Chapter 361: Planning for the Asura Demon Sword
The vast ocean, mist locking the path.
After devouring some members of the Violet Pearl Pirate Group, Tang San and the others' sea vessel continued sailing on the seemingly boundless ocean.
Days at sea were monotonous and oppressive, with only day after day of waves and sky for company.
Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and even Tai Long, after experiencing that devouring, fell into a brief silence and some kind of internal digestion and adaptation; the atmosphere on the ship was even heavier than before.
Several days later.
This evening, the originally calm sea surface suddenly surged with a thick mist without any warning.
The mist wasn't the usual grayish-white, but a viscous gray-green carrying a faint saltiness of seawater and an indescribable aura of decay.
It came extremely fast, swallowing the entire sea vessel in the blink of an eye, with visibility plummeting to less than ten meters. The sea breeze stopped, and the waves became eerily smooth, with only the faint sound of the hull cutting through the thick mist and occasional strange noises coming from nowhere.
The compass needle spun frantically, completely failing; Tang San and the others completely lost their direction, as if trapped in a gray-green, boundless nightmare.
This mist lasted for a whole night.
Not until before dawn the next day did it begin to dissipate without warning, just as it had appeared.
When the first ray of ghastly white morning light struggled to penetrate the remaining thin mist and reflect on the sea, Tang San, who had stood at the bow all night without sleep, alert and on guard, had his pupils suddenly contract.
Ahead, in the center of the sea area where the mist had cleared.
The outline of an island emerged like a phantom.
This island was different from any land seen before.
It was entirely shrouded in a layer of miserable gray haze that never dissipated; the island was rocky, and the color was an unhealthy dark brownish-black.
What made one's skin crawl the most was that at the edge of the island, the beach was not golden or white, but a pale bone-white, and one could vaguely see many ghastly white skeletons of various sizes half-buried in the sand or scattered on the black reefs!
In the air, there seemed to be a faint, vague scent mixed with sea salt and the stench of corpses wafting over.
"San-ge! Boss Dai! Look quickly!"
Ma Hongjun rubbed his bloodshot eyes and pointed at the eerie island that appeared abruptly, his voice carrying suspicion and a hint of inexplicable excitement.
"There's an island there! Could it be... the Sea God Island we're looking for?!"
Dai Mubai and Tai Long also gathered at the bow upon hearing this, looking toward the island.
Dai Mubai's brow furrowed, golden light flickering in his evil eyes; he clearly also felt something was wrong.
Tang San did not answer immediately; purple light rose in his eyes as he operated the Purple Demon Eye to its full extent, his gaze penetrating the thin gray haze, trying to observe the details of the island.
Suddenly, he saw more clearly.
The island's outline was rugged and hideous, vegetation was sparse, and the only trees were twisted and withered, like ghosts with bared fangs and brandished claws. The beach and near-shore reef areas were indeed littered with various skeletons—some humanoid, but more were the skeletons of various giant sea beasts or strange creatures, some even unimaginably huge, half-buried in the sand, showing only the bleached white parts.
The entire island radiated an ominous aura.
It seemed... incompatible with the image of Sea God Island described by Master, which, though dangerous, was full of life, inhabited by Sea Soul Masters, and might even contain a holy Legacy.
"It doesn't look like it..." Tang San murmured to himself, his brow furrowed into a knot as he said deeply, "Sea God Island... shouldn't be like this."
But right now, they were completely lost in the thick mist, the sea charts were useless, and the compass had failed; this island was the only visible land on the vast ocean.
Whether it was Sea God Island or not, they had to get closer to find supplies, determine their position, or... at least figure out what kind of ghostly place this was.
After pondering for a moment, a flash of determination crossed Tang San's eyes, and he said in a steady voice:
"This island is very eerie; it doesn't look like a normal island, let alone Sea God Island."
"But we have no choice now; we must find a place to resupply and determine our position. Let's approach and observe from the near sea first; do not venture deep rashly. Stay alert and be ready to fight at any time."
"Yes!" Hearing this, Dai Mubai, Ma Hongjun, and Tai Long responded in unison, the three of them focusing their spirits, their Soul Power held back but ready.
In the next second, the sea vessel adjusted its direction, sails billowing, and slowly accelerated toward the ominous isolated island surrounded by skeletons and shrouded in gray haze.
But the closer they got, the more obvious that cold, deathly aura that seemed capable of freezing the Soul became; seabirds stayed far away from this area, and even the color of the seawater seemed to have turned darker.
Meanwhile, in the Slaughter City, at the Hell Slaughter Arena.
"Clang—!"
As the last opponent was pierced through the chest by the golden dragon spear and slumped to the ground with an expression of unbelievable horror, under Tang Chuan's feet was the ninety-ninth... no, the hundredth corpse.
The entire Hell Slaughter Arena first fell into a brief deathly silence.
