The Slaughter of the Ancient Castle

The towering ancient castle was built entirely from massive blocks of reddish-brown stone, as if stained by blood. It covered a vast area, surrounded by swirling black mist, looking sinister and terrifying from afar.

At that moment, from within the grand and fearsome castle, a being of flesh and blood emerged—completely different from the usual fire creatures, though shrouded in black mist that made it hard to see clearly.

He cast a cold glance in Xiao Chen's direction, and two fierce blood-red lights shot from his eyes, piercing to the soul.

This was definitely a powerful being. The nearby fire creatures trembled in fear, overcome by an impulse to prostrate themselves in worship.

Fortunately, he did not continue to scan this area and quickly withdrew his gaze.

With a single step, he covered twenty meters, vanishing at the edge of the earth like a bolt of lightning.

A terrifyingly strong individual—impossible to gauge his depth!

The castle gates stood wide open, silent and still, with no sound at all, as if it were an empty fortress.

Xiao Chen watched from a distance for a long time, but saw no fire creatures entering or leaving. Vaguely, he felt something was wrong.

Too quiet. This was abnormal. How could such a powerful castle not exude the oppressive aura of a strong being?

After waiting a long while, Xiao Chen strode forward and walked straight into the towering castle.

What he saw before him shocked him deeply. The ground was covered in shattered bones, all killed with a single blow. Skulls were crushed, fire seeds scattered. The vast castle was deathly still, with only a floor of wreckage.

Xiao Chen was profoundly shaken. He rushed deeper inside, and the scene was the same everywhere—fire creatures with their skulls shattered.

Had the flesh-and-blood man done all this? It was terrifying—like walking through an empty land.

When he charged into the central hall of the castle, everything was even more dreadful. Over a dozen powerful fire creatures lay dead on the floor, and before the throne at the hall's center, a crystal crown lay shattered, its owner's skull split into pieces.

Total annihilation!

All the fire creatures throughout the castle had been killed. The sight was chilling, enough to make anyone's blood run cold.

Was all this the work of the powerful being who had just left? His strength was truly terrifying and dreadful.

Who exactly was that person? Why would he display such ruthless methods? Though that person appeared to have flesh and blood, Xiao Chen could not be certain he was a living human. He could only classify him as an unknown powerful existence.

The master of the castle was a fallen angel, its body covered in rotting flesh, with a pair of pitch-black wings on its back. It had clearly struggled fiercely, but ultimately could not prevail. Its skull had been shattered, its fire seed taken.

As for the other dozen corpses in the central hall, they seemed to have been killed without much of a fight—their skulls crushed directly. This showed just how terrifying the intruder was.

But strangely, aside from the fallen angel master's fire seed, the rest were scattered about the hall, untouched.

The fire seeds in the hall were broken into fragments, twinkling with an eerie light.

Xiao Chen was astonished to find that nine of the skeletons had fire seeds at his own cultivation level, yet the killer had not taken them. This proved once again how formidable that person was.

The castle master had been a level higher than him, and only its fire seed was missing.

A terrifying murderer—he had single-handedly wiped out an entire castle.

Xiao Chen, of course, would not be as picky as that murderer. Nine fire seeds at his own level were like a dreamlike treasure to him. This was an unexpected opportunity; if he had hunted fire creatures of the same rank himself, who knew how long it would take to gather this many?

He gathered the nine powerful fire seeds before him and began to focus his mind, absorbing them. Flames leaped around him like a phoenix bathed in fire, his entire body enveloped in dancing firelight, making his blue diamond bone body shine even more brightly.

Brilliant radiance flowed into Xiao Chen's fire seed like water, the blazing light illuminating the entire hall, driving away all the black mist.

After absorbing all nine powerful fire seeds, his own fire seed became more condensed, like a divine lamp fixed within his skull.

Though the fire seeds were not enough for a breakthrough, his power could not increase dramatically, but his bone body underwent another change.

His crystalline blue diamond bones began to show traces of blood-red, shimmering with luster as if inlaid with bits of blood diamond.

Standing up, he transformed into a flash of blue light and left the castle. This was no safe place; today's fortune was accidental, and he could not stay.

The more he thought about it, the more formidable that powerful being seemed. A huge castle had been reduced to ruins by one man alone. This struck Xiao Chen deeply. After he had distanced himself from that area, he looked in the direction the strong one had vanished. It seemed to be the direction of another castle.

His heart shaken by the thought, Xiao Chen did not pause. Each step carried him over eight or nine meters, his body turning into a blue beam of light that shot toward the distance.

This time, he kept his distance and observed cautiously, not daring to approach too closely, since that terrifyingly strong being was far too dangerous.

The towering castle was shrouded in yin energy, silent and utterly still. On its gate was a terrifying handprint that had punched through the one-meter-thick stone door.

That fearsome figure had indeed come here, leaving an indelible mark. The castle was deathly still, filled with shattered bones—every undead creature had been slaughtered!

