At the very epicenter of the entire Bone-Gnawing Abyss incident. Blood Eagle’s thousands of troops were not dispatched to the battlefield, but remained loyally guarding this vital location for Udis, the Lord of the Abyss. However, as the situation continuously shifted and worsened, Blood Eagle had long realized that this was no time for peace. Defenses were thoroughly established, allowing for not the slightest lapse in vigilance. The enemy's main army certainly could not breach the blockade to reach this place. Yet, various elite squads posed an unavoidable threat. What Blood Eagle had to deal with and guard against were those elite squads that had infiltrated deep behind enemy lines and pinpointed this location.

But he had forgotten that in this world, not all army movements required a grand, ostentatious procession. There were always certain marvelous treasures capable of achieving things that were normally considered impossible.

For instance, there was such a famous treasure within the Abyss, though it was rumored to have been lost for a long time.

Yet, someone had actually obtained it and kept it as their ultimate trump card all along.

"Endless Abyss."

That was the name of the Innate Spirit Treasure. Externally, it was a simple pocket-shaped Innate Spirit Treasure, but within it concealed an ** and survivable extra-dimensional world. With such a portable extra-dimensional world, it was naturally possible to accomplish things that others found difficult.

Similar spatial treasures were, in fact, somewhat known within the Six Domains and Nine Continents. For example, the Purgatory Demon King possessed such an Innate Spirit Treasure, which housed an extra world. It could allow Purgatory Demons, after shrinking their bodies to the extreme, to pack in, at full capacity, five hundred elites. This treasure was called the Soldier-Hiding Cave, and its original form was a ring—an excellent tool for surprise attacks.

Imagine: sending the best trackers to secretly sneak behind enemy lines, then releasing five hundred elite powerhouses for a sudden assault. What devastating power that would hold?

However, the Endless Abyss seemed to carry a greater reputation. It was said that smaller beings, such as those from the Shadow Demon race who could fold themselves into shadows, could be stuffed inside to hide upwards of ten thousand troops. Even larger troop types could fit a thousand, or even several thousand.

The Endless Abyss truly lived up to its reputation as a rare Innate Spirit Treasure, having left its mark on many a war.

This time, the Shadow Demon King had clearly treated it as the ultimate gamble, the treasure to turn the tide. After leaving a contingent on the battlefield to confuse opponents, the Shadow Demon King packed over ten thousand elite Shadow Demons into the pocket-shaped treasure, the Endless Abyss, and then, alone, quietly slipped into the Bone-Gnawing Abyss. He felt a touch of smugness, not just because he had obtained this Endless Abyss long ago, but because the Endless Abyss seemed like a treasure born specifically for his Shadow Demon race.

"Damn it, all of you be careful," Blood Eagle kicked one of his subordinate elites who was squatting near the edge of the Bone-Gnawing Abyss, half-asleep, and cursed, "If I were the enemy, you’d all be dead by now. Stay sharp! The times are turbulent, and the Master is engaged in a fierce battle."

Among the powerhouses with various distinct appearances and origins, the one who was burly, covered in savage muscles—a one-eyed giant—grumbled in a deep voice, "Boss Blood Eagle, what exactly did the Master task us with guarding here? This whole place stinks and is desolate; there isn't so much as a ghost in sight. Who would be bored enough to come cause trouble here? We are elites, elites! How can we be assigned to such a godforsaken place? We should be on the battlefield, slaughtering and robbing those birdmen~"

Blood Eagle, annoyed, delivered a kick and yelled back, "Nonsense! The Master ordered us to guard, so we guard obediently. Mark my words, if anyone dares slack off on duty, I'll make them pay..."

Thump~

In the distance, an elite patrol squad was ambushed by concealed enemies. One by one, they were silently snuck up on, struck with fatal blows, and blood sprayed everywhere. The Nascent Soul-level captain at the head didn't even manage to escape with his Nascent Soul.

"Enemy attack!" Blood Eagle, a Deification-stage expert of the Abyss Demons, felt a sharp anomaly through his divine sense and roared fiercely. Simultaneously, he sensed several shadows attacking him like flashes of lightning.

"It's the Shadow Demon remnants!" Blood Eagle roared back with abnormal speed, pulling a semi-real, semi-illusory mace from his soul. It was his favorite weapon, a mace that had reached the level of a High-Grade Spirit Treasure.

As Blood Eagle swung the mace, the sky filled with overlapping bludgeoning shadows, an illusion of myriad forms.

Bang bang bang, the Shadow Demons who lunged close were all precisely struck by the shadow strikes, exploding with screams. However, his elite subordinates were not so lucky; in the Shadow Demons' first wave of assault, many were either killed outright or severely wounded. Only a few who possessed special methods managed to counter-kill the Shadow Demons.

"Damn it," Blood Eagle sent his divine sense outward; the surroundings were dense with overlapping Shadow Demon remnants, and many of his thousands of elite subordinates were killed while resting or patrolling by the Shadow Demons, who excelled at ambush.

