Chapter 0698: Cadaverous King

When the white, bony hand grasping the soul-calling flag appeared, even the King Stage expert Pang Qianyuan felt a sense of shock in his heart.

The individual was not some unknown nobody.

The Cadaverous King, similar to the Ichythian King, was one of the Four Pestilence Kings.

How could the Umbra Cave beneath the Astral Sage College actually attract the attention of two Other Kings?

This was completely abnormal.

Others, especially those that had reached the Other King Stage, were extremely territorial. Whatever territory the Ichythian King controlled, the remaining Other Kings would take heed to avoid the area completely, to prevent any conflict between them.

And yet a second Other King had appeared.

Additionally, neither of them seemed to be in conflict with each other. This meant that there was some sort of unspoken agreement. For what reason could they choose to let go of their differences and cooperate?

Unless this was an order from an even mightier existence?

Other Kings like the Ichythian King and the Cadaverous King could be considered peak existences in the shadow world. However, there were existences that surpassed them. But this was normal—even though Pang Qianyuan was considered one of the greatest experts of mankind, there were still numerous individuals stronger than him.

The shadow world was similar.

From what he had heard, the Ichythian and Cadaverous Kings were subordinate to an even more terrifying existence.

"The Saturnine Hydra Emperor..." Pang Qianyuan squinted. This title elicited a sense of fear that had long been forgotten in the depths of his heart. It possessed a fearsome reputation amongst the upper echelons of humanity's strongest warriors.

Why? This was an Other that possessed Heavenly Emperor Stage strength! Legend had it that one hundred years ago, the Saturnine Hydra Emperor descended upon one of the Nobles' Battlefields in the inner divine continent with his Four Pestilence Kings. It then initiated a heaven-shaking war that caused tremors throughout the entire continent. No one knew how many Dukes were sacrificed, but in the end, one of humanity's Heavenly Emperor experts took to the field and eventually managed to repel the Saturnine Hydra Emperor.

From what he had heard from other Kings, Pang Qianyuan knew that the Saturnine Hydra Emperor was a despotic and almighty tyrant that reigned from within the shadow world.

The Ichythian and Cadaverous Kings’ sudden cooperation must have been a command from above. And that command had to have come from the Saturnine Hydra Emperor.

Pang Qianyuan's heart continued to sink.

He could not understand why such a lofty existence would take an interest in a simple void tear that was suppressed by a mere sage college. Normally speaking, their focus would be fixated upon the Nobles' Battlefields. Being concerned over this seemingly insignificant area would almost be a waste of effort and face.

"What are you plotting? Is there something here that you covet?" Pang Qianyuan curiously asked.

The Ichythian King tilted his head slightly as he continued to emotionlessly stare at Pang Qianyuan. "Pang Qianyuan, there's no need to ask so many questions. Now that things have reached this stage, if you have any inkling of intelligence, you will choose to protect yourself and quickly leave the Xia Kingdom. If you try to block us, then I'm afraid the Xia Kingdom's only King will perish today. This land will soon be covered by my river of evil."

Pang Qianyuan gloomily glared at the murky and pitch-black river of evil beneath the Ichythian King. "You wish to let this river of evil enter the outer world?"

The river of evil was the condensation of mankind's evil and malevolence, allowing it to give birth to Others. If it truly was allowed to flow unimpeded throughout the Xia Kingdom, the very soil would be corrupted beyond salvation and the Other Disaster that would unfold would be even more frightening than usual.

Especially because the river of evil would continue to expand. If left to its own devices, it wouldn’t stop at the Xia Kingdom—the surrounding kingdoms would similarly be affected by the same uncontrollable plague.

The Ichythian King laughed.

"Ichythian King, you're speaking too much." At this point, the Cadaverous King raised his deathly eyes to look upon Pang Qianyuan and then waved the flag.

"I'll restrict him. You control your river of evil and let it descend upon the Xia Kingdom."

With a wave of the Cadaverous King's hand, endless amounts of grayish-white death energy roiled out from him. There seemed to be an endless amount of illusory phantoms screaming in torture in the fog of death energy. They sounded much like the wails of banshees, exuding a fearful aura of decay.

If this death energy were to enter one's body, even a living creature would inevitably transform into a corpse creature that was a slave to the Cadaverous King.

