Inside the city.
Just as Snowsun God-King, Rhea Redmoon, and Galen Silverwing broke through the restriction outside a well-preserved ancient building and entered, they were ambushed by two God-King-level death spirits.
No one knows exactly what happened in this universe—the Heavenly Dao vanished, all living beings perished and became death spirits. Yet after death, many storage God-rings and all kinds of wondrous remnants remained.
Fortunately, all three were cautious by nature. After a brief moment of chaos, they joined forces and easily overwhelmed the two God-King-level death spirits.
Some storage God-rings are extraordinary, or their owners had set up powerful restrictions, or they were protected by arrays and formations, so they survived without damage.
With five God-King-level death spirits joining forces, all three felt the pressure. These death spirits even seemed to know some kind of joint attack technique, and for a while, the trio were actually pushed into a disadvantage.
Helpless, Rhea Redmoon had to release her two divine spirit avatars, and Galen Silverwing also didn't dare to hold back, releasing his own divine spirit avatar.
Each of the three acquired several hundred storage God-rings, along with some rare artifacts.
Actually, if Rhea Redmoon used the God Emperor artifact that Ian Song lent her, they might stand a chance of winning. But that artifact was meant as a life-saving trump card, and besides, God Emperor artifacts are highly tempting even to God-Kings.
"I feel it too!" Snowsun God-King nodded. "Death spirits can devour each other, but the wild, violent power within them also restrains that devouring, so the number of God-King-level death spirits shouldn't be too high. But with so few death spirits here, either this city is packed with God-King-level death spirits who've already eaten all the lesser ones, or there's a single mutated death spirit here that can devour without limit. Either way, it's bad news for us, so we should leave this city as soon as possible!"
"Let's retreat for now!"
Snowsun God-King said. Anyway, over the past several hours, they had already looted plenty of valuable items from inside the city.
"Little brother, all these storage God-rings have restrictions. I'll leave them to you—once you break them, you can keep half of whatever's inside!" Rhea Redmoon tossed nearly a hundred storage God-rings to Ian.
But after so much time, most artifacts have decayed, and a large number of storage God-rings have shattered, scattering their contents into other dimensions.
Some storage God-rings are extraordinary, or their owners had set up powerful restrictions, or they were protected by arrays and formations, so they survived without damage.
Previously, the storage God-ring that Snowsun God-King had Ian Song unlock was one such relic obtained from this universe.
After several hours inside the city.
Each of the three acquired several hundred storage God-rings, along with some rare artifacts.
Fighting as they retreated, the trio finally withdrew from the city.
The five God-King-level death spirits, perhaps knowing they couldn't do anything to them, stopped pursuing once the group escaped outside the city.
The formation activated.
At that, all three turned pale. Silverwing God-King and Redmoon God-King didn't dare hold anything back, each releasing their divine spirit avatars, while Snowsun God-King took out a silver spear—a top-grade God-King artifact.
"Little brother, all these storage God-rings have restrictions. I'll leave them to you—once you break them, you can keep half of whatever's inside!" Rhea Redmoon tossed nearly a hundred storage God-rings to Ian.
"Heh, breaking a restriction is nothing. Besides, I'm helping big sis, so there's no need for any reward!" Ian grinned.
"No refusing!"
Rhea Redmoon said forcefully, then glanced at Galen Silverwing and Snowsun God-King. "As for theirs, it's up to you!"
"If Galen and Lord Snowsun need help, I'll just take a ten percent cut!"
Ian looked at the two of them as he spoke.
The black beams moved with incredible speed, shooting straight at Silverwing God-King and Snowsun God-King.
To Rhea Redmoon's horror, they were both struck by the black light. Instantly, their bodies began to turn to stone, and within a few breaths, both Galen Silverwing and Snowsun God-King were transformed into stone statues.
Ordinary resources don't tempt them at all; what they truly need are things that can directly boost their strength.
After a brief rest.
The group set out again, heading for another city.
After nearly two full days of travel, Ian and the others arrived at another city.
"That's odd. Why are there so few death spirits in this city?"
Ian looked at the city ahead in puzzlement. In the previous city, they saw death spirits flying everywhere overhead, but here, the sky was empty—only a few scattered undead wandered outside the city walls.
But as soon as they saw Ian and the group, these death spirits rushed over and were swiftly wiped out.
"Something's off! This city feels incredibly oppressive to me!"
Redmoon God-King said gravely.
"I feel it too!" Snow Sun God-King nodded. "Death spirits can devour each other, but the wild, violent power within them also restrains that devouring, so the number of God-King-level death spirits shouldn't be too high. But with so few undead here, either this city is packed with God-King-level death spirits who've already eaten all the lesser ones, or there's a single mutated death spirit here that can devour without limit. Either way, it's bad news for us, so we should leave this city as soon as possible!"
After all, there are so many cities in this world—there's no need to fight to the death over just one.
Just as everyone was about to leave.
In a flash, a blood-red humanoid figure suddenly appeared in midair. His eyes were black, but filled with endless, violent killing intent. Just meeting his gaze made one feel as if drowning in mountains of corpses and seas of blood, unable to breathe from the pressure.
The blood-red figure spoke: "I've forgotten how many years it's been since I last saw living beings. After eating death spirits for so long, I can finally change my taste and eat the living!"
"Little brother, Mira, you two get out of here, quick!"
Redmoon God-King said gravely. This blood-red figure hadn't just evolved intelligence—he also gave them tremendous pressure. If she wasn't mistaken, this mutant death spirit's strength was no less than a peak upper God-King.
"Be careful!"
Ian didn't hesitate. He called out to the three God-Kings, grabbed Mira, and flew off into the distance. Maybe because of the mutant death spirit's intimidating aura, all the surrounding undead fled wildly as soon as he appeared, so Ian and Mira's escape was completely unhindered.
After seeing Ian and the others leave.
Redmoon God-King and the other two couldn't hold back any longer and attacked the mutant death spirit together.
Three God-Kings joining forces—normally, even a high-level God-King wouldn't dare face them head-on. But this mutant death spirit's black eyes flashed with disdain; with a casual wave of his hand, he easily dissolved their combined attack.
At that, all three turned pale. Silverwing God-King and Redmoon God-King didn't dare hold anything back, each releasing their divine spirit avatars, while Snow Sun God-King took out a silver spear—a top-grade God-King artifact.
"Kill!"
Six God-King-level combatants charged at the mutant death spirit.
A heaven-shaking battle erupted, but to their horror, even with all that power, they couldn't gain any advantage over the mutant death spirit.
An hour later.
The mutant death spirit spoke again: "Very good. I've played with you long enough—it's time to end this!"
As soon as he finished speaking, two beams of black light shot out from his eyes.
The black beams moved with incredible speed, shooting straight at Silverwing God-King and Snow Sun God-King.
To Rhea Redmoon's horror, they were both struck by the black light. Instantly, their bodies began to turn to stone, and within a few breaths, both Galen Silverwing and Snowsun God-King were transformed into stone statues.