"It's finally getting interesting." Bibi Dong licked her lips, the Rakshasa God phantom behind her completely solidifying into a three-headed, six-armed Asura form. Death aura spread like a tsunami, and where it passed, monsters fell in swathes.
"Wind, heed my call." Dai Chengfeng raised his long sword overhead. The sky—that dark red sky covered with tumors—began to gather cyan wind. That wasn't this world's power, but pure wind elements he summoned from the outside world. They gathered with difficulty within the Abyss's domain, forming a tornado connecting heaven and earth.
Ares didn't speak.
He only charged, killed, charged again, killed again. His bone blade had already dulled, two of his tentacles severed, but he didn't care. Thirteen thousand years of imprisonment, thirteen thousand years of madness, thirteen thousand years of waiting—finally, in this moment, found meaning. Even as his sanity was dissipating, even as his body was mutating, Ares the War God, finally once more, fought for the sake of protection.
Tang Wulin didn't stop.
He charged toward the second tumor.
This time, the tumor's defenses were even more stringent. Three Abyss Lords equivalent to first-level gods were born from the tumor—though only incomplete forms, their strength far surpassed any previous monsters.
One lord was a pure energy body, constantly changing form, immune to most physical attacks.
One lord was a mountain-like flesh giant, each punch capable of shattering the earth.
One lord was a collection of countless souls stitched together, every shriek capable of shaking the divine soul.
Tang Wulin was surrounded.
But he smiled.
That was an excited smile, the joy of a warrior facing a powerful foe, the warlike instinct flowing in the dragon race's blood cheering.
"Come."
He charged proactively, targeting that energy body lord.
The energy body lord transformed into a giant net, wanting to wrap and devour him. But Tang Wulin didn't dodge or evade, directly crashing into it. The instant he entered the energy body's interior, Golden Dragon King bloodline operated at full power, beginning to devour and assimilate Abyss energy from within.
"What, what are you doing?!" The energy body lord discovered in terror that its power was being reverse-drained.
"What the Golden Dragon King excels at most is devouring." Tang Wulin's voice was somewhat muffled within the energy body, but firm, "How do you think I grew so quickly before the sixteenth seal? Because I devoured countless energies, including Abyss energy."
"No—!"
The energy body lord wanted to separate, but it was too late. Within Tang Wulin's body seemed to be a black hole, madly devouring all surrounding energy. In less than three breaths' time, the energy body lord's consciousness dissipated, all its energy absorbed and transformed by Tang Wulin, becoming part of his power.
The flesh giant lord's fist smashed down.
Tang Wulin raised his hand to meet it hard.
Boom!
The shockwave blasted away the surrounding scorched earth for a hundred meters. Tang Wulin's feet sank into the ground up to his knees, but he caught it. Golden Dragon King power roared within his body. He let out a low roar, his arm exerting force, actually pushing back the flesh giant lord's fist.
The flesh giant lord staggered backward. Tang Wulin seized the opportunity to leap up, the Golden Dragon Spear thrusting toward its head.
But the wraith lord blocked in between.
It emitted a shriek—a shriek that directly attacked the soul. Tang Wulin's movements stalled, countless wraiths' wails echoing in his mind. Those were souls devoured by the Abyss, suffering, screaming, begging for release, also tempting him to join them.
"Scram."
Tang Wulin only said one word.
The Dragon God Wings suddenly spread open. The golden light wing on the left sprinkled warm radiance, while the dark red wing on the right released destructive fluctuations. The powers of creation and destruction intertwined, forming a peculiar resonance. Those wraiths' wails gradually weakened and dissipated within the resonance—their souls purified, or rather, completely ended.
The core of the wraith collective lord was exposed.
That was a beating heart, wrapped by countless wraiths.
Tang Wulin thrust out his spear, piercing through the heart.
"Thank you..." Before the heart shattered, a thought of cathartic release was transmitted.
The flesh giant lord emitted a desperate roar. It knew it was doomed. But it didn't flee—instead burning all its power, it lunged toward Tang Wulin, wanting to self-destruct.
Tang Wulin didn't give it the chance.
With a flap of his dragon wings, he appeared behind the flesh giant lord. The Golden Dragon Spear stabbed in from behind its heart, emerging from its chest. Golden Dragon King power erupted within its body, tearing it apart from within.
The second tumor, shattered.
Then the third, fourth, fifth...
Tang Wulin was like a tireless killing machine, rampaging across the battlefield. The power of the Golden Dragon King's seventeenth seal gave him combat strength approaching the God King level. Though the duration was limited, during this time, he was invincible.
Qian Renxue, Bibi Dong, Dai Chengfeng, and Ares cleared the miscellaneous soldiers for him, defended against flank attacks, letting him focus on destroying the tumors.
When the sixth tumor shattered, the number of monsters had clearly decreased.
Their regeneration speed slowed, and newly born monsters grew weaker. The Abyss's power in this region was greatly weakened; even that dark red sky seemed to brighten somewhat.
But Tang Wulin had also reached his limit.
The power of the seventeenth seal began to backlash.
Every heartbeat was like a heavy hammer striking his chest, blood rushing through his veins like magma, draconic characteristics becoming increasingly obvious—dragon scales began appearing on his cheeks, fingers turning into claws, reason like a candle in the wind, ready to extinguish at any moment.
"Two more left." He gasped, looking at the seventh tumor in the distance.
"Wulin, stop!" Qian Renxue flew to his side, pressing on his shoulder, "Your body can't take it anymore!"
"I can still..." Tang Wulin wanted to break free, but his body went soft, nearly kneeling. Qian Renxue quickly supported him.
"Enough." Bibi Dong also came to his side, death aura wrapping around him, trying to suppress the Golden Dragon King power's rampage, "You've destroyed six tumors. The Abyss power in this region has been weakened by sixty percent. Leave the rest to us."
"But we dont… have time..." Tang Wulin looked toward the direction of the Tree of Life.
Isis's consciousness was growing increasingly weak.
He could feel that warm light being swallowed by darkness, like a candle in the wind, ready to extinguish at any moment. Once Isis's consciousness completely dissipated, the Tree of Life would be completely contaminated by the Abyss. Then, the Abyss Child would be born from those embryos on the canopy—the consequences would be unimaginable.
"I'll go."
Ares walked to the front of the group.
His condition was not good.
Only three tentacles remained, and his bone blade was covered with cracks. Even more severe, the mutation of his body had intensified—the "blood vessels" beneath his skin had almost all turned dark red, those eyeball-like protrusions covering half his body, even beginning to turn and blink. His sanity was being eroded by the Abyss.
"Ares, you..." Tang Wulin wanted to say something.
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