The Armageddon Spear's Cache

The yellow sea surged in vast, nauseating waves—grand, perhaps, but far from beautiful. The stench of decay was overwhelming, and the sickly color of the water sent a chill through the soul.

A sea formed from the fluids of countless corpses—how could such a thing exist? The imagination balked at the scale of the horror.

Across the heaving surface of that corpse sea, divine light erupted from time to time from a massive island. The half-ancestors had all taken flight, racing toward the depths of the sea. Their sole objective: to seize the Eternal Light.

Xiao Chen was a latecomer. Most of the half-ancestors had already rushed ahead, but he did not dare act rashly. The place of greatest temptation was also the place of greatest danger. He remained on guard, ever watchful for a sudden attack from that 'Lord.'

Another piercing sound came from behind him. Two more half-ancestors he did not recognize arrived. They observed the coast for a moment before succumbing to temptation and flying toward the source of the supposed Eternal Light.

Suddenly, Xiao Chen spotted a familiar figure: Babula, the otherworld Ancestral God, emerged from the corpse sea. He seemed to have just dived deep into the foul yellow water.

'Babula… what is he searching for at the bottom?' Xiao Chen concealed his presence and observed from the shoreline.

Babula appeared to be searching for something. As soon as he surfaced, he swept the area with powerful divine sense, then submerged again.

'What is that fellow looking for?'

Seeing that this powerful otherworld Ancestral God had not gone to the island in the depths, Xiao Chen grew even more cautious and held back.

Xiao Chen watched for a long time. Babula was moving farther out, searching deeper into the corpse sea. Finally, gritting his teeth, Xiao Chen also submerged into the sea, using divine power to block the foul water from corroding his body.

Soon, he understood why Babula had to surface at intervals. The corpse sea contained a fierce baleful energy with a powerful corrosive force that could slowly eat away even a half-ancestor's divine power.

No wonder that rat-shaped monster in the past had chained himself in the river of corpses to temper his body—the corpse water was indeed extraordinary.

'If this entire sea was created by a single being… that would be too terrifying.' Xiao Chen muttered to himself.

Soon, he made a discovery on the seabed. There were countless fragments of tile and broken walls—dozens of ruins already found.

'In the distant past, this must have been a place of great significance. What is Babula searching for so carefully? Could it be the Armageddon War Spear?'

At the thought, Xiao Chen's heart stirred. He recalled that Babula had been killed by the Martial Ancestor downstream of the Corpse River. Perhaps his Armageddon War Spear and the Undying Heaven Shield were somewhere in this area.

If that were true, it would be a major event.

No one knew better than him how terrifying the Armageddon War Spear and Undying Heaven Shield were. Only those who had experienced that great battle could understand. When Babula had summoned only an incomplete weapon spirit, he had already been that formidable. If the true bodies of those two Ancestral God artifacts appeared, their power would be unimaginable.

Xiao Chen secretly followed Babula, searching through the corpse sea. In the process, he fished up several broken divine weapons. To his surprise, one was a sacred treasure refined by a half-ancestor—but it had been badly corroded by the corpse water.

Splash!

He surfaced again. This time, he saw Babula shoot into the air and fly toward the giant island in the depths of the sea, as if he had lost patience and was heading straight for the core area.

If anyone knew this place, it was Babula. No one understood its secrets better than him.

Xiao Chen decided to follow his lead. This ancient otherworld relic would not seek his own death. Staying behind him was safer than following any other half-ancestor.

The giant island looked close, but flying there took an eternity. It seemed forever on the horizon, with divine light erupting from time to time.

'Could it really be the Eternal Light?' Xiao Chen grew uncertain.

At his speed, it took a full quarter of an hour to approach the massive island.

A desolate, primeval aura rushed over him. This giant island felt like an ancient battlefield, saturated with the breath of slaughter. There was no vegetation; the divine light originated from the island's center.

As he set foot on the island, white bones were everywhere. In the Soul World, seeing bones was nothing special, but finding so many skeletons on an island in a corpse sea was unusual—this was a place of extreme evil.

Xiao Chen could not help but admire Babula. With eight bone spears moving like spider legs, the creature's speed was incredible. In the blink of an eye, he had circled the entire outer perimeter, searching every corner before unhurriedly sneaking inward.

Boom!

Violent energy fluctuations erupted ahead. The half-ancestors had begun to fight.

Dark clouds roiled. Xiao Chen could vaguely see the Skeleton King and the Yaksha Half-Ancestor unleashing their divine powers, fighting together against an enemy.

They were not far from the island's center now. It was easy to see beams of divine light shooting into the sky, very much like the Eternal Light. Unable to contain their excitement, everyone had started battling over it.

