Chapter 1130: The Poisoned A Kun Da

"Abnormal state?"

In the palace atop the Luo A Temple, Ke Er Sa Luo watched the giant bear Wu Suoke, whose size had shrunk to about five meters, furrow his brow and asked, "What abnormal state?"

His Thunder‑forged divine soldiers were scattered across the entire Southern Continent, infiltrating every important city to gather detailed information. Most Luo A deities had also been covertly observed by the Thunder‑forged divine soldiers, but a few Luo A had never shown up; the Divine Dragon was seen head but not tail.

Thunder God A Kun Da was one of them.

The Thunder‑forged divine soldiers had been infiltrating the city where it resided for several months, yet they never saw A Kun Da. It was assumed to be its temperament; a few Luo A were the same, so no particular suspicion arose.

Wu Suoke shook his head: "I can't explain it either."

A recollection flickered across its bear face, and it added, "A Kun Da is a tremendously powerful thunder lizard. Before becoming a Luo A, it was unknown; about three hundred years ago, it suddenly defeated the Luo A of A Wo Dun, and that's when I learned of it."

"I've encountered A Kun Da a few times. When not provoked, it is very peaceful, even possessing a kindness unsuitable for Luo A, being extremely tolerant of its followers, and having no ambition."

"Its strength..."

Wu Suoke's expression grew complex, "Before I lost the Creator's Altar, A Kun Da's strength was only slightly less than mine."

He meant that now he was far weaker than A Kun Da.

Ke Er Sa Luo smiled and reassured, "When you become a Grand Mage, you will quickly regain strength, and will be even stronger than before."

"That would be wonderful!" Wu Suoke's eyes filled with anticipation, and he continued, "Among the three Luo A in the southern Gulaman Empire, the strongest is Bo Ge Ya En. It is extremely ambitious and has been plotting to invade neighboring territories for years; A Kun Da and I can only form an alliance to oppose it."

"So A Kun Da and I keep in frequent contact, sending messengers to each other every year, and occasionally communicating privately through the Creator's Altar."

"But a few years ago, the messengers stopped."

"I could still contact A Kun Da privately, ask what happened, and it said it didn't know, as if it had forgotten our joint efforts."

"Because I feared Bo Ge Ya En might notice, I couldn't ask too much, so I had the Madheart Tribe secretly send people to Ge Li Fu to investigate, only to find that the Lightning Tribe appeared normal on the surface, but in reality their faith in A Kun Da had weakened."

Wu Suoke's expression grew solemn, and he said no more.

Ke Er Sa Luo also understood: when the Ogre Tribe's belief in Luo A wanes, it usually means trouble for the Luo A. Wu Suoke had kept this secret, likely intending to exploit the situation, waiting for a chance to defeat A Kun Da and seize its territory.

"I understand," Ke Er Sa Luo nodded.

Wu Suoke suggested, "Master, I suspect this is Bo Ge Ya En's plot, but it previously feared me, so it only prepared without acting. Now Giant Bear Ridge has been conquered by you; once Bo Ge Ya En learns the news…"

Ke Er Sa Luo glanced at it, internally dismissing the speculation.

In the city where Bo Ge Ya En resides, there are also Thunder‑forged divine soldiers, continuously monitoring the Luo A whose true form is a Sun Bird; it is currently inactive.

"I'll decide myself; you go meditate."

"Yes."

Wu Suoke walked to a corner of the palace; its bear den had been moved here, and for the past month it had lain in the den almost motionless, having successfully mastered the Star Lake Meditation Method, gaining magical power, and rapidly advancing to a high rank, becoming a Ninth‑rank Mage.

Its current goal is to quickly ascend to Legendary Mage, so it can develop the Six‑Ring Transformation Technique and change from a giant bear into a humanoid form.

The giant bear lay down in its den and closed its eyes.

Soon, footsteps echoed in the palace.

After the footsteps departed, Wu Suoke's right eye quietly opened a slit; the familiar palace was empty, with only itself present.

Its gaze involuntarily fell on the golden high wall, the gate leading to the Creator's Altar.

If it breaks in, there is a chance to reclaim its power!

For over a month, Ke Er Sa Luo had repeatedly left the palace, showing none of the extreme reverence other Luo A have for the Creator's Altar, never forbidding outsiders from approaching. Moreover, he even allowed himself to continue residing in the palace, seemingly unconcerned about seizing the altar.

"He must have other safeguards!"

