Chapter 818
Slaying a High-Ranking Venerable
The giant hand that emerged from the crimson pillar of light moved incredibly slowly, as if every inch of its movement would take an endless amount of time.
However, its sheer size is enough to terrify anyone—its length exceeds twenty kilometers.
Each slight rise and fall represents a spatial leap of ten kilometers, stirring the surrounding air currents into violent vortexes, and distorting and dimming the light in the world due to the movement of this behemoth.
In the blink of an eye, the giant hand traversed a distance of over one hundred kilometers and suddenly appeared in front of this high-level Venerable, with the distance between them less than two kilometers.
Seeing it so closely caused Sallit's scales to tremble violently, and only then did it see the giant hand in its entirety.
Its surface was shrouded in a thick, inky blood-red light, within which countless broken phantoms twisted and struggled wildly.
There were humanoid silhouettes with ferocious faces, and non-human bodies that were deformed and twisted. They were tearing at their restraints with all their might, their mouths wide open, but they could only let out silent howls.
This direct gaze seemed to trigger some kind of strange pact.
The next second, countless fine, hair-like blood lines suddenly emerged from Sallit's body.
These blood lines, possessing immense penetrating power, broke free from its body's control and hurtled towards the giant hand, instantly merging into the thick layer of bloody light and disappearing from sight.
The bloodline began to contract rapidly, and an overwhelming force pulled Sallit's body along, dragging it rapidly toward the giant hand.
In order to defend against the crisis, Sallit had already used more than a dozen top-notch secret techniques, and his body was covered with layers of defensive shields, each of which was enough to withstand a full-force attack from a Venerable of the same level.
But at this moment, the shield was completely ineffective, like it was made of paper, and became a useless decoration.
They could neither stop the fine blood vessels emerging from its body nor withstand the brute force that dragged it toward the giant hand.
The shields flashed a few times before dimming and dissipating without even causing a ripple.
At this moment, Sallit, this high-ranking Venerable, finally realized that the giant hand contained terrifyingly powerful laws far beyond its comprehension.
The strong law is at least a demigod-level power.
This was a rule-based pressure powerful enough to crush all its strength; its own demise was already predetermined, and any struggle would be futile.
But what's most peculiar is that the strongest emotion surging in Sallit's heart right now is not resentment towards the Azure Ghost, but rather hatred towards the two demon lords who abandoned him and fled alone.
Sallit roared in his heart, cursing the two deserters in the most vicious and sinister language over and over again, wishing them a terrible death.
Two seconds is as fleeting as a white horse galloping past a crack in the wall.
Accompanied by Sallit's heart-wrenching, continuous screams, its body finally touched the warm, rough surface of the giant hand.
A strange thing happened in an instant.
The scales on Sallit's body, which were originally as hard as iron and had a metallic sheen, suddenly turned bright red at a speed visible to the naked eye.
Then it began to disintegrate inch by inch, turning into wisps of fine blood mist, which were greedily absorbed by the blood-red light on the surface of the giant hand.
After the scales disappeared, the tender flesh beneath the skin was exposed. Before it could even feel the piercing pain, the flesh melted away, turning into a blood mist that was swallowed by the giant hand, leaving not a trace behind.
Sallit was in extreme pain, and his body trembled violently uncontrollably.
This is absolutely a horrific torture comparable to skinning, dismembering, and scattering ashes, far exceeding all the suffering it had ever endured.
Its body was peeled away and dissolved layer by layer at an astonishing speed.
In less than five seconds, the last hard bone in its body turned into blood mist under the blood-red light and was completely absorbed by the giant hand.
The last wisp of this high-ranking Venerable's soul essence also could not escape, and amidst desperate wails, it completely dissipated in the bloody light of the giant hand.
Just now, Sallit had viciously declared that he would cut off the Azure Ghost's flesh piece by piece, making it suffer endless pain.
It never imagined that it would experience torture a hundred times worse than this before it died.
This is fate's way of getting back at you.
It's also a terrifying kind of dark humor.
but.
The giant hand did not stop its actions after swallowing Sallit.
It maintained its forward-leaning posture, and its speed was even faster than before.
Clearly, this terrifying behemoth was still extremely hungry and searching for its next prey.
Not long after.
Two slender streaks of blood, like venomous snakes hunting, swiftly swept through the swirling sandstorm, precisely locking onto the two demon lords who had already fled far away, and "lifted" them back as if they were chicks.
With no chance to resist, the two demon lords were quickly enveloped by the bloody light of the giant hand, turning into blood mist and being completely devoured.