When Pang Qianyuan saw this, his expression turned chilly. The situation was spiraling out of his control. The appearance of two Other Kings was something rarely seen in the outer divine continent, and even though he currently did not know their aim, he knew that the river of evil could not be allowed to run rampant in the outside world.

He took a deep breath and shelved the thought of assisting the college. If there was only the Ichythian King, he could have used the Dragon Bone Holy Grail to temporarily suppress and restrict it. Unfortunately, he would have to stay behind because the Cadaverous King had come to assist. If he allowed the river of evil to spread throughout the Xia Kingdom, preventing the destruction of the Tree of Resonant Power wouldn't mean much.

Of course, Pang Qianyuan understood that he had been forced between a rock and a hard place.

Bang!

Boundless amounts of resonant power poured out of Pang Qianyuan's body like a tsunami, and the entire void rumbled in his presence. Then a bright halo thousands of meters long manifested behind him, radiating an enigmatic charm.

This was the true Triple Resonance Saintly Ring.

Fuelled with all of the glory of his triple resonances.

Comparing the one Li Luo had wielded during the coronation ceremony with this one was like comparing a firefly to the bright moon!

Weng!

The Triple Resonance Saintly Ring resplendently shone with endless beams of light that descended like heavenly flames, scorching through the death energy and causing it to dissipate.

At the same time, Pang Qianyuan clenched his fist, and a gigantic blade tens of thousands of meters long manifested in the void. The world seemed to tear apart the moment it appeared, and the strength of the blade energy it released caused the entire Umbra Cave to tremble.

Pang Qianyuan impassively swung down on the Cadaverous King.

The Cadaverous King was forced to a halt, and his bony face gave rise to a solemn expression. He continued to wave the soul-calling flag in his hand, causing the death energy to condense and transform into a gigantic figure also tens of thousands of meters tall before him.

This figure looked to be stitched together from hundreds of millions of corpses. It was wearing ragged robes and gave off a monstrous aura of death.

The abomination raised its massive palm, which was wreathed with almost tangible amounts of death energy, to directly block the blade manifestation’s strike!

Bang!!!

A cataclysmic explosion of energy blasted out in every direction, shredding space and the void with that single clash. In fact, some of the strongholds and purification towers that were constructed closer to the battlefield were completely destroyed by the aftershock.

Two King Stage powerhouses were launching full scale attacks at each other without any hesitation.

The Ichythian King observed the earth-shattering battle with interest. There was no need to doubt Pang Qianyuan's strength, as the two had clashed countless times in the past. This was simply an appreciation of his opponent's might, and he would not underestimate him. Unfortunately, the Cadaverous King had just experienced the feeling of kicking a steel plate.

He relished seeing the Cadaverous King suffer a little. They weren't on great terms after all.

"Hehe. Pang Qianyuan, we've clashed so many times over these years, but it looks like you will finally fail!" The Ichythian King's human body began to vanish, then he transformed into a monstrously huge, black fish. He then began to agitate the river of evil, causing the eerie body of liquid to pass through the void tear and enter the Umbra Cave.

Their plan was something Pang Qianyuan could never have expected. Now that the Umbra Cave had fallen into their control, his stubborn resistance could no longer change anything.

Bang! Bang!

The aftermath of their battle continued to roil the depths of the Umbra Cave.

The Cadaverous King's gigantic abomination was repeatedly dissected into pieces by Pang Qianyuan's awe-inspiring blade light. His triple resonances were incomparably valiant, suppressing the Cadaverous King immensely.

Still, the Cadaverous King remained as immobile as a rock. Pang Qianyuan might be stronger than he had expected, but breaking through his blockade would not be a simple task.

He continued to wave the soul-calling flag, rousing all of the death energy from all around him. He then condensed it into a massive skeleton hand, which then attempted to grasp at Pang Qianyuan.

"Pang Qianyuan, your heart is a mess," the Cadaverous King rasped. Even though Pang Qianyuan held a slight advantage, the one that managed to regain his composure first was actually him.

Right at this moment, regardless of who it was, they all raised their heads.

The entire Umbra Cave was shuddering violently.

Although it was all the way on the other side of the cave, they could see a ray of light shine from outside.

The Umbra Cave was shattering.

At the same time, the temperature of the cave began to gradually rise.

Pang Qianyuan was a little taken aback, but a bitter realization took root within him. His gaze seemed to penetrate through the layers of rock to view what was occurring in the college.

The majestic Tree of Resonant Power had been set alight by the tiny, black lotus!