Fairy Lynn and the Emerald Immortal Empress were locked in a fierce battle with the Golden Skeleton. No matter how powerful their attacks, they just couldn’t seriously wound him; instead, his terrifying defense and counterattacks kept injuring them, leaving both women struggling to hold their ground.
"Let me handle this guy!" Evan Chu stepped up in front of the two women and said.
"Evan, what happened to the Skeleton King? Did you already kill him?" Lynn asked. With Evan here, that Golden Skeleton was as good as dead.
"More or less. The Skeleton King was ridiculously strong—I had to go all out to finally kill him. But this guy should be easier. Are you two alright?" Evan asked with concern.
"We’re fine, but you’d better be careful. This guy’s defense is insane. Jade and I have been attacking him for ages and still haven’t managed to hurt him—it’s just too freaky." Lynn said.
"Don’t worry. No matter how tough he is, he’ll still die by my hand. You two get back—this won’t take long!" Evan declared.
Evan couldn’t help feeling a bit frustrated about killing the Skeleton King. He’d really wanted the Corrupt-Heart Venom from him, but ended up empty-handed. All he could do now was finish off the Golden Skeleton as quickly as possible and return to the Immortal Realm—the longer they delayed, the worse it would be for Selena’s body.
The Golden Skeleton was startled to see Evan show up. "Kid, I didn’t expect you could actually kill that Skeleton King. I owe you for getting rid of my biggest headache. Don’t worry, I’ll make sure your death is quick."
"Biggest headache? Sounds like you and him weren’t exactly on the same side. If I’m not mistaken, your strength isn’t any weaker than his. So why were you his subordinate? I’m really curious," Evan asked.
"The Skeleton King had Corrupt-Heart Venom. I had no choice but to obey him. Now that he’s dead, the venom’s curse on me is lifted, so I don’t have to fear him anymore. If it weren’t for that poison, the Demonic Realm would’ve been mine long ago. I wouldn’t have had to grovel in the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons for hundreds of thousands of years." the Golden Skeleton replied.
The more Evan listened, the more shocked he became. He hadn’t expected the Golden Skeleton to have been trapped here for hundreds of thousands of years—clearly he was also the remnant soul of some ancient Demonic Realm powerhouse. "What does Corrupt-Heart Venom have to do with him? If you’re infected by it, are you really forced to obey him?"
"It doesn’t hurt to tell you. Corrupt-Heart Venom is incredibly corrosive, but that’s just on the surface. Its real horror is how easily it can erode a soul—and the soul corrosion is completely controlled by the one who planted the poison. If he wants to dissolve someone’s soul, all he has to do is think it, and as a soul-body, I’m totally powerless against it.
Now that he’s dead, he can’t corrode my soul anymore. After all these hundreds of thousands of years, I’m finally free. You got the Soul Mushroom, which means my power will skyrocket and I’ll become the strongest Demon Emperor in history. Don’t worry, I’ll ‘cherish’ your two women—consider it my way of compensating you!" the Golden Skeleton said.
"Aren’t you a little too confident? Are you actually stronger than the Skeleton King?" Evan was startled by the Golden Skeleton’s words and couldn’t help but ask suspiciously.
"Skeleton King? The real ruler was always me—if not for Corrupt-Heart Venom, I would never have had to pretend to serve him. You’ll see for yourself soon enough." The Golden Skeleton chuckled.
"There’s something I don’t get. The Skeleton King said it took him ten thousand years to obtain Corrupt-Heart Venom. Are you saying he already had this overbearing poison hundreds of thousands of years ago? If he really did, he would’ve ruled the Demonic Realm ages ago—why would he have wasted all that time in the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons?" Evan asked.
"Corrupt-Heart Venom is actually just Soul Poison, and the Skeleton King himself was born from it. I was trapped in the Abyss of Ten Thousand Demons because I got infected with this Soul Poison. Back then, there weren’t many remnant souls in the Abyss—most were formed from those who died in the ancient Demonic Realm wars.
But the Soul Poison gradually gained sentience. At the time, I didn’t even realize I was infected by it—what you call Corrupt-Heart Venom. Later, I learned just how terrifying this poison was. No matter how I tried to purge it, nothing worked. In the end, I figured out it was that guy controlling the Soul Poison.
If I tried to resist him, he could instantly start dissolving my soul. Even if I killed him on the spot, it wouldn’t have helped—he could still do it before dying. But you killed him before he had a chance to react, which broke the curse of Corrupt-Heart Venom on me. So, shouldn’t I thank you?" the Golden Skeleton said.
"So that’s how it is. I really did do you a favor, huh? And yet you’re still going to stab me in the back? You’re no good, that’s for sure!" Evan snapped.
As Evan spoke, he was already channeling Chaos Immortal Force into his right arm, ready to unleash the Unicorn Arm at any moment. Against a powerhouse like this, he wasn’t holding back.
"Enough talk. I’ve already repaid you, and now it’s time for you to die. Today, I’ll show you my true power!" the Golden Skeleton declared.
Golden light flashed from his body as the skeleton began to rapidly expand. In just a few breaths, he transformed into a colossal skeleton dozens of meters tall, covered in bone spurs that glinted eerily in the air.
At the same time, the Golden Skeleton’s aura soared. Evan could clearly sense that this guy’s pressure wasn’t inferior to the Yin–Yang Demon Empress. Even if he hadn’t reached the God-Lord Realm, his strength was at least mid- or even late-stage Heavenly God level. Evan was truly shocked.
He hadn’t expected the Demonic Realm to still have such overwhelmingly powerful beings. Compared to the Demonic Realm, the Immortal Realm’s strength was a joke—even the Netherworld couldn’t compete. Evan really couldn’t understand why the Immortal Realm was so weak.
"Kid, now you see how strong I am. Back then, I was one of the top experts in the Demonic Realm, but I failed my ascension tribulation trying to reach the higher realm. My flesh and demonic infant were destroyed, but my soul survived. I could’ve rebuilt my body, but I got infected by Corrupt-Heart Venom. Today, I’ll show you my real power." the Golden Skeleton said.
Evan shot him a depressed look. He’d heard this kind of arrogant boasting way too many times before—it was always the same old trash talk, and it just annoyed him. Still, the Golden Skeleton’s aura really was stronger than the Skeleton King’s, making Evan worry for Lynn and Jade’s safety.
"Lynn, Jade—get out of here, as far as you can! This guy’s power is insane, and I don’t want you slowing me down!" Evan shouted to the two women.
The two women were already far away, but they saw the Golden Skeleton’s enormous body and knew Evan wouldn’t say something like that for no reason. They quickly used teleportation to leave, and once Evan saw them go, he swung the Frostbane Divine Sword with all his might…
First update at dawn!