Volume One: The Celestial Cloud Palace Chapter Ninety-Eight: A Bloody Massacre Unleashed

Chapter Ninety-Eight: The Massacre Unleashed

“Indeed, as the saying goes, the tree that stands tallest in the forest is the first to be struck by the wind! Young man, your journey along the path of immortality ends here today.” The two elders from Rain Lake let out chilling laughter as they advanced.

Not only them, but members from two other great factions nearby also prepared to strike. Just as the two masters from Fire Origin had said, Zhou Hao was destined to become a formidable force in the future; they had to crush him in his cradle.

“Come at me all at once, I’m in a hurry!” Zhou Hao’s lips curled into a smile as he tilted his head, casting a glance at everyone present.

“Seeking death!” The two masters from Fire Origin’s eyes turned icy cold. They launched the first attack, stretching their massive hands through the void to seize Zhou Hao.

Boom!

Zhou Hao stepped on empty air, his body transforming into golden light. With his bare palms, he met the attack head-on. Instantly, waves of energy rippled through the starry sky, creating circle after circle of undulations. To everyone’s astonishment, the fiery hands of the two Fire Origin masters shattered into countless luminous droplets, yet Zhou Hao’s speed did not falter; he surged forward fiercely towards them.

“Kill!”

Drawing his sword, its black blade glimmering like ink, Zhou Hao swung with great force and breadth, cleaving downward. The two Fire Origin masters countered with their gleaming long knives.

Clang! Clang! Sparks flew as metal vibrated continuously, but it was clear that the Fire Origin masters were retreating step by step. Zhou Hao wielded his sword like a hammer, smashing the blades in their hands.

Bang!

The Wind Desert masters arrived, wielding a broad azure sword which they swung to cleave above Zhou Hao’s head. His eyes flashed with cold lightning. With a palm strike upward, the void vibrated with a humming sound. A golden handprint erupted, colliding against the broad azure sword with a thunderous clang like a ringing bell.

In the next moment, the four great masters of Thunder Mountain and Rain Lake simultaneously attacked Zhou Hao. Their weapons—great halberds and long spears—were large and suitable for killing at a distance, all aiming for Zhou Hao’s neck, intent on beheading him!

“Sun of the Great Day, arise!” Without turning back, Zhou Hao knew of their ambush. His eyes burst with dazzling golden light. Behind him, a golden sun rumbled into existence.

The four masters’ surprise attack was utterly thwarted. The moment the golden sun appeared behind Zhou Hao, their divine weapons melted away. The golden sun seemed like a real stellar sun, burning the divine weapons of golden immortals into molten iron…

Boom!

At that instant, Zhou Hao’s aura transformed—he became powerful and swift. In a blink, he flashed before the four Thunder Mountain and Rain Lake masters. Without a word, a golden palm slammed fiercely into their chests. Without weapons, the four could only fight bare-handed, but Zhou Hao’s aura soared, his strength greatly increased. With a single palm, he sent them flying hundreds of miles away.

Zhou Hao then flashed forward again with lightning speed that even golden immortals could not match. He retracted his stone sword and battled the four masters from Fire Origin and Wind Desert with his bare hands, leaving them struggling to keep up.

Hum!

A golden light stretched a thousand miles. Zhou Hao’s gaze pierced one of the Fire Origin masters’ chests. The golden light penetrated him but did not kill him. Though intense, Zhou Hao’s gaze was not yet lethal.

“Kill! Kill! Kill! This boy must not live!” The eight golden immortals roared, their eyes bloodshot. They unleashed their ultimate moves to slay Zhou Hao.

The two Fire Origin masters shot forth crimson chains from their palms, crackling as they flew toward Zhou Hao, leaving a blazing red trail in their wake.

Seeing the chains were no ordinary weapons, Zhou Hao quickly formed a palm seal to strike, but this time it was ineffective. The crimson chains pierced through his palm imprint and continued onward. He could only dodge.

