Chapter 56: Slaying the Blood Clan

Thunder roared.

A crimson tide surged across the sky, waves of blood rolling so fiercely they seemed about to submerge the entire heavens. The torrent rumbled with the wrath of a thousand storms, and from the bloody sea, a monstrous hand, reeking of blood and glowing with a sinister light, crashed down with unstoppable force.

Explosions burst one after another beneath the massive hand, the very void whimpering as the overwhelming blood swallowed Luo Hao’s lean figure in an instant, smothered by the all-encompassing palm.

His wings flaring, the vampire’s expression was merciless, his eyes filled with murderous intent. The bloody hand pressed down like an eternal crimson mountain, and Luo Hao felt as if the entire sky were collapsing upon him, every movement a struggle.

Watching Luo Hao vanish beneath the red tide, the vampire’s pale face twisted into a vicious, bloodthirsty grin, certain this human would be buried beneath his Blood Butcher Hand. It was hardly surprising—during the calamities of ancient times, countless humans had fallen to this very technique, a martial art honed with human blood, its power growing fiercer with every life it claimed.

A deep, ancient dragon’s roar suddenly resounded beneath the vampire’s descending hand, its primordial resonance seeming to evoke the breath of ages past.

“Dragon Raises Its Head!”

With a furious bellow, a mighty dragon awakened, lifting its savage head to gaze down upon the world. Luo Hao’s eyes blazed with divine light, ancient and noble gold streaming forth. Countless phantom dragons howled and circled within his gaze. He raised a single arm to the heavens, defying the onslaught, and hurled his bare palm against the bloody hand.

“Heaven-Splitting Hand!”

With a low growl in his heart, golden dragon force erupted from him like the breaking of a dam, vast and inexhaustible. His palm seemed to turn to pure gold, bursting with fierce radiance.

The Blood Butcher Hand, forged with the blood of humanity, unleashed a blood tide to devour the world. The Heaven-Splitting Hand, wielded by Luo Hao with dragon force, shone with a golden, unyielding might. Crimson and gold clashed in the void, the two hands colliding like ancient worlds in conflict.

For an instant, the world fell silent. Then, a terrifying shockwave spread, tearing the fabric of the void apart wherever it reached.

Even Luo Hao, forged in the fires of dragon force, was driven back by the impact, his robes in tatters, revealing skin the color of ancient bronze. The vampire hovered, wings shuddering, his body convulsed by the backlash. Footprints remained imprinted in the sky, lingering in the shattered void.

Regaining his stance, the blood clan’s murderous gleam faded from his eyes, replaced by shock and gravity. “An ancient human combat technique,” he muttered to himself, barely audible.

He could scarcely believe that a mere human at the Qi Spirit stage could wield the lost arts of the ancients.

“Die!” Luo Hao roared, launching a relentless assault. He moved with impossible speed, crossing the void like a cicada leaping in eight steps. His arms moved without mercy, dragon-fire blazing, the righteous force of a thousand dragons roaring with him. His golden palm smashed through the void, bringing forth a torrent of dragon-fire that raged like a living storm.

The temperature soared. Wherever the golden flames passed, the void itself twisted and melted as if struck by a red-hot brand.

The dazzling flames made the vampire’s face darken, for the golden fire was no ordinary thing. A hidden, oppressive power within it made even him wary.

Luo Hao’s single-armed chop was unstoppable. In his arm, it seemed myriad wicked dragons soared and danced; his hand swept forward with the power to shatter mountains, pinning the blood-clad foe in place.

“You are a most surprising human,” the vampire sneered. “You have earned the right to know my name. Remember it—Xue Gu.” As he spoke, his arms hung at his sides, his face calm. He let the dragon-fire engulf him.

Suddenly, as Luo Hao’s golden palm was about to strike, the vampire’s eyes changed. No whites remained—only blood-red pupils, within which mountains of corpses, seas of blood, and endless tides of destruction writhed. Countless souls howled and screamed in torment.

The Blood Eyes revealed themselves.

Scarlet arcs flashed across the heavens, and the void filled with chilling winds. The Blood Eyes radiated a forbidden power; any who met their gaze risked eternal damnation.

With a twisted grin, Xue Gu glared at the descending golden palm. Twin beams of blood-red light shot out from his eyes like thunder, piercing directly through Luo Hao’s palm.

“Not good!” Luo Hao’s heart clenched. He hadn’t expected such a bizarre power. Instantly, his left hand swept out, unleashing boundless golden dragon force that transformed into a storm of divine winds.

Thunder shook the air. The golden winds clashed with the blood beams three meters before his body, exploding in a storm of gold and crimson that ripped through the world.

The gales were like knives—so sharp that even Luo Hao, hardened by dragon force, was hurled away, blood streaming down his bronze skin in crystalline drops.

“Kneel, human, before the glory of the blood clan! I shall grant you honor—I shall grant you eternal life!” Xue Gu’s voice echoed through the void, a seductive melody stirring the deepest desires in the human heart, leaving Luo Hao’s mind wavering.

Yet the use of the Blood Eyes had clearly weakened Xue Gu, who was astonished to need such power against a mere human of the Qi Spirit stage. The Blood Eyes were a rare gift, possessed only by the most gifted or noble of the blood clan. After this battle, he deemed Luo Hao’s vigor and fighting spirit worthy of becoming a blood slave.

A humming resounded in Luo Hao’s mind. Within his dantian, the ancient mirror trembled, stirring chaos. Clarity returned to his eyes as the haze was banished.

“Serve you? Die!” Luo Hao roared, casting off the vampire’s spell. Ignoring his pain, he stamped down, shattering the earth, and leaped forward like a flash of golden light. In Xue Gu’s shocked gaze, the golden light grew, filling his vision with dread.

“Retreat!” Relying on years of battle experience, Xue Gu withdrew without hesitation, his form vanishing into the void. He was shaken that even the Blood Eyes had failed to subdue this human—a power that had cowed the ancient world and consumed countless souls.

Yet today, he had met the anomaly that was Luo Hao.

“Too late to run now!” Luo Hao thundered, his black hair flying, his fighting spirit blazing out of control. He was even faster than the vampire.

A shadow fell over Xue Gu as an ancient, peerless battle intent swept from Luo Hao like a surging flood, pressing down upon all creation. Xue Gu faltered as Luo Hao, wreathed in golden flame, became a war demon incarnate. His fist crashed down like a golden cauldron, splitting the void, winds raging, dragon-fire roaring, ten thousand dragons howling.

Blood sprayed as Luo Hao’s fist punched through Xue Gu’s body, cracks spreading like a shattered porcelain doll.

In an instant, golden dragon-fire engulfed the land. Glaring at the fist that pierced his chest, Xue Gu raised his head and grinned at Luo Hao. “Human, this is but one of my avatars. In the name of the Blood Ancestor, I swear—next time, I shall wash away this shame with your blood. Your flesh shall be eternally—”

“Enough talk. Die!” Luo Hao roared, his arm surging with power as a dragon’s cry split the sky. His fist opened, and with a shuddering blast, Xue Gu’s body exploded, scattering in countless crimson fragments.

That the blood clan existed within the Blood Spirit Secret Realm was a revelation too shocking to contemplate. Staring at the remains, Luo Hao could only imagine the chaos that would ensue if this news ever escaped.