Charge! Kill Ye Qing!

Immediately after.

"Report! Traces left by Ye Qing have been discovered near a long, continuous deep trench south of the Crimson Mountains!"

"Report!..."

Message after message arrived in quick succession, all converging into Langya Xuan's hands.

Langya Xuan looked at the red dots marked on the map, his eyes growing increasingly bright.

He had already seen Ye Qing's general trajectory of movement!

And he decided to intercept Ye Qing in a forest ahead of his route!

Then, by gathering everyone's strength,

He would surely be able to slay Ye Qing!

"Hmph! My momentum is established; you can just wait for death..."

Langya Xuan let out a cold snort, then waved his hand and issued the command:

"Everyone, attack!"

"Surround and kill Ye Qing!"

...Meanwhile.

Deep within the Nether Abyss, in the center of a vast lake.

Ye Qing's figure landed on a giant rock on an island in the middle of the lake, and he came to a halt.

He frowned slightly and glanced back in the direction he had come from.

Along the way, he had actually sensed for a long time that there seemed to be some prying eyes faintly lurking around him.

However, since these people were all prodigies from the Holy Academy's entrance trial, he merely treated them as passersby.

He didn't bother to pay them any mind.

Or rather, there was simply no need to pay them any mind.

With his speed, as soon as he moved, those people couldn't even touch his shadow and could only eat his dust.

But now.

The reason he stopped was because he sensed a truly powerful Aura!

That Aura was not far behind him.

It carried a thick, nauseating scent of blood and evil, as well as an undisguised, bone-chilling killing intent!

It was coming straight for him!

"So it's finally here..."

Ye Qing gazed into the distance, his eyes shifting slightly.

If he hadn't guessed wrong,

The newcomer must be Lady White Bone's father, the Nether King who Yin Muyu mentioned was infinitely close to the Void Return Realm—Great Lord Xuan Gu!

"It's just as Yin Muyu said: hit the daughter and the father comes. This Nether King really has come to hunt me down."

Ye Qing felt it was somewhat amusing.

The Evil Nether in this Nether Abyss were quite particular; the whole family sought to be together in everything.

Fine then, he would send him on his way!

And just then.

Rumble!

The originally calm lake surface suddenly churned violently, kicking up towering waves!

An overwhelming, almost tangible terrifying Evil Qi swept down from above like a black storm!

In the sky, a cold-eyed middle-aged man wearing a coat made of human skin stepped through the air.

He stared fixedly at Ye Qing, his eyes blood-red.

His gaze looked as if it wanted to devour someone!

This person was indeed a Nether King, Great Lord Xuan Gu!

He recalled that on the eve of his precious grandson Little Bone Lord's hundred-day 'grasping' ceremony,

He had specially made a trip to the Central Region to capture many tender-skinned humans to bring back, intending to give them to his grandson as 'teething sticks' and 'snacks'.

As a result, when he rushed excitedly to the White Bone Manor to attend the banquet,

He discovered that the entire White Bone Manor had actually been reduced to ruins!

And his daughter, Lady White Bone, and that recently born grandson, Little Bone Lord, in whom he had placed high hopes,

Had... all died!

Not even a complete corpse was left behind!

At that moment, Great Lord Xuan Gu was so angry he almost exploded on the spot!

In a fit of rage, he crushed all the humans he had brought into meat paste to vent his anger.

Afterward, he did not hesitate to deplete his cultivation to use a secret method to track the killer's Aura.

But because Ye Qing had been staying within the Yin Clan Territory and the Legacy Tower, which were protected by grand formations, his search had yielded no results.

Until recently, when Ye Qing stepped out of the Yin Clan Territory and his Aura leaked.

Only then did he finally sense Ye Qing's location, and thus he had been frantically hunting him down all the way!

Now.

Looking at the enemy who had killed his daughter and destroyed his grandson before his eyes,

The fury in Great Lord Xuan Gu's heart could no longer be suppressed!

"Die!!!"

Without any nonsense.

Great Lord Xuan Gu's figure flickered, crossing space in an instant like a ghost, appearing before Ye Qing with a 'whoosh'!

This speed was so fast it simply transcended common sense!

At the same time, he extended his hands, and long, pitch-black, sharp nails popped out from his ten fingers, glinting with a cold light.

They emitted a heart-palpitating Aura!

"Rip!"

He clawed fiercely toward Ye Qing's head!

This claw contained Great Lord Xuan Gu's profound insight into combat methods, as well as the endless hatred in his chest.

He swore to crush Ye Qing's skull and then carve Ye Qing piece by piece into countless bits of shredded meat.

Only then would the hatred in his heart be appeased!

However.

Facing this claw, Ye Qing's expression remained calm.

He neither dodged nor panicked; he simply raised his right hand.

And then.

Casually, he slapped out!

"Boom!!!"

An explosion like a clap of thunder suddenly erupted in the air above the island!

Immediately after.

