"How is this possible?!"
An Abyss Emperor snapped back from his daze, his voice breaking as he cried out in disbelief.
Beside him, the other Emperors' faces were equally pale; some instinctively stepped back.
The Blazing Emperor—ruler of the Abyss's third layer, an existence touching the divine level—had been casually obliterated by a human in just a few exchanges, his Plane Seed seized. If they hadn't witnessed it with their own eyes, they would never have believed it.
But the facts were before them, undeniable.
Now, their concern was no longer how to defeat the Blood God Legion, but how to survive this deity-like being!
"Retreat! Fall back!"
One Abyss Emperor suddenly shouted to his comrades: "We're no match for him! We must leave now to protect our layers' Plane Seeds! Return and report to the Saint Lord—beg him to save Lord Blazing Emperor and the third layer's Plane Seed!"
Before he finished, he had already transformed into a plume of black smoke, fleeing headlong back into the Abyss Passage against the tide of the Abyss army.
The other Emperors and high-level Abyss creatures snapped out of it, scrambling toward the passage to return to the Abyss Plane.
The first Emperor to flee spoke the truth—with their strength, they weren't even worthy of tying Huo Yuhao's shoes. Staying would only lead them to share the fate of the Six-Claw Demon Emperor and the Blazing Emperor.
Better to make a tactical retreat and let the Saint Lord decide; perhaps there was still a chance to save the Blazing Emperor.
Unlike the Abyss forces' collapsing morale, the Blood God Legion's spirits were soaring.
This was only natural.
After all, in that brief span, they'd ridden an emotional rollercoaster from the abyss to the heavens—the crushing weight of the Blazing Emperor's descent, the despair when Romantic Douluo and the others were instantly swept aside. That abyss-like figure's every step had weighed heavier on the Legion soldiers' hearts, nearly suffocating them.
But then Huo Yuhao appeared.
Crushing the Six-Claw Demon Emperor's Plane Seed with his bare hand. Striking the Blazing Emperor to his knees with seven-colored divine thunder. Freezing space-time with Eternal Space-Time Light. Incinerating the Emperor's body with a blue-gold fire lotus. From despair to ecstasy in mere minutes.
Such a dramatic psychological shift would send any army's morale through the roof!
When the Legion soldiers witnessed that deity-like figure destroy the Blazing Emperor in a few moves—leaving only a Plane Seed clutched in his palm—their excitement nearly burst from their chests.
If not for the ongoing battle and the Abyss army still pressing the defenses, they would have erupted in cheers.
Even so, some newer recruits couldn't contain themselves, shouting: "Lord Huo Yuhao's divine might is unmatched!"
"Long live the Lord!"
"Boss is awesome—I love you!"
Xie Xie was among those shouting, perhaps the most fervent of all.
This was his first time witnessing Huo Yuhao's power firsthand, his first time seeing a divine-level battle. His excitement was inevitable.
In his own words, after watching the entire battle, his reverence for the Boss was like an endless river, unstoppable and uncontainable.
"The Boss is just too strong." Xie Xie murmured.
Xu Xiaoyan and the others nodded excitedly beside him. Though they didn't lose themselves as Xie Xie did, the light in their eyes was unmistakable. They too were deeply shaken by the battle.
Hearing the cheers—though some were strange—Zhang Huanyun could understand everyone's excitement.
After all, that was the Blazing Emperor, the Abyss Plane's number three!
Even he felt his heart surge at seeing Huo Yuhao defeat him.
But he also knew this was the perfect moment for a general assault.
"The Blazing Emperor is dead—the Abyss's defeat is certain. Charge with me!"
Before his words faded, Zhang Huanyun had already launched forward. Silver spatial energy rippled around him as he sent spatial cutting blades toward the fleeing Abyss creatures, scattering their energy with each strike.
"CHARGE—!"
On the Blood God Legion's front, thousands of soldiers surged past their defensive lines; spirit beasts roared and charged alongside them.
Soul tool beams wove an impenetrable death net; fixed-type shells exploded in blazing bursts among the Abyss creatures. Long-suppressed fury finally erupted.
Smiling Face Douluo Hu Jie's trademark squinty eyes had opened wide the moment Huo Yuhao killed the Blazing Emperor, his gaze sharp.
He exchanged a look with Romantic Douluo, and both rose into the air. Zang Xin's Romantic Sword flared with cyan light; with a single slash, various spirit abilities transformed into invisible spiritual shockwaves that swept through hordes of Abyss monsters.
