Upon hearing the elder’s words, Bone Demon slowly removed the hat from his head.
His crimson skull, with eyes surging with demonic energy, stared coldly at the elder.
“Demon... you’re a demon,” the patriarch of the God Race exclaimed, instinctively stepping back two steps.
The two guardian elders beside him also tensed up noticeably.
“What, scared?” Bone Demon chuckled.
The elder's expression grew dark, but he quickly regained composure. He looked at Bone Demon and asked, “Why have you come to our God Valley? You're not really thinking of exterminating us, are you?”
“I don’t know if the remnants outside will die, but you definitely will,” Bone Demon replied.
He crossed his arms as bones crackled and snapped around him, stepping toward the elder.
“Together!” the patriarch shouted to the two guardian elders.
In that instant, all three emitted brilliant white light from their bodies.
Dense divine power surged around them, their expressions solemn, like gods from the past descending to earth.
“Not truly of the Samsara God Bloodline, but they’re clearly much stronger than the remnants outside,” Xu Zimo muttered to himself.
Divine power radiated from the three as they charged toward Bone Demon.
“How foolish,” Bone Demon snorted coldly.
Surging demonic energy rolled across the bones around him, blanketing the surrounding space.
He smashed one elder into the ground with a single punch.
The floor beneath shattered with a loud “boom,” and the guardian elder, covered in blood, collapsed.
Another guardian elder circled behind Bone Demon and struck his back with a palm.
With a “bang,” Bone Demon remained unscathed, while the elder was instantly engulfed by demonic energy.
His divine power eroded away bit by bit as he screamed in pain.
As for the patriarch, while the two guardians fought, he turned and fled toward the forbidden area.
“He can’t escape,” Xu Zimo said calmly to a worried Jiu You.
He took out the Demon-Locking Bell and approached the two fallen guardians.
He extracted their essence blood and slowly let it drip into the bell.
As the blood touched it, the ancient bell let out two faint rings.
Wisps of demonic energy seeped out, but after the two chimes, the bell returned to silence.
“Seems the bloodline still isn’t strong enough,” Xu Zimo murmured.
The three then headed toward the forbidden area.
Crossing the empty plaza, they arrived at the entrance of the forbidden grounds.
The area was surrounded by walls. The ground was overgrown with weeds, and these plants seemed to have some divine awareness, reacting to any who entered.
At this moment, the gate had already been opened by the fleeing elder.
That elder had clearly run into the forbidden grounds.
Bone Demon looked up at the imposing statue before them and frowned. “I sense a strong divine power.”
As they entered the forbidden area, Jiu You realized it resembled a zoo.
Inside were countless cages, each imprisoning a remnant used for experimentation.
Some were so tortured they no longer looked human. Their throats had been ruined, rendering them speechless, only able to grunt faintly.
Jiu You glanced around. There were at least several hundred captives.
Her body trembled slightly at the sight.
Xu Zimo moved deeper into the forbidden area and found an altar at the end.
The altar wasn’t large, shaped like a hexagon, and seemed to hold a formation.
To one side of the altar was a pool.
The pool was filled with thick blood, already foul-smelling from time.
The elder sat solemnly at the altar’s center, seemingly in prayer.
“If you had run earlier, you might’ve escaped. Since you insist on walking to your deaths, then so be it!” the elder shouted.
The blood in the pool began to boil.
This wasn’t ordinary blood, it was the essence blood from the bodies of God Race remnants.
Each person's essence blood was limited, who knew how many had to die to gather so much?
The hexagonal formation glowed with divine radiance, godly energy swirling around it.
Within the blood pool, the essence blood coalesced into a floating crimson orb.
Bone Demon tried to intervene, but Xu Zimo stopped him.
“It’s a summoning,” Bone Demon said.
“Let him summon. If a true Samsara God Bloodline descends, it’ll help unlock the Demon-Locking Bell,” Xu Zimo said with a smile.
As the red orb floated mid-air, it shot into the void in an instant.
Seconds later, the orb reappeared at the gate of the forbidden zone, before the massive God Race statue.
It slowly merged into the statue’s brow.
The statue began to tremble as its stone surface cracked and fell away.
The pace quickened, as if something inside was awakening.
“Mighty Radiant God, awaken!” the elder cackled maniacally at the altar.
“Looks like some of the God Race survived that ancient war,” Bone Demon scoffed.
“No rush. I’m curious to see these so-called Ten God Bloodlines,” Xu Zimo said, waving his hand.
…
As the statue crumbled, the previously dormant light within began to radiate.
The sky changed. Vast divine power erupted from the statue, stirring the heavens.
The statue’s arm moved slightly, followed by a loud explosion. Dust flew.
From the haze, a pair of eyes slowly opened.
When the dust cleared, a man emerged.
He was shirtless, with bronzed muscular skin exuding explosive power.
His blood flowed in reverse, cycling as if trapped in samsara. Illusory runes etched themselves across his flesh.
His hair was snow-white, and starlight flickered in his eyes as he stepped through the dust.
“Gu Yun, why have you summoned me?” he asked the elder at the altar.
The elder remnant’s name was Gu Yun.
“Radiant God, the demons have revived. I couldn’t handle them and had to call on you,” Gu Yun said, bowing hastily.
The man furrowed his brows, turning to look at Bone Demon.
He snorted. “Bone, you barely survived that great war and didn’t have the sense to stay hidden? You dare challenge our God Race again?”
“I was wondering who it was. Turns out it’s you, bastard,” Bone Demon replied coldly. “Looks like Lord Seven-Face didn’t teach you well enough back then.”