Immortal Martial Emperor

"I want you dead. Not even King Yama himself would dare keep you."

A cold, indifferent snort echoed, yet it seethed with absolute fury. With every word, killing intent surged, whipping up a black storm.

It swept across the world.

Blood-red wind blades swirled and intertwined, weaving themselves into a tall, imposing, crimson figure.

This was a young man with a sickly pale complexion. His features were sharp and well-defined, with a hint of androgynous grace.

A cascade of blood-red hair flowed down his back, stirring in the wind. It shimmered with a terrifying crimson light. Each strand seemed to glisten with pinpricks of light, as if droplets of Divine Blood from the Deities themselves had crystalized upon his hair.

His features were so refined they were almost unreal. His eyes glowed with an eerie, blood-red light, for he possessed double pupils.

Eerie and mysterious.

These were none other than the legendary double pupils, the symbol of a peerless genius—a Celestial Pride Son whose appearance heralded the coming of a Demon Fiend.

Legend said that those with double pupils were favored by the heavens. They possessed unparalleled fortune and talent, placing them at the absolute apex of all geniuses.

RUSTLE!

The crimson storm slowly receded.

A black robe embroidered with swirling, blood-red clouds materialized around him.

His robes whipped about, dancing wildly despite the lack of wind.

His frigid gaze locked onto Hong Yu. It was as if two Demon Venerables from the Netherworld were coiled within his eyes, issuing chilling, sinister sneers that made one's scalp crawl.

"Very good. So you've nearly finished inheriting the Venerable Golden Bone. I never thought someone like you would appear among the new True Dragons. Very good. Excellent, in fact!"

The crimson figure spoke nonchalantly. Then, his eyes suddenly flashed with a cold light. As his double pupils constricted, the very air grew frigid, and snowflakes began to drift down from the void.

This was the Phoenix Ancient Nest, after all.

Even in its ruin, the nest still radiated immense heat, scorching the air to nearly a hundred degrees.

To make it snow in the void with just a glance under these conditions... just how terrifying was his power?

'This man is horrifyingly powerful!'

Hong Yu took a deep breath, a heavy weight settling in his chest as if a great stone were lodged there.

The crimson figure before him possessed such terrifying abilities, putting Hong Yu under immense pressure.

Moreover, he had recognized the Venerable Golden Bone with a single glance. This man had to be the mysterious Lord of the Eastern Divine City whom Hai Wen had mentioned.

"Since you were so kind as to deliver the Venerable Golden Bone right to my doorstep, I will permit you one final request before you die!"

The Lord of the Eastern Divine City watched Hong Yu with a detached air.

He was high and mighty, standing with immense pride, not even deigning to look at Hong Yu directly.

His arrogance and dominance were palpable. He was utterly condescending, like a king speaking to a pauper, as if every word he uttered was a blessing bestowed upon Hong Yu.

Hong Yu's eyebrow twitched in annoyance.

'This guy's attitude is really pissing me off.'

He then said coolly, "Such arrogance from a mere incarnation. Does your family know you act like this?"

He had seen long ago that this was not the man's true body.

It was nothing more than an incarnation.

An incarnation was something one could create after reaching the Primordial Spirit Realm. By entrusting a sliver of their Primordial Spirit Power to an object, they could summon this external avatar when specific conditions were met. This incarnation would possess a fraction of the true body's combat strength.

"Hm?"

The Lord of the Divine City paused, then looked Hong Yu over with a smirk. "Are those your last words? Good. Since you've said your piece, I can now take your life!"

As soon as he finished speaking.

The Lord of the Divine City struck without warning.

He raised his palm gently, and a crimson Palm Light began to form.

The Palm Light shot toward the heavens. It seemed to be entwined with countless ferocious, terrifying, blood-red Vengeful Souls. They shrieked as they approached, like a million crimson skeletons clawing their way forward to attack.

Hong Yu's eyes widened. The power of this single strike was comparable to seventy percent of Hai Wen's full strength.

'And this is just an incarnation!'

He dared not be careless for another second. Cyan light erupted from his body as his arms moved like two Divine Dragons. He whipped up a roaring torrent of energy and charged toward the crimson Palm Light.

BOOM!

The void shattered.

The two disparate energies detonated on impact, unleashing a terrifying radiance.

It was as if two blazing suns had appeared in the void.

"No wonder you were able to kill Hai Wen and his men. You do have some skill. It seems that to kill you with a mere incarnation, I will have to pay a small price!"

The Lord of the Divine City thrust his arms out, and the black, blood-clouded robe around him suddenly swelled.

A powerful gale blasted out from beneath his robes, surging in every direction. The clouds churned and blood-red lightning crackled.

"Asura Domain!"

The Lord of the Divine City grunted.

He raised his hand, and a ball of red light condensed in his palm. It glowed like a blood-red sun and rapidly grew in size.

In the blink of an eye…

It swelled from the size of a thumb to the size of a small hut.

SWOOSH!

The ball of red light shot toward Hong Yu.

It enveloped him in an instant, and a terrifying aura of death permeated the space.

Faintly, Hong Yu could see crimson phantoms charging at him. Their faces were twisted with savagery, and they radiated a chilling killing intent, gnashing their teeth as they tried to tear him apart.

"This is the Asura Domain I have refined. I have buried many a War Emperor within it. The fact that you have forced me to use it means you can die with pride!" the Lord of the Divine City stated dispassionately, his eyes filled with confidence and pride.

"Asura Domain?"

Hearing those two words, even Xuantian, who had been focused on healing, snapped his eyes wide open in shock.

