The City of Slaughter, Inner City.
On the street, Mu Yang was leading Shui Bing'er toward the place indicated by the guidance, when a seductive, enchanting woman in black walked toward them, exuding a mature allure.
Behind the woman in black followed a squad of black-armored warriors wielding greatswords.
"Greetings to the two Killing Gods. I humbly welcome your return on behalf of the great Slaughter King."
The woman in black stopped before Mu Yang and Shui Bing'er and bowed respectfully as she spoke.
"Mm, what is it?"
Mu Yang nodded and asked.
"May I ask what important matter has brought the two Killing Gods to the City of Slaughter? If there are any commands, please do not hesitate to say."
The woman in black asked with a smile.
Glancing at the woman and the black-armored warriors behind her, Mu Yang quickly guessed the reason for her appearance—she was clearly sent by the Slaughter King to probe the purpose of their return.
But Mu Yang didn't mind, and simply waved his hand, saying, "If you want to follow, then follow, but don't disturb us. Got it?"
If the Asura God's Trial could be activated, then the movement created by its initiation would certainly be massive. The Slaughter King would know about it sooner or later, so letting the woman in black and her guards follow wasn't a problem. After all, their strength wasn't high enough to pose any threat.
If the Asura God's Trial couldn't be initiated, then Mu Yang cared even less whether they followed or not.
If possible, Mu Yang didn't plan to clash with the Slaughter King for now.
While the Slaughter King was someone he could handle, things would be different if Tang Chen's consciousness returned. In that case, Mu Yang wasn't confident he could win.
Although it wasn't impossible that Tang Chen might be grateful to them for helping free him, Mu Yang wasn't one to pin his hopes on the goodwill of others.
Of course, Mu Yang was also well aware that a battle between him and Tang Chen was inevitable.
Though Tang Chen had been parasitized by the Scarlet Nine-Headed Bat King and reduced to a vampire for many years, it seemed that his eighth trial of the Asura God didn't have a time limit and hadn't failed.
In the original work, Tang Chen completed the eighth trial of the Asura God.
The reason he died was because the parasitism of the Scarlet Nine-Headed Bat King over many years had drained his body of vitality. But now, in this timeline, there were still many years before that moment in the original story. Tang Chen's physical condition likely wasn't as bad yet—he might still be saved.
If the former trial-taker isn't dead, how could the successor to the trial ascend?
Mu Yang could clash with the Slaughter King, but he needed to be certain that his strength would allow him to defeat a returning Tang Chen. Otherwise, if Tang Chen's consciousness revived and he had the chance to return to his peak, then the Asura God's position might not end up being his.
"Yes, Killing Gods."
The woman in black respectfully nodded in response.
Although her little scheme had been seen through, she showed no sign of displeasure.
Because the fact that Mu Yang and Shui Bing'er had permitted them to follow meant that the two weren't here to stir up trouble.
And as long as they weren't here to cause chaos, then no matter what their purpose was, at the very least it meant the already chaotic City of Slaughter wouldn't become even more unstable.
Similarly, it also meant her own life was safe.
After all, when the Slaughter King had sent her as a representative to welcome the two Killing Gods and instructed her to act as their guide, the woman in black had been extremely nervous—afraid that Mu Yang and Shui Bing'er might find her unpleasant and kill her on a whim.
Outside in the world, if a faction sent a representative to welcome guests and assigned them as guides, there wouldn't usually be any concern for personal safety.
After all, a guide represents the face of one's own faction—no guest would slap that face.
But the City of Slaughter was not the outside world. And the guests she was welcoming weren't normal guests either—they were the two Killing Gods who had once frightened the inner city's fallen dwellers into locking themselves indoors, even dragging people from house to house to the Slaughter Arena to be cannon fodder. Who knew if the two Killing Gods' mental states were still stable?
If there were children in the inner city, just the name "Demonic Phantom" would've been enough to make them stop crying—no, it would've been enough to make fallen dwellers afraid to even breathe loudly.
Following the guidance that tugged faintly in the void, Mu Yang led Shui Bing'er to an area near a massive blood-colored hall in the northern part of the inner city.
This blood-colored hall was estimated to be sixty to seventy meters tall and covered several thousand square meters. Although it wasn't comparable to the Hell Slaughter Arena, it was still one of the few grand structures in the City of Slaughter.
Outside the hall, security was tight. Numerous black-armored warriors stood guard, along with a commander clad in silver armor and wielding a gleaming silver spear.
Seeing the two of them walking toward the blood-colored hall, the woman in black behind them suddenly changed expression and hurriedly stepped forward to stop them.
As he looked at the woman in black blocking their way, Mu Yang's expression immediately turned cold, and a chilling killing intent burst forth: "Move."
Although it was only a trace of killing intent that he released, the woman in black still couldn't help but tremble all over. She forced herself to speak: "Honored Killing Gods, this hall is one of the restricted areas of the City of Slaughter. Without permission from the great Slaughter King, no one may enter."
There were three locations in the City of Slaughter that could be considered restricted. One was the rumored Hell Road, the second was the hall where the Slaughter King resided for long periods, and the third was this blood-colored hall.
As one of the Slaughter King's favored concubines and trusted aides, the woman in black had once had the honor of entering this blood-colored hall.
Within the hall was nothing but a single grand, giant statue. It didn't seem to hide any secrets, but since the Slaughter King had designated it a restricted zone and forbidden any unauthorized entry, he naturally had his reasons. The woman in black dared not overstep her bounds in the slightest.
Hearing this, Mu Yang furrowed his brows.
Mu Yang, should we force our way in?
Shui Bing'er asked Mu Yang through sound transmission.
Mu Yang gave a slight nod, his expression turning serious as he activated his Soul Seizing secret technique. A formless, intangible spiritual force silently surged out and took control of the woman in black's consciousness.
Not allowed to enter? I'll enter anyway—unless you can beat me.
After all, that mysterious guiding force had emanated from this very blood-colored hall.
This concerned the Asura God's Trial, and Mu Yang wasn't going to show the Slaughter King any courtesy—especially when the king hadn't even appeared himself and had merely sent a representative.
"Tell me about this hall."
Having succeeded, Mu Yang began probing for information about the blood-colored hall.
"Killing God, I do not know the secrets of this blood-colored hall. I only know that the Slaughter King designated it as one of the City of Slaughter's restricted areas. But there is nothing else inside—only a grand, colossal statue."
The woman in black answered truthfully.
A statue?
Mu Yang raised an eyebrow—perhaps this statue was the divine image of the Asura God King? Just like the Sea God Statue inside the Sea God Hall atop Sea God Mountain on Sea God Island?
After examining the many black-armored warriors standing outside the blood-colored hall, Mu Yang once again acted. Using his Soul Seizing secret technique, he took control of the silver-armored warrior commander.
Then, under the commander's orders, the guards opened the heavy doors of the hall, and Mu Yang and Shui Bing'er stepped inside the blood-colored hall.
For additional chapters
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