Hu Jie laughed heartily, his belly's golden light pulsing as the Qiankun energy vortex sent enemies crumpling wherever it passed.
While they launched the general assault, Huo Yuhao was also occupied.
After killing the Blazing Emperor, he didn't absorb the Plane Seed containing all his power and the Abyss third layer's origin energy. Instead, he sealed it and put it away.
Unlike the 97th layer's Plane Seed, this third-layer seed held energy equivalent to a true divine level.
After all, the Blazing Emperor himself was half a step into the divine level, and the third layer's origin was far stronger than the 97th's. With multiple factors combined, it was no surprise the third layer's Plane Seed reached the divine level in overall energy.
But this wasn't the time to absorb such a Plane Seed.
After putting it away, Huo Yuhao's gaze shifted to the fleeing Abyss Emperors. In a flash, he crossed space and blocked the main Abyss Passage.
The Emperors charging at the front saw that sudden, nightmare-like figure, their pupils contracting to pinpricks. They tried to turn and flee, but it was too late.
Huo Yuhao's peripheral vision swept the passage's depths.
Countless Abyss creatures were still pouring out. The moment they saw him, driven by instinct, they hurled themselves at him.
But the next instant—whether the charging army, the high-level creatures, or the Emperors attempting retreat—all froze.
Huo Yuhao raised his hand slightly, his fingers curling as if grasping: "Sixth Spirit Ability—Soul Devour!"
A golden spiritual ripple spread silently from Huo Yuhao's center. It seemed gentle, yet it was like an invisible scythe of death—wherever it passed, life withered.
The first Abyss creature touched by the ripple stiffened, the light in its eyes extinguishing instantly, its body dropping like a soulless puppet. Dozens of high-level creatures behind it didn't even have time to scream before blood poured from their seven orifices, their bodies becoming empty shells.
Then those shells dissipated, their Abyss energy drawn by an invisible force into Huo Yuhao's body.
"NO—!"
An Emperor cried out in despair, desperately turning to flee. But Huo Yuhao's attack range far exceeded their imagination—the golden ripple still expanded: one kilometer, two, three... Wherever it reached, Abyss creatures fell like harvested wheat, kneeling and dissolving in droves.
Their souls, spiritual origins, and residual Abyss energy were all extracted by that invisible force, transforming into streams of white light that flowed into Huo Yuhao like rivers returning to the sea, enhancing his cultivation and spiritual power.
The spirit ability inherited from the Evil Emperor truly revealed its power on such a large battlefield.
Facing Huo Yuhao's Soul Devour, wielded with divine consciousness, the Abyss creatures were utterly helpless.
Only the Abyss Emperors, protected by their Plane Seeds, managed to retain a sliver of consciousness, avoiding immediate annihilation.
But when they looked at the figure blocking the Abyss Passage, despair flooded their hearts. Huo Yuhao stood there like an insurmountable wall, cutting off their only escape route.
"Saint Lord, save us!" one Emperor screamed in desperation.
Huo Yuhao: "..."
This scene felt familiar.
He shook his head, about to raise his hand and collect these struggling Emperors along with their Plane Seeds, when he suddenly sensed an immensely vast aura surging from the depths of the Abyss Passage behind him. His movement paused.
For the first time since entering the battlefield, Huo Yuhao's ever-calm expression changed—growing serious.
He turned his head toward the massive vortex. His azure eyes reflected the violently trembling Abyss Passage—as if something was tearing through space, forcing its way down.
He hadn't expected that desperate cry to actually work.
The Abyss Saint Lord could no longer sit still.
On the eve of the Blood God Legion's general assault, deep within the Abyss Plane.
"The Blazing Emperor has fallen."
At the Saint Lord's words, the surrounding Abyss Emperors' hearts sank, the atmosphere growing suffocatingly heavy.
Many wore expressions of disbelief; even the Spirit Emperor was among them.
Knowing the Blazing Emperor's opponent was a reincarnated deity, he had indeed considered the possibility of defeat.
But he hadn't expected it to come so quickly.
How much time had passed? From the 97th layer's collapse to the Blazing Emperor's fall—had it even been a minute?
To take down the Blazing Emperor so swiftly clearly demonstrated that the reincarnated deity's strength far exceeded his own.