The giant hand slowly stopped, its massive body swaying slightly between heaven and earth, as if surveying the entire area to see if there were any other missed prey.
Unfortunately, apart from the endless sandstorms and the lingering stench of blood, there was no sign of life in this area.
It stood there motionless for a moment, seemingly unwilling, before slowly turning around and retreating towards the bottom of the Death Whisper Sands, and the oppressive feeling between heaven and earth gradually dissipated.
In this confrontation, Yang Fan undoubtedly won a complete victory.
On the other hand, the Shadow Palace suffered a crushing defeat, with all three Venerables perishing.
*
Azure civilization.
Dreamland Paradise, Stargazing Pavilion.
Yang Wanyu and her brother Yang Yanchen stood side by side atop the towering light bridge, watching helplessly as the enormous, blood-red hand, which blotted out the sky, enveloped the three Venerables layer by layer, as if crushing ants.
Their souls and bodies were swallowed into that bottomless palm, leaving not even a trace of embers behind.
Only when the giant blood-red hand slowly disappeared into the magnificent painting did the siblings seem to have their stiffness removed, and they suddenly regained their breathing rhythm.
Yang Yanchen's Adam's apple bobbed violently, and he swallowed hard. "Sister, those three Venerable Ones...are they really dead?"
When he learned that the attackers were high-level Venerables, his heart was in his throat, and he was constantly worried about his father, Yang Fan.
He originally thought that his father's trap in the Sands of Death was nothing more than an attempt to repel that high-ranking Venerable.
But the boy never expected that his father would pull off such a shocking move, completely annihilating a top expert who stood at the pinnacle of many civilized worlds.
High-ranking Venerable!
He was killed just like that!
The thought exploded in his mind like a thunderclap, making him dizzy.
Yang Wanyu snapped out of her shock, her tone equally incredulous: "Yes, how could a high-level Venerable just die?"
She had always known that her father's strength was unfathomable, but this understanding ultimately had a vague boundary.
But today's scene completely shattered that boundary—she never imagined that her father's power had become so strong that he could easily annihilate a high-level Venerable.
Yang Yanchen snapped back to reality, glancing out of the corner of his eye at the floating ink-colored light screen in front of the Star Gazing Bridge. He hurriedly reminded her, "Sister, quickly put away the finger bone! The only thing the enemy left behind is most likely a divine artifact!"
That black finger bone had been ownerless since Sallit's death, and it possessed extraordinary spiritual power.
Just moments before, as the crimson giant hand reached for Sallit, it seemed to possess sentience and actively broke free from Sallit's grasp.
It transformed into a streak of black light and leaped into the deep sands of the Death Whisper Abyss, using the dense death energy within to conceal itself, thus barely escaping the giant hand's devouring. Of course, this was also because the crimson giant hand's target was Sallit's soul and power, and it paid no attention to this seemingly ordinary finger bone, giving it a chance to breathe.
Yang Wanyu immediately responded with an "Mmm".
For the siblings nowadays, relying on the power of the Star Gazing Pavilion's original dream realm to remotely retrieve objects from the real world is already second nature.
Previously, the two of them were able to steal the Law Weaver, the Weaver of Fate, in front of a high-ranking Venerable with this power, so taking a finger bone today would be a piece of cake.
soon.
In the real world's Death's Sand Abyss, a certain layer of sand suddenly surged, and thick, ink-colored mist erupted from the void, instantly covering the area where the finger bone was hidden like a raging inky wave.
This is precisely the channel through which the power of dreams tears apart reality and illusion.
The gates to dreams have been opened!
The black finger bones beneath the sand seemed to sense a deadly threat, and a hazy black light suddenly emanated from their bodies.
The once solidified skeletal body became indistinct, attempting to once again use the death power of the sand abyss to leap away and escape.
But it was ultimately just a divine creation that had been born with a spirit but lacked complete intelligence, so it had no idea how to deal with the high-level laws of dreams.
The arrival of the power of dreams has already quietly rewritten the laws and barriers of this area.
The flow of the power of death was completely blocked, and each leap it made felt like it was crashing into an invisible wall of steel.
The finger bones flickered erratically in the inky mist, bumping into things several times like headless flies, before finally plunging headfirst into a pale purple spiritual ring that appeared out of nowhere.
This is the "Dream Ring," a cage formed from the power of high-level dreams.
By the time the spirit within the finger bone sensed something was wrong, it was already too late.
