You Lan and General Ku Meng both bowed slightly.
Dongbo Xueying immediately understood that this spectral head in the war helm was the great being who had sent Lady You Lan and the others down.
Judging from its appearance, this Great Demon God was not the same as the one worshiped by the Demon God Cult!
In the Divine World, the term “Great Demon God” was essentially equivalent to a World God—a title denoting power. Of course, even among World Gods, there were great differences. The cost for the Temple of Time and Space to send down a Demigod like Lady You Lan was terrifyingly high—far beyond what the Xia Clan’s ancestral deities could afford. Such a price was paid in hopes of a gamble, and those who could afford such a gamble were never ordinary World Gods or Demon Gods.
The spectral head in the war helm fixed Dongbo Xueying with its gaze. “Human, you dare to kill my subordinates!”
“They slaughtered countless of my people. How can I not kill them?” Dongbo Xueying replied coldly.
“Oh, interesting! You’ve got guts, and potential too. No wonder Darhao and the others wanted to eliminate you. I didn’t expect that in just a hundred years, your strength would grow so much. I’d love to see the expressions on Darhao and the Lord of the Witch God’s faces when they learn of your growth. Truly amusing!” The spectral head laughed heartily, not bothering to hold Dongbo Xueying accountable.
In the Dark Abyss, these little insects would never dare to be so arrogant toward him.
But this was the world of mortals!
“You Lan,” the spectral head turned its gaze to Lady You Lan, “Nuo Nuo An is already dead before even entering the Red Stone Mountains!”
“Hmph, Great Demon God, rest assured. If the mission fails, I will face death. I will do everything in my power to ensure success! Right now, I’m just trying to increase our chances!” Lady You Lan frowned.
“As long as you understand that failure means death,” the spectral head nodded.
They had all sworn the Abyssal Oath, a contract that bound the lives of those from the Dark Abyss more terrifyingly than anything else. Even the Temple of Time and Space couldn’t save them if they broke it. Unless the other party was willing to release them, breaking the oath meant certain death!
Whoosh!
The spectral head in the war helm vanished instantly.
…
The four observing teams in the distance were greatly startled. From the conversation, they had already deduced that ‘Nuo Nuo An,’ a member of the Dark Abyss team, had been killed by Dongbo Xueying!
“He killed Nuo Nuo An?” Bo Bo, the red-haired man from the Earth Temple’s team, exclaimed in disbelief. “How is that possible? Is he really that strong? Or was Nuo Nuo An actually weak?”
“Enough.”
Young Master Wu Ma Hai’s face was cold. “Nuo Nuo An couldn’t possibly be weak! You all felt the shockwave from the earlier explosion—it reached the Divine level. How could Nuo Nuo An be weak? Dongbo Xueying is even stronger than we anticipated!”
Their team felt uneasy.
They had previously looked down on Dongbo Xueying, thinking that without them, no other team would accept him, and he would surely perish in the Red Stone Mountains. But now, killing Nuo Nuo An meant that even if Dongbo Xueying acted alone, though it would be dangerous, he still had a chance.
“Master Zhuang, no wonder you invited Dongbo Xueying to join our team. Did you already know how strong he was?” The old man with the goatee asked in astonishment, his voice unguarded, as there was no need to hide it—everyone would know once they entered the Red Stone Mountains.
“What?!”
“Dongbo Xueying joined the Blood Blade Tavern’s team?”
Mountain Master Mei and Sword Emperor’s teams remained relatively calm.
The Earth Temple’s team, however, felt rather awkward, since they had been certain that no other team would accept Dongbo Xueying.
…
Meanwhile.
After being threatened by the spectral head in the war helm, Lady You Lan’s eyes burned with killing intent. Gazing at Dongbo Xueying and Chen Jiu’s warship in the distance, she coldly declared, “I’ve lost my patience!”
“You’re not the only one who’s lost patience!” Dongbo Xueying’s voice was low, filled with boundless killing intent. “I’ve already said before—Nuo Nuo An was only the first! Now, it’s time for the second!”
Lady You Lan and General Ku Meng’s expressions changed slightly.
Under their watchful eyes, Dongbo Xueying, radiating killing intent, vanished into thin air in an instant.
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