The half-ancestor war was exceptionally fierce, stirring up monstrous waves on the surrounding corpse sea. Deadly energy ravaged all directions.

'You mother—!' The Skeleton King, who had been in the thick of battle, suddenly spotted Babula sneaking closer under cover, and he dropped all kingly decorum to curse loudly.

Not long ago, Babula had ambushed him, tearing off his left lower leg bone, leaving him lame. For a mighty king, this was an unimaginable disgrace.

In that instant, the Skeleton King leaped out of the melee and charged at Babula with bloodshot eyes. 'Stop right there, you villain! Return my leg bone!' As he shouted, black lines emerged on his forehead—he saw that his leg bone had already been attached to Babula's own leg.

Babula stepped forward grandly, calm and composed. 'Weak skeleton, do not seek death. I have no desire to kill you now.'

If the Skeleton King had lungs, they would have burst with rage. This vile thief had just stolen his leg bone and now acted as if he were the aggrieved party.

'You eight-legged freak! Though we are both fire-seed creatures, I will not let you off today!' The Skeleton King ground his teeth and immediately unleashed a great divine power: a White Bone Hell descended, enveloping Babula, trying to refine him.

But Babula soon produced a fierce war spear, which pierced heaven and earth in a single thrust, flying straight out of the White Bone Hell.

Seeing that the nearby half-ancestors were all locked in battle, his expression grew very dark. He shouted at everyone, not just the Skeleton King, 'If you do not wish to die, stop at once!'

All the half-ancestors halted, including the Skeleton King, who stared at him in shock.

'You with eight spider legs and a scorpion tail—do you really think you weigh more than the rest of us?'

'Indeed, you have a tail. But that's no reason to stick it up so arrogantly.'

Two of the half-ancestors could not resist mocking him.

'Enough talk! Let's seal him first, so he doesn't get in the way,' called out the Skeleton King. He wished for this monster to become everyone's enemy.

'Qugalema!' Babula was furious. He had once been an otherworld Ancestral God—no one had ever dared order him around. But soon he regained his composure and declared, 'I am doing this for your own good. Can you not sense it? A dreadful aura is sweeping through this corpse sea, a power that can intimidate even half-ancestors. You all know what that means.'

'Are you saying there is an Ancestral God here?' someone asked in alarm.

The half-ancestors all changed color. They had felt the strange fluctuations when first entering the corpse sea, and they were deeply afraid. But for the Eternal Light, they had risked coming here.

Babula's hollow eyes emitted a ghostly light. 'The being sleeping in the corpse sea—I need not say more. You can guess that it could easily destroy everyone present. If you do not want to die, do not awaken the slumbering one.'

To annihilate all the half-ancestors present—that could only be an Ancestral God. Only that level of expert could do it. Thinking of this evil place and the vast corpse sea, more than a dozen of them felt a chill.

'How do you know this?' the Skeleton King pressed.

'I have no need to tell you.' Babula looked up at the place where divine light surged ahead, not sparing the Skeleton King another glance. His bones radiated a natural contempt. Even after his fall, the lofty mentality of a former otherworld Ancestral God remained unchanged.

The Skeleton King roared in anger, 'You villain! Return my leg bone!'

'Do you want everyone to be buried with you?' Babula said calmly, 'If you force me to fight, I will certainly awaken the sleeper in the corpse sea. Then you will be guilty of murdering everyone here.'

The dozen half-ancestors all changed expression. Even the Asura Half-Ancestor and Yaksha Half-Ancestor sent mental transmissions to the old skeleton, telling him to endure for now.

'You… fine! Once we leave this corpse sea, I will make your life worse than death!' The Skeleton King spat out a vicious threat and moved aside.

All dozen half-ancestors were extraordinary figures. They knew well how powerful an Ancestral God was, and none dared act rashly.

Together, they flew toward the center of the giant island, temporarily setting aside their conflict.

Xiao Chen followed far behind. He had no idea why, but after arriving here, he sensed a strong feeling of danger. It was not something his divine consciousness had picked up—purely an instinct.

The center of the giant island came into view. The half-ancestors arrived in a flash.

It was a stretch of ruins, yet beams of divine light shot up from time to time, dazzling and brilliant, radiating a sacred and gentle glow.

The divine power surged and rolled, making its presence felt by all. It could purify a cultivator's soul; even half-ancestors felt an extraordinary comfort.

At that moment, more than a dozen hearts could not be still. If this was indeed the Eternal Light, it was the supreme treasure that could elevate a half-ancestor to an Ancestral God. No one could remain unmoved.

Even Xiao Chen felt a trace of tension, his gaze fixed on the ruins.

