"Am I cruel?"
"I'm just trying to survive."
"Of course, there's also revenge on Xu Chuan!"
Yang Zhou sneered at the Great Elder's words and said.
He then ignored their curses, letting them be refined by the formation and turn into the power he needed.
His gaze turned to the Immortal Volcano, wanting to see Feng Sheng's expression. Was he still as calm and composed as before?
Unfortunately, the formation blocked his view, and he couldn't see inside.
He had no choice but to give up.
"Soon, in another half a day, I will completely conquer the Immortal Volcano!"
He murmured, a hint of anticipation in his eyes.
He was eager to see how much he could improve after devouring everyone in the Immortal Volcano.
He was also eager to see if he could receive a reward from His Highness and advance further!
His gaze shifted to the vast number of demon soldiers beside him, a flicker of greed and desire in his eyes.
Having been transformed into a demon, his only way to increase his strength was through consumption.
Whether it was consuming humans or demons, either would suffice.
Come to think of it, he hadn't tasted what it was like to consume a demon in so long!
In the Demon Realm, scenes of cannibalism were not uncommon.
He shook his head, casting aside the thoughts in his mind.
At this stage, with His Highness present, the demons could not be touched. These demon soldiers were his private troops.
The loss of the demon troops in the Eastern Region previously had already enraged His Highness.
If he were to devour these demons, he would face dire consequences.
For now, conquering the Immortal Volcano was the most important task.
...
Inside the Immortal Volcano, in the place where all the clansmen gathered, there was a deathly silence. They spoke not, disbelieving the scene before them.
No one had expected Yang Zhou to turn on his own people, and in such a brutal manner.
He had annihilated everyone from the Three Yang Holy Land in one fell swoop!
It was simply unheard of.
After a long silence, an elder finally gasped for breath and said, "Yang Zhou has completely lost his mind!"
No one refuted his words.
If he weren't mad, how could he have done such a thing?
Even a tiger would not eat its cubs.
But Yang Zhou's actions had shown cruelty and ruthlessness to the extreme!
He would pay any price to achieve his goals.
Such a person was truly terrifying!
"Prepare yourselves!"
"The formation is about to break!"
Feng Sheng, who had been silent, finally spoke.
From Yang Zhou's actions, it was clear that he had found a way to break the formation. Next, it would be a fight to the death with the Immortal Volcano.
...
Half a day later.
The sky was ominously dark.
Boundless black clouds mixed with demonic energy, coupled with the endless demon soldiers on the ground, created an atmosphere of impending doom.
At this moment, there were no living souls left outside the Immortal Volcano's grand formation.
All had been completely refined within.
Boundless blood energy, mixed with malevolent aura and terrifying vital energy, under the manipulation of the formation, formed a dreadful black mist.
Within the storm, vengeful spirits wailed and roared from time to time.
They were the people of the Three Yang Holy Land who had died in the formation.
Some of the more powerful cultivators, whose souls had not been completely refined, had formed vengeful spirits under the surge of malevolent aura and blood energy.
But no matter how they struggled, they could not escape the range of the black mist.
"It's still not enough!"
Yang Zhou, suspended in the sky, opened his eyes at this moment and said, looking at the black mist below.
Then, gritting his teeth, he took out a banner from his storage bag. It was covered in strange spiritual patterns, making it appear incredibly eerie.
This was a weapon he had forged for himself after his breakthrough, named the Soul-Stealing Banner.
The banner contained the vengeful souls of those he had consumed, a vast number of them.
This banner was only one step away from transforming into a genuine Tier 1 Emperor Weapon.
However, to break through the Immortal Volcano, this time had to be delayed.
He waved the small banner, and boundless vengeful souls flew out from within, roaring as they merged into the black mist.
Instantly, the black mist erupted with terrifying power.
This power surged towards the heavens, as if it could break through everything.
And the small banner, having lost these vengeful souls, its spiritual patterns visibly dimmed.
Even Yang Zhou felt a pang of heartache watching it.
"After conquering the Immortal Volcano, I must imprison even more vengeful souls!"
"The stronger the cultivator, the better the vengeful soul they become. I believe it won't be long before it completely transforms into an Emperor Weapon!"
Yang Zhou carefully put away the Soul-Stealing Banner.
It was his life-bound weapon, and he naturally cherished it dearly.
Moreover, an Emperor Weapon he refined himself felt much smoother to use and was far more powerful than one from another.
"Feng Sheng, your time of death has arrived!"
"Go, break through this grand formation!"
Yang Zhou let out a crazed laugh and shouted.
Under his command, the black mist transformed into a sharp spike, piercing fiercely into the core of the formation.
The originally impregnable formation instantly showed cracks.
Seizing this opportunity, countless vengeful souls, like maggots on a bone, began to frantically gnaw at the formation.
In an instant, the formation, already under immense strain, became precarious, appearing as if it would shatter at any moment.
"Quick, stabilize the formation!"
Feng Sheng urged.
The people of the Immortal Volcano heard him and, with all their might, channeled their vital energy into the formation, attempting to resist the erosion of the black mist.
"A futile struggle."
"Useless!"
Yang Zhou scoffed.
With the formation broken, his divine sense could now perceive the situation within.
After paying such a heavy price to create this, if it were blocked, where would he hide his face?
As it continued, the formation would soon be completely broken.
However.
He could no longer wait.
"Break for me!"
Boom!
As his voice fell, the spike formed by the black mist exploded.
The terrifying power struck the core of the formation directly. The Tier 2 Emperor Weapon, under the gnawing of the vengeful souls, could no longer hold on and shattered.
Deprived of its Emperor Weapon, the formation could no longer endure.
Under everyone's gaze, it began to melt away like ice and snow.
In an instant, the entire Immortal Volcano was exposed to Yang Zhou.
Facing Yang Zhou and the demon army directly, all the martial artists of the Immortal Volcano felt like they were facing a formidable enemy.
"Finally... it's done!"
The moment the grand formation shattered, Yang Zhou also breathed a sigh of relief.
Next was the time for harvest!
"Give up resisting, and merge with me!"
"You will become even stronger along with me!"
The urge to devour within him was now difficult to suppress.
"You wish!"
"Daydreaming!"
This statement immediately drew the angry shouts of the experts from the Immortal Volcano.
"That is not up to you!"
Yang Zhou sneered and was about to act.
Suddenly.
Not far away, a deafening explosion rang out.
Immediately after, a large number of demon soldiers perished in the blast.
"You have little strength, but a big mouth!"
"You want to attack the Immortal Volcano, did you ask me?"
A voice echoed from the distant explosion.
"Who are you..."
Yang Zhou's expression changed instantly.