Those words were like sharp knives, stabbing Huo Yuhao in the heart, one after another. Deep inside, a voice echoed over and over: Is she really my mother? Why is this happening? But after those words, he also found his answer. His conviction hardened once more. His mother from before would never return. Though she had been weak, she would have done anything to protect her son, and she had treasured him above all else. The mother before him now might have changed long ago. He did not even dare guess whether the person before him now was an illusion Tang San had created to serve his own interests.
"Enough nonsense. I won't listen to another word. No matter what, I'm saving my teacher today. If you'll do me the courtesy of letting me through, then so be it. If not, we'll settle this with our fists!" Huo Yuhao said coldly.
"You think you can get away? Since you insist on being so stubborn, don't blame me for attacking." Tang San gave a cold snort, and his presence surged in an instant. A powerful pressure spread wildly in every direction like a raging tide.
Naturally, the two would not fight on the ground. With those words, their figures shot up from the ground like lightning, flying high into the sky.
Huo Yuhao struck first, unleashing one technique after another.
Divine Soul Shock erupted instantly, a powerful surge of spiritual power sweeping toward Tang San like a raging tide. Tang San remained calm and unhurried. This spiritual attack was already useless against him.
By now, he had switched back to the Sea God, and powerful divine power radiated from his body. Unhurried, he murmured, "Unfixed Storm!" In an instant, an invisible force surged through the air, and wave after wave of powerful ripples formed on the Sea God Trident, rushing toward Huo Yuhao.
Huo Yuhao hurriedly dodged, his figure as nimble as a ghost as he darted through the powerful attack. At the same time, his seven great Soul Spirits slowly appeared around him, each offering him all their divine power without reservation. With the divine power of the seven great Soul Spirits bolstering him, he rekindled the fire of his divine soul. Only then did Huo Yuhao barely qualify to fight Tang San.
But Tang San's attacks were still impossible to guard against. Suddenly, he unleashed Sky Azure Annihilation Divine Thunder. In an instant, an immense, world-destroying force surged toward Huo Yuhao. A sphere of azure light shot out like a meteor, transforming in midair into the phantom of a massive azure dragon that crashed down toward him. The azure dragon phantom carried a powerful binding force and a spiritual attack, plunging Huo Yuhao into agony.
But Huo Yuhao was not particularly alarmed by this.
He chanted, "Soul Deprivation, Eye of Destiny, open." At the same time, the Eye of Destiny on his forehead slowly opened, its eye abruptly turning black and white. "Sorrow of Destiny!" With another low shout, two rays of black-and-white light shot from the Eye of Destiny, intertwining with the light of Soul Deprivation to form a powerful soul storm. Wherever the storm passed, the surrounding space seemed to warp under an invisible force, gradually turning black and white as well.
The two rays of light arrived in an instant and struck Tang San hard. Yet Tang San remained composed, showing not the slightest sign of panic. "That move was useless when you used it back then, and it still is now." His tone was calm, as though stating the most ordinary of facts. Then he shouted, "Thorny Halo!"
The moment he spoke, a layer of brilliant golden light flared around Tang San. It rapidly spread and expanded like thorns, forming a Thorny Halo in the blink of an eye. The halo exploded instantly, and the powerful impact made even Tang San's body tremble slightly, a trace of blood seeping from the corner of his mouth.
At that moment, the Octagonal Mysterious Ice Grass's Octagonal Mysterious Ice Condensation skill began to take effect, rapidly healing Huo Yuhao's injuries. Seizing this brief chance to catch his breath, Huo Yuhao shouted,
"Ice Empress, Snow Empress, if not now, when?" The Ice Empress and Snow Empress exchanged a glance. "Pride of the Ice and Snow Empresses!" The two cried out in clear voices. In an instant, an immensely powerful chill filled the air. The temperature plummeted, the surrounding ground rapidly froze over, and sharp ice spikes shot up from beneath the earth, stabbing fiercely toward Tang San.
Tang San's gaze sharpened slightly. He swiftly whirled the Sea God Trident in his hand, forming a blue curtain of light before him that blocked every ice spike. The spikes struck the curtain with crisp cracks, shattering into countless shards that scattered in all directions. But the Ice Empress and Snow Empress did not stop there. They continued to channel the power of ice and snow, sending wave after endless wave of ice spikes surging toward Tang San like a tide.
Tang San felt the immense pressure. He took a deep breath and chanted, "Sun of the Sea!" An invisible force spread from the Sea God Trident once more. More powerful than before, it surged like a raging wave and sent the Ice Empress and Snow Empress flying in an instant.
"Now, take this!" Huo Yuhao prepared to make one final gamble. This was his strongest killing move, combining the Hao Dong Three Ultimates into one. The Sword of Emotions in his hand blazed with light, its blade rapidly swelling in size until it resembled a divine sword bearing the power to judge the three realms. Although it still fell short of the true Three Realms Judgment Sword, the power of this move was enough to make heaven and earth change color.
