# Chapter 624: A Storm of Blood and Wind
With a furious roar from Ming Wang, flames violently erupted across his entire body. A fire giant, dozens of zhang in size, descended from above, opening its ferocious mouth to blast toward Yun Che.
The oppressive pressure of a Lord Xuan Realm Level 10 caused even someone as strong as Mu Feiyan to be utterly suffocated. But this fire giant had only flown less than ten zhang before a streak of crimson-golden flame burned across the sky. When it touched the fire giant, it was like flames meeting rotten wood—in an instant, the entire fire giant was engulfed in flames. Within moments, the deep red-black fire giant turned crimson-gold, its form twisting and contorting as it let out low, agonized howls... Not long after, it was burned to nothing, scattering into countless tiny sparks.
Although they had witnessed Xiao Yaohou's terrifying power again and again, this scene still caused everyone's hearts to tremble violently. Ming Wang's pupils contracted, his chest heaving violently. He stared at Xiao Yaohou, his voice strained as he said, "Could it be... that your profound strength... has already... achieved Divine Xuan!?"
The words "achieved Divine Xuan" struck everyone dumbfounded, leaving them unable to recover for a long time.
Divine Xuan Realm... the legendary divine path realm! Those who step into this realm would no longer be mere mortals, but gods among men! However, it was called a legend because it had never appeared before, and was even universally believed to be impossible for mortals to attain, existing only in distant records and fantasies.
Xiao Yaohou's power, so exaggeratedly strong... came from the blessing of the Golden Crow God...
Could it be that Xiao Yaohou, having awakened her bloodline and received the supreme divine power of the Golden Crow God, had truly set foot in that legendary, unreachable realm...
Everyone's heart pounded violently. Their gazes toward Xiao Yaohou now carried several times more reverence... of course, mostly fear. Any remaining thoughts of resistance were completely obliterated by the shock of "Divine Xuan."
"No, that's impossible." Ming Wang slowly shook his head, the black-red flames on his body wildly surging. In just a few breaths, they had risen a hundred zhang high: "In this world... how could anyone possibly surpass this king! Absolutely impossible!!"
Ming Wang's eyes widened as he roared. The hundred-zhang demonic flame burning on his body let out a devil-like howl and violently blasted toward Xiao Yaohou.
At that moment, space collapsed, the sky changed color. This was the almost unreserved power of a Lord Xuan Realm Level 10, once the strongest in the entire Fantasy Demon Realm. If this corrupt demonic flame were to fall, it would be enough to reduce half of Yaohuang City to ashes.
A sense of oppression like the end of the world caused the crowd below to scream in terror.
Xiao Yaohou's gaze sharpened. The Golden Crow Flame on her body silently ignited. She raised her arms, and beneath her wide gray sleeves, two delicate jade-like arms gleamed dazzlingly white. But it was these two flawless young maiden's arms that waved seemingly casually, yet in an instant, they deployed a massive flame prison, enveloping both Huai Wang and his hundred-zhang demonic flame.
When the corrupt demonic flame touched the flame prison, no matter how violently it raged, it could no longer advance even half a step. The flame prison began to contract rapidly. With each contraction, the demonic flame retreated. Gradually, the flame prison shrank to below a hundred zhang, still contracting quickly. With nowhere to retreat, the corrupt demonic flame was compressed, devoured, and dissipated bit by bit, like a desperate beast trapped in an iron cage. No matter how it struggled or howled, it could not escape, only waiting in lamentation to be completely annihilated.
When the flame prison contracted to only three zhang in size, it finally stopped. The demonic flame, once a hundred zhang in size, had been burned down to mere remnants, and not a single wisp had escaped the prison. Ming Wang was trapped in the very center, unable to move... because during this process, he had tried more than ten times to escape, but each time he touched the Golden Crow Flame on the prison walls, he was scorched beyond endurance.
The gap in strength between him and the current Xiao Yaohou was abundantly clear.
Lord Xuan Realm Level 10 and Half-step Divine Xuan—in terms of profound strength levels, the difference was less than half a minor realm. But it was a gap of half a major realm. Moreover, Xiao Yaohou completely suppressed Ming Wang in both Golden Crow bloodline and Golden Crow flame.
