Continuous roars thundered through the air, interspersed with fierce, enraged bellows.
Even after deploying all four great demons, they still hadn't managed to bring down those figures. That could only mean these people were absurdly powerful.
At this moment, even as Li Hao feigned death, his mind was racing: if the four great demons truly discovered him, how could he escape with his life?
One had to think of danger in times of safety.
His turn hadn't arrived just yet, but what if he couldn't keep hidden?
Setting Southern Fist aside, Hong Yitang had concealed himself exceptionally well, yet he had still been sniffed out.
These demon beasts seemed far more perceptive than humans.
What was even more chilling was that several demons actually knew how to cooperate.
Li Hao wondered whether they genuinely hadn't noticed him, or if they had simply found him too pathetic to bother with right away, deciding to finish off the powerhouses first before coming back to deal with a little ant like him.
That was entirely possible.
Could playing dead truly shield him from these great demons?
Right now, the beasts were tied up dealing with those powerhouses. This interval was Li Hao's window of opportunity.
Should he make a run for it now? But he would have to flee together with the Demon Hunt Corps, or disaster would easily strike them.
Or… scavenge the corpses first?
Sixteen Three Sols cultivators had perished, and Banshan's small shield seemed to have fallen nearby. The shield could be fed to the small sword, and the mysterious energy from the sixteen Three Sols experts could be absorbed to strengthen himself. If the sword energy could absorb that shield, his reserves would be bountiful.
Yet all of that required time.
How long would the four great demons need to finish off their targets and return?
Though he hadn't fully made up his mind, Li Hao settled on his first course of action: find that small shield first.
Banshan had dropped it when he was ambushed.
Now, the three experts from the Three Great Organizations had no choice but to shelter under the wind bell.
Securing the shield took priority. With abundant sword energy, Li Hao would have much more confidence. Otherwise, with only eight divine energy stones left, he lacked any real safety cushion.
In a flash, Li Hao scrambled up from the ground.
He moved swiftly toward the landing spot he had observed earlier. Ever since the Origin God Armament appeared, he had kept his eye on it. Banshan and his companions had zero time to attend to it, but Li Hao had plenty of time right now.
In the distance, sword light illuminated heaven and earth. Evidently, that was Hong Yitang's doing.
That man was truly formidable. What a shame he had run into four great demons.
Southern Fist seemed to have regrouped with him, inadvertently dragging another overwhelmingly ferocious great demon right to his doorstep. Li Hao couldn't help wondering: between Hong Yitang and Hou Xiaochen's quartet, who was actually stronger?
If Hou Xiaochen and his peers were here, could they go toe-to-toe with one of the great demons in single combat?
The giant serpent probably wouldn't pose much of a problem for them, but as for the other three, Li Hao had no way of judging for now.
These thoughts didn't slow his search for the small shield in the slightest.
A moment later, Li Hao spotted the shield resting on the ground not far ahead. It was quite small, barely larger than a dinner plate. Its light had dimmed to a dull glow where it lay.
He darted forward. As if it were a living creature, an extremely feeble silhouette emerged from the shield, looking as though it wanted to flee.
Such was the nature of an Origin God Armament.
As long as the armament spirit did not die, an Origin God Armament possessed the capability for autonomous action.
Li Hao's eyes flickered. Origin God Armaments were graded into four tiers: Heaven, Earth, Black, and Yellow. The Shadow Snake Sword he had cleaved through from Zhang Ting had supposedly been merely the lowest Yellow tier. This little shield had to be stronger than that, right?
Banshan was Feitian's regional leader in Silver Moon. At the very least, this shield had to be Black tier.
Li Hao reached out with one hand. The illusory silhouette on the shield seemed to want to resist, but having suffered heavy trauma, what fight could the shield put up? In an instant, Li Hao snatched and crushed the phantom, causing it to scatter on the spot.
Li Hao knew the armament spirit hadn't died; it had merely dissipated due to depleted energy.
