# Chapter 2078: The Sinister Child
Seeing Xiao Hei kill another Venerable, the five remaining Venerables of the Bone Clan were filled with boundless fury and terror. Since they had begun their cultivation paths, they had never been so brutally humiliated.
No matter what, they refused to believe Xiao Hei was merely a Saint King. He must be a Great Saint, and an extremely powerful one at that—one whom no Saint King realm cultivator could match. Even if Yan Wushen himself arrived, he would have to retreat.
They simply could not understand how such a powerful Great Saint had managed to sneak into the Kunlun Realm.
Especially since the divine thoughts of their Hell Realm gods enveloped the entire Yin-Yang Sea. They would never allow a Great Saint from the Kunlun Realm to quietly infiltrate True Dragon Island.
However, there was no time to think about all that now. Xiao Hei had not stopped; he continued to pursue them. They had to escape quickly, as far away as possible.
"Owl, take this strike from this Venerable!"
A cold light flashed in the eyes of the Eight-Armed Venerable. His bone body released a surging dark force, pouring it into the black-gold long staff. The staff instantly expanded, becoming like a pillar holding up the sky, carrying ten thousand tons of divine power as it smashed heavily toward Xiao Hei.
He wanted to hold Xiao Hei back, buying precious escape time for the other four Venerables.
"Watch this Emperor shatter your rotten bone frame!"
Xiao Hei's eyes were fierce and sharp. He directly used his wing to forcefully clash with the black-gold long staff.
The supreme power released by the black-gold long staff was formidable, yet it could not harm Xiao Hei in the slightest. Instead, a terrifying force transmitted through the staff to the Eight-Armed Venerable's body.
*Crack.*
The two bone hands of the Eight-Armed Venerable that held the black-gold long staff shattered instantly, like ceramic.
Then, his body flew backward, as if struck by a star.
Putting away the black-gold long staff, the Eight-Armed Venerable used the impact force to flash into a nearby spatial rift, disappearing without a trace.
Taking advantage of the Eight-Armed Venerable's distraction of Xiao Hei, the other four Venerables of the Bone Clan also escaped, vanishing from sight.
Xiao Hei did not give chase. The five Bone Clan Venerables had scattered in different directions. Even if he pursued, he could only catch one, and he might not even succeed. After the space collapsed, who could say where those who escaped through the rifts would end up?
Waving his wing, Xiao Hei collected the damaged bone bodies of the two Bone Clan Venerables. He turned around and lunged toward the Golden Yang Twin Kings.
At this moment, the Golden Yang Twin Kings were still locked in fierce battle with Zhang Ruochen, unable to break free.
But seeing Xiao Hei charging at them, the Yin-Yang Twin Kings could no longer hesitate. They endured several time sword strikes, losing decades of their lifespan, as they desperately broke away from Zhang Ruochen.
Then, without hesitation, they chose to flee. They had no desire to share the fate of those two Bone Clan Venerables.
"Where do you think you're going? Leave your lives for this Emperor!"
Xiao Hei rode the wild wind and blazing flames, arriving in an instant, almost breaking through the restraints to soar into the sky.
The Golden Yang Twin Kings' scalps went numb as they sensed a great crisis approaching.
Immediately, they mobilized the vast sacred qi within their bodies and executed the Star-Shattering Palm.
A golden giant hand materialized instantly, tearing through the void like a god's hand, unstoppable.
*Whoosh.*
Xiao Hei's eyes were full of disdain. He casually swung his wing, cutting through the golden giant hand.
By this time, the Golden Yang Twin Kings had already summoned the golden ancient cauldron, doing their utmost to activate the immense power of this supreme sacred artifact.
A blinding golden light burst forth from the ancient cauldron, condensing into a massive three-legged Golden Crow. It was lifelike, looking down upon the world with cold, indifferent eyes.
The three-legged Golden Crow opened its mouth and spewed out terrifying solar golden flames. Wherever they passed, the void trembled and rapidly melted away.
