The barrier power of the Fire Hell Star Cage Grass, which had existed for billions of years, was forcibly torn apart. Any Heaven Master with profound cultivation could detect the subtle changes in the elemental energy of the Fire Hell Star. Some experts in the Divine Connection Realm, by tracking the flow of this elemental energy, realized that a change had occurred in the area known as the Gold Sea.
In an instant, numerous experts on the Fire Hell Star converged upon the Gold Sea, driven by curiosity.
Above the void of the Fire Hell Star, a vast, ancient, sinister, and malevolent force radiated limitlessly. A dazzling beam of brilliant light suddenly shot down, projecting directly towards the Gold Sea.
The Dragon Python King of the Demon Race continued its rampage upon the island. As its colossal demonic body unfurled, it blotted out the heavens and the earth. With a single lash of its tail, mountain peaks on the island exploded into dust. The Dragon Python King, in extreme rage, let out monstrous cackles and furiously bombarded the Electric Duke.
Under the Dragon Python King’s onslaught, the already heavily wounded Electric Duke was barely clinging to life. Meanwhile, Yangming Fire and the Thunder Duke were being pushed back steadily under the combined assault of the two experts from the Wood and Feather Races; clearly, they were no match for these two.
These two Imperial-level experts from the Wood and Feather Races seemed to have reached some pact with the Dragon Python King. They did not bother setting up any barriers, focusing entirely on relentlessly pursuing the Electric Duke. The Dragon Python King, however, hovered in the sky, laughing sinisterly, enveloping the island with dense demonic energy, forming barriers invisible to the naked eye.
The presence of these barriers made it impossible for anyone to escape the island. No matter how hard the Electric Duke struggled, he could not quickly break through these seals.
“Hahahaha! You cannot escape!” The Dragon Python King’s voice, like rolling thunder, echoed through the void. The ferocious sound generated strange undulations that descended from the sky, bombarding the Electric Duke.
The green swamp beside the Electric Duke suddenly began to boil amid the deafening roar. Driven by the sound waves, the water transformed into countless water-swords, which shot out to pierce the Electric Duke. His defense became increasingly difficult.
A barrage of green water-swords descended. These swords carried the poison from the Dragon Python King’s body, possessing intensely corrosive power. The Electric Duke transformed into lightning, fleeing in disarray beneath the water-swords. Yet, even so, he was inevitably tainted by the toxins coating the water-swords. The Electric Duke’s complexion grew visibly weaker.
Ji Changkong and Tiya remained detached observers. Ji Changkong, in particular, appeared utterly unconcerned, as if the battle unfolding held no weight in his eyes. Eventually, he gently closed his eyes, giving the impression that he had fallen asleep.
No one knew that beneath his closed lids, he was using the power of his consciousness to absorb the entire island into his mind. Every scene, every structure, and every binding force and restriction set up by the Dragon Python King on the island was manifested within his mind, without a single shred of power escaping his perception. This was a unique ability of the Primordial Grand Mystery.
Without needing to exert much effort, merely by the instinct of his divine sense, he knew that if he wished to depart, he could effortlessly shatter the numerous realms established by the Dragon Python King and vanish from this place instantly. What the Electric Duke could not achieve, he could.
In this manner, before any confrontation began, he could have everything under complete control. Once the battle erupted, he could utilize the favorable conditions of time and place, calmly harnessing the power of the environment—the force of heaven and earth—to aid him against his enemies. He was confident he could succeed.
Suddenly, a stirring and bizarre power emanated from the deepest parts of the earth. Simultaneously, another familiar force descended from the void above.
These two forces arrived so abruptly, without any prior warning, as if they had always been meant to exist, creating an impression of absolute naturalness.
From the depths of the earth, an extremely faint vibration emerged. Under this tremor, the island began to slowly gather power. Previously a mere inanimate object, the island seemed to be suddenly infused with life under the influence of that power.
The barriers and restrictions imposed upon the island by the Dragon Python King vanished silently. To his astonishment, everything happened so naturally that even the Dragon Python King himself seemed unaware. The Dragon Python King did not even realize that the seals he had painstakingly erected were no longer under his command. Deep within the island, beneath the vast seawater, a strange fluctuation suddenly transmitted outward.
The next moment, a tall, slender figure passed through the heavy restrictions placed by the Dragon Python King and silently hovered over the island, frowning as he observed the two warring parties, his expression displeased.
He was a strikingly handsome youth, exuding a captivating, enchanting aura. His eyes were as deep as the starry river, giving a sense of boundless infinity.
Upon manifesting, the handsome youth waved his hand gently, and microscopic worlds flickered into existence within his palm. He seemed to be constructing a new world upon the island. The island, which had been riddled with scars from the clashes of several Divine Connection Realm experts, rapidly recovered under the influence of the power in his hands.
The dozens of mountain peaks destroyed by the Dragon Python King’s tail restored themselves one by one. Dust-like stone fragments condensed, reformed into blocks, and the blocks stacked to once again become towering mountains, soaring upon the island.
The green swamps also returned to their original state. Under the influence of these powers, the island, which was on the verge of collapse, was instantly restored. This was a terrifying power capable of altering the rules of heaven and earth.
