Chapter 133: The Ritual Begins

……

"I am surprised... how did you get in?"

The person sitting on the Blood Throne spoke suddenly; Ling Xi and the person in the black robe hurriedly blocked Lv Cheng behind them.

By the light of the altar's fire, the three were able to see the face raised above the Blood Throne.

"Fang Gu? Why is it you?" Ling Xi was very surprised.

"Where is the Ancient King?"

"I am, or rather, I am the new Ancient King." Fang Gu stood up.

"The true Ancient King vanished long ago in the passage of time; what remains is merely an Armor Robe fused with his skin, and this Blood Throne that can command the Undead Kingdom."

"Whoever reaches this place first can inherit everything of the Ancient King!"

"His White Palace, the Undead Kingdom he created with his own hands, his endless Magic Power, his unparalleled wisdom..."

"Enough, shut your mouth." Lv Cheng waved his hand, and a terrifying firelight struck Fang Gu, burning him to nothing on the spot.

The Armor Robe, having lost its body, drifted back onto the Blood Throne like a ghost.

"This..." Ling Xi could not quite comprehend the scene before her.

"Did you not even figure out the situation with the Ancient King?" Lv Cheng asked.

"The true Ancient King Ying Zheng died two thousand years ago, but his Undead Magic and his obsession with eternal life condensed his residual soul, which had not yet dissipated at the time, and fused it into this Armor Robe."

"In other words, the Ancient King, strictly speaking, is merely an Artifact Spirit, or to be more precise, an Artifact Undead."

"In short, an artifact spirit."

"The people of the Endangered Village have the blood of the Ancient King flowing in their veins, so they will not be attacked by the Undead, nor will they be rejected by Sha Yuan."

"The so-called descendants of the Ancient King are merely a contingency for resurrection that Ying Zheng left for himself while he was alive; they themselves are just a sacrifice."

Ling Xi narrowed her eyes, "You mean, whoever can control this Armor Robe can inherit everything of the Ancient King?"

"More or less." Lv Cheng nodded.

"However, once you put this thing on, you will merge with the residual soul of the Ancient King within it. Someone stronger might be able to persist in keeping their own consciousness for a period of time, but eventually, they will all be devoured by this Armor Robe and, like Fang Gu, end up as a sacrifice."

Upon hearing this, Ling Xi, who had just been about to make a move, stopped very sensibly.

The strength of the Undead is closely related to their age, not to mention that the Ancient King was a Five-Element Forbidden Curse user while alive. The stronger a person is, the stronger the Undead they become after death; she did not think she could kill this thing in return.

It would be better to just wait for this thing to drift into the inner city on its own and devour those million people to revive.

"What if I could order the million-strong undead army to withdraw from the Ancient Capital before I am devoured by this thing?"

A voice full of vigor suddenly rang out. Lv Cheng and the others turned to look, and Zhankong, dressed in military robes, flew up from below the altar.

"Then you would become the savior of the Ancient Capital." Lv Cheng smiled.

Zhankong is also a legitimate descendant of the Ancient King, and his High-Level Full Cultivation is already considered a fairly satisfactory body for the Ancient King. If he were any stronger—if he had the soul of a Super Level or even a Forbidden Curse—this residual soul might not be able to control him completely.

But High-Level Full Cultivation, this state is just right; not too strong, and not too weak.

The best choice.

However, as a young master of the Zu Family, a family of the Curse Element, he must have life-saving means, especially regarding his soul.

This Armor Robe is now just a residual soul; even if it wants to completely obliterate Zhankong's consciousness, it will take time.

That is why in the original story, Zhankong was the Ancient King for a period of time. However, he could not hold on for much longer; it was precisely because he knew he was about to be devoured by the Ancient King that Zhankong went to the Holy City to seek death.

An Ancient King with Zhankong's consciousness still has a part of a living person, but once Zhankong's part is completely devoured and the true Ancient King revives, that is an Undead Emperor!

To an Undead Emperor, only the dead are its subjects!

Would the dead care whether the living die or not?

They would! Of course they would!

Just as the dead are aliens in the eyes of the living, the living are equally aliens in the eyes of the dead!

To the dead, only the dead are kin!

"You want to put on this Armor Robe?" Ling Xi's tone changed subtly.

