Ambush of the Kings

The Demon Ape Clan was a mysterious and powerful race, said in primordial times to share a common ancestor with humanity, though they had ultimately diverged onto a different evolutionary path. Though their numbers dwindled with each passing generation, the clan's battle prowess only grew stronger.

This clan was, like the War Clan, born for war; thus, their ties with the War Clan ran deep, with generations of mutual exchange.

The ancient ruins were thick with spiritual energy. Immortal blooms blossomed in a riot of five-colored light. Divine trees swayed, their leaves jade-green and sparkling. The air was fragrant with grass and wood, and spirit springs and immortal waterfalls cast drifting veils of mist. Rainbows coiled in the air, making this a true Pure Land.

The Demon Ape Clan's stronghold was a region of rolling hills, thick with the fragrance of fruit. Spirit roots were everywhere, laden with golden and crimson immortal fruits that glistened, ready to drop. They shimmered with rosy light, their rich perfume filling the air, as if one had stepped into a divine orchard.

"These ape-spirits are truly a bunch of greedy thunder-thieves! To have claimed such a grove for themselves — they know how to live!" The Zombie King, a full three meters tall, his body covered in crimson scales, gave a sinister, chilling laugh.

"Do not underestimate these apes. Some of the mutated breeds among them are extremely powerful. In ages past, a few demon apes emerged that could be called world-shaking calamities," the Death King said, ever cautious.

Xiao Chen nodded in agreement. These apes could not be underestimated — one had to guard against an earth-defying monster springing forth.

"There must be several hundred apes here. If they all start a ruckus, it will be very bad for us." The Zombie King flashed a savage grin. "We can't barge in directly. We need a plan to lure their ape king out."

The Death King, a figure of pitch-black evil spirit standing in the void, radiating a chilling, baleful aura, said, "I will use the Death Summoning secret art. Let's see if I can draw out his soul. Even if it fails, with the ape's temperament, he will fly into a rage and come out searching for the attacker. That will be our opportunity."

"Good!" Xiao Chen agreed.

The Death King's form grew indistinct, seeming to merge with the void. Ripple-like fluctuations surged toward the hills ahead, blending with the breeze. Even otherworldly kings would have difficulty detecting them if they were not paying attention, and the waves simply curled around any weaker divine sense they encountered. Suddenly, one ripple detected a powerful divine consciousness — definitely at the Dragon-Gate Leap realm.

Judging by this, the Death King concluded it was the Demon Ape King. All the ripples surged forward together, trying to seize the target's soul.

"Roar!" A furious howl tore through metal and split stone, rending heaven and earth, nearly shattering eardrums. A black shadow shot into the sky, sweeping its gaze in all directions, two beams of blazing golden light shooting from its eyes — brilliant, dazzling, oppressive.

It was a demon ape about two meters tall, its body covered in pitch-black bristling fur. Powerful and swift as a gale, it charged at the Death King.

By now, Xiao Chen and the Zombie King were already more than ten li away, waiting in ambush for the Death King to lure the ape.

"You dare harm me with evil arts? I'll pull your sinews! I'll flay your bones! I'll seal you in the underworld forever!" The Ape King blazed with demonic flames, closing in relentlessly on the black mist ahead.

In moments, they had covered twenty or thirty li, far past the ambush point. Xiao Chen and the Zombie King unhurriedly dispatched the dozen-plus Demon Ape Clan elites who had pursued them, then sped off like wind and lightning after the others.

Whoosh.

The Death King stopped fleeing. He stood on an open plain — a clear space, perfect for a pitched battle.

The Demon Ape was almost upon him. It stared at the Death King with a chill so deep it seemed solid. "Why don't you run? Even if you flee to the heavens or burrow into the earth, I'll kill you!" It was clearly a ruthless character.

Moments later, Xiao Chen and the Zombie King arrived, sealing off the Demon Ape King's retreat. They encircled him, each shrouded in mist, their true forms hidden.

"Bald ape, spare me your wild boasts! Today I crack your skull and eat your brain!" The Zombie King laughed with sinister glee.

The Death King also smiled a cold, chilling smile. "This ape's skills are not weak. We'll use him as a whetstone — the three of us can grind ourselves into a fighting unit."

Hearing this, the Demon Ape King felt a deep, searing shame. He was the Ape King! He hated being called an ape, and these three were clearly treating him as a dead man.

"Roar!"

He bellowed in fury, his two-meter frame swelling instantly to nearly ten meters tall. His body was covered in foot-long black fur, making him look utterly savage and terrifying. He truly lived up to his name as a demon ape — wild and violent beyond measure. He tore at the three with his bare hands. Had he caught them, even a Dragon-Gate Leap realm cultivator would have regretted it.

