Chapter 1951: Slaughter
Xie Yue struck the Human Emperor Bell, and aside from those who had already stepped down from the Human Emperor Pillars earlier, more than ten others could no longer hold on and descended from their pillars. This meant that the forty-plus rankings at the back of the Emperor's List had already been determined.
"Langxie, Dugu Bubai, and those few are still holding on. And that blind man, along with the master of the Reincarnation Dao—are they trying to break into the top fifty of the Emperor's List?" The crowd's gazes fell upon several Human Emperor Pillars. Hou Qinglin and the others were now standing on pillars ranked around the fifties, filling the vacant spots left by those who had been kicked off, effectively swapping positions with them.
Just then, a strikingly handsome figure stepped forward. Snow began to fall from the sky, and in an instant, the entire area for a hundred miles seemed to transform into a snowy landscape. The temperature of the space plummeted sharply. Xue Shenfeng strode gracefully to the Human Emperor Bell, his expression cold and calm, and said flatly, "When the Human Emperor Bell rings, one seeks the Dao by first breaking the Dao."
With that, Xue Shenfeng swept his long sleeve, and a terrifying frosty aura slammed into the Human Emperor Bell. Instantly, the bell chimed, covered in a layer of ice. A cracking sound echoed as the void froze solid. Several figures were immediately encased in frost, their entire bodies stiffening and trembling uncontrollably.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!" Xue Shenfeng swung his sleeve again, producing three consecutive chimes. The frost that drowned heaven and earth surged forth, the Dao might invading the world. Two powerful figures were completely transformed into frost, frozen solid. Their life force began to drain away, their internal organs and viscera sealed in ice.
"Retreat!" one of them roared, tearing apart the frozen power binding him. His body shot backward, stepping down from the Human Emperor Pillar. Instantly, he felt a wave of relief, the terrifying pressure that had made death feel so close now gone.
Xue Shenfeng's face was covered in layers of snowflakes from the Dao might rushing toward him, but his body did not stop for a moment. He took another step forward, and the Human Emperor Bell echoed without end. One by one, the strong retreated from their pillars. Fifty people had now been determined. The figures from the Human Emperor Palace held the Human Emperor Brush, and the last fifty names on the Emperor's List were now fixed, no longer changing. As for those who had fallen, they would be replaced by other strong individuals after the Emperor's List concluded.
Xue Shenfeng himself seemed on the verge of being frozen solid. At this moment, he was enduring the terrifying Dao might himself. Seeking the Dao and hearing the Dao—the Dao might attacked others but also eroded his own being.
"Boom!" The Human Emperor Bell sounded for the seventh time. A surge of overbearing Dao might buried Xue Shenfeng entirely. On the entire Human Emperor Platform, the Dao might seemed to transform into heavenly might, piercing straight down from the Human Emperor Pillars. Heaven and earth resonated with the bell's chime. Cracking sounds continued unabated. Even the top fifty strong on the Emperor's List began to be gradually frozen. Their positions might also change, though they still had the chance to fight for them later.
Below the Human Emperor Platform, even though the crowd in the distance was shielded from the Dao might by the light pillars on the platform, seeing the vast expanse of ice and snow covering the entire platform sent chills down their spines. Xue Shenfeng's strength was terrifying. If this continued, perhaps more than sixty people would be unable to hold on. He would determine the rankings of over sixty individuals.
"Can he still sound the eighth chime of the Human Emperor Bell?" The crowd stared at Xue Shenfeng. His frozen body shifted forward again. He slowly raised his arm and struck the Human Emperor Bell with all his might.
"Clang!" The Dao might surged wildly into Xue Shenfeng's body, forcing him to stagger back several steps. He then sat down directly, beginning to regulate his breathing. At that moment, the freezing law power transformed into a world of destructive ice. The Human Emperor Platform turned completely white. Figures leaped down from the Human Emperor Pillars one after another. The crowd was horrified to see that, of the hundred Human Emperor Pillars, only thirty-plus people remained.
At this moment, Lin Feng sat with his eyes closed on his Human Emperor Pillar. His demonic might was overwhelmingly powerful, with various law forces wrapping around his body. The Death Dao intent sought to extinguish the freezing Dao intent, but he was still buried in ice and snow. The cold was so intense it threatened to freeze and kill every cell in his body. It seemed several more people had died under Xue Shenfeng's Dao might. Lin Feng truly understood the meaning of "seeking the Dao is difficult."
The Human Emperor Platform had become a world of ice and rivers, lingering for a long time without dissipating. The people of the Human Emperor Palace did not intervene to stop it. After a long while, when the crowd had gradually recovered, Xue Shenfeng's body trembled, and all the snow on him scattered. He stepped back and returned to his own Human Emperor Pillar.
Those who had stepped down hesitated. Should they return to seek the Dao?
