C2144 Spread Out!
Whoosh!
The Book of Time materialized out of nowhere.
Atop the broad expanse of the ancient tome stood Zhong Chichen, Loong Jie, the little spinosaurus, Starpierced, and the Abyssal Leviathan.
The Abyssal Leviathan, now in the guise of a gaunt old man, watched Chen Qinghuang's departing silhouette, his face quivering as if he were gazing upon his archenemy.
Innately attuned to water, the Abyssal Leviathan's true form was that of a colossal green fish—a creature of the life-giving waters.
In the Dark Star, he had been partially enlightened by the Primal Blood with the Secrets of Life, but he had discarded the aspects of the Bloodline Revelation tied to immortality, deeming them trivial.
Yet, this indicated that he had once been graced by the Primal Blood, and his Bloodline Revelation was indeed connected to life.
Forces of life and death are inherently contradictory.
He watched the greenish-gray Divine Bird fade into the distance of the Zagreus and remarked, "She is far more formidable and pure now than she was 100,000 years ago."
Yu Yuan glanced at him with a furrowed brow.
The Abyssal Leviathan recoiled slightly, hastening to clarify, "I lived through that age! Before I was seized by the Dark Phoenix and confined to the Embers Sea, I had observed her from a distance. Back then, her powers of death and destruction were in equilibrium, emanating from her wings."
"But now..."
The Abyssal Leviathan inhaled sharply, his voice quaking as he continued, "Both her wings are now suffused with the death force. Moreover, the Divine Bird's form as a giant beast seems devoid of vitality. She has undergone a tremendous transformation since 100,000 years ago, and she appears even more unpredictable."
As the Dragon Slaying Stage and the Book of Time soared through the sky, everyone cast wary glances at Chen Qinghuang.
"What's our course of action?" inquired Zhong Chichen.
"We'll check out the situation first."
Yu Yuan responded, then suddenly turned his attention to the three dilapidated Voidfarer.
"It's astounding that such decrepit warships have been reactivated by the Moonlit Wanderers and the Stoneborn. Alas, it seems their existence under the shadow of the Sky Fiend in the Zagreus is quite bleak," lamented the Abyssal Leviathan.
Yu Yuan remarked, "Before, these three warships were pristine, radiating a dazzling brilliance, completely unblemished."
The Abyssal Leviathan was taken aback.
"Her death force has spread, affecting everything, not just living creatures. It has even tainted the warships, stones, and inanimate objects," Yu Yuan continued.
Hearing this, the Abyssal Leviathan exclaimed in horror, "She never possessed such power before! The Straikepera was obliterated because of her frenzy a hundred thousand years ago. As you've witnessed, it was only the living that perished. The stars and earth of the Straikepera were merely covered in dust, their energy depleted."
Zhong Chichen added, "The Annihilation Nebula met the same fate."
"She's grown more powerful!" the Abyssal Leviathan shrieked.
At that moment, everyone witnessed an eerie spectacle.
The deceased from the Moonlit Wanderers and the Stoneborn Race were slowly rising to their feet aboard the starship.
Their pupils were a lifeless gray, hollow and void of any spark of life, resembling the ghouls created by the Ghoul King.
Soulless, their bodies moved with mechanical stiffness.
They began to move toward Chen Qinghuang, who was en route to Zagreus.
Subsequently, these soulless husks detached from the Voidfarer and soared through the frigid vacuum of space, pursuing the distant figure of Chen Qinghuang.
It was as though Chen Qinghuang was their sovereign, the one they were bound to obey, the one they would eternally follow.
From within the ship's cabins, more individuals from the Moonlit Wanderers and the Stoneborn emerged, equally devoid of expression and the essence of life, rushing toward the Star River with an air of utter desolation.
Those observing from the Book of Time felt a chill run down their spines.
"Ghouls!"
"These beings have been instantaneously transformed into ghouls!" Zhong Chichen and the Abyssal Leviathan both shouted in alarm.
Having spent many years in the Everlands, they were aware of a nefarious sect skilled in the creation of ghouls.
This fleeting sect, deemed even more malevolent than the Colddeath, was annihilated by the Devil Palace.
The Ghoul King, one of the few survivors, was confined to the Sword Prison on the extraterrestrial plane, and was later selected by the Abyssal Leviathan.
For an extended period, the Ghoul King and Lin Zhuyun served the Abyssal Leviathan, which had dabbled in the art of Animate Dead, gaining a rudimentary understanding of the process.
