Rise of Humanity

by <unknown>

  Yu Xuanji and Hu Qimei’s heart thumped quickly as they saw that scene and they almost let out a shout. They were so worried as their lives depended on Zhong Yue. If were to suffer suffered any heavy injuries, their own fate wouldn’t end up looking much better either.

  Therefore, their hearts slightly relaxed in relief upon seeing Zhong Yue recovering from the stagger.

  Zhong Yue continued his advancement and Yu Xuanji tensed up again. He then whispered to Hu Qimei, “Soon, Ming King’s divine eye will enter the array formation. Back then, I messed up and almost had myself killed because I was avoiding the attacks of the divine eye totem carvings. I wonder Brother Long Yue could pass this stage….”

  Hu Qimei’s heart was also palpitating in nervous trepidation as he watched Zhong Yue continue walking.

  Suddenly, the Ming King’s divine eye totem carvings on the pontoon bridge erupted and a laser shot towards Zhong Yue, accurately landing on Zhong Yue’s forehead!

  Yu Xuanji and Hu Qimei let out a scream and they no longer dared to look at Zhong Yue. After a moment, Hu Qimei slowly opened her eyes and saw Zhong Yue standing on the pontoon bridge unflinchingly while the totem carvings turned into an actual divine eye about the size of a pot that continued to incessantly shoot rays towards Zhong Yue’s forehead!

  Zhong Yue on the other hand, was still channeling the Ba Ji Slaughtering Array and he ignored the lasers that shot towards his forehead.

  “Brother Long Yue, are you still alive?” asked Yu Xuanji with a shaken voice.

  Nothing could be seen from their point of view as they were facing Zhong Yue’s back, making it impossible to observe the situation at his front.

  “I’m fine.”

  Zhong Yue’s voice could be heard and the divine eye began to shrink before the divine eye totem carvings eventually disappeared, with the eye itself also vanishing along with it.

  So close, I was so close to cultivating out the Fu Xi divine third eye. But it’s fine, after another ten or so days, I will be able to cultivate the divine eye by absorbing the essence of the beast god inner pearl.

  Zhong Yue lamented and he walked up towards the sixth stage. He looked around and saw the wall, that supposedly stood beside the stage, destroyed by a mysterious force. A huge footprint was also left behind by some kind of creature.

  This footprint is exactly the same as the one in the Black Mountain Cave. Seems like I was right, that big guy really did come here!

  Zhong Yue walked towards the front of the palace and saw tens of collapsed pillars and shattered battle puppets strewn all over the palace. It looked like the Monster God Ming King created some battle puppets in order to protect his corpse, but they appeared to have been destroyed by the big guy.

  There was also an empty blood pool somewhere not far away from the stage. There was also a stone tablet in the pool with King Teng standing in front of it.

  “The writing on the tablet talks about how the Monster God Ming King extracted his own divine blood out from his body into the pool to make sure that his blood would not evaporate even after a few million years, so that the later generations of the monsters could inherit his legacy.”

  King Teng suddenly said and he continued talking, “But the divine blood was drunk by the creature that intruded this palace. That would explain why it was able to kill the previous Saint city Lord.”

  Zhong Yue walked up and closely inspected the stone tablet. The writing on the tablet expounded on how the Monster God Ming King was ordered to stand guard here in order to safeguard the treasures here until the time has come for the treasures to be taken back by their owner. Once this inheritor got to this place and drank his blood, that person will then have the power to move his corpse away and enter the chamber to replace the Monster God Ming King in safeguarding the treasures.

  “So where is the body of Monster God Ming King?” said the confused and stunned Zhong Yue.

  Then, he saw the body of Monster God Ming King, an eight-handed monster god with only its skin left, its flesh seemingly plundered away!

  Other than that, the skin was also littered with tiny holes as if it was being bitten by thousands of ants. The divine energy was all gone.

  “The body of the Monster God Ming King was eaten by that creature.”

  King Teng lamented as he said in regret, “Seems like we are unable to obtain the complete【 Monster God Ming King Art】 anymore. Other than that, that bloody creature even placed additional seals onto the treasures protected by the Monster God Ming King.”

