War God Long Ao

「The Nine Nether Space.」

There were a total of Nine Great Royal Families of Spirit Beasts: the Nine Nether Earth Tiger, the Abyss Scorpion, the Biqing Frenzied Lion, the Blood-Eyed Demon Ape, the Celestial Mountain Bull, the Bloodthirsty Human-faced Spider, the Gold-devouring Flying Ants, the Hellhound, and the Death God Mantis.

The Nine Great Royal Families constantly schemed and fought amongst themselves, each wanting to exterminate the others and dominate the Nine Nether Space. But after so many years, no clear victor had ever emerged.

Among the Nine Great Royal Families, the Nine Nether Earth Tiger was the acknowledged number one Royal Family. Their strength and foundation were both incredibly formidable. This was especially true for their current generation's Clan Leader, who was unbelievably powerful. Left with no other choice, the other Eight Great Royal Families joined forces to exterminate the Nine Nether Earth Tiger clan.

Tens of thousands of Nine Nether Earth Tigers were slaughtered. In the end, Long Ming's parents used their immense power to forcibly open a spatial rift, sending Long Ming and a servant through. Unfortunately, they were pursued by Spirit Beasts and were ultimately saved by Long Ao.

This was the cause and effect of it all.

After Long Ao entered the Nine Nether Space, he proceeded with extreme caution, remaining on high alert. He was terrified of encountering Spirit Beasts from the Eight Great Royal Families. But, of course, what he feared most was exactly what he ran into.

「Dusk on the second day.」

Long Ao was ambushed by a group of Spirit Beasts. Among them were beasts from four of the Royal Families, with ten from each, for a total of forty Venerable-level Spirit Beasts eyeing Long Ao like tigers stalking their prey. If not for their wariness of the powerful aura radiating from him, the four groups of Spirit Beasts would have attacked long ago.

Gazing coldly at the surrounding Spirit Beasts, Long Ao knew perfectly well that if he remained trapped here and reinforcements from the four Royal Families arrived, the consequences would be unimaginable.

For this very reason, Long Ao didn't hesitate any longer. He chose to strike first.

Although forty Venerable-level Spirit Beasts were powerful, Long Ao's current strength was a far cry from what it used to be. As a Middle Level Earth Venerable, he could kill them in an instant.

Long Ao didn't even use the Blood-Drinking Mad Saber. He began to smash down with his fists, pouring all his strength into his arms. How could mere Venerable-level Spirit Beasts possibly withstand the power of the Divine Dragon Arm and the Nether Tiger Arm?

The gap between them was too great.

It was a slaughter without a shred of suspense. Long Ao didn't even need to use any Treasures or Martial Arts. Relying solely on the power of his arms, he annihilated all forty Venerable-level Spirit Beasts in just a few short minutes.

He was ecstatic.

Long Ao didn't let a single corpse or soul go to waste. Once these corpses and souls were refined into Corpse Slaves, they would be incredibly useful.

Both his family and the Dragon Sect were in dire need of Corpse Slaves. Forty Venerable Corpse Slaves was no small number.

The Nine Nether Space was a paradise for Spirit Beasts, and the beasts here were all exceptionally powerful. Taking this opportunity, Long Ao decided that no matter what, he would kill more Spirit Beasts and refine them into Corpse Slaves.

After successfully slaying the forty Spirit Beasts, Long Ao didn't dare to linger. He had no idea how strong the reinforcements sent by the four Royal Families would be. 'If they're Supreme Venerables or Earth Venerables, I can still handle them. I could even fight a Celestial Venerable. But what if they send a Great Venerable?'

Although he was very confident in his own strength, Long Ao knew his limits. He was absolutely no match for a Martial Artist at or above the level of a Void Great Venerable of the Eight Realms of Void. Of this, he had no doubt.

Following Long Ming's directions, Long Ao headed south. However, to his frustration, he realized that to reach the territory of the Nine Nether Earth Tiger clan, he would have to pass through the domain of one of the Royal Families, no matter which direction he chose. For example, if he went south, he would have to pass through the Mountain-Opening Bull clan's territory. If he went west, he would have to pass through the Hellhound clan's territory.

Long Ao was utterly exasperated. In other words, no matter which path he took, he would have to face the Spirit Beasts of the Eight Great Royal Families.

If this were the outside world, it wouldn't be a problem. But the Nine Nether Space was inhabited only by Spirit Beasts. As a human who had entered their domain, it didn't matter who he was; he was certain that every Royal Family would try to kill him.

Long Ao knew that bringing Long Ming into the Nine Nether Earth Tiger clan's territory would be extremely difficult.

The Eight Great Royal Families of the Nine Nether: the Abyss Scorpion, the Biqing Frenzied Lion, the Blood-Eyed Demon Ape, the Celestial Mountain Bull, the Bloodthirsty Human-faced Spider, the Gold-devouring Flying Ants, the Hellhound, and the Death God Mantis.

Of the four cardinal directions—east, south, west, and north—Long Ao ultimately chose to continue south. The unavoidable path led straight through the territory of the Death God Mantis Clan.

According to the records from Long Ming's inheritance, Long Ao had a rough understanding of the Nine Nether Space. It was divided into nine territories, with each of the Eight Great Royal Families occupying one.

The territory of the Death God Mantis Clan was immense. Ugly, black mantises were everywhere. Even the weakest among them was over a meter long. They were so densely packed that one didn't even need to get close; the mere sight of them was enough to make one's skin crawl.

Long Ao hid halfway up a mountain peak, his expression turning grim as he stared down at the dense swarm of giant, black mantises below.

'Do I have to force my way through?'

Long Ao knew that forcing his way through wouldn't be difficult with his strength. However, if he alerted the super-experts of the Death God Mantis Clan, he would be in deep trouble.

"A-WOOO, A-WOOO."

"Long Ming, I know you're anxious, but we have to ensure our safety."

Long Ao was also getting anxious. Ever since they entered the Nine Nether Space, Long Ming had been hearing someone calling out to him. Without a doubt, the ones calling him were his parents: the Clan Leader of the Nine Nether Earth Tiger and his wife.

Clenching his fists tightly, Long Ao snorted and said, "We've already come this far. I refuse to believe I can't break through."

Long Ao didn't want to make Long Ming wait any longer. After all, with his parents murdered and his clan exterminated, Long Ming must be desperate to return to his family's territory immediately.

And so, Long Ao ultimately decided to risk it all.

In the Land of the Death God, Death God Mantises were everywhere, though their strength was relatively low. The truly powerful ones would never appear here. At that moment, an unknown voice roared, and in response, all the Death God Mantises began to roar furiously.

'A human?'

'A human has actually appeared in the Nine Nether Space?'

All the Death God Mantises stared intently at Long Ao as if they were looking at a monster. It was like a duck suddenly running into a flock of chickens—the shock to the flock was immense.

Long Ao didn't hesitate for a second. Wielding the Blood-Drinking Mad Saber, he began to sweep wildly around him. With one slash after another, wherever the Sword Aura passed, no Death God Mantis could escape.

In just a few seconds, Long Ao had slaughtered several hundred Death God Mantises. Corpses littered the ground, and rivers of blood flowed. The land was strewn with bodies.

Seeing this, all the surrounding Death God Mantises were dumbfounded. They stood frozen on the spot, not understanding what had just happened. Seizing the opportunity, Long Ao carved a bloody path forward and fled at his top speed, disappearing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Just as Long Ao vanished, the Death God Mantis Race Leader suddenly appeared. The colossal mantis figure looked at the corpses on the ground, its expression turning incomparably grim. Without a moment's hesitation, the Death God Mantis Race Leader gave chase.