Chapter 158: Yao Ming

"Is the path of slaughter a dead end? The path is forged by human feet; my path is beyond your comprehension!" Luo Hao's expression remained calm, his chaotic eyes terrifying to behold.

His intuition told him that the white-robed, white-haired man before him was extremely dangerous, harboring a terrifying power deep within his body, much like an ancient primordial dragon coiled in slumber.

"Hmm!"

Upon hearing Luo Hao's voice, a flicker of strange emotion crossed the white-robed man's eyes. Not only him, but Xin Lan, Hong Yu, Jiang Jianli, Tianji, and the others also felt a shock rippling through their hearts—Luo Hao did not seem to have been consumed by the slaughter or reduced to a puppet of killing.

The white-robed man looked at Luo Hao with deep and astonished eyes. "I didn't expect your willpower to be so formidable, actually managing to firmly suppress the killing intent in your heart!"

Withdrawing his gaze, the white-robed man showed an expression of understanding. He then reached out and gently tapped Ling Mo's delicate body. To everyone's astonishment, the heavily injured Ling Mo actually regained consciousness, and the wounds on her delicate body began to heal at a speed visible to the naked eye. In just a few breaths, all her injuries vanished completely.

"Ling Mo failed in her mission, I thank the Demon Child Lord for sparing my life!"

After waking up and finding her injuries completely healed, Ling Mo immediately dropped to her knees in deep reverence upon seeing the white-robed man beside her. She looked at him with burning excitement and glowing eyes; had she not witnessed it with her own eyes, she never would have believed that the arrogant Heavenly Python clan would lower themselves like this.

"We are of the same clan, there is no need for this," the white-robed man glanced indifferently at Ling Mo, and she respectfully stood behind him.

Though their conversation consisted of only a few sentences, the expressions of Xin Lan and the others turned grave in the extreme. The identity of this white-robed man was undoubtedly extraordinary. Coupling this with the title Ling Mo used for him, they faintly guessed that this person's status within the demon race must be exceptionally noble.

"Lord Demon Child, this person killed Chi Zhan, Gu Yao, Zi Hun, and Ling Yuan! His hands are stained with the blood of our demon clan, please make a move, My Lord!" Behind the man, Ling Mo stared at Luo Hao with eyes full of hatred, resembling a poisonous snake locking onto its prey.

"What? He single-handedly slaughtered four demon experts!" The speaker may have spoken without intent, but the listeners took it to heart. The human cultivators nearby instantly erupted into an uproar, and many cast questioning glances toward Yu Qiongyue, who only silently nodded in confirmation.

"I originally wished not to intervene and entangle myself in too much karma, but the blood of our kin cannot be shed in vain. It seems that I, Yao Ming, am still unable to transcend that final step after all!"

The white-robed man sighed up at the heavens, seemingly speaking to himself. But the next instant, his gaze suddenly turned fiercely sharp, carrying a terrifying murderous intent akin to the eve of a violent storm.

"Boom!"

The entire vault of heaven began to tremble. A terrifying aura began to rise from within the white-robed man's body, like an unrivaled ferocious beast slumbering in the abyss, awakening at this very moment.

"Crack!"

Across ten thousand miles of the sky, thunder rumbled, and countless thunderclouds crazily converged and churned. Purple radiance flickered within the thunderclouds, accompanied by falling stars and scenes of devastation, as if the world itself were coming to an end.

"Ninth-Heaven Phenomenon!"

"This is a Ninth-Heaven Phenomenon!"

"Did he trigger this?!"

Every human cultivator felt a chill run through their hearts, the vast heavenly might causing their bodies to tremble. For a single individual to trigger such a terrifying phenomenon—one must know that only the emergence of some ancient existence or the birth of supreme prodigies favored by the heavens could trigger such terrifying portents!

Who on earth was this demon youth before them? How could he possibly invoke a Ninth-Heaven Phenomenon!

"Yao Ming!"

Gazing at the increasingly terrifying apocalyptic phenomenon in the sky, Xin Lan, the maiden from the Spirit Clan, furrowed her delicate brows and lowed the white-robed man's name under her breath.

