Chapter 166 Slaying Amidst the Tribulation of Lightning!

Heaven and earth returned to a deathly silence. It was not soundless; rather, the sound was so immense that it surpassed the limits of hearing, transforming into absolute silence.

Beneath that torn firmament, the once brilliant sunlight had completely vanished. In its place was a massive black sphere.

It hovered in mid-air, with a diameter reaching ten thousand zhang. It was woven from the purest chaotic lightning.

It was like a black sun, ruthlessly devouring all surrounding light, spiritual energy, and even the laws of space.

"Th-that is..."

Leng Yi struggled to lift his head, peering through blood-filled eyelids at the despair-inducing black lightning sphere.

The black war blade in his hand had long since chipped, and his body trembled violently from exhaustion. Yet, he dared not blink.

Even though his eyes were streaming with tears from the destructive aura radiating outward, he stared unblinkingly.

All the surviving Asura Guards maintained the same posture. They were waiting. Waiting for the verdict of that man. And waiting for the final fate of the Eastern Continent.

... Inside the black lightning sphere.

This was a true purgatory. There was no distinction between up and down, no difference between front and back. There were only countless terrifying bolts of lightning slithering like black dragons.

Every time a bolt of lightning streaked past, it left behind a grey spatial rift that refused to heal for a long time.

"Aaaah—!!!" A shrill, agonizing scream echoed through this enclosed chaotic space. The owner of the voice was Granny Gu.

This titan of the poison path, who inspired fear throughout the Southern Region, was currently enduring torture akin to being sliced by a thousand blades.

Her severed torso, which had originally been hovering via secret arts, was now entwined by countless black lightning snakes.

Those life-bound Gu insects she prided herself on, which she had spent thousands of years cultivating, were as fragile as rice paper before the chaotic lightning. They couldn't even struggle; upon contact, they turned to ash.

"Ye Haocheng! You will meet a horrible death!!" Granny Gu's hair was disheveled, and her features were twisted into a knot on her skin-and-bone face.

She frantically waved her withered claws, attempting to drive away the lightning on her body. But every touch only caused more chaotic energy to flow along her meridians and bore into the depths of her soul.

Ye Haocheng stood quietly ten zhang away from her. He was not specifically targeting Granny Gu. He simply stood there, letting the sky-filling lightning bombard his body.

Those chaotic annihilation lightning bolts, capable of instantly killing an ordinary Martial Saint, landed on his skin like gentle streams of water, slowly seeping into his pores and tempering every inch of his flesh and blood.

"A horrible death?" Ye Haocheng tilted his head slightly, his pitch-black eyes reflecting Granny Gu's ugly, dying struggle.

The heaven-burning sword in his hand vibrated gently, causing the Red Lotus Karma Fire on the blade to eerily merge with the surrounding black lightning. "Unfortunately, you won't live to see it."

As the words fell, Ye Haocheng casually swung his sword. There were no flashy sword techniques, just a simple sword aura.

But empowered by the chaotic lightning tribulation, this sword aura instantly transformed into a massive black and red dragon. Roar!

The long dragon of sword aura roared, ignoring the distance of space, and instantly pierced through Granny Gu's chest. "Pfft—"

Granny Gu's scream came to an abrupt end. Her murky eyes bulged, as if she couldn't believe she would die so carelessly.

The next second, her broken body was shattered under the dual strangulation of the sword aura and lightning. It turned into countless black particles, merging into this chaos.

Her soul was annihilated. Even the chance for reincarnation was completely stripped away.

"Old Poison Woman!!!" Not far away, Tuoba Wuji, who was struggling to hold on, let out a roar mixed with shock and rage. He had watched Granny Gu fall with his own eyes. The fear of the rabbit dying and the fox grieving instantly occupied his mind.

At this moment, Tuoba Wuji's condition was no better than Granny Gu's. His pride and joy, the "Barbarian God Tyrant Body," was now riddled with holes.

The large hole in his chest was still bleeding, and his right arm had been blown off by lightning, leaving only exposed white bone. Yet, he was still resisting.

The massive bone axe in his hand swung so tightly that it formed a pale yellow shield ofGang energy, attempting to block the omnipresent lightning tribulation.

"Ye Haocheng! Don't get too arrogant!" Tuoba Wuji roared, his eyes red as blood, like a trapped beast forced into a desperate situation.

He bit his tongue tip and spat out a mouthful of essence blood, spraying it onto the bone axe. "Barbarian God Sacrifice! Heaven-Opening!"

With the injection of essence blood, the bone axe instantly expanded a hundredfold, transforming into a mountain of bone that slashed ferociously toward Ye Haocheng with the momentum of splitting the heavens and earth.

This was the strongest strike he could unleash under the suppression of the lightning tribulation. It was also his final gamble.

Facing this axe strike capable of shattering mountains and rivers, Ye Haocheng did not dodge. He didn't even raise his sword.

