That phosphorescent white serpent, from the base of the ice block, transformed into a cluster of frosty white light waves that suddenly permeated inward, like a rope as thick as an arm, violently coiling around Mei Ji.

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

The ice peak instantly exploded!

Countless ice shards flew, and those meteor-like beams of light, that streak of crimson flame, after the ice peak shattered, dissolved into a glimmer and abruptly vanished into the depths beneath Skeleton Island.

Mei Ji's bright eyes cleared momentarily.

The little skeleton of the Bone Tribe held no intention of harming or killing her; those streaming light pillars and crimson flames merely circled to bind her, preventing her escape for the time being.

After the ice peak detonated, the way those light beams and flames vanished underground proved the little skeleton had not intended to kill her.

If it had, those flowing lights and flames would have seized the opportunity to invade while the python was crushing the ice, piercing through her body; even if she didn't die, she would have been gravely wounded.

"Hmm!"

The old man of the Devour Tribe, who had walked closer, looked with surprise at the streaming light and flames that had sunk into the earth, frowned, and sneered, "That little mongrel is surprisingly merciful, not striking a killing blow, actually leaving this woman a way out. Heh heh, this is also good; it benefits me for nothing..."

His oily green face resembled snake skin, chilling the heart just by looking at it. As he cracked a grin, his inherent venomous malice was perhaps even more apparent.

His ghostly green eyes lingered endlessly on Mei Ji's graceful and alluring figure. He swallowed, chuckling sinisterly, "The women of the Phantom Race are natural enchantresses, and moreover, she is a woman of the same cultivation realm as I. Fortune truly cannot be stopped when it arrives. Refining you into a Corpse Slave to serve me day and night will surely be a magnificent event in the mortal world. Wonderful! Wonderful!"

The phosphorescent white python was wrapped around Mei Ji's waist, voluptuous hips, and full, tender breasts, causing her jade-white skin to flush with a rosy hue under the pressure. That perverse beauty of torment was enough to instantly incinerate any man's reason with the fires of lust; the eyes of both Devour Tribe elders burned with naked desire!

The Devour Tribe elder slightly further away had his crotch, bulging like a green blister, still thrust forward in a high tent. His vital energy became chaotic, and he couldn't help but roar, "Bastoss! This woman belongs to me for the first ten years! I will return her to you after ten years—consider it part of my reward for inviting me here!"

Within his pupils, faint green lines writhed, terrifyingly like a viper.

The other Devour Tribe elder, whom he called Bastoss, felt his face twitch. His greedy gaze scraped savagely over Mei Ji a few more times. He took a deep breath, forcibly calming himself, "Nazario, this woman, I can grant you ten years! But you must promise me that when we deal with those members of the Little Bone Tribe later, you will exert your full strength!"

"No problem!" Nazario licked his lips.

The two Devour Tribe elders had come specifically for the little skeleton; encountering the temporarily imprisoned Mei Ji was merely coincidental. Women of the Phantom Race were the most outstanding beauties in the Star Sea, treasures any man would covet.

It was unfortunate that the Phantom Race was one of the Seven Great Races, and every woman among them was also a powerful warrior of noble status. Very few men could capture a Phantom Race woman to keep as a forbidden plaything to enjoy boundless pleasure.

Mei Ji was at the Immortal Peak realm. With her true strength, even facing these two Devour Tribe elders head-on at full power, she might not necessarily be at a disadvantage. Sadly, her current condition was too dire, leading her to be ensnared by the python formed of Corpse Power, with wisps of Corpse Qi infiltrating her body, subtly affecting her flesh.

Her flesh and blood were being influenced by the strange Corpse Power, and her nimble body gradually felt stiff.

The moment she attempted to unleash her Power of Profundity, the python would suddenly tighten, as if trying to snap her waist in two. She gritted her teeth, listening to the conversation of the two Devour Tribe elders. Hating them to the core, she prepared to speak, only to find clusters of Corpse Qi rushing into her mouth at the opportunity, forcing her to shut up again.

Mei Ji felt immense humiliation, hating the two Devour Tribe members, and incidentally cursing Shi Yan and the little skeleton as well. She thought that if these two hadn't obstructed her, with her strength at its peak, she wouldn't fear these two sinister and ghastly old men of the Devour Tribe in the slightest.

Recalling the gaze of the two gaunt, mantis-like old men, and their claw-like sharp fingers possibly sliding over her tender, alluring body in the future, she broke out in goosebumps, and her heart chilled with despair.

She secretly resolved that if the situation offered no turning point, she would freeze her physical body with her Profundity before the Corpse Power fully invaded her Sea of Consciousness, and then self-detonate.

Better to die than fall into the hands of these two Devour Tribe elders! Otherwise... life would be worse than death.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

The sound of bone wings flapping suddenly arrived. The two snow-white Bone Dragons returned, reappearing within Mei Ji's line of sight.

Mei Ji's eyes suddenly lit up. Looking at the little skeleton and Shi Yan riding the Bone Dragons, she silently hoped for a new development.

"Little mongrel! I didn't expect to find you again, did I? I was severely injured by you last time and spent ages recovering. Today, I am not alone! Coming with the strength of two Immortal Peaks, let's see how you can still protect the bones of your parents! Heh heh, Nazario and I have already come to an agreement: we each take one set of your parents' bones. Once refined into Corpse Slaves, they will surely be powerful assets for rampaging!"

Bastoss, the Devour Tribe member, cackled sinisterly, his gaze lingering on the little skeleton on the Bone Dragon, not giving Shi Yan a second glance.

The aura emanating from Shi Yan was insignificant in his perception. Before Shi Yan truly revealed himself, Bastoss had already determined his cultivation realm.

