Chapter 153: Venturing the Hell Road

Walking along the Hell Road for roughly a few kilometers, a series of buzzing sounds began to arise around.

Especially the farther he went, the louder and more clamorous the sounds became.

Yang Xiong took a long sword from the Soul Guidance Device and gradually slowed his pace.

At that moment, the surroundings suddenly fell silent, and countless blood‑red pairs of eyes appeared throughout the space, looking extremely eerie.

Yang Xiong activated the Purple Extreme Demon Eye; both on the walls and beneath the Hell Road, countless blood‑red bats were present, each with scarlet eyes, and perhaps due to the influence of the Killing City, each bat seemed to exude a hint of murderous aura.

The bats appeared to sense Yang Xiong's gaze, and all of them rose into the air, vaguely seeming to encircle him.

A chill rose in Yang Xiong's heart, prompting him to quicken his advance; with a swing of his long sword, he startled the bats on the Hell Road back.

But the bats clearly possessed some intelligence, stopping at a certain distance from Yang Xiong as if they were hunters poised to capture prey.

Suddenly, a booming sound rang out, and countless bats darted toward Yang Xiong, their sharp claws looking exceedingly keen.

Yang Xiong now seemed a bit nervous; each bat moved at extreme speed, agile, and appeared to carry Deadly Poison, certainly not weaker than ordinary hundred‑year Soul Beasts.

Moreover, their numbers were overwhelming—seemingly tens of thousands—and on this narrow Hell Road, Yang Xiong's movements were severely constrained.

Yang Xiong did not rashly attack; given the bats' speed, long‑range attacks would be difficult, and his own long‑range capability was rather poor.

Just as the bats were about to close in, the long sword in Yang Xiong's hand emitted a terrifying sword aura, blood‑red in hue, instantly slicing dozens of approaching bats into fragments.

The bats seemed greatly affected, all emitting buzzing, eerie cries—unique bat soundwaves that serve as a ranged attack and disruption—leaving Yang Xiong utterly passive without a long‑range soul skill.

His primary martial soul was strong up close, but against such sheer numbers of bats, Yang Xiong found the sword more convenient.

As Yang Xiong wielded his long sword faster and faster, as if to break through the bat onslaught, occasional sword auras burst forth, their terrifying tearing sounds capable of disrupting the bats' soundwave attacks.

The bats, seemingly unwilling, launched attacks from all directions, even targeting his back and feet, forming a formation that clearly indicated a degree of intelligence.

Yang Xiong's long sword whirled at lightning speed, shielding his entire body.

These bats seemed very clever, not forcing their way through Yang Xiong's defense, apparently aiming to sap his stamina; this cunning made the corner of his mouth twitch.

Nevertheless, Yang Xiong was resolute: since they wouldn't attack him, he would simply move on.

Yang Xiong swung his long sword while sprinting forward, clearing the path impeccably, and his speed reached its peak.

At that moment, an unexpected change occurred: a massive figure appeared ahead.

The gigantic bat measured over four meters in length, blocking the Hell Road; its claws spanned more than a meter and looked razor‑sharp, and when it spread its wings, they stretched beyond ten meters.

Moreover, the bat's body was dark‑gold, bearing three heads—it was the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King.

Neither side yielded; Yang Xiong's long sword sliced out a sword aura as if to sever the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King's wings.

But the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King reacted with blinding speed, flapping its wings in that instant to evade Yang Xiong's strike, and emitted a unique soundwave that made Yang Xiong's head throb even with his current spirit power.

Seizing that moment, the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King lunged toward Yang Xiong at high speed.

Still feeling a slight headache, Yang Xiong's face suddenly went cold; he threw a left‑handed punch that collided his fist with the Bat King's claws, causing both Yang Xiong and the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King to recoil several meters.

In reality, the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King's strength likely reached Ten‑thousand Year Soul Beast level, yet in both power and speed it still lagged behind Yang Xiong.

The Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King clearly possessed intelligence, emitting another screech as countless blood‑red bats swarmed Yang Xiong, and its sharp claws gouged the road ahead, instantly shattering it.

A chill rose in Yang Xiong's mind; the Dark Gold Bat King intended to destroy the Hell Road, evidently unwilling to pass through himself given his insufficient strength.

At that instant, Yang Xiong flickered, appearing beside the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King, then thrust his long sword with all his might, while the Bat King swung its claws in desperate resistance.

But Yang Xiong's strike was exceedingly ruthless, exhausting his resources; his long sword radiated countless sword auras.

In that instant, those sword auras coalesced into a massive Kill Glyph, the Seven Kill Sword Technique.

Though the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King was formidable, Yang Xiong's full‑force strike sliced its body into pieces, killing it beyond death.

The surrounding bats, seeing the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King slain, erupted into frenzy, desperately swarming Yang Xiong.

Yet Yang Xiong was no pushover; his long sword whirled at breakneck speed, its sword aura forming a massive barrier that sliced any approaching bat into fragments.

In no time, most of the bats on the scene had been slain by Yang Xiong, with only a few managing to flee.

Only then did Yang Xiong closely examine the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King's corpse, confirming it differed from ordinary Soul Beasts: it lacked a Soul Ring, and even its blood was unlike any other.

