An almost unrestrainable murderous malice arose in Ding Hao’s heart again. He had an impulse to rush out and hack that figure into pieces.
At the same time, the figure several hundred kilometers away seemed to have sensed something. He raised his head and looked in the direction of the Towering Buddha Pagoda.
There were no eyeballs or pupils in that pair of eyes. They were as bizarre as a Devil’s, their sockets empty and dark like a pair of slightly eddying black holes that was slowly materializing. They could strike terror in men’s hearts, and also absorb and destroy everything.
Ding Hao had never seen such eyes before.
The moment their eyes met, Ding Hao felt an intense and indescribable pain in his eyes.
The next moment, he felt a stabbing pain on his forehead. An unprecedented sense of mental weakness overwhelmed him. Then, everything in front of him distorted and vanished like a TV image.
After his sight returned, a ragged pale red wall had appeared before him.
This was the wall of the secret chamber.
The pain emanating from between his eyebrows made Ding Hao clench his teeth.
No matter how hard he tried, he still could not see through this wall before him, to see what was happening outside. It was as if what he saw with his X-ray vision was merely an illusion.
“What’s going on? Why can’t I use my X-ray vision all of a sudden?”
Ding Hao was extremely baffled.
He reached out to touch the spot where the pain came from, on his forehead. It was smooth without any scars.
An unprecedented fatigue overcame his whole body. Ever since he practiced the Mind Essential of the Invincible Fighting Method, Ding Hao’s perception had been keener and more abundant than ordinary masters’ of the Martial Emperor Realm. Ding Hao had never felt himself so exhausted mentally.
He tried to summon the Saber Master and the Sword Master in his mind.
But there was no response.
Both of them seemed to have fallen into a deep sleep.
“What the hell’s going on? Could… could it have something to do with the scorching heat and the detonating sensation in my brain just now? Were the two old freaks affected?”
When he thought of this, Ding Hao could not help but feel a little anxious.
Yet despite calling those two old freaks again and again, he did not receive any response.
In the end, he could only calm down and ponder carefully. He still could not make heads or tails of it.
All the strange changes were related to that integrated Heaven-Earth Blood Bone of the Three-headed Heavenly Hound. Yet he could not detect with his Divine Senses where this power was now at. He could not detect any secondary power either. The Heaven-Earth Blood Bone seemed to have vanished into thin air.
Only the pain on his forehead remained.
When he looked into his head with his Divine Senses, Ding Hao was horribly shocked.
Inside his forehead, his Divine Senses “saw” a golden halo about the size of a thumb, from where the sharp pain on his forehead emanated. It was spinning and releasing golden mists, looking extremely mysterious.
“What’s this?”
Ding Hao tried to enter his mind with his Divine Senses to observe it, but soon found his Divine Senses being swallowed up as soon as they got close to the golden light bead. They disappeared in an instant—like a clay ox vanishing into the sea without a trace.
“When I was observing the outside world with my X-ray vision, I was so mentally exhausted. Could it be due to this golden bead?”
Ding Hao mulled about this in his mind. He was more and more certain that he was right.
The golden light bead seemed to be devouring his mentality and Divine Senses as food. No matter how hard Ding Hao tried to activate his Divine Senses, it would get swallowed up the moment he inched a little closer. Soon, it had engulfed a large amount of his Divine Senses, although there seemed no change on the outside.
“It can devour the power of my Divine Senses. Did it also swallow the two old freaks, the Saber Master and the Sword Master? After all, those two freaks live in my sea of consciousness, manifesting as mental spirits…”
When he thought of this, Ding Hao became a little nervous.
He tried calling the Saber Master and the Sword Master again, but there was still no response.
Ding Hao’s heart sank.
He had originally wanted to improve his strength a little and consolidate his realm in this secret chamber. Yet such an unexpected thing had happened, after he integrated the Heaven-Earth Blood Bone. Was it a blessing or a curse?
He was seized with all kinds of thoughts, but in the end could make nothing of them. He could only put this mystery aside for the time being.
Fortunately, the Saber Master and the Sword Master were uncontactable before. They only responded after a few days. Ding Hao only hoped that it would be the same this time—that those two old fellas would suddenly appear again.
He slowly got up and put away the Saber Intent Rush Cushion.
“Was what I saw just now—that terrible doomsday scene—real? What catastrophe has happened outside the Towering Buddha Pagoda?”
Ding Hao’s heart felt more and more uneasy.
As if something terrible was about to happen.
“I have to find Uncle Tianshu and Evil Moon soon. Something’s not quite right!”
Ding Hao walked out of the secret chamber, down the corridor to the spiral staircase in the center of the 97th floor. He climbed up to the 98th floor.
The 98th floor.
Experts from various Clans were standing on all four sides.
Ding Hao made a rough estimate. There must be nearly 1,000 people here, all experts of a region with extraordinary auras.
Ding Hao’s arrival did not attract anyone’s attention.
They were all focused on the spiral staircase in the center of the pagoda.
An intense fight was taking place there.
