298: succeed

Ye Zhenyu took a deep breath, forcibly suppressed the surging fear, and her gaze swept over the remaining Demon Generals behind her.

She selected ten of the strongest individuals apart from herself and Xiao Zhuo, all of whom were elites among the Immortal Demon Army, including two whose aura had reached the threshold of a Half-step Demon Lord.

“First group, attack!” Ye Zhenyu’s voice was resolute.

The ten Demon Generals exchanged glances, their eyes still filled with terror, but more so with the ferocity of being pushed to a dead end. They roared, unleashing Devilish Qi, like ten burning black suns exploding in the underground palace!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

The violent Demonic Energy instantly tore apart the solid black rock floor of the underground palace, leaving bottomless ravines.

Shrapnel shot out like cannonballs, striking the rock walls with deafening roars.

One Demon General, skilled in the Dao of Earth, slammed his fists into the ground, and dozens of rock spears, entwined with destructive demonic patterns and as thick as palace pillars, burst from the earth, piercing fiercely towards Hao Duo on the golden bed like the fangs of a giant beast!

Another Demon General transformed into a shadow blade that tore through space, moving so fast it left afterimages, its edge pointing directly at Hao Duo's throat!

Even more Demon Generals formed hand seals, activating the Nine Nether Frost.

The temperature in the underground palace plummeted to freezing, the air congealed into fine ice crystals, and a pale breath capable of freezing a Divine Soul surged forth!

Ten powerhouses, at least in the Late Stage of the Demon General Realm, unleashed their full power, a might sufficient to instantly level a thousand miles of mountains and rivers!

A violent energy storm raged, compressed, and collided within the underground palace. Had it not been for the special material of this place and Hao Duo's invisible power stabilizing it, it would have long since completely collapsed!

Facing this combined attack, which would make an ordinary Demonic Lord cautious, Hao Duo didn't even bother to lift an eyelid.

He still lay lazily on the golden bed, casually raising his right index finger.

“Too slow,” he commented lightly on the extremely fast blade light, his fingertip seemingly slowly drawing a line in the Void Realm.

The blade light that tore through space seemed to hit an invisible chasm, instantly freezing, twisting, and then shattering inch by inch like fragile glass!

The Demon General who unleashed this move was severely struck, spitting blood from all seven orifices as he flew backward.

“Power dispersed, flashy but unsubstantial.” Hao Duo flicked his fingertip, and a tiny, almost invisible black ripple spread out.

The dozens of rock spears, carrying immense power, instantly turned into flying ash and dissipated without a sound as soon as they touched the ripple, as if eroded and weathered by billions of years of time!

The Demon General who used the earth-elemental Demonic Technique grunted, and all his demonic patterns instantly dimmed.

“Frost? Heh, it only has the form, but not the true essence of 'Nirvana'.” Hao Duo gently blew a breath towards the Divine Soul-freezing exhalation.

The terrifying cold current, capable of freezing all things, was actually blown back by his breath!

Faster, and even colder!

The Demon General using the Frost, along with the space around him, instantly froze into a giant ice chunk, horror solidified on his face.

The next moment, the ice chunk and the human figure within it exploded with a roar, turning into a sky full of ice crystals and blood mist!

Hao Duo's movements seemed casual and slow, yet each strike precisely hit the weakest and most crucial points of the ten Demon Generals' combined assault.

His fingertips seemed to contain the ultimate truth of heaven and earth. Each poke, stroke, flick, and brush, while the power was indeed that of an Early Stage Demon General, it invoked the trajectory of the “Dao” that transcended the Great Dao—an enigma woven from death and nirvana, a manifestation of his profound Dao Principle.

This was both cheating and in line with the rules he set for himself!

“Pfft!”

“Ah!”

“No—!”

Screams rose and fell.

Hao Duo had risen at some point, his figure like a ghost, strolling leisurely through the violent energy storm.

Each strike was accompanied by the fall of a Demon General.

One after another, Demon Generals were either disintegrated into dust by an invisible power of nirvana, or their bodies exploded from the backflow of death energy, or they were torn into pieces by twisted space!

The entire process was suffocatingly fast, yet despairingly slow.

In just a few breaths, all ten powerful Demon Generals were reduced to glaring bloodstains and dismembered limbs on the floor of the underground palace.

Hao Duo took a gentle breath, and the pervasive thick demonic blood essence and residual Soul Power converged into his body like a hundred rivers flowing into the sea.

A satisfied and comfortable expression appeared on his handsome and eerie face, and his scarlet eyes swept over the remaining ashen-faced Demon Generals.

“Tsk, boring,” he commented lazily, as if he had just swatted a few flies.

A cold fear, like a venomous snake, coiled around everyone's heart, almost freezing it.

Xiao Zhuo and Ye Zhenyu's eyes instantly met, both seeing the solemnity in the other's gaze—they could not let others die in vain!

“Senior!” Xiao Zhuo stepped forward, his voice trying to remain calm, “For the next group, I, Ye Zhenyu, and eight other companions will challenge you together!”

A hint of playfulness and imperceptible anticipation flashed in Hao Duo's eyes, especially as he looked at Xiao Zhuo: “Oh? This is getting interesting. Granted.”

Xiao Zhuo and Ye Zhenyu immediately picked the eight strongest among the remaining Demon Generals.

These eight still felt fear, but a flame of desperate struggle ignited in their eyes.