Animating the dead, as practiced by the Ghoul King, was not an instantaneous feat; it involved numerous intricate steps and procedures. It was impossible for the Ghoul King to transform a fresh corpse into a Ghoul in the blink of an eye.
"I have a bad feeling about this," Zhong Chichen lamented. "The disaster that the Secular Bird Queen is about to unleash could very well eclipse that of a hundred thousand years ago. Back then, she merely led the vibrant Astral Domains towards death and ruin. Once dead, the creatures stayed dead, never to rise again."
"But now..."
The Ghouls, once dead, now pursued the Secular Bird Queen across the cosmos, their essence of deathly stillness mirroring that of the Queen herself.
"The presence of these Ghouls will impact all living beings!" The Abyssal Leviathan declared, its complexion turning a ghastly pale. "The surviving life forms of the Origin Realm, members of various Otherkin, humans, and even the Evil Gods and their kin from the Abyss, might all be tainted by the Ghoul's aura."
"And as a result, they could become Ghouls themselves!"
"It's possible that every living being in the Origin Realm could end up as soulless Ghouls, obedient only to Chen Qinghuang." His final words sent a shiver down everyone's spine.
"The Zagreus Domain is the realm of the Star-Spawned Terror. Within this domain, there are numerous clans that once served the Star-Spawned Terror, as well as former members of the Boulderdawn sect," Yu Yuan mused. Then, gesturing to Zhong Chichen and Loong Jie, he instructed, "You two come with me; the rest will stay at the entrance to the Frostlands."
"Hmm, I seem to be unaffected. My dragon form no longer possesses any vitality in its flesh and blood," Loong Jie boasted with pride.
Having perfected his Ultimate Golden Body, Loong Jie had transformed all but his dragon heart into divine metal. His veins coursed with the essence of the five metallic elements, rendering him resistant to the influence of the Ghouls.
"Caution is the better part of valor."
Zhong Chichen gestured toward the three rust-covered Voidfarers.
Loong Jie uttered a hesitant "uh" and reined in his flamboyance.
"We should head back. We're not equipped to assist a Secular Bird Queen of this caliber." The Abyssal Leviathan knew when to retreat, taking the little spinosaurus and Starpierced with him as he left the Book of Time behind.
"We'll follow and see for ourselves."
Zhong Chichen stowed the Book of Time and joined Loong Jie on the Dragon Slaying Stage. They soared high above the mindless cadavers below.
Moments later.
They followed the trail of the greenish-gray Divine Bird, traveling from Straikepera to Zagreus.
Warship debris was strewn about, and the shattered remnants of a star had formed numerous floating meteors cluttering the void.
The skeletal remains of the Crypt Clan, Fiend Scorpions, Starborn, and Silverscale Tribe littered the area.
They had all fallen victim to the Sky Fiend.
News had reached them of a glacier in the nearby Straikepera, a passage to the safety of the Frostlands, prompting their assembly.
Members of the Crypt Clan, Fiend Scorpions, and Starborn Tribe, with their modest bloodline levels, were not typically targeted by the Sky Fiend, Gods, or Evil Gods.
But fear drove them. They knew that once their bloodlines evolved to a certain threshold, they would be hunted down.
So, they fled.
Following the Moonlit Wanderers and the Stoneborn, they were another wave of refugees who failed to reach the sanctuary of Straikepera before the Sky Fiend obliterated them.
Now.
Their remains exuded a chilling stillness, likely a result of the secular bird's passage, which had infused them with a dense aura of death.
Before long, an eerie spectacle unfolded once more.
The corpses rose sluggishly to their feet, driven by instinct to seek out Chen Qinghuang.
Yu Yuan's gaze followed their search to the heart of Zagreus, where he spotted the massive greenish-gray Divine Bird. Its wings stirred, casting storms imbued with death force that surged towards the luminous stars.
The barriers surrounding the stars struck by the storm proved utterly ineffective, offering no defense whatsoever.
The stars, tainted by the poison of death, were devoid of any peculiar sounds. It seemed as though all living creatures had perished in their sleep, completely unaware of their demise. The silence was profound.
In stark contrast, beyond the reach of the Dead Storm, where the stars remained untouched, ear-piercing screams erupted.
These were the cries and roars of the Sky Fiend!
With the arrival of the Secular Bird Queen, the entire Zagreus Astral Domain was shrouded in death, heralded by the manifestation of the Divine Bird.