"Sigh…"

Wu Suoke let out a soft sigh in his heart, filled with loss and hesitation, and finally suppressed the impulse born of fear toward Ke Er Sa Luo, set aside the thought, and truly immersed himself in meditation.

The palace returned to silence.

What it did not know was that every move was entirely under Ke Er Sa Luo's control; if it dared touch that golden wall, it would be a declaration of death.

After leaving the Luo A Temple, Ke Er Sa Luo toured around Wodahil City, inspecting the Madheart Tribe. Meanwhile, Reslin had already teleported to "Ge Li Fu", the location of Thunder God A Kun Da and the center of its domain.

Ge Li Fu was built within a massive canyon dozens of miles long; Reslin teleported to the sky above the city, looking down upon it.

Like all Luo A cities, the most conspicuous structure was the Luo A Temple.

A Kun Da's temple was magnificent, taller than most Luo A temples; the palace atop it rose higher than the sheer cliffs on either side of the great canyon, appearing to exceed three hundred meters. Moreover, the palace's summit bore a massive lightning‑shaped ornament, seemingly cast of metal, glittering in the sunlight.

Reslin immediately sensed the uniqueness of the environment.

The Thunder‑forged divine soldiers had also investigated; A Kun Da's entire domain, "A Wo Dun", had a far higher density of thunder and lightning elements than elsewhere, with one‑third of the year shrouded in dark clouds and frequent thunderstorms, evidently linked to A Luo.

He observed for a while, and his figure faded.

The next second, Reslin appeared atop the Luo A Temple, focusing his gaze inward to the palace; the All‑Seeing Eye instantly discerned the interior.

A gigantic thunder lizard materialized before his eyes.

Thunder lizards of this kind are not rare in Ai Lun E Si; they exist not only on the Southern Continent but also on the Old Continent, New Continent, other continents, and numerous planes, with over a dozen distinct branches.

But Reslin had never seen a thunder lizard this large!

It measured nearly thirty meters in length, its limbs as thick as pillars; its massive, solid body was not at all bulky but extremely robust, radiating terrifying power. Its bluish‑gray skin resembled millennial tree bark, clearly possessing immense defensive strength.

Like most thunder lizards, a row of triangular osteoderms lined its back, but these were enormous, the smallest exceeding one meter.

Its head was exceptionally broad, bearing a massive single horn.

Its tail also bore several sharp spines; both the horn and spines were gray‑white, with occasional thick arcs of electricity coursing over them.

"What a powerful thunder lizard!"

Reslin exclaimed in admiration; this Luo A's divinity was far less than Wu Suoke's, yet still exceeded a hundred thousandfold. It wielded thunder power, possessed a god‑level divinity sufficient to seal a deity, and drew energy from the Ancient Sacred Altar, making its strength comparable to a Primeval Dragon!

However, A Kun Da at that moment was motionless, its eyes tightly shut as if asleep.

A large pool had been built inside the palace, and the thunder lizard lay within it, letting the deep‑blue water cover its limbs. Around it, a group of ogre priests continuously poured pool water over its body, keeping the massive form moist.

A tall ogre, apparently the tribal leader, stood before A Kun Da, muttering incantations as he performed a spell.

A faint beam of light erupted from his hand, entering A Kun Da's forehead.

Reslin watched for a while.

"Is this pool water poisonous?"

He silently teleported into the palace interior, standing beside the great pool, and the surrounding trolls did not notice anyone approaching.

He reached out, dipped his finger in the pool water, and smelled it at the tip of his nose.

"As expected, it's poisonous!"

This kind of pool water is specially formulated, smelling slightly sweet, and it has a calming effect on the mind and spirit, capable of soothing beasts in a frenzy, much like a tranquilizer.

But if overused, it seems to erode the brain and erase memories!

Luo A is a demigod; any wound, no matter how severe, can heal as long as there is divinity, even a grievously injured brain, but erasing memories may make full recovery difficult.

Continuously erasing Akun Da's memories with the poisonous pool is equivalent to controlling it.

Reslin was rather surprised that a Luo A could be poisoned and controlled by his own troll followers; from their attire, one can see they are Luo A's high‑ranking priests, holding very high status in the tribe and deeply trusted by Luo A.

He looked at the leading Luo A priest, and as expected, it must be this troll who orchestrated everything.

The purpose, needless to say, is obvious.

He wants to usurp Luo A's power!

But his strength is too weak; even if he controls Luo A, he cannot kill it. If it is too wounded, it may provoke Akun Da's fury, possibly causing it to break free of control.

Therefore he can only steal Luo A's divinity bit by bit.

Reslin shook his head.