The two engaged in a fight were a Human expert in fluttering white robes, and a Demon Emperor who had almost morphed into a giant black bear. They were both extremely powerful warriors who could still use their Qi and Demon Aura to fight in this oppressive tower.
The clamor of the confrontation echoed incessantly, like rolling thunder.
Shocking waves of energy spread in all directions like a hurricane. No one dared to step within several dozen meters of the fight.
Ding Hao glanced at them casually, and was shocked.
The strength of both sides was extremely horrific. He would surely not be their match under normal circumstances. Those who could reach the 98th level were indeed extraordinary warriors.
Ding Hao’s eyes surveyed the crowd, but he did not see Uncle Tianshu and Evil Moon.
“Maybe they’ve gone up to the 99th floor?”
This was Ding Hao’s guess.
At this moment…
Boom!
Another loud boom was heard, and a terrible energy wave emanated out.
Shocked gasps were heard everywhere.
The Black Bear Demon Emperor, who had four arms, was sent flying a dozen meters away by the Human expert in fluttering white robes. His two arms hung down limply. They were obviously broken—the Demon Emperor had sustained a serious injury. He opened his mouth and spat out a jet of blood, his bloodshot eyes glaring ferociously at his opponent. In the end, he had to unwillingly concede defeat. “You win. You may go up!”
The winner of this fight had been decided at last.
The Black Bear Demon Emperor must be the gatekeeper of the Demon Clan on this floor. Human experts had to defeat him to ascend to the 99th floor.
This white-robed master of the Human Clan seemed only 17 or 18. His face looked extremely immature, and his skin was as smooth as jade. As he grasped a golden folding fan in his hand, his black hair cascaded like a waterfall. He was so handsome and unrestrained that he could be described as a supremely dashing gentleman.
He did not seem proud, having defeated the Black Bear Demon Emperor. Striking his palm with his folding fan, he walked toward the spiral staircase without even glancing back at his opponent, who looked unresigned to his defeat.
As soon as he took a step, he suddenly muttered in surprise and glanced back.
The white-robed youth’s eyes swept through the crowd and fell on Ding Hao for a moment. A trace of puzzled disappointment flashed in the depths of his eyes. He shook his head before quickly climbing to the 99th floor.
Ding Hao was a little surprised.
This young man with a folding fan, dressed in fluttering white robes, was the same handsome youth he saw in the Heaven Pavilion on the Golden Boat of the Nine Heavens Mystic Fairies. He had qualified to enter the back hall of the Heaven Pavilion. The youth even asked Ding Hao the next day if he was a man!
Ding Hao met this youth again in a small town tavern on the outskirts of the Bone-burying Forest. He spoke rudely to the super forces of Central Region, starting a big fight…
He did not expect the youth to be also here in this pagoda. He was so powerful, defeating that Demon Emperor expert so effortlessly!
“Where is he from?” Ding Hao wondered.
As Ding Hao thought, another challenge rang out in his ears.
But this time, it was someone from the Demon Clan challenging the Human Clan gatekeeper.
They soon started to fight. Sparks flew in all directions.
The gatekeeper of the Human Clan was a warrior with purple Qi all over his body. To be able to use his Qi in such an environment, he must be at least at the Martial Grand Emperor Realm. His moves were extremely simple, yet there was a formidable, earth-shattering power in his every move.
The Demon Clan expert challenging him was a beautiful middle-aged woman.
She had a voluptuous figure, her breasts bouncing with each strike she made. Her dazzling fair skin was so enticing. Her clothes were skimpy, with only a thin purple veil cloaking the intimate parts of her body. From time to time, she would let off mesmerizing peals of laughter, moving insanely fast.
She was a Demon Emperor from the Fox Tribe.
Ding Hao inched toward the center of the fight.
Once the fight was over, the rules stipulated that the Humans could challenge the Demon Clan gatekeeper again. Ding Hao had to quickly climb to the 99th floor and find Uncle Tianshu and Evil Moon. He could sense that the doomsday scene he saw from the secret chamber was no illusion.
The challenge from the Demon Clan was soon over.
The beautiful Fox Tribe Demon Emperor won in the end. She had qualified to go up to the 99th floor.
Ding Hao frowned slightly.
He could see that the gatekeeper of the Human Clan, covered with purple Qi mists and flames, did not give his all for some reason. He was just pretending to be fighting her with all his strength, before allowing the Fox Tribe Demoness to qualify.
The moment the fight ended, Ding Hao stepped up to the center of the duel circle.
This time, the gatekeeper of the Demon Clan was no longer the injured Black Bear Demon Emperor, but a middle-aged man with an icy expression and penetrating eyes. If it weren’t for the wolfish cyan mane on his neck, many would have mistaken him for a master of the Human Clan.
“Hehe, so you can’t wait to step out! Do you think you can take advantage of our brother’s injury? I’m Qing Lie. I’m here to slay you!” The Cyan Wolf Demon Emperor sneered. He looked at Ding Hao like he was a pile of minced meat.