The two Wind Desert masters summoned two silver tornadoes, their sharp silver light sweeping through the void with a shrill hum. Zhou Hao had no choice but to temporarily evade their assault.

At this moment, the four masters of Rain Lake and Thunder Mountain surged from behind. Previously, Zhou Hao had flung them away with a single palm because of his speed, leaving them unable to react. Now, burning with fury, they unleashed their finishing moves.

“Thunder Mountain Fall!”

“Rain Dragon Break!”

Four voices rang out. Suddenly, the void darkened and massive rain poured down with thunder rolling. A colossal mountain, wreathed in purple lightning, appeared from the void, crashing down above Zhou Hao’s head. Then, blue raindrops fell, birthing a deep blue dragon that roared thunderously.

“Can’t move?” Zhou Hao, seeing the mountain falling above, tried to dodge but found the light cast by it pinned him in place, unable to move.

“Fine, this is what you asked for!” Zhou Hao snorted coldly, rapidly forming hand seals.

Immediately, he raised a single palm above his head, a palm imprint forming, bathed in golden light that illuminated the dark space. The palm was so immense that even the Thunder Mountain was half its size.

The golden hand lifted the Thunder Mountain, then the palm slowly closed. The mountain erupted with a cascade of purple lightning strikes upon the hand, but to no effect. Finally, the mountain was crushed by the palm, reduced to stardust beneath the sky!

“And you!” Zhou Hao spun around. The Sun of the Great Day propelled him forward. Facing the blue rain dragon with its gaping maw, Zhou Hao charged without hesitation into its mouth.

With a howl, the rain dragon swallowed him whole, but soon its body radiated dazzling golden light before exploding with a bang…

“Try to eat me? You wish!” Zhou Hao looked at the shattered dragon body scattered in light droplets, sneering as he shook his head.

“Ugh!” As the Thunder Mountain and Rain Dragon were defeated, the four golden immortals of Thunder Mountain and Rain Lake coughed up blood, suffering backlash. Their deadly moves were linked; once defeated, their vital energy was severely damaged.

Clang!

A dark light soared, and the four golden immortals’ heads rolled away, blood spurting from their severed necks.

The four golden immortals of Wind Desert and Fire Origin were shocked, horror etched on their faces. Unwilling to yield, they prepared to strike again. The crimson chains cut through the air while silver storms swept the void. At this dire moment, they resolved to kill Zhou Hao no matter what.

Strangely, Zhou Hao remained still this time, letting the chains bind his body and the silver storms envelop him.

“Such powerful chains, they evaporate all the blood in my body. And these silver tornadoes—they even decompose my golden body,” Zhou Hao mused quietly, sword in hand, waiting calmly.

“Is this kid crazy? Standing still and not running? I thought this time he’d be killed. Looks like he really can’t defy fate after all, haha…” One golden immortal from Wind Desert was stunned, then burst into laughter.

“Strange, why doesn’t he move? Isn’t he afraid of our secret weapons?” Not everyone was careless. One master from Fire Origin squinted at Zhou Hao, bound by chains and wrapped in storms, muttering to himself.

“Go check it out, then we’ll know! I don’t believe the kid’s that dumb.” Another Fire Origin master replied.

“Better be careful, there might be an explosion. Don’t get too close!” The cautious Fire Origin immortal warned.

“Then I’ll go test the waters!” The Wind Desert immortal hefted his broad sword and stepped straight to Zhou Hao’s side.

“Slash!”

With a clang, the broad azure sword swung toward Zhou Hao’s face. A hit meant certain beheading.

Hum!

But Zhou Hao did not wait passively. Golden light shot from his eyes, targeting the Wind Desert immortal’s eyes. At the same time, the Sun of the Great Day on his back burst with golden radiance. The crimson chains and silver tornadoes vanished instantly. Zhou Hao’s figure disappeared from sight.

“Ah!”

The Wind Desert immortal screamed in agony. His eyes were hollowed out, blood streaming down his cheeks like tears of blood.