The three clumps of black mist moved like ghosts, leaving trails of afterimages, swift to the extreme — three streaks of black light weaving and shuddering through the air.

"Ape, you're finished!" The Zombie King punched back with savage force, a blood-red ghost claw extending from the black mist, hideous in the extreme. Clearly, he was experienced and ruthless — even as he struck to kill, he deliberately provoked the raging ape.

"Bam!"

Though the Demon Ape was as massive as a mountain and ferocious beyond measure, when he traded a palm strike with this ten-thousand-year-old corpse, he gained not the slightest advantage. In fact, the enormous hand was raked by the Zombie King's hook-like claws, leaving five bloody gashes. A stream of frigid, yin qi raced up his arm.

The four kings battled in a chaotic melee.

"Boom!"

Half an hour later, space on two sides shattered simultaneously. Xiao Chen and the Death King each landed a palm strike.

Xiao Chen's palm tore through the Demon Ape King's left ribs, sending a gush of blood. The Death King's strike was far more vicious, directly ravaging the Ape King's soul.

The Demon Ape King had not reached the Perfected Man realm; he could not withstand the combined assault of three kings of the same level. After a quarter of an hour, he began to accumulate wounds.

"Crush the Nine Heavens!" He roared, unleashing his ultimate divine art. The space around him seemed to be weighed down by ten thousand mountains, cracking the very earth.

Xiao Chen, the Death King, and the Zombie King all felt an unbearable pressure. Space itself was fracturing around them. The Demon Ape King's art was as its name suggested — violent beyond measure, its divine force enough to shake the heavens.

"Time to die! I have no more time to waste with you!" At that moment, the Death King's voice rang out, cold and grim. "Heroic Spirit Space!"

A boundless phantom shadow descended, engulfing the Demon Ape King. The crushing pressure vanished from the world. Evil spirits howled, deathly souls raged — it was a space belonging to the dead.

"Ancient heroes, your descendant offers a sacrifice! Feast and enjoy!" As the Death King's words fell,within that shadowy space, countless soul-shadows came swarming. In an instant, they drowned the Demon Ape King. His agonized roars rang out, as if he were suffering unimaginable torment.

The shadowy Heroic Spirit Space slowly faded, and everything was as if it had never been. The Demon Ape King had vanished from heaven and earth.

"Is that a space connected to your clan's Heroic Spirit Sacred Land?" the Zombie King asked.

"Correct." The Death King offered no further explanation.

Xiao Chen was deeply shocked. He raised his assessment of the Death King's danger level by an entire tier. This was a strongman he would need to guard against carefully.

"Let's go. Time to kill the Scorpion King!" Victory in their first battle — and an easy one at that — gave the Zombie King a surge of confidence.

None of the three were injured. No adjustment was needed; they flew straight for the Scorpion Clan's stronghold.

"Huh. More experts have entered these ancient ruins."

On the way, Xiao Chen and the others spotted several figures in the distance, speeding across the sky. The foremost appeared to be a Five-Colored Peacock King that flashed into the distance. Xiao Chen found it oddly familiar. The two behind seemed to be the Third Princess Yin Ying of Great Shang and the Undying Sect successor Yan Qingcheng. He did not dwell on it, however, and continued on with the two evil kings toward the Scorpion Clan territory.

He had expected the Scorpion Clan's stronghold to be a dark, damp place, but instead, fragrant grass carpeted the ground, flowers bloomed in profusion, fine trees stood lush and green, and spirit vines twined and coiled. The scenery was exceptionally beautiful.

"Same plan: lure the snake out of its hole and kill it outside."

They succeeded smoothly in luring the Scorpion King out. But this otherworld king was far more formidable than the Demon Ape King. She was a beautiful, enchanting woman, yet her combat power was a true headache.

Without any visible movement, she pierced small holes in Xiao Chen's Yellow Diamond arm and leg bones. The blood filaments attached to the wounds immediately turned to ash. Had his fire seed not contracted in time, he would have been gravely wounded.

The Zombie King fared even worse. One of his ears was torn off, and one palm was pierced through, turning black as ink — clearly heavily poisoned, swelling up like a black steamed bun. For a Dragon-Gate Leap realm king to be poisoned so miserably spoke to the venom's ferocity.

As for the Death King, he screamed in agony as the black evil spirit was pierced through three times, front to back, the wounds reaching his very soul.

The Scorpion Queen's power was beyond their expectations. Her attacks were formless, and her venom harmed not only the body but also corroded the soul.

From the very first exchange, all three had suffered heavy losses — it was almost inconceivable.

