A deep red mist erupted around the Slaughter King as he confronted Bibidong.
Though unable to fully utilize Tang Chen's power, the immense energy from his ninety-ninth level was not the least bit inferior to Bibidong's.
The two auras clashed in the air, and Bibidong's gaze sharpened.
Under normal circumstances, she might have hesitated to provoke conflict, but now her mind was occupied solely with her disciple's safety.
After a long while, just as their battle was about to erupt, the Slaughter King's aura unexpectedly weakened first.
The Slaughter King felt as if he had developed a weakness.
And this weakness was none other than Slaughter City itself.
Everything here was now thriving. If he were to engage in battle with his opponent, it would likely destroy this place.
"Considering you are a God of Slaughter, I'll make an exception just this once." Though his aura had weakened, his words remained harsh.
The Slaughter Domain was an accumulation of momentum a Soul Master gained through continuous slaughter, refined into a Domain via the Road to Hell. He could still open the gate, though it would require consuming some offerings.
But Slaughter City still had some reserves left.
"Bring a hundred people from the outer city," the Slaughter King signaled to his envoy.
On the latter half of the Road to Hell.
Huliena wandered through the red mist, alternating between tears and laughter.
She had long lost track of how long she had been here.
Her food had run out ages ago. If not for a section of the path littered with bat corpses and an endless supply of blood, she likely wouldn't have survived this long.
So this was the Road to Hell? The name was quite fitting.
Tears streamed down Huliena's face as a strange smile twisted her lips.
The red mist had felt unbearable when she first entered, but now she had grown somewhat accustomed to it.
She looked up toward the slanted opening above.
Huliena could sense that was the exit of the Road to Hell.
But the path ahead was broken off. No matter what method she tried, she couldn't reach that height.
"La la... la..."
Huliena hummed softly, trying her best to maintain a cheerful demeanor as she casually found a spot and began processing a bat from her Soul Guiding Device.
"Nana..."
Suddenly, a voice so familiar it couldn't be more so reached Huliena's ears.
But Huliena acted as if she hadn't heard it, continuing to focus on her task.
Tap tap—
With crisp footsteps, Bibidong stopped before Huliena. Seeing her current state, Bibidong's heart clenched: "Nana, I've come to take you home."
Huliena glanced up briefly. She felt today's hallucination seemed somewhat different.
But here, she saw her Teacher several times daily and had grown somewhat used to it.
Suddenly.
A warm hand gently caressed her cheek: "Nana, I've come to take you home."
Huliena silently watched Bibidong. After a long while, tears began to flow without warning. A moment later, faint sobs echoed through the empty Road to Hell.
"Teacher, are you real?"
The night sky was dotted with stars, cold and desolate at high altitude as a narrow streak of light swiftly passed through.
This was Li Xun's first time standing on Sword Douluo's Flying Sword in six years.
Though he still served as a windbreak, he now felt no fear of the cold.
"Sword Grandpa, we can stop here."
The streak of light halted abruptly, slowly descending to the ground.
They were still some distance from Gengxin City, but it was sufficient for Li Xun—any closer would risk exposure.
His spiritual power surged forth, converging into a focused beam that probed ahead.
The pitch-black night became as clear as daylight in Li Xun's mind, revealing even the subtle movements of soldiers on the city walls.
"Nothing?"
Li Xun sensed something amiss. He hadn't detected any trace of the Sky Blue Bull Python, nor had he observed any other Soul Beasts.
"Could they be inside the city?" The thought flickered briefly before he dismissed it.
These Soul Beasts were massive, with the largest, the Sky Blue Bull Python, already spanning a hundred meters.
Though humans, as predators, didn't harbor intense malice toward Soul Beasts, the reverse wasn't true.
After millennia of being hunted for their Spirit Rings, these Soul Beasts—especially those who hadn't chosen to take human form—held a deep-seated resentment toward humans, ingrained if not genetic, and certainly not inclined toward immediate camaraderie.