A mere martial artist at the first level of the Immortal Realm, in his view, could offer no help to the little skeleton.

"Is this him?" Nazario suppressed the surging desire he felt for Mei Ji, quickly calming down. "What did you discover from the ruins left by our ancestors?"

"Our ancestors came here long ago. At that time, this little mongrel's parents were refining him. Our ancestors took the opportunity to strike, intending to kill and refine his parents into Corpse Slaves while the little mongrel was being refined. Who knew that at the late stage of the refinement, the little mongrel's parents still retained terrifying residual power? They blasted our ancestors away, severely injured, and fled. Shortly after leaving this place, our ancestor knew he could not survive, so he used his remaining power to condense this cave mansion ruin for fated members of our tribe to seek out..."

As Bastoss recounted the history of his ancestor, his expression showed a trace of reverence as he slowly unveiled a piece of sealed history. "Our ancestor spoke of this secret history within the ruins, also providing the location, stating that the little mongrel's parents wouldn't live much longer either. He instructed me to seek this place out and refine those two parents' bones into Corpse Slaves, considering it revenge for him."

He looked coldly at the little skeleton, "Thirty years ago, he finally followed the location and found this place. But this little mongrel had already become powerful. After fighting him, I was defeated and fled. I spent thirty years recovering, which is why I sought you out, hoping you would join forces with me to slay this little mongrel. I will give you one of your parents' bones to refine into a Corpse Slave."

He paused, then commanded, "The skeletal body of a Domain Ancestor powerhouse—this is the optimal candidate for a Corpse Slave. Once successfully refined, our branch cultivating Corpse Power will immediately gain greater influence within the tribe!"

"The skeletal body of a Domain Ancestor powerhouse..."

Nazario's ghostly green eyes rolled, his greed showing undisguised on his face. He glanced at Mei Ji, who was being slowly invaded by the Corpse Power python, then at the little skeleton, cackled, and nodded, "I want that Phantom Race woman, and one bone body. The other bone body and this little skeleton belong to you."

"It's a deal!" Bastoss agreed.

They exchanged a look and both burst into hearty laughter, feeling thoroughly satisfied.

On the Bone Dragon, Shi Yan sat calmly, like a mountain, but his heart was roiling with turbulent waves.

These were two members of the Devour Tribe...

The Devour Tribe, a race condensed from the flesh and blood of the Primal Being "Devour," one of the Seven Great Races in the Star Sea, and also the most mysterious and evil race.

Devour once passed down the Profundity of Devouring and the Eight Great Evil Powers to this race. However, after the passage of long years, the Profundity of Devouring has long been lost to the Devour Tribe, and even the Eight Great Evil Powers are fragmented, seemingly incomplete.

Even so, within the vast Star River Domain Realm of the Void Sea, no one dared underestimate the Devour Tribe; they remained one of the most powerful factions.

Devour was the mortal enemy of the Desolate One, and their struggle had never ceased for billions of years!

The Desolate One created and refined the Bloodthirsty One, and just as he was about to bestow the Profundity of Devouring upon it, Devour invaded. Devour successfully conferred the Profundity of Devouring and the Eight Great Evil Powers upon Bloodthirsty, setting Bloodthirsty on the path to ultimately destroy the Desolate One's origin world and slay the Desolate One.

In the end, Bloodthirsty, with power unparalleled beneath the heavens, pierced through reality and counterattacked Devour. After one battle, even Devour fell into dormancy.

The pinnacle of the Bloodthirsty lineage was forged by Bloodthirsty himself, yet his Profundity of Devouring and Eight Great Evil Powers were obtained from Devour. His eventual success in striking Devour into dormancy was due to his peerless genius.

The Devour Tribe, because Devour left to fight the Desolate One, gradually saw its inherited power diminish. Conversely, within the Desolate Domain, Devour's inheritance—the Bloodthirsty lineage—remained perfectly intact. Truly, fate played strange tricks.

Now, looking at the two Devour Tribe members, Shi Yan closed his eyes to sense, and his mind was struck by a tremendous tremor.

A mystery that had long troubled him suddenly unraveled the moment he saw the Devour Tribe members!

When Bloodthirsty perished, the Blood-Patterned Ring split into three, passed down by Lao Luo, Xuan Shan, and Xuan He, each using the Ancient Continent to condense the inheritance. Xuan He failed; Lao Luo brought him here. And Xuan Shan, who appeared to have failed, also attracted an extraterrestrial soul. That soul secretly supported Hassen, but Hassen failed and was slain by him. The soul then swallowed a portion of his ring spirit, waiting for a chance to seize his physical body.

As a result, because the skeletal remains of Bloodthirsty appeared one by one, the soul's wicked intentions reawakened. It tempted him to gather the skeletal remains of Bloodthirsty to resurrect itself.

He had never been able to figure out where the extraterrestrial soul identical to him came from. Today, upon seeing the two Devour Tribe members, he instantly understood.

That soul, although deliberately concealed, had a vague aura and spiritual form that perfectly matched these two Devour Tribe members!

That soul had transitioned from the Void Sea's Devour Tribe. That was why it knew so much about the situation of the Bloodthirsty lineage, why it was so familiar with the Eight Great Evil Powers, and why it could operate the strange formations on the island in the Dark Abyss...

That soul was highly likely to be a contingency plan of the Primal Being "Devour"—a soul selected by "Devour" using its power, transported from its homeland, intended to become the new master of the Bloodthirsty lineage, thereby altering the structure of the Desolate Domain and igniting a new round of conflict with the Desolate One!

...(To be continued)RQ