Chapter 705 - 701: The Blade Falls, Cut into 2 Halves

Chapter 705: Chapter 701: The Blade Falls, Cut into 2 Halves

RUMBLE!

Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi gathered in the sky from all directions.

At an altitude of 9,999 meters, a majestic hall hung suspended in the air, radiating a dazzling, multicolored floral light.

This was the True Dragon Ancient Hall!

It was a supreme battleground within the True Dragon Battlefield, a place of legacy passed down through countless ages.

"Let’s go!"

"Let’s go!"

Squad after squad of powerful experts made their way toward the True Dragon Ancient Hall.

The True Dragon Ancient Hall was not only open to humans; the War Race could participate as well. However, there was a key difference between them. The War Race could obtain their racial legacies and Treasures, while humans, in addition to acquiring Treasures or legacies, had another prize: the top five hundred participants would receive a Teleportation Crystal Stone, allowing them to leave the True Dragon Battlefield.

Of course, some experts chose not to leave even after obtaining a Teleportation Crystal Stone.

Xiahuang the First was one such example.

They might have stayed behind to enter seclusion, or perhaps they became trapped in a Secret Realm and missed their window to depart.

Others, like Xiahuang the First, voluntarily remained to attempt the Heaven-Ascending Ladder again. However, the very ladder that Xiahuang the First had waited and striven for over decades ultimately fell into Hong Yu’s hands. If Xiahuang the First ever learned the truth, one could only imagine his reaction.

"Brother Yu, the True Dragon Ancient Hall has appeared," Mao Mei’Er advised. "Soon, the Blood War Celestial Ladder will descend. It’s a staircase forged from blood and corpses. We have to fight our way to the very top to truly enter the hall!"

As the holder of the Spirit Cat Race’s legacy, she naturally possessed a corresponding understanding of the True Dragon Ancient Hall.

"The Blood War Celestial Ladder? I’m eager to see what it’s all about!"

Hong Yu took the lead, walking at the very front of the group. His posture was proud, and a cold glint shone in his eyes.

RUMBLE!

The experts of the Hongmeng Divine City followed close behind him, a mighty contingent of over two thousand people.

Of all the experts from the Spirit Cat Race, Hong Yu had brought only Mao Mei’Er.

This was because the Spirit Cat Race’s combat strength was not particularly high to begin with. Moreover, after suffering heavy losses in the last great battle, they could not afford another one.

Meanwhile, the experts of the Kuafu Race, Holy Tiger Tribe, Holy Bear Tribe, Netherworld Tribe, and Golden Ancient Ape Tribe had gathered together.

The City Lord Level experts from these major tribes wore solemn expressions, ready for battle. They exchanged a look of mutual understanding. Ku Tianlei’s voice was heavy as he said, "Since we’re all in the same boat now, we must cooperate with one another. We can’t lose face for the War Race in front of our lord!"

"Of course!"

Everyone nodded in agreement.

These five great War Race tribes had all pledged their allegiance to Hong Yu.

However, at Hong Yu’s request, they were not to cooperate with him directly. Instead, they were to wait and observe, awaiting his orders.

The Celestial Horse Tribe and the Giant Elephant Tribe had dispatched all their elites. They had converged with the experts from the Four Great Divine Cities, and even the Eastern Divine City had joined them.

Clearly, much had transpired in the last ten days.

Ma Yuanfei wore a sinister sneer. "Everyone, remember our promise!"

"Don’t worry. Once we eliminate Hong Yu and his people, the Hongmeng Divine City is yours," a Divine King replied calmly.

Elephant Liqun, an expert from the Giant Elephant Race, snorted coldly. "Let’s get a move on. The Blood War Celestial Ladder is about to descend!"

"Move out!"

The massive group departed.

More and more experts gathered beneath the True Dragon Ancient Hall. Logically, with their power, they should have been able to fly directly up to it.

However, the True Dragon Ancient Hall was extremely bizarre. Countless experts had tried to fly into it from the sky, only to find that upon reaching an altitude of ten thousand meters, the hall before them was merely an illusion, like a flower in a mirror. They passed right through it as if it were a curtain of water, unable to gain entry.

The only way to truly enter the True Dragon Ancient Hall was to fight one’s way up the Blood War Celestial Ladder.

THUD! THUD! THUD!

A series of heavy sounds shook the highest heavens, like crashing thunder. The void itself rippled, as if stones were being tossed into a calm lake. But this was stable space, a place that even a City Lord would need their full power to tear.

Amidst these heavy sounds, a series of steps descended from the sky.

They stacked one upon another, their ancient and heavy aura obscuring the heavens and the earth.

A thick, bloody stench spread through the air.

Vast, desolate, lonely, ancient...

A boundless ancient path, a silent celestial ladder!

This was a staircase ten thousand meters long. Each step was one hundred meters long and fifty meters wide, covered in a thick layer of black.

This was not the erosion of time, but the color of countless torrents of blood that had dried and solidified.

This was a path dyed in blood.

The Blood War Celestial Ladder!

Truly, a celestial ladder forged from blood!

HUMMM!

A powerful, murderous aura permeated the area. More than five hundred thousand experts were present, representing the peak Martial Force of every race and major power. There were even powerful Desolate Beasts lying in wait, hoping to fish in troubled waters and find some opportunity for themselves.

At this moment, facing the intense, bloody impact radiating from the Blood War Celestial Ladder, an intent to kill filled the world. It made the scalps of over fifty thousand experts tingle, their bodies tremble, and their palms slick with sweat. More than five thousand people were so terrified that their eyes rolled back in their heads and they were scared witless.