The scene before him was exactly like the previous castle—not a single survivor left. Another total annihilation.

This castle's master was a giant white-boned bear. Its skullcap had five finger holes; someone had ripped off the top of its head and taken its fire seed.

The ground was littered with broken bones, telling the tale of the killer's dreadfulness.

Xiao Chen discovered ten skeletons here with fire seeds at his own level. How could he miss such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? He took these fire seeds and rushed toward the last castle, absorbing the powerful same-level fire seeds as he went.

His whole body bathed in divine fire, surrounded by blazing flames of powerful fire seeds. As he ran across the earth, he was like a fiery dragon, streaking across the sky and appearing two hundred li away.

On the way, he had absorbed all those fire seeds. His skull now seemed to hang a bright moon, and his bones were covered in more red lines, truly like specks of crystalline red diamond.

When he was several li from the castle, he slowed down and stopped at a great distance. He saw that flesh-and-blood man again.

The master of this castle had been alerted in advance and led several dozen powerful fire creatures out. The castle lord was a griffin bone body—a lion king's skeleton with a pair of enormous wings.

"To refine life-source fluid from my clan's living bodies—you deserve death!"

The cold voice exploded like thunder before the castle, shaking the towering fortress.

This was the first time Xiao Chen had heard the fearsome strong one speak. He carried an overwhelming pressure that made ears ring.

The griffin castle lord seemed to sense danger and transmitted a mental fluctuation, explaining, "I only traded for some of it; I never knew how to refine it myself."

"You deserve death!"

The flesh-and-blood strong man refused to listen to his explanation. With one step, he covered several dozen meters, and when his foot landed, the entire castle shook.

The griffin castle lord was greatly alarmed. The enemy was far stronger than he had imagined. He shot into the sky, intending to retreat without a fight.

But the attacking powerhouse was terrifyingly unpredictable. He leaped twenty meters high, caught up from behind, and with a single palm strike, severed both of the griffin's wings.

"Bang!"

The griffin crashed to the ground. In the first exchange, he had suffered a major loss, losing his ability to fly.

The terrifying strong man also landed, but in the next instant, he launched another fierce attack, impossibly fast. The griffin castle lord took the initiative to resist this harvester of fire seeds.

But after just a few exchanges, the sound of bones breaking was heard. The griffin lord's skull was ripped open, and the fire seed inside was directly taken and placed into a jade bottle.

Such methods immediately terrified the other fire creatures; none dared to step forward.

A cold laugh escaped the flesh-and-blood powerhouse. He strode forward and began the slaughter.

He moved as if on a casual stroll, leisurely in manner, but wherever he passed, bones shattered and fire creatures fell dead without pause. He did not linger and headed deeper into the continent.

It was a shocking scene—the entire castle was destroyed by one man…

Xiao Chen walked over from the distance, ready to harvest the remaining fire seeds. Since there was such an unexpected opportunity, there was no reason to give it up.

This castle had left eight fire seeds at his own level. When Xiao Chen had completely absorbed them, a dazzling, brilliant light burst forth, and his entire body radiated a sacred glow.

A breakthrough!

Quantitative change had led to qualitative change. He had advanced again, his strength greatly increased. His whole body shone with light, and within his blue crystal bones, red light flickered, flowing with brilliant radiance as if alive.

If the forces of the three great castles had not been destroyed, Xiao Chen would now be the strongest existence within five hundred li, on par with the three former castle lords.

"Boom!"

Suddenly, an extremely powerful aura erupted in the distance. The dreadful spiritual fluctuation could be sensed even from afar.

Xiao Chen gazed into the distance, then strode forward.

The deathly silent and desolate plain was barren of grass, looking bleak and boundless. The flesh-and-blood powerhouse had been blocked. Before him stood a "Red Diamond King"—a skeleton whose bones were as translucent as blood-red crystal, shimmering with a dreamlike, ethereal luster. It seemed less a skeleton and more a masterpiece of art.

Seeing this from afar, Xiao Chen's heart shook violently. The Red Diamond powerhouse seemed no weaker than the terrifying killer.

"You dare to penetrate deep into my territory and kill my subordinates? You deserve to be executed!" The Red Diamond King vanished with a single step and closed in instantly, attacking.

"To refine life-source fluid from my clan's living bodies—you deserve death!" The flesh-and-blood powerhouse gave no ground, responding directly with a palm strike.

The two powerhouses clashed mightily, sending sand and stones flying into the sky, shattering rocks.

So much had happened today. The great battle between powerhouses had brought Xiao Chen immense benefits without effort. He wondered if the clash of these two supreme experts ahead would also bring him fortune.

Just then, he suddenly heard a clear, childish voice from behind, timid and hesitant: "Mr. Skeleton..."

A little boy, no more than five or six years old, looked very innocent and adorable. He was tilting his head up, blinking his big, black-gem-like eyes at Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen immediately leaped more than ten meters away. What was this little boy? How had he arrived behind him without a sound?

This was another being of flesh and blood. He felt he had to find out what was going on.