Without its master's empowerment, unless it devoured divine energy stones, an Origin God Armament was nothing more than an exceptionally sturdy piece of material, completely unable to employ its special abilities.
Take the shield's defensive power: if there were sufficient energy, the armament spirit could bestow terrifying defense.
Once the apparition vanished, Li Hao gathered the small shield into his grasp.
It felt cool to the touch.
Holding it in hand, it wasn't heavy at all—in fact, it felt rather light and airy.
Li Hao drew out the Starry Sky Sword. Origin God Armaments were notoriously difficult to destroy. Even without its defensive aura, not even the golden eagle could easily shred this shield with its talons. But Li Hao knew that before the Starry Sky Sword, no matter how sturdy a shield was, it was utterly useless.
The Fire Phoenix Spear was said to be a Heaven-tier Origin God Armament, yet it had trembled in utter terror upon seeing the small sword.
Right now, Li Hao was pondering whether, with the armament spirit contained within, piercing the shield would allow the small sword to devour enough energy to temper its own blade while restoring a massive amount of sword energy.
After a brief contemplation, Li Hao grinned.
The spirit inherent to the shield had always been present. Its current dissipation didn't truly affect anything; Banshan and the others had only awakened the armament spirit using divine energy stones and their own power.
He had no intention of keeping this Origin God Armament. Weapons were about quality, not quantity.
No matter how good an Origin God Armament might be, it couldn't compare to his small sword.
A glint flared in Li Hao's eyes. Gripping the short sword, he thrust it down toward the shield!
In that split second, the faint armament spirit of a tiny tortoise materialized upon the shield's surface. When it saw the small sword striking down, it seemed to revive slightly, showing every intention of struggling to flee.
An instinctual terror was branded into its very core.
Even though these armament spirits had long lost their memories, at this moment, the dread was entirely uncontrollable.
The shield thrashed!
In an instant, the short sword descended. With a sharp crack, the shield was pierced straight through. Its mighty defensive strength failed to manifest in the slightest, punctured cleanly into a small hole by this single strike.
That single puncture was all it took.
It was as though the small sword had breached the outer barrier. In an instant, a ferocious devouring force erupted. The armament spirit struggled frantically, only to be yanked directly into the small sword. Moments later, a surging torrent of sword energy gushed forth.
The small sword seemed far more interested in Origin God Armaments than in divine energy stones.
Not only did a vast reservoir of sword energy flood out, but the sword itself lengthened slightly, as if gradually breaking through another layer of its seals.
The small sword, originally the length of a forearm, grew slightly longer. What was more, perhaps because this little shield was higher in tier, Li Hao could distinctly sense that the sword energy within the blade was extraordinarily dense.
This was likely the first time he had felt such concentrated sword energy since acquiring the sword.
A look of delight surfaced in Li Hao's eyes!
Sure enough, the shield was of a remarkably high rank.
***
The exact moment Li Hao shattered the small shield, the three cooperating experts were fleeing frantically for their lives. Behind them, the golden eagle and giant serpent pursued in hot pursuit. The golden eagle had repeatedly clawed at the wind bell only to be rebuffed each time, sending the raptor into a mounting fury.
Yet right at that very instant, sheer panic suddenly flooded Banshan's eyes.
The next second, a mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from his lips!
Not only that, his spirit withered drastically, sending violent turbulence through his mysterious energy. With a muffled bang, the energy recoiled violently against his internal organs, bordering on spiraling out of control.
Losing control at such a critical juncture was a catastrophic disaster!
Living up to its status as a pinnacle powerhouse, the golden eagle seized the opening in an instant, raking out with a massive talon!
*Boom!*
The defensive barrier radiating from the wind bell was torn straight open. Banshan, already injured, took the brunt of the strike, half his body blasted into mangled shreds.
A look of bitter indignation and fury contorted Banshan's features!
*Why?!*
The three of them had stood a fighting chance of escaping.