Su Meng is here, and Lv Cheng will not be in trouble, so naturally, she no longer needs to have any concerns.

"The Ancient Capital is in imminent danger..." Zhankong walked forward with a heavy expression.

"Lv Cheng, if I die, I hope you can go to the Tianshan Rift to help me find a person named Qin Yu'er and bring her a message."

"I, Zhankong, have never feared anyone in my life, nor have I ever given up, but this time... I have failed her."

"Thump!"

As soon as the words fell, Zhankong involuntarily knelt to the ground.

"Since you have failed her, then go down and rest." A strange, ghostly green ball of light appeared in Ling Xi's palm at some unknown moment.

"Poison..." Zhankong's consciousness gradually blurred, and he fell to the ground, his whole body powerless.

"So easy?" Lv Cheng's expression was a bit strange.

Is the young master of the Zu Family so easy to kill?

Although it is true that as long as you take the initiative, a Super Level killing a High-level Mage is like child's play, but it shouldn't be this sloppy, right?

"Easy?" Ling Xi raised her eyebrows.

"This is a method I learned from the experiments in Bo City before. Anesthesia. Even if he has many life-saving Magic Tools on him, in this invisible toxic mist that can even knock out Commander-level monsters, he has to fall asleep."

As she spoke, Ling Xi walked closer to Zhankong, took out her professional murder dagger, and stabbed it into Zhankong's heart.

A strange soul aura erupted, and Zhankong was finished.

Lv Cheng's eye twitched.

As expected of Salang of the Black Vatican; the curse energy contained in this dagger, let alone Zhankong, a High-level Mage, even if he were hit by it, he would be in pain for a while!

As for the protective Magic Tools on Zhankong, no matter how awesome the Magic Tool is, you have to activate it for it to be useful.

It's not like everyone has an artifact spirit Magic Tool with an automatic protection function; how many of those are there in the entire Magic world?

"The ritual is ready, you may begin."

Tso Lan's voice suddenly rang out in Lv Cheng's mind.

"What are you doing?"

Seeing Lv Cheng walking toward the Armor Robe again, Ling Xi and the black-robed person hurriedly blocked his path.

"The two of you, I am very busy right now, please move aside."

Red light erupted from Lv Cheng's eyes as he spat out a hoarse Demon voice.

"Alright?"

"..."

"Why is there no movement?"

Outside, under the organization of the Mages, the people of the entire city began to pray in the manner instructed by Tso Lan, but nearly half an hour had passed, and there was not the slightest movement.

"Are you playing us for fools?" a Hunter King from the Hunter Union asked suspiciously.

Tso Lan couldn't even be bothered to look at him, "Why there is no movement, you know yourselves."

"I said it already, be sincere. Look at you all; never mind your hearts, there isn't even a shred of reverence on your faces."

"What do you think you are doing?"

"You are calling upon a Demon God! Not a Summoned Beast!"

It was strange; even if the faith energy was not enough, Lv Cheng should have started devouring souls by now, so why was there no movement?

What was he waiting for?

Time ticked by second by second, and the entire city echoed with all sorts of praises and prayers, but the Summoning Array on the ground did not produce any reaction as Tso Lan had claimed.

Gradually, people began to grow suspicious.

"Could we have... been deceived?"

"Could it be that the Mages have already quietly fled for their lives?"

"..."

Once these words were spoken, the citizens who were praying immediately reacted.

There was no sound of battle, not even a flicker of Magic light; the Ancient Capital was pitch black!

Could those Advanced Mages have really abandoned them and fled?

Just at this moment, the special Barrier that had originally shrouded the outside of the Golden Barrier suddenly began to dissipate, and the torrential rain fell back in.

At the same time, streaks of Magic light began to light up from the west of the Ancient Capital.

"What is the situation?" Han Ji asked in confusion.

"President, several high-level members did not want to sit and wait for death, so they called upon the Mages under their command and chose to break through," an Imperial Guard Mage reported quickly.

Han Ji looked at Tso Lan, "What is the situation with the Barrier?"

"When too many people inside want to go out, the Barrier will automatically disappear; where there is an exit, there is an entry," Tso Lan opened one eye.

"Did I not tell you?"

"..."

The expressions of the crowd stiffened.

When the hell did you say that?!

(End of chapter)