Countless silvery-white dream threads surged out from the spirit ring, like a fine spider web, instantly binding the black finger bone tightly without leaving a single gap.
Immediately afterwards, a majestic voice resounded from the depths of the Star Gazing Pavilion, echoing throughout the entire Sands of Death: "In my name, seal!"
This is the supreme power of the superior ability [King of Dreams], and also the high-level dream law that grants wishes.
As the words fell, the terrifying power of law surging within the black finger bones seemed to be paused, instantly falling silent and entering a long slumber.
Just a moment later.
A pale blue beam of dreamlike light descended from the center of the ink-colored mist, precisely enveloping the sealed finger bone.
The outline of the finger bones gradually blurred in the beam of light, and in the blink of an eye, it completely disappeared into the sand layers of the Death Whisper Abyss.
The gushing ink-colored mist, like a scroll being rolled up, receded at an extremely fast speed, disappearing completely into the void in an instant, as if it had never existed.
The Sands of Death returned to their usual deathly silence, with only the endless yellow sand swirling in the wind, telling the story of the earth-shattering battle that had just taken place.
Let me add a few more words.
Yang Fan had already made an agreement with the Eternal Trojan Horse to carve out an independent void space from within the horse's body, specifically for storing these divine artifacts of sensitive origin.
Even if the Shadow Palace has the most powerful methods, it would be extremely difficult to track down what's inside the Eternal Trojan Horse.
If any other Venerable One had obtained this finger bone, they would likely have been targeted by the Shadow Palace in an instant, facing endless trouble.
After doing all this.
Yang Yanchen let out a long sigh of relief, turned to look at Yang Wanyu, his eyes still filled with shock, and couldn't help but ask, "Sister, just how many divine artifacts does Father have hidden away?"
Yang Wanyu's gaze followed the beam of light that brought back the finger bone, watching it fall into the back of the huge, wooden horse-shaped black shadow deep in the dream world.
Recalling the information she knew, she gave a conservative estimate: "At least a hundred."
"My God! So much?!"
Yang Yanchen gasped, his voice rising several decibels in shock.
Although he was just an insignificant warrior, he was well aware of the rarity and preciousness of divine artifacts.
Even a Venerable-level expert who rashly comes into contact with a divine remains risks being corrupted by the powerful laws within the remains, and might end up with a tragic fate of having their soul and body destroyed.
Not to mention dismantling and modifying the remains of the gods to create weapons and equipment that they could use.
"Looking at the world domain where our Azure Civilization is located, Father has the most divine artifacts under his control." Yang Wanyu's eyes were full of pride. "Perhaps, even in a larger domain, there is no other Venerable who can compare to Father."
Yang Yanchen nodded emphatically: "I think so too."
Witnessing his father annihilate a high-level Venerable had given him a completely new, almost reverential, understanding of his father's strength.
Yang Wanyu patted her younger brother's shoulder with a smile, her tone relaxed: "Alright, the task Dad assigned is finally done, time to call it a day and go home!"
"okay!"
Yang Yanchen responded.
With that sound, the Star Gazing Bridge beneath their feet trembled violently.
The towering bridge of light seemed to be pulled by an invisible hand, rapidly contracting downwards at a speed visible to the naked eye.
In just a second, the light bridge completely disappeared, and the siblings landed steadily back on the chessboard-like, crisscrossing ground of the Star Gazing Pavilion.
Without any delay, the two quickly activated the "offline program".
In recent months, Huanmeng Shendu has added thousands of such mini-programs, making it increasingly resemble a game world.
For example, with offline programs, as long as you mentally call out a command, a virtual door that only you can see will appear before your eyes.
The gate will open automatically, and the entrance to the capital city will be displayed inside.
Once you cross this door, you can return to the real world.
Don't be fooled by the fact that this process may seem simple; it's not.
The door serves more than just a ritualistic function; it also allows users to observe the real world, something that most knight-level dream creatures cannot do.
On the other hand, each time the offline program is activated, the connection between the Dream God and the real world becomes stronger.
The laws governing this dream space will then undergo a subtle transformation.
This is precisely Yang Fan's method for exploring advanced dream laws.
soon.
The siblings stepped over the door together.
In that instant, two afterimages remained in place. With a "bang," the afterimages transformed into countless tiny, brilliant silver specks of light, which slowly drifted away like stardust and eventually returned to nothingness.
The Star Gazing Pavilion fell into a deathly silence, with only the faint light of the starlight overhead casting shadows on the chessboard-like ground. (End of Chapter)