308: The Corpse Clan Emerges

Deep within the Place of Cessation of Grief, an boundless plain carved out by great Divine Abilities.

Ten colossal phalanxes, each casting a shadow that blotted out the sky, were arrayed in grim formation. Each phalanx was composed of countless Corpse Clan soldiers, a dense, dark mass brewing monstrous killing intent amidst the dead silence.

Within each phalanx, billions of Corpse Soldiers stood like a silent steel forest, guarding thousands of Corpse Generals with ferocious auras, and dozens of heavily authoritative Corpse Lords presided at the center.

A ten-thousand-zhang-tall platform, rising from the ground, was condensed from pure earth-elemental Divine Power.

On the platform, fourteen Corpse Kings, whose might shook the Void Realm, stood with hands clasped, their icy gazes sweeping over the grim military formations below.

The Corpse Clan had a strict Rank system, all converted by Hao Duo from the remains and lone Souls of ancient battlefields.

Their past memories had been completely erased, leaving only absolute reverence for Hao Duo, etched into their very bones.

Om—

Space suddenly twisted and rippled, and the figure of the Black Heaven Demonic Lord appeared silently at the pinnacle of the platform.

"Holy Venerable!"

"Holy Venerable!"

The fourteen Corpse Kings bowed in unison, their voices low and reverent.

The Black Heaven Demonic Lord merely waved a hand casually, his voice like cold iron: "This Venerable has no time for a Clone. In this battle, I will personally lead you to flatten the path ahead!"

Just as the Corpse Clan Army was about to surge out of the Place of Cessation of Grief like a black torrent, stirring up monstrous waves in the Demon Realm—

Outside Xiao Zhuo's Immortal Cave, the Restriction's light flickered faintly, gently touched by someone.

In the depths of the dim Immortal Cave, a pair of tightly closed eyes suddenly opened.

In an instant, a faint golden sharp gleam seemed to sweep across the stone walls, revealing every detail within the cave.

Xiao Zhuo's Divine Sense spread silently, instantly capturing the familiar figure on the platform outside the Restriction—Ye Zhenyu.

His mind stirred, and the soft lights on the inner walls of the Immortal Cave lit up in sequence, dispelling the gloom.

The Restriction light curtain at the entrance also quietly vanished.

"Xiao Zhuo!" Ye Zhenyu's voice came, carrying a trace of an imperceptible ripple, "The Corpse Clan Army... is about to march!"

She hesitated, as if wanting to say more.

"You want to seize this opportunity to leave?" Xiao Zhuo sat cross-legged on the crude stone bed, his eyelids slightly lowered, his voice calm and unruffled, betraying no emotion.

Ye Zhenyu was silent for a moment, then finally nodded: "Perhaps... this is the only chance."

Xiao Zhuo's gaze fell on her delicate face, lingering for a long time before he said faintly, "Understood."

He said nothing more.

Ye Zhenyu also said little, turning and departing.

Xiao Zhuo had long seen through the intentions of Ye Zhenyu and the Eternal Calamity Demon Generals who nominally submitted to him.

Although they were forced by Hao Duo's might to offer their Soul Blood and acknowledge him as their Revered Master, this was merely a temporary measure.

Their hearts had never truly submitted, especially since Xiao Zhuo came from Black Peak. Once he left this place in the future, these people would likely immediately try to reclaim their Soul Blood by any means necessary.

His not driving them and granting them freedom over the past few months had only made some people more convinced of this idea.

Most of these Demon Generals came from prominent Families of the Eternal Tribulation (Location/Realm) Demon Abyss, with deep backgrounds, including many with Demonic Lord Bloodlines, and even direct descendants of Devil King Families like Ye Zhenyu.

Xiao Zhuo genuinely didn't care about their Soul Blood. If they could truly leave, and were willing to exchange resources and treasures for their freedom, he would naturally have no objection.

However, at this moment, they were still his servants, bound by the Soul Blood in his grasp.

Evidently, some people could no longer hold back and failed to recognize the situation, daring to incite Ye Zhenyu to come and probe him.

Ye Zhenyu herself was probably eager to leave this troublesome place.

"So be it." Xiao Zhuo's gaze turned to the Void Realm outside the Immortal Cave. "Since the flames of war have ignited, a trip out would not be amiss."

"Rumble—!!!"

A terrifying, tearing roar suddenly came from the sky!

An immensely wide spatial rift, spanning the horizon, was violently torn open!

It was like the gaping, ferocious maw of a giant beast.

Countless dark figures, silent and orderly, like a breached black Styx, surged into that deep rift.

Xiao Zhuo's figure also stepped out of the Immortal Cave at this moment, transforming into a streak of light, shooting directly towards the underground palace.

In the depths of the secluded underground palace, Hao Duo stood with his hands behind his back, his gaze calmly fixed on the enormous light screen suspended before him.

