C1991 The Descent of the King

The white boa god's flat head suddenly shriveled up. Its brain and internal organs were rapidly drained of vital energy by a snake tongue as slender as a willow branch. A bizarre snake, emerging from the lake's depths, gnawed at the white boa as well. The once plump body of the white boa hollowed out from the inside, resembling a desiccated corpse. Blood and bones were vanishing swiftly.

In contrast, Green Willow was vibrant, the sinister light shining from his vertical pupil growing more captivating.

With a swoosh, the snake tongue retracted back into his mouth. He licked his lips contentedly, as if savoring a satisfying meal.

After a brief pause, he turned to Yu Yuan and clarified, "I am not like Lord Untamed."

Regardless of the path Ape chose, whether becoming Han Miaoyuan's puppet or a minion of the Wasteland, Green Willow maintained his respectful address. Back in the Marsh, when he was still a ninth-level Monster Lord, Ape had been kind to him. Green Willow cherished those memories.

"I can tell," Yu Yuan responded with a nod and a smile.

"Boulderdawn owes me, Green Willow, nothing. In fact, it was with your assistance that I secured my divine position," Green Willow stated, standing before the Dark Tower, his lean figure obscuring the white boa behind him, now silent in its agony.

"Of course, I eventually had to relinquish that divine seat."

Unperturbed, Green Willow continued, "Yet, I am grateful for the goodwill you and Boulderdawn have shown me. Sanha was right; I, Green Willow, am still young. I'm not afraid of losing my essence and descending to the rank of a ninth-level Monster Lord again."

"Therefore, neither Han Miaoyuan nor the Beast Gods of the Wasteland can use that as leverage against me."

He sighed softly, shaking his head. "The tree desires stillness, but the wind will not cease. I wish to remain uninvolved in the affairs between you, Han Miaoyuan, and the Beast Gods. But Sanha sought me out, determined to drag me into these turbulent waters."

Green Willow's gaze turned icy. "Now, her intrusion has disrupted my tranquil existence. She's also revealed to me the existence of another world of Beast Gods. Through her, I've come to realize that the origins and bloodlines of all the alien beasts in this realm trace back to the Wasteland."

With a puff, Sanha was reduced to nothing but skin, her flesh and bones completely consumed. Her remains were spread across the Onyx Altar within the Dark Tower.

Green Willow retracted the serpentine creatures, resembling sinewy snakes, back into himself and unleashed the formidable power of water against the Dark Tower, which, to his astonishment, remained unyielding.

Sanha, now just a layer of skin, became one with the Onyx Altar.

"Hmm?"

Green Willow, interrupted mid-sentence, spun around in shock to fix his gaze on the Dark Tower.

The tower, seemingly constructed of black iron, defied the crushing force of Green Willow's lake, rising as if called by an unseen force.

Yu Yuan's face grew increasingly grave.

He observed that the other two Dark Towers within the Secret Realm of Time were exhibiting strange behavior, moving closer to one another as if intending to fuse.

Crafted by the hands of the Lord of Ruin, Yuan Le, the Dark Towers, though entrusted to the Beast Gods who could tap into some of their power, were not owned by any of them. The Dark Towers were, from the outset, Yuan Le's instruments, designed to return to his possession when he so desired.

"Could he truly be in this realm?"

Green Willow sensed trouble as the vast lake he stood upon condensed into a single droplet in the blink of an eye.

He opened his mouth and delicately placed the glistening droplet beneath his tongue.

"His name is Yuan Le. He arrived with the inaugural group of Beast Gods and made a brief appearance in the Ashlands," Yu Yuan confirmed, his thoughts transmitting a clear message, "Keep pressuring Yuan Le to reveal himself!"

The quicksand and the mysterious streams of light had all been collected by Zhong Chichen beneath the earth, leaving no more anomalies to speak of.

The two Dark Towers had drawn close to one another, with Rat God Panot and Alex perched atop one of them.

The Starbeast God had been vanquished by the Dragon Slaying Stage, transformed into a cluster of dazzling starlight.

The blood of the tenth-level Kylin was splattered across the pages of the Book of Time, becoming an integral part of its narrative.

