Chapter 163: The Vicissitudes of Life

As the Undead Mist dissipated, a Sea of the Dead numbering in the hundreds of millions was exposed before everyone’s eyes.

Seeing the giant skeleton that had suddenly appeared, the soldiers and commanders atop Hoshan Canyon were collectively stunned into silence…

“Fool! Let’s see you try to bind me now!” the Skeleton Monarch roared in fury. “Aragon, you’ve ruined everything for me! I’m going to tear you to shreds…”

As it spoke,

it swung its bone claw, swatting at Li Ye, who was flying circles around it.

The bone claw was suffused with dense Death Qi, Breath of Aging, and a whole series of other negative skills.

SLAP!

A Purifying Cloth, stained with dark blood, stuck to the Skeleton Monarch’s bone claw.

Li Ye had renewed the Drenched in Dog Blood effect.

Just then, the leather whip burst open and gave birth to its child—a Skull Whip.

Because the Skeleton Monarch had grown enormous, the leather whip had not, and it had long since slipped through the gaps between the creature’s fingers. As a result, when the baby Skull Whip was born, it fell along with its parent.

SPLAT!

The newborn baby Skull Whip, before it even had a chance to open its eyes to the world, mercilessly crashed into the Skeleton Monarch’s bone claw as it swiped at Li Ye. It shattered into dust without even letting out its first cry.

Li Ye clearly felt the leather whip tremble violently the moment the baby Skull Whip shattered.

It had tragically lost its child.

The leather whip lost its mind. It abruptly grew larger, its thousand-meter-long body wrapping around the Skeleton Monarch’s arm as all of its Demon Qi invaded the monarch’s body.

The leather whip began to glow with a red light, while a white light flared up on the Skeleton Monarch’s body.

The two lights began to devour each other.

Knowing it was no match, the leather whip still brazenly attempted to possess it.

It wanted revenge for its child.

The Skeleton Monarch diverted some of its Demon Qi to suppress the leather whip, roaring in exasperation, “You fool! Our enemy is Aragon! Your child was mine too…”

But once a possession began, it could not be stopped. A victor had to be decided.

At a time like this, how could the Skeleton Monarch possibly spare any attention for Li Ye…

“So brave!” The voice of the scroll echoed in Li Ye’s mind. “Li Ye, I never thought we’d win like this.

“How exhilarating! So exhilarating! This battle’s pace is so much more satisfying than tagging along with Nezha. That guy only ever used me to tie things up. The thought of defeating this bag of bones and devouring its Demon Qi is making me so excited…”

“Don’t get cocky. We haven’t won yet.” Li Ye had already flown up to the Skeleton Monarch’s head, punching its fontanelle again and again. “It’s this big now. Is your length still enough to tie it up?”

“You underestimate me,” the scroll said. “My avatars alone, the ones I’ve sent out, must total tens of thousands of meters!”

“Good. Once it gives birth to the Magma Treasure, we’ll bind it again. This thing’s bones are too tough,” Li Ye said.

“It’s your power that’s too weak,” the scroll said. “A bag of bones like this? Nezha could shatter a whole field of them with one slap. You’ve only absorbed a single Divine Fragment from Michael; you’re a far cry from a top-tier powerhouse. Lord Ling will only remind you of one thing: after you go back, do not reveal Lord Ling’s existence…”

“I know…” Li Ye grunted, annoyed. “It’s not like you’re the only one who’s regained their senses. Have you seen any of the others get into trouble? I suspect the Demon Suppression Tower has long known you’ve all regained your sentience, they just don’t say anything.”

“…” The scroll fell silent.

“Lord Ling, who locked you all in the Demon Suppression Tower?” Li Ye suddenly asked.

“I don’t know,” the scroll said sullenly. “I don’t care what kind of conspiracy is behind it, but you can’t leak anything about me.”

While they spoke,

the Skeleton Monarch had finished devouring the leather whip.

At that moment, from Li Ye’s relentless assault on the same spot, a web of cracks finally appeared on the Skeleton Monarch’s fontanelle.

Perhaps realizing it was injured, or perhaps wanting to find a place to give birth, the Skeleton Monarch raised a hand, swept Li Ye off its head, and activated stealth again.

When it reappeared, it was already behind Hoshan Fortress, having abandoned the Undead Army it had worked so hard to build.

‘What is it trying to do?’

Li Ye faltered for a second, then hurriedly gave chase.

As he flew over the fortress, the scroll shot out from his hand, sweeping up all the Filthy Cloths that the people of the Holy Guard Sect had accumulated.

Drenched in Dog Blood would weaken the Skeleton Monarch and lower its Luck Value. He had to ensure the effect remained active.

In any case, it wasn’t like he had to touch the things himself, and since the scroll had unleashed its true nature, it was no longer afraid of getting dirty.

…

With Li Ye in pursuit and the Skeleton Monarch fleeing, the two vanished from everyone’s sight in the blink of an eye.

“Geser, should we go help His Grace?” Elsa asked.

The thought that all the Purifying Cloths she had saved up had been taken away by His Grace Aragon made her cheeks flush. She had finally been able to do something for His Grace.

“How could we help? Can you even keep up with him?” Geser glanced at her and said, “His Grace has lured the Skeleton Monarch away. Let’s focus our energy on dealing with the Undead Army before us!

