God said, "Let there be light," and there was light!

"The Dark Gold Three-Headed Bat King, the Boss of the second stage." Cheng Ran's tone grew more serious. "Each of its three heads has an independent consciousness. If you smash one, it can swallow its minions to regrow it. It can also split into golden bats and hide among its minions.

"The strategy is simple: clear out the minions first, then sever the connections between its three heads. Your Angel Soul Power naturally senses evil auras, so finding its true body will be easy."

Qian Renxue soared into the air, flew over the Bat King's heads, and charged straight at the ordinary Blood Bats.

Seeing this, the Bat King spat a ring of dark red ripples from its central head, blasting them toward the narrow path.

Qian Renxue flipped in midair and dodged with ease. The Angel Blade swept across, slicing more than a dozen Blood Bats in half and sending them tumbling into the abyss.

The Bat King gave chase in a fury, all three heads spewing bloody light.

Qian Renxue stopped short and dove to evade it, then slashed backward, sending a streak of blade light into the root of its left wing. Angel Soul Power spread through the wound, hindering its regeneration.

In pain, the Bat King burst into hundreds of little golden bats, which swarmed around her like locusts.

Qian Renxue's gaze remained calm. With a thought, she sent the Angel Soul Power within her extending outward in fine golden threads, easily pinpointing the true body among the hundreds of golden bats.

It was deliberately suppressing its aura, but Angel Soul Power was extraordinarily sensitive to evil.

A platinum afterimage streaked past. Carrying the Power of Faith, the Angel Blade pierced Penetration into that golden bat's abdomen.

Having lost their core, the little golden bats fell and dissipated one after another.

Cheng Ran said, "Ding! Congratulations to player Qian Renxue for clearing the second stage of the Hell Road dungeon! Reward obtained: one finger heart from the Evil God!"

Qian Renxue continued onward, expressionless.

The air had become scorching hot. Dark red blood plasma surged and roared on both sides, less than three meters below the narrow path.

An enormous shadow lay coiled in the middle of the path. Dark red scales covered its ten-meter-long serpentine body, and nine golden-red fleshy growths on its back resembled inlaid gems. A pair of golden slit pupils fixed coldly on her.

Cheng Ran explained, "The Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent is a primordial variant. It has an inner pellet inside its body, hidden within those nine growths. Once released, it can blast half of Hell Road flat."

He paused. "Once the inner pellet leaves its body, the Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent's defense plummets. So when it unleashes its ultimate move, that's when it dies. Also, your Power of Faith should be especially effective against primordial variants."

Qian Renxue did not doubt his words in the slightest. Every piece of guidance the Evil God had given her along the way had been correct. He truly was omnipotent and omniscient.

She chose to strike first, slashing the Angel Blade straight at the serpent's neck.

Enraged, the giant serpent opened its mouth and spat out a mass of blazing venomous flames. Dark red fiery poison spread toward her along the narrow path.

Rather than retreat, Qian Renxue advanced. "Your poison doesn't work on me."

She landed behind the serpent's body and slashed its scales. The Power of Faith erupted, spreading fine cracks across their surface.

The Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent flew into an utter rage. All nine growths on its back lit up with golden-red light at once.

With an earth-shattering boom, nine streams of golden-red liquid shot out, condensing into a fist-sized inner pellet that hurtled toward her.

Cheng Ran shouted, "Now! Use Angel Holy Eyes + the Power of Faith to sense it!"

Golden light blazed in Qian Renxue's eyes as she precisely caught sight of the golden thread connecting the inner pellet to the serpent's body.

The Angel Blade slashed horizontally, followed by the faintest sound of something snapping.

The Ten Headed Fierce Yang Serpent let out a shrill hiss. All nine growths dimmed at once, and its body convulsed violently.

"Got it."

Qian Renxue passed beneath the inner pellet, driving the Angel Blade into the serpent's neck, now deprived of the inner pellet's protection.

Blade light flashed. The serpent's head hit the ground with a clang, clang, clang, all life gone from it.

An extremely dense mass of white light emerged and sank into her body-enough Soul Power to raise her at least two or three levels.

The golden-red inner pellet slowly fell from the air, and Qian Renxue caught it with both hands.

Cheng Ran said, "Ding! Congratulations to player Qian Renxue for clearing the third stage of the Hell Road dungeon! Reward obtained: Primordial Beast Inner Pellet x1!"

"Now this is good stuff. Supreme among serpents, it makes all snakes keep their distance, neutralizes a hundred poisons, and treats kidney deficiency. Sugar-free."

Qian Renxue said, "Wonderful. I'll save it for your venerable self."

Cheng Ran said, "?"

Qian Renxue flew at full speed. Half an hour later, a white curtain of light appeared a hundred meters ahead.