If, next, the few people ranked higher than Xue Shenfeng on the Emperor's List came out to strike the Human Emperor Bell again, what terrifying scene would unfold? They dared not imagine it.
"Without hearing the Dao might, how can one comprehend the power of the Dao?" someone murmured, stepping back onto the Human Emperor Pillar. Precisely because seeking the Dao was difficult, this was a great opportunity. The strong on the Emperor's List had gathered here. The Dao struck the Human Emperor Bell, giving them the chance to hear the Dao and comprehend its power. Such an opportunity was rare in a thousand years—both a crisis and a chance.
At this moment, those ranked lower felt they had no face to strike the Human Emperor Bell. The power of their strikes could never compare to Xue Shenfeng's. It was better to quietly comprehend the Dao intents of those ranked higher.
"Buzz!" The stone man finally moved, appearing before the Human Emperor Bell, causing the crowd's expressions to stiffen slightly. This Shi Yunfeng had transformed into a stone man, looking quite strange.
Suddenly, the stone man's fist shot toward the Human Emperor Bell.
"Boom! Boom! Boom! Boom!" Four consecutive chimes sounded. The world of ice and snow turned into a world of boulders. Massive rocks fell from the sky. At the same time, the crowd's bodies began to petrify. Many found their arms and legs turning to stone, unable to move them as commanded.
"Retreat!" Those individuals' faces turned pale. Two more bell chimes rang out, and several people's bodies completely turned to stone. This petrification power was too overbearing.
"Clang!"
The seventh chime of the Human Emperor Bell rang out. A booming, explosive sound echoed as a human-shaped fossil directly cracked and exploded, instantly dying. Several others were completely petrified, unable to break free. They used all their strength to leap off the Human Emperor Pillars, escaping the Dao might's coverage. The Dao might was most intense on the pillars themselves.
Lin Feng also became a fossil. He felt as if his body was about to explode. However, his physical body was extremely powerful and terrifying. Among the geniuses on the Emperor's List here, if it came to pure physical strength, few could compare to him.
A terrifying explosive intent descended upon him. Lin Feng's various law forces converged, creating a special halo around his body, as if the power of an ancient world wrapped around him, indestructible and eternal. When the eighth chime of the Human Emperor Bell sounded, even his flesh began to seep blood. Because the Dao he comprehended was the Dao of Life and Death, he could not directly counter this petrification Dao power. He could only endure it with his own strength while also sensing and comprehending the Dao of others.
"So many people still here. Troublesome." Gui Li's pale eyes swept over the crowd. After Shi Yunfeng returned, his body shot out like a ghost. A bizarre, otherworldly light shot from his eyes, directly striking the Human Emperor Bell. The entire void turned into a dark purgatory world. Countless ghosts and demons appeared in the minds of the crowd, baring their fangs and brandishing claws, trying to kill them.
"Gui Li, the most sinister cultivator on the Emperor's List, practices the Ghost Spirit Scripture." The crowd trembled. They saw several demonic figures step out from Gui Li's pupils, directly entering the Human Emperor Bell and charging inside. At that moment, terrifying ghostly beings appeared in everyone's minds.
Lin Feng closed his eyes. Within his divine soul, a powerful Yaksha Ghost King, holding a trident, stabbed directly at his soul, imbued with terrifying power.
"Die!" His divine soul transformed into countless swords of death, charging at the Yaksha Ghost King. The ghost king's body exploded. But the bell's chime directly trembled into his soul. One ghostly figure after another appeared, causing his soul to shake violently, as if an involuntary fear was born within him, his soul besieged by ghostly beings.
"So this is Gui Li, ranked third on the Emperor's List. Incredibly strong." Lin Feng's heart trembled. He did not know that several people had already died directly on the Human Emperor Pillars, their souls shattered. And Gui Li's actions had not stopped. He visualized one ghostly figure after another, charging them into the Human Emperor Bell, sounding the ancient bell.
"He's slaughtering them!" The crowd's hearts pounded. Gui Li was killing people on the Emperor's List. Those who could escape were fleeing; those who couldn't were dying one by one. Although they were all figures on the Emperor's List, compared to Gui Li, ranked third, many had an insurmountable gap. His eerie Dao might could easily kill them.
At this moment, only a dozen or so people could still endure Gui Li's attacks without being affected. When the eighth chime sounded, a wailing cry of ghosts and howling of wolves filled heaven and earth. Screams rang out, miserable and tragic. Some in the distant crowd turned pale, murderous intent radiating from them. Among the dead were geniuses from their own families, but they had perished at Gui Li's hands.
Those who made it onto the Emperor's List were no weaklings—they were the most outstanding Martial Emperor realm geniuses. But when they gathered together and the Emperor's List sought the Dao, the crowd realized that the gap between those ranked high and those ranked low could be terrifying. In a direct confrontation, it would likely be instant annihilation.
(End of Chapter)