Swallowing the Stars: Heart of the Martial God

Chapter 159 Lava Demon God
The Lord of Arrow Demons flapped his wings, emitting a sharp cry: "Yin Tuo, treasures belong to those who are destined to possess them. What right do you have to monopolize them? Today, whoever has the ability can take this blade!"

His attention was entirely focused on the Heaven-Slaying Blade, and he didn't even glance at Ling Xuan, as if the other party was merely a "container of the treasure."

The Lord of Poison Ivy echoed in a chilling voice, "That's right. With the three of us working together, you're no match for us. You'd better just back down and you can save your life."

Her vines twitched slightly, ready to snatch it away. Ling Xuan's face darkened completely.

He originally wanted to cross the God-Slaying Gorge as soon as possible and head to the secret chamber space at the edge of the core of the Cosmic Ship, but he did not expect to be entangled by Yin Tuo first, and now three alien raiders have appeared. These guys are too lazy to even ask who they are, yet they dare to regard him as prey to be slaughtered. They are extremely arrogant.

He secretly wrote down the names of the three people in his little notebook. Zhou Heng's clone and Xuan Gu's clone did not transform their divine power into the Supreme Being in order to distinguish themselves from the main body. Their strength was a bit weaker, but that did not mean that this score was over.

Soon after Zhou Heng's clone obtains the relics of the Ancient Lord and returns to the Primordial Universe, he will send his true self back to seek revenge.

"You want to stop me?" Ling Xuan's voice was as cold as frost. The Fiery Beast Domain erupted once more, its crimson power spreading towards the three of them. "Then don't blame me for being impolite!"

Upon seeing this, the Lord of Black Fiends laughed loudly: "Kid, you dare to be so arrogant after just advancing in your cultivation? Your domain treasure seems to be quite impressive."

With that, the three giant axes were swung simultaneously, and three dark red axe beams slashed towards Ling Xuan.

The three axe beams intertwined in the air to form a massive killing net, blocking all of Ling Xuan's evasive routes. Each axe beam contained enough power to cleave a planet-sized rock into dust.

Ling Xuan's eyes sharpened, and the Heaven-Slaying Blade shone brightly. As the Blade Intent of Breaking Illusion flowed, he poured all his divine power into the blade. Then, he swung the blade fiercely, and a black blade light shot into the sky, colliding with the three axe lights.

"Boom!" The two terrifying forces collided, and the resulting shockwave shattered the surrounding magma pillars, sending black spatial fragments flying everywhere.

Although Ling Xuan was forced to retreat tens of thousands of kilometers by the shock, he was not injured—the power of the Heaven-Slaying Blade, enhanced by the power of a quasi-emperor, far exceeded the Black Fiend Lord's expectations.

Taking advantage of the opportunity, the Lord of Arrow Evil flapped his wings and his figure instantly disappeared into the void.

He was adept at using unpredictable movements to entangle his opponents, silently circling behind Ling Xuan, his dark blue barrier-breaking arrow aimed directly at Ling Xuan's back.

This Boundary-Breaking Arrow can traverse the void and penetrate most defenses. It is the signature skill of the Arrow Demon Lord, and two Universe Lords have died by his arrows.

Ling Xuan was prepared. The perception range of the Flame Beast Heavenly Domain covered several light-years. In addition, as the true successor of the Void Dao, the fluctuations in the void could not escape his notice.

He turned around abruptly, swung the Heaven-Slaying Blade horizontally, and the blade's light precisely struck the Boundary-Breaking Arrow.

With a crisp "ding," the Boundary-Breaking Arrow was split in two, turning into specks of blue light and dissipating.

But the Arrow Demon Lord's sneak attack did not end there. He reappeared from the void, drew his longbow, and fired three boundary-breaking arrows at the same time, aiming at Ling Xuan's head, heart, and dantian respectively, at extremely tricky angles.

"This is never going to end!" Ling Xuan roared, and the Fiery Beast Domain surged instantly, transforming into a giant red dragon that swept its tail and blocked all three World-Breaking Arrows.

At the same time, the Lord of Poison Ivy also launched an attack. She manipulated the green vines around her, which swirled towards Ling Xuan like a tide.

These vines are the original form of her "God-Devouring Vine". They are not only incredibly tough, but also contain a deadly poison that can corrode the body of the Lord of the Universe. Once entangled, the divine body will be quickly corroded by the poison and eventually turn into a puddle of pus.