Then, a mountain-shaking, tsunami-like roar that was almost frenzied erupted:
"Death God! Death God! Death God—!!!"
The sound waves almost flipped over this gladiatorial arena built of sin and blood.
In just over a month.
This blue-haired youth wearing a ghost god mask had achieved a terrifying record of a hundred consecutive victories in an unstoppable, almost crushing manner, earning the qualification to challenge the Hell Road.
Almost at the same time Tang Chuan completed his hundredth victory, at the entrance on the other side of the Hell Slaughter Arena, a similarly blood-stained but standing figure slowly walked out—it was Hu Liena.
Her short golden hair had become somewhat dark red, and her eyes were colder and sharper than before, yet they also carried a trace of fatigue and restlessness from being soaked in Killing Intent that could not be completely hidden.
Just now, Hu Liena had also finally, with difficulty, secured her hundredth victory.
The two of them exchanged glances across the ground covered in corpses and the soaring smell of blood.
The moment Hu Liena saw Tang Chuan, a trace of alarm and complexity uncontrollably flashed deep in her eyes, but it was quickly forced down, and her aura seemed to become a bit more stable.
"Congratulations."
At that moment, a low, hoarse, yet sharp eerie voice that seemed capable of piercing eardrums surged from all directions and every corner like a cold tide, instantly drowning out the clamor of the entire venue.
The atmosphere inside the Hell Slaughter Arena was ignited to its Peak at this moment.
Because in mid-air, a blood-red figure was slowly descending from the shadows of the sky like a thick, dripping drop of blood.
"Slaughter King! Slaughter King! Slaughter King—!!!"
Even more fanatical shouts rang out; those Fallen Ones seemed to have seen a true deity, screaming until their voices were hoarse, acting as if they were mad, not caring even if they tore their throats.
Hearing this, Tang Chuan's heart tightened, and his gaze shot like lightning toward that scarlet figure.
It was an extremely tall man, his entire body wrapped in a scarlet cloak so large it was almost exaggerated; the cloak moved without wind, its edges seemingly flowing with viscous blood-light.
His face was a sickly pale, forming a jarring contrast with the scarlet of the cloak; most Soul-stirring were his pair of completely blood-red eyes, like two pools of congealed blood—deep, violent, yet carrying a cold indifference as if looking down at ants.
The Slaughter King's body descended slowly from the air, as if not constrained by gravity.
Finally, he suspended in mid-air, stopping about five meters from the ground. Like a high-and-mighty Divinity, he looked down at Tang Chuan below, and that low, sharp voice rang out again.
"Welcome, Hell Messenger."
Hu Liena took a deep breath, suppressing her churning blood and Killing Intent, and walked into the center of the arena with slightly heavy steps, standing about ten meters away from Tang Chuan.
When she stood still and her gaze crossed Tang Chuan's again, her own aura, which had become somewhat disordered due to a hundred battles of slaughter, seemed to stabilize a bit more.
The Slaughter King's gaze slowly swept over the frenzied Fallen Ones in the surrounding stands, and the scarlet cloak behind him billowed slightly.
"I am very pleased to witness the birth of two more experts of the Slaughter Arena today. Death God, Hell Messenger. They have made you tremble with their powerful strength and terrifying Killing Intent, have they not? My subjects."
"Yes—! Yes—! Yes—!"
The response was an even more uniform, almost hysterical, fanatical roar.
The Slaughter King seemed to possess a unique magic that could easily ignite the deepest worship and fear in the hearts of these Fallen Ones.
His nostrils twitching slightly, Tang Chuan smelled a faint, sweet, and fishy scent from the Slaughter King, which made one feel a bit groggy and intoxicated.
But how stable his mental power was; this influence could be said to be negligible.
Just then, the Slaughter King lowered his head, those blood-red eyes falling on Tang Chuan and Hu Liena like searchlights, and said indifferently:
"Death God, Hell Messenger. Thank you for letting me feel the existence of passion again. A hundred victories, good, very good. To commend your outstanding achievements, I have decided... to exceptionally grant you the title of Slaughter God."
As soon as these words were spoken, the whole place was in an uproar, followed by even more frantic cheers.
The Slaughter King continued, his voice full of temptation: "To commend your achievements, I have decided to exceptionally grant you the title of Slaughter God. From now on, you can both enter and leave the Slaughter City at will, and be ceremoniously appointed as Guest Elders of the Slaughter City under me..."
"No need to walk the Hell Road?"
Hearing this, Tang Chuan looked at Hu Liena with slight surprise, only to find that Hu Liena was also looking at him; at this moment, the two of them just exchanged a look and understood the Slaughter King's intention.
Walking the Hell Road was undoubtedly extremely dangerous.
But behind the danger, there was the existence of the huge temptation of the Slaughter God Domain.
