Chapter 942: Condensing a Demon God Avatar (I)

Above the demonic domain, black qi surged and churned, blotting out the sky and obscuring the sun. Within the swirling darkness stood five towering figures, each radiating a terrifying presence that felt both divine and demonic.

Yet, the one whom these five demon gods had come to greet was even more fearsome. Wherever this being passed, black and red blood-colored light stained the sky and earth, like a hellish abyss consuming the world. It radiated endless darkness and a sinister, ominous aura.

High above the sky, the world of the Supreme Abyss began to manifest, releasing a pressure that made even the demon gods show fear and awe.

Within the black demonic qi, Kaodes watched with a solemn expression. "So this is the power of the strongest demon god under the Lord of the Ankor Sacred Demon Empire? Incredible!"

During its time in seclusion, Kaodes had consumed years of accumulated resources to heal its wounds. Most of its strength had returned, and it could now fight at eighty percent capacity.

Under normal circumstances, it would never have emerged before fully recovering. However, Deorus and the other demon gods believed that the human race was becoming an increasingly serious threat. Led by Livedes, a demon god from the Ancestral Court, they had summoned two demon god reinforcements from other empires.

Even if they couldn’t destroy the human race in one blow, they intended to deal a heavy blow to their vitality and pave the way for their eventual annihilation.

As that terrifying being approached, trailing a towering wave of blood-colored light that darkened the sky, Livedes smiled. "Sigitiko, you’ve finally arrived."

"There was a complication on the way. That's why I’m a bit late.” As the blood-colored light surged, a deep and chilling voice echoed across the sky. From within the red tide emerged a fearsome demon god, over three hundred meters tall in its natural form, clad in heavy blood-red battle armor.

Like other true demons, this demon god's body was covered in red scales. However, atop its devilish head was a pair of spiraling dragon horns, giving it an even more imposing and domineering presence. Behind it, over two hundred meters of red hair floated in the still air, blazing like crimson fire. Thick bands of glowing red light swirled around its body, releasing an utterly terrifying aura.

The setting was still the same towering demonic palace, but this time, only six demon gods sat upon their high thrones.

Seated on the Blood Throne was a demon god that looked as if it had stepped out of a sea of blood and hell. It turned to Deorus and said in a low, rumbling voice, "I’ve learned of the situation here. That human can no longer be allowed to roam free. All this time, none of you have managed to draw in the power from the darkness of the abyss. That’s the reason for your failure."

Deorus shook its head in response. "We are not like you. After ascending to the demon god level, we did not merge with the abyss. Naturally, the rate at which we contaminate the world is far slower. Besides, Belitir and I only established our empire just over a century ago. The laws of heaven and earth within our territories have yet to be fully demonized."

At those words, the other demon gods present could only shake their heads. Due to the lack of natural enemies in the surrounding regions, the four demon gods led by Deorus had rapidly expanded after founding their empire, carving up vast lands and bestowing territories freely.

However, for the Purgatory Demon Clan, claiming territory wasn’t as simple as drawing boundaries. They had to contaminate the land itself, transforming it into an environment suitable for their survival.

Moreover, the abyssal demonic qi that blanketed and corrupted the land wasn’t mere contamination. It formed a large-scale alternate world domain that strengthened the true demons while suppressing their enemies. Most importantly, the demon god who ruled the empire possessed even greater demonic force within their own territory, their power seemingly without limit.

Of course, that required a few conditions: The empire had to be completely shrouded in darkness, the power of the abyss had to become the supreme force of the land, and the empire's lord had to condense the abyssal principle.

Setting that topic aside, the blood-colored demon god spoke again, its tone cold. "Now tell me the current situation."

Deorus responded, "At present, both empires have fully mobilized their forces. They are stationed a million kilometers behind the frontlines and can enter the battlefield at any moment. Our only hesitation lies in the fact that we cannot establish dominance at the demon god-level. Without this advantage, we didn't want to risk launching the assault.

“The human side is a bit more complicated. The region they occupy is an extremely dangerous forbidden zone. Only a narrow strip of land is suitable for an army to pass through. In fact, the actual territory held by the humans is smaller than that of a single demon king’s territory. It's likely no more than one-fifth the size, but even this bit of territory is impenetrable for us as long as the humans hold their ground with the help of the forbidden zone. Fortunately, at the same time, they also have nowhere left to retreat. This battle may not annihilate humanity outright, but if we destroy their base in the vast world, they’ll lose their foothold."

