Chapter 2: The Primordial Body, Arena of Slaughter

The will of slaughter surged turbulently within this space, the boundless and terrifying divine power roaring and howling. Xia Jiuxuan’s heart sank heavily. Could it be that he had still not escaped the grasp of the gods?

“Slaughter Emperor, we meet again.”

The cold, emotionless voice carried endless intent to kill, so overwhelming that even Xia Jiuxuan’s divine soul could not resist. For the tenth Lord God was the one who presided over slaughter.

“This sword-shaped pendant, it was a trap you deliberately set!”

Xia Jiuxuan felt a wave of despair. His calculations, after all, were still a step behind the gods.

“You are mistaken.”

The answer from the tenth Lord God—the God of Slaughter—left Xia Jiuxuan in shock and suspicion.

“How so?”

Xia Jiuxuan raised his head, staring directly at the slaughtering visage suspended in the abyss.

“I am not truly the tenth Lord God.”

The God of Slaughter responded icily.

“Hm?”

Xia Jiuxuan’s confusion deepened.

“I shall pass you a memory; you will understand.”

Boom!

The entire void trembled. A strand of golden light shot forth, entering Xia Jiuxuan’s mind. It was a fragment of memory from the God of Slaughter. Within moments, as the memory unfolded in Xia Jiuxuan’s mind, he understood everything. The shock was immeasurable.

It turned out the true God of Slaughter was dual-bodied—two entities sharing one divine body.

What did dual-bodied mean? Simply put, in the primordial chaos, two Gods of Slaughter were birthed, but they shared a single divine vessel. After countless ages of slumber, both awoke simultaneously. And so, they warred. Only the survivor would become the true God of Slaughter, mastering the way of slaughter across the heavens.

Clearly, the one before him lost, expelled from the divine vessel by the other, his divine soul imprisoned in the Nine Nether Inferno, condemned forever. Yet this fallen God of Slaughter was no ordinary being; he had foreseen his defeat and separated a strand of his soul, hiding it within the sword-shaped pendant, waiting for a chance to return.

“Human, you were but a step away from condensing the slaughter godhood and challenging the throne of the God of Slaughter. Yet you were betrayed by a friend, beset by gods, and fell. You must be deeply unwilling.”

The cold voice resonated.

“Of course. Anyone would resent such a fate!”

Xia Jiuxuan answered truthfully.

“Human, you are too naive. Throughout history, you are not the only one to have ascended to the pinnacle of the Slaughter Path. Look.”

With a sweep of his mighty hand, enormous tombs appeared in the void.

The Tomb of the Lord of Nether Slaughter!
The Tomb of the Lord of Soul Slaughter!
The Tomb of the Supreme Slaughter!
...

Nine tombs in total, spanning the void. Each emanated a slaughter aura no weaker than Xia Jiuxuan in his past life. Xia Jiuxuan was shaken.

“Why?”

He could hardly believe it. Why were these mighty slaughter sovereigns all entombed?

“You think yourself strong, you see them as strong. But to a true Lord God, you are nothing but ants.

“Let me tell you—the so-called Slaughter Path is but a conspiracy.

“Every generation, when the Slaughter Emperor ascends and condenses a false godhood, it is the harvest season for the God of Slaughter. Your lifelong efforts amount to nothing but weaving a robe for him.”

The fallen God of Slaughter spoke coldly.

Hearing this, Xia Jiuxuan’s entire being trembled, as if suddenly enlightened.

“That God of Slaughter deliberately lets each generation's genius grow into an emperor, then slays us all, takes our slaughter power, and strengthens himself—is that so?”

Though Xia Jiuxuan understood, he could not help but ask.

“Yes. He allows you to grow, just as humans raise livestock.”

The fallen God of Slaughter’s response was undeniable.

“You are deeply despairing.”

“Yes.”

Awakening his memories, Xia Jiuxuan believed he had hope for resurgence. But now he realized that, no matter how hard he tried, he would only be weaving a robe for the true God of Slaughter. The path ahead was darkness.

“Human, you are wrong again. For you have met me. I was meant to be the true God of Slaughter!

“He stole everything from me. So I will give everything to destroy him!

“And you, as the tenth reincarnated Slaughter Emperor, will be my greatest leverage against him.”

The cold voice echoed.

“How so? Why choose me?”

Xia Jiuxuan, somewhat calmed, raised his head to ask.

“Because you have reincarnated into the Desolate Heaven Body. Only a perfected Desolate Heaven Body can destroy a Lord God!”

The fallen God of Slaughter nearly roared.

Xia Jiuxuan frowned slightly.

“The Desolate Heaven Body is the ruined body of ages past—it cannot be cultivated to its peak. How can I oppose the gods?”

The fallen God of Slaughter did not answer immediately. Instead, he waved his mighty hand. The surging power of slaughter stirred; in the dark void, a vast blood-red platform appeared. Upon it, black chains of order twisted and extended endlessly.

“This is the Slaughter Arena!

“I forged it from the slaughter souls of the previous nine Slaughter Emperors. With it, you can break the curse of the Desolate Heaven Body and become the Desolate Slaughter God!”

He explained.

Gazing at the blood-red platform, Xia Jiuxuan was lost in thought. Could this truly break the curse?

“How is this used?”

Xia Jiuxuan pressed for details.

“The Slaughter Arena can bind the souls of all beings and turn them into cultivation puppets.

“All the cultivation gains of these puppets will be transferred to you.”

Xia Jiuxuan’s heart raced. The Slaughter Arena was that powerful!

