The Dried Corpse in the King Ship

What manner of being, one that transcended sovereigns in life, could leave such a legacy? Its spine had been refined into the Bone Well connecting two worlds, and its skull had become a pitch-black ship like a mountain, drifting atop the terrifying golden sea—a sight that shook heaven and earth.

Angel General Quid flew into the sky above the golden sea and immediately felt a devastating aura. The enormous, coal-black skull drifted slowly on the sea surface, exuding unimaginable menace.

Shua, shua, shua…

Figures flickered as the Five-Colored Angel King and his generals all passed through the ink-jade mirror-like spatial gate, entering another realm of time and space.

"We have left the World of the Dead!"

"Heavens! We have come to a new world!"

"The legends are true—there is a passage to a new world from the Death Continent, and we have found it!"

The Angel generals cheered. A new world always held hope, and this world of light was far more beautiful than the Death Continent.

"That is the Forbidden Sea of the World of Immortality…" Xiao Chen explained to the God Tribe experts.

Li Mu and Zhao Ying composed their astonishment and led more than ten God Tribe experts into the sky above the golden sea alongside Xiao Chen.

"Ya-ya…" Keke was the most excited. The golden sea was no stranger to her.

The sea was like liquid gold, thick and heavy. The occasional waves carried a devastating aura, as if containing unimaginable power.

Now, Dragon Island had long been unsealed and descended into the Mortal World. But the Forbidden Sea had become a ghost sea that day—a thousand-li expanse of golden sea drifted endlessly across the ocean, moving from place to place like a colossal, unsinkable battleship.

The golden Forbidden Sea could not mix with the blue ocean; it remained a unified whole, never dispersing.

Nowadays, the Forbidden Sea was no longer as terrifying as before, killing all creatures that entered. Everyone sensed the devastating power hidden within it, but they suffered no attack.

"Is the sleeping sovereign inside that enormous skull?" The Five-Colored Angel King revealed a grave expression as he gazed at the immense skull, his heart surging with emotion.

Even after death, the skull of a transcendent sovereign likely contained unimaginable essence. If another sovereign had discovered his skeleton and was sleeping within his skull, the harvest would be terrifying.

Elder Li Mu, a man of vast experience, had never looked as heavy-hearted as he did today. Gazing at the mountain-like pitch-black skull, he said, "If it truly transcends sovereigns, it is likely far beyond what we can imagine."

The God Tribe elder Zhao Ying nodded. "We assumed a sovereign had discovered these remains and was sleeping within that enormous skull. But who can guarantee that it is not the soul of that transcendent being, slumbering there?"

Everyone was horrified. This deduction was very plausible. Each person's heart pounded with dread.

The Angel King had established great authority among his thirteen Angel generals. Seeing him in thought, one general stepped forward and said, "Your Majesty, I will probe the way."

The Five-Colored Angel King nodded silently.

Under everyone's gaze, the Angel general flew toward the King Ship and landed on it without incident. Xiao Chen was not surprised by this.

The crowd watched tensely as the general cautiously moved toward the cabin—which meant entering the interior of the giant skull.

Though loyal, the Angel general was extremely nervous and fearful. As he was about to enter the mountain-like skull, his white bone body even trembled.

They watched him slowly sink down. But just as he was about to disappear, a white bone arm flailed wildly outward, struggling. In an instant, he sank completely.

It was like a big fish taking bait—the line suddenly went taut and vanished.

Without any spiritual fluctuation, the Angel general merely waved his arm in panic and then disappeared entirely.

A chill ran through everyone's hearts. Each person felt a cold dread. A powerful Angel general, only a step away from the Fish-Leap realm, had been swallowed without a trace.

The enormous, mountain-like pitch-black skull drifted slowly on the golden sea, pressing down on everyone's spirits.

Xiao Chen had some idea. Back then, Chi You, Laozi, and the Buddha had all ridden this King Ship, but none had entered its interior to investigate. Clearly, they understood something about this vessel and did not want to provoke its inner mystery.

Given their strength, probing the King Ship would surely cost them dearly—not worth the gain.

The Five-Colored Angel King waved his hand again, and two more Angel generals flew onto the King Ship, moving one after the other toward the skull's interior.

"Ah…"

The first general sank without a sound. The one behind him cried out in alarm and plunged in after him, seeming to struggle violently. In the moment he vanished, his bone arm flailed desperately.

Everyone fell silent.

Only little Keke stared wide-eyed, cautiously watching the King Ship.

Xiao Chen suddenly remembered that the little one might know something.

When he had brought Keke and the Little Defiant Dragon away from Dragon Island, they had sailed on this same King Ship. Back then, Keke was much more mischievous, running and playing on the ship. One night, she had tried to explore the interior, only to be badly frightened. Since then, she never dared to fool around on the ship again.

Seeing Xiao Chen look at her, Keke seemed to recall that embarrassing moment and huffed, waving her little paw angrily at the King Ship.

"What did you see back then?" Xiao Chen asked telepathically.

"Ya-ya… I didn't see anything… because… I didn't go in, " the little beast admitted sheepishly. "There was something unclean inside… it scared me…"

This was a rare instance of the usually invincible Keke being humbled.

Seeing Xiao Chen smile at her, Keke huffed and waved her little fist, then flew straight toward the King Ship. This startled Xiao Chen—he was afraid she might do something reckless.

Shua.

As she neared the King Ship, Keke opened her inner world. She had this safeguard, so she wasn't afraid, though she was clearly cautious.

Xiao Chen entered the inner world with her. The God Tribe experts also flew over. Elders Li Mu and Zhao Ying, knowing from Xiao Chen the mystery and power of Paradise Lost, followed without hesitation.

