At the same time, in another part of the secret realm...
This was a barren desert stretching endlessly to the horizon. In the middle of the wasteland, a man and a woman moved forward cautiously. They wore dull black robes, the unmistakable mark of the Holy Land of Desolation.
Suddenly, both of them stopped in unison. What lay before them rendered them speechless.
A man sat cross-legged atop the corpse of a massive sand dragon. Blood still trickled from the beast's head, and the searing heat radiating from the man's body was so intense that it caused the surrounding grains of sand to float and scatter.
The man wore a cold, twisted smile.
"Well, well… long time no see, you two pieces of trash who dared to steal my brother and sister's bodies."
The young man standing opposite replied, his voice no less icy.
"Hmph. Calling us trash? You really have no sense of your place, do you?"
The woman beside him added with calm contempt.
"No need to waste your breath. Let's kill this pathetic brat, the one who got sold off by his own father."
Before her words had even fully left her lips, the air split apart.
Fwoosh!!!
A blazing red spear shot straight toward the woman's head at a speed faster than the eye could follow. But in that instant, a turtle-shell-shaped shield of light appeared from thin air, blocking the attack just in time.
Hao Yang rose slowly to his feet, his eyes burning with fury.
"Brother… Sister…" His voice trembled with pain and rage. "I still can't understand why filth like you, who stole their bodies, would be chosen as the Son of Destiny… and the Daughter of Destiny. This world is truly twisted beyond belief."
Hao Jing, the ancestor of the Hao Clan in the Upper World and the one currently occupying the body of Hao Yang's elder brother, spoke with a sneer.
"If you care about them that much, I'll send you to join them myself."
The words instantly ignited Hao Yang's fury. A blazing fist exploded from his palm, flying toward the two of them at supersonic speed. The first strike shot straight toward the chest of Hao Xiting, the female ancestor of the Hao Clan and the one possessing his elder sister's body. But Hao Jing raised the turtle-shell shield again in defense.
Crack!!
The impact landed with a thunderous roar. The force of the blow instantly cracked the shell, and the fiery wave it released surged forth, engulfing them both before they could even react.
But Hao Yang didn't stop there. He raised his hand, and a towering wall of fire erupted from the desert sands, encircling all three of them in a ring of flames, sealing off any path of escape.
Then, he drew forth a golden spear, its surface rippling like condensed sunlight.
"I'll burn you both to ash… along with my own memories."
He thrust the spear forward, and the crimson fire transformed into the form of a roaring flame dragon that surged toward Hao Jing and Hao Xiting as they were being consumed by the inferno.
Boommmmmmm!!
The explosion rocked the desert. Blazing light burst outward, sweeping across the sands. The intense heat spread for several li in every direction. Grains of sand melted into glass, the ground cracked and blistered, and the sand dragon's corpse was reduced to dust.
The flames continued to spread, devouring Hao Jing and Hao Xiting until their bodies began to dissolve. They had once believed that a simple Saint-level protective barrier would be enough to withstand the blaze, but they were wrong. The flames born of Lei Chen's power burned so fiercely that they easily corroded through their defenses.
Their condition had deteriorated beyond recognition. Their faces were disfigured, their hair and clothing incinerated to ash. Their bodies were roasted nearly to the bone. The only reason they remained alive was because of the demonic bloodline planted within them.
But before they could even take a breath, the flames on Hao Yang's long spear blazed up once more, and with no mercy, he thrust it toward them again.
At that moment, tens of thousands of flying swords tore through the air, screaming toward Hao Yang at a speed that split the wind, forcing him to leap backward instantly.
Hao Yang froze, eyes lifting to the sky. Hundreds of sword cultivators floated in formation above, their presence imposing and oppressive. Each radiated a dense killing intent, filling the atmosphere with the suffocating weight of death.
Among them… he saw a face that should never have appeared there. His father. Hao Song.
Hao Yang clenched his teeth, eyes bloodshot. When he finally spoke, his voice trembled with rage.
"You bastard…"
He stared at the man who should have been their protector, but instead had become the first blade to stab him in the back. His voice rang out, thick with fury.
"I don't understand why you would sell out my brother and sister!"
Hao Song remained silent, gazing back at Hao Yang with cold, detached eyes.
Boom!!
Hao Yang's flames erupted, spreading across the area in a fiery storm that devoured everything in an instant, reducing it all to ash.
But Hao Jing, whose body had somehow returned to perfect form, let out a low, unfazed laugh.
"Hmph. Selfish brat. For the sake of the clan, you should've surrendered those bodies to someone more worthy. Trash like you never deserved to inherit such high-grade physiques. Isn't that right?"
Hao Yang responded, voice like ice. "The clan? Who said I was ever part of the same clan as you?"