Even the Spirit Emperor, if he himself had acted without using his trump cards, couldn't have defeated the Blazing Emperor so quickly in such a short time.
And with his trump cards, he would undeniably be a true divine-level powerhouse.
In other words... that reincarnated deity had likely recovered to a certain extent—having regained the divine level!
What the Spirit Emperor could deduce, the Abyss Saint Lord naturally could as well.
"I will personally meet him," he said slowly.
Though the Saint Lord had previously stated he would intervene if necessary, his confirmation still unsettled many Emperors.
The Saint Lord acting personally—how many years had it been?
But considering the enemy might also be a deity, it seemed only natural. This person was truly a great threat to the Abyss.
"The current passage cannot yet accommodate my power. Ten Emperors must sacrifice themselves to fully open it. To those who offer themselves for the Abyss, I pledge: upon resurrection, you will face no obstruction, and your layer will rise by three ranks."
The Saint Lord's voice was emotionless, flat to the point of cruelty: "Who volunteers?"
The cold voice echoed through the Abyss's depths, silencing the gathered Emperors.
In truth, the Abyss had always had a way to break the passage without the Holy Spirit Cult's help—it simply required a price.
Without the Saint Lord's promise, likely no Emperor would volunteer. But with his pledge...
"I will sacrifice myself for the Abyss." The first Emperor stepped forward.
One by one, others followed.
Sacrificing for the Abyss meant a long slumber. But if that slumber came with the Saint Lord's guarantee of resurrection and a three-layer promotion... then the deal was worth it.
As these Emperors sacrificed themselves, the Abyss Passage expanded further, finally reaching the Saint Lord's required size.
And so, he made his move.
When the Abyss Passage stirred, besides Huo Yuhao near it, Emotionless Douluo—presiding over the Blood God Grand Array suppressing it—was the first to sense it.
He felt an unprecedented pressure surging from the passage's depths—a force beyond any Limit Douluo's capability, far beyond what he and the other Blood Gods could stop.
"Hmph!"
A cold snort exploded within the passage—icy, proud, indifferent. Then the entire Abyss Passage trembled violently. Darkness was dispelled by a pale white light, illuminating every inch of the space.
The Blood God Grand Array seemed frozen; the golden seal patterns instantly stalled, ceasing to function.
Emotionless Douluo's expression changed drastically. He poured all his spirit power into the array, only to find his connection severed by that force—he couldn't even mobilize the seal's power.
The passage seal began to shatter. Cracks spread rapidly, growing larger, pale white light flooding through them, illuminating the entire battlefield.
Many Legion soldiers noticed, looking up at the passage with horror.
That pale light carried no warmth, yet it made them tremble from the depths of their souls—as if some unspeakable existence was about to descend.
The entire Endless Mountains began to tremble violently—earth cracking, rocks tumbling.
"Welcome, Saint Lord!" The Emperors whose Plane Seeds had just been seized by Huo Yuhao shouted joyfully, their voices hoarse with relief.
The Saint Lord? The Abyss's Plane Lord had acted?
Emotionless Douluo's gaze sharpened.
"A pack of trash!" A deep, majestic voice—unblocked even by the Blood God Grand Array—coldly echoed across the mountains.
Then came a horrifying sight—the sky itself began to warp, as if the entire heavens were collapsing. But that collapse suddenly halted; clouds silently dissolved, revealing a clear yet disturbingly distorted blue sky.
Everyone could barely breathe, as if in the next instant they would be utterly annihilated, leaving not even ash.
Just then, Huo Yuhao stepped forward.
Reincarnation True Body!
An aura beyond mortal limits, reaching the divine level, surged from him, tearing apart the suffocating pressure and restoring the sky to normal.
And this time, breaking the limit to divine level didn't attract the plane's thunder tribulation.
Not because the plane had given up on him freeloading, but because Huo Yuhao—having fully gained the God-Imprint Throne's recognition—could now use its mark to obscure fate and avoid the tribulation.
The Abyss Saint Lord's cold gaze locked onto Huo Yuhao like a blade. "So you're the one who killed the Blazing Emperor. Now, hand over all the Plane Seeds!"
As his voice trailed off, the Abyss Passage suddenly exploded. A force even more violent than before surged from the fissure—then a massive hand reached out from the passage.
The hand was pure white, each finger wrapped in profound law power. It blotted out the sky, carrying an overwhelming pressure, reaching down to seize Huo Yuhao!
***
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