"Heh heh heh…" The Scorpion Queen laughed coldly. Her long, snow-white hair streamed like a bolt of silk, flickering with an eerie silver light as she sneered.

"Don't let her escape!" the Death King shouted at the Zombie King. He had noticed the Scorpion Queen's gaze flickering — she was looking for an opening, seeming about to flee from the Zombie King's direction. But at that moment, a flash of white light, and she lunged back at him instead.

"Ah…!" The Death King screamed in pain, struck again. Still, he gritted his teeth and forced open the Heroic Spirit Space, driving the Scorpion Queen back. The Death King gnashed his teeth, furious to the extreme. His soul body had been pierced in several more places, the pain unbearable. The Heroic Spirit Space descended, trying to swallow the Scorpion Queen.

But this demonic woman was incredibly sharp. She sensed the danger at once and dodged with ghostly speed.

"Curse of the Dead Fiend!" At that moment, the Zombie King roared beside them.

"Howl of the Nether Soul!" The Death King also bellowed.

These were all death-attribute secret arts, originally held in reserve for the War King, now forced out early.

Death curses blanketed the sky and the earth, enveloping the Scorpion Queen and slowing her movements. Her terrifying attacks gradually became visible to the three: a series of "rays" — the horrifying Scorpion Rays, swept out by her hidden, curved stinger. They were impossible to guard against.

A beautiful, enchanting woman with a scorpion tail hidden behind her back was not amusing in the slightest — it was utterly terrifying. The Scorpion Rays attacked both body and soul, and the venom could annihilate the soul itself.

"Damn it! I can't take this anymore! This woman is too sinister — get rid of her now!" the Zombie King roared. He had already been struck seven or eight times, his whole body swollen. The red scales had turned black as coal.

The Death King was also furious beyond measure. He had not expected to suffer such heavy losses. As for Xiao Chen, he was shaken. Even his Yellow Diamond bone body had been punctured in five places — it spoke to how terrifying the Scorpion stinger truly was.

This was a genuine innate divine art, the Scorpion Clan's inborn, unique heavenly skill.

"Corpse Shocks the World!" the Zombie King thundered. If he held back any longer, he feared he would turn into a giant black steamed bun — or even be killed by the venom.

"Soul Devours the Heavens!" The Death King also shouted. If he did not eliminate this fearsome woman quickly, a single misstep could mean total annihilation of his form and spirit.

At the same time, Xiao Chen vibrated the Weng sound, unleashing a soul attack.

Facing the ultimate killing moves of three kings, even the Scorpion King with her bizarre offensive powers could not withstand them. She was struck and coughed up blood on the spot, one entire leg crushed into pulp.

Gravely wounded, she revealed her true, horrific body — a giant white scorpion, seven or eight meters long. It brandished two massive pincers, sweeping at the three, while the curved, raised silver stinger tore through the void, lashing in all directions, nearly unstoppable.

Venom blanketed the entire region.

"This scorpion is freakishly strong! Don't hold anything back — finish it!" the Death King roared. This operation was an utter failure. All three had suffered injuries of varying severity, and they still had not slain the Scorpion King.

"Scorpion Domain!" The seven- or eight-meter-long giant white scorpion king let out a hair-raising shriek. The sky grew hazy, a strange space trying to seal them within.

If they were truly trapped inside, the three would likely be completely poisoned to death.

"Die!" the Zombie King bellowed, spitting out a black light — the pure corpse-qi essence of a ten-thousand-year-old corpse. It smashed through the seal of the Scorpion Domain in an instant.

"Ocean of the Dead!" The Death King summoned countless soul-shadows, drowning the Scorpion King.

Xiao Chen's attack was the simplest. Before he had regenerated his flesh and blood, many of his former divine arts and combat techniques were difficult to deploy. But even so, his attack power was absolutely terrifying.

"Bam! Bam!"

The Scorpion King took continuous, heavy damage. In the end, even its raised silver stinger was broken off by the three. Scorpion venom splattered everywhere.

Finally, the giant white scorpion was cast into the Heroic Spirit Space by the Death King, offered as a sacrifice to those deathly souls.

"Not worth it! Not worth it at all!"

Three hours had passed since the battle ended, and the Zombie King was still raging. The venom in his body had been expelled, but every inch of him still ached fiercely.

The Death King was also furious. His soul body had been wounded, and though he had repaired it, his vitality had been damaged.

Xiao Chen's Yellow Diamond bone body had several small holes that had already healed, which astonished him. That such a bone body could still be pierced forced him to acknowledge how terrifying certain innate divine arts among the Hundred Races truly were.

"Skeleton King, my vitality has been damaged. I think you should compensate me," the Zombie King grumbled. "I got myself hurt fighting for you. You should make it up to me."

