Chapter 537: The First Jinx of the Great Emperor Heaven

Huang Yue's head was wreathed in surging clouds. This was a manifestation of his primordial spirit absorbing and exhaling vital qi. As his gaze settled on the figure atop the mountain, the clouds above his head expanded, covering an area of half an acre.

The vital qi in the clouds seemed to condense into droplets. One could faintly discern perfect raindrops pattering down, only to evaporate upon touching his head and rise again as clouds, in a continuous cycle.

Huang Yue ascended the mountain. It wasn't very high, being a construct, not a true creation, formed from the vital qi runes of the Woodcutter Sage and Furi Luo. In a few steps, he reached the summit, stopping about forty zhang away from Zhe Huali.

"I met you on the battlefield, and nearly died by your hand."

Huang Yue's aura surged, his fighting spirit soaring. Even though he had been defeated by this opponent before, he showed no fear; instead, it fueled his boundless determination to fight.

He was a martial arts fanatic, utterly fearless!

"I have been searching for you, awaiting an opportunity to avenge that defeat."

Huang Yue exclaimed excitedly, "Please, Senior Brother, grant me this chance!"

Zhe Huali turned, his gaze falling upon Huang Yue. The demonic eye on the hilt of the demon blade on his back remained closed.

His right foot suddenly shifted, its tip pointing diagonally. His stance was unconventional. His left foot pointed towards Huang Yue, while his right foot's tip indicated a woman ascending the mountain, appearing in front of them.

Huang Yue's expression darkened. Coldly, he said, "Chan Yuan, do not interfere in my affairs, or I will kill you too!"

Chan Yuan, also a divine arts practitioner from Supreme Emperor Heaven, had entered this sandbox world with Huang Yue and the others. Initially, they had all rushed towards the crossroads of axe and spear, but since everyone was heading there, the location lost its significance as a strategic point, so they went into hiding.

However, the only one who did not hide was Qin Mu.

Qin Mu dashed through the air at an incredible speed, leaving a trail of clouds and smoke behind him. He ran all the way to the edge of the sandbox world, providing a clear direction for everyone.

Qin Mu, still restless, then began forging iron at his hiding place, attracting many demonic experts who came to hunt him down.

For the experts of Supreme Emperor Heaven, the demonic experts hunting Qin Mu presented a rare opportunity; they would hunt the demonic experts along the way.

Chan Yuan also realized this, so she guarded the essential path leading to Qin Mu. She spotted Zhe Huali standing on the mountain peak and then saw Huang Yue. Delighted, she ascended the mountain, intending to unite with Huang Yue, a strong practitioner ranked third, to eliminate Zhe Huali.

"Senior Brother Huang Yue, both you and Senior Sister Yu He are disciples of True God Pang Yu. You should understand the importance of the bigger picture."

Chan Yuan stared intently at Zhe Huali, her expression grave. She said solemnly, "This confrontation is not about your personal grudge, nor is it an opportunity for you to pursue the ultimate in divine arts. It concerns the ownership of Li City and the destiny of our Supreme Emperor Heaven. Neither you nor I can defeat this person alone, but if we join forces, we can take him down!"

"I will not join forces with you. Step back."

Huang Yue's expression was resolute; he shook his head. "Given that we are both divine arts practitioners of Supreme Emperor Heaven, I will not kill you. However, if you attempt to kill Senior Brother Zhe Huali while I am fighting him, do not blame me for being merciless."

His gaze, fixed firmly on Zhe Huali, burned with an intense desire for the Dao. He chuckled, "If I win, he dies by my hand. If I lose, he will be severely wounded, and you can seize the opportunity to strike; that won't delay Li City's ownership! Just watch, or don't blame me for being merciless!"

Chan Yuan frowned slightly and took a step back.

Huang Yue grew excited, his aura intensifying. "Zhe Huali, please enlighten me!"

"You are not my opponent. Your so-called 'Young True Gods' in Supreme Emperor Heaven are, to me, a complete joke from beginning to end."

Zhe Huali's expression was indifferent as he calmly looked at Huang Yue. "You fundamentally misunderstand the meaning of a True God. You believe merely reaching the physical body level of a 'Young True God' guarantees becoming a True God, but you are far from it. There are three attainments for a 'Young True God': the physical body, the primordial spirit, and Dao arts. You only possess one. I am different."

The demon blade on his back vibrated gently, emitting a series of ringing sounds. He said leisurely, "Before my descent, I had already attained two of them, with only Dao arts yet to be perfected. This descent, and taking Furi Luo as my master, is my cultivation towards the Dao. Huang Yue, you are obsessed with Dao arts and divine powers, and are close to attaining the second. I admire your determination. You should all come at me together; don't throw your lives away in vain."

"Don't look down on me! My Dao arts and divine powers break to establish! They grow stronger with adversity! Po Jun Mountain!"

Huang Yue let out a long cry and rushed forward with all his might. With a single step, his offense was unleashed. His boxing technique transformed into a divine power; in an instant, countless phantom fists appeared. The fist shadows accumulated like a mountain, then like the Po Jun star itself!

His fists were incredibly heavy, their force compressing the air, causing explosive crackles, like ten thousand thunders rolling.

This strike by Huang Yue demonstrated his astonishing mastery of boxing divine powers. His previous battle with Zhe Huali on the battlefield had made him realize his shortcomings. Now, facing Zhe Huali again, under the pressure of such a formidable enemy, he had achieved another breakthrough; his Po Jun Mountain divine power was on the verge of reaching perfection.

Behind Zhe Huali, the demon blade's eye suddenly opened, rotating and expanding, turning blood red.