Unexpectedly, the Five-Colored Angel King did not stand by. He also entered, followed by the other Angel generals and the fire-seed creatures from the Eastern Domain.

Keke, carrying Paradise Lost, descended into the pitch-black skull interior.

As soon as they approached, even inside Paradise Lost, everyone felt a bone-chilling cold. A wave of dread washed over their hearts.

This had never happened before. The faint influence on the peace within Paradise Lost made even Keke nervous.

But nothing else occurred. They sank into the interior of the giant skull. Paradise Lost was wide open, allowing them to see everything clearly outside.

The interior of the mountain-like skull was dark and cold. The grim aura could be felt even inside Paradise Lost—clearly this was an extremely ominous place.

Little Keke, unusually tense, pressed against Xiao Chen, her long lashes fluttering as she cautiously watched everything outside.

Everyone had considerable power. Darkness could not blind their spiritual perception. Under the sweep of their clairvoyance, even the dark was bright as day.

This space seemed to be a self-contained void—empty, with nothing at all.

It was hard to imagine what danger the three missing Angel generals had encountered.

"Go out and have a look, " Sha Polang ordered a fire-seed creature from the Eastern Domain. He did not want the Angel King's generals to always serve as cannon fodder.

That fire-seed creature was tough. Having seen many deaths and rebirths in the World of the Dead, he was not overly afraid. He strode out of Paradise Lost and entered the void.

But at that moment, the terrible thing happened. He disintegrated into ash in the void without a sound, as if there were an unimaginable destructive force outside.

Everyone paled in shock.

Xiao Chen's brows knitted tightly. A powerful fire-seed creature, only a step from the Fish-Leap realm, had vanished in an instant. This showed how terrifying the destructive power inside the skull was.

Several Angel generals drew bone swords and sabers, standing at the entrance to Paradise Lost. They thrust their colored-diamond weapons—harder than their own bones—outside.

Again, without a sound, all blades instantly shattered into dust.

No one dared to try further. The interior of the giant skull held unimaginable destructive force.

The Five-Colored Angel King clearly understood the situation but showed no discouragement. "Whether a sovereign sleeps here or the soul of a transcendent sovereign rests, we have no hope of success."

"Let's see what is here, " Xiao Chen said, not choosing to retreat. They were safe inside Paradise Lost for now.

Absolute void. The interior of the skull was empty, vast as if connected to another world. Nothing at all.

"What is that…?"

At that moment, the God Tribe elder Li Mu stared ahead with great gravity. Everyone followed his gaze. Little Keke propelled Paradise Lost forward rapidly.

In the center of the skull's interior void, a dry, cold corpse floated silently. It seemed to have existed there for eons, as if it had been there since time immemorial, merging with the void itself. Without focused attention, one could hardly sense it.

That a dry corpse could appear in the absolute void was hair-raising.

This space held a terrible power, yet the corpse remained completely unharmed!

"Ya-ya…"

Fearless Keke, her earlier tension gone, dashed forward and swept out a seven-colored light, trying to drag the corpse inside.

"Wait!"

Xiao Chen stopped her. The others took the opportunity to study the corpse closely.

It was a desiccated mummy, severely dehydrated. The skin was completely shriveled, clinging to the bones. "Skin and bones" described it perfectly.

Unlike ordinary mummies with dark brown skin, this corpse's papery skin over the bones was a strange, waxen yellow. Its sight made one's scalp tingle. Its long hair had not fallen out, but was a tangled straw-yellow.

"How strange—could his straw-like hair be harder than our bone bodies?" an Angel general muttered, staring at the corpse.

As they drew close, another Angel general stretched out a colored-diamond saber. It turned to ash without surprise, yet the corpse nearby remained unchanged.

At this result, everyone was even more horrified. This corpse was strange, deeply ominous.

"Ya-ya…"

The little beast, regardless, swept out a seven-colored light curtain and pulled the corpse into Paradise Lost. The surrounding fire-seed creatures quickly retreated, startled.

Even Xiao Chen was surprised. The little one was too bold.

As the corpse was pulled in, the temperature inside Paradise Lost plummeted. A sinister aura made everyone's heart palpitate.

"Ya-ya…" Little Keke was very displeased, feeling the corpse disturbed the peace of Paradise Lost.

Xiao Chen, Li Mu, Zhao Ying, and the Five-Colored Angel King gathered around. The other God Tribe experts and fire-seed creatures watched from behind.

The dry, cold corpse lay motionless, like an ice-carved fossil. Yet the grim aura was clearly sensed by everyone.

Only Xiao Chen, who truly understood Paradise Lost, knew how terrifying this corpse was. For it to emit its own aura inside this divine garden and affect this realm was utterly appalling. It was likely that all the baleful energy of the King Ship originated from this corpse.

The corpse's age and race could not be determined, as its flesh was dry and clung tightly to the bones. It was of medium build, eyes closed, with straw-like hair plastered to its skull, making it look cold and savage.

At this moment, an Angel general approached cautiously, raising his bone saber toward the corpse's yellow, matted hair to test if it was truly harder than his bone body.

Something even more terrible happened. When the saber struck the straw-like hair, the purple-diamond blade turned to dust inch by inch, and the destruction spread directly to the Angel general himself. He disintegrated silently into nothing!

This result was too horrifying. Everyone involuntarily retreated far from the dry corpse.

Even little Keke was badly startled. Nervously grabbing a lock of Xiao Chen's hair, she stared wide-eyed at the corpse.

Xiao Chen was deeply shaken. Paradise Lost, which could make even Half-Ancestors lose their smiles and seal all divine powers and laws, was still capable of emitting destructive force from a single corpse. This was terrifying to the extreme!