Floating several kilometers outside the Misty Forbidden Land, Ian Song watched the thick Tribulation Cloud above the fog with a grave expression.
"That's the God-King Tribulation!"
His heart felt heavy. Even from this far away, the aura leaking from the Tribulation Cloud was terrifying—and this was just a normal tribulation. If he ever faced the God-King Tribulation, it would be 108 times more intense.
Just then—
The group of Upper Heavenly Gods guarding the Misty Forbidden Land moved, rushing inside. There was no way they'd let Galen Silverwing or Rhea Redmoon survive the God-King Tribulation.
If either of them made it through, it would spell disaster for both clans.
Soon enough—
All those Upper Heavenly Gods had entered the Misty Forbidden Land.
Ian Song quietly snuck toward the entrance as well.
"Hmm?"
A flash of confusion crossed Ian's eyes—he'd discovered that the dimensional space within the Misty Forbidden Land was sealed off. He couldn't enter via the spatial layer.
With a thought, he stepped straight out of the spatial layer and charged into the Misty Forbidden Land without hesitation.
The entire forbidden zone was filled with a fog formed from special energy.
This mist dulled the divine sense of any god-realm cultivator.
After quickly getting his bearings, Ian headed toward the direction of the tribulation.
"No idea if it's Rhea Redmoon or Galen Silverwing facing the tribulation..."
With that thought, Ian sped up.
The deeper he went, the denser the mist became—and the stronger its effect on his divine sense.
Suddenly, he stopped and listened intently. Up ahead, he heard sounds of battle. Creeping closer, he saw the group of Upper Heavenly Gods fighting three humanoid monsters—over two meters tall, dressed in rags, and reeking of rot.
"Ancient Corpse Puppets!"
It didn't attack me directly? Could the Corpse Puppet blood actually work?
Smearing Corpse Puppet blood on himself was just a spur-of-the-moment idea. He had no clue if it would really fool them.
The puppet stared at him for a moment, then vanished into thin air.
Huh—it actually worked!
Ian exclaimed in delight.
But what he didn't know was that the Corpse Puppets didn't attack him because he'd smeared their blood. If that were true, the Misty Forbidden Land wouldn't deserve its reputation as a forbidden zone.
Thinking he wouldn't be attacked by the Ancient Corpse Puppets, Ian relaxed a lot.
Suddenly—
He wondered: If these Corpse Puppets don't attack me, maybe I can communicate with them?
So, along the way, Ian kept hoping to encounter another Corpse Puppet.
After traveling a hundred miles, the mist inside the forbidden land was so thick he could only see about a hundred meters ahead.
Roar!
A guttural roar sounded—a tattered Corpse Puppet appeared ahead, glaring at Ian like a predator.
Ian tensed up, then cautiously stepped closer.
Hey, can you understand what I'm saying?
Roar!
Another guttural roar—the Corpse Puppet twisted around and vanished into the mist.
Hey, don't go!
Ian called out quickly.
Unfortunately, the Corpse Puppet didn't pay him any attention.
Ian ran into a few more Corpse Puppets and tried to talk to them, but they had no intelligence, so it was pointless. Along the way, he found dozens of shattered Corpse Puppet bodies—probably killed by those Upper Heavenly Gods.
Boom!
Just then, the tribulation cloud in the sky finally built up enough power and transformed into a thunderbolt as thick as an acre, blasting down.
Even from thousands of miles away, Ian could feel the terrifying power in the lightning. He figured that, with his physical strength, if he took a hit like that, he'd be badly injured.
As for refining it with his chaos vortex, the thunder was way too strong—totally impossible.
Huh?
Ian suddenly jumped—he saw a short figure standing in the mist ahead.
Could it be a Corpse Puppet?
Ian walked forward several dozen meters and saw that the figure was indeed a Corpse Puppet—but it looked like a child.
Hey, little guy, can you understand what Uncle's saying?
Ian asked out of boredom.
But to his surprise, the child nodded.
What the heck?
Could this little Corpse Puppet have developed intelligence?
Hey kid, come over here—Uncle's got candy for you!
Ian beckoned to the little Corpse Puppet.
Roar!
Just then, two Corpse Puppets that looked almost alive flashed into view in front of the little one, glaring warily at Ian.
Roar!
The two lifelike Corpse Puppets roared at Ian again, as if warning him to get lost.
But just then—
The little Corpse Puppet patted the two others, and they immediately quieted down.
Then the little Corpse Puppet actually walked over to Ian.
For a moment, Ian felt suspicious and uncertain, but he didn't move.
Soon, the little Corpse Puppet approached within a meter of Ian and uttered a strange language, but Ian couldn't understand a word.
Kid, what are you saying?
Ian looked at him in confusion.
Suddenly, the little Corpse Puppet seemed to think of something and bent down to draw on the ground. A line of words appeared in Ian's sight: We are the cursed ones. Only those with ancestral god blood can save us. Can you save us?
Ancestral god bloodline?
Ian's eyes flashed with thought, but soon he realized: "The ancestral god you mean—is it Pangu?"
The little Corpse Puppet nodded vigorously.
But to his surprise, the child nodded.
What the heck?
Could this little Corpse Puppet have developed intelligence?
Hey kid, come over here—Uncle's got candy for you!
Ian beckoned to the little Corpse Puppet.
Roar!
Just then, two Corpse Puppets that looked almost alive flashed into view in front of the little one, glaring warily at Ian.
Roar!
The two lifelike Corpse Puppets roared at Ian again, as if warning him to get lost.
But just then—
The little Corpse Puppet patted the two others, and they immediately quieted down.
Then the little Corpse Puppet actually walked over to Ian.
For a moment, Ian felt suspicious and uncertain, but he didn't move.
Soon, the little Corpse Puppet approached within a meter of Ian and uttered a strange language, but Ian couldn't understand.
Kid, what are you saying?
Ian looked at him in confusion.
Suddenly, the little Corpse Puppet seemed to think of something and bent down to draw on the ground. A line of words appeared in Ian's sight: We are the cursed ones. Only those with ancestral god blood can save us. Can you save us?
Ancestral god bloodline?
Ian's eyes flashed with thought, but soon he realized: "The ancestral god you mean—is it Pangu?"
The little Corpse Puppet nodded vigorously.