Just then, Babula suddenly grew excited and rushed forward faster than anyone else. Before Xiao Chen could react, the Skeleton King and the others shot forward together, blocking his path.

'Trying to get there first? You'll have to get past us,' the Skeleton King said with a cold smile.

The otherworld Ancestral God Babula's eyes turned icy cold, but he did not attack. He said gravely to everyone, 'You all think this is the Eternal Light you seek. But it seems not.'

'If it isn't, why are you so anxious? Then be on your way,' the Skeleton King retorted bluntly.

'My divine weapon is buried here. That is why I came, not for your Eternal Light,' Babula said heavily.

A half-ancestor immediately sneered, 'Your divine weapon? Why not say this entire corpse sea is yours?'

Babula was furious inside, but he could do nothing. He was no longer the otherworld Ancestral God of old, and facing so many half-ancestors, he simply could not fight them all.

'If you do not believe me, you can excavate these ruins. There is a war spear inside,' he said, not revealing the name of the Armageddon War Spear to avoid unnecessary trouble.

Several half-ancestors stepped into the ruins. Some could hardly contain themselves, desperately hoping this was the Eternal Light.

Bang!

The rubble all around burst into the air, clearing the center of the ruins.

A sealed site!

It had existed for untold ages. The powerful seal had weakened, and its divine power was starting to dissipate. The column of divine light rushing into the sky was actually the energy of the disintegrating seal.

'This is an Ancestral God's seal!' A dozen half-ancestors sucked in cold breaths. Even if the sealing power were about to collapse, it could not be opened by one or two half-ancestors alone.

What lay beneath the ruins that required an Ancestral God's seal?

Everyone looked perplexed, no one daring to act rashly. If something unimaginable were released below—some evil being—it would invite catastrophe.

Something sealed by an Ancestral God could not be ordinary.

'It really is my divine weapon!' Babula could not suppress his excitement and charged forward again.

But the Skeleton King blocked him once more, saying coldly, 'Don't be presumptuous. Everything here is ownerless for now.'

Should they open the seal or not? Everyone hesitated.

'I think it's fine to open it and look,' said a careful half-ancestor, brushing away the dust from the sealed ground. 'Look at these symbols—they seem to be otherworld writing, not left by our Ancestral Gods. Since it's a seal set by our ancient enemies, we can certainly open it.'

'Indeed, these do appear to be otherworld runes,' another half-ancestor agreed.

Babula stepped forward to examine them and was immediately shocked. He naturally recognized the four characters: 'Danger Zone.'

But he said nothing, because he truly felt the presence of the Armageddon War Spear.

With this, no one objected to breaking the seal. Even Babula, who sensed something amiss, did not speak against it.

This was a seal laid down by a powerful otherworld Ancestral God. Although time had worn away ninety percent of its power, it still took a great effort for more than a dozen half-ancestors working together to break it.

Rumble!

A surge of tremendous divine power exploded outward. Dazzling light forced everyone to close their eyes as the seal gate was breached.

Xiao Chen was far away and unaffected by the blast. At that moment, he keenly sensed an anomaly in the corpse sea.

Standing high above, he could clearly see the waves of the corpse sea surging skyward. The yellow water had grown even more intense, its color enough to make one's heart tremble. At the same time, the powerful aura within the corpse sea had noticeably strengthened.

'No good… Could the unknown horror sleeping in the corpse sea not be sleeping at all? Is it sealed? Could breaking the seal release it?' Xiao Chen's heart pounded with a terrible premonition.

He wanted to withdraw immediately, but when he saw Babula's movements, he stopped.

Babula reacted swiftly. As the seal broke and divine power surged, he did not retreat half a step. Instead, he condensed the weapon spirit of the Armageddon War Spear in his hand, tore through the void, and charged straight into the underground.

By the time the other half-ancestors reacted, Babula had already vanished into the earth.

'No! Don't let him take it!' Over a dozen half-ancestors all plunged into the cave.

Screams rang out from underground. Soon, seven or eight half-ancestors shot back up, their bodies covered in blood and flesh nearly destroyed. Then the others emerged in a sorry state, all bearing wounds of varying severity. A fountain of golden light burst forth, dazzling and brilliant.

But it carried an extremely evil aura and a heavy stench of corpses. It was corpse water—horrifyingly powerful corpse water that could corrode even the flesh of half-ancestors.

It was as if a golden spring had been tapped. Golden corpse water gushed out in torrents, instantly filling the island with deadly energy. At the same time, a heart-stopping, terrifying aura spread outward.

Bang!

Just then, Babula burst up from the golden corpse spring. In his arms, he held a jade box about ten feet long and a foot wide, densely covered with otherworld incantations that were impossible to decipher.