In just this initial raid, his subordinates suffered casualties exceeding half their number. Blood Eagle roared in fury, "Shadow Demon remnants! If you have the guts, fight me head-on! What kind of tactics are you using, hiding behind and assassinating people?"

"Little imp, let this King deal with you." A sinister, low voice seemed to whisper right beside Blood Eagle's ear. A sharp killing intent immediately reached the back of his head, causing his hairs to stand on end and his body to turn ice-cold.

Blood Eagle was indeed worthy of being a Deification-stage powerhouse; his reaction was lightning-fast. He forcefully tore space apart with a single stride, attempting to teleport to a distance, planning whether to fight or flee after arriving there. However, he was slightly naive; he hadn't expected that the one ambushing him was none other than the most renowned powerhouse of the Shadow Demon race, the former Lord of the Abyss, the Shadow Demon King. The Shadow Demon King was also known as the King of Assassins; rumor had it that no one had ever escaped his assassination attempts. Of course, he wouldn't be foolish enough to attempt assassination on a powerhouse protected by heavy guards.

Hiss~ A semi-real, semi-illusory blade tore open a gash on Blood Eagle's back. As blood splattered, another sharp, tiny spike silently pierced through Blood Eagle's protective energy, drilling directly into his back and ripping through his heart.

How tenacious the vitality of a Deification-stage powerhouse was! Even under such an absolutely fatal attack, Blood Eagle still let out a ferocious roar. He spun around and swung his mace down with immense force. A powerful surge unleashed a giant mace, over ten zhang long and seemingly weighing hundreds of tons, crashing down as if to shatter mountains.

Boom, the phantom of the mace struck the ground, carving a trench hundreds of zhang long in the earth.

"Jie jie~ All brute force and no understanding of application. Pitiful and lamentable," the Shadow Demon King’s sinister voice echoed around him like a phantom, originating from an unknown direction. Even Blood Eagle’s divine sense could not locate it.

Hiss hiss~ Eerie, sharp energy originated from everywhere, sweeping over him like a storm of ten thousand blades. Countless wounds were cut and torn across Blood Eagle’s body. This dignified Deification-stage powerhouse was being slowly sliced to death by that strange blade energy, his powerful protective aura and armor offering no more resistance than thin paper, easily cleaved through.

The agony of feeling his body being sliced apart while being unable to locate the enemy was, for the excessively proud Blood Eagle, a torment greater than death itself. Perhaps spurred by the potential awakened by his proximity to death, or perhaps the blood awakened his fighting spirit and the combat desire hidden deep within his lineage that had long lain dormant.

"Boom!"

A violent wave of energy swept outwards in all directions, kicking up sand, stone, and churning the lake water. Finally, the Shadow Demon King, unable to maintain his concealment, revealed his wraith-like form. Ten thousand overlapping shadow strikes bombarded him like the dance of death, layered one upon the other.

At the same time, countless unseen blades thoroughly minced Blood Eagle’s body and soul into dust.

"You damned little creature." Amidst the rubble, the Shadow Demon King sprang up wretchedly, cursing internally. Abyss Demons, when driven mad, were indeed ferocious. He had forgone the chance to escape by separating his soul from his body, instead pouring all his soul power into a desperate counterattack. Even in death, he displayed the mad dog trait of biting back even as he was being destroyed. Although the Shadow Demon King was fully confident he could have restrained Blood Eagle’s escaping soul.

This was a one-sided war, beginning abruptly and ending just as fast. The Shadow Demon race, relying on their potent ambush capabilities and the troop-transporting artifact, the Endless Abyss, easily annihilated the formidable garrison, suffering only a few hundred casualties.

"Jie jie, Udis, you old dog Shengyao. You fight away slowly; by the time you realize it, this King will already be inside the extra-dimensional space," the Shadow Demon King cackled sinisterly. "I'd like to see how you plan to contend with this King, who is like a shadow and moves like the wind, inside an extra-dimensional space. If you dare to enter, I will make your existence a living hell! Jie jie." The Shadow Demon King never intended to deceive them forever; securing a moment's advantage was enough.

The Shadow Demon King was intimately familiar with the incredibly complex environment of the Chaotic Extra-Dimensional Space; it was no place for large armies to enter. As long as the entrance was guarded, for every person who came, that many would be killed. Even if a few managed to slip through, it would be difficult for them to contend against the Shadow Demon race in such a complex and bizarre environment. Unfortunately, he had forgotten one thing: the current Lord of the Abyss, Udis, had possessed the Chaotic Extra-Dimensional Space for much longer than he had. Why did Udis only dare to keep his army guarding outside, instead of building a fortress to defend the entrance inside?

Snap snap snap~ A series of claps sounded. A gentle voice echoed from mid-air, "Shadow Demon King, you certainly have a beautiful dream."

"Who is it?" The Shadow Demon King roared back in absolute terror.