Chapter 153: The Might of the War Fiend

"A forbidden mystic weapon!"

Gasping sounds echoed throughout the ancient forest. The human martial artists stared fixedly at the sixty-four-stringed guqin, their eyes filled with utter terror.

During her intense battle with Lingmo, Yu Qionglue caught a fleeting glimpse of the zither. As her eyes fell upon the sixty-four strings, a look of profound dread flashed across her pretty, bright eyes.

The zither's body was pitch black, charred like thunder-struck wood, and its sixty strings were enough to send a chill down one's spine, for they represented a profound taboo. The strings were crystal clear, each resembling a dragon's tendon, and bizarre melodies rippled outward from the instrument.

"Hahaha!"

Suddenly, Lingmo burst into a fit of laughter amidst the battle. Her entire body trembled violently, her ample bosom heaving with dramatic waves that surged higher and higher, instantly drawing all eyes.

Yet, in the very next instant, a torrent of monstrous demonic power surged from her. With her Myriad-Python Sky-Snake technique, she struck out, deflecting Yu Qionglue's longsword in a single blow.

Taking advantage of this brief opening, Lingmo flashed backward and reappeared beside Gu Yao and the others. She cast a cold gaze at Luo Hao and said, "My spiritual perception tells me you are a terrifying individual, but you still managed to shock me. I never expected that with Chizhan's cultivation, he wouldn't even survive a hundred moves against you. Still, his death was not in vain; he bought us the time we needed!"

As she spoke, Lingmo lightly licked her crimson lips, her eyes erupting with a soul-stirring, murderous light.

"Lingmo, stop wasting words with him! Kill him and avenge Chizhan!" Clutching his injuries, Gu Yao's eyes turned crimson. Pure murderous intent radiated from his gaze as he wished nothing more than to grind Luo Hao to dust.

"This man cannot be allowed to live!"

With his cascade of purple hair, Ziyun gazed at the black-clad Luo Hao with an exceptionally grave expression. The combat prowess of the human before them was far too formidable for any single one of them to handle alone.

"Many thanks to Brother Luo for saving Junior Sister Ah Li. Qionglue is willing to fight side by side with Brother Luo!" By now, Yu Qionglue had already finished examining Ah Li's injuries. She took a step forward and came to a halt right beside Luo Hao.

"Well now, Fairy, aren't you afraid of gossip if you ally yourself with a fiend like me?" Luo Hao chuckled lightly, his face shifting to reveal his true features.

"So it really is him!" murmured several human martial artists under their breath.

"Idle gossip comes from idle tongues; listening to it is a waste of time. With aliens standing right before us, any grievances within our human race—no matter how vast—must be set aside so we can face our common enemy!" Yu Qionglue's voice rang with resolute strength as her longsword hummed in agreement.

"Whew!"

Luo Hao inwardly let out a soft breath of relief. True to form, when faced with the greater righteousness of their race, humanity stood united. Compared to the survival of the entire race, personal grudges were utterly negligible. This was the very foundation that had allowed the human race to weather three great epochs and firmly safeguard Tian Gu.

"Hah, a mere flock of scrambling chickens and barking dogs! How could they possibly warrant the Fairy's intervention? Please protect our other compatriots, Fairy, and let Luo handle this battle!"

The corners of Luo Hao's mouth curled upward in a disdainful smirk as he spoke.

Even so, he stepped forward into the thick of the fray with the utmost vigilance. Anything deemed a taboo was bound to be exceptionally perilous.

"In that case, Qionglue shall stand guard for Brother Luo from the sidelines!" Gazing at the upright figure before her, Yu Qionglue stepped lightly and retreated a short distance, positioning herself to protect the disciples of Luoxia Mountain and the remaining human martial artists.

Although they were not deeply acquainted, she could sense the unwavering firmness and resolve in Luo Hao's words.

"Vile human! Tremble beneath the Ancient Heavenly Demonic Zither!" Gu Yao and the others trembled with rage, their demonic energy fluctuating wildly.

The demon race was an immensely powerful faction even among the myriad races, yet here a lowly human had just dismissed them as mere chickens and dogs.

"What! This charred zither is the forbidden Ancient Heavenly Demonic Zither?!" Upon hearing the guqin's name, one of the human martial artists behind Yu Qionglue let out a cry of sheer horror.

His eyes stared in blank dismay at the pitch-black zither, the terror in his heart refusing to subside for a long time. Even a proud maiden like Yu Qionglue could not help drawing a sharp breath of cold air when she heard the legendary name.

The Ancient Heavenly Demonic Zither had shaken the Ancient Era, spanned the Middle Era, and looked down upon the Recent Era. Having terrified three great epochs, it was the legendary supreme battle weapon that had accompanied the Ancient Heavenly Demon throughout his life.

The mere name of the Ancient Heavenly Demon was enough to evoke a sense of his terrifying nature. He was a monstrous entity rumored to have been born of the heavens themselves. According to ancient texts, even in the Ancient Era—an era when gods and demons half-withdrew from the world and Supremes roamed at will—the Ancient Heavenly Demon was an existence approaching absolute invincibility. Legend even had it that for a certain period, he ruled over the entire Ancient Era.

"This shouldn't be the true Ancient Heavenly Demonic Zither!" Yu Qionglue murmured quietly, her eyes narrowing as she stared at the dark zither.

