111: Go to Huangzhou

The two reminisced all night, neither of them using their cultivation to expel the alcohol.

Although with Xiao Zhuo's current Realm, mortal turbid wine couldn't affect him even if he didn't expel the alcohol, the scent of wine wafting as he and his brother drank together still brought a Three parts drunk (three parts tipsiness) to his eyes and brows.

The way the two, unconstrained by their Realms, slung their arms over each other's shoulders was no different from the two young rascals in a streetside tavern back then.

The next day, Xiao Zhuo sent the fatty back to Taiyi Sect and stayed there himself to help guide the newly admitted Disciples, also taking time to learn Artifact Refining techniques from Immortal Master Azure Heaven.

In the evening, he continued to take the fatty to listen to music in pleasure quarters; such a leisurely life was quite enjoyable.

However, moments of leisure are always short-lived.

Half a month later, Great Chen's two million strong army was arrayed at Demon-Subduing Pass.

Prince Hong personally led the expedition.

A message was sent, inviting Xiao Zhuo and Immortal Master Azure Heaven to join the campaign.

Immortal Master Azure Heaven was still in seclusion, Artifact Refining, but he remotely sent a ninth-tier Spiritual Artifact long saber, refined from a Void Abyss Dragon's horn, into Xiao Zhuo's hands.

The blade, transparent like a dark purple energy crystal, glowed with a faint light; the Dragon-head hilt exuded a heart-pounding pressure, and the guard was in the shape of a swastika.

The humming sound produced when the blade vibrated, covered in a dense power of fear, could make even ordinary Divine Sea Realm Experts tremble and lose their composure with just a single glance.

Xiao Zhuo had always preferred bladed weapons; at this moment, his thumb stroked the cool spine of the blade, and his eyes reflected the pulsating purple glow.

He flicked the blade lightly and chuckled, "I'll call you Dragon Slayer."

The Spiritual Artifact responded with a slight tremor, and the Void Realm immediately erupted with fine lightning patterns.

Previously, he had used energy to form long sabers for attacks, simply because he lacked a weapon that could withstand his power, but this long saber forged from a Void Abyss Dragon's horn was sufficient, and as a Spiritual Artifact, it could also freely change size, allowing it to be used even when manifesting a Dharma Idol.

Xiao Zhuo and Immortal Master Azure Heaven had already agreed that Immortal Master Azure Heaven would oversee the rear for this demon-slaying campaign, while Xiao Zhuo and Prince Hong would strike directly at the Barren State.

Even if they couldn't completely exterminate the Blood Ancestor, they had to knock him down from the Ancestor-level.

Xiao Zhuo held little hope for completely killing a powerful being like the Blood Ancestor, who possessed maximum survival capabilities.

On the appointed day, Xiao Zhuo tore open space and stepped into Demon-Subduing Pass.

For hundreds of miles, banners fluttered, and the clanging of profound iron heavy armor mingled with the neighing of warhorses.

The moment his figure appeared in the sky, a mountain-shaking, sea-roaring roar of "Thunder Celestial Venerable" stirred up dust.

Xiao Zhuo's ears were hot; his Divine Sense swept out, pinpointing the commander's tent, and with a flash, he disappeared.

Seeing Prince Hong again, the old man, who had seemed weary and close to death when Xiao Zhuo first met him, had considerably less of that aura, and he looked very peaceful overall.

It seemed that with the great victory at Demon-Subduing Pass, the heavy burden on this powerful being, who had guarded the Human Race's Luck for a thousand years, had lifted, and his Realm had slightly broken through.

"Thunder Celestial Venerable has arrived?" There were six other people in Prince Hong's tent, all Myriad Manifestation Experts, including Xiao Zhuo's old acquaintances, Sword Pavilion Old Ancestor Laughing Sword One and Prince Kang Ji Buji. Seeing Xiao Zhuo appear, they all bowed in greeting.

As soon as Xiao Zhuo entered, he heard Prince Hong call out his title, and the smile he had just managed to put on his face immediately fell: "Your Highness, just call me by my name."

After speaking to Prince Hong, he smiled and greeted Prince Kang and Laughing Sword One, giving a slight nod to the others.

Everyone was respectful towards Xiao Zhuo; even Prince Kang and Laughing Sword One, who had known him for a long time, seemed quite reserved.

After all, Xiao Zhuo was now at the Peak of the Yuan Realm, and it was even highly probable that he was the strongest Expert in the entire Yuan Realm.

Two of the three Demon Ancestors were personally killed by Xiao Zhuo, and the only remaining Demon Ancestor, the Blood Ancestor, had two of his Clones destroyed by Xiao Zhuo.

With such power, who would dare to be disrespectful?

Prince Hong also noticed that Xiao Zhuo didn't like his title, but he didn't mind, a smile appearing on his face as he said, "Xiao Zhuo, although the Blood Ancestor lost a powerful Clone, his strength is still extraordinary. Now that the army is assembled, let us two depart first to slay that old demon! This will also prevent the old demon from desperately causing unnecessary losses to the army."

Xiao Zhuo nodded at the words: "Very well!"

