Seeing this, Ian Song couldn't help but frown. Even these terrifying black beams couldn't kill them—now that's a real headache.
The eight God-Kings of the Eightfold War-King Legion were visibly startled by the black beams.
The beams were so fast that even with their powerful divine senses, they couldn't track or dodge them. They could feel the strength of those black beams—if not for their God Emperor armor, they’d probably be wounded already.
No wonder those other God-Kings fell to this little thief—he must've relied on the Sacred Mountain’s arrays.
So next, the eight God-Kings tried attacking, but every strike was met by a black beam reflected from the arrays.
“Boring.” The dragon-headed God-King muttered, sounding annoyed.
Ian Song was speechless. The black beams couldn’t do anything to these God-Kings, and they couldn’t break in either. So he lost interest in the stalemate and had the Sacred Mountain fly forward.
“Not good, that little formation is trying to escape!” shouted the dragon-headed God-King.
“Boss, so what if he escapes? We can’t do anything to him anyway!” someone said with a bitter laugh.
When the Eightfold War-King Legion returned to the Corps, the upper echelon fell silent. If even they couldn’t destroy this little thief, who could possibly deal with him?
Vance Wu’s expression kept shifting. For a moment he considered using his teacher’s avatar—the Light Holy Emperor left behind a God Emperor avatar when he went off to wander the chaos. But that avatar was made by a secret technique and was the weakest type of God Emperor clone; every time it was activated, it burned through a ton of energy.
The Light Holy Emperor left it with the Corps as both a trump card and a way to contact his main body.
After a moment, Vance Wu waved his hand. "Forget it. For now, we'll drop the matter."
After months of flying, Ian Song and Star King finally arrived at the Misty Forbidden Land.
As soon as he entered, Ian Song shouted at the top of his lungs, "Lito! I’m here to see you!"
A shadow flickered, and Lito appeared. "You really came?"
Ian Song grinned, "Of course! I came to lift your clan’s curse. Go gather all the Corpse Puppet Kings!"
"Alright!" Lito replied, delighted. He let out a silent howl, and in an instant, dozens of shadows flashed by—nearly a hundred Corpse Puppet Kings appeared.
More than thirty Corpse Puppet Kings had already regained human form, probably thanks to the blood Ian Song had given them earlier.
So Ian Song split off dozens of drops of blood to cleanse the rest of the Corpse Puppet Kings.
Boom!
The Sacred Mountain’s speed suddenly increased tenfold, smashing through the frozen space and escaping the sealing range within a few breaths.
We failed!
The Eightfold War-King Legion looked utterly dejected.
"Let's go back!"
The dragon-headed God-King said in a low voice.
When the Eightfold War-King Legion returned to the Corps, the high command fell silent. If even they couldn't destroy that little thief, who else could possibly deal with him?
Vance Wu's face kept changing. "Do I need to use Teacher's avatar?"
He hesitated. When the Light Holy Emperor went off to wander the chaos, he left behind a God Emperor avatar. But this avatar was created by a secret technique and was the weakest type of God Emperor; every time it was used, it consumed massive energy.
The Light Holy Emperor left it with the Corps both as a trump card and as a means to communicate with his main body.
Once they received the blood, the Corpse Puppet Kings smeared it on their brows. Instantly, the corpse qi on their bodies dissipated, and they quickly regained human form.
"Lito, you said before that if I lifted your clan's curse, you'd swear loyalty to me, right?"
Ian Song suddenly looked at Lito.
"That's right!"
Lito nodded. "As long as you lift the curse from every member of our clan, we'll serve you."
"Alright, gather all your clansmen."
Ian Song nodded.
Lito let out another silent howl, and soon, countless Corpse Puppets converged on the spot.
Over the next month, Ian Song produced nearly a million drops of blood, cleansing the curse from every member of the clan.
"So, are you ready to swear loyalty now?"
Ian Song looked at Lito.
"Heh!"
Lito laughed, his tone full of mockery and contempt. "I never thought an Ancestral God's descendant could be so naive. You're just an Upper Heavenly God, yet you expect a group of God-Kings to serve you? Is that realistic?"
"So you're planning to burn the bridge after crossing?"
Ian Song asked with a smile, showing no sign of nervousness.
"Do you know our clan's origin?" Lito asked with a sly smile.
Ian Song replied calmly, "Go ahead and tell me. If you're planning to burn the bridge, you probably don't intend to let me go, so at least let me die knowing why."
"Our clan used to be the Heaven Guard under the previous Heavenly Dao!" Lito slowly revealed a secret.
"The Heavenly Dao had guards?"
Ian Song was genuinely surprised.
"Of course!" Lito sneered. "The Heavenly Dao perceives everything, but it still needs us Heaven Guards to carry out its will. Things like Heavenly Tribulation, Heavenly Punishment, and repelling invaders from other universes—all those tasks fall to us!"
"So what happened to the previous Heavenly Dao? Why was it replaced?" Ian Song asked curiously.
Lito replied, "It's simple. The current Heavenly Dao killed the previous one and took its place. As Heaven Guards of the old regime, our strongest were wiped out, and the survivors were cursed, doomed to linger in the Misty Forbidden Land forever."
"Did you ever think about revenge?"
"Revenge?"
Lito shot Ian Song a disdainful look. "Why would you ask something so naive? How could we possibly take revenge? The Heavenly Dao is unimaginably powerful. When it cursed us, it said that if we ever shed the curse, it would allow us to serve as its Heaven Guard. You carry Ancestral God blood—if the Heavenly Dao devoured you, it would gain immense benefits. So our plan is to capture you and offer you as a sacrifice!"
Ian Song sighed. "Calling you 'bridge-burners' is too mild. 'Ungrateful wolves' fits you better!"
"Enough talk. Now you know everything. Are you ready to surrender?"
Lito sneered.
"Do I look like an idiot to you?" Ian Song asked with a laugh.
"You're a bit dumb, but not a total idiot," Lito said seriously.
Ian Song smiled. "If I didn't have a countermeasure, do you really think I'd have lifted your curse so recklessly?"
Lito was startled, then grinned. "Is your countermeasure that God-King standing next to you?"
"Not quite," Ian Song shook his head, then smiled. "Since you know I have Ancestral God blood, do you understand the Ancestral God's Divine Abilities?"
"Not really," Lito admitted.
Lito said.
"No wonder," Ian Song said with amusement. "I have a soul-type Divine Ability called Phantasm. Once I unleash it, you all lose autonomy."
"Heh! No matter how strong your Divine Ability is, you can't control so many of us at once," Lito said doubtfully.
"Normally, I couldn't," Ian Song admitted. "But since you used my blood to lift the curse, my blood is now in your bodies. That makes it much easier for me to control you!"
With that, Ian Song looked at the crowd of God-Kings. "Alright, you all—give me a butt-wiggling dance!"
The moment Ian Song finished speaking, nearly a hundred God-Kings fell into a blissful trance, started wiggling their hips, and danced on the spot.
End of Chapter 1980.