A look of terror filled his eyes. "Is that really the Asura Domain? My god, could he be that genius from all those years ago... the Eastern Asura? Weren't the rumors that he died in the True Dragon Battlefield? He's still alive? And he became the Lord of the Eastern Divine City? This is bad. Hong Yu is in serious trouble now…"

"What is the Asura Domain?"

Emperor Xiahuang Wudi asked, confused.

Xiao Shilang clearly knew some of the history. A fearful light flickered in his eyes as he gazed at the figure of the Eastern Asura with utter awe.

He took a deep breath before he was able to speak clearly. "Decades ago, there was a genius who comprehended the Asura Mysteries. His name was the Eastern Asura. He was incredibly powerful and brutally cruel; even many experts from the Imperial Family fell at his hands. The last rumor was that he had died in the True Dragon Battlefield. I never imagined he was still alive, let alone that he would break through to the Primordial Spirit Realm and condense his Asura Mysteries into a tangible Dharma Aspect—this Asura Domain!"

"Is this Asura Domain really that strong?" Emperor Xiahuang Wudi felt a sense of dread from it, but he had no concrete understanding of its power.

Xiao Shilang nodded, his throat suddenly dry. "The Fifth Prince once said that unless he took that final step and truly entered the Primordial Spirit Realm, he would face certain death if confronted with the Asura Domain."

"Then isn't Hong Yu doomed for sure?"

Emperor Xiahuang Wudi said, his eyes wide.

Xiao Shilang nodded, then shook his head. "I don't know. After all, this Asura Domain is being used by an incarnation of the Eastern Asura, so it's certainly weaker than what his true body could manage. But... from what the legends say about the Eastern Asura, he has never failed once he decides to act. I'm afraid Hong Yu…"

"Hmph! He's going to die. There's no doubt about it!"

A cold, sinister light flashed in Mang Kun's eyes as he spoke with vicious certainty.

...

Inside the crimson Asura Domain, Hong Yu felt as if an army of thousands was sharpening its blades, charging at him with chilling killing intent.

Each warrior in this phantom army was incredibly powerful.

The Battle Sabers in their hands seemed forged from blood itself.

Their warhorses were drenched in gore, having trampled over countless mountains of corpses and seas of blood.

Their faces were contorted in savage expressions, as if they had witnessed endless death and slaughter. They looked like men possessed by Evil Ghosts.

Facing the onslaught of these Asura Killing Gods, Hong Yu was growing weary in both mind and body. Inside the Asura Domain, he found it impossible to defend.

Even with the Fourth Layer of his Cyan Celestial Transformation Dragon Technique active, he couldn't block the Asura Battle Shadows, which flickered between the real and the illusory. Their attacks would unpredictably target either his Soul or his physical body, making them impossible to defend against.

For instance…

One Asura Battle Shadow slashed at him. Hong Yu moved to block it with his Fire Cloud Divine Armor, but the attack shifted and struck his Soul instead.

Hong Yu shuddered, caught off guard and taking a minor blow.

Another Asura Battle Shadow swung its longsword. This time, Hong Yu gathered his vast Spiritual Power into a Spirit Shield to defend, but the attack solidified and struck his physical shoulder.

If not for the powerful defenses of his Fire Cloud Divine Armor and the Cyan Celestial Transformation Dragon Technique, that single strike would have been enough to slice his arm clean off.

'Damn it. If I stay on the defensive like this, he'll eventually find an opening and kill me.'

Hong Yu's heart raced with anxiety.

He was forced to channel his Spiritual Power and his Profound Skill at once, maintaining a dual defense for both his mind and body.

But this kind of defense was an immense drain on both his mental and physical stamina; he couldn't keep it up for long.

'I have to find a way to break out of this Asura Domain!'

Hong Yu took a deep breath, his eyes flashing like lightning.

"Great Destruction Fist!"

He threw a devastating punch.

The Nine-Colored Fist Light fused together, roaring forward like a Nine-colored Divine Dragon.

However, the Fist Gang had barely traveled ten meters from his body before it was completely absorbed by the Asura Domain. Worse, the energy reformed into even more Asura Battle Shadows that turned to attack him.

The Eastern Asura sneered. "My Asura Domain can convert any form of power and turn it back on its user. Hong Yu, you should stop resisting. Just obediently wait for death!"

"What a load of bullshit!"

Hong Yu roared, his fury erupting into a stream of curses.

His gaze fell upon the Venerable Golden Bone in his right hand, and a look of grim determination flashed in his eyes. 'My only chance is to finish inheriting the Venerable Golden Bone as fast as possible! If I can activate it, there might be a way!'

RUMBLE!

He pushed the *Primordial Gang Fighting Technique* and the *Heaven-Swallowing Divine Technique* to their absolute limits, frantically channeling his Spiritual Power and Primordial Gang's Power into his right hand to accelerate the refinement of the Venerable Golden Bone.

The Eastern Asura noticed this, and his expression flickered. 'I absolutely cannot let him finish inheriting the Venerable Golden Bone!'

A vicious glint flashed in his eyes.

The Eastern Asura's hands blurred through a series of signs. A massive, ferocious, crimson beast materialized within the Asura Domain. It charged at Hong Yu like a bloodthirsty demon. This beast, formed from the combined power of the entire Asura Domain, enveloped Hong Yu in a suffocating aura of death.

It all happened in an instant.

Just as the crimson beast was about to tear into Hong Yu and annihilate him, he suddenly looked up, a cold, sharp smile spreading across his lips…