Chapter 152: Forbidden Demonic Weapon

Rumble!

Thunder roared as a blazing torrent of vital energy erupted, shaking the ancient forest to its very foundations.

Under the shocked gazes of the woman and several human cultivators, Luo Hao took a single step forward, causing the pupils of the four demon cultivators opposite him to instantly constrict.

Roar!

A blood-dragon let out a resonant howl. Crimson as sunset clouds and crystalline as diamonds, this was the battle-blood of the human race—bright, scorching, and akin to an undying divine flame, just as it had been in ages past.

Bang!

Luo Hao’s speed was unimaginably fast, virtually shrinking the earth into inches. The searing human vital energy was condensed and restrained to the extreme within his fist, yet its overbearing momentum had already shattered the void before him.

"Retire at once!"

At this moment, Chizhan’s hair whipped about wildly, his expression grave as he barked an order to Guyao and the others behind him. In the next instant, his figure suddenly transformed into a streak of crimson light, hurtling directly toward Luo Hao.

Monstrous energy surged into the skies, stirring wind and clouds as if an ancient, peerless fiend had just been born into the world. Above the void, countless ancient runes manifested. As these runes intersected, an ancient stele materialized, reflecting the passage of eternity.

Facing the black-robed human before him, Chizhan dared not hold back even the slightest bit. Wielding the Demonic Heaven-Stele Hand with terrifying, destructive power, he brought it down in a vicious suppression.

Boom!

The ancient heavenly stele and the overbearing fist violently collided, and for a split second, the entire world seemed to fall dead silent. But in the next instant, a devastating storm of spiritual energy burst forth from the point of impact.

Swish! Swish!

The Demonic Heaven-Stele Hand and Luo Hao’s human battle-blood exploded in unison. Spiritual energy flashed blindingly, unleashing shockwaves that rippled all the way out of the ancient forest.

Puff!

Several human martial artists coughed up mouthfuls of blood, their eyes filled with terror as they stumbled backward. The two figures clashing ahead were simply too terrifying; the sheer power unleashed by their casual collision was far beyond what they could endure.

The woman from Rosy Clouds Mountain felt an even greater tempest raging in her heart as she retreated toward the edge of the forest, her beautiful eyes burning as she stared fixedly at the center of the storm.

At the epicenter of the terrifying tempest, a figure gradually emerged. Standing with his hands clasped behind his back, he wore a black cloak that fluttered in the wind. The ferocious spiritual energy storm could not even draw close to his body.

On the other side, the red-haired demon cultivator clutched his arm, his body staggering backward and dragging long trenches into the earth with his feet. His entire arm was shredded, and demon blood sprayed continuously.

Chizhan was injured, his blood staining the desolate forest!

Guyao and the others turned grave, treating the situation as if facing a formidable enemy. The combat prowess of the black-robed human opposite them was overwhelmingly formidable. In particular, that vital energy resembling a bottomless abyss completely overturned their understanding of the human race.

According to demon records, the human physique and vital energy were inherently weak. Yet the vigor of the human before them was so intense that even the giants of the same realm would likely fall short. Chizhan, who had taken Luo Hao’s blow head-on, looked at him with a gaze laced with deep astonishment, entirely devoid of his previous arrogance.

"So... so strong!"

At the edge of the forest, the three women from Rosy Clouds Mountain stared at Luo Hao’s back, unable to stop themselves from covering their mouths in gasps of disbelief.

The other human cultivators also widened their eyes in shock. They had vaguely sensed that Luo Hao was powerful, but they never expected him to injure the red-haired demon cultivator with a single strike.

"Junior Sister, do you know this person?" Supporting the injured Li, the other two women from Rosy Clouds Mountain asked.

The woman named Li gazed deeply at the black-robed man ahead, then gently shook her head. However, behind the three women, a human warrior stared at Luo Hao’s back in a momentary daze. "This silhouette looks somewhat familiar, but his appearance and aura are entirely different. It shouldn't be him!"

"The demons are nothing more than this! Come at the four of you together!" Looking at Chizhan and his companions, Luo Hao said each word with deliberate weight, his voice dripping with supreme overbearance and unbridled defiance.

"Insulting our race warrants a hundred deaths!"

Hearing Luo Hao’s words, a fire instantly ignited within the hearts of the four demon cultivators. Not long ago, they had stood on high, looking down upon the weak human cultivators with condescension. Now, Luo Hao’s words felt like a vicious slap across their faces.

"This person cannot be left alive. Attack together!" Chizhan and the others exchanged glances before charging forward at blinding speed. Billowing demonic energy poured forth like a waterfall, staining the once-clear firmament dim and gloomy.

"Heaven-Stele Hand!" Chizhan roared furiously, his gaze terrifying. Crimson light erupted from his fingers and palms, and ancient demon runes flickered across his skin.

Whoosh!

The next moment, his entire body shot into the sky like a crimson sun of blood. High above the firmament, the crimson sun abruptly transformed into a blood-stained heavenly stele that descended with crushing force.

Countless dripping demon runes flickered across the stele—this was the Demonic Heaven-Stele Hand driven to its absolute limit, manifesting a wondrous phenomenon.

"I wonder how your Demonic Heaven-Stele Hand compares to my True Dragon Hand!" Luo Hao smiled coldly, making no attempt to dodge as he met the attack head-on.

