Chapter 162

The Purple-Gold Winged God still held the upper hand in the end. Although the usable energy left within Li Ren's body was truly minimal, as he gritted his teeth and stubbornly persisted, that trace of the power of creation rapidly restored his internal strength.

At the same time, this power of creation not only possessed formidable restorative properties, but its offensive capabilities were also by no means weak.

A faint layer of golden light was now subtly smeared across the originally purplish-golden Purple-Gold Winged God. This golden light appeared so delicate that without careful inspection, one might even mistake it for a natural hue inherent within the original purple-gold color.

It was precisely the attachment of this trace of the power of creation that vastly increased the destructive capacity of the Purple-Gold Winged God, quickly driving the bone blade into a position of weakness.

Seeing history repeating itself, the Skeleton King felt a sense of despondency toward the bone blade in his grasp.

To be fair, his bone blade was also quite extraordinary. Despite being merely a bone blade used as a weapon, after countless years of tempering by the Skeleton King, it had become as hard as iron, surpassing ordinary weapons by a significant margin. Achieving such a state required prolonged, dedicated forging by members of the skeleton race.

Yet, after this extensive forging, fundamentally speaking, even though the bone blade had become exceedingly hard, it still fell short of the Purple-Gold clan, whose very essence was vastly superior to begin with!

The Purple-Gold clan was a lineage that stood proudly between heaven and earth, with boundless mysteries said to be nurtured within their bodies. Without formidable strength, how could they possibly be relentlessly pursued by countless beings?

Compared to the intrinsic bone structure of the Purple-Gold clan itself, there was no doubt that ordinary bone material, no matter how strong, could never break through that innate barrier.

Fortunately, however, during the fierce struggle, the Skeleton King could clearly perceive Li Ren's weakness. Although the bone blade was inherently inferior in essence to the opponent's Purple-Gold Winged God, Li Ren currently lacked sufficient strength to completely overwhelm him.

It was precisely the loss of that crushing pressure that allowed the Skeleton King to remain calm and unruffled amidst such battle. Even as the bone blade grew fragile time and again, under the Skeleton King's diverted control, it repeatedly grew strong once more.

Faced with this stalemate, Li Ren grew increasingly anxious inwardly. The Skeleton King could afford to wait, but he certainly could not.

Looking at the overall situation, he was undoubtedly the only one left on the battlefield capable of countering the Skeleton King. Moreover, in terms of raw power, he was even slightly weaker than the Skeleton King. If he himself were to fall, not a single person on their side would find a way to survive.

Furthermore, although Lania's injuries had been stabilized, the genuine danger had not yet passed. The longer he was delayed by the Skeleton King, the greater the peril to Lania's life would become.

Realizing that this standoff could drag on indefinitely, Li Ren hardened his resolve. A surge of power suddenly erupted from the Purple-Gold Winged God, forcing the two apart by a considerable distance.

The Skeleton King also halted his movements, still harboring lingering fear regarding Li Ren's various capabilities. If he pushed the fellow before him into a desperate corner, there was no telling if the power of creation might be detonated in a mutually destructive blow, which truly would not be worth the cost.

In any case, he could practically be considered on the verge of absolute victory now, and he did not mind taking a rare moment to recover. When it came to recovery capabilities, he was confident he held a slight edge over Li Ren.

And indeed, the facts bore this out; compared to Li Ren, the experience and power the Skeleton King had accumulated over countless years did grant him a minor advantage in recovery.

***

Looking at the Skeleton King opposite him, Li Ren said, "Let us decide the outcome with a single strike."

The Skeleton King's grating laughter rang out. "Just what I wanted! Today, you shall be buried here forever!"

"Hmph, whether I will be buried here remains to be seen!" Li Ren gave a cold snort, the Purple-Gold Winged God in his grip trembling violently as his formidable power continuously poured into it.

This blow represented Li Ren's current peak strength. He injected every ounce of his power unreservedly into the Purple-Gold Winged God. The weapon's fluctuations grew increasingly intense until, reaching a certain threshold, Li Ren laboriously raised his right arm. The Purple-Gold Winged God erupted with a blinding radiance, propelling his body rapidly toward the Skeleton King—or rather, dragged forward by the sheer momentum of the Purple-Gold Winged God itself.

At this moment, Li Ren's body was utterly hollowed out, leaving not a shred of remaining strength. All that persisted was his unyielding obsession to defeat the Skeleton King.

Seeing Li Ren hurtling toward him, the Skeleton King similarly pointed his bone blade diagonally forward. "Since you wish to settle this in a single strike, then let you witness it—the ultimate heritage of the skeleton race! The supreme killing technique usable only upon reaching the blue spirit fire tier: Bone Dragon Devours the Heavens!"

