Chapter 650: Escape

Chapter 650 -646: Escape

“Now it’s your turn!”

Hong Yu gasped for breath. Wielding that kilometer-long mountain range had taken a heavy toll on his strength.

Even now, his strength had barely recovered, but his fighting spirit soared. After being suppressed for so long, the pent-up frustration in his heart was finally starting to erupt!

‘Didn’t every single one of them want to snatch my Treasures?’

‘Then I’ll just have to kill them all, one by one!’

‘I’ll kill you until your courage shatters!’

‘I’ll make it so the mere sight of me forces you to either grovel or flee in terror. I’ll even charge into the Divine City itself and slaughter the Lord of Divine City you all worship like a deity, right in the skies above!’

These were the thoughts raging through Hong Yu’s mind.

He had always been too low-key—so much so that everyone thought he was an easy target. The moment they heard he possessed a great Treasure, they swarmed him, eager to kill him and take it for themselves.

In the past, he hadn’t been strong enough and could only take it lying down.

But things were different now!

Hong Yu already possessed the power to fight a Divine King. Once he found the Ten Thousand Year-old Polygonum multiflorum and broke through to the Primordial Spirit Realm…

At that point…

Even if the Lord of Divine City and the Clan Leaders of the Eight Great Battle Clans came for him personally, what would there be to fear?

As if sensing the surging battlelust within Hong Yu, the Fire-Devouring King’s expression flickered erratically.

His face went from pale to flushed, shifting between shades of green and red.

After a long moment, he took a deep breath. “Hong Yu, I admit that everyone underestimated you! Heh, perhaps at this point, no one can suppress you unless the Lord of Divine City himself makes a move! Within the True Dragon Battlefield, you can be considered a true powerhouse. However…”

The Fire-Devouring King’s gaze sharpened.

He knew that compromising with Hong Yu was useless.

The animosity between them was as irreconcilable as fire and water!

Just as he desperately longed to kill Hong Yu, he knew Hong Yu was constantly plotting his death as well.

And even how to annihilate the Eastern Divine City!

The Fire-Devouring King straightened his battle robe. A fierce wind kicked up, making his robes flap loudly. His long hair danced, carrying with it a faint scent of flames. He spoke in a slow, deliberate tone, “The power of the Lord of Divine City is far beyond what you can imagine. Even ten of you would be no match for him. But I must tell you…”

The Fire-Devouring King took another deep breath and fell silent for a long moment.

Hong Yu narrowed his eyes and waited quietly, as if listening to a dead man’s last words.

This blatant indifference infuriated the Fire-Devouring King.

His gaze was downcast. Suddenly, he snapped his head up. A black sphere had appeared in his hand. The Fire-Devouring King’s mouth split into a sinister grin as he sneered at Hong Yu, “You can’t possibly kill me! Hahaha…”

‘This is bad!’

Hong Yu’s expression changed.

The Fire-Devouring King had already crushed the black sphere in his hand, and a jet-black light burst forth from it.

The terrifying black light blotted out the sky.

The space in front of the Fire-Devouring King began to vibrate violently. Then, a spatial tunnel was torn open out of thin air.

The Fire-Devouring King stepped inside, his sinister voice echoing out, “The next time we meet will be the day of your death!”

Seeing the spatial tunnel on the verge of closing…

A ruthless glint flashed in Hong Yu’s eyes. ‘Goddammit, I’m going for it!’

He activated Electric Flash and moved in an instant.

Hong Yu appeared before the spatial tunnel. By now, the opening had shrunk to a crack no thicker than an arm. He opened his mouth and spat out a stream of dark-gold Nine Netherworld Burning World Flame.

The golden flame, like a small serpent, shot inside with a WHOOSH.

Soon…

A bloodcurdling scream echoed from the tunnel. “Hong Yu, I’ll be your mortal enemy!”

BOOM!

The spatial tunnel vanished in an instant.

Hong Yu stood in the void. He retracted the Heaven-Devouring Demon Elephant, and his pupils gradually returned to normal. He frowned, muttering to himself, “I was still too careless. I underestimated the depths of the Divine City’s power. He actually had a Treasure capable of tearing open the void. It seems that black sphere must have contained a sealed sliver of power from the Lord of Divine City.”