Roar!

A dragon's roar shook the heavens. Luo Hao soared upward like a roc spreading its wings, thrusting a palm upward from his chest in a counter-offensive. This palm strike appeared slow, yet it resembled an ancient dragon probing its claw, or perhaps the movement of driving the sun, moon, and stars across the sky.

To the watchers at the edge of the forest, a dazzling golden brilliance erupted from Luo Hao’s palm, resembling the descent of a resplendent micro-world from which ninety-nine divine dragons soared upward to push back the tide.

Rumble!

Roar, roar, roar...

The ninety-nine divine dragons surged upward, their dragon might filling the air, crushing all opposition. Even when faced with the blood-dripping heavenly stele plunging from above, they tore right through it with unstoppable force.

Crack!

The blood-drenched heavenly stele shattered into pieces. Luo Hao’s palm struck Chizhan squarely in the chest, causing his sternum to cave in deeply. Chizhan’s body was instantly sent flying backward like a deflated sack, spraying wild spurts of demon blood that turned into a rain of crimson across the sky.

"Oh no, Chizhan!" Seeing the demon blood splashing everywhere, Guyao and the others cried out in alarm, instantly rushing to his rescue.

"Did I give you permission to save him?"

Vital energy surged as Luo Hao let out a cold laugh, taking a step forward to vanish instantly from his spot. Guyao and the others moved at extraordinary speeds, but Luo Hao, having mastered the Eight Steps of the Dragon’s Concealment, was even faster.

"Time for you to hit the road!"

With a soft murmur, Luo Hao’s stern visage suddenly magnified within Chizhan’s pupils. The dragon roar sounded once more, and a terrifying murderous intent boiled over. Luo Hao clenched his fingers into a fist and drove it straight through.

Puff!

Demon blood splattered in all directions. Chizhan’s eyes widened in fury, his entire body glowing as demon runes covered the sky, yet it was all in vain. His torso was pierced clean through by the fist, and under the crushing murderous intent, he shattered into pieces, scattering a mist of demon blood.

"You actually killed Chizhan!"

The terrifying killing intent blasted Guyao and the others—who had rushed over to save Chizhan—forced back. The three remaining demon cultivators clenched their fists until their joints popped, the fires of hatred surging in their eyes.

At that moment, the ancient forest fell completely silent. Then, at the edge of the woods, the women of Rosy Clouds Mountain and the human cultivators erupted into an uproar.

"The True Dragon Hand... I know who he is!"

"It’s him! The Battle Fiend Luo Hao!" Staring at Luo Hao’s figure, a human warrior’s eyes flashed with brilliance as he cried out in astonishment.

The three women of Rosy Clouds Mountain were equally dumbfounded. Since ancient times, the might of the dragon race was universally acknowledged throughout the heavens—they were the overlords among all living beings. The palm technique displayed by the black-robed figure ahead clearly bore a profound connection to the dragon race.

"So it was him! It seems he altered his aura, which is why we didn't recognize him," Yu Qiongxue murmured softly.

"You lowly, despicable race, you have a lot of nerve!"

The very instant Chizhan fell, an aura that made souls tremble suddenly erupted from above the three demon warriors: Guyao, Zihun, and Lingyuan.

The three women from Rosy Clouds Mountain and the human warriors at the forest's edge instantly felt as though they had plunged into an abyss, their very breathing turning ice-cold.

"Not good!"

Frowning slightly, even Yu Qiongxue, who had been fighting Ling Mo, sensed the strange and eerie shift in the air. Guyao and his two companions glared at Luo Hao, their eyes of hatred tinged with cruelty.

"Manifest, Demonic Artifact!"

The three demons roared in unison, their demonic energy surging violently and instantly engulfing the entire void. Beneath the sky, all living things quaked with fear as endless ripples of spatial energy swept outward like expanding water rings.

Ting-dong! Ting-dong!

Abruptly, the melodious sound of a zither rang out through the ancient forest. The zither notes were deep and ethereal, carrying the heavy weight of passing eras, yet this very music made Luo Hao’s heart tighten abruptly.

Hidden within these zither notes was undeniably a heaven-shaking murderous intent!

Hateful, cruel smiles bloomed on the faces of the three demons. A black, tail-burnt ancient zither appeared before them. The moment the zither manifested, Luo Hao’s gaze locked onto it sharply.

The zither was pitch-black and wreathed in evil Qi. It was impossible to tell what material it was forged from, yet it flashed with a metallic, freezing sheen. What was even more astonishing was that the zither possessed sixty-four strings—something utterly abnormal.

Staring at the ancient zither, Luo Hao felt a massive shock in his heart. An ancient zither with sixty-four strings was rumored to not exist at all, not even in Huaxia.

In ancient mythology, the primeval zither fairy Su Nv had played a sixty-four-stringed zither for the Heavenly Emperor. Upon hearing it, the Heavenly Emperor sighed that the zither notes were far too sorrowful and consequently decreed that the sixty-four strings be reduced to thirty-two.

The words of an ancient Heavenly Emperor carried the weight of law and absolute decree. Therefore, a sixty-four-stringed zither was essentially a taboo—an existence forbidden by the heavens themselves.

Yet right before his eyes, such a taboo had materialized in the flesh. How could Luo Hao not be shaken?