Word Count: 2,882 Words
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Fierce winds swept across the boundless Evildemon Forest, transforming it into a dark-green sea. Tens of thousands of ancient trees swayed in the gale, their crowns rising and falling in overlapping waves. High above, man and Great Beast stood in sharp opposition.
Eighty-one hideous tentacles lashed without cease. The mightiest spiritual power on the continent pulsed through the sky, throwing space itself into chaos beneath an overwhelming, all-consuming pressure.
"Human, your soul is very tempting!"
The Evileye Tyrant Emperor laughed wildly. For nearly a thousand years it had fretted over how to survive its next great tribulation. Its cooperation with the Holy Spirit Cult and the blood sacrifices it enjoyed were all part of its search for a breakthrough. It was certain that if it could devour Ling Bai's soul, the upcoming 800,000-year heavenly tribulation would be mere child's play.
They were both hunters, and each was the prey the other desperately craved!
All eighty-one tentacles rose at once. At the tip of each grew an Evil Eye identical to the Evileye Tyrant Emperor's main body, every pupil spitting bizarre light. Eighty-one spiritual rays fired in unison. The Evileye Tyrant Emperor held nothing back from the very first exchange, and the surrounding world changed color at once!
Chi—
A shrill screech of metal on metal tore through the sky as nine Death Locks pierced the clouds like twisting dragons. Ling Bai clenched one fist, and black-red demonic eyes snapped open along the chains one after another. The locks smashed through the spiritual rays and lashed toward the Evileye Tyrant Emperor from every direction!
Compared to its terrifying spiritual power, the Evileye Tyrant Emperor's true body was somewhat frail. The Death Locks carved bloody gashes across the giant eye, and the searing pain tore a furious roar from the beast. A streak of silver flashed through its dark-red Spiritual Sea. Huge swaths of sky collapsed, and the Death Locks shattered inch by inch.
'Spatial abilities...'
Ling Bai narrowed his eyes. The Evileye Tyrant Emperor's Yin-Yang Complement twin spirit cores consisted of a spiritual spirit core and a spatial spirit core. It had perfectly fused spiritual power with spatial force, forging a path entirely its own.
"Human, you have enraged me!"
The Evileye Tyrant Emperor broke free of the Death Locks, and its violent will erupted outward. The enormous pupil, more than three hundred meters across, turned a vivid blood-red as a massive pillar of spiritual light shot forth.
Eternal Scar split the pillar apart. The Evileye Tyrant Emperor grew warier still. Crimson spread through the sky, and in the blink of an eye countless drops of blood hung suspended in the air. Every single drop radiated an endless aura of slaughter, enough to chill the soul to its core!
A strange spectacle appeared above the Evildemon Forest. Blood-red runes flickered across the surface of those drops, weaving together into a domain that blanketed the sky, a vast, boundless sea of blood!
Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King Torso Spirit Bone skill, Primordial Blood Hell!
The blood sea surged skyward. Within it, even a single drop could become Ling Bai. The Bloodsea Heart and the Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King's torso spirit bone fused and sustained one another. Inside the domain of Primordial Blood Hell, the Bloodsea Heart's power activated automatically, granting Ling Bai both Blood Rebirth and the ability to teleport instantaneously through blood!
He extended a fingertip toward the Evileye Tyrant Emperor at the center of the blood sea. The entire sea began to throb like a gigantic heart, then contracted savagely inward.
The Evileye Tyrant Emperor's scream shook the sky. Its blood seemed to slip beyond its own control, straining to burst through every vessel, while bright scarlet beads seeped from every inch of its skin. The continent's second-ranked Great Beast stared in terror at the endless red sea. The waves rolled without cease, as though some colossal shadow-creature lurked beneath the surface, something so vast it could fill the entire blood sea.
Ling Bai gazed down from above. Through the Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King's Ultimate Blood, he seized direct control of the beast's blood. Scarlet light erupted from his torso outward in the very next instant.
The blood sea grew violent. A massive shadow burst from its surface. The Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King spread its wings, and its form looked even larger than it had at Blood Desolation Town. A cold, bloodthirsty gleam shone in the depths of its beast eyes as all nine heads threw themselves back and shrieked to the heavens, each voice carrying a different, sinister tone.
Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King Torso Spirit Bone's second skill, Nine Fiends!
In the Nine Fiends state, the Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King possessed the full strength it had enjoyed in life, yet only one thought remained in its mind: carry out Ling Bai's will. Amplified by Primordial Blood Hell, this Rakshasa guardian beast even surpassed its own peak combat power!
The Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King shot into the air. Countless blood-red bats gathered beneath its wings, shrieking with the frenzy of an imminent feast. It was a grand rite before the banquet began. They rejoiced like a flock of crows descending on fresh carrion.
The Evileye Tyrant Emperor tried the same tactic again, intending to shatter the bat king with a spiritual beam. The Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King ignored it completely and lunged straight onto the giant eye's body.
Its sky-blotting wings folded into a cage and wrapped around the Evileye Tyrant Emperor whole. Blade-sharp fangs sank deep into the eyeball, drinking greedily of its blood while injecting maddening blood poison. Chaotic laughter seemed to merge into a frigid current that invaded the Evileye Tyrant Emperor's Spiritual Sea from every direction.
"Damn it, what trash dares use a spiritual attack on this Emperor!"
The Evileye Tyrant Emperor shuddered, and its spiritual will erupted in a violent surge.
Bloodshot veins bulged across that hideous eye. For the first time in its entire life, a spirit beast had dared use spiritual power against it!
Both were Great Beasts of extraordinary spiritual prowess. The Evileye Tyrant Emperor had clashed head-on with the Golden Eyed Black Dragon King Di Tian and earned fame across the continent. The Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King had controlled Clear Sky Douluo Tang Chen, a record there for all to see!
The sky seemed to have been punched open. Spiritual power, the dense aura of Ultimate Blood, and countless spirit power fluctuations ran rampant through the air.
The Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King grinned savagely as its nine heads forced the Evileye Tyrant Emperor's pupil to cave inward. The Evileye Tyrant Emperor, however, calmed itself. From the deepest reaches of its pupil, a streak of dark blue light shot forth.
Space-Time Light!
Time froze. The Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King, still tearing at its prey, was locked in place in an instant. Space compressed at a shocking speed. The Space-Time Light appeared to drift slowly, yet wherever it passed, the blood sea was stained a deep blue, and Primordial Blood Hell showed faint signs of disintegration.
Through its mastery of spiritual and spatial attributes, the Evileye Tyrant Emperor had comprehended the power of space-time itself, a force capable of stripping away the spiritual origin of all living beings.
In its battle against Beast God Di Tian long ago, the Evileye Tyrant Emperor had been heavily wounded by Dragon God's Claw and had remained in the core of the Evildemon Forest ever since to recover. Even Di Tian, after being struck by Space-Time Light, had needed to soak in the Lake of Life for a full thousand years before healing. That alone spoke to how terrifying this ability truly was.
At such close range, the Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King had no time to evade. Its body stiffened instantly, and the Evileye Tyrant Emperor seized the opening. All eighty-one tentacles crashed into the bat king at once and flung it away.
Space-Time Light imposed a tremendous burden on the Evileye Tyrant Emperor as well. It struggled to steady its Spiritual Sea, and then danger descended. A gray figure appeared with nine spirit rings pulsing around his body and the Death Abyss Demon Scythe raised high!
Only then did the Evileye Tyrant Emperor grasp the truth. Nine Fiends was merely a spirit bone skill. So what if the Blood Red Nine-Headed Bat King had been badly wounded? The true mastermind had never entered the battlefield!
The crimson-gold spirit ring blazed with blinding light. Blade held beside his body, the gray figure whipped up a violent gale. The suspended blood drops burst into crimson foam. The pitch-black giant scythe traced a savage arc and hacked downward with absolute, overwhelming violence. Sound lagged behind the blade, and in the surrounding world, only that single, space-rending slash remained.
Death Abyss Spider Emperor Ninth Spirit Skill, Space Rending Abyssal Slash!
