Chapter 796: The Beasts’ Nest and the Golden Egg

Chapter 796: Chapter 796: The Beasts’ Nest and the Golden Egg

The ground trembled. The abyssal chasms tearing through the terrain did not spew disoriented creatures or hungry hordes of cultivators; the thousand-eyed beasts and corrupt matter golems surged forward in a stampede, ignoring the armies trying to defend their camps. Every abyssal entity fixed its trajectory toward a single point.

At the center of the map, the earth thrust upward. A tower of black stone and bone spires erupted from the depths, erecting itself as a monument visible from every corner of the dimensional plane. Thousands of flying and terrestrial beasts converged upon the structure, descending onto its ledges and surrounding gulfs.

Ethan watched the phenomenon with narrowed eyes, feeling the Orb of Death vibrate in his grip.

Crul... what is that thing? asked Ethan mentally.

Crul’s voice echoed directly in Ethan’s mind, cold and analytical.

[Those creatures are Abyssal Devourer Beasts], explained Crul. [This tower is their ancestral nest, and they have entered their mating stage. It is their most violent period. The alpha female is deep within the structure, and the specimens descending are males competing to breed. A slaughter is about to begin in there.]

Ethan contemplated the carnage beginning around the stone monument.

I suppose that’s the true challenge of this plane... thought Ethan. Why would I waste my time going to that place?

[Master, the female is not the true prize], answered Crul. [The goal is the primordial egg of that species. It is a first-rate familiar; anyone who hatches it gains a second life, as the creature swaps its life for yours to survive a fatal blow. Furthermore, their bloodlines are compatible with yours. If you devour them all, you could break your current limit and ascend to the Realm of Spiritual Transcendence.]

However, Crul’s presence trembled within Ethan’s consciousness.

[Wait, master. Something is wrong. Really wrong], warned Crul.

At the center of the terrain, the fight among the beasts halted. Thousands of specimens froze, bending their limbs and lowering their heads to the ground.

From the depths of the tower, a colossal silhouette emerged. The mass of flesh and obsidian plates forced its way outside. It was the alpha female, ten times larger than the surrounding males. A violet miasma emanated from its body, weighing on the air.

Old bastard... muttered Crul in Ethan’s mind.

What is going on? asked Ethan.

[The female entered its chaotic state], explained Crul. [This occurs once every thousand years. This species must choose a new queen, but the egg of the next queen requires an immense amount of energy. The egg will devour the mother from the inside as it develops, but upon hatching, the new queen will be born already pregnant and will need a feast to grow. When there are no prey, the queen devours the males... however, now there are far more nutritious beings in sight.]

Ethan watched as the massive beast turned its thousand-eyed head directly toward the plain.

"It’s us...", said Ethan. "That old bastard... An optional tower was far too easy for him."

Ethan extended his arm and ordered the undead to return to the Orb of Death. The tide of shadows dissipated into violet smoke and returned to his hand. Seconds later, he drew his sword. The queen began advancing in the opposite direction from Ethan.

The mass of obsidian marched toward the area where the majority of the other competitors were located.

"Should we help them or stay on the sidelines?" asked Isabella.

"We must go," said Ethan. "If that thing finishes off everyone, we will be next."

The armies of the different vassal kingdoms scrambled to regroup at the foot of the mountain, forming a defensive line with runic shields and walls of spiritual energy. However, when the tide of abyssal beasts and the colossal Chaotic Queen crashed into them, the military formation disintegrated within seconds.

Ordinary soldiers were crushed, swallowed whole, or slaughtered before delivering a single blow. High-grade armor shattered like parchment beneath obsidian claws. For these beasts, whose bloodline stemmed from the ancient Void creatures that infested the deepest layers of the continent before the Era of the Great Imperial Purification, the spiritual energy of the cultivators was nothing more than concentrated food.

"Hold the line! Have the archers use Starlight arrows!" shouted the crown prince of the Storm Kingdom, a young talent positioned at the peak of the Dao Manifestation Realm.

Brandishing a massive spear imbued with thunder laws, the prince leaped toward one of the ten-meter beasts, unleashing a direct strike against the creature’s chest. The blow barely managed to crack the obsidian carapace, leaving a small scorch mark while the shockwave bounced violently back into his own arms, making him bleed from the mouth.

Beside him, other heirs and young geniuses from vassal kingdoms fought desperately, using ancestral treasures and inherited techniques to inflict minor wounds. Every strike demanded a massive drain on their spiritual reserves, while the beasts, by consuming the flesh of fallen soldiers, regenerated their tissues almost immediately.

"We can’t hurt them!" screamed the general of the Black Tide Kingdom, narrowly dodging a tail swipe that tore ten of his personal guards to pieces. "They are creatures of primordial miasma! Common spiritual energy does not penetrate their defense!"

In the midst of the slaughter and despair, a figure clad in yellow robes stepped firmly through the terrified soldiers. It was the blind monk of the Smiling Buddha Kingdom, a young genius whose presence immediately stood out on the battlefield.

Seeing one of the ten-meter beasts pouncing on a group of wounded men, the monk stepped forward and threw a direct punch against the creature’s armor. A dull thud echoed through the air, and the beast exploded into a thousand pieces of flesh and obsidian.

"It’s the blind monk from the Smiling Buddha Kingdom!" shouted a soldier, recognizing him.

The monk pressed his palms together and began reciting a sutra in a low voice. Around him, a pure golden light expanded fiercely, causing a sacred chant to echo amidst the chaos. Behind the monk’s back emerged the silhouette of a giant thousand-handed Buddha, forged from golden aura.

With every movement of his arms, the Buddha unleashed a hail of massive palm strikes that crashed directly into the abyssal tide. The ground shook as hundreds of beasts were crushed and pulverized within seconds, reduced to ash by the divine energy of the sutra.

The soldiers and princes of the vassal kingdoms, witnessing the mass of destroyed creatures, began to cheer and celebrate in relief at the display of power.