“The Undead Mist is gone. As long as we hold out until dawn, most of the low-level Undead will melt in the sunlight. Barring any surprises, this war is about to be won.”

“Yeah! We’re going to win.” The Elf Divine Archer, Arena, let out a long sigh of relief. “I never imagined the Undead Calamity would end so abruptly, and so easily. I always thought His Grace was really going to fight a war of attrition with the Skeleton Monarch!”

“His Grace doesn’t need a Child of Destiny. He *is* the Child of Destiny,” Reinhart said. “Thinking back on it now, it all feels like a dream.”

“Once the Skeleton Monarch is defeated, His Grace will leave, won’t he!” Arena said. “I’m actually a little sad to see him go!”

“Yes, he will leave, but I won’t be going.” On the city wall, Fiona’s voice suddenly rang out. The Demon Qi had already restored her aged face, but her expression was somewhat lonely.

“You’re not going?” Geser asked in surprise.

“That’s right. I can’t go back,” Fiona sighed. “Pandora’s Box located me based on the whip.”

With the whip devoured by the Skeleton Monarch, she had completely lost her connection to it. This also meant that Pandora’s Box had lost its lock on her location.

She could only remain in this world forever.

However, she also felt a sense of relief. At least her life was saved.

Aragon wouldn’t kill her now. As long as she couldn’t go back, Aragon’s secret would never be revealed…

The expressions on Geser and the others suddenly turned serious.

“What’s with those faces? I’m not going to eat you. I have no interest in power; I just want to live a good life. Destroying this world does me no good,” Fiona shot them a glare. “Find me a whip. Without me, you’ll never defeat the Sea of the Dead.”

Fiona’s Derived Skills were based on a whip. Even without her original leather whip, she could still use them; she just wouldn’t have any more Demon Qi to help her restore her body and increase her power.

Since she was going to stay in this world, it was essential for her to build up some goodwill among these natives.

In truth, what she wanted most was the bone whip that the Skeleton Monarch would give birth to.

It was the product of the union between the Skeleton Monarch and the leather whip. She had a feeling that whip would have some miraculous functions.

If she wasn’t mistaken, that whip should be pregnant again.

If it gave birth again, she would have two miraculous whips.

Thinking about it this way, life in this world might not be so bad after all. However, the prerequisite was that the warlike Aragon must also eliminate the other stream of Demon Qi.

…

The Skeleton Monarch had devoured the Undead Mist for the sake of the child in its belly.

After all, the Lava Giant’s baby was too big; its original body size simply couldn’t handle it.

Now, with a body eight or nine hundred meters tall, a Magma Treasure several meters long seemed much more normal inside its belly and barely affected its movement.

But with its Luck Value debuffed, its escape was proving to be exceptionally difficult.

Panicking and fleeing blindly, it would use stealth only to crash into a mountain or fall into a lake at every turn—things that would have been completely impossible before…

Of course,

it would also fall into towns.

Upon entering a densely populated area, the Skeleton Monarch would spread great clouds of Death Qi, harvesting the lives of ordinary people to replenish the nutrients being drained by the fetus and the Demon Qi needed to repair its body.

After all, Li Ye had been relentlessly smashing its head. If it didn’t replenish its energy, its skull really would be shattered by him.

The fetus was gradually making its hard bones porous, and its defense was constantly decreasing.

This ability to make things pregnant was just too disgusting.

Yet, its desire for new life made the Skeleton Monarch unable to bring itself to rip its own child out…

…

“What’s that thing trying to do?” the scroll asked.

“It’s trying to lead disaster elsewhere,” Li Ye said grimly. “It wants to lure me into the sea. As a native of this world, it naturally knows the ocean is a forbidden zone. And it should know about the existence of that stream of Demon Qi in the sea.”

Once upon a time, Li Ye had a similar idea: if he couldn’t beat the Skeleton Monarch, he would lure it into the sea.

He never expected the escape route he had prepared for himself would be used first by the Skeleton Monarch. Truly, life is unpredictable; you never know what you’re gonna get…

“Can we finish it off before it reaches the sea?” the scroll asked.

“No.” Li Ye shook his head. “But it doesn’t matter. The streams of Demon Qi can sense each other. With one of the four now gone, the thing in the sea was bound to come out sooner or later. Fighting one, fighting two, it’s all the same. We’ll just beat them both up at once.

“Being lured over by the Skeleton Monarch is actually more advantageous for us. Maybe those two will start fighting each other first. Besides, the thing in the sea doesn’t know about my ability, right?”

“Makes sense,” the scroll agreed.

The chase lasted from night until day.

Li Ye chased the Skeleton Monarch all the way to the seashore.

At sunset the next day, the Skeleton Monarch gave birth to its and the Lava Giant’s baby: a skeleton over ten meters tall with lava flowing through it.

Then,

it tossed its child far away before plunging headfirst and without hesitation into the mist over the sea.

Li Ye ignored the Magma Treasure and followed it in.

The instant he entered, he successfully bound the Skeleton Monarch once more and slapped a Filthy Cloth onto its forehead.

As his proficiency with Binding with Ropes grew, Li Ye’s speed had already surpassed the Skeleton Monarch’s.