  As he spoke, vines danced around in the air just like slithering snakes and they lifted the ground where the corpse of Ming King lied. Two doors could then be seen and there were strange pictures on the walls. In the middle of the doors was a monster insect with five types of poison in its body and five poison totem carvings with some parts missing.

  A thought struck Zhong Yue and he immediately recalled the token he obtained from Zhu Xianer. There were similar pictures on the token, except, for the five poisons were on the outside while the mother insect was in the middle.

  But then the five poisons totem carvings precisely coincided with the missing totem carvings on the doors. It could complement the existing totem carvings on the door to complete it.!

  The key to the doors is right in my hands!

  Zhong Yue inhaled a long breath and thought, So inside the door must be the treasures that Ming King was beseeched to protect! And the only obstacle between me and the treasures is this King Teng!

  Chapter 131: Aberrance |

  “Brother Long Yue, seems like you are very interested in what’s inside the door?”

  King Teng’s sights were sharp, gazing at Zhong Yue’s countenance, scrutinizing every minutia of his expression, “The seal has a flaw in it, which was the door’s key. While the seal was placed by the creature that left this place, its prowess was already at the level of magnates. In conjunction with the celestial blood coursing through its veins, and the consumption of the monster god Ming King’s meat, flesh and even the bones ... All of these made the seal nearly impenetrable. Only magnates could have a slight chance of cracking it. But Brother Long Yue, just a second before, I caught a glimpse of joy in your eyes, and I can sense that your heartbeat quickened by a beat. Could it possibly be that Brother Long Yue has some measures to unlock the door?”

  Zhong Yue smiled, and he nonchalantly took out the token that he plundered from Zhu Xian’er’s corpse and said smilingly, “That’s right, the key is right here. I seized it after having killed Zhu Xian’er, and it so happens to be the key that unlocks this door. Honestly speaking, Zhu Xian’er is of the insect race, and also the disciple of that creature. She came here to the Black Mountain secret realm at the behest of her master. Her purpose was most likely to investigate what the saint city lord was planning and also the state of the treasure that was sealed by that creature.”

  King Teng’s breath turned rapid, he stared vacantly at the token in his hands. Moments later, King Teng lips cracked into a smile, “Brother Long Yue showing me the key, seems like you’ve intentions to kill me. You knew very well yourself that once you revealed the key, I would kill you for sure without mercy. You are forcing me to kill you, and also, forcing yourself to kill me.”

  The key itself involved many things, it must not be exposed or otherwise, not only the ‘big guy’ would come for them, the saint city lord would also hunt for them. It would only bring a calamity upon its holder.

  It was all because the Black Mountain suppressed the Devil Soul Forbidden Land, and Ming King was the monster god that was tasked to guard the treasures hidden in the Devil Soul Forbidden Land.

  Such a treasure, its attraction in the eyes of the magnates could be clearly seen!

  Hence, so long as a word was spoken about the key, the holder would be doomed to an ending no other than death!

  The key was the final piece required to enter the inner sanctum that contained the treasures that Ming King was tasked to look over. Whether it was Ki
ng Teng or Zhong Yue, they would never allow each other to walk out alive from this place lest they spill the tales!

  Hence, Zhong Yue took out the key right in front of King Teng, robbing himself of all options other than to fight to the death with King Teng right here, right now!

  “Between you and me, only one can walk out alive. Taking out the key is merely an assurance.”

  Zhong Yue kept the key, his body rocked as he morphed into the eight-armed Ming King. He said indifferently, “King Teng, you held the name of the ‘undying one’, and you apparently have no weak points. Not even the Wu Xing Wheel experts can do anything against you. Along the way, I’ve seen your prowess, and indeed, it was impressive ... fairly admirable.”

  He abruptly stomped his feet heavily, bolting out like a nocked arrow finally let loose. In the blink of an eye, he was at the side of King Teng!

  King Teng also rocked his body, morphing into the eight-armed Ming King, and the two clashed together!

  Krong——

  King Teng was sent reeling back, slamming into a gigantic pillar in the Ming King palace, he exclaimed out involuntarily, “Such a strong physique? You are indeed worthy as one of the dragon race!”

