Chapter 257

Collapse, confusion, rage…!

Various emotions intertwined in Ming's eyes as she stared fixedly at Fu Mu approaching her.

Past memories flashed through her mind.

No wonder, no wonder she proposed those proposals utterly useless to the Beast God Clan.

And I was deceived by her—I actually helped her push them through!

Ming was extremely intelligent; it was only because she had revered "Fu" too much these past years that she failed to notice the irregularities.

Now the truth was revealed—everything once obscured, all the inexplicable details, finally found answers at this moment.

She wanted to scream accusations, but didn't know what to ask.

The human race and the Beast God Clan have always been enemies; from Fu Mu's perspective, her actions were without a single flaw.

In the end, the only question she could ask was: "When did you begin impersonating Fu?"

"..." Fu Mu fell silent for a moment, "A long time ago."

"During the Fuyia Kingdom era?"

"Yes."

Fu Mu ultimately chose not to conceal it—after all, hiding these truths now meant nothing.

Seeing her admit it, Ming recalled that time in Fuyia Kingdom, then her two consecutive setbacks, her resignation and withdrawal, until finally Fu Mu ascended to the position of Grand Elder and invited her to assist...

Until now, she could not move, her life and death entirely in Fu Mu's hands.

A chill of sorrow welled in Ming's heart; after a long sigh, she closed her eyes as if resigned.

"Do it."

"Mm."

With a soft reply, Fu Mu raised her hand, fingers extended like a sword—bright golden light flared at her fingertips as they touched Ming's third eye.

Boom!

Crimson-gold flames surged upward, engulfing Ming entirely; the terrifying heat warped and fractured the very air.

The Beast God Clan's physique is much taller than ordinary humans; Ming herself stood a full head taller than Fu Mu's human form.

Thus, the rising flames towered far higher than Fu Mu's own height.

Life force steadily drained away...

Just as her life force neared total extinction, Ming—eyes tightly shut within the crimson-gold flames—suddenly opened them again.

"Scatter my ashes into the sea."

Her tone held no trace of resentment—only calm.

A flicker of complexity passed through Fu Mu's serene eyes: "... Alright."

Humans are not grass or trees; nearly a thousand years of closeness could not leave no impression.

Hush~

A gentle breeze arrived; the crimson-gold flames subsided, revealing Ming had vanished—leaving only a small pile of crystalline matter glowing with seven-colored radiance.

With a wave of her hand, Fu Mu collected it, then transformed into a streak of Jin Guang.

In the blink of an eye, she vanished beyond the horizon.

Ming had always loved the sea.

The invitation she never voiced was meant to take her dear friend to the shore to relax.

Of course, that would never happen now.

Soon after Fu Mu departed, two more streaks of Jin Guang rose and disappeared into the distance.

…………

Cangyue Empire.

As one of the seven strongest nations besides the Beast God Elder Council, it hosted three hundred and twenty-seven Void-Return cultivators.

As a towering giant, Cangyue Empire suffered repeated attacks by high-level human cultivators during the early Great Purge.

But due to its formidable strength, its foundation remained unshaken.

Yet today, everything was different.

Cangyue Empire, Imperial City.

Along a flat road paved with white stone slabs, a figure of ordinary appearance and gentle aura walked slowly.

Her face, which should have worn a smile, was now utterly expressionless. Shriek!

A cacophony of hundreds of bird cries, piercing and shrill, erupted into rolling soundwaves that shattered and warped the air.

Glass curtain walls on skyscrapers exploded instantly; even the towers themselves collapsed under the terrifying sonic assault.

A terrifying shadow engulfed the entire bustling imperial city.

At the city's center, the majestic imperial palace had largely collapsed into ruins.

A bizarre avian beast, with wings spanning several kilometers, stood atop the rubble—seven uneven-sized bald heads shrieking incessantly with piercing, ear-splitting cries.

Its entire body was dark red; upon closer inspection, its wings and even its entire surface writhed continuously.

These were countless swollen, twisted limbs—skin and scales ruptured, revealing deep red flesh beneath.

Dense and countless, it induced instant dread.

Each flap of its wings scattered countless droplets of dark red blood across the land, corroding everything.

Not only that—on its belly were dozens of Beast God Clan skulls, each with white eyes, like fleshy tumors.

Behind it floated twisted spiritual forms, half fused into the dark red flesh, half drifting outside.

!. Read

Beast God Clan members who screamed and fled often only glanced upward—then their swollen flesh burst through skin and scales, transforming them into twisted monsters.

And behind that giant bird, another mutated soul would be added.

"The appearance is indeed a bit poor," Huo looked up at the dark red, mutated flesh giant bird, "but the effect is decent."

He forged it from three hundred and twenty-seven Void-Return Realm beast-god clan members of the Cangyue Empire.

Its power is nearly akin to Union with the Dao.

Withdrawing his gaze, Huo turned and walked into a drinks shop by the roadside.

Inside, it was empty, littered with fallen mud and wall plaster; with a casual wave, the shop instantly became clean.

Huo gathered some ingredients and brewed himself a drink similar to black tea.

Due to the beast-god clan's generally tall stature, he had to casually mold a suitable set of cups, saucers, tables, and chairs.

Outside the shop, tall buildings collapsed and mutated monsters rampaged, like a world's end.

Yet Huo sat inside, slowly savoring the local specialty beverage.

"Not bad."

After sipping for a while, he looked ahead, his gaze falling upon a space that did not exist in reality.

Within the space, numerous fat, bloated figures lay neatly in a row, motionless.

These were the human beings kept in captivity by the beast-god clan.

Ever since Xu Xing's sword strike, the beast-god clan had sensed the threat posed by humans and ceased keeping them captive.

But in recent years, with the Great Purge underway, humans had almost no capacity to resist.

So, some beast-god clan members began secretly keeping humans captive again.

At first, because such acts were strictly forbidden, the scale was small and prices were driven extremely high.

Until several years ago, the Supreme Elder 'Fu,' who had always been indifferent to human meat, published a book.

It clearly stated that under the supreme radiance of the Great Beast-God Sovereign, humans had lost all capacity to resist and that the needs of lower-tier beast-god clan members should be prioritized.

This statement was enthusiastically embraced by countless beast-god clan members.

Coupled with the high profits from keeping humans captive, many beast-god clan members secretly pushed for it, forcing the Beast-God Elder Council to declare it legal once again.

"The only lesson a species can learn from history is that it learns nothing from history," Huo murmured softly.

Yuan's words were truly spot-on.

But under normal circumstances, it would not have happened so quickly.

"That little fellow arranged by the Dao-brother is truly impressive."

Although this action might cause some harm to these captive humans.

But no matter what, being alive is what matters.

Being alive is more important than anything else… (End of Chapter)