“Not good!” The remaining three masters roared in fury, rushing to save their blinded comrade.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

The massive golden palm imprint reappeared. At this moment, stars dimmed and cosmic ripples spread. Seizing the opportunity while the three were busy rescuing their ally, Zhou Hao unleashed his most powerful attack.

The Great Radiant Sun Palm tore through the void, striking the three from behind. They were annihilated before even uttering a scream. They had expected Zhou Hao to attack the blinded Wind Desert immortal after disappearing, but they never imagined his true intent was elsewhere!

“They’re all gone. How lonely you must be. I’m a good man to the end; I’ll send you off too. Time to go!” Zhou Hao smiled as he looked at the last remaining Wind Desert immortal, blinded and alone.

“You brat, you deserve to die! Our four great factions will never let you go. You will be tortured to madness…” The Wind Desert immortal gritted his teeth, unable to resist, he spat out a venomous curse, but Zhou Hao seemed uninterested.

With a “puff,” Zhou Hao’s palm punched through his chest. Golden flames erupted from his palm, burning the golden immortal’s body to ashes. His soul struggled briefly in the blaze before vanishing completely.

Swish! Zhou Hao activated the Phantom Immortal Trace, slicing through the void at an incredible speed, a true shifting of stars and time powered by the Sun of the Great Day. Soon, he appeared before two yellow-robed figures fleeing for their lives. The two had begun to run when Zhou Hao was slaughtering the Fire Origin and Wind Desert masters. Now, seeing him so close, they were nearly terrified out of their wits.

“Zh-Zhou… Zhou Hao, you… you… hello!” Shangguan Qian and Ouyang Qi’s lips trembled as they stammered.

“Yes, I’m quite well, but you two are not so lucky.” Zhou Hao smiled at the two bowing elders.

“Th-This… this is all a misunderstanding! We didn’t attack you. We only guided you back to Yunmiao Hall. The four great factions want you dead; we had no choice. Please spare us old bones!”

“True, since you are also elders of Yunmiao Hall. If I killed you, wouldn’t that be the sin of slaying my own sect?” Zhou Hao muttered to himself.

“Thank you for sparing us, thank you, thank you,” Ouyang Qi and Shangguan Qian bowed deeply, heads lowered in fear.

“Raise your heads. I have questions for you. If you do not answer truthfully, even if it means killing my own sect, I will do it!” Zhou Hao’s voice turned stern as he raised an eyebrow.

Hearing this, Ouyang Qi and Shangguan Qian straightened up but avoided Zhou Hao’s gaze, fearing that one misstep might cost them their heads. After all, this young man killed without blinking; in just a short while, twelve golden immortals had come, and ten had fallen—all by his hand!

“Ask whatever you want. We will tell everything we know!” Shangguan Qian and Ouyang Qi said submissively.

“Who is currently in charge of Yunmiao Hall?” Zhou Hao asked.

“Well... heh heh, of course, the Hall Master of Yunmiao Hall is in charge. Who else could possibly be the master of our Yunmiao Immortal Hall?” Shangguan Qian smiled artificially.

“Foolish and ignorant!” Zhou Hao’s anger flared, slapping Shangguan Qian’s old face hard. Teeth flew out, mixing with blood as he spat.

“If you don’t tell the truth now, the next palm won’t be just a slap.” Zhou Hao warned coldly.

“I’ll talk, I’ll talk! The Yunmiao Immortal Hall no longer exists. Nangong, the former Hall Master—no, Nangong Xun killed the old master and took over as the new Hall Master. The hall was renamed Nangong Immortal Hall but has not yet announced it publicly. Only members of Nangong Immortal Hall know this!” Ouyang Qi quickly revealed the truth upon seeing Shangguan Qian’s fate.

Boom! Upon hearing this, Zhou Hao’s eyes turned icy. He suddenly struck the top of Shangguan Qian’s head with a palm glowing with brilliant golden light, a sun spinning within it. Shangguan Qian’s skull shattered instantly.

Ouyang Qi stood frozen, stunned at how ruthless the young man was—using Shangguan Qian as a mere outlet for his wrath…