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"Those who trespass upon the ruins—die!"
The blood-red skeleton stopped a hundred meters away from the crowd. Slowly lifting its head, the hollow sockets flickered with a crimson light, and a cold, ancient, raspy voice echoed through the grand hall.
Its thin frame stood silently in the middle of the hall. Behind it, thick blood mist swirled and billowed, accentuating the ghastly outline of its bones—making it appear even more terrifying.
Its once jade-white bones, after absorbing the surrounding blood mist, had now turned a deep, scarlet red, radiating a chilling, bloody aura.
Within the empty sockets, two faint flames of crimson flickered gently, like ghostly fire dancing in the dark. When that hoarse, ancient voice faded, the expressions of everyone in the hall shifted once again.
"Those who trespass upon the ruins—die!"
It seemed that unless they defeated this Dou Sheng skeleton today, none of them would be leaving this place alive.
"Everyone don't panic. Inside this Dou Sheng skeleton lies only a sliver of the remnant soul left behind by that mighty one before his death—it's not a true Dou Sheng."
"To defeat it isn't impossible, but the key is that we must fight together. Otherwise, if it picks us off one by one, we might very well all end up dead." Qiong Tian Zun said gravely.
"Wiped out completely?" Wei Yang sneered faintly, the corner of his mouth lifting in mockery.
That sounded a bit exaggerated.
He didn't know whether others would die, but if he truly wanted to leave, he was confident he could escape.
"Old Ghost Qiong, what you said isn't entirely wrong," Xiao Yan said with a small smile, "But since you were the one who woke this skeleton, why don't you be the first to make a move?"
Qiong Tian Zun's face stiffened.
"What's wrong? Don't tell me some people only talk big, but just want the rest of us to take the lead while they sit back and reap the benefits?" Xiao Yan sneered coldly.
"Hmm, that makes sense. This whole mess was caused by Old Ghost Qiong, so you should bear the main responsibility. If you want us to join forces against it, then you go first. Otherwise, we'll just scatter and run for our lives." Tang Zhen added calmly.
The other powerhouses hesitated briefly, then nodded in agreement. They had already been quite displeased with Qiong Tian Zun's reckless behavior earlier—now they certainly wouldn't be stupid enough to let him use them as shields.
Seeing this, Qiong Tian Zun's withered face twitched violently, his gaze turning venomous as he glared at Xiao Yan and Tang Zhen. Those two bastards had just shoved him straight into the most dangerous position—and there was no way out of it.
Judging by the situation, he couldn't back down now. If he did, he'd be the first to die. He could only grit his teeth and charge ahead.
"What everyone said does make sense. Since that's the case, this old man will take the lead. But I'll remind you all of one thing—the fewer of us that remain here, the more dangerous our situation will become."
"No matter what grudges we had before, we're all on the same boat now. If it sinks, none of us will end well." Under everyone's gaze, Qiong Tian Zun could only steel himself, nodding as he spoke righteously.
"Don't worry, Old Ghost Qiong—we won't just watch you die at the hands of this Dou Sheng skeleton." Xiao Yan said with a faint smile.
That made Qiong Tian Zun's face turn an ugly shade of green.
"Enough talk. If we're going to fight, let's move quickly. This Dou Sheng skeleton seems to be absorbing the energy within the blood mist to replenish itself." Wei Yang suddenly said.
At his words, everyone's hearts jolted, and they quickly turned to look. Sure enough, they saw the bloody hue on the skeleton's surface growing darker and darker, while the surrounding mist rapidly poured into its body.
"It's absorbing the blood mist's energy for itself. If we let it keep doing that, it'll have endless energy during battle. When the fighting starts, only the Dou Zun should stay—the rest must leave immediately." Wei Yang said calmly.
At first, everyone frowned slightly but then nodded one after another. After all, the Dou Zong cultivators here couldn't do much anyway. Staying would only let the skeleton feed on their energy. Leaving was better for everyone.
