Given the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents' rumored ability to contend for dominion over the Shadow World, her comprehension of shadow power had clearly already reached an extraordinarily high level.
Sure enough, the moment the shadow power manifested, it immediately replaced the purifying holy light from before. Even under the cataclysmic force of the blood-red lightning and spatial storms, it stood as steady as a mountain.
"...Ten Thousand Serpents, Devour!"
The gray shadow power boiled over, coalescing into countless giant serpents that bared their fangs at the colossal devil's palm.
"Ha! ...The gates of the new world shall ultimately open for me!"
Horrifying gray serpents hissed in multitudes — Devil White Phosphorus Serpents, Comoin Giant Serpents, virtually every descendant of the Ten Thousand Serpents could be found among these shadow serpents.
The tremendous force, combined with the corrosive shadow energy, immediately tore gaping wounds across the devil's giant hand.
But
A beam of black light surged from within the rift and merged with the dark-red blood moon hovering in midair.
The sphere of light squirmed and shifted, eventually taking the shape of a colossal phantom — enormous, tattered membrane wings riddled with holes, an eerie arm bearing seven fingers, black musculature coiling with raw power, and a face covered in countless compound eyes that seemed to form soul vortexes. Most terrifying of all, the Devil King's flames that perpetually wreathed its form — every detail proclaimed its horrifying might!
Beelzebub, this powerful Devil King and favored child of the Primordial Power of Consumption, had finally descended into the Inferno World!
In that instant, it was as if the entire world held its breath, while several terrifying streams of consciousness watched from afar.
"A split soul?!" Leilin studied Beelzebub's condition carefully.
Due to the earlier world traversal and the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents' assault, the entity's appearance was rather wretched. Both devil arms had sustained devastating injuries, and its body was covered in horrifying spatial cutting wounds.
But none of this could suppress the overwhelming aura of power and evil emanating from it — the very air around it seemed tainted, and the corruption was steadily spreading.
"His true body must be far too powerful to traverse directly. So he can only split his soul and cross in spirit form..."
Leilin's eyes flickered rapidly.
"Compared to physical traversal, spiritual crossing consumes far less energy. But even so, this crossing has dealt him devastating injuries... Of course, if this weren't the Inferno World, I suspect the split soul might have simply been annihilated outright..."
Compared to other worlds, the resistance Beelzebub encountered crossing into the Inferno World was already the lowest possible. Had he attempted to traverse the
The more powerful an entity, the greater the suppression from the World Will. Beelzebub could project Morning Star or even Radiant Moon-level avatars into the Wizard World, but this kind of split True Spirit was vastly more powerful — and far more susceptible to resistance.
In fact, if Beelzebub had targeted some minor world where the World Will couldn't resist his descent, the world might even self-destruct, dealing him a devastating blow.
High-level worlds were inaccessible; small worlds couldn't withstand him. The discovery of this Inferno World was nothing short of a treasure trove for Beelzebub — an absolute jackpot!
It was well worth splitting his True Spirit just to descend directly.
"However, in this 'half-True Spirit' state, without even a physical body, he's certainly no match for the Mother of Serpents. Today's battle won't happen..."
While the
"Of course, with the Lord of
Though Beelzebub couldn't do anything to the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents right now, if he used guerrilla tactics across the Ten Thousand Serpents Plain, even she would struggle to finish him off — after all, he was also the True Spirit of an eighth-level existence! They were on the same tier!
"The Power of Gluttony shall rule this place!"
High in the sky, Beelzebub's multitude of compound eyes met the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents' gaze without flinching, even as his body slowly faded into translucence.
"Shadow — Cage!"
Eighth-level existences possessed flawless mastery over both the Laws and their own will. Realizing there was no profit to be gained from the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents today, Beelzebub immediately chose to withdraw.
The Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents, for her part, would not let this opportunity for a permanent resolution slip by.
A ring of shadow spread beneath her, instantly transforming into a cage formed of countless shadow serpents that engulfed the entire Holy City within its bounds.
Horrifying shadow chains, agile as living serpents, coiled around Beelzebub's True Spirit phantom.