'Stop him!' shouted the Angel Holy God. 'The underground seals an unimaginable, mysterious object. What we broke was only the first seal. There are unknown divine formations below. The central array flag is the jade box in his hands. Do not let him take it away—whether we reseal this place or continue breaking the formation, we need what is inside!'

The otherworld Ancestral God Babula was also astonished. Such a heaven-defying Ancestral God artifact as the Armageddon War Spear had actually been sealed here as a central array flag. The whole affair reeked of the uncanny.

The divine formation below sealed an unknown cave. Logically, it would have been easy to break from the outside. But if not for the combined assault of a dozen half-ancestors, a few of them would never have loosened the array flag. Babula would never have taken it so easily.

Babula shot into the sky. He cared nothing about the seal below now that he had the Armageddon War Spear. He had long known there was something strange here, but now he realized it far exceeded his expectations. He wanted to leave immediately, because a powerful premonition of danger had struck him.

But the many half-ancestors were not slow. They all rose into the air to intercept him.

Babula was confident in his speed and directly tore open space to escape.

Yet unexpectedly—Boom! Someone shattered space itself.

Xiao Chen had been lying in ambush behind for a long time. Seeing Babula try to escape, he used the Heavenly Stele to blast him out of the spatial passage.

Interfering with a spatial transfer was extremely dangerous. Caught off guard, the violent spatial force stunned the otherworld Ancestral God Babula.

Before he could gather the Armageddon War Spear's power, six Heavenly Steles smashed into him in succession. Babula was sent tumbling through the air, and the long jade box flew from his grasp.

Xiao Chen pushed the Eight Aspect Extreme to its limit, flashed across the sky, and snatched the jade box, hugging it to his chest.

Babula stabilized himself and immediately recognized Xiao Chen—despite the disguise, he could not fool the otherworld Ancestral God.

Babula was incandescent with rage. Without a word, he charged straight at Xiao Chen.

Xiao Chen cursed inwardly. Over a dozen half-ancestors had already cut off his retreat, blocking the exit.

'Qugalema!' Xiao Chen first threw out an otherworld curse, then said, 'If you fight me, aren't you afraid of waking the sleeping entity in the sea?'

'Qugalema!' Babula cursed back. 'That is my divine weapon! If you do not return it, I will never rest!'

Seeing the dozen half-ancestors closing in, Xiao Chen said nothing more. He turned and fled straight into the depths of the corpse sea. There was no way he was giving up the Armageddon War Spear.

He had witnessed the terror of this spear's weapon spirit. If he could hold the true body of the spear, he could imagine the scene of holding it aloft and splitting the sky.

Xiao Chen shot like lightning into the depths of the corpse sea, trying to open the jade box as he flew. But he found the Ancestral God seal strong and immovable. Each time he shook the box, the dense incantations on its surface blazed with blinding light, making his eyes ache and his body shudder in pain.

He dared not try again. He would have to put it away and find another way later.

But helplessly, he found he could not store the war spear in his spatial acupoints—the seal force on its surface was uncannily obstinate.

Looking back, Babula and the dozen half-ancestors were in hot pursuit, not giving him a moment to breathe.

Xiao Chen dared not casually tear through space, afraid of being blasted out like Babula. He could only use the Eight Phase extreme speed to fly.

But the half-ancestors behind him had no such qualms. Babula was the first to cross space and block his path.

Xiao Chen had no choice but to change direction, flying toward the west of the corpse sea.

'What is that…?' At that moment, Xiao Chen spotted another looming giant island. There too, beams of divine light shot into the sky. The others also noticed the mysterious island in the corpse sea, their expressions shifting. How could there be another similar giant island?

Even from a great distance, they could feel surging divine power—even more sacred and dense than the sealing power on the previous island. It was like a divine island.

Xiao Chen flew straight toward that mysterious island. It too was covered with white bones, but the aura of slaughter was completely masked by the divine power. The light here was even more brilliant, streaks of auspicious radiance coiling upward like a volcanic eruption, shooting into the sky and then cascading down from all directions.

'Could this be the true location of the Eternal Light?' Xiao Chen wondered.

But then an ominous thought struck him: if this followed the pattern of the first island, it should also be a sealed site.

If broken, what would be revealed? The Undying Heaven Shield? Or another divine weapon?

A 'banner' had already been taken from the sealed site below, causing a strange change in the corpse sea. If this seal were also broken, would it trigger a chain reaction?

Could the entire corpse sea be a single vast sealing formation? Was the seal just broken merely the first layer of prohibition?

At that moment, Xiao Chen felt a strong sense of unease.

Besides the sleeping being, what other terrifying things were hidden here?