Chapter 90: The Crisis of Beneficial State

"This is really a good opportunity!" the Red-clothed Devil smiled, taking out a seed from his bosom.

That seed was no different from ordinary tree seeds, all black; the Red-clothed Devil stared at the seed, then placed it into the formation.

The formation's light gradually became brighter and brighter; the earlier dark red had turned into a vivid red, and the formation's light, no longer flickering, grew ever brighter.

"The pseudo-Seven Star Formation, although it cannot have the power of a true Seven Star Formation, but with this tree's seed and that fellow inside, I suppose it's you, will also be difficult to deal with, Aoding." The Red-clothed Devil used a knife to cut a wound in his palm, red blood nourishing the seed; soon, the sapling slowly grew.

"That child, you can come out now, right?" the Red-clothed Devil said, his eyes somewhat sorrowful; he closed his eyes, trying not to recall the scene from back then.

He touched his left side where there was no arm, which was merely an illusion; the giant wolf had bitten off his arm, and amidst the gods' laughter, only he could not laugh.

He had lost his arm.

The giant wolf's mouth opened wide, nearly touching heaven and earth, yet the gods placed a huge sword inside his mouth!

The huge sword stood upright; as the giant wolf tried to close its mouth, the sword stabbed painfully into its maw.

The giant wolf let out a desperate roar, while gazing at the gods with eyes full of hatred; those ugly faces, they were merely afraid that their rule would be threatened!

The Red-clothed Devil forever lost his arm, and the giant wolf also lost his freedom; two poor fellows, one deceived by the gods, the other also lost his arm because of the gods!

Now, he is no longer a member of the gods; after the twilight of the gods, due to some chance, he came here, using his magic to conjure an arm, then he abandoned his name, identity, everything, dressing in red here and calling himself the Red-clothed Devil.

The Red-clothed Devil recalled those unbearable memories, then looked at the seed that had sprouted; he decided to turn Beneficial State completely into his own territory!

"This is merely my own Tree of Life!" the Red-clothed Devil said.

He stepped out of his room, seeing the joy in the king's sleeping palace, hearing the king's delight in pursuing wealth; the Red-clothed Devil also gradually grew numb, beginning to slowly become accustomed to such a king.

"You chase wealth like a fool, but what do you finally gain? Bodily ailments or mental pleasure?" the Red-clothed Devil said to the sky, closing his eyes and listening to the king's joy at obtaining the Treasure Chest.

The king, in his sleeping palace, from the time he obtained the Treasure Chest, his consciousness gradually came under control of that thing, and the king's sleeping palace also began to become more and more chaotic.

Various garments on the floor were simply thrown aside; the king constantly clung to the Treasure Chest, laughing openly, while the concubine on duty tonight coldly observed everything, harboring much resentment in her heart.

She summoned the maids to clean the room, but the next moment the room would again become utterly disordered; the concubine had had enough, preparing to leave the king's sleeping palace.

"Where are you going? Look at my great treasure, how beautiful it is, how adorable!" the king seized the concubine, then proceeded to show it off to her.

The concubine could no longer endure it; she shoved the king away, the king also startled, seeing his Treasure Chest fly out of his hands, he leapt up, stretched out both arms, and caught the box again.

And that concubine, precisely because of the king's action, managed to break free and leave the king's sleeping palace.

"Thank goodness you're all right!" the king held the box in his hand, examining it carefully, fearing any damage to the object in his grasp.

The guards closed the gate; the sentinels all sighed, faced with a king possessing supreme wealth, the owner of the entire state, driven utterly mad by a mere box!

The night was deepening; with the cicadas' chirping, time passed bit by bit, the soldiers growing drowsy, when suddenly the sky brightened!

The soldiers widened their eyes, gazing at this strange sky!

In an instant the sky became like daytime, then, visible to the naked eye, it rose, hanging straight in midair!

"What is this?" the soldiers panicked, frightened silly by the sight before them.

"Quick! Go fetch the Red-clothed Devil to have a look!" a soldier, having received the order, sprinted straight toward the Red-clothed Devil's location.

The remaining soldiers entered the king's sleeping palace, only to find the king still toying with that box; at that moment, a soldier charged forward and smashed the king's Treasure Chest in his hands with a single blow!

"You! Why destroy my things?" the king, seeing his beloved object destroyed, felt his anger rise instantly, and demanded directly.

The soldiers did not answer the king's words; several looked at the Treasure Chest before them, which had merely split open a crack, then another soldier stepped forward, drew his side sword, and pulverized the Treasure Chest!

The king widened his eyes, knelt on the ground, and said heartbroken: "My, my treasure is gone!"

That soldier gazed at the Treasure Chest now chopped in half, finally exhaling, thinking the matter could be settled.

The soldiers felt heat building behind them; looking up, they saw the beams already ablaze!

The soldiers were greatly startled; they then grabbed the king and sped up, running toward the gate!

The beams gradually burned, emitting crackling sounds, then only a thud was heard as a piece of wood slammed directly in front of several people.

"What a pitiful country, what a pitiful populace, you are all a bunch of miserable worms!" the flames burned, issuing from deep within the palace.

"Who!" the soldiers became alert, then looked around, trying to discover who was speaking.

"How pitiful and lamentable, are you all like this? When the demon box was opened, humanity's evil was released, yet the hope within the box was eternally preserved." The flames burned, and a woman's voice sounded from behind, her voice gentle and beautiful, yet full of allure.

The soldiers listened to that voice; they dared not look back, and could only run forward, hoping to escape the king's sleeping palace.

"Fire! Quick, put it out!" the other soldiers inside the palace, seeing the king's sleeping palace engulfed in flames, bustled into action.

Soldiers began lifting buckets of water, dousing the palace bucket after bucket, yet still could not halt the blaze.

The soldiers knew they could not contain the fire, yet they kept throwing bucket after bucket of water toward the king's sleeping palace, the water splashing straight inside; but as the flames grew larger, they ceased pouring water.

"Why did you stop?" a soldier asked.

"Because the new king has already appeared." As the words fell, a boom was heard; the entire sleeping palace had already collapsed, accompanied by rolling thick smoke, and the flames began to gradually die out.

The scene before them was undoubtedly tragic; the king's sleeping palace, from the start of the fire, turned into scorched earth in less than two hours, the air filled with the smell of burnt.

The firefighting soldiers turned away one after another, refusing to look at the charred corpses; they could no longer recognize the full appearance, hair completely burnt, bodies curled up.

"Carry them off!" the chief issued an order.

Having received the order, the soldiers began to return and prepare stretchers, while the chief, however, bent down to pick up the gold coins and jewels from the ground.

The chief's eyes were full of greed; he dug with both hands, unearthing the treasures from the king's sleeping palace.

Looking at the gold and jewels in his hands, the chief's eyes gleamed, revealing a greedy expression, just like a wolf.

The soldiers brought the stretchers, directly tossing the king onto them; some soldiers asked, "The king is the most precious person. How can we treat his corpse like this?"

The chief gave no reply, gazing at the sky; the sky that had suddenly turned like daytime earlier had now faded, returning to night, and he waved his hand, signaling them to carry the stretcher away.

The soldiers slowly carried the stretcher away, while at that moment the chief felt the valuables tucked in his bosom.

"No matter how much wealth you had in life, in death you must still go into the earth, becoming nutrients for the land." The chief said thoughtfully.