The Skyreach Tower pierced through the clouds and looked exceptionally large on the surface. However, there was a whole hidden world inside. There was a flight of spiral stairs that led to the various levels within. The ground, walls, and stairs were all carved with mysterious symbols. Every level was adorned with a giant, lifelike mural.

 The first painting depicted Houtu with a snake’s tail, howling to the moon as he stood on a steep cliff. He had tightly-knit scales, long messy hair, and an icy gaze… He gave off an aura of cold brutality under the hazy moonlight. It looked like he was the member of the Twelve Grand Wizards who was adept in earth element spells.

 The second painting depicted a rainy night filled with lightning. Houtu had launched a surprise attack on a massive Giant Ape from behind. His right hand had pierced the Giant Ape’s chest, while his powerful tail crushed his head like a steel mace. He had killed the ape in one strike. Far away, a group of simply-dressed men supported each other as they struggled through a tropical rainforest. Houtu’s eyes were locked in the direction in which the group was traveling. From the looks of it, he was secretly protecting the group in their journey.

 The third painting depicted Houtu holding a small clump of Origin Soil in his palms. He blew a gust of air and turned the Origin Soil into a vast tunnel, spanning the entirety of the Unending Sea. The tunnel helped countless simply-dressed men avoid the persecution of a team of Evil Demons and allowed them to successfully make it past the Unending Sea. The man himself, meanwhile, had fallen to the surprise attack of an Evil Demon. A sharp spear pierced his chest and covered him in blood!

 …

 There were a total of forty-nine levels in the Skyreach Tower, with a mural related to Houtu on every level. The stories ranged from small to large, from detailed to broad. They were lifelike records of moments of the man’s life. The paintings made a deep impression on Yang Ling: how he’d fought the heavens and stubbornly resisted fate, as well as how he’d taken care of and silently protected his tribespeople. He felt a sharp pain in his heart when he saw the Grand Deity die in battle!

 Thud, thud, thud…

 Yang Ling followed the winding stairs and arrived at the top of the Skyreach Tower. Within heavy restrictions was an incense altar made out of Purple Sandalwood, which held offerings for a drop of deep red Blood Essence. The incense altar had collected the soul of Grand Wizard Houtu, which had been scattered throughout space year after year. It released enormous amounts of an obscure energy ripple.

 “With my blood as the price and my soul as the core, Soul Summoning!”

 Yang Ling sat down at the Great Wizard Altar and fused a drop of his Blood Essence with the Blood Essence of the Grand Wizard Houtu. He then opened the jade screen and took out Houtu’s damaged Primordial Spirit. He formed a Wizard Seal and silently recited a Wizard Mantra, then cast the strongest Soul Summoning Spell at the cost of a large amount of energy.

 Buzz…

 The ancient restriction, which had persisted for millennia, let out a gentle hum as mysterious symbols surfaced. The entire Skyreach Tower started to tremble. The Primordial Spirit of the Grand Wizard Houtu slowly fused with the Blood Essence while absorbing the energy within Yang Ling’s body like a bottomless hole. It devoured Yang Ling’s energy uncontrollably! In the blink of an eye, Yang Ling sensed that he had lost a good portion of the energy in his body, even though the Primordial Spirit had barely started fusing with the Blood Essence!

 “Skyreach Soul Gathering!”

 Yang Ling, who had been prepared for this, was not afraid. He let out a violent roar before silently reciting the Spirit Gathering Mantra of the Skyreach Wizard Mantra. He soaked up all of the energy within a million-mile radius. The unparalleled ancient Wizard Techniques, coupled with the ancient restriction on the Skyreach Tower, quickly began to devour the surrounding energy.

 Whoosh…

 The Spiritual Energy floating in the air started flowing into the area, as the primordial forest that spanned millions of miles released an incredibly thick green life force. Starlight shot through the vast space and shone down on Yang Ling’s body. The chaotic, vast Star Power constantly replenished the energy he was expending…

 Dark clouds soon covered the sky above the Skyreach Tower, forming a jarring energy vortex. Perhaps it was the overly massive amount of energy he gathered, or perhaps it was the fact that he had invoked some law of the universe, but lightning started to crackle in the air. Thousand-mile-long, snake-shaped arcs of lightning crashed down from the sky!

 Roar…

 The Primordial Spirit and Blood Essence of the Grand Wizard Houtu quickly fused once they’d absorbed a large amount of energy. The combination expanded and gradually transformed into a faint figure of a monster with the body of a human and tail of a snake. Deafening roars spread from the faraway space, accompanied by the bloodthirsty, violent auras of ferocious beasts. The terrifying roars got closer as the speed at which the Primordial Spirit and Blood Essence fused grew. It sounded fleeting, as if a ferocious beast was rushing over from a faraway place.

 …

 Yang Ling gave it his all, attempting to revive the Grand Wizard Houtu at any cost. Meanwhile, the warriors who guarded the Skyreach Tower gathered together in fear.

 “Lightning of the Nine Heavens! A monster, the monster from the legends is about to appear!”

 “What do we do? Our reinforcements have not yet arrived!”

 …

 The soldiers could not help but remember the terrifying legends related to the Skyreach Tower when they witnessed the incredible phenomenon. Over the millennia, most people had long since forgotten about the undefeated Ancient Wizards. However, the legends had been passed down through the generations of soldiers guarding the Skyreach Tower.

