Huo Yuhao's heart tightened at the sound, and he immediately retreated without hesitation.
Using Spirit Detection, he saw that the hook at the end of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's tail had turned gray and translucent.
A gray barrier, much like Huo Yuhao's Soul Guidance Shield, completely protected the Evil Tiger inside. The Titan Giant Ape's attacks only sent ripples across it and could no longer restrain the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.
The Evil Tiger roared. Layers of gray light condensed into a sphere and flew toward Huo Yuhao. The Titan Giant Ape's warning rang out again.
"Yuhao, watch out! That's its Dark Demon Evil Thunder. Even I wouldn't dare take it head-on."
The Dark Demon Evil Thunder moved fast, but Huo Yuhao still relied on Spirit Detection to predict where it would land and narrowly dodged it.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger wasn't shocked by what it saw. Instead, a hint of excitement flashed in its eyes.
There was nothing left between it and this human!
Everything had gone according to its plan. This is bad, Huo Yuhao thought. In the next instant, the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger appeared silently behind him, the Evil God Hook on its tail gleaming with a cold light.
Huo Yuhao was stunned. Why can it still teleport!?
His thoughts raced as he recalled where the Dark Demon Evil Thunders had landed. He suddenly understood. The Evil Tiger had deliberately forced him into this position!
What a deep-laid scheme! He gritted his teeth. Just as he was about to summon Snow Empress, a piercing voice rang out.
"Scarlet King! I know you're here! Help him!"
Huo Yuhao turned to look. The Three-Eyed Golden Lion stood nearby, eyes red. Even the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger was distracted, its excitement growing stronger.
The Auspicious Beast hadn't escaped! As long as it killed the human in front of it, it could devour the Auspicious Beast too!
"Sigh..."
A sigh drifted over. Dark red light flashed, and a five-meter-long, three-headed lion appeared before them. It was the Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Mastiff Huo Yuhao had seen in his previous life.
The Scarlet King looked at the Auspicious Beast, then at Huo Yuhao, his voice tinged with helplessness.
"I'll save your life, since you helped hold off the enemy for the Auspicious Beast."
Then he turned his icy gaze on the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, his voice brimming with cold fury.
"You dared to lay a hand on the Auspicious Beast? You've got some nerve! Die!"
An immense pressure bound the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, leaving it unable to move. Even its tail couldn't reach Huo Yuhao, who was right beside it.
The Evil Tiger might have been able to deal with the Titan Giant Ape, whose cultivation was around the same level as its own. But against the Scarlet King, whose cultivation had surpassed three hundred thousand years, it had no chance to fight back.
As the gray barrier shattered inch by inch under the pressure, a mad glint flared in the Evil Tiger's eyes, born of utter despair. It wasn't going to sit back and wait for death. Even if it died, it would take someone down with it!
The Evil God Hook on its tail seemed completely unaffected by the suppression. It straightened in an instant, and a dot of black light appeared beside it. The next moment, it erupted into a gigantic black hole three meters in diameter.
"Hm? It can still use a skill!?" The Scarlet King watched in shock. He couldn't believe the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger could summon a black hole even while suppressed to the point that it couldn't move.
By the time he tried to stop it, it was too late.
Huo Yuhao had been keeping an eye on the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's condition with Spirit Detection. He had learned the lesson of a cornered beast fighting back in his previous life. The moment he saw the madness in the Evil Tiger's eyes, he immediately unleashed his amplified Spirit Shock again.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger let out a terrible howl, and the black light around its body shattered.
Then an immense suction force came from the black hole, pulling in Huo Yuhao, who was closest to it. The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger couldn't resist the pull either and was dragged into the black hole right after him.
"No!"
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion's pupils contracted with shock. She gave a heartbroken cry and charged toward the black hole.
The Scarlet King, standing nearby, was so startled that he hurriedly stopped the Auspicious Beast. If she went in and something happened to her, that person would skin him alive.
The Three-Eyed Golden Lion struggled desperately, watching helplessly as the black hole shrank and vanished. Tears streamed down her face.
"Scarlet King, save him. Please, save him..."
The Scarlet King looked at the vanished black hole and sighed.
"I didn't expect that Evil Tiger to have another trick that could break free of my control. That human probably won't survive. Auspicious Beast, he was only a human. There's no need to take it so hard. Let's go back."
"No! He's different from the other humans! He promised me! I'm staying here to wait for him to come back." The Three-Eyed Golden Lion shook her head frantically, sobbing as she spoke.
"...Then let's wait and see. I hope that kid is lucky enough to survive."
The Scarlet King also felt it would be wrong to leave just like that. Judging by the human's actions earlier, if he'd had the chance to save the Scarlet King, he would have done so—even if it meant dying. They ought to at least see his body.
"Where is this?"
Huo Yuhao looked at the dark space around him, at a loss. The endless darkness reminded him of the strange dreams he sometimes had.
"Where did the black hole send me? Brother Sky Dream, Ice Empress, A-Lu, are you there?"
...There was no reply.
Suddenly, the surroundings lit up. An arena rapidly unfolded and spread until it encompassed Huo Yuhao. Darkness still surrounded him, but the platform beneath his feet gave off a faint glow, illuminating his view.
The Dark Demon Evil God Tiger stood opposite him. It had no wings now, and its body was the size of an ordinary tiger, but Huo Yuhao recognized it at once by the miniature Evil God Hook on its tail.
He looked at himself. He had also turned into a child of six or seven. Not only had his body changed, but his Martial Soul and Soul Bone were gone as well, and his Soul Power had returned to the level he'd had at that age.
As Huo Yuhao stood there, dazed, a voice sounded around him, pulling his attention back.
"Welcome to the Life and Death Arena. The deathmatch is about to begin. It will end when one side dies. Countdown: five, four, three, two, one. Begin!"
Listening to the voice, Huo Yuhao roughly understood the rules.
"So both sides have to fight to the death in their childhood bodies?"
Then he seemed to think of something and reached for his storage belt. A small metal plate appeared before him. It was the Soul Guidance Shield he had made.
Huo Yuhao raised an eyebrow, astonished. "I can bring this out too!?"
But even with this thing, he didn't have enough Soul Power to use it.
He reached for his belt again. This time, a Sealed Milk Bottle appeared in his hand.
"..."
Huo Yuhao stared blankly at the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger charging toward him, unsure what to say.
While he was dazed, the Evil Tiger had already closed in. It sprang forward, claws extended, and pounced at him, an unusual excitement gleaming in its eyes.
Every human it had dragged into this space had been pathetically weak and unable to fight back. It always came out on top.
Everyone who had seen this skill of its had died. Taking someone down with it before it died was worth it.
Unfortunately, its plan was beautiful, but reality was cruel. With a smack, it crashed into the golden Soul Guidance Shield. The whole tiger was left seeing stars, its tongue lolling against the shield as it slowly slid down.
Seeing this, Huo Yuhao scratched his head and muttered, "I guess this doesn't count as cheating, right?"