Luo Hao's eyes squinted slightly as he listened to Yu Qionglue continue: "Legend has it that the Ancient Heavenly Demon could cover the heavens with a single hand and shatter stars with a roar. The strings of the Heavenly Demonic Zither were crafted from the tendons of sixty-four divine dragons, its body was carved from the trunk of the primordial divine tree Kunmu, and it was finally soaked in the blood of netherbeasts. Thus, the Ancient Heavenly Demonic Zither contains infinite destruction and tyranny, and aside from the Ancient Heavenly Demon himself, absolutely no one else can touch it."

"It seems you are quite well-informed about the origins of our clan's Heavenly Demonic Zither! That's right, aside from that lord, no one else can touch the true Heavenly Demonic Zither. But even if this isn't the genuine article, it is more than enough to take your lives!"

Earth-shattering killing intent erupted from Lingmo's body. Her delicate, jade-like hands plucked at the strings, and instantly, all sixty-four strings of the pitch-black zither vibrated in unison. They sounded like sixty-four divine dragons roaring in unison, unleashing endless slaughter that defied the nine heavens.

"Tune of Myriad Gods' Lament!"

Lingmo's jade fingers swept across the zither body, and as the sixty-four strings moved together, a overwhelming wave of murderous melody burst forth. The entire ancient forest instantly began to disintegrate, the earth split open, and underground springs surged wildly into the sky.

Across the entire small world, countless martial artists raised their heads in awe. Above the void, intricate and esoteric dao marks manifested, as if sensing some forbidden power awakening and disrupting the laws of the small world.

"What is happening? Why are the laws of the small world manifesting? Could someone have triggered a forbidden power?" Countless martial artists cried out in bewilderment.

"Hmph, none of them can keep their composure. It seems my trip to the Martial Dao Heavenly Stele was the right choice after all!" Gazing at the dao marks manifesting in the void, Tianji, draped in purple robes, let out a slight shift of his gaze before his figure vanished entirely.

"Brother Luo..."

Within the ancient forest, Yu Qionglue parted her cherry lips. Upon learning that the black guqin was the Ancient Heavenly Demonic Zither, she had intended to say something more, but Luo Hao had already strode directly into the zone of slaughter.

"Boom!"

Luo Hao strode forward with the vigor of a dragon and the step of a tiger. With every step he took, his aura surged frantically, and thunderous rumblings echoed from deep within his body. Crimson blood Qi churned fiercely, instantly erupting from his physique like a startled dragon.

The entire firmament was abruptly crowded with the crimson, rosy blood Qi characteristic of the human race. The blood Qi boiled like a divine ocean. Behind Luo Hao, Yu Qionglue and the others widened their eyes in disbelief, utterly unable to trust their own senses.

A roaring sound echoed in their ears—it was the rumbling of human battle blood. The thundering resonance of that blood caused their chests to burn with heat, momentarily drowning out even the music of the Heavenly Demonic Zither.

"Blood-Gathering Realm! Impossible! How could anyone in the Blood-Gathering Realm possess such terrifying blood Qi?!" Yu Qionglue could no longer maintain her composure, her lovely face etched with shock.

The black-clad figure before her was at the exact same Blood-Gathering Realm as her, perhaps even a minor realm lower. Yet at this moment, Luo Hao's presence towered gigantically, his rumbling blood Qi surging like an ancient divine peak spanning across the earth, utterly out of reach.

"This..."

With the blood Qi suppressing the heavens, the women of Luoxia Mountain and the human martial artists were left utterly speechless. Lingmo and her companions on the opposite side wore expressions of profound shock as well. This terrifying blood Qi had actually overwhelmed the Heavenly Demonic Zither, proving even more vast than that of the dragon and giant races, yet the one triggering this blood Qi anomaly was merely a human!

"So this is what true power feels like!"

This was the first time Luo Hao had unleashed his full combat prowess since breaking through to the Blood-Gathering Realm. The matchless strength filled him with exhilarating freedom. Deep within his body, ancient divine and demonic runes flickered faintly. Even he could not help marveling: once refined with the blood of gods and demons, breaking through truly yielded terrifying results.

"Battle Fiend Luo Hao! So this is his true strength—he truly lives up to the reputation of someone who dared to hunt and kill an ancient true dragon!" Several human martial artists muttered in awe, their eyes flashing with brilliance.

"Swish!"

As the blood Qi filled the heavens, Luo Hao moved. Like a crimson streak of divine light, he vanished from his spot. In the next second, with a terrifying rumble of blood Qi, Luo Hao thrust his fist forward, striking like a divine dragon extending its claws as dragon might surged.

"Roar!"

The power of the dragon and demon raged wildly, and the human battle blood erupted. Luo Hao's black hair whipped through the air, and countless malevolent dragons seemed to be roaring within his arms. His fist shook the three lives; this single punch was destined to shatter the earth and heavens, its tyrannical aura sweeping across the entire field.

"Ugh!"

Under the pressure of this formless fist momentum, everyone—including the demons—felt their breathing grow heavy, as if an invisible hand was tightly gripping their throats.

"Roar!"

A blood-colored colossal dragon roared as a hundred-zhang blood dragon lunged outward, resembling the rebirth of an ancient true dragon, bearing an irresistible momentum to suppress the eight wildernesses. The firmament collapsed, the void shattered, and the already battered ancient forest was thoroughly reduced to ashes under Luo Hao's near-destructive fist force.

"What a terrifying fist technique! What kind of art is this?" Not only were Lingmo, Gu Yao, and the others struck with horror, but Yu Qionglue and her companions were equally astonished.

This punch appeared traceless and formless, yet it was overwhelmingly tyrannical, threatening to annihilate everything in its path.