As long as the wind bell remained active until they fled Mount Cang, there was hope of survival.
So why… why had his connection to his Origin God Armament snapped?
As the master of an Origin God Armament, refining the artifact meant infusing a sliver of one's spirit into it to control and wield its power effectively.
Yet… backlash from an Origin God Armament practically never occurred.
Unless the artifact was destroyed.
However, in this era, how many people possessed the power to shatter an Origin God Armament?
Couldn't anyone see that even the golden eagle struggled to break one?
Yet his shield had shattered!
Banshan was gripped by terror, wrath, and despair, laced with sheer bewilderment. Who had done it?
Could there be an even more terrifying demon beast lurking in these mountains?
Had it discovered his small shield and crushed it?
If that were the case… there was truly nothing left to say.
He understood, but the Wheel-Turning King and Haixiao were completely in the dark. Haixiao let out a frantic, furious shriek. What in the world was this bastard Banshan doing?!
The two of them frantically poured out their mysterious energy, desperately trying to mend the breach and maintain the defense.
Originally, Banshan had been contributing his strength. Now that he was on the brink of death, where would he find the power to sustain the barrier? The protective shroud over the wind bell began to dim.
A glimmer of despair crossed the Wheel-Turning King's eyes as well.
The next instant, he gritted his teeth, his expression turning ruthless. Suddenly, he lashed out with a kick, sending Haixiao, who was in the middle of channeling her energy, flying outward!
Yes—in that split second, he chose his own survival!
The moment Haixiao was hurled out from beneath the wind bell, her mind went blank.
She stared at the Wheel-Turning King in utter disbelief. But the Wheel-Turning King was already fleeing madly on his own with the wind bell. Haixiao served as the perfect distraction to buy him time, alongside the dying Banshan, whom he had also discarded.
Even when mortally wounded, two Rising Light experts would still cost the golden eagle and the giant serpent a few moments to dispatch.
Had Banshan not suffered that sudden disaster, he naturally wouldn't have resorted to this.
Yet at a moment like this… even if it offered only the faintest sliver of survival, he refused to perish here.
And the direction he chose to flee was not toward the mountain's exit.
The border of Mount Cang was still far away.
The Wheel-Turning King wheeled around and fled straight toward Hong Yitang's battle, hoping that the two human experts might disrupt the demon beasts amidst the chaos and buy him a slim chance at survival.
As for Banshan and Haixiao, one was dying, and the other was overflowing with rage and bitter resentment.
Haixiao let out an enraged roar. Water energy erupted from her form to stave off the golden eagle's colossal talons. With the spite of someone facing death, she shrieked, "Wheel-Turner! You vile beast, have you forgotten the pact between the Three Great Organizations?! How dare you betray us right now…"
*A pact?*
The words flickered through the fleeing Wheel-Turning King's mind, only to be dismissed instantly. He was on the verge of death; who gave a damn about a pact?
The Three Great Organizations indeed shared certain treaties that bound only their highest echelons.
In the face of crisis or when confronting enemies outside their factions, they were obligated to join forces.
Yet that could not suppress his instinct to survive.
Without looking back, the Wheel-Turning King bolted in desperate flight.
Behind him, a bloodcurdling scream erupted as Haixiao's body was torn apart by the golden eagle's talons. In the next breath, the massive claw flung her backward. Haixiao wasn't dead yet, but her despair only deepened.
The golden eagle had tossed her straight to the slower giant serpent trailing behind.
Haixiao had harmed the serpent's offspring earlier; clearly, the golden eagle was granting the serpent its own revenge.
The giant serpent's colossal eyes gazed at Haixiao with icy detachment. The next instant, a tail thick as a pillar supporting the heavens slammed down upon her!
*Boom!*
A deafening crash gouged a crater dozens of meters deep into the earth. Within the pit, Haixiao was no more, leaving behind only dissipating water energy and pulverized gore.