The combatants simultaneously sensed the shift in elemental energy. When they perceived the changes in their surroundings—the reappearance of mountains that had vanished—they displayed expressions of utter astonishment. Even the Dragon Python King ceased his attack, freezing mid-motion with an awkward look.
At that very moment!
Another wave of sinister power descended from the heavens. This force ripped through the restrictive energy enveloping the island’s periphery, instantly piercing the clouds above the island, revealing a gradually manifesting, bewitching figure: the Sky-Connecting Ghost Mother!
Ji Changkong gasped internally. Seeing the appearance of this ethereal woman left him completely bewildered.
She raised her hand, and in the void, a colossal ghost claw flashed into existence. Its fingers, like titanium hooks, lunged fiercely toward the body of the sky-obscuring Dragon Python King.
With a powerful pull, the Dragon Python King’s body suddenly snapped in two. Blood erupted like a volcanic explosion, thick crimson fluid pouring down like a broken river, vast and overwhelming.
With her empty left hand, she grasped the void, tearing open a massive rift through which countless stars flowed. She extended her arm into the rift, seemingly traversing boundless starry skies, pulling out a Ghost Corpse. As the Ghost Corpse emerged, it let out a fierce shriek toward the sky and suddenly opened its massive maw.
The Ghost Corpse’s mouth, not large initially, expanded with this movement until it resembled a black hole. It continued to grow rapidly. In an instant, the Ghost Corpse’s gaping mouth filled the entire sky above the island, swallowing every drop of blood from the Dragon Python King.
“Sky-Connecting Ghost Mother!” The Dragon Python King cried out in agony, his former arrogance gone, replaced by terrified pleading: “I beg you, spare me! I have no feud with your Purgatory Ghost Clan! I was merely acting under orders, I beg you.”
The Sky-Connecting Ghost Mother remained impassive, paying no heed to the Dragon Python King’s begging. The ghost claw in the void yanked forcefully, dragging the massive body of the Dragon Python King into the heaven-swallowing maw of the Ghost Corpse. Crunch! Crunch!
The Ghost Corpse’s colossal, sky-devouring mouth began to shrink as it chewed forcefully. The sounds of flesh tearing and bones shattering were incessant. As the Ghost Corpse devoured the Dragon Python King, its pale white body radiated a cold, luminous glow, and the sinister, frigid aura surrounding it intensified.
Clearly, while consuming the Dragon Python King, the Ghost Corpse gained immense power. The flesh and blood of a Divine Connection Realm expert, especially a Demon Race member, was extremely beneficial to the Ghost Corpse’s growth. Ji Changkong watched, dumbfounded.
The Dragon Python King, a Divine Connection Realm cultivator who had been so arrogant and feared by all, was easily ripped into two pieces by the Sky-Connecting Ghost Mother and instantly became food for the Ghost Corpse.
The chilling, frigid aura emanating from the Ghost Corpse was more than ten thousand times stronger than it had been in the past. In just a few centuries, this Ghost Corpse had grown to a terrifying degree.
Following the Sky-Connecting Ghost Mother, this Ghost Corpse must have benefited immensely over the years, evolving continuously by consuming the flesh and blood of experts, attaining power even greater than that of a Divine Connection Realm master.
“This Dragon Python was raised by the Nine-Tailed Demon King. If you kill him, aren't you afraid the Nine-Tails will come looking for trouble?” The handsome youth shook his head slightly, frowning with concern. “The Nine-Tails is the most difficult to deal with. She will surely come to the Fire Hell Star to bother me. You can dust off your hands and leave, but I will still have to endure the Nine-Tails’ wrath.”
“Nie Chang, I did not come to the Fire Hell Star to pick a fight with you. The Nine-Tails is coming now. Even if I dislike her, I’ll tell her to come find me in the Purgatory Blood Pool,” the Sky-Connecting Ghost Mother snorted.
“Why exactly have you come to the Fire Hell Star?” The enchanting youth, addressed as Nie Chang, asked with some curiosity.
The Sky-Connecting Ghost Mother looked toward Ji Changkong. With a gentle wave of her hand, a power capable of controlling heaven and earth surged forth. Ji Changkong possessed no power to resist and was instantly brought before her.
The Sky-Connecting Ghost Mother broke into a faint smile and nodded gently. “Little fellow, you have great fortune; you’ve actually reached the Ruyi Realm. Well, it’s time for you to return to your ancestors.”
“Return to my ancestors?” Ji Changkong frowned, then swiftly retorted, “I don’t wish to have anything to do with you people.”
The Sky-Connecting Ghost Mother laughed. “My Divine Race has a meager population, and you are a Divine Son, destined to step into the Chaos Realm. The heavy burden of our Race’s future, whether you wish to shoulder it or not, is yours. Therefore, you must return with me to the Purgatory Blood Pool. I have already prepared the pure blood marrow needed to purify your physical body. You have to go, whether you want to or not.”
As her words fell, the Sky-Connecting Ghost Mother snatched out, and the Chaos Fragmentary Map flew out of the Electric Duke’s hand, drifting lightly into her palm. “Nie Chang, this page of the Chaos Fragmentary Map belongs to him. I am taking it now.” Without waiting for Nie Chang to express an opinion, she grabbed Ji Changkong and departed.