Ling Xuan wielded the Heaven-Slaying Blade, and with a flash of light, he severed the approaching God-Devouring Vines one by one.

But these vines seemed to have a life of their own, rapidly regenerating from the broken ends and forming new vines in the blink of an eye, continuing to approach him.

Even more terrifying, the black venom dripped from the vines onto the black rocky ground, instantly corroding the rocks and creating deep holes, demonstrating the venom's terrifying power.

Upon seeing this, Tuo had a sudden thought.

He could see that Ling Xuan's strength far exceeded the expectations of the Black Fiend Lord and the other two. If he couldn't kill this unfamiliar, newly promoted universe lord, he might as well kill the Black Fiend Lord and the others.

So he controlled the golden unicorn lizard and charged toward the Lord of Arrow Evil.

The golden unicorn lizard was incredibly fast, arriving before the Lord of Arrow Evil in an instant. Its unicorn horn suddenly thrust out, carrying the ultimate attack technique of the Golden Beast God.

Caught off guard, the Lord of Arrow Evil could only hastily fire an arrow.

The arrow struck the unicorn horn with a crisp clang. The horn remained unharmed, but the Arrow Demon Lord was sent flying light-years away by the recoil.

"Yin Tuo, how dare you ambush me!" The Lord of Arrow Demons roared sharply, his eyes filled with rage. His attention was entirely on Yin Tuo, and he had no mind to care about Ling Xuan.

Seeing this, the Lord of Black Fiends simultaneously swung his three giant axes at Yin Tuo, roaring, "Old fox, trying to reap the benefits?"

This dragged Tuo into the fray, making the situation even more chaotic.

Undeterred, Tuo used the golden law barrier to weaken the axe's power to one ten-thousandth. He then controlled his golden unicorn lizard to meet the attack. The unicorn clashed with the giant axe, producing a piercing metallic clang.

"Black Demon, with your strength, you'd be better off tickling me!" Yin Tuo's voice was full of sarcasm.

He manipulated the golden unicorn lizard to violently whip its tail, striking the Black Lord's black armor.

The Lord of Black Fiends was sent flying backward by the blow, and the fiendish aura on his black armor dimmed slightly—although the attack did not harm his divine body, it caused his divine power to surge.

Seeing that both the Lord of Black Fiend and the Lord of Arrow Demon were restrained, the Lord of Poison Ivy panicked and slowed down the speed at which he controlled the God-Devouring Vine.

Ling Xuan seized the opportunity, his eyes blazing with murderous intent: "Since you're all so eager to die, then I'll start with you!"

Before he finished speaking, his divine power surged wildly into the Heaven-Slaying Blade, and this supreme imperial weapon instantly fully revived. Hundreds of millions of golden runes appeared on the blade, and an incomparably terrifying supreme imperial might spread out, causing the temperature of the entire God-Slaying Abyss to plummet.

The Heaven-Slaying Blade was Ling Xuan's weapon of enlightenment. The deity could clearly sense his master's emotions and, influenced by them, instantly became enraged, unleashing his power without reservation in an attempt to help his master.

The surrounding sea of ​​lava seemed to be intimidated by this imperial might, its surging speed slowing down, the cracks on the black rocky land ceasing to spread, and even space itself becoming stagnant.

The Lord of Black Fiends, the Lord of Arrow Demons, and Yin Tuo all changed their expressions drastically upon sensing this imperial might—they had never felt such terrifying pressure before, as if they were facing not a newly promoted Lord of the Universe, but a supreme being about to ascend to the throne.

"Heaven-Slaying Blade Technique - Return to Nothingness!"

With a roar, Ling Xuan raised the Heaven-Slaying Blade high. The blade's light was no longer black, but turned into nothingness. Wherever the blade's intent passed, space, laws, and energy began to collapse, converging towards the blade's light.

This strike contained the profound meaning of "returning to nothingness." After the earth-shattering battle with the nine cosmic lords, he had already reached the pinnacle of his cultivation.

The avatar of Zhou Heng simply did not convert divine power, and the level of this strike was thus elevated.

The Lord of Arrow Evil's face turned deathly pale. He felt the threat of death and tried to merge back into the void, but found that the surrounding space had been sealed off by the Supreme Emperor's Might, like a solidified wall.

He could only hastily swing his longbow and fire a barrage of divine arrows to defend himself, while simultaneously flapping his wings and fleeing into the distance.

But the speed of the Returning Void far exceeded his expectations. The blade's edge touched the divine arrow and turned it into nothingness. "No!" Arrow Demon let out a shrill scream, but it was unable to dodge at all.

