C1670 Little God of Plagues
The female member of the Silverscale Tribe towered over the two ninth-level males. Her lithe, imposing figure emanated a chilling aura that unsettled the soul.
Her presence was icy, her essence tinged with the potent scent of blood, as though she had long been waging war in a desolate, frigid land.
The youthful God-King Taixu observed her with a slight furrow in his brow, taken aback by the sight.
He recognized the two ninth-level Silverscale males.
Like the Starborn and the Shadowkin, the Silverscale Tribe had chosen to form an alliance with Boulderdawn. The two ninth-level warriors from the Abyssal Greater Basilisk were among the most influential and formidable in the Silverscale Tribe, having been received by Taishi in the extraterrestrial realm.
Yet, according to the intelligence gathered by Taixu and Taishi, the Silverscale Tribe supposedly lacked any tenth-level warriors.
The records of the Boulderdawn, the Merchant Guild, and the Sky Fiend Tribe bore no mention of the female Silverscale member.
She seemed to have materialized from nowhere.
"Abyssal Greater Basilisk, at the frontier of the cosmos, it is said that the Silverscale Tribe shares a bloodline connection with the creature."
Taixu pondered briefly before realizing that the female warrior must have been nurtured by the Abyssal Greater Basilisk and had been adrift with it in the extraterrestrial void.
This woman was a closely guarded secret of the Silverscale Tribe. Recognizing her extraordinary talent, they entrusted her to the care of the massive lizard.
Their creator, their forebear, had meticulously cultivated her at the edge of the cosmos.
When the moment was dire, when her people needed her, she would be summoned back.
Like now.
"The world and Bertain have cornered me into making this decision. Our experiences are similar; you should understand my position, right?" the Abyssal Greater Basilisk, now in the guise of a Silverscale elder, spoke with fervor, laying bare his innermost thoughts and looking expectantly at the Abyssal Leviathan.
After a profound silence, the Abyssal Leviathan exhaled deeply and nodded.
He truly empathized with his old friend.
The Abyssal Greater Basilisk faced Bertain, a force to be reckoned with in this world. Unless Bertain relented, he was doomed to wander the cosmic periphery, never daring to return.
Upon his return, if Bertain set his sights on him, he would be captured and enslaved as a mount.
He would be coerced into accompanying Bertain on expeditions into the Abyss, unable to resist whether he wished to or not.
For Bertain was invincible!
In this world, there was no one who could aid him, no hope of overcoming Bertain.
Was he doomed to eternally drift along the fringes, devoid of cosmic energy?
How many years could he evade capture?
A hundred, a thousand, tens of thousands, perhaps even a hundred thousand?
The frustration and melancholy suppressed within him would inevitably erupt, leading him to make a radical new choice in a fury of resentment.
If you insist on driving me to the Abyss, then I shall embrace my descent!
The reappearance of the Origin Deity, creating Origin Gates across this realm, may have been a glimmer of hope for the Abyssal Greater Basilisk—a chance to alter its destiny!
And so, they were seamlessly united.
The Abyssal Leviathan, who had prepared many arguments to convince the Abyssal Greater Basilisk, found himself speechless upon understanding his old friend's plight.
"Leviathan, I have no desire to battle you. Would you simply stand by and observe?" implored the Abyssal Greater Basilisk.
"Are the Origin Deity and Chaos Serpent trying to confront the secular bird?" inquired the Abyssal Leviathan abruptly.
"It's not confrontation; it's more about persuasion," the Abyssal Greater Basilisk clarified thoughtfully. "The secular bird's psychic force is uncontrolled, spreading death and destruction. The Dark Phoenix is the instigator. Yet, wasn't it Bertain who orchestrated the secular bird's downfall in the Annihilation Nebula, with the former peak warriors of various races as the executors?"
"Since her demise was the work of the Dark Phoenix and Bertain, she has no reason to remain attached to this world."
"The arrival of the Origin Deity and the fracturing of the Abyssal Gate could potentially return this world to its previous state, making it a haven for us, the giant beasts, once more!"
"Without the supreme Titan Spinosaurus, she might ascend to become the new apex of the giant beasts. She will consider this possibility carefully."
"…"
The Abyssal Greater Basilisk spoke.
"It's confirmed."
The Abyssal Leviathan uttered these words with a grave expression and a strained tone.
"What's confirmed?" The Abyssal Greater Basilisk was taken aback.
"The offspring of the old Spinosaurus, a young beast with his complete lineage, has recently been sighted in the Ashlands." The Abyssal Leviathan didn't keep him in the dark and explained, "The Titan you slew disturbed one of its young, causing it to emerge. Now, that young beast is in the Ashlands, growing stronger through predation."