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

A series of tooth-aching bone-cracking sounds rang out.

The aggressive Great Lord Xuan Gu, who looked as if he would tear everything apart,

Had originally looked on with disdain, not taking Ye Qing's slap seriously at all; he planned to first tear off Ye Qing's arm and then crush his skull!

But after colliding with Ye Qing's slap,

His pitch-black, sharp nails, along with his fingers, actually snapped off at the root!

Immediately, his entire person was like being hit head-on by a high-speed Flying Sword, and his face deformed instantly.

His facial features were all twisted together!

"Pfft—!"

He sprayed wild mouthfuls of blood mixed with broken teeth.

He flew backward at a speed even faster than when he had come!

Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!

In mid-air, the five fifth-rank Treasure Artifacts he wore for protection exploded one after another!

These were autonomous body-protectors that glowed before shattering, turning into shields to cancel out Ye Qing's power layer by layer.

But even so,

Great Lord Xuan Gu was still slapped thousands of feet away, finally smashing heavily into the lake water.

Stirring up ten thousand feet of spray!

If those five Treasure Artifacts hadn't blocked for him at the critical moment and canceled out much of the power of Ye Qing's slap,

From that strike just now,

Great Lord Xuan Gu would have certainly died!

"Splash!"

The lake water churned.

Great Lord Xuan Gu rushed out of the water in a wretched state, once again hovering in the air.

At this moment, his hair was disheveled, half of his face was highly swollen, and blood still hung from the corner of his mouth.

Where was there even a hint of Nether King majesty left?

Of course, at this moment, Great Lord Xuan Gu couldn't care about that.

He stared at Ye Qing, his eyes filled with shock and his mind with horror!

"This... how is this possible?!"

Stormy waves had already risen in Great Lord Xuan Gu's heart.

He had thought that as a dignified expert who was infinitely close to the Void Return Realm, crushing a junior at the Nascent Soul Stage to death,

Would be as simple as crushing an insect.

But... who could have imagined? This ant before him, who appeared to be only at the Nascent Soul Realm,

Actually possessed such startling strength!

The power of that slap was simply terrifying to the extreme!

"Good, good, good!"

Great Lord Xuan Gu wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth, his eyes venomous as he said hatefully:

"No wonder my daughter and grandson died miserably at your hands!"

"So you were relying on your power to bully others!"

"Know that my grandson had only been born into this world for a mere hundred days! He was still a child!"

"You are actually so malicious that you could lay such a heavy hand on him?!"

Hearing this,

Ye Qing was slightly taken aback, his eyebrows twitching.

That Little Bone Lord wasn't actually killed by him, but was stabbed to death by Yin Muyu.

But... none of that mattered anymore.

Since he was going to kill Great Lord Xuan Gu anyway, it didn't matter whose head the debt was counted on.

Only... "Born for less than a hundred days?"

"An ignorant child?"

Ye Qing was momentarily speechless.

"You make it sound as if I'm very cruel."

"That so-called Little Bone Lord had already developed intelligence long ago, and he was covered in blood-evil Aura; he clearly hadn't eaten few humans or Nether Race members."

"Such a naturally evil Devil Head deserves to die!"

Of course, Ye Qing also didn't bother to waste more words with this old thing.

There was no need.

"Enough nonsense."

Ye Qing spoke indifferently, raising his right hand and pointing his fingers like a sword.

"Just now you had Treasure Artifacts protecting your body, allowing you to luckily pick back your dog life."

"But... only this once!"

"Now, it's time for you to go!"

As his voice fell,

A sharp and matchless Sword Intent instantly rose from Ye Qing's body, locking onto Great Lord Xuan Gu!

Feeling that terrifying Sword Intent,

Great Lord Xuan Gu's face changed drastically, and a look of wariness appeared in his eyes!

He knew that if he didn't fight for his life, he might really die here today!

"You forced me!"

Thinking of this, Great Lord Xuan Gu grit his teeth fiercely, a look of madness flashing in his eyes.

"Roar—!"

He let out a roar.

Then, he actually raised his right hand abruptly and hammered it fiercely against his own chest!

"Pfft!"

A large mouthful of essence blood sprayed out!

Immediately after, his hands formed seals.

And he actually directly tore open his own chest, squeezing his heart to draw out the heart's blood!

"Burn my essence blood! Sacrifice my Nether Body!"

"Nether Power descend! Karmic Obstruction without end!"

Following Great Lord Xuan Gu's roar,

The essence blood all over his body began to burn wildly, turning into waves of violent energy.

Forcing open a certain shackle within his body!

Boom!!!

A terrifying Aura, even more powerful than before, suddenly erupted!

With the support of this power,

Great Lord Xuan Gu's Realm actually forced itself up by half a step from being infinitely close to the Void Return Realm in a short time!

It was this half-step that allowed him to reach a level almost identical to the true Void Return Realm!

"To kill you! This King will not hesitate to deplete a thousand years of Lifespan!"

