How Did the World Become Like This?

"Playing dumb? Who doesn't know about Divine Crystal these days? Hand over the Divine Crystal now! Otherwise, don't blame us for being impolite!" the middle-aged leader shouted in a deep voice.

Such a large piece of Divine Crystal is enough to allow another Peak Great Emperor Realm expert in their Lineage to break through to the Profound Heaven Emperor Realm!

"What, you dare to steal my things?" Huang Hao sneered.

He's been in seclusion for five hundred years; have the people of the Demon Domain Realm forgotten him?

However, after glancing at the five people, he was surprised to find that they were all unfamiliar faces!

"How strange! One is at the Peak Great Emperor Realm, and the other four are at the Late Great Emperor Realm —all unfamiliar faces. Logically speaking, there shouldn't be too many unfamiliar Great Emperor Realm figures emerging in five hundred years..."

He even suspected that he had been in seclusion for not just five hundred years, but fifty thousand years!

"Oh? Who are you?" The man at the Peak Great Emperor Realm stared at Huang Hao and asked.

Someone who dares to say such things must have a truly extraordinary background.

"This is Huang Hao!" Huang Hao put his hands behind his back, smiled, and announced his name.

Huang Hao, the number one formation mage in the Demon Domain!

Who doesn't know him?!

Without a doubt, these five people will be terrified in a moment and will quickly bow and pay their respects!

"Huang Hao? Never heard of him! Hmph! I thought he was someone important! Just some nobody!" the leading man said in a deep voice.

Huang Hao: "???"

Good heavens!

I don't even know Huang Hao?!

"You must have heard of the Might-Shaking Great Emperor, right?" Huang Hao asked, frowning.

The group exchanged glances.

I think I've heard of it, but then again, I don't think I have!

They are all quite young, only a few thousand years old. The reason they have become so strong is entirely due to a high-grade magic herb fruit tree in their Lineage that recently fused with Divine Crystal. After they ate the fruit, their cultivation levels increased dramatically.

In the Demon Domain, they have memorized the names and titles of all the people they dare not offend, but there is no one like this among them.

"Hmph, probably one of the Old Devil from the past. Don't waste your breath on him! These old fogies are nothing special! Just rob him! This Divine Crystal is extremely valuable!!"

"Alright! Let's get started!!"

"Superior!!!"

Huang Hao's expression turned cold.

"He brought shame upon himself!"

With a flick of his finger, thirty-six blood-red array flags suddenly drew strange arcs in the air.

It was impossible to see when he had already set up the formation around them!

It was as if he could set up formations out of thin air!

Just as the five men drew their swords, the rocky ground beneath their feet suddenly cracked open with spiderweb-like crimson patterns, and a viscous red mist wrapped around their ankles like a living thing.

"Activate the formation!" Huang Hao shouted softly, and the entire space instantly twisted and deformed. The five people were shocked to find that the surrounding scenery had faded into black and white ink paintings, and they had been imprisoned in a suspended formation diagram.

"The Bone-Eroding Soul-Locking Array is yours for the taking." Huang Hao stood outside the array with his hands behind his back, watching the purplish-black curse marks appear on the skin of those trapped.

The leading man roared and slashed, but his Sword-Ray was shattered by the white bone claw shadows that emerged from the formation.

Another person tried to burrow underground, but was suddenly enveloped in a cocoon by the rolled-up earth.

Nine illusory skulls appeared in the center of the formation, spewing poisonous fire that melted the five men's swords into molten iron. Then, the five men began to be tortured mercilessly, their screams echoing incessantly.

"You little punks, how dare you mess with people like this?"

Huang Hao sneered and shook his head, feeling a little reluctant to bully these youngsters.

Just as he was thinking this, a cold light descended from the sky!

A powerful attack came hurtling towards him!

"Yoho!!"

A flash of light appeared in front of Huang Hao, and a powerful defensive formation was activated, barely blocking the attack!

The next moment, a figure appeared in the sky. This person flashed and approached the formation. With just one punch, he shattered the formation that had trapped Huang Hao and the five people!

This person, dressed in black, appeared to be middle-aged, and exuded an aura of cultivation that indicated he was at the Early Profound Heaven Emperor Realm!

Huang Hao frowned when he saw who it was.

"Um?!"

He actually sensed the same strength that Lu Qing'an possessed back then emanating from this person!