Upon hearing this, the Abyssal Greater Basilisk, in the guise of an elder from the Silverscale Tribe, was visibly shocked.
Benin, now the Voidweaver, held the ancient tome with her pale, delicate hands, which trembled at the news.
First, her hands shook, followed by her slender frame.
Whoosh!
Streams of slender, rainbow-hued light infused with her psychic force flowed into the ancient book she held, conveying the startling revelation from the Abyssal Leviathan to the Origin Deity.
She informed the Origin Deity that, in addition to the Secular Bird Queen, a young Titan Spinosaurus now resided in the Ashlands!
"How? How could it have hatched? I was aware of the lost dragon egg, but the conditions for incubation are exceedingly stringent. Moreover, what kind of lunatic would attempt to hatch his dragon egg?" The voice of the Abyssal Greater Basilisk was laced with dread.
"The very same youth you flung into the deep cavern with a flick of your tail," responded the Abyssal Leviathan.
"Boulderdawn!"
The Abyssal Greater Basilisk's brown eyes suddenly blazed with a savage light as it fixed its gaze anew on Taixu.
Whoosh!
Without manifesting its full beastly form, it appeared abruptly near Taixu, the God-King. The overpowering vital energy emanating from its presence brought with it a pungent odor, sealing off the space for a hundred miles around Taixu.
With a sweep of his sleeve, numerous miniature Maw of Oblivion materialized around Taixu.
The Soul Power and vital energy from Taixu's acupoints, brain, heart, and other areas were suddenly wrenched and twisted, seemingly drawn toward the various Maw of Oblivion.
Observing the Abyssal Greater Basilisk's posture, it seemed poised to use those holes to tear Taixu apart.
Whoosh!
A vibrant, multicolored expanse of land materialized where Taixu stood.
"The shell of the Mirage of the Mind! She was meant to be convinced by the Origin Deity, just like us. What a shame that she was slain by your collective efforts," the Abyssal Greater Basilisk huffed. In his human form, he struck the colorful land with a hand adorned in silver scales.
A thousand-acre expanse of the colorful shell, dotted with countless twinkling stars, was shattered by his single blow.
Crack!
The sturdy shell of the giant beast now displayed numerous fissures, as if a piece of land had burst open.
As a cosmic giant beast, the Abyssal Greater Basilisk was a venerable elder, while the Mirage of the Mind was merely a newcomer from the Ashlands. Her posthumous shell clearly couldn't withstand the explosive force of the Abyssal Greater Basilisk.
The shattering of the first shell had already confirmed this.
Taixu was well aware of this fact.
Thus, when the Abyssal Greater Basilisk shattered the shell's star power with a swipe of his hand, Taixu seized the moment to flee, vanishing from the vicinity of the miniature "Maw of Oblivion."
Upon reemerging, he found himself on the Dragon Slaying Stage left behind by Yu Yuan.
He gazed down at the Hex Stone beneath his feet, once a part of the Voidweaver and now transformed into the universe's mightiest artifact by the repeated rituals of the Taiyin God-King.
He understood that Yu Yuan had a profound purpose for leaving the Dragon Slaying Stage in this place.
He was acutely aware of the enigmatic nature of the Dragon Slaying Stage.
In the desolate Mysterious Realm, Yu Yuan and Demon Lord Tan Xiaotian engaged in sporadic conversation, with Yu Yuan briefing Tan Xiaotian on the complex external affairs.
"Can you see it?"
Out of the blue, Tan Xiaotian posed the question.
Because what Yu Yuan had just described to him was unfolding in real-time.
It was the dialogue between the Abyssal Greater Basilisk and the Abyssal Leviathan.
Overwhelmed by fear and a sense of powerlessness against Bertain, the Abyssal Greater Basilisk, after millions of years in hiding, finally let its pent-up emotions erupt, recklessly seeking solace in the arms of the Origin Deity.
Tan Xiaotian was astounded. He found himself in the Mysterious Realm, yet he couldn't detect any point of reference; he had no clue where the exit might be.
Yet Yu Yuan seemed to maintain a constant connection with the outside world, as if it had never been severed.
It was as though the outside world had left an eye with Yu Yuan, allowing him to keep watch over that peculiar star, to monitor the shifts in the battle, to perceive the most subtle details.
This explained why Yu Yuan appeared even more composed than he was, devoid of worry or anxiety.
To Tan Xiaotian, it seemed that if Yu Yuan wished to leave, he could do so in the blink of an eye.
"Little God of Plagues, you've got something up your sleeve."