He simply extended his fair, slender left hand slowly. He spread his five fingers. Facing the massive bone axe whistling toward him, he grasped at the void.

"Break." It was only a single word. Light and casual, yet his words carried the force of law.

Boom!!! The countless black lightning bolts slithering around seemed to hear the command of a monarch. They instantly converged in Ye Haocheng's palm, transforming into a massive black lightning hand that covered the sky and sun.

On that giant hand, destructive Dao markings coiled. It grabbed the descending bone axe.

Snap! That divine weapon, which had accompanied Tuoba Wuji for thousands of years, was like a fragile dry twig before that giant lightning hand. It instantly snapped and shattered into a sky full of bone fragments.

"Th-this is impossible..." Tuoba Wuji stared blankly at the remaining axe handle in his hand, the fierce light in his eyes instantly dissipating.

That was a divine weapon! An indestructible divine weapon forged from the spine of an ancient barbarian beast! How could it be crushed by bare hands?

"There is nothing impossible." Ye Haocheng's figure had appeared above Tuoba Wuji's head at some unknown moment.

He looked down at the burly giant from above. His gaze was as cold as if he were looking at an ant. "In my world, I am the rules."

Ye Haocheng lifted his right foot and stomped down heavily. Thud! This stomp seemed to shatter the void. It landed directly on the crown of Tuoba Wuji's head.

An indescribable, terrifying force, mixed with violent chaotic lightning, instantly surged into Tuoba Wuji's body.

"No—" Tuoba Wuji only had time to let out half a short wail. Immediately after, his massive body was like a punctured balloon. Starting from the top of his head, it cracked inch by inch.

Bang! With a muffled sound, this supreme deity of the Northern Region barbarian tribes exploded directly into a cloud of blood mist. Not even a trace of residue remained.

In the blink of an eye, two of the four Martial Gods were gone. Within the entire lightning tribulation space, only Chu Yunxiao and Holy Monk Pudu remained. They stood back-to-back, their bodies trembling uncontrollably.

Even as old monsters who had lived for thousands of years, and even with minds as firm as rock, after witnessing their companions being slaughtered so easily, their psychological defenses had completely collapsed.

Too strong. This Ye Haocheng was simply an invincible existence within this lightning tribulation space! He wasn't undergoing a tribulation; he was enjoying this destructive power!

"A... Amitabha..." Holy Monk Pudu's withered, stick-like hands were pressed together, his voice trembling so much it was almost inaudible.

The kasaya on his body had long since turned to ash, and his protective Buddhist light was as dim as a candle in the wind. "Ye... Benefactor Ye..."

Holy Monk Pudu swallowed hard, forcing out a smile that was uglier than crying. "Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life..."

"This poor monk... this poor monk knows he was wrong. As long as Benefactor is willing to spare this poor monk, this poor monk is willing to lead the entire Western Region Buddhist sect and submit to Asura Hall!"

"This poor monk is willing to build a living shrine for Benefactor, chant sutras and pray for blessings day and night, and wash away the killing karma on Benefactor's body..."

In order to survive, this living Buddha, who was once high and mighty and worshipped by hundreds of millions, was now as humble as a fawning old dog. He didn't even dare to look up into Ye Haocheng's eyes.

He just kept trembling, waiting for the verdict of fate. Chu Yunxiao, standing to the side, heard this, and a trace of disdain flashed in his eyes, but it was mostly fear.

He opened his mouth, seemingly wanting to say some words of begging for mercy. But his dignity as the hegemon of the Central Region made his throat feel as if it were blocked; he couldn't make a sound no matter what.

Ye Haocheng stepped across the void, walking toward the two step by step. With every step he took, the surrounding lightning would cheer and leap along with him. He had heard Holy Monk Pudu's plea for mercy.

But the expression on his face remained without the slightest ripple. He didn't even pause his steps for a fraction. "A living shrine?"

Ye Haocheng walked to a spot five zhang away from the two and stopped. The heaven-burning sword in his hand pointed obliquely at the ground, and drops of bright red blood dripped from the tip. That was Tuoba Wuji's blood.

In this black lightning tribulation, it appeared exceptionally glaring. "I don't need a living shrine." Ye Haocheng spoke indifferently. His voice was calm, yet it carried a heart-palpitating chill.

"I also have no interest in listening to you chant sutras. As for killing karma..." Ye Haocheng slowly raised his sword, pointing at Holy Monk Pudu's bald forehead.

"If killing you hypocrites counts as killing karma, then I, Ye Haocheng, am willing to bear this infamy for ten thousand generations. Never to be reincarnated."

Upon hearing this, Holy Monk Pudu's pupils shrank violently. Despair. Complete despair. He knew that Ye Haocheng had no intention of letting them go at all!

"You... you devil!!" Seeing that begging for mercy was hopeless, the humility on Holy Monk Pudu's face instantly vanished, replaced by hideous malice.