At the same time, Banshan looked toward the distant Wheel-Turning King. There was no hatred in his gaze, only mockery.
*You think you can survive?*
*Not a chance!*
He watched the golden eagle's colossal talons descend upon him, feeling a trace of regret. There were still so many unfinished ambitions, so many secrets buried in his heart. Yet life was fraught with unforeseen accidents.
The path of supernaturals was even more fraught with peril.
Who could have predicted that merely hunting down a Li Hao would claim the lives of two Rising Light experts and seventeen Three Sols powerhouses here?
This time, all Three Great Organizations would suffer catastrophic losses.
The powerhouses lost here could rival their casualties from a year or two of warfare in the Central Region.
And how intense was the fighting in the Central Region?
Yet in a backwater like Silver Moon, before Hou Xiaochen and his peers had even made a move… they had played themselves to death. How utterly laughable.
A sneer formed in Banshan's eyes—mocking himself, mocking the Wheel-Turning King, or perhaps mocking everyone.
Reaching this point, a man had nothing left to fear.
The next instant, the massive talons skewered straight through him!
The light in his eyes extinguished entirely. Yet even in his final moments, Banshan's mind still wondered: why did Hong Yitang and his ilk conceal their depths so heavily? What were they scheming?
The leader of Feitian seemed to be the exact same way.
The leaders of the Three Great Organizations rarely showed their hands, each hiding their true power profoundly.
Hou Xiaochen and his cohort were like this too. Why?
If they wanted to contend for supremacy over the realm, if they wanted to seize the dynasty… what was the point of hiding and skulking in the shadows?
*Thud!*
The corpse crashed heavily to the ground!
The golden eagle retracted its talons without sparing a second glance. An instant later, it spread its wings and soared high into the air, flying straight toward Hong Yitang's battlefield.
Having crushed Haixiao to pulp, the giant serpent slithered swiftly in that direction as well.
***
Meanwhile.
Hong Yitang was also panting heavily. Across from him, bloody gashes covered the fierce tiger's body, while the giant ape watched with deep wariness. Southern Fist stood back-to-back with Hong Yitang, covered in blood, gritting his teeth as he held on for dear life.
He had merely tagged along—who could have known he'd run into such rotten luck!
Seeing that Banshan and Haixiao had both been slain over yonder, Hong Yitang was thoroughly speechless!
What was going on?
Those fellows were so pathetically frail, cut down in the blink of an eye.
Hong Yitang drew a ragged breath and, with a touch of helplessness, looked toward the fierce tiger. "Must the two of you push things to this extreme?"
"You two should be quite familiar with Yuan Shuo as well…"
"*Roar!*"
The fierce tiger unleashed an enraged roar.
Hong Yitang smiled faintly. "You should know that the Silver Moon martial masters were once the supreme existences across this vast land. Today, the few of you joining hands are indeed astonishingly mighty, but… if you truly push me to the brink, it won't end well for you either."
Right at this moment, the Wheel-Turning King charged straight in, outright ignoring the tiger and the ape. He hit the ground in an instant, wind bell swaying, and roared, "Earth-Overturning Sword, the defense of my wind bell is impregnable, and its offense is peerless! Martial masters can also wield Origin God Armaments! With your power, if we join forces to sustain the barrier, not even they will be able to breach it!"
Origin God Armaments were not exclusive to supernaturals.
During the ancient civilization, martial masters had perhaps been the orthodox path, and naturally, they could wield Origin God Armaments.
Desperate, the Wheel-Turning King had cast aside all caution to plunge straight here. Terrified that Hong Yitang might refuse, he hurriedly added, "As long as I can survive today, I will tell you every secret of the Three Great Organizations! There are secrets only we know. I am one of the Ten Hall Masters—I know far, far too many secrets…"
Hong Yitang chuckled. This fellow certainly had guts! In the span of a breath, both the golden eagle and the giant serpent converged on the scene.