So incredibly powerful!!

Most importantly, he had never even seen this person before!

He's still a very young person!!

Not the Old Devil of their generation!!

"Brother Qing! Thank goodness you arrived in time! That guy stole a Divine Crystal from us! The size of a pigeon egg!" The man, who was covered in injuries from the formation, gritted his teeth and pointed angrily at Huang Hao as soon as he was rescued.

The middle-aged man in black, who had just arrived at the Profound Heaven Emperor Realm, glanced at Huang Hao.

"State your name, and I will not kill nameless nobodies."

Huang Hao narrowed his eyes, staring intently at the newcomer. "I'd rather know your name. When did you first appear in the Demon Domain?"

He was shocked!

Who would have thought someone could keep up with Lu Qing'an's pace?!

This person, while not quite as powerful as Lu Qing'an at his peak, still possessed some of Lu Qing'an's former brilliance!

Moreover, he didn't recognize the person; it was a new face, which meant the person wasn't very old!

That would be even more terrifying!

To possess such strength at such a young age, one is even more gifted than Little Xuanzi!

"This is Wang Qing from the Wang Household," the middle-aged man in black said with an air of superiority.

"The Wang Household?? When did the Wang Household produce such a person?!" Huang Hao exclaimed in surprise.

The Wang Household is a relatively powerful Lineage in the Demon Domain, but he had never heard of such a powerful genius in the Wang Household!

"So who are you?" Wang Qing asked.

"Brother Qing! He claims to be Huang Hao! Just an ordinary Old Devil! Kill him and steal the Divine Crystal! That way, our Wang Household will have another Profound Heaven Emperor Realm expert!"

Upon hearing this, Wang Qing nodded, not wanting to waste any more words with Huang Hao, and said, "You stole my Wang Household's things and injured our Wang Household members. I'll give you one more chance. Leave the things behind and leave. Otherwise, don't blame me for being impolite."

Huang Hao said, "I picked this up, and you're the ones trying to take it. Of course, in the Demon Domain, it's not a matter of taking or not taking; strength is king. If you're going to take it, then try if you have the ability."

He just wanted to use this person to test his strongest Array Dao formation skills!

"Good!"

Wang Qing didn't waste any time and launched a direct attack.

With a wave of his hand, Huang Hao unleashed a dazzling array of runes from his fingertips, instantly forming a powerful offensive formation. Countless crimson chains emerged from the void, heading straight for Wang Qing.

Wang Qing roared and unleashed a thunderous punch, the violent force shattering the chains and tearing through space with its remaining power, carving out a trench dozens of feet deep in the ground.

Huang Hao remained calm and composed, tapping his finger again, and the ground suddenly lit up with a "Profound Light Spirit-Protecting Array," forcefully blocking the attack.

Immediately afterwards, he flipped his palm, and countless runes poured down like a galaxy, and the "Heavenly Net and Earthly Snare Array" suddenly descended, trapping Wang Qing in a cage of array light.

Wang Qing's body surged with Demonic Qi. He shattered the array wall with one punch and aimed straight for Huang Hao's face with the other. The air around him exploded with a deafening roar.

Huang Hao didn't move; with a flick of his sleeve, the "Myriad Dharma Isolation Array" silently unfolded, blocking Wang Qing's strongest attack.

A blinding golden light erupted from Wang Qing's body. He stomped on the earth, and the shockwave pulverized rocks within Fang Yuan miles, relentlessly bombarding the formation before him.

The two exchanged blows, their movements a blur of light and fists, causing the entire valley to tremble and crumble in the aftershocks, yet neither could gain the upper hand.

Huang Hao remained completely at ease and highly confident throughout.

This is his strongest array formation skill!

That's enough to contend with such a powerful opponent!

Unable to break through, Wang Qing fell into self-doubt.

He was somewhat bewildered to discover that Huang Hao was not at the Profound Heaven Emperor Realm, but merely at the Peak Great Emperor Realm, yet he was able to fight him using only formations.

This guy is so strong!!

Just as he was getting impatient, suddenly, another figure descended from the sky.

Boom!!!

The powerful array that Huang Hao had just set up was suddenly shattered by a single punch from the person who appeared!

Furthermore, the powerful residual force swept away Huang Hao Huang Hao, injuring him and sending him crashing thousands of miles away!