The Desiccated Corpse

The hall was pitch-black. At the entrance, a withered figure stood motionless, having remained there for many years. A cold draft stirred the stagnant air, and the corpse's tangled, straw-like hair drifted up.

The Grand Might Nether King Ruisior turned slowly to face the mysterious shadow at the hall's entrance. The faint flush on his ashen cheeks faded. He stared silently at the uninvited guest, and gradually a spark kindled in his hollow eyes—then two beams of light burst forth like comets streaking across the sky!

The power was absolutely savage! Even its residual ripples made the whole sky tremble! The dazzling radiance, like a comet crashing into the earth, condensed an inconceivable force.

But the blinding light was suddenly extinguished, as if a vast curtain had fallen over it, and in an instant it lost all luster.

The two sharp beams of light, as brilliant as starlight, vanished without a trace as they plunged into the darkness. Throughout it all, the withered figure did not move, showing no reaction.

For a Grand Might Nether King who had already stepped into the Ancestral Lord realm, this signalled extreme danger. His attack—two divine beams—had sunk like stones into the sea, leaving him gravely unsettled.

A deathly stillness fell. The dark silhouette stood like a rotting log, unmoving, like an empty void. Gradually, it seemed to fade, as if it were no longer there—though it still stood, one could no longer sense its presence.

On the surface, all was calm. But the Nether King's body began to tremble slightly, as if bearing the weight of a million divine mountains. His pale face grew even whiter, and a black mist rose from his beautiful features.

His body seemed to lose its center of gravity, swaying faintly. At last, he could hold out no longer. He took a step back. Then another. Slow but forceful—each step carried unimaginable pressure!

One step, two steps, three… The heavenly palace shook as if struck by an earthquake. With each retreat of Ruisior, the palace trembled violently.

"Clatter…" Many russet roof tiles flew up, crashing together with crisp sounds.

Finally, the Grand Might Nether King reached the center of the hall. The black iron armor that had covered the Ancestral Lord's bloodstains suddenly rose and re-clad his body.

What was startling was that when the black iron armor lifted, the pool of blood beneath was exposed—but it was instantly submerged by the black mist surging from the entrance, and did not burst with sky-rending light.

With a clang, the three broken swords on the floor rose into the air. The Grand Might Nether King extended both hands and slowly pushed them forward, then suddenly exerted force. The three swords, stained with Ancestral Lord's blood, shot toward the exit like three bloody rainbows.

"Ting!" "Dang!" "Qiang!"

Three metallic sounds rang out. The withered figure in the darkness merely extended one hand and, in the space between heartbeats, caught all three broken swords between his fingers.

"ROAR…"

The eerie yet beautiful Grand Might Nether King's long body shook violently. His slightly curled black hair whipped wildly, his hollow eyes seeming to blaze with great fire. He raised his head and let out a terrifying soul roar, death energy surging to the heavens!

The three broken swords flared with light as he poured unimaginable destructive force into them. But no matter how violently he shook, the three swords remained motionless, firmly clamped between the shadow's fingers.

"Bang!"

The withered palm gave a slight flick. The Grand Might Nether King was sent flying backward. At the same time, the shadow dropped the three swords to the floor with a clatter, and walked forward without a sound.

The dying Yīngxióng regained consciousness. Seeing this, he said with difficulty: "Good fight! O Ancestral Lord, please obliterate him, body and soul!"

Heaven Beyond Heaven and Man Beyond Man, both on the verge of death, opened their eyes and shuddered when they saw the gaunt figure.

Just then, Xiao Chen spoke: "Senior, we are willing to present the three oracle bone diagrams."

They had already recognized the shadow as the desiccated corpse—his body was nothing but skin and bone, like a living skeleton. There was no doubt that this being had reached the Ancestral Lord level. Knowing he was searching for the bone diagrams, they offered them now. If he was cold-hearted by nature, so be it; but if he had any shred of humanity, given his status, he would likely not ignore their plight.

The Grand Might Nether King's beautiful face clouded with black mist. Some color returned to his pale cheeks as he stepped forward and said, "Everything here is mine. I offer the bone diagram as tribute."

He knew when to yield. Though he had reached a realm where he could look down on kings and dominate the Death Continent, all that was predicated on the Ancestral Lords not appearing. Otherwise… he had to swallow his pride. He would not oppose an irresistible force.