Cold sweat dripped down Southern Fist's face. He shot a glance at the Wheel-Turning King and cursed under his breath, *Useless trash!*
Now they were in deep trouble!
Of course, he hadn't been able to match the giant ape either and had run to Hong Yitang, only to be cursed as trash by Hong Yitang as well.
All four great demons had now gathered in one place.
The three humans were encircled in the center. The fierce tiger didn't continue its assault, merely glaring coldly at Hong Yitang; it hadn't even moved to intercept the Wheel-Turning King earlier.
For no other reason than that Hong Yitang's focus had locked entirely onto it.
If it had moved to block the Wheel-Turning King, it might have drawn a devastating sword strike.
Hong Yitang let out an exhale, looked at the Wheel-Turning King, and offered a faint smile. "This wind bell is quite something. Worthy of one of the Ten Hall Masters—at the very least an Earth-tier Origin God Armament. Yama truly parted with a treasure."
The Wheel-Turning King was overjoyed and opened his mouth to reply, when suddenly his vision went dark as a beam of sword light cleaved down!
In the blink of an eye, the Wheel-Turning King split clean in two.
Slaying the man in a single strike, Hong Yitang beckoned with his hand, drawing the wind bell into his grasp. He chuckled, "A fine treasure, truly fine… By the way, Haixiao's Red Shadow wasn't destroyed, was it?"
He glanced toward the golden eagle and the giant serpent. "A Rising Light-tier Blood God Seed makes for a rather fine tonic."
Behind him, Southern Fist sent a voice transmission: "Brother Hong, why kill him? With him dead, the Origin God Armament goes dormant. With him around, we'd have had at least a bit more assurance!"
Hong Yitang couldn't be bothered to respond. Looking at the great demons surrounding them on all sides, he bared his teeth in a grin. "I truly didn't want to fall out with you. Coming into Mount Cang this time, I had no intention of looking for trouble with your lot. I only came to find my daughter…"
"As for me, my strength is decent enough, but I have a minor flaw. If I erupt too fiercely, my five viscera can't endure the strain and are prone to rupturing."
"It's not just me; many others share the same problem."
"That's why, in the eyes of outsiders, we look like insidious schemers hiding our strength… But the truth isn't like that. It's born of sheer helplessness. When you're too strong, people come looking for trouble every single day. Who could withstand that? Fighting a battle whenever anyone pleases would kill us from the inside sooner or later."
Even as Hong Yitang spoke, his five viscera suddenly began to fracture. Gradually, a towering sword intent diffused across a hundred-meter radius.
His smile slowly faded. "Yet you lot… seem to be pushing things too far! Forcing me down a dead end. If that's how it must be… then I don't mind releasing my full combat strength… At worst, my five viscera shatter, but I'd like to see whether I can slay all four of you!"
*Boom!*
The sword intent blanketed the surroundings completely. At this moment, all four great demons grew restless.
A flash of shock flickered through the giant ape's eyes.
The fierce tiger took half a step back, the giant serpent flicked its tongue, and the golden eagle took to the air.
Behind him, Southern Fist looked equally appalled and couldn't help blurt out, "You… you've reached that step?"
Hong Yitang coughed, a trail of blood seeping from the corner of his lips. With a faint smile, he said, "What 'this step' or 'that step'? Do you even know what that step entails? A fellow stuck at the Rising Light level—shut your mouth!"
With that, he turned back to the four great demons and chuckled. "*Cough, cough, cough…* Don't push me… Otherwise, I'll let you taste the might of the Earth-Overturning Sword. When Yuan Shuo challenged me back then, I didn't even bother paying him any mind. You creatures were suppressed and beaten half to death by him back then… and now you dare flaunt your prowess before me?"
High above, a peculiar fluctuation radiated from the golden eagle: "To think you were this powerful… Very well. Hand over the man with the surging vital blood, and you may leave…"
The moment those words rang out, Southern Fist cursed under his breath!
