176: Chapter 175 Xu Zhaoyang

The sound was extremely sharp, extremely fierce, as if a thousand-zhang giant sword had slashed through the firmament, or as if ten thousand horses and a thousand armies had drawn their blades from their sheaths at once!

Everyone looked up.

Above the clouds, a streak of dark golden light was plummeting rapidly!

The light fell faster and faster, closer and closer, until finally—

"Shhh-crack—!"

The clouds were torn apart!

A dark golden rope shot down from the torn clouds!

The rope was about a hundred zhang long, dark golden throughout, with fine, glowing runes flowing across its surface.

At the tip of the rope was a massive golden hook!

The golden hook was shaped like a Dragon head, its tip as sharp as a sword, glinting with a chilling light under the sun that made one's heart tremble.

The golden hook tore through the air, fast as lightning, accurate as a flying arrow—

It pierced straight into the spine of the hundred-zhang Bone Dragon!

"Awooo—!!!"

The Bone Dragon let out a shrill roar toward the sky!

The moment the golden hook pierced the spine, the dark golden light attached to the rope surged frantically into the Bone Dragon's body, colliding violently with its blood fiend power!

The Bone Dragon's body began to tremble, began to crack!

Countless cracks spread from where the golden hook had pierced, covering its spine like a spiderweb!

The seawater churned!

A figure stepped out from the churning waves.

It was a middle-aged man.

He wore a suit of profound black battle armor, the surface of which was engraved with dense, intricate Formation patterns, with dark golden light flowing through every single line.

His features were sharp and angular, his thick brows like blades, his tiger-like eyes filled with majesty, and he wore three long wisps of beard on his chin that fluttered slightly in the wind.

What was most striking were his eyes.

Those eyes were dark golden.

Deep within the dark golden pupils, there were faint flashes of thunder, dancing flames, and countless figures fighting, roaring, and charging into battle.

He walked across the waves, and with every step he took, a golden spray blossomed beneath his feet.

Behind him followed dozens of figures.

Those figures were all clad in black armor, holding weapons, their auras as deep and heavy as an abyss—every single one of them was in the Primal Form Realm!

Jiang Hanzhou's pupils suddenly constricted.

He recognized this person.

Donghai Prefecture.

Naval Admiral.

Xu Zhaoyang.

The man who led the three great families of Donghai Prefecture to hunt demons in the waters outside Donghai Prefecture.

The man he had once seen from afar, and never dared to forget.

Xu Zhaoyang walked across the waves until he was within a hundred zhang of the Bone Dragon, then stopped.

He looked up, his dark golden eyes locking onto the struggling Bone Dragon, locking onto the faint blood-colored figure inside the Bone Dragon's body.

"How can evil spirits be allowed to run rampant within the Four Seas territory!"

His voice was not loud, but it rolled across the sky like thunder, causing ripples to spread across the sea surface!

He raised his right hand.

He pressed his palm down.

As that palm pressed down, it felt as if the entire sky collapsed along with it!

Red-golden Protective Aura surged wildly from his palm, condensing into a massive phantom of a mountain above the Bone Dragon!

The mountain stood a hundred zhang high, majestic and imposing, with dark golden light flowing throughout its body, and countless Formation patterns could be faintly seen flickering wildly on its surface.

The mountain phantom crashed down!

"Boom—!!!!!!"

The deafening sound was like the creation of the world, exploding across the entire sea area!

Under the suppression of this mountain phantom, the Bone Dragon's body shattered inch by inch!

Those pillar-like dragon bones snapped like rotten wood!

Those knife-sharp bone spikes broke like withered branches!

Those flowing blood fiend powers melted like snow under the scorching sun!

Three breaths.

Merely three breaths.

Half of that hundred-zhang Bone Dragon's body had completely shattered!

Blood Bone Venerable fell out from the shattered Bone Dragon remains, covered in blood and in a miserable state.

He looked up at the black-armored figure standing on the waves, his eyes filled with shock and fear.