"Playing with fire in front of this Emperor? You're far from qualified."
Xiao Hei said contemptuously.
As his wings flapped, surging undying divine flames emerged, colliding with the solar golden flames.
Incredibly, under the burning of the undying divine flames, the solar golden flames rapidly faded into nothingness.
Then, even the massive three-legged Golden Crow was directly incinerated by the undying divine flames.
The surging undying divine flames surged forward, easily sending the golden ancient cauldron flying.
Xiao Hei had clearly done this intentionally. The direction the golden ancient cauldron flew was exactly where the guards of the Blazing Sun Heavenly Son had fled.
*Boom!*
The golden ancient cauldron smashed heavily into the crowd. The violent force erupted, instantly engulfing dozens of guards.
"Ah!"
Screams of agony rang out as the bodies of the guards exploded, annihilated into ash by the terrifying force—both form and spirit destroyed.
In the blink of an eye, more than two-thirds of the guards were mercilessly killed. The survivors were all severely wounded.
Seeing this, the Golden Yang Twin Kings' eyes nearly split with rage. They were furious beyond measure, yet utterly powerless to stop it.
They could barely save themselves now; how could they care about others?
"Damn it! How can this owl sacred beast be a Great Saint realm expert? Why has he never displayed such terrifying strength before?"
The Golden Yang Twin Kings were both furious and deeply puzzled.
That Zhang Ruochen had an owl sacred beast by his side was common knowledge, no secret at all.
But all along, this owl sacred beast had kept a low profile, easily overlooked. No one knew why it had suddenly become so terrifying.
With a wave of his hand, the Golden Yang Twin Kings recalled the golden ancient cauldron. Then, they accelerated, fleeing recklessly. As long as they left this hidden space, they were confident they could shake off Xiao Hei's pursuit.
"Stay right here for this Emperor!"
Xiao Hei let out a long cry, transforming into a red light as he gave relentless chase from behind.
The Golden Yang Twin Kings took out an ancient talisman and threw it behind them.
The ancient talisman was activated, revealing countless intricate talisman patterns that interwove in the void, quickly forming an energy barrier.
*Crack.*
Xiao Hei extended a claw, causing the energy barrier to crack, but he could not destroy it outright.
Seizing this opening, the Golden Yang Twin Kings plunged headfirst into the rift in the spatial wall, fleeing with incredible speed.
The dozen or so surviving guards also tried to escape, but Zhang Ruochen intercepted them.
These guards were already injured by the golden ancient cauldron. How could they withstand Zhang Ruochen's attacks now? As he executed the Time Sword Art, the dozen or so guards had their heads severed before they could even defend themselves.
"They all ran quite fast. What a pity—this Emperor only killed two top-tier experts." Xiao Hei's eyes were full of regret.
Zhang Ruochen looked at Xiao Hei with a strange expression. Just as he was about to speak, the hidden space they were in began to shake violently, collapsing even more severely.
With a movement of his body, Zhang Ruochen appeared on Xiao Hei's back and said, "Get out of here quickly, or we'll be in big trouble."
Although this was only a small space, once it collapsed, it would still produce an extremely terrifying destructive force, enough to kill even Great Saint-level experts.
Xiao Hei did not hesitate. With a movement, he used his powerful strength to forcibly tear open a hole in the spatial wall.
The spatial wall of this hidden space was now very fragile. Even an ordinary Saint King realm cultivator could easily shatter it—and that also signaled extreme danger.
Xiao Hei was extremely fast. After emerging from the hidden space, he moved his bird claws and ran deep into the Dragon God Temple ruins.
The place they emerged from was clearly different from where they had entered. The five Bone Clan Venerables and the Golden Yang Twin Kings were nowhere to be seen, their auras impossible to detect.
*Rumble.*
The hidden space completely collapsed. Large areas of space shattered, revealing the pitch-black void. Spatial storms quickly formed, madly devouring everything around.