A few breaths later, Xin Lan's beautiful eyes suddenly widened, her lofty chest heaving violently. Staring at the white-robed man, she trembled and said, "A peerless prodigy of the great era, the Demon Child Yao Ming! Impossible, how could you possibly appear in this place?"

"Oh, interesting. I didn't expect someone in this era to still recognize me. It seems your background is quite extraordinary!" Hearing Xin Lan call out his origin in a single breath, Yao Ming cast an amused and lingering glance at her.

"A peerless prodigy of the great era?" Listening to the exchange between Xin Lan and Yao Ming, Luo Hao muttered inwardly as his stark white hair gradually began to return to its normal color.

"I am from the Spirit Clan." Xin Lan looked at the demon youth who resembled a demon god, her voice laden with gravity.

Hearing these words, Yao Ming shook his head slightly, a look of disdain crossing his eyes. "The Spirit Clan! Ridiculous. A bunch of cheap hussies who only know how to use their beauty and physical appearance to rope in powerful figures, yet they dare to call themselves a clan! It seems that over the long passage of time, the human race has grown far too lax in their control over the various factions!"

"Audacious! Yao Ming, you... you actually dare to insult my Spirit Clan!" Beneath her veil, Xin Lan's expression changed drastically. To think her dignified Spirit Clan was being humiliated like this!

Yet she could only fiercely bite her cherry lips and endure, for she knew all too well how terrifying Yao Ming was. Figures who could be inscribed and circulate through the great era's hegemony were all existences that shook their contemporary world, invincible among their peers.

"What kind of thing are you, daring to utter insults against the Fairy!" Xin Lan could endure, but the two handsome men standing beside her roared like enraged, furious dragons.

The next instant, two terrifying torrents of spiritual energy surged into the firmament like furious dragons. Xin Lan wanted to stop them, but it was already too late. The howling spiritual energy made many cultivators turn their heads in astonishment; clearly, these two men were exceedingly extraordinary.

"Heavenly Derivation Blade!"

"Great Luo Heavenly Fist!"

Both men radiated boundless killing intent. One of them was wreathed in blade Qi, with infinite sword-like energy shooting out in all directions. Above his head, a battle blade shattered the void—this was the physical blood-weapon he had nurtured with his vital essence for many years, and at this moment, it erupted with its utmost power to slash viciously at Yao Ming.

The other man threw a punch that spanned several thousand miles; the void was treated like nothingness under his terrifying fist momentum, carrying a tyrannical dominance capable of destroying everything.

"What a tyrannical offensive!"

The onlookers were deeply shaken, and even Little Thunder King and the others wore looks of astonishment. These two followers who had constantly trailed behind Xin Lan actually possessed such terrifying strength.

Yet the next moment, the minds of everyone present seemed to short-circuit. They even doubted whether their own eyes were playing tricks on them. Facing this tyrannical offensive, Yao Ming merely raised a single palm, slowly and leisurely.

His slow movement felt as though an ancient divine mountain was rising from the ground. Then, everyone watched as the owner of that palm casually executed a single slash. Whether it was the blade-Qi-surging Heavenly Derivation Blade or the destruction-laden Great Luo Heavenly Fist, both dissolved into absolute nothingness under that single slash.

"Puff!"

A split second later, both men coughed up blood and staggered backward, their eyes filled with terror. The white-robed man was simply not someone they could contend against.

"Slash!"

While retreating wildly, the two men felt a sudden chill at their necks. The next second, two heads flew high into the air under the gazes of everyone present, and fresh blood gushed three zhang high from their severed necks.

"Ah, ah, ah..."

Two headless corpses crashed heavily to the ground, blood pooling and staining the earth red. Some female cultivators could not help but shriek; the scene was far too bloody.

At this moment, Little Thunder King, Liu Mingfei, Jiang Jianli, and the others were utterly shaken, treating the situation as if facing a formidable enemy. They hadn't even caught a glimpse of how Yao Ming had slain the two men; the speed of his counter-attack had far exceeded the limits of their comprehension.

