It was you back then... Sui Sui...
Tang Hao’s lips trembled a few times, a swirl of complex emotions churning in his eyes and heart.
The scene of his wife’s sacrifice felt as vivid as if it had happened yesterday.
Tang Hao, who hadn't felt so sorrowful in a long time, lowered his head in a moment of vulnerability, hiding his reddened eyes. He exhaled a hot breath, as if trying to expel the surging heat from his eyes.
Tang Sui was unaware of Tang Hao's inner turmoil.
Her entire focus was concentrated on one thing.
Energy continuously surged and condensed, splitting into several streams that repeatedly battered the bottleneck of level ninety.
Gradually, the barrier that had been concealing Tang Sui’s power began to falter.
Like a water balloon pricked with a needle, pure and potent energy spilled outwards, attracting soul beasts from miles around, sensing the alluring energy carried by the wind.
“Rustle, rustle,” the sound of leaves brushing against each other reached his ears.
Tang Hao, standing like a guardian god, cast a sideways glance, his gaze darkening. With a slight opening of his hand, the massive, obsidian Clear Sky Hammer was firmly grasped, his entire demeanor transforming. He was like a lion emerging from slumber, every muscle taut to the extreme, and he let out a thunderous roar:
“Begone!”
A chilling white light erupted from him, precisely avoiding Tang Sui's location.
All in its path froze.
Flying soul beasts circling in the sky were turned into ice sculptures, crashing to the ground in pieces, scattering across the frosted earth.
Those that were also frozen included soul beasts drawn by the alluring scent, even those repulsed by it, as they approached their target.
This was the Slaughter God Domain, an embodiment of pure killing intent.
However, even the Slaughter God Domain alone was not enough to deter certain powerful soul beasts drawn by the scent.
“Crack!”
Following the sound of cracking ice came sharp whistling sounds cutting through the air.
Tang Hao snorted, seven rings of light rising from beneath his feet. The first and third spirit rings illuminated. Tang Hao sidestepped, launching himself forward like an arrow loosed from a bow. With a forceful twist of his wrist gripping the Clear Sky Hammer, the hammer’s obsidian body, which had once again expanded, mercilessly smashed into the face of the soul beast lunging through the air, attempting to attack.
“Roar—!”
The massive soul beast let out a cry of pain.
Its body, over five meters tall, was marked with sharp black spots and yellow fur. Its sharp upper canine teeth were bared, and its apricot-colored vertical pupils were filled with greed and apprehension.
This was a Blazing Leopard, its cultivation around twenty thousand years.
“Leave, or die!”
Its momentum carrying it back to the ground, Tang Hao uttered these cold words, his killing intent fixed on the Blazing Leopard, which had landed steadily using its paw pads after taking his blow.
Soul beasts with over ten thousand years of cultivation possessed the intelligence of a child.
Tang Hao did not believe the creature couldn't understand him.
The Blazing Leopard, having understood, looked at the imposing Tang Hao. Its gaze swept over Tang Hao’s spirit energy-manifested right arm and left leg, then at the black and red barrier sphere blocked by Tang Hao’s towering physique. A flicker of human-like unwillingness crossed its apricot-colored vertical pupils. Its paw pads, digging into the ground, slightly opened, revealing sharp claws capable of easily tearing human flesh.
Seeing this, Tang Hao understood the Blazing Leopard’s intentions.
The next second, Tang Hao pushed off the ground, leaving a crater. He swung the Clear Sky Hammer and engaged the roaring, pouncing Blazing Leopard.
A few breaths later, the mangled Blazing Leopard lay on the ground, its head deformed. The thick scent of blood mingled with the stench in the air, forming a nauseating miasma that spread through the area.
Tang Hao’s expression remained unchanged as he continued to swing his hammer, charging towards several other well-concealed presences.
One day… two days… five days…
Day and night alternated above the Sunset Forest. As time passed, the pile of soul beast corpses near the foul-smelling pool grew.
Initially, Tang Hao would throw the nearby corpses further away. But as days turned into weeks, and more and more soul beasts, increasingly powerful, were drawn by the immense energy, Tang Hao dared not leave the foul-smelling pool for even a moment.
Around the pool, the accumulated soul beast corpses festered. White maggots wriggled in the putrid flesh, gnawing on the decaying bodies.
As another night came to an end, Tang Hao, bearing some injuries, planted the heavy shaft of the Clear Sky Hammer on the ground. Panting heavily, he looked back towards Tang Sui.
Over time, the barrier protecting Tang Sui had hardened into a cocoon-like shell.
Though he couldn't see inside, Tang Hao could feel that the energy emanating from the barrier had significantly decreased, as if it had been absorbed.
Yesterday, while disposing of bodies, he had observed that the second layer of the protective barrier around Sui Sui had stabilized from its flickering state.
At this rate, in a few more days, Sui Sui should be able to complete the formation of her ninth spirit ring.
Tang Hao let out a long breath, but before he could fully relax, two new, powerful presences entered his mental detection range.
“Who’s there?!”
Tang Hao instantly straightened, his bloodshot eyes glaring furiously towards the south, where his mental energy detected movement among the leaves.
Two cloaked humanoid figures burst from between the tall trees. Tang Hao’s face darkened, and as he raised the Clear Sky Hammer, a voice from beneath a veiled hat stopped him—
“Dad!”
Tang Hao froze. The killing intent in his eyes solidified. His mind, dulled by days of incessant killing, seemed to stutter. He stood stiffly and asked, his voice slow and hesitant:
“Xiao… San?”
The figure in the dark blue cloak reached up and pulled down their veiled hat, revealing a handsome, refined face that Tang Hao recognized, though it now bore an air of imposing authority.
Azure eyes, shoulder-length deep blue hair, and the person beside him, who also pulled down their veiled hat, revealing a scorpion braid – it was Tang San and Xiao Wu, who had rushed back to Heavenly Dou City from Sea God Island!
“Uncle.”
Xiao Wu also greeted him.
Tang Hao blinked his sore eyes, and the Clear Sky Hammer he had raised fell back to the ground with a thud, kicking up a cloud of dust.
Tang San rushed forward, supporting his father, who seemed to have shed a heavy burden and could barely stand steadily. He said with heartache, “Dad, why are you here alone?”
At this moment, Tang San only saw Tang Hao.
Xiao Wu, looking at the blood-soaked surroundings and the mostly decayed soul beast corpses, her expression grew serious. “These soul beasts… were they all after you?”
Tang Hao shook his head, his voice weary and hoarse. “They were after Sui Sui.”
“Sui Sui?!”
Tang San and Xiao Wu were taken aback.
Tang Hao stood up straighter, looking back and nodding his chin. “Your sister is forming her ninth spirit ring. Today is the eighth day of her ring formation…”
— Author’s Notes —
Mo Li is preparing for a new project, which should be available to everyone this month.
I’d also like to recommend a friend, Hei Yan Quan’s new novel: “You Said We’d Farm Together, But You Secretly Went Beast Taming?” It’s a hilarious beast-taming novel, feel free to check it out.
Yan Quan said that if you keep reading, there will be bonus chapters!