  The moment he clashed with Zhong Yue, he could feel the overwhelming strength contained within Zhong Yue’s muscles, channeled from his bones and through to his muscle and skin, culminating in a massive burst of power!

  The overwhelming strength was like an explosion, sending him flying. He was evidently unable to match Zhong Yue in terms of strength!

  “King Teng, when the saint city lord was ranking the monster Rebirth Qi Practitioners, you were placed at the second place, one step behind the Heavenly Monster, Li Jun. Clearly, your undying body is not truly undying at all!”

  Zhong Yue dashed over in a zigzag course. One second, he would be on the left only to be on the right in the next. It was hard for anyone else to predict his movements. Eight arms quivered vigorously and all the weapons emerged in his hands — sword, saber, hammer, whip, shields and hook swords. Like a typhoon blowing violently, slamming over towards King Teng while he smirked coldly, “As long as it's not truly the undying body, then you can be killed!”

  King Teng’s body also shuddered as the weapons emerged in his own eight arms, slashing over toward his opponent. The shields collided with each other, blocking the attacks, hook swords clawed and slashed all around. They fought across from one end to the other, wielding and swinging their weapons, clashing and colliding with each other. The high-pitched screaming of the weapons resonated dissonantly throughout the room. King Teng was continually pushed back from the immense impact force coming from Zhong Yue’s body. His body shuddered violently, and his control over his weapons was disrupted!

  It was the same【Monster God Ming King Art】, it was nearly the same depth and degree that they cultivated it to. However, Zhong Yue was able to suppress King Teng due to the overwhelming strength in his body!

  “Ba Ji Slaughtering Array!”

  Shouted Zhong Yue as he attacked while King Teng released a sonorous cry and all of a sudden, all eight weapons crossed together and formed the Ba Ji Slaughtering Array. He growled fiercely, “Ba Ji Shield Kill!”

  The powers in the weapons merged together and flooded into the two shields. The shields were raised up side by side, and he hammered them down over towards Zhong Yue. It was one of the transformations of the Ba Ji Slaughtering Array — focusing the combined power through the shield’s strike!

  “Ba Ji Hammer Strike!”

  Zhong Yue yelled out loudly, the muscles on the eight arms bulged out as he cast the hammer strike of the Ba Ji Slaughtering Array. As the indomitable hammer collided with the shields, King Teng muffled a deep groan in pain and staggered backward.

  “Ba Ji Saber Cut!”

  Bright white rays of saber flitted over at the heels of the hammer —Shua shua shua— slashing down at King Teng’s head in a fan-like formation, from the left, right and top!

  King Teng’s arms wobbled vigorously, the shields flipped over and arranged themselves to form a shield wall, “Shield Wall of Defense!”

  Zheng zheng zheng——

  The discordant sounds of clanking metal could be heard endlessly, and as the shield wall was broken by the saber rays, they continued onwards to penetrate through the cracks on the shield wall!

  “Ba Ji Sword Slash!”

  Shua——

  Chi chi chi—— The sword rays pierced through the air and blasted into King Teng’s body, slashing on him apart, resulting in the vines being eviscerated and strewn about all across the ground. All of a sudden, his Yuan Shen leaped out from behind his head and also visualized the eight-armed Ming King, clenching tightly on the eight weapons to fend off Zhong Yue’s assault.

  “Shield Strike!”

  Zhong Yue yelled out fiercely, he galvanized the power into the twin shields and slammed at King Teng along with his Yuan Shen —Krong!— launching him away to crash into the wall.

  “Hehehe … interesting….”

  King Teng leaned on the wall and stopped himself from falling onto the ground, he suddenly chortled lowly, it grew louder and louder, to eventually turn into a maniacal laughter, “Brother Long Yue is truly strong, you are worthy enough to witness my true strength.”

  In this instantaneous passage of time, his body suffered at least a few dozen wounds, but none of them were oozing blood out. He had one of his arms severed away by Zhong Yue, and three broken fingers on the other hand, his nose was slashed away and his flesh was lacerated, and yet, he appeared indifferent to his sorry state.