A heavy feeling settled in his heart.

Tearing open the void was an ability only experts at the Yin Yang Realm could achieve.

The fact that the Lord of Divine City possessed such might meant he was absolutely an expert at the level of the Yin Yang Realm.

This was not good news for Hong Yu.

“Whatever!”

Hong Yu possessed immense willpower. He shook his head, clearing his thoughts. ‘They’ve been cultivating for several, even dozens of times longer than I have. Just give me enough time, and I’ll definitely catch up!’

He thought back on his journey.

From the small Shishui City, he had advanced step by step, growing from a mere rookie at the Essence Realm to an Unparalleled Genius who could now easily slay experts of the Primordial Spirit Realm.

And he had done it all in less than five years.

Compared to the long lifespan of a Martial Artist, his time on the path of cultivation had been but a fleeting moment.

‘I still need to find the Ten Thousand Year-old Polygonum multiflorum as soon as possible. But getting to the core region won’t be easy. I’ve heard the Prohibition between the Central Area and the core region is a hundred times stronger than the one for the outer area. Even the Lord of Divine City would struggle to break through it.’

A cold glint flickered in Hong Yu’s eyes as he murmured, ‘However, if the Fire-Devouring King had a Treasure that could tear open the void, maybe experts from other factions have them too. It seems I’ll have to return to my old trade of robbery. I hope they’re carrying Treasures that can get me into the core region!’

He glanced around and decided to return to the Nanshan Collection.

After all, the Nanshan Collection was the king of the Central Area, a true Overlord!

The Peacock King, in particular, gave off an unfathomable aura. If he were willing to help, Hong Yu was certain he could quickly track down the experts in the core region.

That would be much faster than searching aimlessly on his own!

With this in mind, Hong Yu activated his Divine Demon Wings and flew toward the Nanshan Collection.

「Meanwhile…」

In the core region, inside a massive, ancient city.

At the city’s entrance stood a colossal Crystal Stone. It was a brilliant purple, radiating a violet glow like a purple sun.

This was one of the Four Great Divine Cities: the Eastern Divine City.

This purple crystal was none other than the Eastern Divine City’s Teleportation Crystal Stone. Its value was immense; if sold, a Teleportation Crystal Stone of this size would fetch hundreds of billions of Soul Stones.

Only factions as powerful as the Four Great Divine Cities and the Eight Great Battle Clans could afford such a thing.

Four guards stood as still as statues, watching over the Teleportation Crystal Stone. Suddenly, a purple light flickered across its surface.

Subtle ripples emanated through the space around it.

“Hm?”

The four guards snapped to attention, their eyes fixed on the Teleportation Crystal Stone.

And then…

A figure tumbled out from it.

The figure sprawled on the ground, hands and feet askew, his face planted firmly on the floor in a move known throughout the world—the graceful “Wild Geese Descending on the Sand,” also known as eating dirt!

“Uh?”

The four guards were stunned. They felt the figure looked somewhat familiar, then they straightened up and bowed respectfully. “We welcome Lord Fire-Devouring King’s return!”

WHOOSH!

But the Fire-Devouring King shot to his feet, devoid of any of a Divine King’s dignity, clapped a hand over his face, and sped off into the city.

The four guards: “…”

“Didn’t Lord Fire-Devouring King go to hunt down Hong Yu for the Venerable Golden Bone? Why is he the only one who returned?”

“His lordship must have obtained the Venerable Golden Bone!”

“Truly worthy of a Divine King!”

The Fire-Devouring King’s hearing was incredibly sharp. When he heard the guards’ words of admiration, he stumbled, and with a THUD, fell to the ground again. He then scrambled up in disgrace and bolted.

The four guards stared at each other. “…”

Finally, they all nodded in unison. “His lordship must be overcome with excitement!”

If the Fire-Devouring King had heard that, he probably would have tripped again. He wasn’t excited in the slightest; he was in agony and rushing to find Eastern Asura to save his life.

“City Lord, help me!”

