Isn't This Still Just Black Accounts

“Wang Hao!”

The Demon Lord enunciated each word.

Every syllable exploded across heaven and earth like black thunder.

Wang Hao’s heart gave a violent thump.

He knew that this time, he had truly made an enemy of the Demon Lord.

Of course, things hadn’t exactly been pleasant between them before.

But this time, he had torn down the ladder to immortality and then sold it for scrap.

The Demon Lord took one step forward.

Even while suffering the backlash of his Dao Fruit, his speed remained astonishing.

Space folded beneath his feet.

The distance of three hundred miles seemed not to exist at all.

Wang Hao’s expression changed slightly.

“Everyone!”

“Hold him back!”

“He’s suffering a backlash right now!”

“Attack him and you’ll get critical hits!”

The Blood Prison Demon Sect powerhouse roared, “You still dare to give orders?”

Wang Hao retreated as fast as he could while shouting, “Not only do I dare to give orders!”

“I dare to increase the reward, too!”

“Anyone who holds him back for three breaths will receive the highest merit!”

The White Bone Old Monster cursed, “How much is your so-called highest merit worth?”

Wang Hao answered without hesitation, “It’ll be redeemed for the Black Heaven City’s inheritance after the battle!”

The fire in the White Bone Old Monster’s eyes flared.

“Is that true?”

Wang Hao said solemnly, “I am the Emperor of Great Xia. My word is as good as nine sacred tripods.”

Every Martial God inwardly sneered at the same time.

You? As good as nine sacred tripods?

At least eight of those nine tripods are traps.

But the Black Heaven City’s inheritance was real.

And so was the Demon Lord’s backlash.

So once again, they charged forward.

This time, they weren’t simply being provoked by Wang Hao.

They had seen the opportunity for themselves.

Killing a half-immortal!

Even a crippled half-immortal.

Such a feat would be enough to shake the ages.

What was more, if the Demon Lord died, the Black Heaven City’s eight hundred years of accumulated wealth, the Demon Lord’s remaining origin, and the half-immortal’s flesh, blood, and Dao Fruit would all become priceless treasures.

At their level of cultivation, who wouldn’t want to advance further?

Before this, they had feared the Demon Lord becoming an immortal.

Now, they feared Wang Hao taking all the benefits for himself even more.

“Kill!”

The Taiyin Old Matriarch erupted first.

She burned her origin, and a damaged Taiyin moon appeared behind her.

“Taiyin Annihilation!”

A waterfall of cold light illuminated the wound in the Dao Fruit that had split open across the Demon Lord’s chest.

The Yellow Springs Ancestor followed close behind.

He forcibly reversed a tributary of the Yellow Springs into his own body, transforming himself into the phantom of a Yellow Springs Ghost Emperor.

“Yellow Springs Funeral!”

The turbid Yellow Springs descended from the sky, washing over the Demon Lord’s half-immortal blood.

The Sword Ruins powerhouse raised the hilt of his remaining sword.

Everyone had thought he had no sword left to wield.

But in the next instant, his entire right arm transformed into sword light.

He had made himself the sword!

“The final technique of the Sword Ruins.”

“Leaving a Mark Upon the Mortal World.”

The sword light descended.

This sword did not strike the Demon Lord’s physical body.

Instead, it struck the crack in the dark immortal gate behind him.

Crack!

The cracks in the immortal gate widened once more.

The Demon Lord grunted.

The backlash of his Dao Fruit grew even more severe.

The Blood Prison Demon Sect powerhouse laughed wildly.

“Now it’s my turn!”

The blood-colored heart in his chest tore free and shot directly toward the Demon Lord’s wound.

The White Bone Old Monster also let out a strange cry. He broke off a third of the half of his remaining skeleton and refined it into a white bone spike.

“Impale the half-immortal!”

The Martial God of the Myriad Souls Sect wrapped himself in his damaged Myriad Souls Banner, transforming into a mass of black soul fire that crashed into the Demon Lord’s back.

The remaining Martial Gods of the Golden Turret Holy Land, Blood Lotus Holy Land, and Myriad Forms Holy Land all threw in their final trump cards.

This was a true encirclement.

Before, they had merely been preventing the Demon Lord from stabilizing his Dao Fruit.

Now, they intended to take his life while he was weakened.

The Demon Lord was swallowed by countless attacks.

Black half-immortal blood splattered everywhere.

Every drop contained terrifying demonic energy.

When it landed on the ground, it transformed into a demonic pool.

When it fell into the void, it corroded space.