A flicker of surprise crossed Tang San's eyes, and he immediately tried to stop him. Yet the sword was wreathed in a potent power of emotions, and anyone who drew near would be trapped in it, unable to extricate themselves. In Tang San's eyes, no matter how extraordinary Huo Yuhao's strength was, he was merely a First-Level God, not enough to pose a fatal threat to him.
The giant blue sword had taken shape. Huo Yuhao circulated his divine power wildly, and the surrounding space seemed to tear as a storm howled to life. A hurricane swept up the giant sword's power and slashed viciously down at Tang San. The move was astonishingly powerful, and wherever it passed, ripples spread through space itself.
But Tang San was far too powerful. Before him, Huo Yuhao's resistance seemed somewhat feeble. His gaze cold, Tang San unleashed the final form of the Golden Thirteen Halberds-Body and Halberd as One. In an instant, seawater churned, and a massive trident formed from it slowly emerged. The might it radiated made all of heaven and earth tremble.
The two moves collided with a thunderous crash. Light blazed, and the entire space seemed to warp under their power. Huo Yuhao and Tang San were both sent flying by the tremendous impact. Tang San steadied himself in midair, his breathing only slightly disordered, while Huo Yuhao slammed into the ground, leaving a deep crater.
Enough, Huo Yuhao. I'm in no mood to indulge your nonsense. Prepare to die.
"Enough, Huo Yuhao. I'm in no mood to indulge your nonsense. Prepare to die! Third form of the Golden Thirteen Halberds, Gone Forever." Tang San spoke coldly, his voice echoing through the space with unquestionable authority. The Sea God Trident in his hand blazed with light. Using all his divine power, he hurled it at Huo Yuhao. Like a blue meteor, the trident tore across the sky and pinned Huo Yuhao through the chest.
"Huo Yuhao, hand over the Golden Dragon King Divine Core! For the sake of your being my son-in-law, I can still spare your life." Tang San stood with his head held high, his expression solemn and his bearing righteous, as his voice echoed through the space filled with killing intent. Powerful divine power radiated from him, and blue light churned at his sides like flowing seawater, making him seem all the more exalted and impossible to defy.
"Son, hurry and give the Divine Core to Lord Tang San. Stop resisting." Huo Yun'er was frantic with worry. Her eyes were red, tears welling in them, and her voice was thick with pleading and anxiety. She staggered toward Huo Yuhao.
"Huo Yuhao, you fell into the Devil Dao long ago. Do you mean to make enemies of all the gods of the Divine Realm?" Tang San spoke again, his voice growing colder.
Huo Yuhao swayed on his feet, like a dead tree about to snap in a gale. His face was as pale as paper, utterly bloodless, and a smear of crimson blood still lingered at the corner of his mouth, a wound left by the earlier battle. The Sea God Trident pinned him fast, its tip buried in his flesh. Crimson blood flowed slowly down its shaft, pooling in a small puddle at his feet.
"Unfilial son!" Dai Hao grabbed Huo Yun'er as she walked forward, still pointing at Huo Yuhao and berating him. "You really are a beast who doesn't know whether to live or die. You won't even acknowledge your own father. You deserve this fate. Your parents gave you life and raised you, and this is how you treat them. What use are you?"
"Fine, fine! You claim you gave me life and raised me, so I'll give this life back to you!" Hearing those words, Huo Yuhao's voice grew hoarse, tinged with unwillingness, and his thoughts also turned extreme.
He reached out with a trembling hand, staring in Dai Hao and Huo Yun'er's direction. Gripping the shaft of the Sea God Trident, he used all his strength to wrench it from his body.
Though the trident had a weight of 108,000 jin, Huo Yuhao was still a god, and lifting it was well within his ability.
With a spurt, blood sprayed out like a fountain, splattering the ground around him. His eyes were vacant and numb. Then, without hesitation, he drove the trident's sharp point viciously into his body again. "The first life goes back to Mother, and the second goes back to you, you unworthy father!" His voice was thick with tears, yet full of the pleasure of venting, every word seemingly drawn from the last of his strength.
His consciousness was hazy, but the pain kept him awake.
"From this day on, Huo Yuhao has repaid everything he owed you. There is no longer any debt for giving me life and raising me, only the hatred of being killed."
Blood streamed ceaselessly from Huo Yuhao's body, soaking his Divine Armor of Emotions. Its once brilliant radiance was now obscured by blood, growing dim and lusterless. He was like a guttering candle in the wind, liable to go out at any moment.
Having suffered two more devastating, deadly blows from the trident, he felt the breath of life rapidly leaving his body. He casually tossed the trident to the ground. His body swayed, his legs gave way, and he slowly sank to his knees. He was weak to the extreme, and the end of his life seemed to be beckoning to him.