Spirit power surged from within his body. Beyond the shimmering white protective barrier formed by intricate patterns, a dark red mark appeared at the center of Chen Feng's forehead.
From its shape, it resembled a sword—a magnificent mark etched with arcane runes, glowing with a sinister crimson hue.
That eerie red power intertwined with the white killing aura, forming a barrier that completely repelled the evil, twisted energy attempting to invade.
He had no idea how much time had passed when, amid a violent tremor, Chen Feng slowly awoke.
His senses gradually returned.
He instinctively reached for his forehead, feeling the unfamiliar presence embedded there.
As his fingers brushed the ornate sword-shaped mark, a blinding light flared before it swiftly disappeared, vanishing beneath his skin.
"Is this… the mark of the Asura God's trial?"
He recalled what happened before he lost consciousness—
A sea of blood engulfing him, a suffocating evil aura...
And then, he had been saved, protected by the white killing aura patterns and the light from his forehead.
"That malicious energy… could it be from the Rakshasa God, or the Nine-Headed Bat King?"
Chen Feng muttered inwardly.
Though he couldn't confirm it, it was a highly likely guess.
He stood up and took in his surroundings.
He was on a circular platform, roughly five meters in diameter—not very large.
What made his pupils contract, however, was what lay around it:
A bottomless abyss of pitch-black darkness surrounded the platform in all directions.
There was only a single path forward—a narrow walkway barely half a foot wide, suspended in midair, leading toward the unknown.
Chen Feng frowned slightly.
The narrow bridge hovered in the void, with no visible support. If it broke… it would mean certain death.
But after confirming thoroughly, he found no other route. This was the only way forward.
"I've already come this far. There's no turning back now."
Taking a deep breath, Chen Feng steeled himself.
With top-tier movement techniques and the Eight Spider Lances, he had nothing to fear.
His only concern was whether any powerful spirit beasts might ambush him from the darkness.
After all, this narrow suspended road looked incredibly fragile—any disturbance could shatter it.
He exhaled again and took his first step onto the bridge.
The Seven Kill Sword appeared in his hand.
His Heavenly Eye activated, prepared to face any threat.
In the silent darkness, Chen Feng pressed onward alone.
Blackness before and behind; even his breathing echoed strangely.
The psychological pressure was immense.
He turned to look behind him—the circular platform was long gone, swallowed by the abyss.
By now, he had taken 1,800 steps forward.
Then, he noticed something unusual.
Looking down, he peered into the abyss. Ordinary vision would reveal nothing, but with his Heavenly Eye, he saw what lay below—
A sea of blood. Or more precisely, a blood ocean stretching beyond the horizon.
Waves of crimson rippled faintly, and in them, white bones churned.
"This must be the very heart of Slaughter City…"
The blood sea pulsed like a living entity.
The only solid ground was the path beneath his feet.
Resolute, he continued forward.
After several thousand more steps, he noticed the air growing hotter.
It seemed he was getting closer to the blood sea—the path was sloping downward.
A sudden wave of dizziness hit him.
His body swayed. He immediately crouched, forcing himself to stabilize with deep, steady breaths.
"Is it the blood sea's influence? Or is this how the Hell Road is meant to test me…"
Chen Feng had no answer.
But the long, lonely walk was draining his energy. He had to stay constantly alert.
Suddenly, he felt a subtle tremor in the air.
"Something's coming!"
His eyes snapped open, instantly alert.
From the shadows, a blood-red bat appeared.
Then a second… a third…
In the blink of an eye, hundreds, even thousands, of blood-colored bats filled the space around him.
"Screeeee!!"
Their shrill screeches rang out in unison, a deafening chorus that made the air quake.
Even the narrow path beneath Chen Feng's feet trembled violently under the sound waves.
Without hesitation, he deployed his Eight Spider Lances, stabbing them into the path to stabilize himself.
Meanwhile, he infused his soul power into the Seven Kill Sword—
Gathering a terrifying amount of killing intent—
"Haaah!"
The sword sliced forward—
A brilliant arc of slaughter erupted.
Bats fell like rain, their bodies crushed and scattered.
But there were too many.
The swarm surged like a river of blood, crashing toward Chen Feng.
With a sharp breath, Chen Feng launched into Divine Dragon Nine Shadows footwork—
His feet clung to the bottom of the Hell Road, and he ran upside down, leaping several dozen meters ahead.
Whoosh!
Hundreds of bats slammed into the space he'd just left.
Their numbers were so great that they crushed each other mid-air, some falling into the abyss below, trampled by their swarm.
Chen Feng kept swinging—
The white-killing aura patterns on his sword were highly effective, every casual slash bringing down more blood bats.
But the creatures were intelligent.
They quickly backed away after sensing the sword's deadly power.
The swarm re-formed in the air, then flapped their wings in unison, sending a wave of putrid, toxic wind toward him.
Chen Feng staggered.
Fortunately, the Eight Spider Lances kept him from falling.
"Screeeee!!"
The bats shrieked again—
Hundreds of overlapping sonic waves made the Hell Road quake violently.
Chunks of stone fell from the edges.
Chen Feng's pupils contracted.
"If this keeps up, I won't die to the bats, but from the path collapsing into the blood sea…"
That blood sea…
It wasn't just blood.
It held an ancient and deadly force—if he fell, there would be no return.
In that desperate moment—
A surge of power welled up from his forehead.
The crimson sword-shaped mark reappeared.
Buzz—!
The dark red pattern radiated a mysterious, ancient force.
To the blood bats, it was even more terrifying than the killing aura.
In a single flash of light—
The entire swarm evaporated into ashes.
Not a single corpse remained.
They were utterly annihilated.
"Light of the Asura!"
Chen Feng stood in stunned silence—then joy surged within him.
This was surely a reward from the Asura God Trial, combined with his one hundred victories in the Hell Arena.
Such a power couldn't be obtained just from earning the Killing God Domain—
This was something far beyond.
With the Light of the Asura, the crushing pressure on his body suddenly lessened.
But just then—
A whirlwind of pressure tore through the air.
A massive three-headed bat soared past, its body gleaming with dark golden armor, wings spread wide like blades.
Its wingspan is ten meters across.