Seeing Xiao Hei kill another Venerable, the remaining five Venerables of the Bone Clan were filled with boundless rage, yet also overwhelmed with fear. Since their debut, they had never been humiliated so thoroughly.
No matter what, they refused to believe Xiao Hei was a Saint King; it had to be a Great Saint, and an exceptionally powerful one at that, unmatched by any Saint King realm expert. Even if Yan Wushen arrived, he could only retreat.
What they couldn’t understand was how such a powerful Great Saint had sneaked into the Kunlun Realm.
Especially since the divine senses of the Hell Realm gods enveloped the entire Yin-Yang Sea, it was impossible for a Great Saint from the Kunlun Realm to slip into True Dragon Island unnoticed.
But there was no time to dwell on this now. Xiao Hei showed no signs of stopping, chasing after them relentlessly. They had to escape, and the farther, the better.
“Owl, take a strike from this Venerable’s staff!”
A cold glint flashed in Eight-Armed Venerable’s eyes. His skeletal body unleashed a surge of dark power, pouring it into the black-gold staff, causing it to expand instantly, like a pillar holding up the sky, carrying immense divine force as it smashed toward Xiao Hei.
He aimed to hold Xiao Hei back, buying precious time for the other four Venerables to escape.
“Watch this Emperor shatter your rotten skeleton!”
Xiao Hei’s gaze was razor-sharp, meeting the black-gold staff head-on with its wings.
The supreme power unleashed by the staff was formidable, yet it couldn’t harm Xiao Hei in the slightest. Instead, a terrifying force traveled through the staff, reaching Eight-Armed Venerable.
*Crack.*
The two skeletal hands gripping the staff shattered instantly, like porcelain.
Then, his figure was sent flying backward, as if struck by a star.
Stowing the staff, Eight-Armed Venerable used the impact to flash into a nearby rift, vanishing without a trace.
While he distracted Xiao Hei, the other four Bone Clan Venerables also fled, disappearing from sight.
Xiao Hei didn’t pursue them. The five had scattered in different directions, and even if it chased, it could only catch one at most, with no guarantee of success. After the space collapsed, those who slipped through the rifts could end up anywhere, impossible to predict.
With a flap of its wings, Xiao Hei collected the damaged skeletal remains of two Bone Clan Venerables, then turned and lunged toward the Golden Sun Twin Kings.
At that moment, the Twin Kings were still locked in fierce combat with Zhang Ruochen, pinned down and unable to break free.
But seeing Xiao Hei approach, the Yin-Yang Twin Kings could no longer afford to care. Taking several hits from Zhang Ruochen’s time sword energy, losing decades of lifespan, they desperately broke free.
Without hesitation, they chose to flee, unwilling to follow in the footsteps of the two Bone Clan Venerables.
“Where do you think you’re escaping? Leave your lives to this Emperor!”
Xiao Hei rode a storm of wind and flame, arriving in an instant, nearly breaking free of its constraints and soaring into the air.
The Golden Sun Twin Kings’ scalps tingled, sensing an immense crisis approaching.
Instinctively, they mustered their vast saintly energy, unleashing the Star-Shattering Palm.
A golden giant hand formed instantly, shattering the void, like the hand of a god, unstoppable.
*Whoosh.*
Xiao Hei’s eyes were filled with disdain, casually swiping its wings to tear the golden hand apart.
By then, the Twin Kings had summoned a golden ancient cauldron, pushing the supreme saint artifact to its fullest power.
Dazzling golden light burst from the cauldron, forming a massive three-legged Golden Crow, lifelike, gazing coldly over the world.
The Golden Crow opened its mouth, spewing terrifying solar golden flames, shaking and melting the void wherever they passed.
“Playing with fire before this Emperor? You’re far too weak.”
Xiao Hei sneered with contempt.
With a flap of its wings, torrents of undying divine fire surged forth, clashing with the solar golden flames.
Incredibly, under the undying divine fire’s incineration, the solar flames rapidly faded into nothingness.
Then, even the three-legged Golden Crow was directly consumed by the undying divine fire.
The raging undying divine fire surged forward, easily knocking the golden cauldron away.
Xiao Hei had clearly done this intentionally. The cauldron flew straight toward the direction where the Sun Emperor’s guards had fled.
*Boom.*
The golden cauldron crashed into the crowd, unleashing violent energy that instantly engulfed dozens of guards.
“Ah!”
Piercing screams rang out as the guards’ bodies exploded, annihilated into ash by the terrifying force, their forms and spirits utterly destroyed.
In the blink of an eye, over two-thirds of the guards were mercilessly slain, the rest heavily wounded.
Seeing this, the Golden Sun Twin Kings’ eyes nearly split with rage, yet they were powerless to stop it.