"Useless! I am the incarnation of the Laws! Wherever the Power of Gluttony exists, I am eternal and indestructible..."
Accompanied by Beelzebub's declaration-like proclamation, his body detonated.
Massive waves of energy radiated outward, yet inflicted no damage on the surrounding shadow cage. When the explosion subsided, the chains enclosed nothing but empty space.
"Damn it — so this place was discovered by that world too..."
Several vast streams of consciousness, carrying supreme will, exchanged communications above the Holy City. Then the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents' expression turned grim. With a thunderous boom, the entire Shadow World cage vanished, and long-absent purple moonlight spilled down, as if the preceding battles had been nothing more than a hallucination.
But the lingering spatial storms in the surrounding air, and the devastated landscape around the Holy City, served as irrefutable proof of what had transpired.
"The existence of the Laws means eternal indestructibility?!"
Back inside the Holy City, Leilin kept his gaze lowered, turning Beelzebub's words over and over in his mind.
"From his words and his abilities, though both are existences at the level of the Laws, Beelzebub has clearly walked a different path... and moreover..."
Leilin's eyes brightened. "The Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents seems extremely wary of him — or rather, of his world..."
These observations had lent further evidence to a certain suspicion Leilin had harbored.
"But... those are matters for the future! For now, with Beelzebub around, the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents probably won't devote too much attention to a humble mortal like me..."
Leilin felt the weight lift from his shoulders considerably. Compared to Beelzebub — that eighth-level mortal enemy — he was currently nothing more than an ant. Neither side had any interest in him.
Only at a time like this did he have the chance to snatch profit from the fire!
"Fight! Fight! Go ahead and fight!" Leilin's eyes held a smile, but his mind was utterly cold.
"You settle your scores among yourselves. I'll just quietly tend my garden here..."
His voice was quiet as he picked up the watering can and tended to his little flower bed, as though pouring all his精力 into it.
Bang! Bang!
But Leilin's tranquility didn't last long. Almost immediately after the Mother of Ten Thousand Serpents' phantom dissipated, rough pounding came at his door.
"What is it?"
Leilin opened the door to find two serpentfolk guards. Their uniforms and insignia made it quite clear they were part of the Holy City's garrison.
"By order of the Holy Mother! Searching all serpentfolk within the Holy City!"
The lead guard was a fourth-level Morning Star — something nearly impossible in other worlds. Only in the Holy City, where Ten Thousand Serpents bloodline ran at its thickest, could such terrifying standing forces exist.
"Certainly! But this property belongs to the Steward Family, and I'm a guest of young Master Thomas! I'd appreciate it if you didn't disrupt the arrangements here!"
Leilin smiled and stepped aside.
From this vantage point, he could see squad after squad of lightly armored guards sweeping through the streets — perhaps the entire district.
"Sir! Nothing found!" Perhaps due to Leilin's earlier warning, the serpentfolk guards gave the interior only a cursory glance before reporting back.
Thanks to Leilin's preparations and the concealment of the Chaos Power, these serpentfolk had detected nothing at all, and the little flower bed was entirely unremarkable.
"Your Green Card? Let me see it?" The serpentfolk captain studied Leilin for a moment, then spoke in a low voice.
"What do you think you're doing? Which squad are you with?"
At that moment, another voice rang out, dripping with arrogance. Leilin looked up to see Thomas and the
Thomas was wearing an ornate silk robe, his face flushed with unmistakable anger and embarrassment. He was clearly furious at this squad leader's failure to show him proper respect.
"Which division are you from? Do you know this property belongs to our Steward Family, and that this Nick is my personal guest?"
Thomas squinted, his finger nearly poking the squad leader's nose.
"But... those are orders from above!"
"There are no 'buts'! I'm personally vouching for Nick!" Thomas waved his hand grandly. "Orders from above? Does our Steward Family not merit preferential treatment? Hmm!?"
The Steward Family controlled the entire Holy City's garrison. Technically speaking, Thomas might well outrank this squad leader's own superior's superior. The guard immediately fell silent.
"Alright! Thank you, young Master Thomas! And he was only doing his duty — there's no need to make things too difficult for him!"
Leilin stepped in to smooth things over, handing his Green Card to the captain.