"Ji Buji! During my absence, you will temporarily take charge of the demon-slaying army and be ready to march at any time!" Prince Hong then looked at Ji Buji and commanded.

"Yes! Old Ancestor!" Ji Buji's expression became serious, and he cupped his fists in acceptance.

By rank, both were princes, but by seniority, Prince Hong was several generations older than Prince Kang.

Having made the arrangements, Prince Hong rose and left the commander's tent with Xiao Zhuo.

Prince Hong raised his hand, tore open space, and stepped in; Xiao Zhuo followed closely, entering the spatial rift and disappearing.

The Barren State was tens of thousands of miles away from Jizhou, but in the inner space, Xiao Zhuo and Prince Hong only traveled a few miles.

A few breaths later, led by Prince Hong, they once again opened a spatial rift and appeared in a region where the eye could see nothing but yellow-brown rock desert.

"Is this the Barren State?" Xiao Zhuo stepped on the hard rock, his Divine Sense spreading out like a spiderweb.

Prince Hong nodded, his gaze somewhat profound: "It has been a long time since this King came here!"

"Then let's end all this sooner!" Xiao Zhuo's Divine Sense had already locked onto a direction; he looked at Prince Hong, and the two exchanged glances before flashing and disappearing.

In the center of the Barren State, the Blood Demon Hall stood alone in the depths of a desert. The yellow desert around the Demon Hall was corroded black by Devilish Qi, the earth was cracked, and faint blood-red light flickered beneath it. The sky above the Blood Demon Hall seemed to be perpetually overcast, dark and oppressive.

At this moment, there was not a single figure in the Blood Demon Hall; it was utterly silent.

Two figures suddenly appeared in mid-air: one dressed in a dark robe, hands empty, and the other in purple-gold armor, carrying a silver mace on his back.

It was Xiao Zhuo and Prince Hong.

As soon as they arrived, Xiao Zhuo frowned, his Divine Sense probing the entire Blood Demon Hall, finding not a trace of life.

Not to mention Blood Demons, he didn't even see a single living creature.

Prince Hong also frowned deeply: "Did the Blood Ancestor escape?"

Xiao Zhuo didn't answer, his figure descended, landing on the Blood Demon Hall.

The Blood Demon Hall was entirely constructed from a black material that was neither metal nor stone; walking on it was like walking on steel plates, each step echoing with a "clank."

The two walked into the hall, but found nothing unusual inside; there were no signs of battle, as if everyone had simply vanished into thin air.

Xiao Zhuo's heart stirred, and his Divine Sense continuously probed towards the ground.

A moment later, a cold smile appeared on his lips.

Prince Hong also noticed Xiao Zhuo's expression and gave him an inquiring look.

"The Blood Ancestor is down there!" Xiao Zhuo showed him a set of white teeth and said seriously.

Prince Hong's Divine Sense also probed downwards, but he found nothing.

After all, rock layers would block Divine Sense, and the Blood Ancestor's hiding place was over ten thousand feet deep; the Divine Sense of ordinary sixth-tier Divine Soul Experts simply couldn't penetrate ten thousand feet underground, so they naturally couldn't detect it.

Unfortunately, the Blood Ancestor encountered the anomaly that was Xiao Zhuo; the secrets ten thousand feet below were revealed without reservation before him.

Xiao Zhuo tapped the ground, and his entire being directly disappeared, reappearing above the Blood Demon Hall; Prince Hong also flew into the sky with him.

"I'll force him out!" he whispered, and a three-colored divine light already lit up on Xiao Zhuo's fingertip.

With a flick of his finger at the Blood Demon Hall below, a three-colored beam of light, over ten zhang (approximately 33 meters) thick, shot out from Xiao Zhuo's finger.

The powerful energy directly blasted a large hole in the Blood Demon Hall; the Tribulation Light, amplified by his magical power, surged to an incredible degree of power. Wherever it passed, all matter was instantly disintegrated.

Moreover, the energy was extremely condensed; outside the light beam, nothing was harmed, only everything struck by the light beam was being frantically disintegrated.

The light beam went straight through the ground, piercing through all ten thousand feet of rock, and the Tribulation Light plunged into a blood-red world.

For a moment, the world was silent, with only the extremely contained three-colored Tribulation Light remaining.

Prince Hong watched Xiao Zhuo's move, sensing the terrifying energy fluctuations within that three-colored Tribulation Light. He suspected that he probably couldn't even withstand one of Xiao Zhuo's moves. To what extent had this young man grown?

Just as Prince Hong was still doubting his life.

The entire desert suddenly trembled violently, and crimson blood mist seeped out from the cracked earth.

Prince Hong's silver mace was already unsheathed, its surface reflecting his solemn face: "This old demon..."

Before he finished speaking, the Blood Demon Hall exploded with a roar.

Amidst the scattered rubble, thousands of blood-red shadows shrieked and shot into the sky, each exuding a nauseatingly sweet and fishy (fishy) odor.

Xiao Zhuo stood with his saber horizontally in the air, and the lightning cleaved by the Dragon Slayer Saber dyed half the sky a deep purple.