With it, the curse preventing cultivation with the Desolate Heaven Body would indeed be broken. Simply put, every enemy Xia Jiuxuan killed would have their soul bound by the Slaughter Arena, transformed into a slaughter puppet.

The purpose of the slaughter puppets was not to fight, but to cultivate in his stead.

For example: if Xia Jiuxuan killed a Sword Saint, the Sword Saint’s soul would be bound as a puppet, endlessly cultivating day and night. All achievements would be transferred to Xia Jiuxuan.

Among cultivators, talents abound. Many are no less gifted than Xia Jiuxuan in his past life, though most died prematurely.

Imagine binding countless talents equal to Xia Jiuxuan in the Slaughter Arena—what curse, what slow cultivation could possibly hinder him?

This was the only solution for the Desolate Heaven Body.

“Human, once you master the Slaughter Arena, in time you will rise again. Then you will truly possess the power to challenge the gods.”

“Excellent! With the Slaughter Arena, I will surpass my previous life in this one!”

Xia Jiuxuan’s will stirred, unleashing a powerful soul force into the Slaughter Arena.

Clang, clang...

The chains of order writhed above the arena, like ravenous dragons longing for food.

“Human, there is another thing you must remember.

“The Slaughter Arena is forged from the slaughter souls of nine generations of Slaughter Lords. You must find the nine false slaughter godhoods they left after death to suppress their souls.

“If not, should the slaughter souls awaken, they will kill you and take your place.

“But do not worry; until you become a perfected Slaughter Emperor, they cannot awaken. You have enough time to grow and seek the false slaughter godhoods.”

The fallen God of Slaughter warned.

“I understand.”

Xia Jiuxuan nodded.

“Finally, when you become the Slaughter Emperor again, you must enter the Nine Nether Inferno and release my divine soul—or you will die violently. Remember this.”

As the words faded, the slaughtering visage in the void disintegrated into dark red fragments.

Staring into the dark, barren void, Xia Jiuxuan sneered coldly.

“I know you are using me, scheming against me. But who will win in the end is still uncertain. Wait and see—both Gods of Slaughter, I will bury you with my own hands!”

Gods have no emotion; their consciousness holds only profit.

So Xia Jiuxuan knew well that this fallen God of Slaughter would never help him out of goodwill.

Everything was for his return, to seize the throne of the God of Slaughter!

As for who would be the final victor, that remained to be seen.

...

Outside.

Though the Slaughter Arena seemed to have existed for ages, the time difference between inside and outside meant that, to the Xia family, only a dozen breaths had passed.

Xia Jiuxuan opened his eyes.

All around, fierce and ruthless gazes converged on him.

“Xia Jiuxuan, you worthless fool, you don’t know what’s good for you. Looking for death!”

The speaker was another of Xia Zhong’s guards. Xia Jiuxuan knew him well. Once, he had seemed honest and had received much kindness from Xia Jiuxuan; who would have thought he’d betray him too?

“Xia Yu, I treated you well. Is this how you repay me?” Xia Jiuxuan retorted.

“Haha.”

Xia Yu sneered, “You fool, I was always loyal to Young Zhong—or should I say, to the new Patriarch Zhong.”

Now, having been rewarded with elixirs, Xia Yu’s strength had reached the fourth innate stage. Even though Xia Jiuxuan had just slain a second stage cultivator, Xia Yu was not afraid, but rather grew more arrogant.

“I’ll tell you the truth. Your elder brother and sister-in-law went out, and I revealed their route to Young Zhong, who ambushed them. Before killing your sister-in-law, Young Zhong enjoyed himself thoroughly.”

Boom boom!

Even with his awakened memories, Xia Jiuxuan’s heart twisted painfully at these words.

“You look furious, but wait, there’s more. Remember your adorable little sister? She was only seven. In truth, she didn’t accidentally fall into the well—she was thrown in by Young Zhong himself.

“And your father’s sworn brother, Li Yu—your muddleheaded father listened to Young Zhong’s slander and drove him out. He died miserably, executed by Young Zhong.

“In short, all who were loyal to your father in the Xia family have been wiped out—leaving only you, this useless one.

“Now your dead father has passed, what do you have to fight Young Zhong?

“In half a month, when Young Zhong returns, he’ll challenge you openly, kill you, and inherit the family headship. Who would dare help you?

“Besides, Young Zhong's status is nothing like before, he—”

Xia Yu grew increasingly excited, imagining Xia Jiuxuan kneeling in agony.

Yet, after a brief flash of fury, Xia Jiuxuan became calm.

Xia Yu tried to continue, but Xia Jiuxuan moved.

Crack!

Unnoticed, Xia Jiuxuan was already beside Xia Yu. His hand, shaped like a blade, chopped down fiercely, severing an arm.

“Ah!”

Xia Yu screamed in agony.

“You—you hid your strength!”

His face turned pale; he realized he had lost all power.

“Elders, I am Young Zhong’s confidant! Hurry and save me!”

Xia Yu retreated frantically.

“Xia Jiuxuan, how dare you! Are you courting death?”

An elder roared.

“Courting death? The ones courting death are you.”

Whoosh!

Xia Jiuxuan’s figure flashed, chasing the fleeing Xia Yu. With a kick, he broke both legs.

“No, you can’t kill me! If you do, Young Zhong will never let you go!”

Bang!

Blood splattered everywhere; a single punch shattered his skull.

The Slaughter Emperor never left unfinished business.

The hall fell silent.

All the elders present were shocked.

Xia Jiuxuan was truly calculating. He was no thorough waste, but had hidden his strength.

In their eyes, Xia Jiuxuan possessed at least the power of the fifth innate stage.