Chapter 136: Evolution, The Blue Spirit Flame

The color of the sea—deep blue, with a touch of crystalline clarity and a touch of grandeur.

When the flames in Li Ren’s eye sockets had completely turned blue, the three forces that had once surged endlessly within him finally fused into one.

He clenched his fists. A sensation of power utterly different from before radiated from within his body, as though, in an instant, he had suddenly become more than ten times stronger.

Of course, this was merely his own impression, but it was already enough to show how profoundly this advancement had affected him.

Just as Li Ren was experiencing his newly evolved flames, far away, within Skeleton Mountain—

The Skeleton King rose from the throne upon which he had sat unmoving for ten thousand years. He sprang to his feet and stared toward Li Ren’s distant location. The scarlet flames in his eye sockets flickered violently, revealing the intensity of his emotions.

With a sweep of his hand, a dense field of points of light appeared before him, green and red nearly covering the entire expanse.

Arranged from the outside inward in their respective order, the lights varied in size. Among the red ones, especially near the innermost region, there was no shortage of particularly large presences.

Yet he paid none of them any attention. All his focus was concentrated on the very center of the field, where a tiny blue point of light was flickering.

“I truly never expected it. I truly never expected it!”

After a long while, the Skeleton King finally let out a deep sigh.

“You really haven’t disappointed me. But the speed at which you advanced has completely exceeded my expectations.”

He withdrew the points of light before him once more.

“That fellow Fan Yunshan is quite troublesome. He actually intends to ruin my plans.”

He paused, his right hand clenching tightly.

“If you truly mean to stop me, do you think I would fear a cripple like you, still recovering from your injuries? Once I possess that blue spirit flame, who knows which of us will be the one to deal with the other after I leave!”

As if he had finally made up his mind, the Skeleton King waved both hands. The gate to the third level of the Skeleton Cavern, which had never once been closed, slowly began to shut.

No one could be allowed to disturb him during what he was about to do.

Although, under ordinary circumstances, no one would truly come to Skeleton Mountain at a time like this, he was cautious by nature and closed the gate anyway.

In the lonely, empty hall, a blue point of light flickered without pause. Its pure blue radiance seemed capable of drawing a person’s soul into it.

The Skeleton King turned his right hand over, and a small, pitch-black tablet appeared in his palm. Its surface was densely carved with profound markings, the countless incantations occupying nearly every inch of its space.

Had one not looked carefully, it would have been easy to overlook them entirely.

With a low shout from the Skeleton King, dark magical power poured continuously from his hand. Under the pressure of that immense force, the black tablet began to absorb the magic frantically.

The symbols carved upon it seemed to come alive, drifting across the tablet’s surface. When the Skeleton King released an even stronger and denser surge of dark magic, the symbols floated into the air as though they had truly gained life, circling endlessly around the blue point of light.

As their speed increased, faint, almost imperceptible pulling forces emerged from the symbols.

Li Ren was concentrating on experiencing his newly acquired power when a sudden wave of nausea swept over him. He vaguely sensed a mysterious force rising from the void, one that was attacking his soul.

Although he had never understood what it meant to damage a soul, the moment that force acted upon him, he knew with perfect clarity what was happening.

Along with the nausea came dizziness and blurred vision. Darkness descended before his eyes, while his ears rang as though the entire surrounding space had begun to quake. It was also as if he had been sealed inside a gigantic bell and someone outside were striking its walls with tremendous force.

The sensation was horribly distorted, tinged with something like tearing, and he began to panic slightly.

Nor could he be blamed for that reaction. The force had appeared far too strangely, without any discernible source. It had locked directly onto Li Ren’s soul, tearing at it viciously like a venomous snake. It had remained still a moment before striking with devastating force.

Under the sudden assault on his soul, no matter how powerful his external strength was, all of it seemed inherently suppressed before this unknown force that had appeared without warning.

It was like a wolf entering a flock of a hundred sheep. Though the latter possessed an overwhelming advantage in numbers, they were still unable to produce any genuinely effective resistance.

Luo Yun City.

Fan Yunshan, who had been resting with his eyes closed, suddenly opened them. He cursed under his breath, a vicious glint flashing briefly through his eyes. With a turn of his body, he left the city lord’s hall. A dragon hawk then soared into the sky and flew toward the Illusory Mountains.

Only then did Shadow, who remained in the hall, react. All that lingered behind was Fan Yunshan’s voice, slowly echoing through the chamber:

“The city lord is in danger. Assemble the army immediately. The target is the Skeleton King.”

Shadow bit his lip.

“So my premonition was correct after all?”

A sudden surge of agitation rose within him, but he forcibly suppressed it at once. He hurriedly summoned Lania and sent men to notify Landis in Yuxiao City.

For now, all they could do was trust that Fan Yunshan would arrive in time.

“Skeleton King! You despicable bastard! You escaped me in our previous life, but this time, you absolutely will not get away!”

Shadow was completely enveloped in a murderous aura.

Lania, standing nearby, looked at the man before her in astonishment. Shadow had always appeared to be a genial, harmless sort, and the sight of him now left her deeply shaken.

The army was rapidly assembled in Luo Yun City. As the teleportation arrays lit up, large numbers of vampire troops passed through them and arrived in Yuxiao City, the place Landis was currently defending.

Without a doubt, Yuxiao City was the closest location to Skeleton Mountain.

Even without Fan Yunshan’s final words naming the Skeleton King as the target, Shadow knew that Li Ren was now in danger. The source of everything had to be that despicable and ruthless bastard.

After stepping out of the teleportation array, Shadow saw Landis waiting before him, her face equally cold and grim. He gave her a slight nod.

“Don’t worry. Our master will be fine.”

Although he said this, he could not be completely certain that Li Ren would escape unharmed.

After all, he himself had nearly met with disaster at such a critical moment in the past. If everyone had not been there beside him, the events that followed might never have occurred.

This time, however, Li Ren was alone in the Illusory Mountains.

Although the present circumstances had already diverged somewhat from what had happened before, the fact that an incident resembling that past disaster had appeared once more made its potential consequences all too obvious.