 Legend had it that the Skyreach Tower was a Magical Teleportation Formation left behind by the Ancient Wizards and that they could attack at any time through the Skyreach Tower even if they were far away. Rumors also held that the Skyreach Tower was a lighthouse left behind by the Ancient Wizards and that their descendants would return to seek vengeance when Doomsday arrived, bringing about unprecedented disasters. Some fables even claimed that there was a terrifying monster suppressed under the Skyreach Tower, one even more horrifying than a powerful Wandering Divine Beast…

 “Lord Argos, what do we do? Should we send men to force their way into the peak and see what exactly is going on?” A bearded black-robed man became incredibly nervous when he saw the unprecedented transformation in the air. His heart grew more worried the more he failed to understand what was going on.

 “Hmph, that’s asking for death! Would we have waited till this day to charge into the Magical Spell Formation left behind by the Ancient Wizards if we knew how? Would we have needed to mobilize this many troops to guard the area?” another black-robed man rebutted loudly, without waiting for the instructions of the leader, Argos.

 “Alright, don’t quarrel. Stay calm; we have to stay calm!” Argos remained calm despite the growing sense of unease in his heart. He gave the order and commanded the group to further tighten their formation. He kept up his high alert as he sent men to hasten the reinforcements.

 Faced with such a terrifying phenomenon, Argos would have left rapidly without hesitation if he’d had a choice. However, the responsibility of defending the Skyreach Tower meant that he could not act on his whims. Otherwise, even if he survived this crisis, he would be executed by the envoys of the Creator and would never be able to reincarnate. In fact, he might even implicate his lover in the faraway Life Dimension!

 “One year. I will be free if I can persist for one more year. Avalon, you have to wait for me!” Argos pinched the handkerchief in his robes and caught a gentle whiff of its intoxicating fragrance. In that instant, the sweet smile and slender figure of his lover appeared before his eyes once again.

 The soldiers quickly gathered together under the instructions of their commander and further tightened their formation. Even though they were incredibly fearful, their abilities were all at the divine level and above. They were very well trained and immensely fast.

 “Nick, grip your longsword tightly. Don’t go squirming around like a lady!” The heavily-armored commander of a small squad scolded a soldier under him. He paced around holding his sword and tried his best to boost the morale of the soldiers.

 “Yes, Captain!” the soldier by the name of Nick said, as he continued to squirm toward the areas where more people were. Crowds gave him a sense of security. He held his sword in his left hand and prayed silently to the statue of the Creator in his right hand, hoping that the almighty Creator would bless him. He did not expect that not only would his rambling fail to welcome the blessings of the Creator, but it would also instead invite a deafening boom, accompanied by a jarring bolt of lightning. The lightning was exceptionally blinding in the pitch-black, rainy night.

 “Ah, Cap… Captain!” Nick raised his head and looked at his surroundings in the remnants of the light brought about by the bolt of lightning. He discovered a terrifying scene!

 A massive flying Magical Beast had appeared behind the heavily-armored commander. Its immense wingspan blocked out the already-dim moonlight, and its blood-red eyes were cold and merciless. It raised its scaly tail high into the air. Its long, slender tongue had stabbed through the chest of the commander as if it were a longsword!

The speedy Mother Empress had silently arrived in front of the group!

 Crack, crack…

 Nick’s legs went limp when he witnessed the Mother Empress curl her tongue and tear the still-twitching commander to pieces. The statuette of the Creator in his hand fell to the ground. He let out a pathetic cry and turned to run when a gust of cold wind blew past.

 If even his captain, who had the abilities at the peak of a High-level Deity, could not fend off a single blow, then he did not have the ability, nor the guts to stay!

 Nick was not powerful, but when it came to escaping, his speed was not too bad. He erupted with unprecedented speed in the face of death. Unfortunately, he could not outrun the Mother Empress, no matter how fast he was. His body trembled after he took just a few steps. A warm tongue had pierced his chest, accurately stabbing his heart and his divinity!

 “Ah, a monster, it’s a monster!”

 “Save me, save me…”

 The nearby soldiers shouted hysterically in fear after they witnessed the Mother Empress’s brutal and precise attacks. Some turned to run with all their might, some hid amongst the bushes, while others cried loudly for help. The situation rapidly fell into chaos. A few of the soldiers stepped forward to fend off the enemy, but they were instantly torn to shreds by the fierce Mother Empress.

 “What’s going on? Get into formation; get into formation immediately!”

 The leader Argos rushed to the scene after hearing the loud, miserable cries. He arrived in time to witness the Mother Empress swallow a struggling soldier whole, and he was both alarmed and furious. He raised his sharp spear and pounced forward, wishing to strike the divinity of the Mother Empress. However, he had not made it very far when a dark humanoid figure with the tail of a snake emerged from the earth. It was fast as lightning, and Argos had no time to react. His throat was crushed by the enemy’s left hand, while his chest was pierced by the right!

 Argos, who had reached the level of Dimensional Wanderer millions of years ago and was the most powerful of the eleven black-robed men, had been killed in one stroke by the newly-revived Grand Wizard Houtu!

 “Avalon, wait… wait for me!”

 Argos fell to the ground with a thud. His fragrant little handkerchief slipped out of his robes, still smeared with fresh, warm blood. He saw the disheveled Houtu and his cold, merciless gaze, as well as the sudden descent of countless Divine-level Magical Beasts, just before he died!