"Dragon, Dragon Elephant Mutual Harmony—!" His voice trembled, "You are—you are—!"

Blood Bone Venerable's voice came to an abrupt halt.

Because he saw those dark golden eyes.

In those eyes, there was no anger, no killing intent, not even any emotional fluctuation—only calmness.

A calmness as if looking at an ant.

This calmness terrified Blood Bone Venerable more than any killing intent.

"Sea Quelling Department... Xu Zhaoyang..." His voice was hoarse, his eyes filled with unwillingness and despair, "How could you know about this place?"

Xu Zhaoyang did not answer.

He only raised his right hand and slightly curled his five fingers.

The dark golden rope that had pierced the Bone Dragon's spine suddenly tightened!

The golden hook caught the Bone Dragon's remaining spine, dragging Blood Bone Venerable forcibly out from the shattered remains!

Blood Bone Venerable was covered in blood, his clothes shredded, revealing his shriveled and twisted body.

His right arm had completely vanished—ripped off the moment the Bone Dragon shattered, and at the stump, countless dark red threads were writhing frantically, attempting to re-condense.

"No, don't kill me!" He shrieked, "I know many secrets! I know there are three more jiaolong remains deep in the West Sea! I know where the branch altar of the Ten Thousand Gu Sect is! I know—"

Xu Zhaoyang still did not speak.

He only withdrew his right hand and stood with his hands behind his back.

Those dark golden eyes remained calm.

The despair in Blood Bone Venerable's eyes grew thicker.

He knew this person would not let him go.

The rules of the Sea Quelling Department were known throughout the Four Seas—demons and evil spirits must be exterminated, never tolerated, and never bargained with.

There was no way to live.

There was no chance of luck.

Then—

Let's perish together!

A flash of madness crossed Blood Bone Venerable's eyes!

His remaining left hand plunged suddenly into his own chest, his five fingers digging into his flesh, tearing fiercely!

"Shhh-crack—!"

His chest was torn open, revealing the heart that had already dimmed by more than half.

On the surface of the heart, countless blood-colored patterns were flickering frantically!

"Want to kill me? Then die together—!"

He roared, and that heart exploded with a boom!

It was not an ordinary explosion, but the self-detonation of the blood fiend demon core he had condensed with his life's cultivation!

In that instant, dark red light surged out from the bursting heart, like a dam-breaking sea of blood, pouring wildly in all directions!

Wherever the blood light passed, the air was corroded, dissolved, and turned into part of the blood mist!

This was the life's cultivation of a Primal Form Realm demon.

This was the evil, filthy power he had condensed using the essence blood of countless living people.

Once it fully erupted, within a ten-mile radius, not a blade of grass would remain, and all living things would be extinguished!

Xu Zhaoyang's brows finally furrowed slightly.

But it was only slightly.

He raised his right hand.

He pressed his palm down into the void.

The moment that palm pressed down, the dozens of black-armored soldiers behind him simultaneously formed hand seals!

Dozens of dark golden lights surged from their bodies, converging onto Xu Zhaoyang, condensing into a massive golden light screen at his palm!

The light screen was semi-circular, a hundred zhang in radius, covering the entire altar, the blood pool, and the six people including Jiang Hanzhou within it!

"Boom—!!!!!!"

The blood light exploded!

The terrifying shockwave slammed into the golden light screen, stirring up countless ripples! The light screen vibrated violently, with countless fine cracks appearing on its surface, as if it would shatter at any moment!

But shattering was only "as if."

Three breaths later, the shockwave dissipated.

The golden light screen still stood, though it had dimmed by more than half.

Blood Bone Venerable's remains had completely disappeared.

Only a mass of dark red blood mist remained, carrying his lingering consciousness, sinking down toward the sea surface—sinking toward the underwater rift that had been torn open in the explosion!

He wanted to escape!

Even if only a wisp of his soul remained, even if he had to escape into the deep sea and sink forever, he had to escape!