This ungrateful wolf was trying to raise the price. But to Xiao Chen, it did not matter. They were all empty promises anyway — he could set the stakes as high as he wished.

"Your Sacred Bone Altar contains the remains of peerless figures. There must be undecayed bodies among them. I want one sacred corpse as compensation." This was truly an outrageous demand.

The number of bodies sent into the Sacred Bone Altar was extremely rare. They had been obtained at the cost of the entire Skeleton Clan's strength over the ages — all peerless figures of the past. If word got out, the Four Worlds would tremble.

"This matter concerns my clan's fate. I cannot agree. However, I will offer other compensation," Xiao Chen replied. He could make any promise he wanted, but if it was too absurd, the other party would not believe it anyway.

The Zombie King knew Xiao Chen could not possibly agree; it was a fundamental resource of the Skeleton Clan. He had raised such a demand simply to haggle.

"I also need compensation. Your clan's Sacred Bone Altar gathers the undying souls of heroes. I do not want their bone bodies or main souls — only a few sparks of their spirit seeds." The Death King's request sounded reasonable at first, and he gave a logical explanation: "In the past, my clan's war souls Bai Qi and Lü Bu rebelled from the Soul Realm and fled into the World of Immortality, severely depleting my Death Spirit Clan's strength. If possible… I forgo the White Bone King Banner. I only need your clan to provide a few sparks of the heroic spirits' seed-souls. I will risk body and soul to help your clan obtain the White Bone King Banner."

After a round of bargaining, Xiao Chen satisfied a few more of the two evil kings' demands before they agreed to continue their alliance.

Without lengthy rest, Xiao Chen and the others set out again, afraid the War King would catch wind of their plans and prepare.

When they passed the Demon Ape Clan's stronghold, all three kings were greatly startled. The place was in an uproar. A Five-Colored Peacock King soared through the sky, while on the rolling hills below, several hundred ape cultivators surrounded a golden demon ape, apparently trying to reason with it about something.

"What the—? Another Demon Ape King?!" the Zombie King exclaimed in shock.

The Death King also looked grim. "Could there be two Demon Ape Kings here? This one seems far more powerful than the one we killed!"

Xiao Chen, too, was deeply surprised — because he saw familiar faces: the Third Princess Yin Ying of Great Shang, and Yan Qingcheng of the Undying Sect.

Yan Qingcheng's figure was tall and graceful, her beauty enough to topple nations — truly a peerless enchantress. Years had passed, but the young woman of yesteryear was still bright and alluring, a world-class beauty. Beside her followed the little girl who had transformed from the young Winged Dragon, Tina.

Yin Ying was elegant and peerless, state-toppling and city-toppling, dignified and noble, her charm undiminished by the years. Without question, that golden demon ape king was the descendant of a Heavenly God, Gold, whom the Third Princess had tamed in the Southern Wastes.

The Death King seemed deeply startled. "That golden demon ape is quite unusual. It looks like the legendary World-Calamity Demon Monkey, a dead ringer for the Long-Armed Divine Ape said to be able to grasp the sun and moon, shrink a thousand mountains, discern good fortune from calamity, and toy with heaven and earth."

"Strange — those demon apes seem to hold the golden ape in great reverence, but he completely ignores them." The Zombie King found it odd. "Could they not be from the same clan?"

Xiao Chen understood. Gold was probably like the Golden Lion King — no sense of belonging to its original race.

Five-colored divine light illuminated heaven and earth. The Five-Colored Peacock King in the sky seemed to have grown impatient. It swept down five beams of divine light, sending the giant apes flying. Gold broke free from their entanglement and soared into the sky with Yin Ying and the others.

"It seems more and more experts are entering these ancient ruins." The Death King watched the figures disappearing over the horizon. "That Five-Colored Peacock King is very powerful."

Xiao Chen knew well the Five-Colored Peacock King's origins. As a youngling, it had been able to contend with the Golden Lion King — now grown, it was naturally extraordinary.

"Heh. This is getting more and more interesting," the Zombie King laughed coldly. "Let's hurry up and assassinate the War King. This time, hold nothing back."

Dozens of li from the War Clan's stronghold, Xiao Chen and the other two began to set their trap. The War King wielded the never-drying blood-red spear stained with half-ancestor blood, an utterly terrifying weapon. They had to lay their plans with great care.

In this region, they not only set up various taboo formations of the death system but also inscribed numerous curses and secret arts: deathly spirit space traps, deathly realms, blood corpse curses… all manner of vicious schemes, an endless stream of deadly preparations, all aimed at delivering a fatal strike to the War King.