Akun Da's divinity is too massive for mortals; at this troll priest's efficiency, it would take at least several hundred years to drain the divinity.

Reslin covertly observed for a moment; the troll priest's divinity was growing little by little. He must have been doing this for a few years; his strength rose from a Luo A priest comparable to a Saint Rank strongman to an upper Saint Rank, yet his soul did not transform.

He does not, like Sheng Jilisi, possess a MutatedPhone; forcibly siphoning divinity, if overdone, cannot be transmuted, and he would almost inevitably perish from a raging body.

Unless he can also control the Ancient Holy Altar.

Reslin waited quietly.

A few hours later, the troll seemed a bit fatigued and stopped extracting divinity.

He skirted around the great pool toward the palace's depths, where a stone wall had been erected, blocking the golden wall that leads to the Ancient Holy Altar. He went around the stone wall to the golden wall, looked left and right to confirm no one followed, lightly tapped the wall and muttered the opening spell.

The golden wall sank inward, opening a light gate.

The troll walked in.

The scene before his eyes shifted; he found himself on the Ancient Holy Altar deep underground, where the active altar flickered with golden light, illuminating the massive cavern.

Even though he had seen it many times, the troll was still awed by the sight.

He kept moving, heading toward the shrine atop the altar, preparing to continue studying this Creator's altar and seize its control.

"As long as I can control the altar, I can absorb Akun Da's power without hesitation and more quickly, replace it, and become the new Luo A."

"From now on, I am Akun Da!"

"The world's most brave, most clever, most noble, most powerful Akun Da!"

The troll, filled with excitement and anticipation, entered the altar shrine, when his complexion suddenly changed dramatically and his whole body froze.

He saw a person.

Accurately speaking, he had no concept of a "human"; what he saw was a strange troll with a straight torso, no fangs in its mouth, no fierce facial features, clad in light silver armor, wearing a crown of golden leaves atop its head, and carrying a war hammer.

But at that moment, the troll had no mind to concern himself with the strange figure.

He only cared about one thing.

"How did you get in?" the troll shouted in startled anger, almost completely losing composure. Since he seized control of Akun Da, for these years he has guarded the Creator's altar entrance without moving a step; any clan member daring to approach was instantly executed by him.

Logically, no outsider could have entered!

Why would…

Before the thought in the troll's mind could settle, his cognition jammed as if a cartridge were stuck, becoming extremely slow, and the world instantly fell silent, with no sound heard.

He found himself almost completely immobilized; "almost" because he could still move slightly, his eyes erupted with intense electric light, a small amount of divinity wildly burning, trying to break free from this dreadful control.

But everything was too slow.

The troll saw the opponent opposite vanish, moving faster than lightning, and instantly appearing before him.

The war hammer rapidly enlarged in his view.

Bang!

The troll's head burst open like a watermelon, but during Time Stop no drop of blood splattered; Sheng Jilisi appeared behind the troll, placed a hand on the corpse, and within seconds devoured more than three thousand units of divinity completely.

When Time Stop ended, the troll had become a withered corpse, and even his soul had been absorbed by the MutatedPhone, the true divine form completely annihilated.

Lei En opened a portal.

Ke Er Sa Luo stepped out, entered the shrine, and activated the golden panel on the platform.

Akun Da is not dead yet; one can only temporarily sever its permission to the Ancient Holy Altar. To do it completely, either kill Akun Da or spend half a month stealing the control permission.

Lei En quickly thought of a solution.

He opened another portal; this time a Thunder‑forged Divine Weapon entered, swiftly shapeshifting into the troll priest's appearance, stripping off its clothes and wearing them, looking identical. Soon, the disguised troll priest returned to the Luo A shrine, and the high‑ranking priest by the great pool did not notice any trace.

Ke Er Sa Luo stayed here to crack the Ancient Holy Altar's permission.

Lei En then transformed into Ke Er Sa Luo's form, returned to Wo Da Xi Er, and continued handling matters after conquering Giant Bear Ridge.

Half a month passed in a flash.

Ke Er Sa Luo successfully cracked the permission, taking control of the Ancient Holy Altar; the sleeping Akun Da did not awaken nor resist.

Lei En returned again to Akun Da's shrine, gazing at the massive thunder lizard.

Its Element manifested in the Soul Eye.

Among them was the legendary Element he cared most about; half a month ago, Reslin first spotted it, the Lord of Thunder.

And there were two!

It's back!

What did you all say? It actually triggered a sensitive word; the review blocked my leave request...

(End of chapter)