*Picking on the weak, are you?!*
The next instant, he ground his teeth and slammed a fist into his own heart. With a thunderous boom, something seemed to shatter within his chest, and a towering wave of vital blood surged forth!
Southern Fist roared in fury, "Fuck your ancestors! Let's do this! If I don't butcher at least one of you today, I won't be able to live with myself! Bastards! Sons of bitches! My potential lock, damn it!"
He cursed maniacally!
At this moment, his vital blood roared like a tempest. Flames even began to erupt across his body; the lock upon his heart seemed to have been forcibly shattered by his strike.
Southern Fist was beside himself with fury, a savage gleam burning in his eyes. Staring fixedly at the golden eagle in the sky, he yelled with madness, "Feathered beast, it's not a matter of you letting me leave anymore! Earth-Overturning Sword… let's join forces and slaughter these bastards… There seem to be treasures in that valley; maybe we can recoup our losses…"
Right now, both men were suffering grievous losses.
Though their strength had surged, it had come at a catastrophic cost—perhaps even sacrificing their future prospects.
How could Southern Fist not be enraged?!
Hong Yitang was also somewhat surprised. "Not bad… You can actually break it!"
Southern Fist snarled, "You think you're the only one who's made progress over all these years? Fuck! Are we doing this or not?! Slaughter these four bastards, drink their blood, feast on their flesh, and raid the valley for treasures… We might still be able to make up for this!"
Hong Yitang laughed out loud. "He Yong, that temper of yours…"
With that, he cleaved his sword forward and bellowed, "Let's do it!"
Things had reached this point. He had unsealed his five viscera, and Southern Fist had shattered his supernatural lock. The cost was far too catastrophic. If they didn't fight it out now… neither of them could swallow the grievance!
*Boom!*
A sword slash tore through the earth, instantly gouging a fissure hundreds of meters long. The fierce tiger dodged, and the giant serpent attempted to pull back as well, only to be grazed by the sword light.
Its previously formidable scales were shredded like thin paper, sending flesh and blood flying.
Meanwhile, Southern Fist let out a thunderous roar. Completely ignoring the giant ape, he kicked off the earth and shot into the sky, hurling a fist straight toward the golden eagle. This eagle was likely the leader among the four great demons.
Just moments ago, it had demanded that he be left behind.
*You want to keep me here, do you?!*
*I'll keep you here first!*
*Boom!*
Fist collided with colossal talons in a deafening blast, igniting bursts of dazzling flames. The golden eagle was knocked spiraling upward, bloody gashes appearing across its rock-hard talons.
Southern Fist's own fists were drenched in blood—unclear whether it belonged to him or the eagle. The moment he crashed back down, he drove a fist straight toward the giant ape!
*Rumble!*
The earth-shaking roar eclipsed everything before!
"Earth-Overturning Sword, do you still dare call me weak?!"
Southern Fist bellowed, relentlessly pummeling the giant ape as he roared!
Hong Yitang's sword swept across the battlefield. Hearing this, he sneered, "Relying on destroying your supernatural lock to erupt with power… doesn't that still make you trash? Whether it's Sky Sword or Tyrant Saber, if either of them broke their supernatural lock, wouldn't they be stronger than you?"
"Screw your uncle!"
*Boom!*
At this moment, the four great demons found themselves riding a tiger with no way to dismount. The moment the two men had erupted with power, the beasts had sensed that things were amiss and intended to call a truce. They had only encircled them earlier thinking the humans were easy prey.
Yet now, it wasn't a matter of them refusing to spare the two humans; the humans had suffered such severe damage that they desperately needed treasures to compensate, and it was the humans who refused to let matters rest!
With his strength skyrocketing, Southern Fist was thoroughly thrashing the giant ape that had previously suppressed him!
Hong Yitang was even more terrifying. With a flurry of sword strikes, he cleaved off the giant serpent's tail and drove the beast entirely underground with a single crushing blow, pinning it beneath his blade like a mountain.