When it landed on a Martial God’s weapon, the weapon wailed.

But none of the Martial Gods retreated.

They were like a pack of wolves that had already tasted blood.

Even if the thing before them was a black dragon, they would still bite off a piece of its flesh.

After retreating to a safe distance, Wang Hao suddenly stopped.

The New Emperor Sword was stunned.

“Master?”

“Why aren’t you running?”

Wang Hao stared at the half-immortal blood.

“Why run?”

“There’s money lying all over the ground.”

The New Emperor Sword looked at the black half-immortal blood, and its blade trembled.

“That’s half-immortal blood.”

“You could die just from touching it.”

Wang Hao nodded.

“That’s why I can’t pick it up with my hands.”

The New Emperor Sword grew wary.

“What are you planning to use?”

Wang Hao looked at it.

The New Emperor Sword fell silent.

Then it shrieked, “No!”

“I’m not picking it up!”

“I’m a sword, not a spoon!”

Wang Hao’s tone was gentle.

“You can devour things and evolve.”

“Half-immortal blood is a great tonic for you.”

The New Emperor Sword hesitated for a moment.

Wang Hao continued, “You might even rise in the rankings after eating it.”

The New Emperor Sword’s eyes lit up.

Wang Hao delivered the finishing blow.

“And you did say you wanted to eat something big.”

The New Emperor Sword gritted its teeth.

“Master.”

“You really know how to tempt a sword.”

In the next instant, the New Emperor Sword transformed into a streak of silver light and shot toward the scattered half-immortal blood.

But it was very clever.

It didn’t dare approach the core of the battlefield.

It only snatched up the drops scattered around the perimeter, the ones whose demonic energy had been weakened by the attacks of the Martial Gods.

It swallowed one mouthful.

The sword’s body trembled violently.

“It’s so hot!”

“It hurts!”

“It feels so good!”

Wang Hao: “……”

This sword was becoming more and more abnormal.

At the same time, Wang Hao took out the Half-Immortal Blood Tax Token that the system had just rewarded him with.

It was a dark-gold token.

Two characters were engraved on it:

Blood Tax.

On the back was a blurry imperial figure, standing atop a drop of black blood.

Wang Hao focused his mind.

The token began to glow faintly.

Some of the half-immortal blood scattered around the perimeter was forcibly drawn over. It transformed into thin streams of blood and converged on the token.

Wang Hao’s eyes lit up.

What a treasure!

This wasn’t a Blood Tax Token.

It was a half-immortal blood harvester!

He immediately retreated another ten miles, moved to an even safer position, and quietly activated the Blood Tax Token.

One drop.

Two drops.

Three drops.

The half-immortal blood was continuously drawn into the token.

With every drop it absorbed, the dark-gold light on the token grew richer.

Wang Hao’s mind raced as he calculated.

Half-immortal blood could be used to refine weapons.

It could be used to make pills.

It could temper the body.

It could even serve as a strategic resource to intimidate the holy lands and demon sects.

If he brought this stuff back to Great Xia, it wouldn’t merely fill the national treasury.

It could make the entire treasury glow.

Of course, that was provided the Demon Lord didn’t notice.

Unfortunately, the Demon Lord did notice.

He was enduring the attacks of the Martial Gods while suffering the excruciating backlash of his Dao Fruit when he suddenly sensed that his half-immortal blood was being stolen.

He turned his head sharply.

Then he saw Wang Hao standing in the distance, holding the Blood Tax Token and collecting his blood with an utterly serious expression.

The corner of the Demon Lord’s eye twitched.

For a brief moment, he even forgot the pain of the Dao Fruit’s backlash.

“Wang Hao!”

“You dare collect even my blood?”

Wang Hao’s expression was solemn.

“Senior, you’re mistaken.”

“You illegally attempted to become an immortal in Black Heaven City, polluted the land, damaged the earth veins, and caused a large-scale public safety incident.”

“This blood is hazardous residual property left behind by the accident.”

“As the Emperor of Great Xia, I have a duty to dispose of it safely.”

The Martial Gods: “……”

That sounded incredibly shameless.

But they suddenly found themselves thinking that half-immortal blood seemed rather appealing.

The Blood Prison Demon Sect powerhouse’s eyes turned red.

“Wang Hao!”

“Save some for me!”

The White Bone Old Monster also shrieked, “Half-immortal blood! This old man wants some too!”

The Yellow Springs Ancestor said darkly, “Everyone, let’s kill the Demon Lord first, then divide the blood.”