The Fire-Devouring King burst into the towering palace in the city’s center, finally unable to hold back his cries.

“Fire-Devourer, why have you returned?” an indifferent voice drifted from within the palace.

The space before the Fire-Devouring King suddenly split open, and a figure stepped out.

The man had a towering presence. The moment he appeared, it was as if he brought a blood-soaked Asura battlefield with him. A terrifying Evil Qi billowed out, scaring the experts near the City Lord’s Mansion into silence.

This was the City Lord of the Eastern Divine City—Eastern Asura.

Only then did the Fire-Devouring King remove the hand covering his face. A patch of dark-gold flame was burning on his left cheek.

At this moment,

The Fire-Devouring King’s left cheek was completely shriveled. It was yellow and desiccated like old tree bark. The dark-gold flame had already burned through the flesh, clearly exposing the ghastly teeth and bone beneath.

“What happened?” Eastern Asura’s gaze turned sharp.

The Fire-Devouring King cried out, “Hong Yu! This was all Hong Yu’s doing! City Lord, I beg you, save me! This is the Nine Netherworld Burning World Flame! I barely managed to suppress it with the Divine Bell to stop it from spreading. Please, help me!”

In truth, the Fire-Devouring King could have just sliced off his left cheek, but if he lost half his face, wouldn’t he look like a monster?

That was why he had been using the Divine Bell to suppress the flame ever since Hong Yu’s sneak attack in the spatial tunnel.

This was only possible because the Fire-Devouring King was skilled in the Path of Flame. Had it been any other Divine King, their entire face would have been burned away after such a long delay.

“Hong Yu?”

Eastern Asura’s brow twitched, and it was as if tens of millions of Vengeful Souls surged around him. With a casual wave of his hand, a tide of blood-red energy washed over the flame, extinguishing the Nine Netherworld Burning World Flame with a HISS.

“Thank you, thank you, City Lord, for saving my life!” The Fire-Devouring King was overwhelmed with gratitude.

Eastern Asura waved his hand dismissively, frowning at the Fire-Devouring King’s withered left cheek. “This left side of your face is ruined. Unless you can find a Nine-Grade Divine Pill that can regenerate limbs, you’ll have to remain like this.”

“It doesn’t matter. I want to keep it this way.”

The Fire-Devouring King took a deep breath, a venomous light glinting in his eyes. “I will use it as a constant reminder of this hatred. In the future, I must be the one to personally kill Hong Yu!”

“Mm.”

Eastern Asura nodded. He beckoned with his hand, and a ferocious skull flew out from behind him. With a few deft movements, he carved it into a Bone Mask and handed it to the Fire-Devouring King. “Tell me what happened. How could that Hong Yu possibly injure you so severely?”

“This is what happened…”

The Fire-Devouring King put on the Bone Mask. His left eye socket was now a hollow, lifeless void, while his right eye glinted with a cold light. He recounted the entire story: how he had been invited by the Snake King, how Hong Yu had turned the tables and killed the Snake King, how he had broken the Small Mountain and River Array, and finally, how he had been grievously wounded.

Eastern Asura narrowed his eyes. After a long silence, a cold smile touched his lips. “Good, very good. This Hong Yu is truly something. However, he won’t be hopping around for much longer. In a little over a month, the Prohibition will disappear. At that time, I will personally act and kill him!”

“No!”

The Fire-Devouring King, however, shook his head, his gaze resolute. “City Lord, please allow me to enter your Asura Domain. I want to enter seclusion. I must be the one to personally take this revenge!”

Eastern Asura stared at the Fire-Devouring King. After a long moment, he took a deep breath. “Have you thought this through? The Asura Domain is fraught with peril. You could die at any moment!”

“I will stop at nothing to get my revenge!”

The Fire-Devouring King said through gritted teeth.

Eastern Asura nodded. “Very well. I will send you there now. I trust that the next time you emerge, you will be able to kill Hong Yu!”

“Thank you, City Lord!”

The Fire-Devouring King bowed deeply, then stepped into a spatial rift torn open by Eastern Asura.

This place…

…was known as the Asura Domain!