After a brief contemplation, Yang Xiong pressed on, the path ahead still treacherous, leaving no time for further scrutiny.

As the Hell Road deepened, the surrounding temperature rose; while walking, a hissing sound suddenly emanated from ahead.

Yang Xiong realized that the Hell Road's greatest foe was about to appear.

Sure enough, a massive serpent coiled over the Hell Road; its eyes glowed crimson, its body radiated scorching heat, estimated over ten meters long, and nine flesh nodules crowned its head—it was the Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Snake.

The Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Snake also noticed Yang Xiong, emitting a strange howl; its nine nodules each radiated flashes of light, appearing exceedingly ferocious.

Yang Xiong pressed forward unflinchingly, delivering a powerful sword thrust; a sword aura sliced straight toward the serpent's head.

However, the Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Snake proved immensely strong; a massive tail swung and deflected Yang Xiong's sword aura.

The tail surged forward like a divine dragon's tail strike, smashing Yang Xiong's long sword into pieces; Yang Xiong himself was hurled several meters, and had he not reacted swiftly, he would have been knocked down the Hell Road.

At this point, Yang Xiong's gaze grew solemn; the Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Snake's strength exceeded his expectations, justifying its status as the Hell Road's toughest challenge.

Initially, Yang Xiong estimated the serpent's age at around thirty thousand years; otherwise, the original Soul King's Tang San could not have defeated it.

But now, upon reflection, he realized he had severely underestimated the Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Snake's power.

It should be noted that the Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Snake's Inner Core transformed into Ma Hongjun's Soul Ring; even Ma Hongjun himself nearly failed to absorb it, succeeding only with help from Tang San and Ning Rongrong.

A typical Soul Saint can absorb Soul Rings under fifty thousand years; given the current situation, this serpent likely exceeds fifty thousand years, perhaps even stronger.

Especially since soul skills cannot be used within the Killing City, and on this narrow Hell Road, victory becomes even harder.

Yang Xiong wiped a trickle of blood from his mouth corner, tossed the broken sword from his hand, and let a faint smile appear.

"Very well, I shall see just how strong you are, and gauge how much I have improved over these years,"

Yang Xiong radiated endless killing intent, his body clad in Xuanming Armor, and his hands displayed Ice Fire Dragon Claws.

The Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Snake moved at blinding speed, spitting a fire‑red flame from its mouth; its power was immense, likely reaching the level of a ten‑thousand year soul skill.

Yet Yang Xiong reacted swiftly, leaping up to evade the flame.

The Hell Road was extremely narrow, and the Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Snake seemed prepared, swinging a massive tail toward Yang Xiong.

After evading the flame, Yang Xiong's right claw struck with full force, gripping the serpent's tail firmly.

Even though the Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Snake's defense is extremely strong, it is still lacking against Yang Xiong's pair of Ice Fire Dragon Claws; these can break Soul Douluo‑level defenses, and in terms of age they have already surpassed thirty thousand years.

Before the Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Snake could react, Yang Xiong's body speed was astonishingly fast; he ran along the snake's body, and before it could respond, one Ice Fire Dragon Claw forcibly seized the snake.

The Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Snake let out a wail at once, but evidently this only made it even more ferocious; it lunged forward, apparently intending to fling Yang Xiong off the Hell Road.

Yet Yang Xiong's feet moved like a Bagua, swiftly traversing the Hell Road; this time his form flashed, and his both hands forcibly grabbed the Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Snake's head, as if delivering a heavy blow.

The Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Snake let out another wail, its whole body frantically began to thrash, seemingly about to shatter the entire Hell Road.

Even though its head was struck hard, the original nine lumps emitted endless light, and the head torn open by the Ice Fire Dragon Claw gradually regenerated, as if it truly had ten heads.

Yang Xiong snorted coldly: "It seems your life is still rather long, but I wonder whether you can recover after I've smashed all ten of your heads."

The Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Snake seemed provoked, and, like a flood dragon emerging onto the sea, its massive heads prepared to bite Yang Xiong, surrounded by intense flames.

A disdainful sneer crossed Yang Xiong's face as a massive Spiral Sphere, over a meter long, instantly materialized in his hand. Within the Sphere, colors flashed rapidly: the Metal Attribute's golden hue, the Earth Attribute's ochre, and the Lightning Attribute's azure, and the interior roared like thunder, seemingly brimming with Explosion force.

At this moment the Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Snake had no retreat; it was already fighting desperately, especially after what seemed like a humiliation.

Yang Xiong grasped the massive Spiral Sphere and charged toward the Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Snake; the huge snake head, as it watched the Sphere in Yang Xiong's hand, showed a flicker of fear, as if wanting to flee.

But now Yang Xiong would give it no more chances; he used Teleportation to appear above the snake's head, and the massive Spiral Sphere slammed down hard onto the Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Snake's head.

Even though the Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Snake spewed endless flames from its mouth, under the massive Spiral Sphere the entire head exploded, shattering into powder in an instant.

It was unclear whether the battle's intensity caused it, but the entire Hell Road seemed to tremble, as if about to collapse at any moment.

Yang Xiong did not hesitate; he sliced open the Ten-Headed Blazing Sun Snake's abdomen, extracted a fire‑red Inner Core, and swiftly departed.

(End of Chapter)