Qiong Tian Zun was clearly unhappy about it, but seeing that everyone agreed, he couldn't object.
Those Dou Zong experts, realizing they wouldn't have to fight, instantly relaxed and looked at Wei Yang with gratitude. They immediately prepared to flee the hall once the battle began.
Wei Yang stepped forward a few paces and said in a low voice, "Old Ghost Qiong, what are you waiting for? Start the fight."
Qiong Tian Zun's eyelid twitched violently. He took a deep breath and ground his teeth. "I know. You don't need to rush me."
At this point, he fully understood—there was no escaping this role. Without another word, his figure blurred, turning into a streak of shadow that shot toward the center of the grand hall where the blood-red skeleton stood.
An overwhelming surge of Dou Qi erupted like a volcanic explosion from within Qiong Tian Zun's body, spreading through the air in a wave of suffocating pressure as dark, sinister mist roared outward.
That overwhelming power instantly forced the blood mist filling the great hall to thin and scatter. Seeing this, everyone secretly nodded. As expected of Qiong Tian Zun—he still had some real skill.
After all, he was a high-level Dou Zun. Among everyone present, aside from Wei Yang, there weren't many who dared to truly look down on him.
"What are you still standing around for? If you're not leaving now, then when?" Wei Yang shouted in a deep voice toward the gathered Dou Zong.
Hearing that, the more than a hundred Dou Zong experts didn't dare to hesitate. They immediately unleashed their Dou Qi and shot toward the exit of the hall.
In an instant, more than half the people were gone. The ones remaining numbered fewer than twenty—and every one of them was a Dou Zun powerhouse!
Crunch—
The blood-red skeleton's crimson eyes flickered as it watched the incoming black shadow wrapped in surging Dou Qi. Its jaws opened and closed with a chilling clatter.
Then, it took a step forward. The dark red skeletal hand stretched out abruptly, grabbing straight toward Qiong Tian Zun.
Boom!
The skeleton's strike was terrifyingly fast. The instant its hand rose, the space before it was forcibly torn apart. Its arm pierced through the shattered void—and when it reappeared, it was already right before Qiong Tian Zun.
It was as though the space between them had been forcibly folded and compressed. Several dozen meters were easily bridged by that single motion. The speed of the attack, and its mastery over spatial force, made Qiong Tian Zun's heart sink slightly—but he didn't panic.
His palm clenched into a fist, and in that instant, all the Dou Qi within his body condensed onto his right arm. He suddenly punched out!
Bang!
When the two collided, the surrounding space shattered, forming a pitch-black void. That seemingly fragile skeletal hand was in fact harder than refined steel—by many times. Qiong Tian Zun's full-force strike merely forced the Dou Sheng skeleton to retreat one step.
As for Qiong Tian Zun himself, he was blasted backward over ten steps, looking somewhat disheveled. Yet instead of fear, delight flickered across his face. He could fight it!
The purpose of his coming here was to capture this Dou Sheng skeleton and bring it back. After that brief clash, he saw a glimmer of hope for victory.
Steadying his stance, Qiong Tian Zun moved again, his figure blurring as he charged back into the fray. He clashed with the Dou Sheng skeleton once more, igniting a fierce and explosive battle.
Wei Yang and the nearly twenty Dou Zun watching from the side were a little surprised. This Dou Sheng skeleton was indeed powerful—even someone like Qiong Tian Zun was steadily pushed back despite going all out.
But… it wasn't quite as terrifying as they had expected.
At most, its strength seemed to be around the peak of Nine-Star Dou Zun level. Still, when they thought about how this was only a long-dead skeleton—powered by nothing but a single wisp of remnant soul—they couldn't help but feel solemn.
If this was its power after endless years of decay…then how strong must a living Dou Sheng have been in their prime?!
That thought crossed the minds of many presents. Clearly, the combat strength this skeleton displayed left everyone deeply shaken and gave them a truer, more awe-inspiring sense of what the word Sheng truly meant.
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