Chapter 158: Fight to the Bitter End (1)

Li Ren forced himself to calm down. The soul division had already consumed the vast majority of his energy. Whether the remaining half of the soul—which had been captured and imprisoned by the Nether Art of Soul Deprivation—could successfully return to its original body depended entirely on him!

Even the slightest tremor would cause Shadow's soul to scatter and cease to exist forever!

Fan Yunshan vaguely sensed that something was happening. Of course, they also knew how exhausting it was to cast a Nether Art, especially one belonging exclusively to the Nether King, and even more so when attempting to resurrect a soul whose burning had already essentially doomed it to destruction. One could only imagine what a terrifying toll this would take on the caster's own vitality!

He glanced toward Moran beside him, who happened to be turning to look at him at that exact moment. Both of them furrowed their brows. Fan Yunshan nodded solemnly, and Moran, as if completely reading Fan Yunshan's thoughts, nodded in return. The two of them simultaneously turned their gazes back toward Li Ren and the Skeleton King.

At this moment, not the slightest trace of fatigue could be seen on Li Ren. He stood quietly in place while the golden chains formed by the Nether Art danced wildly around him. This brimming aura made the Skeleton King's expression hesitant and uncertain.

Logically speaking, Li Ren should have fallen into a state of depleted strength at this point. However, given the Skeleton King's gloomy disposition, he simply could not believe that Li Ren would genuinely disregard the danger of his presence and exert himself to the utmost to save someone who, in his eyes, was entirely useless.

It was precisely this indecisive mindset that ultimately bought Li Ren a precious sliver of time to fight for the final hope of reviving Shadow.

Time slowly slipped away amidst the Skeleton King's hesitation. On one side lay absolute interest, and on the other, absolute risk. Whichever side he considered, the Skeleton King needed time to weigh his options.

Although he knew Li Ren probably had little strength left to spare—and even Fan Yunshan and Moran had not dared to act rashly—the current stalemate seemed to benefit Li Ren to some extent, as he desperately needed time to complete the Nether Art and grant Shadow a glimmer of survival.

If the two of them were to suddenly join the fray at this moment, it could trigger unpredictable consequences.

For a time, none of them made a move.

Fan Yunshan and Moran stared fixedly at the Skeleton King's figure. At the slightest sign of movement from him, they would charge forward immediately, determined to stop the Skeleton King at any cost.

Controlling the golden chains, Li Ren had now reached the most critical juncture.

Shadow's soul had already entered his body, but due to the missing half, no matter how hard he tried, the soul refused to merge with the physical form. Perhaps it was also because the recent release of that powerful soul flame had caused severe damage to Shadow's original body as well.

With each successive attempt, Shadow's already frail soul gradually grew more and more translucent.

If that momentum of weakness was not stopped, it might not be long before it completely dissipated on its own.

An intense anxiety gripped Li Ren's heart. Whether considering the harm this continued delay would cause Shadow or the escalating pressure that maintaining such a technique placed upon his own body, every factor dictated that this Nether Art could not be allowed to persist indefinitely.

Feeling the energy within his body plummeting rapidly and the sensation of weakness growing progressively more acute, Li Ren knew he had reached his ultimate limit. Gritting his teeth, he forcefully drove Shadow's exceptionally faint soul deeper into the body.

The vacant space left by the missing half of the soul violently rebounded once more. This counter-shock was so fierce that, if mishandled, Shadow's fragile soul might well be shattered into pieces under the impact!

At the very moment he resolved to forcefully press Shadow's soul inward, Li Ren had already devised a desperate measure.

That was to complete Shadow's soul!

However, Shadow's other half-soul had long since burned away completely, making it impossible to find any normal component to replenish it. Suddenly, a flash of golden light swept across Li Ren's body. Upon seeing this familiar golden radiance appear, the Skeleton King was startled and instinctively recoiled, while Fan Yunshan leaned forward, determined to block the Skeleton King's path at all costs.

Yet in the end, neither of them moved an inch, because the emergence of that creation energy was not aimed at the Skeleton King at all, but was instead surging directly toward Shadow's body!

Li Ren's original idea was to rely on the mighty power of creation to forcibly transform that strand of energy into Shadow's missing half-soul and fill the void. Although he might lose many things due to the permanent absence of that portion of his own soul, if this succeeded, Shadow would at least survive, wouldn't he?

As long as one lives, there remains hope—this was the unwavering conviction burning in his heart!

The golden energy of creation poured endlessly from Li Ren's body toward Shadow's. Very soon, the golden light shifted entirely from Li Ren into Shadow.

Shadow's flat, lifeless body also began to glow with a brilliant golden light at that moment. Watching this scene unfold, the Skeleton King looked as though he had seen a ghost. He stared fixedly at the strand of creation energy that had completely flowed into Shadow's body, clearly finding it extremely difficult to accept the outcome.

"You actually gave the energy of creation to a guy like this?! And all of it! Without leaving a single bit behind?!" The Skeleton King suddenly flew into a rage. Part of the reason he had stayed behind was precisely for that sliver of creation energy.

The power of creation was the very energy used when heaven and earth were first formed. In terms of rank, this power was completely equal to the Annihilation Death Ray; one governed creation while the other governed destruction. After the formation of the universe, only a tiny fraction of both remained, and through countless eons, even that fraction had steadily diminished. It was entirely possible that the sliver of creation energy he had witnessed within Li Ren was the very last one in existence!

Yet Li Ren had now used this arguably most precious treasure on a wretch he wouldn't even deign to glance at, simply to reshape his soul and resurrect him!

This was utterly absurd! The Skeleton King found himself completely unable to accept such an outcome.

By now, he could finally confirm that Li Ren truly lacked the strength to kill him any longer, but he had also lost the prize he had coveted so intensely. Hatred surged within him! He hated his own hesitation for not attacking while the Nether Art was only half-cast.

Anything said now seemed too late. Stung by what he perceived as Li Ren's utterly irrational action, the Skeleton King let out a furious roar and charged swiftly toward Li Ren.

Simultaneously, Fan Yunshan and Moran also flashed forward. Just as they were about to collide, Li Ren raised his eyes, where his blue soul flames flashed with a chilling, ruthless light.