A dense black aura enveloped the bone blade tightly, gradually emitting the sounds of a dragon's roar. That roar carried an intensely tyrannical aura, as though it intended to shred every obstacle standing in its path.

"Kid, you are fortunate enough to be the first to witness my ultimate move at this tier, so I have decided to devour you entirely, allowing you to merge into my body and properly enjoy the glorious path that lies ahead!" The Skeleton King grinned grimly. Without a moment's hesitation, his bone blade transformed into a massive bone dragon wreathed in black mist, charging straight to swallow Li Ren whole.

The bone dragon formed by the Skeleton King and that speck of golden light in Li Ren's hand collided fiercely. Amidst the frantic roaring of the bone dragon, Li Ren's body was swallowed whole into the belly of the bone dragon, which was formed from boundless black mist.

At that exact moment, whether it was the skeletons or the Falling Cloud Legion who had been locked in combat just moments before, they involuntarily came to a halt. The sky had turned pitch black, and a colossal bone dragon released an oppressive might, sweeping in wave after wave across the vast surrounding space.

The players fortunate enough to survive were likewise stunned into silence by this shocking spectacle. Never had they imagined that a mere Skeleton King could possess such terrifying strength. Even though both entities were generated by the system, this level of might was simply overwhelming!

Furthermore, a bizarre and faint notion inexplicably arose in their minds: both the Skeleton King and the Lord of Falling Cloud City possessed wills of their own!

These were no longer mere monsters generated by the system, but living, breathing existences just like them—only their manner of existence seemed somewhat different.

Such a thought flashed through their minds, but because it felt far too difficult to accept, many chose not to dwell on it, instead burying the notion deep within their hearts.

The bone dragon stood proudly between heaven and earth, billowing clouds of thick black mist rolling forth to shroud the entire region surrounding Skeleton Mountain.

Even the regional lords, who ordinarily possessed an intensely possessive sense of territory, clearly understood their current situation; under the oppressive, aggressively invasive shockwaves, they all maintained a collective silence.

This atmosphere seemed to render the bone dragon in the sky even more arrogant.

Casting a disdainful glance at the massive Falling Cloud Legion still lingering on Skeleton Mountain, the bone dragon opened its cavernous maw to launch an attack. At that very instant, however, a golden speck of light suddenly pierced through the dense darkness.

It was faint, yet soul-stirring!

***

"Look! It's the Lord of Falling Cloud City! He's not dead yet!" a player cried out in mindless astonishment, staring blankly at the sudden appearance of the golden light.

Even he himself did not understand why a surge of excitement swelled within him upon seeing that Li Ren had not been slain by the Skeleton King.

Perhaps it was because the Lord of Falling Cloud City was, after all, a city lord; in their minds, he had long been separated from the monster factions, naturally categorizing Li Ren into their own camp.

From the moment that speck of golden light emerged, the bone dragon formed by the Skeleton King began to writhe and twist violently in the air, as though enduring excruciating agony.

As the golden light grew increasingly brilliant, the bone dragon found it even harder to sustain itself.

Looking closely, one could see a snow-white skeleton standing atop that speck of golden light, its entire body faintly shimmering with a soft purple radiance. Directly ahead of the golden light, inside the belly of the bone dragon—which had previously been invisible to them—was now a blazing sea of fire.

Purple flames burned fiercely, consuming the swirling black clouds as if they were mere fuel, devouring them voraciously and ultimately transforming them into an even more formidable fire.

Above that sea of flames, a tiny Vermillion Bird was slowly unfurling its wings.

Its originally golden body was gradually transforming into a deep purple, with a crown-like flame burning upon its head, rich purple hues slowly circulating within it.

That's right! This was the little Vermillion Bird that had entered Li Ren's body after undergoing the Heavenly Fire Body Tempering within the Boundary Pagoda, remaining dormant ever since.

Sensing the ultimate threat Li Ren was facing, it had finally manifested before him once more.

The Vermillion Bird Divine Flame—a powerful fire even superior to the Heavenly Fire—possessed an even more pronounced restraining effect upon demonic energy.

For a creature like the Skeleton King, such a flame was unquestionably his ultimate nemesis.

All of his power acted like a sheet of paper before the Vermillion Bird, instantly burning to ashes at the touch of a single spark, leaving zero possibility of resistance.

"Aahahaha! Damn it! It's a Vermillion Bird! How can such a creature exist in this realm? Wasn't the Vermillion Bird long since..." The Skeleton King's piercing shrieks echoed from within the body of the bone dragon.

Even though Li Ren had already developed a strong immunity to heavenly fire through his past tempering, he still felt an overwhelming wave of searing heat radiating from the periphery of the Vermillion Bird Divine Flame.

Had the little Vermillion Bird not deliberately left a small gap for Li Ren to stand within, his current state would have left him unable to endure even a fraction of a second inside the Vermillion Bird Divine Flame.