The Slaughter King before them clearly did not want them to obtain the Slaughter God Domain; after all, once someone obtained the Slaughter God Domain, they would be able to use Spirit Abilities inside this Slaughter City.
The more people who could use Spirit Abilities in this Slaughter City, the greater the threat to the Slaughter King would naturally be; he naturally did not want more people to obtain the Slaughter God Domain.
Hu Liena bowed slightly and spoke first:
"Great Slaughter King, thank you for your kindness. However, the rules of the Slaughter City for thousands of years cannot be broken because of the two of us. I, the Hell Messenger, am willing to pass the trial of the Hell Road and then obtain your true reward by my own strength. I hope to rely on my own strength to walk out of here and become... a true Slaughter God."
Hearing this, a red light flashed through the Slaughter King's eyes, seemingly carrying a trace of anger, but he did not erupt immediately, instead turning his gaze to the silent Tang Chuan.
Tang Chuan smiled indifferently and said:
"The reason I came here was to walk that Hell Road."
"Slaughter King, I appreciate your kindness. Please open the entrance to the Hell Road. I am willing to pass this trial together with the Hell Messenger."
He didn't come here just to obtain the Slaughter God Domain; his true purpose was to take the Asura Demon Sword from the Slaughter King's hand.
To confront the Slaughter King, obtaining the Slaughter God Domain was necessary.
But he also had to find a way to lure this guy to the outside world.
After more than a month of understanding the Slaughter City, Tang Chuan had already thought of a way to force the Slaughter King to leave the Slaughter City.
The Fallen Ones here, including the Slaughter King, needed to drink bloody mary almost every day, and the so-called bloody mary was nothing more than the blood of these Fallen Ones.
The blood of the Fallen Ones who died tragically in the Hell Slaughter Arena every day all gathered under the competition stage, which was exactly the entrance to the Hell Road.
As long as he threw some slow-acting poison into that blood pool when entering the Hell Road later, causing all the Fallen Ones in the entire Slaughter City to slowly die off. After a few months, the Slaughter King would naturally leave the Slaughter City to find them, and at that time, he could find a way to take the Asura Demon Sword from his hands.
In the original work, Tang San poisoned and blew up the Slaughter City; here, he was just poisoning the people to death, so that the entire Slaughter City could no longer produce bloody mary!
"In that case, I shall... open the Hell Road for you."
"I hope you have good luck."
Seeing that Tang Chuan and Hu Liena insisted on challenging the Hell Road, the Slaughter King also said no more and slowly raised his hands; those hands were pale to the point of being almost transparent, yet the fingertips were surrounded by viscous blood-light.
Suddenly, an extremely evil, cold, dark red ripple that seemed capable of freezing the Soul violently spread out with the Slaughter King's body as the center!
This ripple was silent, like mercury spreading on the ground, its speed incredibly fast, covering every corner of the entire Hell Slaughter Arena in almost just a few blinks!
"Ugh..."
"Ah!"
"King... why..."
In the stands, those Fallen Ones who were still shouting fanatically and worshiping the Slaughter King just a second ago had the expressions on their faces freeze instantly, turning from frenzy to extreme horror and confusion.
They didn't even have time to make any reaction before their bodies, at the moment that dark red ripple passed, were like clay dolls crushed by an invisible giant hand, silently slumping and dissolving!
No screams, no explosions.
Only a hair-raising sizzling sound, like melting snow.
Thousands of Fallen Ones, regardless of their strength or where they were in the stands, under the Slaughter King's indiscriminate baptism, all turned into pools of dark red, viscous blood emitting a thick, sweet, fishy scent! Their clothes, bones, and even their Souls seemed to be completely refined in this eerie ripple, merging into that blood.
In just a few breaths.
The Hell Slaughter Arena, which had been bustling with people and frenzied noise just now, became deathly silent; the stands were empty, with only the river of blood flowing and gathering rapidly on the ground, making one want to vomit.
Immediately after, these bloods refined from the lives and flesh of thousands of Fallen Ones seemed to be pulled by an invisible force and began to gather frantically toward the very center of the arena!
The blood flowed like a dragon, making a gurgling, terrifying sound.
In the next second, a huge bat head pattern emitting a soaring evil aura and the smell of blood was quickly outlined, formed, and deepened on the ground with blood as ink!
In the center of the pattern, the blood tumbled as if boiling and sank down, instantly forming a dark red blood pool more than ten meters in diameter, bottomless, and constantly bubbling with blood!
Under the devouring of that blood-red blood pool, Tang Chuan felt the ground beneath him vanish, and everything around him became illusory; all senses had been completely sealed at this moment.
Also at this time, a green pill shot out from his fingertip, successfully entering that blood pool and then rapidly dissolving and spreading.
Loving Book So Far Check Out 80+ Advanced Chapters At Pa Treon:
patreon.com/FicTonic1