Chapter 137: The Demon-Shattering Gate

"Kill!"

Murong Lan's ultimate move stirred a profound sense of crisis in Xiahou Liang. Relying on his six Demonic Gates, he launched a desperate, life-or-death assault, his form splitting into six as he surged from the gates, weaving an inescapable web of slaughter.

However, having invoked the Divine Moon, Murong Lan’s speed in evasion had increased several times over. Treading upon the Divine Moon, her figure became a series of flickering afterimages, weaving through the lethal web of the Demonic Gates with lightning speed and dodging every strike.

"Shatter!"

With a resounding shout, Murong Lan released the bowstring she had been drawing back.

*Whoosh!*

A blood-red arrow erupted with a piercing, mournful shriek, carrying a terrifying destructive force as it slammed into one of the Demonic Gates.

*Boom!*

The violent energy within the blood arrow detonated, instantly pulverizing the gate into dust. In the blink of an eye, the six Demonic Gates were reduced to five.

"Ah!"

Everyone around the arena stood dumbfounded, their jaws dropping in disbelief, unable to process the scene before them. It was utterly insane; the sight of Murong Lan shattering a Demonic Gate seemed like nothing more than a fever dream. The power of an arrow infused with the blood essence of the first Saint Ancestor of the Divine Moon Holy Kingdom was beyond imagination.

"Damn it!"

On the viewing platform of the Cangxue Holy Kingdom, Xiahou Batian’s obese frame trembled, his expression twisted with extreme rage. The experts of the Cangxue Holy Kingdom who had accompanied him were all petrified, utterly stunned.

Conversely, Murong Zhenhai and the others on the Divine Moon Holy Kingdom’s platform showed no sign of excitement; instead, their faces were etched with profound helplessness. Around Murong Lan, only four spectral images of the Divine Moon Holy Kingdom’s Saint Ancestors remained. Each spectral image represented a single drop of blood essence; once spent, it was gone forever. Trading a drop of the Saint Ancestor’s blood essence for a single Demonic Gate was a staggering price to pay, leaving them unable to find joy in the victory.

Yet, Murong Lan clearly had no choice. Without invoking the Divine Moon, her ultimate fate would be certain death, so terrifying were Xiahou Liang’s six Demonic Gates.

"Damn you!"

Seeing a gate destroyed, Xiahou Liang, left with five, was equally incensed. *I must kill her as quickly as possible. If she destroys more of my gates, my death is certain.* A sense of intense crisis fueled his fighting spirit, and he launched a frenzied, suicidal assault against Murong Lan using the remaining five gates.

But Murong Lan, treading upon the Divine Moon, dodged with extreme agility, constantly evading his onslaught.

"Second Saint Ancestor, come forth!"

Amidst her shout, she drew her bow once more. A full draw. As with the first arrow, one of the four remaining blood shadows surrounding her surged into the great bow. The silver bow and arrow turned blood-red again, and endless crimson radiance erupted, causing souls to tremble. Visible threads of white spiritual energy gathered toward Murong Lan from every direction. The aura emanating from her body surged to a violent, extreme peak once more. Her crimson eyes were filled with murderous intent, and her three thousand strands of blood-red hair danced wildly.

"No!"

Xiahou Liang’s eyes split with rage. With a ferocious expression, he gripped his battle sword and surged from one of the gates, hacking at Murong Lan with reckless abandon. Murong Lan’s lithe body swayed, effortlessly dodging his frantic strike.

Immediately, she drew her bow again and roared, "Shatter!"

*Whoosh!*

The blood arrow, imbued with terrifying destructive power, was fired like a meteor streaking across the sky, piercing the air with a shrill, piercing sound. In an instant, it slammed into another Demonic Gate.

*Boom!*

The violent energy exploded, pulverizing the gate into fragments. In a heartbeat, the five gates became four.

"Oh, you bastard!"

On the Cangxue Holy Kingdom platform, Xiahou Batian felt his heart bleeding, his face deathly pale. With every gate lost, Xiahou Liang’s combat prowess diminished. The accompanying experts were struck as if by lightning, their bodies trembling, their faces ghastly.

"Once this Divine Moon princess invokes the Divine Moon and utilizes the blood essence of her kingdom's ancestors, the power is truly astonishing," Chen Changsheng sighed softly.

"But the cost of destroying these gates is far too high," the voice of the Blood Demon Ancestor echoed in Chen Changsheng’s ear.

"The princess has no choice. As long as she can destroy those six gates and kill the prince of the Cangxue Holy Kingdom, no cost is too great," Chen Changsheng replied dismissively.

"Father is right," Chen Die’er always supported her father unconditionally.

Chen Changsheng added to the Blood Demon Ancestor, "However, old demon, there is a problem. The history of the Divine Moon Holy Kingdom only records five generations of Saint Ancestors, leaving only five drops of blood essence. But there are six Demonic Gates. One will remain. You must be prepared to intervene."

If one gate remained, Xiahou Liang’s strength would undoubtedly be significantly weakened, but Chen Changsheng did not know what state Murong Lan would be in after expending all five drops of blood essence.

"Understood!" The Blood Demon Ancestor laughed with excitement. "I can already see a giant word 'Death' written on the face of this Cangxue prince." The ancient demon treated killing like a child celebrating a holiday.

On the main viewing platform, the Ancient Emperor and his son sat with faces as dark as water, their chests heaving. Initially, they had assumed that Mo Yinyue and Xiahou Liang—possessing the Maitreya Buddha and the six Demonic Gates, respectively, and with Mo Yinyue having consumed the Raging Ape Divine Pill—would have no trouble eliminating Donggong Qianxue and Murong Lan. Yet, the battle in the arena showed both Mo Yinyue and Xiahou Liang clearly at a disadvantage.

"Damn it, these two bitches, Donggong Qianxue and Murong Lan, have truly shocked me. It’s one thing for Donggong Qianxue to have the Seven-Colored Divine Wind, but I never expected that bitch Murong Lan to have the Divine Moon as a trump card." Gu Shaobai’s body trembled with rage, his teeth clenched. He turned to the Ancient Emperor and asked, "Father, given the current situation, the chances of those two idiots, Mo Yinyue and Xiahou Liang, defeating them are too slim. What should we do?"

"Hmph!" The Ancient Emperor snorted coldly. "Watch for now. In any case, Donggong Qianxue and Murong Lan can never be the future Holy Emperors of this Holy Domain."

He had already prepared a detailed plan. Since Donggong Qianxue, the princess of the Spring and Autumn Holy Kingdom, possessed the Divine Phoenix bloodline, he would kill her when the time was right and spare no effort to seize it. Then, he would seize the young master Chen.

Three days ago, when he met the young master at the base of the Divine Phoenix Tree, he felt a faint intuition that the young master knew the secret to ascending the Eternal Staircase. The fact that the entire demon race treated him with such reverence was likely because of this. If he could force the young master to lead him through the Eternal Staircase into that higher world of immortals and gods, how wonderful that would be.

Thinking of this, his blood began to boil slightly. He looked toward Chen Changsheng from afar and smiled to himself, "What a wonderful young master Chen."