With a "poof," the ethereal blade pierced through his brow, and the slender divine body of the Void Feather Clan was instantly devoured by the power of nothingness. Even the azure longbow in his hand turned into specks of blue light and vanished without leaving a trace.

"Arrow Demon!" The Lord of Black Fiend and the Lord of Poison Ivy exclaimed simultaneously, their eyes filled with fear.

Only now did they realize that they had not provoked an ordinary newcomer, but a ruthless character who had hidden his strength.

The Poison Ivy Lord, in particular, felt a chill run down her spine when she saw Arrow Demon instantly killed—although her divine body was so large that it was difficult to kill her, the consequences would be unimaginable if she were to be struck by this blade of light hundreds of times.

Yin Tuo was secretly alarmed. If this slash were to hit him, it would probably penetrate his defenses even more effectively than the previous one.

After killing Arrow Demon, Ling Xuan did not stop. His surging imperial might turned and locked onto the Black Fiend Lord: "You're next!"

Carrying the Heaven-Slaying Blade, he walked step by step toward the Lord of Black Fiends. With each step he took, golden imperial runes would appear on the black rocky ground, spreading out and completely blocking the Lord of Black Fiends' retreat.

The Lord of Black Fiends stared intently at Ling Xuan with his six eyes, his heart filled with apprehension.

He finally realized that he had kicked a hornet's nest, and continuing to fight would only lead to his death.

"My lord, I was wrong today. I am willing to withdraw and will never obstruct you again!" the Black Fiend Lord said softly, even changing his address from "boy" to "my lord".

Ling Xuan sneered, "Want to back out now? Too late!" With that, he swung his sword fiercely, unleashing another ethereal blade of light that slashed towards the Lord of Black Fiends.

Seeing this, the Lord of Black Fiends simultaneously raised three giant axes in front of him, and black fiendish energy surged into the axes, slashing forward wildly.

"Boom!" The ethereal blade light struck the axe light, causing the axe light to collapse instantly. The three giant axes were also sent flying by the force of the blow, and the blade light slashed towards the Lord of Black Fiends.

"Ah!" The Lord of Black Fiends let out a shrill scream, turned around and ran away. He was no longer arrogant as before, and only had one thought in his mind - to escape from here.

Ling Xuan wouldn't let him escape so easily. The Fiery Beast Domain instantly contracted, enveloping the Black Fiend Lord within it. The power of the domain continuously compressed the Black Fiend Lord's divine body, slowing him down more and more.

"You can't escape!" Ling Xuan, wielding the Heaven-Slaying Blade, quickly gave chase, the blade's light condensing once more, preparing to deliver a fatal blow to the Black Fiend Lord.

Just then, the entire Annihilation Abyss suddenly trembled violently. The sea of ​​magma above surged wildly like boiling water, and huge columns of magma shot into the sky, reaching heights of tens of millions of kilometers, before crashing down onto the black rocky ground with a deafening roar.

A terrifying aura emanated from the depths of the magma sea, causing everyone present to feel a chill run down their spines.

"This is..." The fear on the Black Fiend Lord's face intensified. He looked up at the sea of ​​lava, his voice trembling, "Could it be... the Lava Demon God?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the sea of ​​lava suddenly parted, and a giant arm slowly rose up.

This arm is billions of kilometers long and covered with thick black rock. Fiery magma flows through the cracks in the rock, each drop of which contains a temperature high enough to melt the body of the Lord of the Universe.

Immediately afterwards, the head of the Lava Demon God emerged from the sea of ​​lava. Its three enormous eyes, like three red suns, radiated a cold light, devoid of any emotion, only pure destructive desire. Its mouth opened, revealing a gigantic maw full of ferocious fangs, seemingly capable of devouring an entire star.

"The Lava Demon! It really is it!" the Black Fiend Lord screamed, fleeing even faster.

The Poison Ivy Lord also quickly shrank her divine body, condensing billions of vines into a ball, and fled at top speed away from the sea of ​​lava. Although her divine body was large, it was nothing compared to the Lava Demon God. Even the strongest beings in the universe could perish if captured, so what was she?
The moment the sea of ​​magma exploded, Ling Xuan's hair stood on end—the giant black rock hand, with a diameter of over a billion kilometers, crashed down from the vortex like a collapsing sky. The magma surging from the grooves of its palm was like a crimson river, each drop carrying a temperature high enough to melt the body of the Lord of the Universe.