Hao Jing chuckled darkly. "Didn't your father ever tell you? If we're talking seniority… you should be calling me Ancestor…"
Before the words could finish leaving his mouth, the fire within Hao Yang's spear surged forward, piercing straight through Hao Jing's skull with precision, incinerating his body completely until not even ash remained.
Hao Xiting, seeing this, rushed forward, her palm coated in pitch-black poison. But before she could touch Hao Yang, he shifted to the side, severed her arm, and then ruthlessly slashed her body apart with a swing of his flaming spear.
Yet in the next instant, the bodies of Hao Jing and Hao Xiting, which should have already been reduced to nothing, miraculously regenerated. Swords appeared in their hands as they launched themselves at Hao Yang with murderous intent.
Thud!
Both weapons pierced cleanly through Hao Yang's body. But silence followed. Not a single drop of blood spilled.
"Why… why can't I activate the power of this divine body…" Hao Jing muttered, just before Hao Yang raised his hand and drove the flaming spear straight into his throat.
"Aaaargh! You wretched brat! I'm your ancestor... aaaagh!"
His scream was cut short as Hao Yang yanked the spear out. Hao Jing's body collapsed, his head toppling from his shoulders without an ounce of dignity.
Hao Xiting charged in with all her strength, but no matter how she attacked, Hao Yang's body didn't even flinch. There wasn't a single scratch. Her eyes widened in shock as every strike simply passed through him without leaving the slightest trace. Then, Hao Yang reached down and grabbed Hao Jing's severed head with one hand, as if it were nothing more than a discarded toy.
At the same time, several other members of the Hao Clan rushed at Hao Yang in desperation. But before they could get close—
Thud! Thud! Thud! Thud!
Dozens of flaming spears pierced through their bodies one after another. Screams of those being burned alive echoed through the sky.
"Aaaaah! It's burning!!"
Hao Yang unleashed the full extent of his power. Crimson flames erupted and engulfed the entire area, the air itself boiling from the unbearable heat.
Hao Xiting turned and shouted with all her strength.
"Retreat! Everyone retreat! These flames can burn through our demonic bloodline!"
But before the fire could consume everything in its path, a mysterious young man in the sky, who had been silently observing the massacre, raised his hand ever so slightly.
In that instant, a massive golden hand appeared in the heavens and came crashing down upon the battlefield without mercy.
Boommmmmmm!!
The crushing pressure of the divine palm split the land open. At the same time, the bodies of the Hao Clan members who should have been long dead began to rise once more from pools of blood, the demonic bloodline within them boiling violently.
Hao Xiting turned to the man in the sky who had struck down Hao Yang, a faint smile appearing on her lips.
"As expected of the strongest Son of the Gods of the Hao Clan…"
Hao Jing, who had just reformed his body from the shredded remains using his demonic blood, also let out a cold smile.
"Indeed. That boy… if he doesn't die, he might even surpass Zhou Luochen one day."
Far away on the peak of a distant mountain, Hao Yifeng stood watching the bloodshed below with emotionless eyes, as if he were merely swatting away a fly. But in the very next moment, a sharp blade appeared soundlessly in his hand, and he instinctively swung it behind him.
Thud!
A crimson spear pierced straight through his body. Blood splattered through the air, and a mocking, razor-sharp voice rang out.
"See you in the Upper World. But next time… bring your real body. Don't bother sending this trash puppet again."
The voice belonged to Hao Yang. And in the blink of an eye, flames surged up and devoured Hao Yifeng's form, reducing it to ash and revealing that the figure standing there had only ever been a wooden puppet powered by a hidden soul construct.
Hao Xiting and Hao Jing, standing in the distance, raised their heads slightly. But before either of them could take even a single step, the sharp roar of a blade piercing flesh rang out.
Thud!
A flaming sword drove straight through the backs of Hao Jing and Hao Xiting without the slightest warning. The hand gripping the blade tightly belonged to none other than Hao Song, Hao Yang's own father.
Hao Jing's eyes widened, filled with disbelief. "What… what are you doing, Hao Song?!"
"What I should've done from the beginning."
Hao Song's voice was calm and cold, but the sword in his hand burned white-hot. The flames consumed their bodies completely, leaving not even a trace of bone behind, incinerating even the blood of the demonic bloodline within them.
.
.
.
.
Inside a grand palace, Hao Yifeng opened his eyes and spoke.
"In that hidden tomb… was someone orchestrating something from behind the scenes? Why couldn't I use the full power of my body, and why did I feel weaker? More importantly, all of my senses felt dull and suppressed. Was it a trap?"
"..."
"Contact the ones in Lower World 23."
At that moment, a voice promptly responded.
"We can no longer locate Lower World 23. Its position has vanished… along with the life signals of both ancestral entities. But one thing worth noting the ancestor of the Zhou Clan… has awakened."
Hao Yifeng closed his eyes immediately. "So it was a trap after all… whatever. I won't interfere any further."