Chapter 540: Beast Tide Pursuit

Long Ao had no objection whatsoever to the three conditions proposed by the Ancient Divine Dragon.

As the saying goes, strength is everything.

He simply wasn't strong enough to object. It was just as the Ancient Divine Dragon had said: if Long Fu ever felt he was unsuitable, they could find a replacement at any time.

This was what it meant to have power. To survive and thrive in this dog-eat-dog world, one had to possess overwhelming strength.

"Long Ao, I am about to disappear. One last thing—while I have temporarily suppressed the Nine-Tribulation Demon Dragon, Long Fu is completely unable to refine it. You must be wary of its backlash."

He nodded, but before Long Ao could ask anything, the Ancient Divine Dragon had already vanished.

Letting out a deep sigh, Long Ao turned and left the Dragon Seal Space without saying another word to Long Fu.

After Long Ao had gone, Long Fu suddenly spoke. "Old Ancestor, this scheme you've arranged... it seems a little..."

"Enough. This matter ends here. My goal is singular: Long Ao must break through to the Peak in the shortest time possible. Otherwise, I'm afraid I won't be able to hold on."

Long Fu didn't speak, but something new flickered in his eyes.

'The Twelve-sided Chaos Stone Tablet.'

Despite obtaining the Chaos Stele, Long Ao wasn't as happy as he'd imagined he would be. He didn't know why, but he had a persistent feeling that he had been swept into some earth-shattering conspiracy.

'The Celestial Dao.'

'Long Tian and the Ancient Divine Dragon.'

Long Ao knew in his heart that the Celestial Dao, the Ancient Divine Dragon, and Long Tian were among the most powerful existences in Heaven and Earth. He, on his own, was in no way qualified to get involved in their grievances.

'But the Ancient Divine Dragon has already chosen me. What can I possibly do?'

At that moment, Long Ao finally understood why he had obtained the Dragon Seal Space during his breakthrough in the family's ancestral hall. It seemed nothing was ever that simple.

Forcibly suppressing his feelings of helplessness and frustration, Long Ao decided not to linger in the Beast Tide Forbidden Land any longer. He prepared to return to Kyushu and see what the situation was.

This time, with the Beast Tide invading Kyushu, the continent could have been completely spared if only the Four Great Forces had closed the transport passages in time.

But in any case, the Kyushu Spirit Realm was thoroughly out of luck. Unless the Four Great Forces committed their full strength, the Spirit Realm's fate was already sealed.

Before the Beast Tide's arrival, Long Ao might still have believed that the Four Great Forces would use their full strength to resist the invasion.

But now, Long Ao was one hundred percent certain the Four Great Forces would do no such thing.

If the Four Great Forces had been willing to act, they wouldn't have backed down from the fight before, each harboring their own ulterior motives.

Because of this, Long Ao was extremely anxious. But just then, from the distance within the Beast Tide Forbidden Land, countless Spirit Beasts surged forward. The Beast Tide had returned.

Long Ao didn't know whether to laugh or cry. The Beast Tide had withdrawn from its invasion, but he was sure the Kyushu Spirit Realm and Kyushu had suffered unprecedented destruction. This only made him more furious—the Four Great Forces, the Imperial City included, all deserved to die.

Long Ao didn't dare to clash with the Beast Tide head-on. Even as a Semi-Saint Martial Artist, he would be instantly engulfed the moment they met face-to-face.

'The Beast Tide...' Long Ao found it hard to imagine where it even came from.

'If I could control the Beast Tide, it's hard to imagine how powerful the Sect would become.'

There was no escape.

'Shit.'

Cursing internally, he saw that the number of beasts in the tide was simply too great; it was a dense, dark mass as far as the eye could see. Not daring to be careless for a single moment, Long Ao immediately turned and shot off. The chase was on, and the pressure from the Beast Tide pushed his speed to another level.

In this situation, Long Ao couldn't afford to care about anything else. He had one single objective: do not get caught by the Beast Tide.

Heedless of the direction, Long Ao shot toward the deepest part of the forest. The Beast Tide was also incredibly fast, each Spirit Beast completely crazed, its cavernous, blood-red mouth open as if to devour everything in the world.

'What the hell am I supposed to do?'

Gazing at the endless path ahead, Long Ao's heart sank to the depths. If this kept up, he would be caught by the Beast Tide sooner or later. When that time came, the consequences would be unimaginable.

Although he had no way to completely shake the Beast Tide, Long Ao wasn't about to pass up such a rare opportunity. He slowed down slightly, and then began his slaughter.

He sent both the souls and corpses of the Spirit Beasts into the Dragon Seal Space. This time, Long Ao clearly intended to wipe them out in one fell swoop, slaughtering every Spirit Beast he came across, regardless of its power.

Long Ao had already decided that he would, by any means necessary, build an invincible Corpse Slave Army. The Beast Tide was the perfect, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to do so.

Ninety-nine percent of the Spirit Beasts in the tide were not Holy Beasts, so with Long Ao's strength, slaughtering them was a piece of cake.

After killing no more than a thousand Spirit Beasts, Long Ao stopped the slaughter, turned, and resumed his frantic escape.

Who would dare to break ground on the head of a god, or pull a tooth from a tiger's mouth?

The Beast Tide comprised millions, even tens of millions of Spirit Beasts, a swarm so dense one could not see its end. Never mind someone daring to attack it; anyone, even a Divine Dao Martial Artist, would flee from the mere sight of it.

For this exact reason, Long Ao's sudden attack had thoroughly enraged the Beast Tide.

The result was predictable.

The Beast Tide's speed increased by a full one-fifth. It chased Long Ao with rabid intensity, wishing it could tear him limb from limb on the spot. This forced Long Ao to run even more frantically, without a moment's pause.

Before they knew it, both Long Ao and the Beast Tide had entered the deepest part of the forest. The surroundings were pitch-black; even the sky was invisible. It was like being in a sealed space.

Huh?

Letting out a soft cry of surprise, Long Ao was shocked. Just as he entered the Dark Space, the pursuing Beast Tide behind him had silently vanished. That's right—the tens of millions of Spirit Beasts had disappeared without a trace, not leaving a single one behind.

'What in the world just happened?'

Long Ao instantly grew extremely wary. The entire Beast Tide had suddenly vanished; even a ghost would know something wasn't right. Putting his guard up completely, he cautiously observed his surroundings.

Long Ao was certain of one thing: he was in a vast, sealed, Dark Space. As for just how large this Dark Space was, it was impossible to know.

Long Ao was also certain of something else: the terrifying Beast Tide, with its tens of millions of Spirit Beasts, had almost certainly come from this very Dark Space. Because of this, his expression grew even more solemn. He had no idea what this place was.

He couldn't figure it out. Long Ao simply could not understand where all the Spirit Beasts in the tide had gone. 'They vanished into thin air... Could this place have some kind of spatial passage?'

Long Ao meticulously observed his surroundings, but in the end, he still couldn't figure it out. With a helpless shrug, he turned to leave the Dark Space. 'Whatever is happening here has nothing to do with me. Right now, I only have one thing to do: return to Kyushu.'