Chapter Six Hundred Fifty-Four: A Failed Theft
Outside the realm, in Old Woman Xi’s howling boundary.
Ancestral Cang calmly gazed at his new body. Although it looked quite similar to the previous one, it was ultimately just a hollow shell.
“Why did you save me?”
Across from him, the old woman in a light gray robe casually fiddled with her communication device, chuckling to herself from time to time.
After hearing Ancestral Cang’s question, Old Woman Xi slowly looked up, cackling:
“The reason isn’t important, but after all, I did save you, didn’t I?”
“I even returned the portion of rule power that I snatched from you.”
“Shouldn’t you be a bit more grateful to your savior?”
Ancestral Cang silently stared at her, not uttering a word.
Seeing this, Old Woman Xi shook her head and ominously muttered as she put away the communication device:
“Actually, you might not have noticed something.”
“Why does that kid from the Abyss Realm get to bask in the company of those two omniscient dogs? Why is Long Huan so willingly standing on that kid’s side?”
“Even Xu Yao, knowing full well the kid’s tricks, still willingly played along?”
After a long silence, Ancestral Cang slowly narrowed his eyes:
“You mean… it’s him?”
Old Woman Xi smiled but did not speak.
Ancestral Cang’s gaze immediately darkened ominously, before slowly morphing into a grim smile.
“I see.”
“I actually thought I had merely lost to a nameless little insect.”
“Turns out he has returned.”
“That’s not even the point,” Old Woman Xi said softly. “Don’t forget, we never took that kid seriously before because he was just a mere ant.”
“Only the Primordial Deities can threaten each other. As long as they can’t devour the rule power, no matter how clever the ants in the lower realms are, they are just mere clowns.”
“But now, if that guy’s original spirit has returned… everything is different.”
“This so-called Abyss Realm game was never just a makeshift plan.”
Old Woman Xi’s aging eyes narrowed into slits: “…it’s a trap to lure you into the pit.”
Ancestral Cang understood her meaning.
The Abyss Realm was from the very beginning a scheme of the First Deity/Demon.
His goal wasn’t as shallow as Young Master Sang suggested, but rather to catch all these deities and demons in one sweep.
“Given this, the five-year deadline is approaching, and this last deities and demons convention, you’re feeling a sense of impending crisis too, aren’t you?”
“I’m also afraid this deities and demons convention is a genuine feast of death,” Old Woman Xi shook her head, “If the omniscient has truly awakened all his powers and with that person’s presence, I fear my bit of rule power won’t allow me to leave the Abyss Realm intact.”
“I still don’t understand one thing,” Ancestral Cang frowned, “If that person really needed the rule power, he already devoured all our rule powers last time.”
“But he later returned it to us and still hasn’t told us the reason.”
“Now he suddenly wants to set a trap to devour our rule powers again, what’s with this constant flip-flopping?”
Old Woman Xi pondered, “I only have one guess.”
“Why did the First Deity/Demon want to devour our rule powers? Naturally, it was to gather enough rule power to achieve the level of a Primordial Deity.”
“However, he failed. This shows that even if he gathers the rule power, he still can’t reach the realm of a Primordial Deity.”
“Or perhaps he lacked something.”
Hearing this, Ancestral Cang seemed to grasp something: “You mean… that missing component was found when he reincarnated this time?”
“This explains why that madman would abandon the rule power and bizarrely enter into reincarnation.”
Old Woman Xi looked at Ancestral Cang deeply: “He’s truly playing a deep game.”
Ancestral Cang fell silent once more.
“However, it’s not yet time to just sit and wait.”
Old Woman Xi chuckled ominously: “That’s why I deliberately let you go and helped you rebuild your body and restore your rule power.”
“With the final deities and demons convention yet to convene, you are our only card in the dark.”
“If used well… there might still be a glimmer of hope.”
At this point, Ancestral Cang completely understood Old Woman Xi’s intentions.
“You want me to help you all fight against the First Deity/Demon?”
“Yes,” Old Woman Xi smiled lightly.
“I can’t think of a reason why you’d refuse.”
Ancestral Cang remained silent for a moment, then slowly nodded: “Indeed.”
“Leaving aside personal grudges, I still harbor deeper resentment towards the First Deity/Demon.”
Old Woman Xi’s smile began to brighten.
However, that radiant smile only lasted for an instant.
In the next moment, her frozen expression looked like it was stuck in a picture.
Her lower body bizarrely turned to ash, leaving just her head floating eerily in mid-air.
“…But.”
Facing her, Ancestral Cang’s eyes flashed with an eerie light. He revealed a chilling grin, whispering:
“Whether the hatred is great or small matters not to me.”
“If there’s a grudge, it must be avenged.”
“You too.”
Old Woman Xi’s eyes briefly flickered with disbelief, unable to comprehend how Ancestral Cang could reach such a point.
“You underestimate me far too much. You also underestimate my rule of destruction.”
Ancestral Cang shrugged with a faint smile: “Did you really think I’m some brainless brute who just charges in?”
It was only at this moment that Old Woman Xi stuttered:
“On the day we besieged you… you didn’t go all out?”
“I didn’t even use half my power,” Ancestral Cang smirked ominously, “Otherwise, did you really think you could walk away unscathed?”
“I knew this matter was far more complicated than it appeared. Now, all my doubts have finally unraveled.”
Old Woman Xi still found it hard to believe.
With merely twenty percent of the rule power, she had only returned to him ten percent.
Could Ancestral Cang truly extinguish her with just that ten percent of the rule power?
“Don’t worry.”
Ancestral Cang walked slowly in front of Old Woman Xi’s head, grasping it with one hand: “As for the First Deity/Demon, I’ll take care of it.”
“I’ll make that guy pay in blood.”
“And you… can rest easy and reincarnate.”
“You—” Before Old Woman Xi could finish her sentence, her head burst in Ancestral Cang’s grip.
Then, a radiant orb emanating a primal aura swiftly fled away.
Ancestral Cang quietly closed his eyes, savoring the exquisite sensation of devouring Old Woman Xi’s rule power.
“…Replication and proliferation,” he murmured.
“Exactly.”
“This rule is just right for me to forge a perfect body.”
After a long time, feeling the surge of power and chaotic energy within his new body, Ancestral Cang reopened his eyes, looking towards the distant direction.
That was the direction of the Abyss Realm.
“Young Master Sang.”
“…I hope you still remember me,” he grinned menacingly.