"Grand Might Nether King, you have no shame! What here is yours? We found the bone diagrams!" roared Yīngxióng.

The Nether King ignored him, his death-grey eyes devoid of emotion as he calmly watched the desiccated corpse.

"Everything here is yours?"

A voice cold and sinister, as if from the deepest hell—faint and hoarse, yet it crashed like thunder in everyone's ears.

"It was not, but later it all became mine," answered the Grand Might Nether King, neither servile nor arrogant, clad in his black iron armor.

"Bang!"

No sooner had he spoken than the withered desiccated corpse slapped him flying. Despite the protection of the black iron armor, his chest collapsed, and the Nether King spat out a dense cloud of corpse qi, tumbling more than ten meters.

"You…" He had not expected to be treated thus.

"Everything here is mine!" The desiccated corpse's voice was faint but soul-shaking.

Heaven Beyond Heaven, Man Beyond Man, Yīngxióng, and the others were all astonished. All of it was his? Was this desiccated corpse the departed Ancestral Lord, the original master of this palace?

The three Treant kings shook their heads in denial.

Soon they understood.

"It is all mine. Why should I need you to offer it? If I so desire, even you are mine!" The desiccated corpse's cold voice echoed clearly through the hall.

"You…"

The Grand Might Nether King had roamed the Death World with no equal below the Ancestral Lord realm; he could even do battle with an Ancestral Lord for a time. Never had he been so humiliated. He was usually overbearing, but today he had met someone even more overbearing than himself.

The desiccated corpse walked forward without a sound. Passing the Grand Might Nether King, he did not even glance at him. He came directly to Heaven Beyond Heaven, Man Beyond Man, and Yīngxióng. His withered hand, like a ghost's claw, brushed over their bodies, and the bone diagrams hidden within them flew out into his palm.

The heart of an Ancestral Lord was unfathomable. Yīngxióng and the others chose to remain silent, saying nothing.

The might of an Ancestral Lord was unimaginable. As he stood in this hall, the gray mist that had been suppressed was scattered, the bloodstains on the floor dimmed, and the Grand Might Nether King fell into silence.

The desiccated corpse advanced step by step until he was less than three meters from Ruisior—a dangerous distance. The Grand Might Nether King's pale, beautiful face tightened momentarily, but soon regained composure. "Everything here belongs to the Ancestral Lord."

With that, he took off his black iron armor. "This is the battle vestment of a fallen Ancestral Lord. I now offer it to Your Excellency."

But the desiccated corpse did not even glance at it, letting it fall to the ground.

"Why should you offer it?"

His words made it clear: if he wanted anything, it was his already; he had no need of the Nether King's gifts.

"O Ancestral Lord, what exactly do you want?" The Nether King was furious, but he remained outwardly calm. Faced with someone even more domineering than himself and more powerful, he could only suppress his rage.

"I want a wisp of the primal essence that you have not yet refined within your body."

"Impossible!" The Nether King's face changed drastically. He leaped back a dozen meters, his tone absolutely resolute.

Within his body were three wisps of primal essence that had merged into him when he devoured the remains of an Ancestral Lord. They were crucial to his future chance of becoming an Ancestral Lord himself.

Without another word, the desiccated corpse began to walk toward him, a pitch-black void shrouding everything, blotting out sight.

The Grand Might Nether King blenched and cried out: "Heaven-Desolate Nether Realm!"

The Nether World manifested, and his figure vanished instantly. He did not choose to attack but to flee.

Yet the desiccated corpse's power was unimaginable. One hand casually reached into the void, forcibly grasping the fading Heaven-Desolate Nether Realm. The pitch-black Gate of the Nether World stood open.

The desiccated corpse walked slowly toward it, calm and steady—the bearing of one who looks down on the world, the air of absolute supremacy.

Until now, the Grand Might Nether King had been the heaven, the master—a lofty existence above all kings. But faced with a true Ancestral Lord-level corpse, he fell from his divine pedestal.

"You go too far!" The Grand Might Nether King could no longer endure. He completely lost his composure. Corpse qi surged to the heavens as he stood outside the hall, rolling black smoke shooting into the sky.

At the same time, thirty powerful kings materialized without a sound, all standing around him.

The desiccated corpse seemed not to see them. He walked forward step by step, his dark eye sockets fixed only on Ruisior, ignoring the thirty-plus kings.

"Kill!"