Meanwhile, his longsword danced up and down, instantaneously entangling both the golden eagle and the fierce tiger!
At this moment, both humans were astonishingly mighty. Yet Southern Fist could only suppress a single great demon; the one truly inspiring terror was Hong Yitang, taking on three at once!
However, the blood trickling from the corner of his lips flowed faster and faster. Even in the midst of battle, coughing fits wracked his frame.
Southern Fist fared somewhat better, though the flames cloaking his body grew increasingly intense!
Deep in their eyes, there was no joy—only helplessness.
It was over!
Even if they won today, they were finished.
Years of accumulation, years of careful preparation—all ruined in a single day by these great demons!
***
In the distance.
Li Hao was in the middle of gathering the Three Sols corpses and storage rings…
Suddenly, he froze. Looking into the distance, he leapt into the air to peer toward the horizon… and was left utterly dumbfounded.
Southern Fist… and the Earth-Overturning Sword?
This… hadn't they been chased down like dogs moments ago?
How was this possible?!
Right now, both men were terrifyingly strong. Yet after watching for a few moments, Li Hao's expression shifted slightly. Originally, neither man had possessed any radiant clusters of light. But now, a fiery-red cluster had abruptly surfaced upon Southern Fist's form!
Southern Fist's furious roar echoed across heaven and earth: "Fuck!"
"If I end up becoming a fire-element supernatural… I'll butcher every last one of you, bastards!"
He roared in unbridled madness!
Li Hao's expression flickered. *He shattered the supernatural lock on his heart… and unlocked his potential?*
The thought instantly struck him.
Hong Yitang seemed slightly better off, but the previously vanished supernatural cluster had surfaced once more, swirling with multicolored hues, completely unlike before.
What kind of state were these people in?
Breaking the supernatural locks on their five viscera… did it trigger some kind of special transformation?
With a thunderous crash, Li Hao watched as the fierce tiger was blasted into the sky.
The next instant, a beam of sword light flashed, piercing straight through heaven and earth, sending the golden eagle tumbling through the air. Hong Yitang's icy voice carried over: "I told you I was merely passing through, yet you insisted on falling out! Did you truly think the demon race of Mount Cang was invincible?"
"Overturn the Heavens!"
With a low roar, the sky seemed to invert—heaven had overturned!
Yes, in that single instant, heaven and earth flipped on their heads. The golden eagle had been soaring in the sky, yet suddenly… it seemed to crash against the ground.
The fierce tiger was sprinting across the earth, only to find the ground vanishing beneath its paws, suspended in midair!
"*Roar!*"
Amidst deafening bellows, the six powerhouses erupted into a ferocious struggle. The giant serpent had just burrowed out from beneath the earth when Southern Fist seized the opening, sending it flying with a thunderous punch that slammed it hard back into the ground!
As the battle grew increasingly frantic, Li Hao saw it all with greater clarity.
He could even feel the fury and bitter resentment burning within the two powerhouses!
It was a resentment impossible to put into words—as if erupting with power now and forcing the four great demons onto the defensive still fell far short of what they wanted, fueling their wrath into an ever-escalating madness!
*Boom!*
A sword strike descended. The golden eagle grounded on the earth had its wing skewered clean through. With a reverse slash, the sword hacked the tiger's massive paw until it was drenched in gore, even severing several sharp claws.
Li Hao watched, utterly entranced, even drifting somewhat closer.
At this moment, he vaguely understood what had occurred.
His eyes flickered, and a moment of hesitation gripped him…
He didn't know whether he should show himself, whether he should… reveal his secrets.
Hong Yitang and Southern Fist were actually decent people.
However, Southern Fist hailed from the imperial family.
Hong Yitang had always hidden his depths profoundly.
Yet… seeing the two of them sinking deeper into despair—not the despair of dying, but the despair of having their future prospects utterly ruined… he had seen that look before.
His teacher!