"Today! You must die!!!"

Great Lord Xuan Gu laughed loudly.

Between heaven and earth, Evil Qi soared to the skies! The terrifying Aura permeated like a tangible substance!

...Meanwhile.

In a forest several hundred miles away from the island.

Langya Xuan was leading his followers, as well as that vast, numerous crowd of prodigies.

Following the traces left by Ye Qing, they had tracked him all the way here.

They were trying to block Ye Qing's path ahead.

However, upon arriving here, they looked further back, but found no sign of Ye Qing.

Could Ye Qing's escape speed actually be this fast?

So now, what should they do? Where should they find Ye Qing?

Just as everyone was looking around in confusion,

Suddenly.

A sharp-eyed Prodigy gazed into the distance, and his eyes suddenly lit up. Pointing over there, he shouted loudly:

"Look! Over there!"

"There's a large lake over there! In the direction of the lake's center, extremely violent battle fluctuations seem to have erupted!"

"Perhaps Ye Qing encountered a powerful Evil Nether and is fighting it!"

Upon hearing this,

Langya Xuan's eyes lit up; he was simply overjoyed.

"Heaven is helping me!"

"As the saying goes, strike while he's down! Everyone, now is the perfect opportunity to kill him!"

He immediately waved his hand and gave the order loudly:

"Everyone, hear my command! Advance at full speed!"

In order to seize the initiative, he even went so far as to use a precious spirit talisman to gain a group acceleration effect.

Buzz!

A spiritual light enveloped the scene, and everyone's speed instantly soared!

They rushed toward the direction of the island like a bolt of lightning.

And while they were traveling, everyone's face was brimming with excitement.

Each one was full of enthusiasm, rubbing their hands together, wishing they could fly in front of Ye Qing immediately.

In their view, there was only one Ye Qing.

And with so many of them here, there simply wouldn't be enough of him to go around!

"I must charge to the very front later!"

"As long as I snatch the chance for the killing blow and take the primary credit for slaying Ye Qing..."

"Then the rewards given by the three Supreme Aristocratic Families will surely be very generous!"

"At that time, won't I just take off directly!"

The more everyone thought about it, the more excited they became.

They felt wonderful in their hearts.

On the island, fierce winds raged, and towering waves surged.

The crimson Evil Qi filling the sky was like a tangible storm, tightly enveloping the entire island.

The outside world simply couldn't see the specific battle situation inside.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

From the outside, one could only hear terrifying impact sounds like muffled thunder constantly coming from the center of the storm.

It made people's hearts leap in fear.

Langya Xuan led the massive Alliance of Prodigies to the edge of the storm.

Then they were somewhat dazed.

"This..."

Everyone looked at each other, and for a moment, they were somewhat hesitant to proceed.

That crimson Evil Qi was too thick.

It carried a pungent smell of blood, and even from a distance, it could make one's skin feel a stinging pain and one's Divine Soul feel nauseated.

"Everyone!"

A follower of the Langya Clan, seeing this, immediately shouted loudly.

"The thickness of this Evil Qi also proves that the battle inside is extremely intense!"

"Could it be that you are afraid now?! With so many of us, are we still afraid of this little bit of Evil Qi?"

"Charge in! Regardless of anything else, kill Ye Qing first! Seize the qingyun token!"

Under this person's encouragement,

A look of confidence suddenly flashed in the eyes of the originally hesitant crowd.

That's right!

They had strength in numbers, and they also had a supreme Prodigy like Langya Xuan presiding over them.

Would they still be afraid of that Ye Qing?

Since that Ye Qing could fight this Evil Nether, could they not also join in?

"Charge!"

"Kill our way in!"

Everyone roared, and one after another, they activated their body-protecting spiritual lights.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

All of them plunged headlong into that crimson storm!

However.

When they truly charged into the center of the storm and saw the scene before them,

Everyone was like someone who had been hit with a freezing spell, instantly freezing in place!

Horror!

Extreme horror!

Although they had sensed long ago that Ye Qing was fighting a powerful Evil Nether,

Because of the obstruction of the Evil Qi storm before, they hadn't sensed it clearly.

And now, at close range,

They finally clearly felt just how terrifying the Aura swirling around Great Lord Xuan Gu was!

That overwhelming Evil Qi, that pressure that seemed as if it would destroy heaven and earth... even just a trace of the aftermath that escaped made these prodigies feel difficulty breathing and their Souls tremble!

"This... this Aura..."

"I feel it's far stronger than the Ninth Layer of Soul Transformation Stage... it's even... infinitely close to the Void Return Realm, right?!"

Someone's face was pale, their voice trembling.

And.

What made them feel even more terrified and incredulous was the next scene!

They saw that Great Lord Xuan Gu, whose Aura was terrifyingly supreme and who seemed like a demon god descended to earth,

At this moment,

Was actually being slapped back and forth by Ye Qing like a spinning top!