"Since you won't give this poor monk a way to live, then this poor monk will drag you down to hell together!!" He suddenly ripped off the Buddhist prayer beads from his neck.

The one hundred and eight prayer beads instantly exploded, transforming into one hundred and eight streaks of golden light, which converged in front of him into a massive, glaring Vajra dharma image.

"Burn my Buddhist soul! Ten Thousand Buddhas Annihilation!!" Holy Monk Pudu roared, his body beginning to burn fiercely. He was going to self-destruct!

The self-destruction of a Martial God Realm expert, combined with the enclosed nature of this lightning tribulation space, was enough to drag anyone down with him! "Ye Haocheng! Let's die together!!"

The glaring Vajra dharma image also expanded accordingly, emitting world-destroying fluctuations. Chu Yunxiao, who was nearby, saw this and was scared out of his wits, scrambling backward, crawling and rolling. "Madman! You're all madmen!!"

Facing this fatal strike, Ye Haocheng laughed. He laughed with a hint of disdain. "Playing at self-destruction in front of me? Did you ask if I agreed?"

Ye Haocheng's left hand suddenly reached forward. He did not block the dharma image that was about to explode. Instead, he pierced directly through layers of golden light and grabbed Holy Monk Pudu's burning neck.

"Chaos, devour." As these four words were spoken, countless black vortexes instantly erupted from Ye Haocheng's arm. Whoosh—

A terrifying suction force erupted from those vortexes. Holy Monk Pudu only felt that the violently burning power within his body seemed to have found a vent.

It uncontrollably surged toward Ye Haocheng's arm. "No... what is this..." Holy Monk Pudu's eyes widened in terror.

He realized his self-destruction had been forcibly interrupted! Not only that, but the Buddhist power, vital energy, and even the soul he had cultivated for thousands of years were being crazily devoured by the other party!

"I said it before. This is my world." Ye Haocheng looked coldly at the old monk in his hand, who was rapidly shriveling up. "Your life is decided by me, not by heaven."

Pfft! In just a few breaths of time, Holy Monk Pudu's once full body had turned into a dried corpse. As Ye Haocheng applied a little force with his palm.

The dried corpse instantly turned into dust and dissipated into the air. The massive glaring Vajra dharma image, having lost its source of power, let out a mournful cry and shattered into a sky full of light spots.

Dead. Another one dead. And dying so stiflingly, with absolutely no power to fight back. The entire lightning tribulation space fell completely silent. Only the sizzling sound of black lightning occasionally streaking across the void remained.

Ye Haocheng turned around. He looked at the last survivor in the arena. Chu Yunxiao. This Chu family head, who was once arrogant, ruled the Central Region, and commanded the world.

At this moment, he was slumped on the ground. Leaning against an invisible spatial barrier, his body trembled like a sieve. His psychological defenses had completely collapsed at this moment.

The tragic deaths of his three companions made him clearly realize one fact. The young man before him was not human. He was an Asura demon god who had crawled out of hell!

"D-don't kill me..." Chu Yunxiao looked at Ye Haocheng approaching step by step, his voice carrying a sobbing tone. His face, half-destroyed by lightning fire, was filled with fear.

"I... I don't want to die... I am the head of the Chu family... I have countless resources in my hands... As long as you spare me... the entire Chu family will be yours..."

Ye Haocheng walked to Chu Yunxiao and looked down at him. That gaze was as if he were looking at a mangy dog with a broken spine. "Resources?" Ye Haocheng sneered.

"If I kill you, everything in the Chu family will still be mine." After speaking, he slowly raised the heaven-burning sword in his hand. The sword tip pointed directly at the center of Chu Yunxiao's eyebrows.

The biting killing aura caused blood to seep from the center of Chu Yunxiao's eyebrows. "No! Wait!!" Feeling the approach of death, Chu Yunxiao erupted with a shrill scream.

"I have a secret! I have a big secret!! I know a secret about becoming an immortal!!"

Hearing the words "becoming an immortal," the sword in Ye Haocheng's hand stopped half an inch from the center of Chu Yunxiao's eyebrows. He narrowed his eyes slightly, scrutinizing this man who had been scared out of his wits.

"Becoming an immortal?" Ye Haocheng spoke indifferently. "Do you think I would believe such ethereal nonsense?"

In this world, the Martial God Realm is the peak. For ten thousand years, it has never been heard that anyone could break the shackles and ascend to become an immortal. This is precisely the reason why these old monsters have always wanted to attack the Eastern Continent and search for opportunities.

"It's true! It's absolutely true!!" Seeing Ye Haocheng stop, Chu Yunxiao hurriedly shouted as if grabbing a life-saving straw.

"It's the Great Chu Dynasty! It's that jade pendant of the Great Chu Dynasty! The reason I insisted on getting that jade pendant, even going so far as to hide it from the others, is because it contains clues to becoming an immortal!!"