Qian Renxue leaped up. The instant she passed through the curtain of light, the world spun.

Within the white void, the purest killing intent surged in from every direction, carrying the resentment and defiance of all the souls who had died over the past thousand years. It battered her meridians, bones, and soul.

She closed her eyes as killing intent poured from every part of her body into her heart.

Her meridians, tempered by ice and fire, were resilient enough to contain this power. Her Angel Martial Soul purified the resentment and evil thoughts mixed into the killing intent.

After an unknown length of time, the torrent of killing intent finally settled, condensing into a white vortex deep within her lower abdomen.

White light burst from the back of her left hand, forming a marking on her skin: an inverted holy sword with a straight blade, its guard shaped like angel wings and its tip pointing downward. Pale golden radiance flowed deep within the marking.

The Divine Slaughter's Domain was complete!

The white void vanished, replaced by blue skies and white clouds.

Qian Renxue stood on a grassy, untended hill, the mountain breeze brushing her face.

She glanced down at the marking on the back of her left hand and willed it to activate.

An invisible, icy power expanded from within her. The air within a ten-meter radius abruptly grew heavy, as though an immense weight were pressing down on it.

Qian Renxue tried pouring Angel Soul Power and the Power of Faith into the Divine Slaughter's Domain.

Holy light, faith, and killing intent intertwined. Within the domain, flames seemed to meld and rise.

At her will, she pointed a finger. A sword of light combining the three energies descended from the sky, its icy chill carrying a sacred judgment that brooked no defiance!

God said, "Let there be light," and there was light!

Within a ten-meter radius, everything was reduced to nothingness...

Qian Renxue blinked. "So this is the Divine Slaughter's Domain? It's so powerful. Inside my domain, I doubt even a Titled Douluo would dare underestimate that strike."

Cheng Ran's voice rang out. "Once the most basic Divine Slaughter's Domain is deployed, it suppresses all your opponent's attributes by about ten percent and raises all your own attributes by ten percent. And as your strength grows, those percentages will increase."

He paused, sensing Qian Renxue's Divine Slaughter's Domain. "Yours seems a little different, though.

"Your Divine Slaughter's Domain has traces of Angel Judgment and the Power of Faith. Holy light purifies evil, faith enhances its power, and killing intent suppresses your opponent.

"Simply put, inside your domain, Slayer any god in your way, slaughter any demon in your path!"

"Slayer any god in my way, slaughter any demon in my path!"

Qian Renxue's heart shook. What domineering words.

"Thank you for your guidance, Lord Evil God. Xiao Xue is endlessly grateful and has no way to repay you. I can only do everything in my power to reconstruct your body..."

Cheng Ran brushed it off. "Oh, enough of that. Next, we hunt for your sixth and Seventh Soul Rings, then ask your grandfather for the Angel Soul Bones. After that, we head to Nuoding City. The little bunny's about to start school. We'll go snatch her up first."

After more than two months of grinding monsters, who knew how many bars of experience had accumulated? All that remained was to unleash it at once.

Qian Renxue fell silent for a moment. "Lord Evil God, do you want Xiao Wu as a believer, or do you simply think she's cute?"

"Xiao Xue." Cheng Ran's tone suddenly grew more serious. "As far as I'm concerned, you'll always be my one and only SSR. Xiao Wu is an SR+ fighter at best, and we can leave Tang San a little childhood surprise while we're at it. Understand?"

The corners of Qian Renxue's lips curved slightly. With a beat of her Eight Wings, she flew into the distance.

Cheng Ran said, "We'll come back when we need more experience. After all, we haven't beaten this dungeon's biggest Boss yet."

Behind her, the white curtain of light at Hell Road's exit slowly closed.

Darkness enveloped the passage once more, like a great beast that had slept for a thousand years closing its eyes.

Holy Soul Village, the Blacksmith Shop.

Morning sunlight slanted through the dilapidated window frame, illuminating the wooden table with a crooked leg inside the shop.

Two bowls of plain congee sat on the table, already cold, with a thin skin formed over their surfaces.

Tang Hao sat beside the table. He had not touched the congee in his bowl.

His gaze rested on the empty stool opposite him, his thoughts unknown.

Footsteps sounded outside the door.

Six-year-old Tang San ran in from outside, a fine sheen of sweat on his forehead. His little face bore an anticipation that had lasted two months and was now almost worn away.

"Dad, did anyone come today?"

Tang Hao did not look up. "No."

Tang San's steps faltered. His lips moved, but he swallowed whatever he had been about to say.

He walked to the table and sat down, picked up the bowl of cold congee, and put a spoonful into his mouth. He chewed twice, then set it down again.

"Dad, do you think Elder Tang might have no sense of direction?"