Zhang Ruochen could now also use the "Spatial Storm" technique, but its power was slightly inferior to this.
However, not too long passed before the spatial storm subsided, and the shattered space repaired itself.
This showed some of the unique characteristics of the Dragon God Temple ruins.
After traveling a hundred miles, Xiao Hei stopped. His body rapidly shrank, and his aura declined, the fierce energy on him fading away.
Zhang Ruochen landed on the ground, a look of deep strangeness in his eyes. He carefully examined Xiao Hei and asked, "What exactly happened to you just now?"
To be honest, Xiao Hei's violent and frenzied performance earlier had truly startled Zhang Ruochen. Having grown accustomed to Xiao Hei's unreliability, he never expected him to suddenly erupt with such terrifying combat power.
What was certain was that the combat power Xiao Hei had displayed was definitely at the Great Saint level. This made Zhang Ruochen think that Xiao Hei's strength had already recovered to the Great Saint realm.
But looking at Xiao Hei's current state, it clearly wasn't the case.
Xiao Hei took a deep breath and said, "This Emperor has been gradually refining that divine power from the Divine Dragon Sun-Moon Chaos Tower. My strength has been steadily improving, and I've already recovered to the peak of the Saint King realm. At certain times, my strength can leap to the Great Saint level. However, it only lasts for a short time. Otherwise, this Emperor would definitely go after those Golden Yang Twin Kings."
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen showed a hint of surprise, then asked, "Can you freely make your strength temporarily leap to the Great Saint level at will?"
Although it was brief, if used well, it could undoubtedly play a remarkable role.
With a sudden burst, it might even bring down top-tier experts like the Dark Son or the Three Emperors of the Bone Clan.
"This Emperor would like to, but unfortunately, I can't. For now, I can only rely on luck." Xiao Hei said with slight embarrassment.
Hearing this, Zhang Ruochen couldn't help but feel speechless. It seemed he had indeed overestimated Xiao Hei. Just like before, he was still that unreliable.
Still, regardless, Xiao Hei's eruption came at just the right time, sending the experts of the Bone Clan and the Blazing Sun Civilization fleeing in panic. Otherwise, they wouldn't have escaped so easily this time.
Overall, the gains were enormous. Not only had they obtained the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription and the Heavenly Demon Mountain, but they had also seized a supreme sacred artifact.
The only troublesome matter was that they had killed the Blazing Sun Heavenly Son. The Blazing Sun Civilization would likely not let this go.
Of course, Zhang Ruochen wasn't too concerned. He had already killed countless beings with powerful backgrounds, and many gods had long wanted to kill him personally.
Yet he was still alive and well.
"We've wasted some time in the hidden space. We're probably far behind the others now. We need to speed up." Zhang Ruochen said thoughtfully.
Xiao Hei's eyes lit up. "Hehe, just entering the Dragon God Temple ruins and we've already obtained a treasure like the Heavenly Demon Stone Inscription. There must be even more treasures ahead."
"If we can find something to suppress that divine power in the Divine Dragon Sun-Moon Chaos Tower, this Emperor might be able to stabilize the Great Saint realm and become the ruler of True Dragon Island."
Entering the hidden space had given Xiao Hei a taste of sweetness, filling him with anticipation for the treasures deeper in the Dragon God Temple ruins.
Just as Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei were about to set off, their minds trembled simultaneously. Instinctively, vigilance appeared in both their eyes.
"Zhang Ruochen, did you feel it too?" Xiao Hei's eyes showed gravity as he quickly drew out formation patterns to protect himself.
Zhang Ruochen nodded. "A very strange feeling, like something was watching us from the shadows. But it was only a flash, very similar to the feeling before we entered the hidden space. I thought it was the Eight-Armed Venerable of the Bone Clan before, but now it seems that's not the case."
