Duel to the Death

Hearing the sound, Huo Yuhao felt his heart tighten and retreated without a moment's hesitation.

Through Spirit Detection, he saw that the hook at the end of the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's tail had turned into a transparent gray.

A gray light barrier, much like Huo Yuhao's own Soul Guidance Shield, completely protected the evil tiger within. The Titan Giant Ape's attacks could only stir up ripples, no longer capable of restraining the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger.

The evil tiger let out an angry roar, and layers of gray light condensed into a sphere, flying toward Huo Yuhao. The Titan Giant Ape's warning rang out once more.

"Yuhao, watch out! That is its Dark Demon Evil Thunder; even I wouldn't dare take that head-on."

The Dark Demon Evil Thunder was incredibly fast, but Huo Yuhao managed to predict its landing spot in advance using Spirit Detection, narrowly dodging it.

Seeing this, the Dark Demon Evil Tiger was not shocked; instead, a flash of excitement crossed its eyes.

There was no longer any cover between it and this human!

Everything was within its calculations. Huo Yuhao felt a sense of dread, and the next moment, the Dark Demon Evil Tiger had silently arrived behind him, the Evil God Hook at its tail radiating a chilling cold light.

Huo Yuhao was horrified. Why can it still teleport!?

His thoughts raced as he recalled the landing spots of those Dark Demon Evil Thunder strikes, and he realized with a jolt: the evil tiger had deliberately forced him into this position!

What a deep scheme! Gritting his teeth, just as he prepared to summon the Snow Empress, a shrill voice rang out.

"Scarlet King! I know you're there! Help him!"

Huo Yuhao turned his head to look. The Three-Eyed Golden Ni stood to the side with red eyes. Even the Dark Demon Evil Tiger had its attention drawn away, its eyes shining with even greater excitement.

The Auspicious Beast hadn't run! As long as it killed the human in front of it, it could devour the Auspicious Beast as well!

"Sigh..."

A sigh drifted over, and a dark red light flashed. A lion five meters long with three heads appeared before everyone—it was the Three-Headed Scarlet Demon Mastiff that Huo Yuhao had seen in his previous life, the Scarlet King.

The Scarlet King looked at the Auspicious Beast, then at Huo Yuhao, his voice filled with helplessness.

"In return for you helping the Auspicious Beast, I will save your life."

He then cast a cold gaze upon the Dark Demon Evil Tiger, his voice brimming with intense chill.

"To actually dare lay a hand on the Auspicious Beast—what immense audacity! Die!"

A tremendous pressure bound the Dark Demon Evil Tiger, rendering it completely unable to move. Even its tail could not touch Huo Yuhao, who was standing right in front of it.

The evil tiger could handle a Titan Giant Ape of similar cultivation, but against the Scarlet King, who possessed over three hundred thousand years of cultivation, it had no power to fight back.

Watching its gray barrier shatter inch by inch under the pressure, the evil tiger's eyes erupted with madness born of deep despair. It would not sit and wait for death; even if it died, it would drag someone down with it!

The Evil God Hook on its tail seemed unaffected by the suppression, instantly straightening. A point of black light appeared beside it, and the next moment, it exploded, forming a massive black hole three meters in diameter.

"Hm? It can still unleash a skill!?" The Scarlet King watched this scene in shock. He could never have imagined that even when suppressed to the point of immobility, the Dark Demon Evil Tiger could still release a black hole skill.

By the time he tried to intervene, it was already too late.

Huo Yuhao had been monitoring the Dark Demon Evil Tiger's state through Spirit Detection the entire time. He had learned the lesson of a cornered beast in his previous life, and the moment he saw the madness flickering in the tiger's eyes, he immediately unleashed his amplified mental shock.

The Dark Demon Evil Tiger let out a miserable howl, and the black light on its body shattered instantly.

Following that, a massive suction force erupted from the black hole, pulling in Huo Yuhao, who was closest. The Dark Demon Evil Tiger itself could not resist the pull and followed Huo Yuhao into the black hole.

"No!"

The Three-Eyed Golden Ni's pupils dilated in shock at the sight. With a sorrowful roar, she lunged toward the black hole.

This startled the Scarlet King, who quickly intercepted the Auspicious Beast. If anything happened to her after she went in, that person would surely slaughter him.

The Three-Eyed Golden Ni struggled incessantly, watching with her own eyes as the black hole gradually shrank and vanished, tears streaming down her face uncontrollably.

"Scarlet King, save him, I beg you, save him..."

The Scarlet King looked at the vanished black hole and sighed softly.

"I didn't expect that evil tiger to have such a trick up its sleeve, capable of breaking free from my control. That human likely won't survive. Auspicious Beast, it's just a human, there's no need for this. Let's go back."

"No! He's different from other humans! He promised me! I'm staying here, waiting for him to come back." The Three-Eyed Golden Ni shook her head desperately, sobbing as she spoke.

"...Then let's wait and see. I hope the kid is lucky enough to survive."

The Scarlet King also felt that leaving just like that was indeed inappropriate. Based on the human's performance just now, if he had the chance to save him, he would choose to do so—even if he were dead, he would at least want to see the body.

"Where is this?"

Huo Yuhao looked at the dark space around him, feeling bewildered. This boundless darkness was quite similar to the strange dreams he had from time to time.

"Where did the black hole send me? Brother Sky Dream, Ice Empress, A-Lu, are you there?"

...There was no response.

Suddenly, the surroundings brightened. An arena rapidly unfolded and spread out, quickly encompassing Huo Yuhao. The surroundings remained dark, but the platform beneath his feet emitted a faint glow, illuminating his field of vision.

Opposite him was that same Dark Demon Evil Tiger. Although it no longer had wings and its size had reverted to that of a normal tiger, the miniature Evil God Hook on its tail allowed Huo Yuhao to recognize it instantly.

He looked at himself and saw that he, too, had reverted to the appearance of a six or seven-year-old child. It wasn't just his body; he had lost his martial soul and soul bones, and his soul power had returned to the level of a six or seven-year-old.

Just as Huo Yuhao was stunned, a voice echoed from all around, pulling his attention back.

"Welcome to the Life and Death Arena. The deathmatch is about to begin. It ends when one side dies. Countdown: five, four, three, two, one, begin!"

Listening to this voice, Huo Yuhao roughly understood the rules.

Is this forcing both sides to fight to the death in their juvenile forms?

Suddenly, as if thinking of something, he reached toward his storage belt, and a small metal plate appeared before him; it was a Soul Guidance Shield he had crafted.

Raising an eyebrow, Huo Yuhao said in surprise, "I can even take this out!?"

However, even with this thing, he wouldn't be able to use it if his Soul Power Level wasn't high enough.

Immediately after, he reached out again, and a sealed Milk Bottle appeared in his hand.

"..."

Huo Yuhao looked up, dumbfounded, at the charging Dark Demon Evil God Tiger, not knowing what to say.

While he was stunned, the Evil Tiger had already closed the distance, leaping violently and pouncing toward him with claws bared, its eyes flashing with strange excitement.

Every human dragged into this space by it was incredibly weak and unable to contend with it, and it always emerged as the final victor.

Everyone who had witnessed this skill of its had died, and being able to drag someone down with it before dying was considered worth it.

Unfortunately, the idea was beautiful but reality was cruel; it slammed with a thud against the golden Soul Guidance Shield, the entire tiger left dazed and confused, its tongue lolling against the shield as it slowly slid down.

Seeing this, Huo Yuhao scratched his head lightly and muttered, "This shouldn't count as cheating, right?"