  Just as Zhong Yue was about to press forward, he suddenly stopped down and flipped backward in retreat —Chi chi chi— in the blink of an eye, the ground beneath him cracked open and large thick vines extruded out, thrusting towards him like swords!

  Zhong Yue’s eight arms wobbled, waving the weapons in the air, warding off the vines and twines. He landed down on the ground and as he cast his gaze over at King Teng, his pupils could not help but constrict — the vines snaked over at King Teng, interweaving each other. In a mere moment, they formed thick and sturdy muscles, tendons, blood vessels, bones, fingers, toes, limbs, head and hairs!

  Dong——

  King Teng alighted from the palace wall, waving his eight arms in the air and slowly stood up. He was now an over two hundred feet tall eight-armed giant. He cast his gaze over at Zhong Yue, and in his eye sockets, emerald green vines slithered like snakes curling together, ultimately forming his eyeballs!

  The vine giant was heavily built, it was different to how King Teng looked before. it was stronger and better in every regard. Vines snaked around his legs like pythons, supplying him with strength and energy like muscle fibers. His head was also made of the vines, and even his heart looked like as if dozens of giant pythons were coiling in his heart chamber!

  “Brother Long Yue, it’s rare that I ever reveal the full limits of my power, not even eighty percent of all. But for you, who is worthy enough, I will show you that eighty percent!”

  King Teng measured his body, and his eyes suffused with admiration. He praised, “My mortal body ... there aren’t any weak points like the other monsters. My strength can reach to the peak, my psyche is immense, and my Yuan Shen is flooding with life force! What is that saint city lord, who couldn’t even acquire the fully completed【Monster God Ming King Art】. Selecting a closed door disciple was only a cover for us to help him in completing the flawed【Monster God Ming King Art】. How dare such a clown of a saint city lord say that I’m not the match of Heavenly Monster Li Jun!”

  Zhong Yue’s heart thumped in shock, for him to blurt out such words, it was clear that King Teng had long seen through the monster saint city lord’s intentions. In fact, through all the stages, it was quite probable that the complete【Monster God Ming King Art】was lost in the relentless flowing river of time. What’s left was only the flawed and incomplete【Monster God Ming King Art】. Even if the saint city lord were
to come here himself, he would still not be able to acquire that vaunted【Monster God Ming King Art】. Surely, the part where it related to the Ming King divine eye would be missing.

  King Teng battered his mountainous fist over. They were hefty and strong, trembling the air around that resonated with a sound reminiscent of the rumbling thunder. It was so strong that it could not be mentioned in the same breath as before!

  “The Heavenly Monster, Li Jun died in the black forest, he is not even worth a shit, how blasphemous that he be put in the same sentence as me!”

  His body was colossal, and accordingly, his strength was not hollow — The bigger the body, the greater the strength – this was a fundamental principle of life. Although he did not use the Ba Ji Slaughtering Array nor the Ba Ji Weapons, the sheer strength in his punch was even more threatening than the Ba Ji Slaughtering Arrays!

  Zhong Yue released a fierce growl while he cast the Ba Ji Slaughtering Array — saber rays flashed in the air. Sword Qi flitted around, the overwhelming hammer slammed over, the long whip lashed horizontally, hook swords clawed over and the great shields struck out. The combined strength and power of the weapons were aggregated to contend against King Teng’s domineering punch.

  KRONG!!

  An ear-deafening sound of explosion could be heard as they clashed into each other, quaking the palace violently. Zhong Yue was finally able to block the punch, the saber, sword, and hook swords slashed open the vines snaking on the fist, the overwhelming hammer warded off the immense strength in the fist and the two shields blocked down the fist’s thrusting, while he himself was almost sent into a stupor by the immense impact force.

  Almost instantaneously, the broken vines on King Teng’s fist flipped over, slithering in the air like pythons and thrusting at him from all domains!

  Chi Chi Chi—— Sword rays flitted out from Zhong Yue’s skin surface and formed the 【Seventh Sword Style】lacerating the python-like green vines. With a flash of his body, he bolted towards King Teng!