External Soul Bone: Dark Gold Bat Wings!

Slaughter City, entrance to the Hell Slaughter Arena.

A young man in a hood blocked Xia Mu's path. He swept his gaze over Xia Mu, who wore a conical hat, before speaking in a low voice.

"Are you Dugu Qiubai?"

"The famed Sword Demon of Slaughter City?"

Xia Mu stopped and looked the newcomer up and down.

After a moment, he said, "Before asking someone else's name, shouldn't you introduce yourself first?"

"What? You're the one hiding your face, yet you don't even dare reveal your own name?"

The man froze for a moment before saying, "I am the Hammer King, Tang Ritian. I only recently arrived in Slaughter City!"

"I have heard of the Sword Demon's great reputation and have come specifically to challenge you!"

Tang Hao was a battle maniac. Having just arrived in Slaughter City, he had immediately sought out Xia Mu, whose fame had been soaring.

"Hammer King Tang Ritian?"

"What an arrogant title!"

The moment Xia Mu heard that name, he understood. This man was Tang Hao, one of the Clear Sky Twin Stars.

Tang Hao had only just turned twenty-seven and possessed soul power at rank sixty-two, making him a low-rank Soul Emperor.

Tang Hao had come to Slaughter City for two reasons: to find Tang Chen, who had vanished within Slaughter City, and to obtain the legendary Killing God Domain!

"I never fight nameless nobodies!"

"If you want to fight me, wait until you achieve one hundred consecutive victories and successfully clear the Hell Road. Then come challenge me. It won't be too late."

Xia Mu spoke calmly, not taking Tang Hao seriously in the slightest. The man was nothing more than a brute.

Not only was he hot-tempered, but he also loved causing trouble!

"Courting death!"

"Clear Sky Nine Absolutes—Character-Piercing Technique!"

Tang Hao gripped the Clear Sky Hammer and unleashed the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes, swinging his hammer down at Xia Mu.

"Dugu Nine Swords—Spear-Breaking Form!"

Xia Mu countered with a strike. The Light-Hiding Sword released its sword intent and attacked before Tang Hao could react, completely interrupting Tang Hao's charging motion.

"What a fast sword!"

"Clear Sky Nine Absolutes—Character-Sealing Technique!"

Tang Hao raised the Clear Sky Hammer and circulated his soul power, placing the hammer before himself in preparation to defend.

"How is this possible?"

Tang Hao watched helplessly as the Light-Hiding Sword ignored the Character-Sealing Technique's defense and stabbed straight through his lung!

"Of all martial arts under heaven, nothing is unbreakable; only speed is undefeatable. Your self-created soul skill has not been mastered yet."

"Consider this a small lesson from me. Next time, you won't be so lucky!"

Xia Mu's voice rang out as his figure gradually blurred. In an instant, he had entered the Hell Slaughter Arena.

"How many heroes are there beneath the heavens?"

One sword—just one sword—and Tang Hao's lung had been pierced, leaving him severely injured.

"Clear Sky Hammer?"

"Nothing impressive!"

"To put it plainly, the Clear Sky Nine Absolutes are merely a self-created soul skill renowned for power, with different strengths and weaknesses. In terms of intricacy, they do not even compare to the Seven Kill Sword Technique!"

"Among the Clear Sky Sect's inheritances, only the Great Sumeru Hammer is worthy of my regard. The rest are nothing special!"

Xia Mu and Tang Hao's first meeting had erupted into a fierce conflict, with Xia Mu ultimately coming out on top.

That was only because Xia Mu's martial soul was exceptionally special!

The Light-Hiding Sword could gather and disperse at will, ignoring physical defenses entirely. It was perfectly suited to the Dugu Nine Swords, which focused solely on offense and none on defense!

Confident in his Clear Sky Nine Absolutes, Tang Hao had neglected his defense and was ultimately pierced through the chest by the Light-Hiding Sword.

Inside the Hell Slaughter Arena.

Holding the Light-Hiding Sword, Xia Mu slaughtered the fallen soul masters on the stage one after another, effortlessly securing one hundred consecutive victories.

"Sword Demon!"