Yes, back when his teacher told him that his heart was damaged and that reaching Thousand-Battler was hopeless, his teacher had worn that very expression. Though his face had remained calm, his tone and his eyes had conveyed that exact same despair.
Hong Yitang had once given Li Hao guidance, and Southern Fist had also shared several warnings and insights with him…
Martial masters!
Silver Moon martial masters—on this land of Silver Moon, it had always been martial masters who reigned supreme!
At this moment, Li Hao stepped forward after all, bellowing at the top of his lungs, "Martial Uncles, finish this quickly! I have a way to re-lock the supernatural locks!"
As those words rang out, a sword swept across the world in the next breath!
Hong Yitang's eyes suddenly lit up with blazing brilliance!
Li Hao?
Re-lock the supernatural locks?!
Southern Fist's eyes practically beamed with radiance. In that moment, he recalled something. He sent the giant ape flying with a single punch and roared, "What do you need?!"
"Countless divine energy stones! And Origin God Armaments!"
"Done!"
*Boom!*
Southern Fist went completely berserk. Punch after punch hammered out, until only those two fists seemed to exist between heaven and earth.
Hong Yitang bellowed even louder, "Hand over a thousand divine energy stones and cease this battle, or… you all die!"
At this moment, it was he who was demanding that the four great demons cease fighting and surrender a thousand divine energy stones.
Among the four great demons, the giant serpent was bathed in blood, the fierce tiger had broken claws, the golden eagle's wing had been impaled, and while the giant ape glared with savage ferocity, it was repeatedly battered backward by Southern Fist's relentless fists.
With that single sentence from Li Hao, the two powerhouses seemed to see a ray of hope.
Would Li Hao lie to them?
Probably… not!
There was no reason to lie at a time like this.
Right now, they were desperate to recoup their losses. Otherwise, even if they butchered all four great demons, they would never be able to recover.
Hong Yitang's sword intent grew increasingly dense and chillingly sharp. "Hurry up! If you don't decide soon, once my five viscera are completely unsealed… you will die without a doubt. Of course, I might be buried alongside you!"
Southern Fist struck his own lungs with a fist, coughing violently as he bared his teeth and roared, "Don't force me to break a second supernatural lock! Hurry!"
All four great demons revealed expressions of sheer dread.
These martial masters… could grow even stronger?!
How could this be?
Were they bent on mutual destruction?!
The next instant, the golden eagle's unique mental fluctuation resonated: "Divine energy stones… we do not have that many…"
"Give as many as you have! If you hide a single stone, just you wait!"
Hong Yitang roared. Even if the four great demons didn't have that many, there were plenty of dead bodies here, plus the Origin God Armaments… It might just be enough!
He looked toward Li Hao hovering in the distance and called out loudly, "Do you need demon beast blood?!"
"..."
All four great demons tensed.
With the battle reaching this point, they also understood that these two humans had somehow unlocked their latent potential. If they couldn't be compensated, they might truly fight to the bitter end.
Li Hao shouted back, "Not for now… but if there are treasures from the valley, that might be even better…"
Since things had come to this, naturally they should take as much as they could get.
The golden eagle and the other colossal beasts cast icy gazes toward Li Hao in the distance.
Hong Yitang's eyes flickered. "Just give us half! You brought this upon yourselves today. If our losses can be recouped… we won't trouble you any further!"
A chill glinted in the golden eagle's eyes. Moments later, watching the aura of the two humans growing increasingly powerful and uncontrollable, it finally yielded: "Fine!"
Hong Yitang said nothing more and shot forward. In the blink of an eye, he scooped up some mangled remains and two storage rings. He hadn't forgotten the corpses of the two Rising Light experts; there might be divine energy stones on them.
Southern Fist joined him, and together they flew rapidly toward Li Hao. At this moment, they were both ecstatic and anxious.
The fire energy on Southern Fist's body was nearly impossible to suppress.
If this went on any longer, he would become a supernatural!
Chapter 141