Four months ago, Xiao Yaohou could never have resisted Ming Wang. Now, he was no longer her match.
"Ming Wang..." Xiao Yaohou extended her hand, not toward Ming Wang, but toward the ground below. On her arm, the Golden Crow Flame blazed increasingly fiercely, and her voice dripped with hatred as she spoke word by word: "You killed my Imperial Father, killed my Imperial Brother, harmed my entire clan, and threw my Fantasy Demon Realm into chaos! Your crimes must be repaid with the blood of your entire clan!!"
"I have abandoned everything, crawled back from the Abyss of Death... just to make your entire clan... fall into eternal hell!!"
Xiao Yaohou's voice came as if from beyond the heavens, spreading clearly to every corner of Yaohuang City. As her final syllable fell, her arm burning with Golden Crow Flame swung outward. The surging red flame transformed into a huge Golden Crow flame shadow that soared forth, flying straight toward the western side of Yaohuang City...
In just a few breaths, the massive Golden Crow flame shadow had flown dozens of li, then briefly hovered in the air before suddenly descending...
BOOM!!!!
A tremendous roar shook the entire Yaohuang City. A pillar of crimson-golden flame shot into the sky, reaching straight to the heavens. Even from hundreds of li away, one could see the erupting blaze of fire. Under the violent Golden Crow Flame—and especially from Xiao Yaohou's Golden Crow Flame—everything would undoubtedly be reduced to ashes.
"That's... that place is..."
"Hua Wang Manor!!"
"Sh-sh-sh..."
Gasps and sharp intakes of breath came from all directions. Xiao Yaohou had actually blasted the Golden Crow Flame into Hua Wang Manor, dozens of li away! Although it was so far, the sky-filling flames and smoke, along with the fiery momentum that still made people tremble with fear even from dozens of li away, all signified that the vast Hua Wang Manor had been utterly incinerated... Everything in Hua Wang Manor, including every living person within, had been buried in the flames... Not a single one would survive!
Yun Che opened his mouth, stunned, and murmured to himself: "Half-step Divine Xuan... is actually this powerful..."
"What did you think?" Mo Li said disdainfully. "Although Divine Xuan Realm is only one major realm above Lord Xuan Realm in terms of level, in reality, it is an incredibly vast watershed! In this world, countless Xuan adepts have broken through King Xuan and Overlord Xuan, but no one has ever broken through Lord Xuan Realm, not even stepping into Half-step Divine Xuan! That is why Lord Xuan Realm is called the limit of mortals. From the fact that no one has ever broken through it, you can imagine how enormous the gap between Divine Xuan and Lord Xuan is!"
"Or, let me put it more bluntly!" Mo Li said flatly. "If we classify Initial Xuan Realm through Lord Xuan Realm as one major realm, then Divine Xuan Realm is an entirely different major realm! A completely different level! And Xiao Yaohou has half a foot into this major realm. Her difference from Ming Wang's peak Lord Xuan may seem like only a minor level difference, but the laws she can now touch, even her perception and understanding of this world, have fundamentally changed from Ming Wang and every other living being in this world."
"Exchanging her remaining lifespan for three years of divine path power—for the beings of this world, that's an exceptionally good deal."
Yun Che: "..."
The long-lasting, unextinguished flames and rolling smoke flickered in Ming Wang's pupils. He had schemed for hundreds of years to cut off the Demon Emperor Clan, and Xiao Yaohou had destroyed thousands of years of his clan's foundation with just one fire.
But the nightmare of Hua Wang Manor was only just beginning. Xiao Yaohou flicked her arm. With a flash of firelight, Huai Wang's body was lifted into the air. He was still in the Arcane Firmament Soul-Seizing state, eyes vacant and face dull. But he was not the only one being pulled into the air—his sons, Huiye Commandery Prince and Huiran Commandery Prince, were also drawn up.
"Ming Wang, you killed my Imperial Father and Imperial Brother... I will slaughter your entire clan, kill all your descendants, and make them die in the most agonizing burning in this world!!"
"This is the fate your clan deserves."
"You..." Ming Wang's face turned pale, and his body trembled slightly. The flame prison encasing him was a barrier that should not belong to this world. He used every means possible but could not escape, only watch helplessly as his sons and grandson were lifted high into the air...