"Would you be willing to become a guest elder of Slaughter City?"

"If you agree to become Slaughter City's guest elder, not only will you be free to enter and leave Slaughter City, but you will also be honored as Slaughter City's honorary Killing God!"

The King of Slaughter appeared and spoke to Xia Mu.

"Thank you for your kind offer!"

"I ask that the King of Slaughter open the Hell Road!"

Xia Mu gently shook his head. What he sought lay within the Hell Road; it could not be found in Slaughter City!

"So be it!"

"Since you insist on taking the Hell Road, I will not stop you. I hope all goes well for you!"

Slaughter City had not opened the Hell Road for over a hundred years. This was the first time in a century!

Thus, the King of Slaughter did not try to stop him.

Over the past several centuries, almost no one had successfully passed through the Hell Road. It was a road of no return. Since Xia Mu wanted to die, there was no need to stop him.

"My people, offer up your blood! With blood as witness, a new king is about to be born!"

The King of Slaughter—Tang Chen—had only recently been parasitized by the Blood-Red Nine-Headed Bat King. During this period, he believed it was better to remain still than act rashly.

In other words, avoid trouble and lie low for a while!

Boom—

Countless beams of blood-red light burst forth. Every fallen soul master present perished, their blood gathering together.

Xia Mu's vision suddenly blurred, and he found himself in a strange space.

"This is the Hell Road?"

Sensing the change in his surroundings, Xia Mu hurriedly summoned his martial soul. It seemed that soul skills could be used here.

"This is much the same as described in the original work!"

"Before me is a winding path, and at the end of it lies the Hell Road's exit!"

Xia Mu got to his feet and moved forward. Since he carried the Aromatic Silk Immortal Herb, the toxins here could not invade his body.

He continued onward and soon reached the first trial!

"Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King!"

"After all this effort, I've finally found you!"

Xia Mu unleashed his second soul skill, completely concealing his presence as he became like a wandering ghost.

"What a sweet scent!"

The Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King awoke from its slumber. For the past several centuries, it had remained asleep.

It had no choice. No one had achieved one hundred consecutive victories in all those centuries, much less entered the Hell Road.

"What is this?"

The Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King flew onto a stone platform, where a strange medicinal herb was growing.

"What a sweet scent!"

Driven by instinct, the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King opened its jaws and swallowed the herb in a single bite.

"It finally took the bait!"

"Sure enough, no soul beast can resist the temptation of spiritual herbs. It is an instinct carved into their bones!"

"But this herb's effects are far from ordinary."

The spiritual herb Xia Mu had taken out was called Drunken Dragon Grass. True to its name, its effects were incredibly potent.

Even a true dragon would be drunk for days if it ate it by mistake!

Still, this spiritual herb truly benefited soul beasts and could further increase their cultivation age.

"Fall! Fall! Fall!"

From afar, Xia Mu watched the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King collapse drunkenly onto a nearby stone platform.

"The time for the hunt has come!"

Xia Mu rushed forward at top speed. The Light-Hiding Sword slashed out three arcs of sword light, killing the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King.

The Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King had its three heads severed in its drunken dream, its life ending just like that.

"A thirty-thousand-year Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King!"

"This is one of the goals of my journey!"

A pitch-black soul ring rose from the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King's corpse. Xia Mu sat cross-legged on the stone platform and began refining the soul ring with his eyes closed.

"Break!"

His immense spiritual power instantly shattered the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King's lingering will. The violent soul power immediately calmed, transforming into drops of liquid soul power.

Half an hour later, Xia Mu opened his eyes!

Boom—

A pair of dark golden bat wings instantly emerged behind Xia Mu. This was the Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King's gift—an external soul bone, the Dark Gold Bat Wings!

The Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King was born from the foul energies of hell and grew up bathed in the resentment of countless dead souls. Upon reaching adulthood, its entire body turned black and became covered in dark golden scales. With three heads and two wings, it possessed extreme speed.

The Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King was sinister and cunning, once the nightmare of countless soul masters. It was a rare exotic beast, and after its death, it had a great chance of producing a top-grade soul bone!

But even Xia Mu had not expected this soul beast to produce a rare external soul bone for him!