Zhe Huali reached out and drew his blade, then cleaved down against the Po Jun Mountain divine power. Instantly, blade energy erupted in the air. The blade energy collided with the Po Jun Mountain's fist shadows, rebounding and seemingly transforming into ten thousand streaks of light, forming a mountain of blades that cleanly cleaved through Po Jun Mountain!

The ten thousand streaks of blade light suddenly merged into one, descending directly towards Huang Yue's head.

Huang Yue clasped his hands together, trapping the blade light. Suddenly, the demon blade split into two. Huang Yue's expression subtly changed; flesh grew from his armpits, forming two more arms, which then trapped the second falling blade light.

He held two demon blades, but before he could even exhale, the two blades split into four.

Huang Yue roared, as flesh burst from his armpits, growing four more arms, trapping the incoming blade lights.

Then, he watched in despair as the four blade lights split into eight, descending upon him.

The remaining four blade lights fell. Huang Yue lowered his head, staring blankly at the blade lights as they disappeared upon landing. Four straight blood marks appeared on his face, growing longer and wider.

Zhe Huali vibrated the demon blade, gently withdrew it from Huang Yue's grasp, and reinserted it into its sheath on his back. Huang Yue was quartered.

Zhe Huali looked at Chan Yuan, whose expression was grave as she slowly retreated.

"Go, I don't kill women," Zhe Huali said calmly.

Chan Yuan remained completely unrelaxed, continuing her unhurried retreat until she was about a li away before turning and sprinting away. The moment she turned, Zhe Huali's muscles bulged. He sprinted forward with a thunderous roar, exceeding the speed of sound, drew his blade with both hands, and cleaved vertically downwards!

The blade shadow instantly appeared behind Chan Yuan. Chan Yuan spun in mid-air, her sword pellet flying out, expanding with a metallic clang. Before her flying swords could fully emerge, the blade shadow descended, cleaving her from the crown of her head!

Zhe Huali stopped, sheathed his blade, and turned to leave.

"I still need to invite the person in the painting to witness my master's blade technique; I cannot be injured, which is why I struck you from behind."

His expression remained calm. He tilted his head, listening, then followed the sound of hammering iron. "Woman, the moment you turn your back, you are most vulnerable. In front of me, never show me your back."

Behind him, Chan Yuan collapsed.

Elsewhere, vast stretches of mountains lay collapsed as two figures fiercely fought amidst the peaks. Steep, blade-like mountains were pierced through, transforming into shattered runes that vanished into thin air.

The battle quickly concluded. Yu He touched the wound on her face; her opponent was dead, but not before injuring her.

The woman looked up and saw a fleeting flash of blade light in mid-air, frowning slightly.

"Zhe Huali, you are as ostentatious as the one forging iron. However, I am not entirely confident I can defeat you!"

She turned to leave. "I need to find my other junior brothers and sisters, and then we will eliminate you!"

The sandbox world was vast, and finding others was not easy.

In the sandbox world, battles erupted in several other mountain ranges. When divine arts practitioners from Supreme Emperor Heaven encountered demonic experts, they naturally exerted all their effort and used every means to eliminate their opponents.

Consequently, encounters between opposing forces often ended quickly, with practitioners dying or being severely wounded, making the battles extremely brutal.

Yet, even in such short periods, they could devastate areas spanning more than ten li, piercing through and even collapsing mountains wherever they went, causing considerable destruction.

Some even used powerful divine arts to devastate areas spanning a hundred li, a truly terrifying sight.

Of course, this was within the sandbox world, not the real world. If they were outside, these divine arts practitioners at the Seven Star realm, while possessing considerable divine power, would not have such destructive capability.

Meanwhile, the crossroads of axe and spear remained tranquil.

Sang Hua excitedly set up her traps and lay in wait, quietly anticipating enemies to fall into her deadly snares.

Time passed little by little. An hour later, the young girl poked her head out from her hiding spot, her two long braids hanging down.

Another hour passed. Sang Hua sat on an axe, propping her chin in her hand, boredly swinging her legs.

Another hour went by. Sang Hua lay on the back of the axe, gazing at the sky.

"Where is everyone?"

She suddenly sat up, a little frustrated. "Where has everyone gone? Isn't this supposed to be a strategic point? Whether it's an enemy or a friend, at least someone should show up!"

Outside the sandbox world, numerous gods and devils watched the battles within, some joyful, some worried. Before long, battles in the sandbox world had almost fully erupted.

When Qin Mu killed three opponents in succession and feigned death to lure a fourth, many demon gods grew tense, sweating for the demonic sorceress lurking on a nearby hilltop.

Fortunately, the demonic sorceress did not fall for the trick and turned away, prompting a sigh of relief from the many demon gods on the palace roof.

"My Lord, he is indeed a successor in your lineage!" the excited voice of Black Tiger God came.

The Woodcutter Sage remained expressionless, while Furi Luo smiled. Their gazes met, then shifted away.

Upon seeing Zhe Huali dispatch Huang Yue and Chan Yuan, two major young experts, with two swift slashes, the many deities of Supreme Emperor Heaven couldn't help but break into a cold sweat, genuinely worried for the other divine arts practitioners of Supreme Emperor Heaven.

But the most anxious was Sang Hua's father, Honored God Sang Ye. Sang Ye nervously clenched his fists, his palms slick with cold sweat.

"My dear girl, don't come out. Just stay put..."

Honored God Sang Ye stared intently at the crossroads of axe and spear in the sandbox world. When he saw Sang Hua jump down from the axe, his expression instantly changed, and he silently pleaded in his heart, "Don't go out, please don't go out..."

Sang Hua ran outwards.

"Don't encounter an enemy, don't encounter an enemy..."

In front of Sang Hua, a demonic sorceress was walking towards her.

Honored God Sang Ye nearly fainted. "She's going to die..."