"What a terrifying person. Are all the figures on the Great Era Prodigy Scroll monsters like this?" Looking at the two followers whose heads had been separated from their bodies, Xin Lan felt a chill settle in her heart. To coexist in the same era as such a person was nothing short of a tragedy.

"I will slay you today. I am quite curious to see how those old hags of the Spirit Clan will react. It should prove quite amusing, I presume!" Yao Ming chuckled softly, his gaze like lightning, with stars falling within his pupils.

Swept by his gaze, Xin Lan felt her entire body become rigidly bound, unable to move a single inch.

"Thud!"

Yao Ming pointed a finger forward with lightning speed. That finger, fairer than a woman's, pierced through the void like a cracked water surface. Endless spatial ripples surged outward, completely submerging this realm.

Xin Lan's pupils contracted as she watched a single finger rapidly enlarge within her field of vision, fresh blood spilling constantly from the corners of her lips. Yao Ming's finger was overwhelmingly tyrannical and severed all life force, resembling an ancient demon god pointing down from across the ages, its aura utterly terrifying.

Not only did Xin Lan cough up blood, but many human cultivators also coughed up blood and retreated. Jiang Jianli and a few others, though not coughing blood, were struggling fiercely to resist this oppressive weight.

Xin Lan suddenly closed her beautiful eyes. Yao Ming's power was despairingly formidable; no matter how she struggled, it was all in vain. This was an individual inscribed into the Great Era Prodigy Scroll—apart from others belonging to the same scroll within the same realm, no one could possibly resist them.

"Stupid woman, are you really resigned to dying like this?"

Just as Xin Lan felt utterly despairing and awaited the arrival of death, a voice echoed beside her ear. Immediately afterward, an ancient, desolate dragon roar resounded across the firmament, and an invincible dragon might suffused the air, instantly scattering the oppressive weight.

"Roar, roar..."

The dragon roar shook the heavens. Amidst countless shocked gazes, a black dragon soared into the sky, its mighty aura sweeping across the nine heavens. Its hundred-zhang-long serpentine body coiled through the void, every single scale gleaming with a cold, murderous intent.

"An ancient black dragon? No, the True Dragon Dispersed Arts!" Terrifying spiritual energy erupted violently, instantly shrouding a hundred miles of the void. The True Dragon Hand collided violently with Yao Ming's single finger.

"Bang!"

Blazing flames of light scorched a thousand miles, their dazzling radiance blinding to the beholders. At this moment, even someone as powerful as Yao Ming wore a solemn expression, forced to retreat a hundred zhang alongside Ling Mo.

As the blazing flames dissipated, Xin Lan discovered that she was still alive. Opening her eyes, she saw the figure of Luo Hao standing right before her. His back was not exceptionally broad, yet at this moment, it propped up the very sky in her eyes.

He stood like a celestial pillar towering between heaven and earth, filling her with an unprecedented sense of safety, as if this single back could withstand any storm or peril.

"On the path of martial arts, life-and-death struggles are inevitable. If you lack even the courage to fight, you might as well go home and raise children!" The cold, harsh voice instantly snapped Xin Lan back to reality.

Before she could utter a word, the figure before her strode toward Yao Ming. "The demon woman behind you is the sacrificial offering I promised. Regardless of who you are, those who block my path shall die!"

Accompanied by these chilling words, Luo Hao's cascade of black hair once again turned stark white. The path of slaughter manifested in the world once more, like a demon emerging from the depths of hell.

"Luo Hao, come back quickly! You are no match for him!" Seeing Luo Hao challenge Yao Ming, Xin Lan could not help crying out in alarm. Strong though Luo Hao was, how could he possibly defeat Yao Ming, who was ranked upon the Great Era Prodigy Scroll?

"Slaughter Demon Luo Hao! What is he planning to do? Is he trying to challenge this demon named Yao Ming? Has he lost his mind?!" Countless human cultivators boiled with excitement as they watched Luo Hao approach Yao Ming with surging killing intent.

"It's not surprising. This is someone who even dared to battle and slay an ancient true dragon; what wouldn't such a person dare to do? He's a madman—even more terrifying than a madman, a true demon!"