Li Xun didn't doubt the intelligence's source, as Manager Wu wouldn't relay such information without cause.
Sword Douluo, noticing Li Xun's prolonged silence, grasped the situation instantly. "Xiao Xun, could it be that the Soul Beasts have only just begun cooperating with Star Luo but haven't yet acted?"
"Possibly, but we can't rely solely on that assumption. If we let our guard down and the Soul Beasts launch a surprise attack, we could suffer significant losses."
Li Xun ascended into the air, initially intending to move closer to Gengxin City when a sudden insight struck him. He swiftly shifted his gaze to the surroundings.
With the Sky Blue Bull Python's immense size, hiding it within the city would inevitably lead to structural damage during combat—the wilderness was undoubtedly more suited for its maneuvers.
"Skydream, time to work."
With the external aid, Li Xun's spiritual power abruptly swelled, flooding outward like a tidal wave.
In moments, Li Xun detected traces of massive creatures moving near a mine southwest of Gengxin City.
As the Steel Capital, Gengxin City was surrounded by numerous mineral veins.
Though mined, technological limitations of the era had spared the area from large-scale devastation.
Despite the many mine entrances dotting the hills, vegetation thrived, painting a lush green vista from above.
One mine entrance, concealed by branches, stood out distinctly from the others.
Not only was it vast, but it also bore signs of recent damage.
Without Li Xun's spiritual probing, it would have easily gone unnoticed.
Withdrawing excess spiritual energy, he focused it to a point. "Skydream, can you mask the fluctuations of the spiritual power?"
"Call me big brother first."
Skydream Iceworm's lazy voice echoed in Li Xun's mind. "Proceed as you wish; I'll assist from the side."
Li Xun's spiritual power crept into the mine, soon revealing a creature with an ox-like face and twin horns in his consciousness.
Probing deeper, he found only the Sky Blue Bull Python inside.
"Found it." After scanning the surrounding mines with his spiritual power, Li Xun relaxed inwardly.
As long as it wasn't a full-scale mobilization by the Soul Beasts of the Star Dou Great Forest, things were manageable.
"Quite a strategic spot for an ambush."
After a brief survey of the terrain, Li Xun understood, roughly deducing the intentions of the Clear Sky Sect and the Sky Blue Bull Python.
The mine's elevated position, shielded by trees and situated laterally to Gengxin City's gates, offered a tactical advantage.
If Heavenly Dou and Star Luo clashed, a sudden assault by the Sky Blue Bull Python could yield unexpected results.
The Clear Sky Sect had likely anticipated that Heavenly Dou might obtain intelligence on the Sky Blue Bull Python, hence this maneuver.
One is for hidden deterrence, the other is for practicality.
This wasn't the first time Li Xun had crossed paths with the Sky Blue Bull Python. Both times he had absorbed Spirit Rings, it had been nearby.
Since it loved to be part of the action so much, this time, he'd let it experience it firsthand.
It would also serve to disrupt the Clear Sky Sect's upcoming plans.
As for whether this move would provoke retaliation from Soul Beasts, Li Xun felt that a mere gatekeeper of the Star Dou Great Forest wasn't significant enough to cause trouble.
Even if something did happen, as a subordinate branch of the Spirit Hall, Qiandao Liu and Bibidong ought to take responsibility and shield him from the fallout.
It just so happened that they had been quite idle lately.
Especially Qiandao Liu—Li Xun had never seen him in action. It felt like a waste not to make use of such a master, reserving him only for a Sacrifice.
Li Xun already knew that Qian Renxue was undergoing a God Trial, but he wasn't sure which stage she had reached.
As for Bibidong, she was more enigmatic. Although Li Xun was curious to learn more, he hadn't reached that level yet.
However, all these limitations were due to his current strength. Once he improved his power, everything would fall into place.
(End of Chapter)