Wang Hao immediately replied, “Senior Yellow Springs is right!”

“I’ll hold on to it on everyone’s behalf for now!”

The Martial Gods all cursed at once:

“Get lost!”

The Demon Lord was utterly enraged.

He took a direct hit from the Taiyin Old Matriarch’s cold light, then reached out toward Wang Hao.

Even across a hundred miles, the half-immortal hand still blotted out the sky and covered the earth, descending in an instant.

Wang Hao’s gaze sharpened.

There was no escaping this.

Then he would fight!

He was now a ninth-level Martial God.

Although he had no desire to go head-to-head with a half-immortal, he was not completely powerless to fight back.

“New Sword!”

The New Emperor Sword, which held half a drop of half-immortal blood, mumbled,

“Coming!”

A streak of silver light flew back and landed in Wang Hao’s hand.

Golden qi and blood surged into the sky around Wang Hao.

The Nine Heaven-Splitting Swords!

The first sword.

The second sword.

The third sword.

…

Nine swords, unleashed as one!

The nine sword lights layered over one another, ultimately transforming into a golden-and-silver sword gleam that tore through the heavens as it slashed toward the half-immortal’s giant hand.

At the same time, Wang Hao raised his left hand.

The Heaven-Imprisoning Earth-Covering Palm!

One palm!

Two palms!

Three palms!

…

Nine palms, merged into one!

A golden imperial palm and the Heaven-Splitting Sword gleam blasted forward simultaneously.

This was Wang Hao’s strongest attack since reaching the ninth level of the Martial God realm.

Sword and palm converged.

The heavens and earth lost their color.

Boom!

The half-immortal’s giant hand was forcibly cleaved open, a crack splitting across it.

But in the next instant, a terrifying shock wave rebounded toward him.

Wang Hao was sent staggering back a thousand zhang. His arm went numb, and the web between his thumb and index finger split open.

The New Emperor Sword cried out,

“Master!”

“I just finished eating, and now I’m getting beaten!”

Wang Hao coughed up a mouthful of blood, yet smiled.

Because he had blocked it.

Although it had merely been a long-distance strike launched while the Demon Lord was suffering a backlash.

Although he had relied on a divine-grade martial skill and the power of the New Emperor Sword.

He had, in fact, blocked a single grab from a half-immortal.

The Martial Gods all wore complicated expressions.

Wang Hao, now a ninth-level Martial God, finally had the qualifications to truly intervene in this battle.

This kid wasn’t merely cunning.

He was genuinely growing stronger.

And frighteningly strong at that.

The Demon Lord’s expression darkened.

The backlash from his Dao fruit was growing increasingly severe.

Another round of attacks from the Martial Gods descended.

The wound on his chest widened, while the Dark Immortal Gate continued to tremble violently. From within the gate, there even came the sound of something cracking.

One incense stick’s worth of time was steadily running out.

Wang Hao wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth and looked at the half-immortal blood that had already accumulated within the Blood Tax Token. His spirits soared.

Fighting a half-immortal was dangerous.

But the rewards were truly substantial.

He raised his head and looked toward the Demon Lord.

Then he lifted the Myriad Contracts One Source Seal and shouted,

“Fellow seniors!”

“The Demon Lord’s backlash has entered its most violent phase!”

“If we don’t fight now, when will we?”

“Smash his immortal gate!”

“Blast apart his Dao fruit!”

“The half-immortal blood, the Black Heaven City legacy, and the Demon Lord’s ruined body will be distributed according to everyone’s contributions after the battle!”

The Martial Gods’ spirits rose sharply.

Wang Hao added,

“Of course.”

“His Majesty will be responsible for tallying everyone’s contributions.”

The fiery enthusiasm that had just ignited in the Martial Gods instantly cooled by half.

The Blood Prison Demon Sect powerhouse roared,

“Wang Hao!”

“If you dare falsify the accounts, I’ll perish together with you!”

Wang Hao wore an expression of absolute righteousness.

“Senior Blood Prison, rest assured.”

“His Majesty has never falsified an account.”

“His Majesty merely provides a reasonable interpretation of the figures.”

The White Bone Old Monster cried out indignantly,

“Isn’t that still falsifying the accounts?”

Wang Hao pretended not to hear him.

His gaze fell upon the Dark Immortal Gate behind the Demon Lord, its surface covered in dense cracks.

The immortal gate still stood.

The Demon Lord was not yet dead.

More than half of the time allotted by a single incense stick remained.

The true bloodbath had only just begun.