"This Emperor can confirm that there are no living beings within a hundred miles." Xiao Hei didn't relax; instead, he grew more worried.
Both Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei had extremely powerful spiritual power and were skilled at detection. Yet no matter how they tried to sense, they found nothing, as if they had imagined it.
Zhang Ruochen thought for a moment and said, "From now on, we need to be even more careful."
Hearing this, Xiao Hei nodded seriously.
Even he now felt somewhat uncertain.
Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei didn't stay long. They used movement techniques and quickly sped deeper into the Dragon God Temple ruins.
"Waa, waa."
A sound like a child's crying came from deep underground. The voice was eerie and sinister. Even Saint King realm cultivators would feel their scalps tingle upon hearing it.
A child's shadowy figure appeared at the spot where Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei had just stood. It was about a meter tall. Its body gradually solidified. It had a pair of blood-red eyes, no feet, and dozens of tentacles supporting its body.
"Waa, waa."
The crying it emitted could form spiritual power attacks.
The dozens of tentacles beneath it, along with the spiritual power attack, shot toward Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei like lightning. In an instant, the tentacles stretched dozens of miles long, covered with blood-red vein patterns.
"Where did this child come from?"
"What kind of ghost is this?"
Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei were flying in midair when the spiritual power attack struck. Even with their spiritual power strength, their brains throbbed with pain, and a flood of bloody, eerie images appeared in their minds.
That child seemed to have burrowed into their heads, presenting a ghostly face as it wailed loudly.
"Break for me!"
Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei simultaneously mobilized their spiritual power, tearing apart the ghostly face in their minds.
But at that moment, the dozens of tentacles had already appeared before them.
*Whoosh!*
Zhang Ruochen instantly drew the Abyssal Ancient Sword, turned around, and slashed out, sending a sword light hundreds of meters long.
Xiao Hei's body surged with terrifying undying divine flames, forming a flame barrier in front of him. At the same time, he raised his formation patterns.
*Sizzle.*
The Abyssal Ancient Sword displayed its peerless sharpness, severing several tentacles in succession.
*Crackle.*
More tentacles lashed against the flame barrier and formation patterns, emitting black smoke as if severely damaged. They quickly retracted.
Seeing this, Zhang Ruochen mobilized the Truth Esoterica and activated the Flame God Armor. Instantly, powerful flames rose up, completely enveloping him.
Sensing the threat, the child quickly withdrew its tentacles.
"You... you have entered the territory of Mother Ancestor... If you go further, you will become like me... become a child of Mother Ancestor... waa, waa..."
Zhang Ruochen and Xiao Hei gave chase, but they only saw tentacles disappearing into the ground, vanishing without a trace. Even when they released their spiritual power, they could not sense anything.
Turning his gaze, Zhang Ruochen looked at the severed tentacles, only to find that they had also disappeared, leaving only a few shallow black marks on the ground.
"Zhang Ruochen, did you see what that ghost was?" Xiao Hei asked.
Zhang Ruochen shook his head. "A child. It also mentioned something called 'Mother Ancestor.' It said we would become like it. What exactly is that thing?"
"Damn it. True Dragon Island has been sealed for so many years, filled with all kinds of divine power and dark force. It's possible that some terrifying sinister being has been born." Xiao Hei's eyes showed intense nervousness.
Zhang Ruochen said, "It seems the Dragon God Temple ruins contain not only treasures but also terrifying monsters. We need to leave this area quickly."
Just after they left, countless tentacles extended from the ground, turning the area within a hundred miles into a black ink pool. Hundreds of children opened their blood-red eyes, revealing sharp fangs, standing on the tentacles, emitting "waa, waa" cries.
The crying traveled far. Many cultivators who had entered the Dragon God Temple ruins heard it, and a large number of sinister images appeared in their minds.
Some cultivators with weaker spiritual power went directly insane. Their pupils turned blood-red, and their bodies gradually shrank, as if they were turning into children. The scene was indescribably terrifying.