Tentacles snapped apart one after another. The Evileye Tyrant Emperor plummeted to the earth like a falling meteor, dragging a crimson trail of fire behind it while chaotic motes of light intertwined in its wake.
"ROAR—"
A shrill, agonized roar shook the Evildemon Forest to its roots. Vast stretches of trees crumbled into powder. Blood gushed wildly from the Evileye Tyrant Emperor as the Death Abyss Demon Scythe drove deep into the core of its pupil.
Ling Bai gripped the scythe's handle. His body still carried the lingering remnants of Space-Time Light from the fall, making him look like a blood fiend clawing its way out of hell.
The Death Abyss Spider Lances rose and fell, plunging viciously into the Evileye Tyrant Emperor's body. A cold smile curved across Ling Bai's lips. The Evileye Tyrant Emperor convulsed violently as great surges of spiritual power rushed through the Death Abyss Spider Lances into Ling Bai's body, battering his Spiritual Sea.
"You want to devour me!"
The Evileye Tyrant Emperor could scarcely believe it. As the Death Abyss Spider Emperor tore away its spiritual power, dreadful gray veins spread across the enormous three-hundred-meter pupil.
"Seven hundred thousand years of spiritual power, and your precious comprehension of space. I'll be taking them."
A towering illusory figure of the Death Abyss Spider Emperor, a thousand meters tall, condensed behind Ling Bai. Its eight torch-like beast eyes blazed with savage malice. The Evileye Tyrant Emperor was nothing more than an insect caught in a web now, with nothing left to do but wait for death.
"No life in this world can contain this Emperor's boundless Spiritual Sea. Human, you will pay for your greed!"
The Evileye Tyrant Emperor burst into wild laughter. It not only abandoned all resistance but poured its spiritual power into the Death Abyss Spider Lances in a single torrent, trying to burst Ling Bai apart in one stroke!
With its heaven-shaking intelligence, the Evileye Tyrant Emperor had found an escape route the instant it recognized defeat was inevitable. The original plan had been to quietly fuse its soul into the spirit bone, then bide its time for a future chance to possess Ling Bai's body.
Now there was no need for such trouble. If Ling Bai insisted on forcibly devouring seven hundred thousand years of spiritual power, the Evileye Tyrant Emperor was more than happy to oblige. Once his Spiritual Sea burst from the overload, it had ten thousand ways to crush what remained and claim that perfect body for itself!
Ling Bai's Spiritual Sea trembled. Electrolux and the Snow Empress woke with a start, and his voice reached them at once.
"Don't hold back. Everyone eat."
The Evileye Tyrant Emperor had assumed it only needed to overwhelm one Ling Bai. In truth, three ravenous souls were waiting to be fed!
Electrolux relied on Life Gold to stabilize his fragments of divine consciousness. In the future, he would require a vast quantity of spiritual power to fully restore himself. The Snow Empress, having lost her spirit ring and spirit bone, survived in the form of an Intelligent Spirit Ring. Spiritual power was her finest nourishment!
"This spirit beast isn't bad. It has promise!"
Electrolux cheerfully summoned his Necromancer Staff and drew the Evileye Tyrant Emperor's spiritual power into himself. His fragments of divine consciousness grew steadily stronger.
"My thanks for the Evil Emperor's generous gift."
The Snow Empress smiled like a blooming flower. With the Evileye Tyrant Emperor's spiritual power, she could shed the form of an Intelligent Spirit Ring and separate her soul from Ling Bai's Spiritual Sea entirely. Combined with the energy of the Manifold Mysterious Ice Essence, she could even cultivate anew into a 700,000-year Heavenly Snow Woman!
"Why aren't you dead yet?"
The spiritual power within its body neared depletion, and the Evileye Tyrant Emperor's pupil filled with shock and disbelief.
Huo Yuhao had been a genuine spiritual-type Titled Douluo, yet even he could not withstand the Evileye Tyrant Emperor's vast spiritual power and had needed the Skydream Iceworm's help to store it. That alone showed how terrifying the Evileye Tyrant Emperor's spiritual power truly was.