Even more terrifying, before the giant hand even touched the ground, the palm wind had already compressed the surrounding space into a viscous "crystalline state," and the black rocky ground beneath his feet cracked at a speed visible to the naked eye. The magma gushing from the cracks was shredded by the palm wind into billions of scorching arrows that shot towards him, the Lord of Black Fiend, and the Lord of Poison Ivy.

"Go!" the Lord of Black Fiend roared, his three giant axes spinning simultaneously, the dark red axe light shattering the oncoming rain of lava arrows.

The moment the sea of ​​lava exploded, Ling Xuan, the Lord of Black Fiend, the Lord of Poison Ivy, and Yin Tuo almost simultaneously ran in different directions.

No one was thinking about fighting for the treasure anymore. In the face of the Lava Demon God, a being that even the strongest beings in the universe had to avoid, any greed became a joke. Survival was the only goal.

The sounds behind them became clearer and clearer.

"Roar—!" The roar of the Lava Demon God reverberated throughout the God-Slaying Abyss, and the sound waves stirred up a giant wave of magma 200,000 kilometers high. The metal crystals carried in the wave were like billions of crimson meteors, crashing towards the two of them.

Its giant hand suddenly attacked, slamming down towards the Lord of Poison Ivy. The force of the palm swept across, and the ground instantly sank into a magma pool with a diameter of millions of kilometers. The magma pillars that rose from the center of the pool intertwined into a fire net, blocking her retreat.

The Poison Ivy Queen was terrified. Her miasma surged wildly, barely melting the approaching magma pillar. At the same time, she condensed her vines into ropes and hurled them at Ling Xuan, who was flying in front of her, hoping to use his power to accelerate.

Ling Xuan noticed the movement behind him and frowned.

He knew what the Lord of Poison Ivy was planning, but he didn't have the energy to pay attention to it. He simply used the counter-force of the Flame Beast Domain to accelerate again.

But the Lord of Poison Ivy was relentless, manipulating his vines to entwine around Ling Xuan's Flame Beast Domain, attempting to slow him down.

"Get lost!" Ling Xuan roared, and with a backhand swing of the Heaven-Slaying Blade, the blade light, carrying the intent of piercing illusion, severed the approaching vines.

The Lord of Poison Ivy seemed to have gone all out, continuing to approach Ling Xuan, even going so far as to frantically burn his divine body to gain even greater speed.

Just then, the Lava Demon God's other giant hand suddenly turned and grabbed at Ling Xuan.

This grabbing speed far exceeded a thousand times the speed of light, tearing a huge hole in space, with cracks spreading along the edges like a spider web, and everything it touched was sucked into nothingness.

Ling Xuan's heart stopped, and almost instinctively he swung the Heaven-Slaying Blade, three black blade beams precisely slashing between the giant fingers.

"Boom!" The blade collided with the giant hand, black fragments and crimson magma splashed everywhere. Ling Xuan was blasted away by the shockwave, flying several light-years away. The domain of the Flame Beast Heavenly Domain was also shattered, but he also avoided the fatal grab by using the recoil force.

Before Ling Xuan could regain his footing, the Lava Demon God's attacks came one after another.

It suddenly raised its knee and thrust it towards Ling Xuan, producing a piercing shriek as it sliced ​​through the air. The space was forced open, creating a straight dent that formed a "space blade" that shot towards Ling Xuan.

Ling Xuan's pupils shrank sharply, and his divine power erupted once more. The Fiery Beast Domain instantly expanded to its maximum size, and crimson flames condensed into a giant phantom of a fire beast god, crashing towards the spatial blade.

"Bang!" The phantom of the Fire Beast God collided with the spatial blade and shattered instantly. The power of the spatial blade was also weakened by more than half. Ling Xuan took the opportunity to dodge to the side. The spatial blade flew past his Flame Beast Heaven Domain and cleaved a deep trench hundreds of millions of kilometers into the rocky earth behind him.

Taking advantage of the gap in the giant hand's attack, the Lord of Poison Ivy slipped through and continued to flee into the distance.

But she hadn't flown far when she saw the Lava Demon God's giant foot slam into the ground, sending a magma shockwave, hundreds of millions of kilometers in diameter, sweeping towards her.

The Poison Ivy Queen's pupils constricted as she desperately manipulated her vines to form a shield. However, the shield shattered like paper in the face of the shockwave. Her divine body was struck by the shockwave, and half of her vines instantly turned into charcoal, significantly reducing her flight speed.

(End of this chapter)