They were already struggling to save themselves, let alone others.
“Damn it, how is this owl saint beast a Great Saint? Why has it never shown such terrifying strength before?”
The Twin Kings were furious and filled with doubt.
It was widely known that Zhang Ruochen was accompanied by an owl saint beast, no secret to anyone.
But all along, this owl had been low-key, easily overlooked, making its sudden display of such terrifying power inexplicable.
With a wave, the Twin Kings recalled the golden cauldron, then sped up, fleeing desperately. As long as they escaped this hidden space, they were confident they could shake off Xiao Hei’s pursuit.
“Stay here for this Emperor!”
Xiao Hei let out a long cry, turning into a streak of red light, chasing relentlessly.
The Twin Kings took out an ancient talisman and flung it backward.
The talisman activated, revealing thousands of intricate runes weaving through the void, quickly forming an energy barrier.
*Crack.*
Xiao Hei swiped with a claw, damaging the barrier but failing to destroy it outright.
Taking advantage of this moment, the Twin Kings dove headlong into a rift in the space wall, escaping with incredible speed.
The dozen or so surviving guards also tried to flee but were intercepted by Zhang Ruochen.
Already injured by the golden cauldron, they stood no chance against Zhang Ruochen’s attack. With a flourish of his time sword technique, the guards were beheaded before they could resist.
“They escaped pretty fast. What a pity, this Emperor only killed two top-tier experts,” Xiao Hei said, eyes full of regret.
Zhang Ruochen gave Xiao Hei a strange look, about to say something when the hidden space began to tremble violently, collapsing even further.
With a flash, Zhang Ruochen landed on Xiao Hei’s back, saying, “Hurry and get out of here, or we’ll be in big trouble.”
Though it was only a small space, its collapse would unleash a devastating destructive force, enough to kill even Great Saint-level experts.
Xiao Hei didn’t hesitate, moving swiftly and tearing a rift in the space wall with its immense power.
The space wall of this hidden space was already fragile, easily shattered by even a Saint King realm expert, but this also signaled extreme danger.
Xiao Hei was incredibly fast. After escaping the hidden space, it sprinted toward the depths of the Dragon God Temple ruins with its bird claws.
The place they emerged was clearly different from where they’d entered. The five Bone Clan Venerables and the Golden Sun Twin Kings were long gone, their auras undetectable.
*Rumble.*
The hidden space fully collapsed, vast swathes of space shattering, revealing a pitch-black void. A space storm quickly formed, frantically devouring everything around it.
Zhang Ruochen could also wield “space storm” techniques, but their power paled in comparison.
However, the storm soon subsided, and the shattered space repaired itself.
This highlighted the unique nature of the Dragon God Temple ruins.
After traveling a hundred miles, Xiao Hei stopped, its body shrinking rapidly, its aura weakening, no longer exuding a ferocious air.
Zhang Ruochen landed on the ground, a strange look in his eyes as he studied Xiao Hei closely, saying, “What was going on with you earlier?”
Truth be told, Xiao Hei’s earlier rampage had startled Zhang Ruochen. Accustomed to Xiao Hei’s unreliability, he hadn’t expected it to suddenly unleash such terrifying combat power.
It was certain that Xiao Hei’s earlier strength was at the Great Saint level, making Zhang Ruochen wonder if Xiao Hei had recovered to that realm.
But looking at Xiao Hei now, it clearly wasn’t the case.
Xiao Hei let out a deep breath, saying, “This Emperor has been gradually refining the divine power from the Sun-Moon Chaos Tower of the Divine Dragon, steadily increasing my strength to the peak of the Saint King realm. At certain moments, my strength can surge to the Great Saint level, but it doesn’t last long. Otherwise, I’d have chased down those Golden Sun Twin Kings.”
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen showed a hint of surprise, then asked, “Can you freely boost your strength to the Great Saint level at will?”
Even if brief, such a surge, if used well, could have astonishing effects.
A sudden outburst might even bring down powerhouses like the Son of Darkness or the Bone Clan’s Three Emperors.
“I’d love to, but I can’t. For now, it’s just a matter of luck,” Xiao Hei said, slightly embarrassed.
Zhang Ruochen was momentarily speechless, realizing he’d overestimated Xiao Hei. As always, it was still unreliable.
But regardless, Xiao Hei’s outburst had been timely, forcing the Bone Clan and Sun Civilization powerhouses to flee in panic. Otherwise, escaping this time wouldn’t have been easy.
Overall, the gains were immense—not only did they obtain the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription and Heavenly Demon Mountain, but they also seized a supreme saint artifact.