By its estimation, Ling Bai was a human Spirit Master without a spiritual attribute. After absorbing this much for this long, his Spiritual Sea should have exploded ages ago. He should have been reduced to an idiot and obediently surrendered his body. Where exactly had things gone wrong!
"Evileye Tyrant Emperor, never underestimate human greed..."
Ling Bai's face had turned scarlet, as though he teetered on the very edge of collapse.
"Children, sacrifice yourselves for your Emperor!"
Once the Evileye Tyrant Emperor's spiritual power ran dry, Ling Bai's next target would be its soul. The Evileye Tyrant Emperor was like a gambler driven to the brink. It refused to die. Ling Bai was almost at his limit. It could still turn this around!
Spiritual fluctuations rippled outward, and the Evileye clan erupted into commotion at once. Scores of 100,000-year and 10,000-year Evileye Tyrants shot forward without hesitation, sacrificing their own spiritual power and pouring it into the Evileye Tyrant Emperor.
"Damned human, let's see how much more you can take!"
The Evileye Tyrant Emperor's vitality surged anew. It fixed Ling Bai with a chilling stare as spiritual power poured forth in a mad torrent.
"You don't even care about your own race?" Ling Bai sighed quietly.
"Without this Emperor, there is no need for the Evileye clan to exist!"
The Evileye Tyrant Emperor was cold and ruthless to its very core. In its eyes, its own life stood above the survival of its entire species!
Ling Bai, the Snow Empress, and Electrolux devoured the Evileye Tyrant Emperor's pure spiritual energy like whales drawing in water, feasting to their hearts' content.
"Sacrifice!"
"Sacrifice!"
"Sacrifice again!"
The Evileye Tyrant Emperor roared with bloodshot eyes. 100,000-year, 10,000-year, 1,000-year, 100-year, and in the end even the tiny 10-year Evil Eyes gave their lives for their emperor.
"Y-you... are you a monster?"
Colorless tentacles sprawled across the ground. The gray-white giant eye lay embedded in the earth. The Evileye clan had been utterly wiped out. With no power left to turn the tide, the Evileye Tyrant Emperor could only watch as the Death Abyss Spider Emperor devoured its soul. A lifetime's comprehension of space passed entirely into another's hands, severing its last hope of possession once and for all.
"Actually, I only absorbed about a third."
Ling Bai was quick to point the finger. Electrolux had eaten the most!
The light in the Evileye Tyrant Emperor's gaze went out. Its body scattered like windblown dust and vanished on the spot.
A white-gold spirit ring rose into the air, releasing spiritual fluctuations powerful enough to warp space. At its center, a silver skull floated in silence.
'A white-gold spirit ring...
Did it break through after merging with so much of the Evileye clan's spiritual power?'
That was Ling Bai's guess. He summoned the Bone Dragon King to stand guard and began absorbing the spirit ring and spirit bone on the spot.
…
Clear Sky Clan, Frozen Desolation.
Bitter wind cut through the air, and snowflakes whipped furiously across an earth blanketed in white. A woman sat cross-legged amid the snow, and the graceful curve of her waist and hips was enough to draw any gaze. Pink-blue hair spilled down her back, its strands trailing all the way to the frozen ground. Her flawless face seemed to embody the Creator's very definition of beauty.
Two middle-aged men built like iron towers stood behind her. She rose slowly to her feet, and her pink-blue hair fluttered in the wind. The short-haired, broad-shouldered one spoke first:
"Dong Er..."
The words had barely left his mouth before the blue-haired man beside him drove an elbow into his ribs and took over:
"Xiao Qi, you've recovered?"
The woman turned. An icy chill radiated from her, warning all living things to keep their distance. After leaving the Sun Moon Empire, Wang Dong Er had not returned to Shrek Academy. Instead, she had gone back to the Clear Sky Clan to reclaim her true identity: the Sea God's daughter, Tang Wutong.
Tang Wutong looked at the two elders. The golden trident sigil on her forehead shone, and her expression held neither joy nor sorrow:
"Father sent down a divine sense. I am not the complete me. I am missing...
The destiny of a spirit beast."