The moment the God-Slaying Spear appeared, the chaotic currents across hundreds of millions of miles abruptly froze.
The spear was pitch-black from end to end, its shaft covered in dark crimson patterns like dried blood vessels.
A cold gleam flickered from its tip. Merely hanging there, it radiated a bone-piercing killing intent, as though countless dead souls were wailing upon its body.
The instant Luo Hou gripped the shaft, his aura surged sharply.
He had originally been suppressed by the Chaos Demon Ape, but now he seemed like a completely different person.
Dark crimson killing aura erupted from within him, condensing behind him into a blood-colored phantom. Within it, one could vaguely see mountains of corpses and seas of blood.
"Dead monkey, do you really think I'm afraid of you?"
Luo Hou sneered and thrust his spear.
The Chaos Demon Ape was not alarmed; instead, he was delighted.
"Good!"
With a roar, he swung his iron staff to meet it.
Spear and staff collided with an earth-shaking boom.
The chaotic currents around them were blasted outward, forming a visible shockwave that spread in all directions.
Shichen stood in the distance, watching with great interest.
Honestly, life in Hundun was far too boring. With a fight to watch, of course he would watch a little longer.
In the battlefield, Luo Hou and the Chaos Demon Ape had already begun fighting in earnest.
The God-Slaying Spear's tip flashed with cold light as endless Laws of Slaughter spread along its shaft. Everywhere they passed, even space was corroded into fine black holes.
"Dead monkey, you're courting death!"
With an angry shout, the spear shot forth like a dragon, stabbing straight at the Chaos Demon Ape's chest. Before the blade arrived, its frigid killing aura had already made the ape's fur stand on end.
Yet the Chaos Demon Ape was delighted rather than startled, and an excited gleam burst from his scarlet eyes.
"Hahahaha! This is exhilarating!"
He threw back his head and laughed, sweeping his iron staff across. The Law of War condensed into tangible golden light and crashed fearlessly into the spearpoint.
Clang!
Luo Hou borrowed the force to fly backward. The web of his hand split open, and black blood dripped down the spear shaft.
The Chaos Demon Ape was also forced back several steps, his chest sliced open by spear aura in a wound deep enough to reveal bone. Yet instead of becoming enraged, he pounded his chest and stomped his feet, his roar shaking the heavens.
"Again!"
His constitution made him stronger the more he fought. The God-Slaying Spear's murderous aura not only failed to crush him, but instead drove the Law of War within him into an even greater frenzy. Layer upon layer of golden battle patterns emerged across his black body, while his aura soared wildly.
Luo Hou's expression darkened.
This black ape was completely insane. The longer they fought, the fiercer he became.
"Damn it..."
The two fought directly for several Chaos epochs. Shichen could tell that Luo Hou was beginning to struggle and would soon be defeated.
Luo Hou was only at the Fifth Heaven of the Primordial Unity Realm, already lower in cultivation than the Chaos Demon Ape. Not to mention that fellow grew more excited the longer he fought, the battle intent within him like an inexhaustible spring, surging forth in ever greater amounts.
Sure enough, after fighting for another Chaos epoch, Luo Hou's aura began to grow disorderly.
Having watched enough of the spectacle, Shichen decided to step in. The Law of Time emerged from his palm, and the two figures were directly frozen in place.
"Have you caused enough trouble?"
Shichen slowly stepped out from the void with his hands behind his back. His gaze swept over the two before finally landing on the God-Slaying Spear, and he nodded slightly.
"The God-Slaying Spear, the innate supreme treasure of the Slaughter Dao. It truly is extraordinary."
As his voice fell, he flicked his fingertip.
The restraint vanished.
The Chaos Demon Ape suddenly came to his senses. Swinging his iron staff, he showed no fear whatsoever, instead staring at Shichen with shining eyes.
"You're Shichen? The first Time Demon God to be born? Come! Fight me! I, the Demon God of War, have long wanted to fight you!"
He had long heard of Shichen's reputation and had always wanted an opportunity to spar with him. Now that they had met, the battle intent throughout his body was nearly overflowing.
Luo Hou, meanwhile, put away the God-Slaying Spear. His expression remained cold and hard as he gave Shichen a slight nod, but he did not utter any threats.
In that instant of temporal stagnation, he had not even had room to resist. The strength of the Fifth Heaven of the Heavenly Dao Realm was right there before him; he had no choice but to accept it.
Shichen ignored the monkey who only knew how to fight and looked toward the depths of Hundun.
"You fought so fiercely that you scattered the Qi of the Tribulation everywhere. It does Hundun no good."
"The Qi of the Tribulation?" Luo Hou frowned.
He had only felt that the gray aura was cold and sinister, but he did not know its dangers.
Shichen said calmly, "More and more Demon Gods are being born, and the Tribulation has already appeared. This means the Chaos Origin has begun to decline. If we continue exhausting ourselves like this, it will benefit no one."
The Chaos Demon Ape scratched his head, seeming to understand yet not fully understanding. He did not care about any Tribulation; he only cared whether he could fight to his heart's content.
"I heard all this fighting from far away and wondered who it was."
A teasing voice approached from afar as Yang Mei strode through the air.
He swept his gaze over the devastated battlefield, then looked at the excited Demon Ape and the slightly dark-faced Luo Hou before he could not help but laugh.
"The Demon Ape is one thing, but Luo Hou, you've gone mad with him too. You've only been born for such a short time, and you're already clashing with this battle fanatic?"
Luo Hou's lips twitched, but he said nothing.
Yang Mei turned to Shichen, his smile fading somewhat. "You said the Qi of the Tribulation has spread?"
"Yes." Shichen nodded. "The Demon God of Disaster was only just born, yet the aura of the Tribulation has already begun to spread. It is faster than expected. The Chaos Origin is likely declining far more rapidly than we estimated."
Yang Mei's expression turned solemn as well.
They had lived for several thousand Chaos epochs and were no longer ignorant beings freshly born into existence.
The more Chaos Demon Gods were born, the more the Chaos Origin was consumed. The Demon Gods only consumed and never replenished it. Once the three thousand Demon Gods and their countless lower Demon Gods had all been born, the Chaos Origin would likely degrade into Chaos Spiritual Qi.
Both men understood what the decline of the Origin meant. The Great Dao would sooner or later make a choice, and the most likely choice would be to reforge the Origin by opening heaven and earth.
When that time came, the three thousand Demon Gods would be the first price to pay.
"Come, let's find somewhere to discuss this properly," Yang Mei said.
Shichen nodded. He then glanced at the still-eager Chaos Demon Ape and Luo Hou, who stood silently to one side, before pondering briefly.
"You two should come as well. The matter of the Tribulation concerns every Demon God. The sooner you know, the sooner you can prepare."
Hearing there was something interesting to join, the Demon Ape immediately nodded.
"Fine! I'll listen to you!"
Luo Hou also nodded slightly, and the figures of the four vanished from where they stood in an instant.
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