Of the fifteen Beast Gods that first invaded the Origin Realm, only Panot and Alex remained; the others had all been slain.

Panot shivered within the Dark Tower, casting frequent, anxious glances at the massive Ape while letting out a series of strange squeaks.

It was calling to the Untamed, pleading for it to cease its battle with Loong Jie and to quickly take refuge in another Dark Tower to make their escape from this place.

The usually proud ice phoenix, Alex, initially wanted to remain a detached observer, in no rush to join the fray.

Later, she didn't dare to engage in combat.

Deprived of her sister's power and left with only her ice power, Alex soberly recognized that she was no match for Zhong Chichen or Loong Jie.

And she was certainly not a contender against Yu Yuan.

"This is quite the spectacle."

Taishi's relaxed voice emanated from the colossal scepter, magnified a hundredfold, resembling a luminous battleship.

He, along with Cardo and Reid, the High Priest of the Sky Fiend, rode the Light Scepter through the gloomy clouds and descended into another part of the Astral Domain.

To their surprise, the Secret Realm of Time had vanished.

On this extraterrestrial battlefield, there was no Beast God blood, no remnants of limbs, only the terrifying energy storms swirling around.

The numerous spatial rifts and the bizarre, collapsing zones, clashing with abnormal energies, all told the tale of the fierce battle that had taken place.

Snap!

The three Dark Towers finally converged as if unlocking a portal.

At the moment of contact, Yu Yuan felt a jolt in his heart, sensing something amiss, but after a careful probe, he detected nothing.

Currently, the golden dragon god was still locked in a fearless battle with the ferocious giant ape of the Great Marsh.

Zhong Chichen, book in hand, recited from it with an air of elegance, his gaze fixed on a particular world within its pages.

"Have we arrived too late or too early?"

High Priest Reid scratched his head, the purple flames in his eye sockets flaring as he extended his dark will to sense the minutiae of the battlefield.

It was then that he caught the scent of the Beast God's demise.

"We're probably late."

Reid chuckled dryly, a touch embarrassed, as he explained to Yu Yuan, "We've sped here as fast as we could."

"Timing is everything."

Yu Yuan paused in front of the trio of Dark Towers suspended side by side, gripping the Dragon Slaying Stage, feeling the three strands of vital energy within. He turned to Cardo with a radiant smile, "Condensing life dew is no small feat, but thankfully, this place has an abundance of Beast Gods."

Cardo's eyes sparkled with anticipation. "Are we almost there?"

"Just a bit more," Yu Yuan replied with a smile.

Cardo's gaze swiftly turned to the Rat God Panot and to Alex, who had grown quiet lately due to his separation from his sister. Panot's thoughts were inscrutable. "But aren't there two more? If I include these two Beast Gods, could I possibly obtain the Life Keychain?"

"That would be perfect," Yu Yuan said with a grin.

Cardo clapped his hands in delight, then pointed at the two surviving Beast Gods. "You two hear that? Don't even think about running. Just let me defeat you so you can help me forge my path to eternal life!"

Alex remained silent, his expression steely.

Panot shrieked at the Ape, urging, "Hurry! Hurry up!"

"Silence."

Lord Untamed uttered a dismissive snort.

His command to "Silence" landed like twin Heaven-Shattering Hammers upon everyone, causing Loong Jie's golden body, which resembled a golden spear, to dent inward at the center.

It appeared as though two massive, unseen weights had crashed down upon him.

Loong Jie plummeted dozens of miles with a thunderous crash.

Zhong Chichen, who was leisurely holding the Book of Time, grunted as a brilliant trail of blood spilled from his mouth, his face registering shock.

Green Willow's influence caused a drop of water to burst beneath his tongue, making the blood flow unceasingly.

His tongue had been pierced through as well.

Yu Yuan, gripping the Dragon Slaying Stage, shook violently before steadying himself. He immediately fixed his gaze on the chest of Lord Untamed and remarked with a hint of awe, "So you've decided to show up?"

A surge of vital energy, clearly not of the Ape's own, traveled across the void through the Life Keychain and into the Ape's heart, infusing him with a divine strength as if he were under the watchful eyes of the gods themselves.

