Read Novel Full Book 8 Chapter 31 - In Your Opinion, What Is He?
Book 8 Chapter 31 - In Your Opinion, What Is He?
As the radiance dissipated, the battlefield where the three Immortal Venerables had clashed lay scorched and barren for a thousand miles. Although Venerable Li and Venerable Ran had deliberately drawn Xue Ling away from the initial skirmish site, the army of Hetian Asura King was still caught in the fallout, suffering heavy casualties.
As the dust and smoke cleared, the figures of Venerable Li and Venerable Ran were nowhere to be seen in the air; only Xue Ling remained, hovering coldly with a look of disdain and a trace of blood at the corner of his mouth.
Yet, Xue Ling did not lower his guard. Sure enough, the very next moment, the earth churned; a massive, battered python burst from the ground, its gaping maw spewing out two disheveled figures.
“Ugh!”
The moment Venerable Li hit the ground, he vomited a mouthful of blood. Blood gushed from wounds all over his body; while the formidable regenerative powers of an Immortal Venerable’s physique worked to mend his injuries, the sinister, chilling energy Xue Ling had left behind was ceaselessly eroding his body.
The halo of light behind his head flickered intermittently. To save his life, Venerable Li had withdrawn the immortal energy that maintained his radiant, divine appearance, focusing entirely on healing—clearly, he no longer had the strength to fight.
Venerable Ran, on the other hand, though bearing numerous wounds, appeared full of vigor and had suffered no critical damage.
The giant python shrank down and coiled around him; with a gentle stroke from Venerable Ran, most of the snake’s wounds healed instantly. It regained its ferocious demeanor, glaring menacingly at Xue Ling.
He evidently still possessed ample strength to continue the battle for a long time.
Xue Ling gazed at the slowly rotating, eerie green halo behind Venerable Ran’s head. He hesitated for a moment before issuing an order to his troops:
“All units, hear this: retreat immediately!”
Upon hearing the command, Xue Ling’s forces—who were currently locked in combat with Hetian’s army—abandoned their enemies without hesitation and fell back. A thick fog rolled in, swallowing their figures and causing them to vanish from sight. The enraged Asuras charged into the mist but found nothing, left only to vent their fury in helpless rage.
Meanwhile, the army of Moko Asura King was closing in on the rear guard of Hetian Asura King. Amidst the swirling dust, Hetian’s troops could clearly see their towering kin—eyes bloodshot and crimson, breathing heavily with excitement as visible white vapor puffed from their nostrils.
Leading the charge was a massive Asura with two faces and eight arms; his bronze-hued muscles bulged like a moving mountain. It was none other than Moko Asura King —Hetian’s old nemesis.
“Hahaha, Hetian!”
Moko Asura King grinned at him.
“I’ve brought my brothers over to have some fun with you!”
“Moko! You treacherous, faithless bastard!”
Hetian Asura King was frantic with rage.
“What about the oath you swore on your honor as an Asura?! Did you just eat your words already? You pig-brained fool!”
“Who says? Of course I remember. I swore I wouldn’t interfere in the war between you and the Ghost Realm.”
Moko Asura King laughed boisterously.
“But it’s a pity—I’m not the one calling the shots for the Moko Asura Kingdom anymore! Hahahahahaha!”
“What did you say?”
Asura King Hetian was momentarily stunned, unable to process the words.
“I said I lost a duel, so now I’m someone else’s underling.”
Moko Asura King’s two mouths split into wide grins, and his four eyes gleamed with a fierce, excited light—there was not a trace of the humiliation of defeat to be seen. He shouted:
“But I’m lucky, you know? If it weren’t for the Boss, we wouldn’t get to join in on such a thrilling fight…”
He accelerated, surging ahead of all the other Asuras; like a juggernaut, he smashed through the defensive lines of Hetian’s army. The other towering Asuras looked like mere dwarves beside him; his eight arms flailed, each hand grabbing an Asura and tearing them to shreds in mid-air. “Skirmishes, ambushes, counter-attacks, encirclement battles, and breakout charges!”
Blood streamed down his skin as Moko laughed aloud, fully embodying the true nature of a demon-god.
“The very meaning of an Asura’s existence is battle!”
“Waaaaaaah!”
His former subordinates responded to Moko’s words with frenzied roars; without pausing for a moment, they slammed with all their might into the rear guard of the Hetian’s forces, instantly plunging into a chaotic melee.
Blood stained the earth red, yet the Asuras felt no fear; instead, they grew increasingly exhilarated as they tore into their own kin.
At the rear of the battlefield, two figures slowly strolled forward. One appeared to be a woman—short even by human standards—clad in the form-fitting purple battle armor characteristic of the Asura race. The other wore male Asura armor; he was tall, with a mane of long white hair cascading down his back and a bronze demon mask covering his face.
“What a bunch of extraordinary madmen.”
The petite woman remarked with admiration.
“Mad as they are, if one were to teach them how to harness their instincts, they would become the finest warriors in the world.”
The tall man in the demon mask laughed.
“Even the drill-obsessed fanatics of the Divine Army would pale in comparison to them when it comes to sheer fighting spirit.”
This masked man and the petite woman were, of course, the couple Bai Qiuran and Jiang Lan.
“Who are you?”
Upon seeing the tall, masked man and the short woman, Venerable Li and Venerable Ran demanded:
“Are you new Asura Kings?”
“So, you two are the Venerables of the Ghost Realm?”
The masked man asked, cupping his hands in a polite salute.
“And what if we are?”
After Xue Ling had retreated, Venerable Li had regained some of his strength; he straightened his posture, and a black halo of light once again manifested behind his head. “I have heard that the two of you have been colluding in secret with the entities sealed within the Asura Realm, plotting rebellion.”
The masked man spoke calmly:
“Venerable Immortals, I hardly need to spell it out for you; you surely know what lies within that seal, and you know exactly what it means to conspire with them.”
“Ha! What a joke.”
Venerable Li sneered:
“What? Do you, a mere Asura, intend to lecture us?”
“We are well aware of the entities within the seal and the consequences of such actions.”
Venerable Ran also shook his head and said calmly:
“This is no concern of yours. We have our own plans regarding the denizens of the Asura Path.”
“It seems to me that while the two of you are working together, your hearts are not truly aligned.”
Bai Qiuran shook his head:
“I suspect you each have your own agenda.”
“What does it matter? The affairs of Venerable Immortals are not for an Asura like you to meddle in.”
Venerable Li replied haughtily:
“Don’t think you’re all that special just because you defeated Moko and became an Asura King. In our eyes, Moko was nothing more than an ant. There is always someone stronger, a sky beyond the sky; who do you think you are, spouting nonsense before Venerable Immortals?!”
“Then Venerable Li, in your opinion, what is he?”
A hoary voice suddenly asked calmly from the void.
Venerable Li and Venerable Ran were startled.
High above, spatial rifts opened and closed; countless Soul Takers stood on the other side, exuding a formidable aura.
Venerable Lie—another of the Ghost Realm’s Three Venerables—and the King of Yama (whose strength had reached the Reincarnation Realm) were among the ranks, accompanied by Xue Ling and his subordinates.
Yet, none of them stood at the very front. Leading the formation were three figures standing side by side: a middle-aged man with black hair, a beautiful woman in a crimson gown, and an old man with a white beard and hair.
The old man looked down at Venerable Li and asked once more:
“Venerable Li, in your opinion, what is he?”