“Form up! Attack!” Ye Zhenyu shouted, taking the lead!

Her icy longsword burst forth with a bone-chilling blue light, and a condensed ice phoenix phantom shrieked and lunged out, freezing space and causing all things to wither in its path!

She had, in an instant, burned a portion of her life Origin, forcibly boosting her attack power to infinitely close to the Demonic Lord threshold!

The eight Demon Generals erupted simultaneously, their Dao Principles intertwining, either attacking or defending, solely to create a sliver of opportunity for Ye Zhenyu and Xiao Zhuo!

Xiao Zhuo did not launch a direct assault immediately. His eyes were sharp like an eagle's, and the Universe God Step activated, his figure transforming into countless afterimages in the confined space, utilizing spatial power to its extreme, constantly folding and twisting, interfering with Hao Duo's perception and targeting.

At the same time, the power of the zizai world (free and easy world) was quietly activated, empowering him.

With the World Power enhancement, Xiao Zhuo's strength greatly increased. With a wave of his hand, he condensed a spatial prism in mid-air, cleverly refracting and converging the Ice Phoenix power from Ye Zhenyu's desperate strike and the long-range attacks of several Demon Generals, forming an even more condensed and cunning destructive beam that shot directly at Hao Duo!

“Hmm?” A barely perceptible hint of surprise flashed in Hao Duo's eyes for the first time.

Xiao Zhuo's use of space and his grasp of battlefield timing far exceeded the scope of ordinary Demon Generals; he was clearly also a Genius who had comprehended the Dao Principle.

The converged destructive beam had truly reached the level of an Early Stage Demonic Lord!

Facing this strike, which was powerful enough to threaten him even after suppressing his Realm, the laziness on Hao Duo's face finally receded a little.

He no longer responded with a single finger but spread the five fingers of his right hand and pressed them forward into the Void Realm!

Buzz—!

A sense of nirvana, far more vast and profound than before, permeated the air.

A circular black shield, dark as ink and seemingly devouring all light, instantly appeared before him.

Upon the shield, countless tiny death runes flowed, exuding an aura of ending all things.

Boom—!!!

The Ice Phoenix power and the destructive beam fiercely collided with the black shield!

A terrifying explosion shockwave instantly swept through the entire underground palace!

The solid black rock floor violently undulated like waves, and large sections of rock were pulverized into dust!

The eight assisting Demon Generals bore the brunt, like puppets struck by a giant hammer, screaming and spitting blood as they flew backward, slamming heavily into the walls, the sound of their bones shattering clearly audible, instantly losing their combat power.

Ye Zhenyu also felt a heavy blow, her face pale, blood oozing from the corner of her mouth, barely standing firm by propping herself up with her longsword.

However, the black shield only fluctuated violently but did not shatter!

Hao Duo's figure remained motionless at the center of the explosion!

But Xiao Zhuo was waiting for this moment!

At the instant the explosion light was at its brightest, the energy most chaotic, and Hao Duo's mind was drawn by the desperate strike, he moved!

“Universe God Step · Spaceless!” Xiao Zhuo's figure vanished as if teleporting, ignoring spatial distance, appearing directly beside Hao Duo!

The heavenly cold demonic sword in his hand was enveloped in endless light, transforming into a transparent light sword forged from pure Zizai Immortal Power, spatial cutting power, and a killing intent condensed to its extreme—Primal Beginning's Sword!

There was no earth-shattering momentum, only an extremely subtle sword mark, as if capable of severing Karma and shattering eternity, silently piercing towards Hao Duo!

This sword contained all of Xiao Zhuo's understanding of the The Way of Freedom and the Dao of the sword; it was his unreserved ultimate killing move at his current Realm!

Hao Duo's scarlet pupils suddenly constricted! The profundity and speed of this sword completely exceeded his cognitive limits for the Demon General level!

Under his suppressed cultivation to the Early Stage Demon General Realm, he actually felt an unavoidable sensation!

“Bold!” A low, cold snort rang out.

Just a thousandth of a second before the transparent sword tip was about to touch Hao Duo's robe, a terrifying power, vast as a sea of stars, erupted from within Hao Duo's body without any warning!

Boom!

The power instantly broke through the Early Stage Demon General Realm limit, reaching the Peak Demon General Realm!

A pure power storm exploded with Hao Duo as its center, and an invisible gravitational field capable of twisting space instantly formed!

Ding—!

A crisp, piercing clang echoed!

Xiao Zhuo's fatal sword struck fiercely against the suddenly appearing, solidified gravitational barrier!

A violent backlash force traveled through the light sword. Xiao Zhuo felt like he was struck by lightning, his tiger's mouth instantly split open, bleeding profusely, and he was violently sent flying like a kite with a broken string, crashing heavily into a deep pit in the ground!

He struggled to kneel up, blood oozing from the corner of his mouth, but his eyes were fixed on Hao Duo, sharp and unyielding.

Hao Duo stood still, all laziness and playfulness gone from his scarlet eyes, replaced only by cold scrutiny and a hint of... incredible surprise.

He slowly lowered his head and looked at his robe—the unremarkable blue hem, at the moment the power erupted, had a tiny, almost invisible tear caused by the lingering Sword Qi.

The underground palace was dead silent, with only the suppressed groans and heavy breathing of the heavily injured Demon Generals.

Demonic blood silently soaked the cold black rock floor.

“Senior! You lost!”