Chapter 101: First Steps into the Demonic Path (Thirteen)

In the desolate wilderness,
corpses lay scattered on the ground.
A pampered young man, dressed in fine clothes, stared blankly as his protectors and guardian elders lay dead before him.
His master had once said he would become an unparalleled, peerless powerhouse, shining brightly in an era, possessing invincible faith and unwavering composure even in the face of a collapsing mountain.
Lin Xiuyuan had always believed in himself, that he could achieve it.
But today he was wrong. Looking at the demonic figure before him, seemingly crawling out of hell, Lin Xiuyuan was filled with terror.
"You...you can't kill me! Otherwise, my master will not let you go, and neither will White Cloud City!"
"The future me is destined to become a saint, to traverse the starry sky, to become an unparalleled powerhouse. I will never die at the hands of someone like you!"
Su Chen grinned.
"A divine body...only those who grow strong become powerful; once dead, they are nothing!"
Su Chen showed no mercy, unleashing a deadly attack. Under Lin Xiuyuan's terrified gaze, a terrifying restriction appeared, and in the blink of an eye, a pale white jade hand pierced the sky, reaching out to take Lin Xiuyuan away.
Su Chen had anticipated this. An ancient altar appeared around him, and an incredibly powerful sacred artifact awakened, blocking the pale white jade hand.
"Sacred artifact! Who are you? Why do you attack the successor of my White Cloud City?"
A voice, tinged with panic, came from beyond the sky.
Su Chen did not reply, continuing his attack on Lin Xiuyuan.
"Do you know that your actions are an irreconcilable feud with White Cloud City?"
Su Chen severed Lin Xiuyuan's head.
"Fine...fine...fine! Even if you are at the ends of the earth, no matter what lineage you are backed by, White Cloud City will make you regret your actions today!"
The avatar of the White Cloud City Saint roared in fury.
A divine body had actually been killed.
Without the slightest hesitation, Su Chen unleashed his sacred artifact, shattering layers of space, and turned to leave.
In no time, the forces of White Cloud City mobilized, their terrifying aura sweeping across the battlefield. Witnessing the horrific scene, they were enraged.
The entire Northern Region was alarmed. The death of a divine body in White Cloud City was no small matter. The death of an ordinary prodigy was simply a matter of life and death; at most, some future seeds of the Void Realm and Nirvana Realm would perish.
A divine body was different. A divine body was destined to become at least a Saint, with a high probability of becoming a Saint King. They were the true successors of the Northern Region, the pillars of the future. Among the masses, a divine body prodigy might only appear once every thousand years.
The patriarch of White Cloud City, a Saint King-level expert, even dragged his aging body to the Central Continent, spending a great deal of resources to obtain a quasi-Emperor artifact, revealing the truth. Seeing his own divine body prodigy perish, the aged Saint King wept bitterly.
This death signifies that as his lifespan nears its end, White Cloud City will utterly decline, its fortunes severed!
"What a Western Region! What a Sun-Swallowing Holy Land! How could they be so vicious!"
The old Holy King was consumed by rage. Thinking of the current state of the Northern Region, with countless geniuses already dead and an irreconcilable hatred between the two regions, he immediately visited various forces in the Northern Region, seeking a joint attack on the Western Region.
Led by a vengeful Holy King willing to spearhead the charge, other holy lands and ancient families followed suit, eager to seize the opportunities of the Western Regions. If they could annihilate the Western Regions and occupy the region, unifying the two regions, wouldn't they create a second Central Continent?
Under the leadership of an old Holy King, numerous forces in the Northern Region easily annihilated many peripheral Western Regions, even destroying a newly established holy land. Saints perished, and holy artifacts shattered.
The many holy lands and dynasties of the Western Regions, fearing for their lives and learning from the past, were forced to unite and launch a counterattack against the Northern Regions. In the ensuing battle, those at the Transcendent Realm were like ants, those at the Void Realm were mere expendable resources, and only those at the Nirvana Realm could put up a fight. There were even clashes between Saint-level beings.
This was a far more brutal war than the one in the Southwest Regions.
This situation had exceeded Zhou Hao's expectations.
However... Zhou Hao didn't care how many people died. What he cared about was that too many people had perished in this great battle. The lost laws and primordial energy fed back into heaven and earth, triggering a terrifying tide.
The opportunity to step into the Saint King realm had arrived!
Overjoyed, Zhou Hao comprehended the rules of heaven and earth, intending to seize the opportunity to break through to the Saint King realm.
But with the appearance of the phenomena of the Devouring Sun Holy Land, it was noticed by the old Saint King of White Cloud City.
"Devouring Sun Holy Land... Zhou Hao!"
The old Saint King of White Cloud City was filled with hatred!
Immediately, he brandished his Saint King weapon and attacked Zhou Hao, forcefully interrupting Zhou Hao's breakthrough opportunity.
Zhou Hao, his breakthrough interrupted, looked extremely gloomy. He directly unleashed the power of the Devouring Sun Holy Land and fought against the old Saint King of White Cloud City. Facing the enraged old Saint King, his Saint King weapon was knocked away. Just as the old Saint King was about to kill Zhou Hao, a terrifying aura suddenly erupted from within the Devouring Sun Holy Land, saving Zhou Hao.
This was the surviving Holy King Ancestor of the Devouring Sun Holy Land, clinging to his last breath, continuing the Holy Land's glory.
Seeing the Holy King of the Devouring Sun Holy Land obstructing his revenge, the old Holy King of White Cloud City didn't waste words. He directly burned his life essence, restoring his peak Holy King power!
"Zhou Hao, you attacked and killed the divine body of my White Cloud City! Today, no matter what, you must pay for this in blood!"
The old Holy King of White Cloud City's eyes turned red, his killing intent chilling. He only wanted to kill Zhou Hao and avenge the descendant of the divine body.
The Holy King Ancestor of the Devouring Sun Holy Land opened his cloudy eyes, looking at Zhou Hao with uncertain emotions. Finally, he sighed and burned everything to stand in front of the old Holy King of White Cloud City.
"Holy Lord, I can only hold this old fellow off for five breaths!"
Zhou Hao didn't hesitate. At this moment, he had no choice but to abandon his search for a Holy King opportunity. Being targeted by a crazed old Holy King, if he didn't leave, he would truly die!
Seeing Zhou Hao trying to escape, the old Saint King of Baiyun City disregarded the attacks of the Saint King Ancestor of the Devouring Sun Holy Land and relentlessly charged at Zhou Hao. Enduring the Saint King's attacks head-on, Zhou Hao's body exploded and reformed several times. At the last moment, he revived his Saint King artifact. Taking advantage of the Saint King artifact and the Devouring Sun Holy Land Saint King Ancestor holding back the old Saint King of Baiyun City, Zhou Hao finally managed to tear through space with all his might and escape the battlefield, returning to the Devouring Sun Holy Land.
Upon returning to the Devouring Sun Holy Land, Zhou Hao went straight to the Pill Hall and swallowed all the healing pills whole. His storage ring had been destroyed in the battle, and countless treasures had been annihilated.
Zhou Hao immediately went into seclusion to recover from his injuries, determined to break through to the Saint King realm in the next surge of vital energy.
However... one day, a terrifying aura emanated from the battlefield between the two domains, like a blazing sun rising, obliterating all the vital energy.
Zhou Hao sensed the commotion, opened his eyes, and looked on, his heart filled with boundless rage.
He had painstakingly instigated the war between the two domains, only to have it all benefit someone else.
........