On the light screen, the spatial rift tearing the sky, and the Corpse Clan Army surging in like a black torrent, were clearly reflected.

The towering figure of the Black Heaven Demonic Lord sat high at the edge of the rift, like a god or a demon, indifferently overlooking the army entering the rift in succession.

"Revered Master." Xiao Zhuo approached and bowed respectfully.

Hao Duo did not turn his head, his voice calm and unruffled: "You've come out of seclusion? Have you made any progress?"

"This Disciple has gained a little in the Dao of space, but still needs practical combat to temper it." Xiao Zhuo raised his head, his eyes burning as he looked at Hao Duo's back, his tone resolute, "This Disciple requests to fight! I wish to follow the Grand Army to the Blood Prison Abyss, to temper myself through blood and fire, and serve as Revered Master's vanguard!"

Hao Duo slowly turned around. Those eyes, which seemed to contain the vicissitudes of ages, fell upon Xiao Zhuo, carrying scrutiny. An invisible pressure, like an abyss or a sea, quietly permeated the air, causing Xiao Zhuo's heart to subtly tense, yet his back did not bend in the slightest.

"The Blood Prison Abyss... is the place chosen by this Venerable, and also the lair of the Blood Demon Venerable." Hao Duo's voice betrayed no emotion, yet each word carried immense weight. "On the battlefield, quasi-saint wills clash; Demonic Lords are but ants, and Devil Kings are also in danger of death. Do you truly understand the dangers within?"

"This Disciple understands!" Xiao Zhuo's answer was without any hesitation. "The Dao of cultivation is Heaven-Defying; how can one shrink back? Only through tempering by blood and fire can a true Dao foundation be forged! This Disciple willingly bears this risk, without regret!"

The underground palace fell into silence, with only the silent scene of the army surging on the light screen circulating.

Hao Duo's gaze seemed to pierce through Xiao Zhuo's body, directly into the depths of his Divine Soul, seeing his resolve.

A moment later, an extremely faint curve appeared at the corner of his mouth.

"Good." Hao Duo nodded slightly. "Since you have this intention, I permit you to go. Remember, on the battlefield, self-preservation is paramount; act within your capabilities. Your opponents are the Demonic Lords and Demon Generals of the Blood Prison Abyss, not Devil Kings, much less quasi-saints."

"Thank you, Revered Master, for your benevolence!" A great weight lifted from Xiao Zhuo's heart, and he bowed deeply.

"Go now. The rift will close in one incense stick's time." Hao Duo waved his hand, his gaze returning to the light screen. "Yue Li will arrange for you to be in the vanguard."

"Those Demon Generals..."

"Since they are your servants, their life, death, and departure are naturally for you to decide."

"Yes!"

Xiao Zhuo said no more, bowed again, and his figure transformed into a swift streak of light, soaring into the sky, shooting directly towards the all-consuming dark rift above the firmament!

At the same time, in the Blood Prison Abyss, on the Blood-Colored Plain.

The sky seemed to be congealed with turbid blood, presenting a suffocating dark red.

The air was thick with the unyielding stench of rust and the acrid smell of sulfur.

This place was the front-line gateway of the Blood Prison Abyss, originally heavily guarded by the Three Great Legions.

However, at this moment, the killing aura was so heavy it was almost suffocating.

News of the successive deaths of the three Devil Kings, Night Without Double, Zhou Kuang, and Yu Lang, had already spread, shaking the entire Blood Prison Abyss.

The remnants of the Three Great Legions and newly conscripted soldiers, under the command of their respective vice-commanders, were arrayed in strict formation in the Tianjue Mountain Range, like a bowstring stretched to its limit.

However, whether they were Demon Soldiers or Demon Generals, their faces were undeniably etched with panic and despair.

Suddenly—

"Crack—!!!"

The sky let out a terrifying, teeth-grinding groan of unbearable strain!

A pitch-black crack, darker and purer than the Blood Prison sky, like a scar torn open by immense force, suddenly bloomed directly above the Blood-Colored Plain!

Spatial fragments, like shattered black glazed glass, scattered and flew!

"They're here—!!!" In the Blood Prison camp, a vice-commander-Rank Demonic Lord Peak expert let out a desperate roar, his voice twisted and distorted by extreme fear.

Om—!!!

An indescribable, terrifying aura, filled with ultimate death, coldness, and decay, like a world-destroying black tide, roared out from within that rift, instantly sweeping across the entire Blood-Colored Plain!

The earth trembled violently, emitting a mournful wail, and space twisted and deformed like crumpled rags. The Demon Realm's already dim celestial light was completely extinguished under the crushing force of this aura!

Closely following was a roar that made even the Soul tremble!

Black! An endless, all-consuming black torrent, surged down from the abyss of that rift!