Deorus and the other demon gods understood the strategic objective clearly. Without absolute superiority at the demon god level, wiping out the human race in a single campaign was unlikely. If the humans chose to fight to the death, they would at the very least take a few demon gods down with them. Clearly, no one here wanted to be the unlucky one.

After all, becoming a demon god required many years of cultivation and countless life-and-death battles.

Seeing that Deorus and the others were ready, the blood-colored demon god said, "Then let’s begin. As it happens, my collection shelf is still missing the head of a demon-god-level human."

At that moment, Stephenel, the demon god who had arrived earlier, slowly said, "Actually, I think we should wait a little longer. I’ve sent word for a great demon king from our empire to reinforce us. Its subordinates haven’t arrived yet."

The blood-colored demon god looked at Stephenel with surprise. "Your Arikasa Empire took heavy losses in your last battle against the Faeries. Yet, you still have enough strength to send reinforcements?"

Stephenel calmly replied, "We’re managing."

"Is that so..." The blood-colored demon god swept its gaze across the others, a thoughtful glint in its eyes. Clearly, there were some deals happening between them that it wasn’t privy to.

***

"What a terrifying aura!" At the temporary stronghold, many powerful cultivators looked toward the twisted, dark region at the edge of the sky. Even the divine kings of the Heavenly Feathered Race wore grave expressions.

Although the aura several thousand kilometers away was frightening beyond measure, no one dared approach it. After all, Chen Chu had already informed them that he would be cultivating over there for the next few days.

Clearly, however, that was just a convenient excuse. The terrifying aura that made even divine kings tremble from such a distance couldn't possibly belong to Chen Chu.

Within the warped region of space, where even the void twisted like a black hole, a colossal golden-black beast over seven thousand meters long loomed. Its golden-black dorsal fins rose like mountains, radiating an overwhelming presence.

Chen Chu sat cross-legged atop the Destructive Dragon Emperor’s head. Though his frame was slender and his aura faint, he radiated an inexplicable authority. Behind him, his black hair whipped wildly, and a silver light flickered between his brows.

Around him, strands of pure time power flowed, forming a transparent stream of time that stretched and wound for over a thousand meters. Within the transparent stream, a blurry phantom was gradually taking form, condensing little by little. However, the process was slow due to the lack of sufficient time power.

Just then, the Little Purple Dragon fluttered over, its big eyes sparkling.

Big brother, your life force is so faint now! Should I spit on you?

Chen Chu slowly opened his eyes and weakly replied, "Not yet. I haven’t reached the true limit of my body. The time erosion still isn’t enough. Besides, that’s not just spit. It’s your power of creation."

Calling it "spit" just sounded a little too strange.

Alright then.

The Purple Dragon nodded earnestly. Its body, as if forged from violet crystal, coiled in midair with its chin resting on its claws, looking both adorable and majestic.

It had been half an hour since Chen Chu summoned the Dragon Emperor’s true form. By now, the energy within his body had nearly been drained dry. However, because he had yet to push past his limit, the erosion of time wasn’t very intense. The power of time he had managed to gather was only barely enough to activate the divine ability Temporal Reincarnation divine ability. He was still far from condensing a complete temporal true form.

As Chen Chu’s strength grew, the amount of time power required to condense a time-based true form also increased. After all, once fully formed, it would be equivalent to gaining the combat power of another demon god.

As time passed, the remaining energy in Chen Chu’s body was quickly depleted. His once strong and upright true form had withered to skin and bones, and his hair had turned dry and lifeless.

By this point, Chen Chu had nearly reached his absolute limit. He suddenly opened his eyes, letting out a long cry. "Not enough! Burn it all!"

Boom!

An immense force erupted from within Chen Chu’s body as his aura surged wildly. Boundless life essence ignited, and under its blazing power, his withered form rapidly regenerated. This scene was strikingly similar to the time he ventured deep into the Purgatory Empire and summoned the Dragon Emperor to battle two demon gods.

𝙛𝓻𝒆𝓮𝒘𝙚𝙗𝒏𝙤𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝓬𝒐𝙢

As Chen Chu burned his life essence again to forcefully override the rules of space-time summoning and keep the Dragon Emperor in this area, the corrosive power of time on his body surged tenfold.

In an instant, the silver rune at Chen Chu’s brow, shaped like a pair of wings, flared with intense light. The stream of time behind him surged violently, and the blurry, transparent figure within began condensing at a much faster rate.