The Death Ancient Tree whipped its branches, flinging countless dried corpses toward the Bone Demon. They surged like a dense swarm of locusts—the sight alone made your scalp crawl!
“Demonic Vajra!” A murderous glint flashed in the Bone Demon’s eyes. Black thunderclouds gathered overhead, and the lightning within them coalesced into a vajra wrapped in crackling bolts. With a deafening rumble, it hurtled toward the Death Ancient Tree.
RUMBLE!!
The Demonic Vajra was unstoppable. The countless dried corpses were like cotton tossed into a fire, instantly erased by the black lightning. The Death Ancient Tree couldn’t withstand it either: from its branches to its trunk, it cracked apart inch by inch.
But the battle wasn’t over. It had only just begun—and the Death Ancient Tree couldn’t possibly be that fragile.
“Boom, boom, boom—!”
The entire island trembled. The Death Ancient Tree had already assimilated more than half of the island into its own body. The tree on the surface was only a tiny part of the whole.
Countless enormous roots and vines burst from underground, like the tentacles of some creature. Each vine was made up of mouths formed from ghastly white bones. As they opened and shut, they unleashed terrifying demonic cries. Demons with weak wills were stunned on the spot; those even less fortunate had their souls devoured outright, leaving them as walking corpses!
“How dare a puny tree demon act so brazenly!” The Bone Demon sneered. The black lightning around its body grew violent, and a gigantic phantom began to appear behind it, gradually taking on solid form.
“Demon Descends Upon the World!”
The phantom behind the Bone Demon solidified, its enormous body looming over the Sea of the Abyss. It looked down at the island as if it were a tiny potted plant, then reached out and seized the thundercloud gathered above the Bone Demon, shaping it into a black vajra. With terrifying force, it brought the weapon down toward the island’s center.
“Aaaahhh—!”
A piercing scream rang out from beneath the island. The whole island shuddered under the blow as enormous cracks spread across it, letting the waters of the Sea of the Abyss rush in. It looked as if the island had been shattered into several pieces in an instant.
The blow was undeniably powerful—it had even wounded the Death Ancient Tree. But it still wasn’t enough. The Bone Demon waved its hand and hurled a bead into the depths of the island. An even louder boom followed, and the island split completely apart. In the chaos, countless dark red gems seemed to scatter in every direction. Each one contained an immense vitality!
Though the Death Ancient Tree was rooted in death, the principle of extremes turning into their opposite still applied. The core it formed was a rare treasure—especially for ancient beings who cultivated secondary paths. To them, it was practically a lifesaver.
The Bone Demon swept up dozens of gems with a wave of its hand. Feeling the power within them, it smiled and put them all away. Of course, it wasn’t about to let the remaining life gems scattered across the island go, either!
“Has trouble come looking for me?” Bexia watched the life gems fall in his direction, then spotted the Bone Demon coming after them. And it wasn’t here to ask for anything—it was coming to take them by force.
“Get lost!” Lucifer frowned and barked the command. The Bone Demon was sent flying backward.
“What kind of demon are you?” the Bone Demon demanded, glaring at Lucifer, who had just shouted it down. A gigantic phantom rose behind it, ready to fight at any moment.
“Leave, or stay here forever,” Lucifer said coldly. Dealing with this Bone Demon wouldn’t take much effort, but it would definitely draw the attention of other demons. For Bexia’s sake, Lucifer had no intention of fighting.
“What arrogance!” the Bone Demon roared. The phantom behind it raised a hand, and the vajra came crashing down amid black lightning. But then something completely unexpected happened!
RUMBLE—!
Even the surface of the entire Sea of the Abyss seemed to tremble. The water began to rise, climbing ten thousand meters in the blink of an eye. Then a gigantic head emerged from the sea. Its mountain-sized eyes cracked open ever so slightly. Even that absentminded glance made every demon it fell upon feel the danger of staring death in the face.
“Th-this is the Death Sovereign!” The Bone Demon trembled like a sieve. The Death Sovereign was the champion of the Sea of the Abyss, the ruler of these waters. It was said that looking upon it was like looking directly at death.
But that was only what the outside world said. Very few demons truly knew the Death Sovereign’s origins—and as it happened, two of them were right here.
“That’s Hela?!” Lucifer looked stunned. He’d known Hela was huge, but compared to the last time he’d seen her, she seemed to have grown dozens of times larger. Her aura was much stronger, too.
“Of course it’s Hela. But she doesn’t look fully awake. I guess she sensed my aura and sleepwalked over here on instinct!” Bexia smiled as he looked at Hela’s eyelid, barely open by a crack.
“Sleepwalking…” Lucifer murmured, his expression strange.
As for the Bone Demon, who’d been so aggressive moments earlier, it had already fled as soon as Hela appeared. Her fearsome reputation was known throughout the Abyss. Even the highest-ranking Demon Lords couldn’t do anything about her.