Within Lord Untamed, who was of the same species as Yuan Le, numerous enigmatic bloodline chains within the depths of the Demon Heart were suddenly awakened.

The Holy Mountain, which flickered between clarity and obscurity, burst into a resplendent glow of blood-red light.

Atop the Holy Mountain, the silhouette of a beast, merely gazing upon which could bring tears to one's eyes, slowly came into sharp focus.

At that moment, Yu Yuan suddenly realized why the Ape was so cherished by Yuan Le.

Beyond their shared kinship, Yuan Le could utilize the Ape's formidable demon form to demonstrate the might of the Lord of Ruin!

If Yuan Le's presence was not in his true form, but merely a fragment of his vital energy, then he needed to find an appropriate vessel to manifest his power as the spokesperson for the Primal Blood of the Wasteland, before his real body could arrive.

Who could be a better choice than the Ape of the Everlands?

"Patriarch, Patriarch!"

The Ape was invigorated by the influx of vital energy, feeling a profound sense of ease. The wounds inflicted by Loong Jie's relentless assaults healed in an instant.

Within its Demon Heart, truths of bloodline that had never before surfaced dazzled and danced.

It could also hear Yuan Le's inner voice.

He would borrow the Ape's demon form. Soon, Yuan Le would use this form, along with the Heaven-Shattering Hammer, to ignite the bloodline mysteries with the Ape's Demon Heart.

This would leave imprints for future contemplation and refinement, transforming them into his bloodline's precious treasures.

This was an opportunity of a lifetime!

Why would the Ape have any reservations?

Thus, the Ape, emerging from the Great Marsh, willingly relinquished ownership of its meticulously tempered demon form.

"I have underestimated you."

Upon speaking again, the Ape had transformed into Yuan Le.

"When other Beast Gods die, I can resurrect in the Wasteland, so their loss is of no concern to me. However, my species is a rare talent not found in the Wasteland." Yuan Le's fluffy arms twisted and flexed, acclimating to the physique of his kin.

In his other hand, the Heaven-Shattering Hammer was swung through the air, targeting Loong Jie below.

Loong Jie, who had just burst forth from the Star River, was brutally struck by the authentic might of the Heaven-Shattering Hammer. The bloodline Heavenly Dao that shattered the void within it came crashing down, causing scales and flesh to burst open.

Loong Jie, now a contorted mass of golden flesh and blood, plummeted thousands of miles down, vanishing without a trace.

Loong Jie, now more severely injured than before, with several dragon tendons snapped, was in such agony that he cried out to the heavens, calling to the Rainbow Sage with his heart.

Zhong Chichen's face turned ashen. He exchanged a knowing look with Yu Yuan and then vanished on the spot.

"Lord!"

"My Lord!"

Panot, the Rat God, and Alex couldn't contain their tears as they prostrated themselves before him atop the Dark Tower.

"Thank you for your hard work."

The Lord of Ruin, bearing the visage and form of the Ape, had a steady gaze that made it seem as though all the setbacks and hardships before him were mere trifles. "Aside from the black fox, I hold a drop of lifeblood for each of the other Beast Gods. The Wasteland is not lacking the power needed for their return to Beast God status. You needn't worry."

"It is our failings that necessitated your arrival," Panot quickly interjected.

Yuan Le gestured dismissively, and three Dark Towers converged, floating just behind his neck like three dark stars.

At that moment, Taishi, Cardo, and Reid, along with the Light Scepter and Yu Yuan, joined forces.

When Yuan Le uttered a cold "Silence," the Light Scepter burst forth with a myriad of glittering fragments, deflecting a fearsome blow and ensuring Taishi and the others were safe.

"Lord of Ruin!"

"Yuan Le!"

Cardo and Reid watched with grave expressions, not straying from the Light Scepter as they assessed the Otherworld King who had descended among them, eager to ascertain the extent of his power.

At the remote Abyssal Gate.

The Solar Spirit, Yu Yuan, who sat as immovable as a mountain, suddenly opened his eyes and slowly rose to his feet.

​