They had literally been scared to death!

What a terrifyingly murderous aura!

’Have more than ten million beings fallen on this thing?’ Hong Yu muttered to himself.

Mao Mei’Er shook her head. "In the True Dragon Battlefield, there is a minor war every ten years, a major war every hundred years, and a blood war every thousand years. This tradition has been passed down for several thousand years. The number of experts who have fallen here is in the hundreds of millions!"

HISS!

Hong Yu sucked in a sharp breath of cold air.

Just as he was about to examine the Blood War Celestial Ladder more closely, he suddenly felt a sinister, cold aura lock onto him. He instinctively glanced to the side and saw a gaunt man wreathed in black flames staring intently at him.

Hong Yu narrowed his eyes. "Who is that?"

"That’s the Fire-Devouring King!" Feng Xue Xin whispered in warning.

"The Fire-Devouring King? You’re kidding, right?"

Hong Yu was stunned.

’Wasn’t the Fire-Devouring King of the past incredibly burly, with a towering, fiery aura and vitality as vibrant as a rainbow? How did he end up looking like a skeleton?’

Feng Xue Xin shot Hong Yu a teasing look, a strange expression on his face. "Back then, the Fire-Devouring King was sent to kill you, but he ended up fleeing back in utter disgrace. Afterward, it’s said he entered Eastern Asura’s Asura Domain to cultivate. He seems to have obtained the legacy of the Death Flame and mastered the Corpse Fire Technique!"

"The Corpse Fire Technique?"

Hong Yu raised an eyebrow, somewhat curious.

He had never heard of this Cultivation Technique before.

"HEH HEH HEH HEH!"

A sinister, cold cackle echoed in his ears, like the grating of bones, sending a shiver down one’s spine. The Fire-Devouring King slowly walked toward Hong Yu and bared a set of deathly pale teeth in a savage grin. "Hong Yu, I heard you killed a City Lord. GAK GAK GAK! My Corpse Fire Technique has reached Great Success, and I’ve come specifically to kill you!"

"Kill me?"

Hong Yu looked at the Fire-Devouring King with amusement. "Are you sure about that?" he asked coolly. "A loser like you wants to kill me?"

"GAK GAK GAK..."

Corpse fire erupted from the Fire-Devouring King’s body. The pitch-black flames gave off a dark glow and were neither hot nor cold, but touching them caused a wrenching pain that originated from the very soul. It was as if even the slightest contact would incinerate one’s Soul, turning them into the living dead.

The Fire-Devouring King’s eyes, which glowed with a faint green light, fixed on Hong Yu. As they darted around, streaks of green flashed within them.

He pressed his withered, skeletal hands together, producing a crisp cracking sound, and then suddenly charged at Hong Yu.

He made a grabbing motion with his hand, scooping up a large handful of black flames.

Tearing through a patch of the void, he fanned the raging corpse fire with the resulting void storm and lunged at Hong Yu. "GAK GAK GAK! This is an Absolute Skill from the Corpse Fire Technique that I just comprehended, called ’Corpse Fire Heaven’! If even a speck of it touches you, it will burn your body ceaselessly until not even a corpse remains!"

His grin was exceptionally hideous.

It was as if everything, including Hong Yu’s life, was within his grasp.

But soon, the Fire-Devouring King could no longer smile.

Dark golden flames suddenly burst from Hong Yu’s body. Within these flames were wisps of black energy that writhed like bloodthirsty leeches, swimming through the dark golden Nine Netherworld Burning World Flame.

Wherever they passed, they greedily devoured the so-called corpse fire.

In just a moment, Hong Yu had completely devoured the corpse fire that was the Fire-Devouring King’s pride and joy. An amused look on his face, he raised his right hand to rub his nose, then shaped it into a Palm Blade and unleashed a powerful strike into the void. This was no profound Martial Skill, nor was it some Secret Technique.

It was just a simple slash, imbued with a black light.

SWISH!

The slash was enveloped in a layer of black light. In an instant, it tore through the void and flew toward the Fire-Devouring King.

"A petty trick! I’ll just burn this insignificant Palm Blade!" the Fire-Devouring King sneered arrogantly.

Corpse fire surged forth, filling the sky with black light. It formed something like a massive black loach, which charged toward Hong Yu’s Palm Light and opened its cavernous mouth to bite down.

But...

SQUELCH!

The great beast formed from the black corpse fire was sliced in two by the Palm Blade. Then, under the Fire-Devouring King’s disbelieving gaze, the Palm Blade continued downward from the top of his head, slicing all the way down between his legs. Viscous blood and internal organs spilled onto the ground.

TSSSSS!

The Fire-Devouring King’s bisected body rapidly withered and dried out, finally turning into two halves of a desiccated corpse. Even his Primordial Spirit didn’t have time to escape.

HISS!

The scene was met with a wave of sharp, indrawn breaths.

The Fire-Devouring King had obtained the corpse fire and mastered the Corpse Fire Technique, his combat power leaping to the City Lord Level.

His strength had even surpassed that of newly minted City Lord Level experts like King Lingxiao and Chen Tao, yet he was still sliced in two by a single slash from Hong Yu. It was an absolutely terrifying sight.

The experts from the Eastern Divine City, in particular, had ashen faces.

Among them was a one-armed man in blood-red robes. He was the City Lord of the Eastern Divine City, Eastern Asura. His eyes held a sinister chill and a venomous, eerie light as he spoke coldly...

"It seems my Asura Domain is about to gain another lost soul!"