The only trouble was killing the Sun Emperor, which would likely provoke the Sun Civilization’s wrath.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen wasn’t too concerned. He’d already killed countless beings with powerful backgrounds, and many gods wanted him dead.
Yet he was still very much alive.
“We’ve lingered in the hidden space for a while, probably falling far behind the others. We need to pick up the pace,” Zhang Ruochen mused.
Xiao Hei’s eyes gleamed, saying, “Heh, just entering the Dragon God Temple ruins and already getting treasures like the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription. There must be even more ahead.”
“If we can find something to suppress the divine power of the Sun-Moon Chaos Tower, this Emperor might stabilize at the Great Saint realm and become the ruler of True Dragon Island.”
Entering the hidden space had given Xiao Hei a taste of success, fueling its anticipation for the treasures deeper in the Dragon God Temple ruins.
Just as Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei prepared to move, their minds trembled in unison, and a wary look appeared in their eyes.
“Zhang Ruochen, did you feel that too?” Xiao Hei’s eyes grew serious, immediately inscribing array patterns to protect itself.
Zhang Ruochen nodded, “A strange sensation, like something’s watching us from the shadows, but it was fleeting, similar to what I felt before entering the hidden space. I thought it was the Bone Clan’s Eight-Armed Venerable, but now it seems otherwise.”
“This Emperor is certain there’s no living being within a hundred miles,” Xiao Hei said, not relaxing but growing even more uneasy.
Both Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei had powerful mental strength and were skilled at detection. Yet, no matter how they probed, they found nothing, as if it were an illusion.
Zhang Ruochen pondered briefly, saying, “We need to be even more cautious moving forward.”
Xiao Hei nodded solemnly.
Even it felt uneasy now.
Without lingering, Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei used their movement techniques, swiftly heading deeper into the Dragon God Temple ruins.
*Wah wah.*
A childlike cry echoed from deep underground, eerie and chilling, enough to make even Saint King realm cultivators’ scalps tingle.
A child’s shadowy figure appeared where Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei had just stood, about a meter tall, its body gradually solidifying. It had blood-red eyes, no feet, only dozens of tentacles supporting its body.
*Wah wah.*
Its cries could form mental attacks.
The dozens of tentacles beneath it, along with the mental assault, shot toward Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei like lightning. In an instant, the tentacles stretched dozens of miles, covered in blood-threaded patterns.
“Where did this kid come from?”
“What the hell is that?”
Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei, flying in midair, were hit by the mental attack. Even with their mental strength, their minds stung, flooded with bloody, eerie images.
The child seemed to burrow into their minds, manifesting a ghostly face, crying loudly.
“Break!”
Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei simultaneously mustered their mental strength, shattering the ghostly face in their minds.
But at that moment, the dozens of tentacles were already upon them.
*Swish—*
Drawing the Abyss Ancient Sword in an instant, Zhang Ruochen spun and slashed, unleashing a sword beam hundreds of meters long.
Xiao Hei’s body surged with terrifying undying divine fire, forming a flame barrier in front, while also activating array patterns.
*Whoosh.*
The Abyss Ancient Sword displayed peerless sharpness, severing several tentacles in succession.
*Sizzle.*
More tentacles struck the flame barrier and array patterns, emitting black smoke as if greatly harmed, quickly retracting.
Seeing this, Zhang Ruochen invoked the Truth Mystery, activating the Fire God Armor. Instantly, powerful flames engulfed him completely.
Sensing the threat, the child swiftly withdrew its tentacles.
“You… you’ve entered Muzu’s domain… go any further, and you’ll become like me… Muzu’s child… wah wah…”
Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei gave chase, but only saw the tentacles vanish into the ground, undetectable even with mental probing.
Glancing over, Zhang Ruochen looked at the severed tentacles, only to find they too had disappeared, leaving only faint black marks on the ground.
“Zhang Ruochen, did you see what that thing was?” Xiao Hei asked.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head, saying, “A child, mentioning something about Muzu, saying we’d become like it. What was that thing?”
“Damn, True Dragon Island has been sealed for so many years, steeped in divine and dark powers. It might have birthed some terrifying evil creature,” Xiao Hei said, eyes filled with deep unease.
Zhang Ruochen said, “It seems the Dragon God Temple ruins hold not only treasures but also terrifying monsters. Let’s get out of this area quickly.”
Just after they left, countless tentacles emerged from the ground, turning the surrounding hundred miles into a black ink pool. Hundreds of children with blood-red eyes and sharp fangs stood on the tentacles, crying “wah wah.”
The cries carried far, and many cultivators entering the Dragon God Temple ruins heard them, their minds flooded with eerie images.
Some with weaker mental strength went mad, their pupils turning blood-red, their bodies shrinking as if transforming into children. The scene was unspeakably terrifying.