At this point, the Nether King had only that one command. The word 'kill' sent the temperature plummeting to its extreme.

Thirty-plus mighty kings charged simultaneously. A Death Knight, wielding a famous nether spear, rode a horse wreathed in corpse qi—the first to attack.

But the result was shocking. The desiccated corpse did not dodge. He walked straight ahead and, facing the charging Death Knight, simply extended his withered hands.

"Puh!"

A sickening sound. He caught the nether horse and the Death Knight, tore them apart, and tossed the pieces aside.

What kind of strength was this? In a single exchange, he had ripped a king apart!

A fearsome ghost wailed, emitting a death curse. It rushed directly at the desiccated corpse, madly clawing and gnashing.

"Bang!"

The desiccated corpse suddenly turned his head, and his straw-like, tangled yellow hair lashed out like whips, smashing the ghost's skull to pieces.

"Boom!"

A savage demon king descended with a Senluo Hell, a pitch-black space covering the sky and earth.

Without even looking, the desiccated corpse continued forward. When the dark hell enveloped him, he calmly shattered it, as if it were a trivial matter, and passed straight through.

"Bang!"

He kicked the demon to pieces.

Such was the power of a true Ancestral Lord—at this realm, strength was immeasurable!

"ROAR…" The Grand Might Nether King's beautiful face became veined with green lines. He shouted: "All together! Kill him!"

Billowing black fog drowned the area. Thirty-plus mighty kings charged, and the entire heavenly palace shook violently.

"Boom!"

A nearby great hall collapsed. It was a palace that even kings could not breach, yet it shattered like paper under the desiccated corpse. At the same time, a colossal bone dragon and four or five kings were torn apart and cast into the air.

He was invincible, peerless under heaven!

That was the truest portrayal of the desiccated corpse at this moment. Kings before him were no match—the gap between their tiers was not a matter of numbers.

In less than half an hour, the thirty-plus kings had all been torn apart by the desiccated corpse. A gentle breeze stirred as he stood alone in the center of the field. Though his figure was withered and gaunt, the formless pressure he exuded was immense as a continent.

Dozens of palaces had collapsed into rubble.

A dank wind blew. The torn thirty-plus kings slowly reformed their puppet bodies—they had not been utterly annihilated; experts of this level were not so easily destroyed.

At the same time, the shattered palaces also slowly rebuilt themselves, as if they were living things gradually returning to their original state.

The desiccated corpse stepped forward toward the Grand Might Nether King, placing unimaginable pressure on him.

"Heaven-Desolate Nether Realm!"

Ruisior roared. Dark light swallowed heaven and earth, completely drowning the entire heavenly palace, engulfing the desiccated corpse and the thirty-plus kings.

The great battle had begun. Within Ruisior's Heaven-Desolate Nether Realm, he wielded a huge scythe, leading thirty-plus kings in a war against the desiccated corpse.

Black death mountains ten thousand meters high charged into the sky; brilliant stars came crashing down. The thirty-plus kings each displayed their divine powers, dominating the will of heaven and earth, becoming the great cosmos itself.

But the desiccated corpse transcended heaven and earth, looking down from beyond. Where his withered claws passed, the ten-thousand-meter demon mountains crumbled, the thousand-li blood river dried up, the countless stars shattered, and the Heaven-Desolate Nether Realm collapsed…

Nothing could stop him!

"Heaven-Desolate Extremity—Nether Realm Reincarnation!"

The Grand Might Nether King merged his body with the Heaven-Desolate Nether Realm, becoming one with that world, and unleashed a terrifying divine ability.

The entire world seemed to reach its end. When it reached the desolate limit of time, the dark Nether Realm began a new cycle of reincarnation!

The desiccated corpse was drowned by the great world, as if a massive millstone was grinding him down.

Even heaven and earth could reach their desolate end; after the limit came death and reincarnation, and a dark new epoch began…

At that moment, time seemed to stop, then began to flow backward. Everything in the Heaven-Desolate Nether Realm was annihilated.

"Holy shit—could the Grand Might Nether King Ruisior actually have defied heaven and slain an Ancestral Lord?"

An hour had passed, but the desiccated corpse still had not shattered the Nether Realm and emerged.

A deathly silence fell over the heavenly palace.

The desiccated corpse had been besieged by the Grand Might Nether King and his thirty-plus mighty kings, and had gone without returning—never appearing again.