"Xiao Yaohou... spare me... I know nothing... I truly know nothing... ahhh!!!"
Huiye desperately begged for mercy, but his pleas could not arouse even a trace of pity in Xiao Yaohou. As flames blazed out of nowhere, enveloping the three of them, his pleas for mercy turned into heart-rending screams.
Burned by Xiao Yaohou's Golden Crow Flame, they were doomed to be incinerated. No one could save them. But Xiao Yaohou would not let them die so easily. The Golden Crow Flame on their bodies crept along their limbs, burning bit by bit, devouring their flesh and blood little by little, making them suffer as if undergoing the torture of hellfire.
"Uwaaaaah... Xiao Yaohou... spare me... Grandfather... save me... save me... aaaaaah!!!"
The three bodies were burned in the air, charred beyond recognition, their limbs gone, but their screams remained heart-rending. In extreme agony, they could neither live nor die. Everyone below felt a chill run through their bodies, their teeth chattering, faces pale. Just watching this scene and hearing these sounds made them so terrified they could hardly stand.
"Shut up! Don't beg her for mercy!" Ming Wang roared from within. Watching his only sons and grandson reduced to such a state, his eyes bloodshot, his face as pale as a vengeful spirit, he extended his hand and pointed tremblingly at Xiao Yaohou: "Xiao Yaohou... this is not over yet. Don't think this king has completely lost. The power on you is by no means ordinary. To have such a surge in profound strength in just four months... there absolutely must be side effects. Perhaps... your price is death! Dying before this king!!"
Xiao Yaohou's brow furrowed as she said coldly: "At death's door, and you still dare to spout wild nonsense! I will now make you die without a burial ground!"
"With you... you cannot kill this king!!" Ming Wang gritted his teeth, looking as if possessed by madness. A stream of pitch-black blood flowed rapidly from the corner of his mouth: "Xiao Yaohou... just wait! One day, this king will repay today's enmity a million times over!!"
Pfft!!
A large mist of blood sprayed from Ming Wang's mouth. The color of the blood mist was a shocking deep black-red. Enveloped in the black-red blood mist, Ming Wang's body gradually faded and then completely disappeared.
"Blood Escape!" Mo Li exclaimed, then snorted coldly: "He escaped, but at the cost of a great deal of lifespan and essence blood. However, for this Fantasy Demon Realm, it leaves behind a big hidden trouble."
The flame prison was withdrawn. Xiao Yaohou flashed and appeared where Huai Wang had just been. She looked at the dissipating black-red blood mist, her gaze infinitely icy, her chest heaving.
This was a Blood Escape activated at the cost of essence blood and lifespan. Even with Xiao Yaohou's current strength, she could not track the direction in which he had fled.
Behind her, the screams of Huiye and Huiran had also ceased. The bodies of the father and two sons had been burned to the most thorough ashes, floating faintly in the air. Huai Wang, once majestic and powerful, just today donning imperial robes and being acclaimed as the new sovereign, along with his two always proud sons, met such a miserable end on the day they should have been most triumphant.
Xiao Yaohou slowly turned, her gaze sweeping downward. In the ruined demon emperor hall, the sinners who had defected to Hua Wang Manor were still kneeling on the ground, not one daring to stand. Under Xiao Yaohou's gaze, they trembled all over, from head to toe, every pore shrinking in fear.
"I will give you a chance to atone!" Xiao Yaohou's voice was like the judgment of the Grim Reaper, coldly entering their ears: "I give you ten days. Within ten days, I want you to exterminate Hua Wang's entire clan! The nine kinship groups—father's four, mother's three, wife's two—none shall be spared! Even women and children shall not be left behind! And pile their corpses at the gates of Yaohuang City, burn them all, not a single strand of hair left behind!"
"After ten days, if even one person from Hua Wang's nine kinship groups remains, I will kill a hundred of you in punishment! If ten remain, I will kill a thousand of you!"
Xiao Yaohou's icy decree raised the most terrifying storm of blood in Yaohuang City's history. A baptism of blood, carrying Xiao Yaohou's boundless hatred, descended upon this sacred imperial city of the Fantasy Demon Realm, centered on Hua Wang Manor...
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