Divine Emperor of Heavenly Destiny

”To think I cannot pull your consciousness into my illusions. To think I cannot extract your memories.”

”You also possess a Life-taking Bone. Now, let me see if you are the fine vessel I have been searching for.”

As it spoke, with a HUM, the Blood Bone suddenly erupted with waves of a bloody aura, instantly enveloping Lu Chao.

In that instant, Lu Chao’s entire body trembled violently.

But he still felt no fear. Lu Chao thought to himself...

’No matter how terrifying or powerful the owner of this bloody Life-taking Bone was in life, right now, it is just a dead thing. Since I could break its illusion, I can definitely break its soul.’

’Right. If that doesn’t work, I’ll just drag its soul into my Life-taking Star-devouring Bone.’

’Drag it into my Bone Inner World.’

As Lu Chao mulled this over, the power of the Blood Bone’s bloody aura was about to fully seep into his body.

Lu Chao, in turn, was ready at any moment to pull the master of this Blood Bone into his Bone Inner World. There, it would be his domain.

Lu Chao firmly believed...

His Star Devouring Bone could definitely extinguish the soul of this expert from thousands of years ago.

No matter what, he had to try. The alternative was death.

Just as Lu Chao clenched his teeth, ready for anything, a sudden... AOOOARGH!

A bloodcurdling scream erupted from within the bloody aura invading Lu Chao. Then, with a BANG, the aura shot out of Lu Chao’s body and returned to the Blood Bone above the Blood Pool.

Before Lu Chao could even react...

The old, sinister voice was now laced with terror as it cried out, ”What are you? Why is your soul so bizarrely powerful? And your Life-taking Bone, your Life-taking Bone... what the hell is that thing?”

Completely stunned, Lu Chao stared intently at the Blood Bone above the Blood Pool, his eyes filled with confusion.

’What did the master of this Blood Bone just see? Was my soul so powerful that it scared it this badly?’

Suddenly... BZZZZ!

The Life-taking Star-devouring Bone inside Lu Chao began to vibrate. An inexplicable urge welled up from the depths of his heart, causing him to unconsciously stick out his tongue and lightly lick the corner of his mouth.

He suddenly took a step forward and said softly, ”How strange. I suddenly have the urge... to devour you.”

THUD. Lu Chao took a second, heavy step forward...

He truly felt it—an incredibly strong, impulsive feeling.

The urge from his Star Devouring Bone was to devour the Blood Bone before him whole. The feeling was extremely intense; Lu Chao had felt a similar urge when he first saw the Demon Dragon Divine Bone at Dragon Flame Academy.

But this time, the urge was a hundred, even a thousand times stronger than before.

And so... THUD!

Lu Chao took a third heavy step, his body suddenly covered in a black radiance that erupted from his Life-taking Star-devouring Bone.

In an instant, Lu Chao was completely shrouded in the black radiance, which seemed to suppress the surrounding bloody light.

”I really, really want... to devour you.”

Lu Chao spoke again, his voice raspy and terrifying. In that moment, it seemed the Demon in their midst was not the Blood Bone, but Lu Chao himself.

The Blood Bone, on the other hand, had lost all of its earlier fearsome aura...

A panicked voice echoed from the bloody aura, ”Don’t come any closer! Stay away! Just die! DIE!”

With a HUM, an intense aura of a Life-taking Bone erupted from the bloody mist and shot toward Lu Chao.

But the black radiance on Lu Chao’s body flashed, instantly crushing the Life-taking Bone’s aura into dust. It utterly annihilated the opponent’s aura. The feeling was unmistakable... the Star Devouring Bone was completely overwhelming the Blood Bone.

Immediately, another shriek burst from within the Blood Bone—a voice filled with absolute terror.

”Get out! Get the hell out of my Illusion Array!”

Suddenly...

The voice inside the Blood Bone roared, and waves of frenzied power seemed to erupt forth.

It instantly flung Lu Chao, who had seemed to transform into a Demon, away. Countless rays of red light appeared to surround Lu Chao.

And teleported Lu Chao away in an instant.

「At the same time...」

The Yan Soul Guards, who were in the middle of crossing a river, along with Chi Xingxun and Lu Dingtian, were also simultaneously enveloped by the sudden appearance of red light. A voice, practically exploding with terror, came from the Blood Bone...

”Get out! All of you, get the hell out of my array!”

In an instant, every living person within the Illusion Array was expelled.

It seemed that out of sheer terror, the horrifying figure within the Blood Bone had indiscriminately expelled everyone from its Nether Spring Illusion Array. Only after Lu Chao was truly gone did a terrified voice echo from above the Blood Pool...

”What kind of Life-taking Bone is that? Who in the world is he?”

CRACKLE... CRACKLE...

The Blood Bone seemed to make a grinding sound of fear...

’It’s too terrifying. Why does such a dreadful Life-taking Bone exist in this world? I thought my Life-taking Blood Demon Bone was the apex of all Destiny Bones, so why do I feel like a child before it?’

’Damn it, that terrifying brat got out.’

’He’ll tell everyone about my existence... No, he possesses a Life-taking Bone. He wouldn’t dare tell anyone.’

Waves of muttering came from within the Blood Bone.

It went from disbelief, fear, and worry, to a final sigh of relief.

Then, it slowly fell silent once more...

But after a few breaths, it spoke again in a terrifying, cold voice, ’I can’t kill him directly. Next time a powerful expert enters the array, I’ll have to make contact and have them kill this brat for me. I must eliminate this threat for good.’

...

「On the other side...」

One moment, Lu Chao was still by the edge of the Blood Pool, possessed by an intense, uncontrollable urge to devour, like a Demon that had lost its sense of self.

The next, he felt a sensation like a Moving Illusion and suddenly found himself outside the Illusion Array.

Faint moonlight entered his vision. The strange, bloody scent in the air was gone, replaced by the chirping of insects and the calls of birds and beasts, which brought a refreshing sensation to Lu Chao’s entire body.

’I’m out. That Blood Bone threw me out of the Illusion Array.’

Lu Chao was stunned for a moment. He then observed his surroundings. He was clearly still within the Nether Spring Mountain Range, surrounded by a dense, lush forest. Then, his gaze fell behind him, and he immediately saw a terrifying darkness.

He had been thrown just outside the array. If he took a step forward, he could re-enter it.

But in the next instant, with a WHOOSH...

The darkness suddenly contracted and vanished. In the blink of an eye, the world that had been shrouded in darkness returned to the appearance of a jungle at night.

The Demon Beasts within the formerly dark area let out roars, as if they had finally broken free from a terrifying suppression and regained their vitality.

Lu Chao slowly retracted his gaze and thought to himself, ’That Blood Bone is also a Life-taking Bone, but it’s clearly far weaker than my Star Devouring Bone. Not weaker in terms of rank, but weaker in essence...’

’Right now, my Star Devouring Bone is only a Star Divine Bone. In terms of rank, it’s definitely inferior to that Blood Bone.’

’But the essence of the Star Devouring Bone is its ability to devour Star Bones or other external bones, allowing it to grow infinitely. The fundamental difference between the two is immense, which is why the master of the Blood Bone was so scared that it threw me out of the array.’

’I’m afraid my Star Devouring Bone can’t actually devour the Blood Bone yet. I just managed to scare it.’