Chapter 169: The Sovereign

Under the veil of night, the starry dome of the firmament silently rotated. Adeis stood before the ancient tree, gazing into the distance.

"To foresee the trajectory of destiny centuries into the future, yet possess a lifespan of less than thirty years—it turns out that Grand Sage was merely a mortal who stumbled upon fortuitous encounters."

"Moreover, touching the long river of destiny with a mortal body inevitably incurs a backlash, which is why most of them do not live long."

Adeis shook his head and raised a hand slightly. A wisp of destiny's trajectory, profound yet mysterious, surfaced and kept fluctuating.

"For transcendental beings who cultivate destiny and bloodlines, this world is truly a magnificent place."

After a moment, the trajectory of destiny vanished. With this thought in his mind, he looked up at the sky.

In the air, the immense power of destiny was still undulating. As he awakened, it grew increasingly urgent, carrying a strong sense of crisis.

"Ever since that armless fiend died, the resonance transmitted by destiny has grown increasingly perilous."

"It seems that after the demise of that capable subordinate, the next opponent I must face is the fiend monarch of this world."

In this world, the five-armed fiend was already a supreme powerhouse standing at the very pinnacle, an existence capable of rivaling monarchs in the future. Now that he had perished, no matter how disdainful the fiend faction might have been previously, they would undoubtedly heighten their vigilance and would no longer dispatch pawns to throw away their lives.

Therefore, the next attacker would definitely be a monarch among the fiends.

"However, even with the mutual resonance, it will still take them quite a long time to locate this place. That window of time is more than enough for me to advance."

He gazed at the firmament of this world, thoughts swirling in his mind.

The next day, after settling various affairs of the tribe, Adeis led a large contingent of his clansmen out into the wilderness in search of the numerous fiends.

This time, however, Adeis held back no reservations; he killed every fiend he encountered.

Having advanced to Tier 3, and aided by the natural ancient tree as well as his mastery over the power of destiny, Adeis perceived the fluctuations of this world with even greater clarity and could track down those tribes with far greater efficiency.

In the middle of a barren desert, Adeis stood quietly while several clansmen carried over the remains of several slain fiends and ferocious beasts, piling them to one side.

"Hmm, this is sufficient."

Adeis thought to himself, then stepped forward.

As his mind stirred, divine power began to summon the surrounding currents of destiny.

"I offer the flesh and blood of my present vessel as a sacrifice; I beseech destiny to guide my path."

A low, deep chant echoed through the void. The divine power stimulated the laws of destiny of this world, setting off rolling ripples.

The flesh, blood, and corpses before him gradually dissipated, turning into dust and feathering away. In Adeis's mind, a hazy, ethereal mark emerged.

"Head north." He looked toward the north and issued a command to those around him.

"Just this single act has depleted decades of lifespan from this physical vessel."

After a short while, Adeis sensed the state of his body and could not help but frown. "No wonder transcendence through the power of destiny has been plagued by early deaths since ancient times. With such consumption, how many could possibly endure it?"

"Furthermore, if not for the unusually active power of destiny in this world, and the fact that I only sought a general direction, the toll would likely have been even greater."

A few strands of white hair had already appeared on Adeis, though they were still inconspicuous.

Yet, he paid it no mind; after all, this was merely an avatar, and its fall would not truly impact him.

Shortly after, the group resumed their march northward.

The revelation of destiny was exceedingly hazy. Although it provided a general bearing, the precise location still required active searching.

After thorough pursuit, another fiend camp was utterly destroyed, and Adeis returned leading thousands of captives from within.

For several months this continued, until the sense of crisis derived from the revelation of destiny reached an absolute extreme. Adeis stood beneath the starry sky as his bloodline true form manifested. His surging blood Qi soared into the clouds, shrouding the sea of stars. The formidable power dyed a radius of dozens of miles in a crimson hue.

"It is enough."

Beneath the shelter of a mountain ridge, Adeis murmured softly, and all the miraculous phenomena instantly vanished.

His entire body emitted a scarlet radiance. Compared to before, he appeared extraordinary, akin to a god or a demon.

"Tier 4 has been breached; that fiend monarch should be arriving soon."

A faint smile touched his lips, his eyes carrying a cold glint. "It is time to bring all of this to an end."

As the killing intent churned within his heart, the vast power of destiny that had been lingering in the void began to boil, foreshadowing portents at its very core.

wisps of world origin power slowly drifted downward, gradually descending upon Adeis's head to help stabilize his aura.

He stood there motionless, save for the roiling blood Qi that seemed intent on repelling all surrounding life.

And so, several days passed.

A point of pitch-black light appeared in the distant firmament, faintly accompanied by a massive, roaring echo.

A tall figure clad in black robes manifested there, a pair of pitch-black eyes locked fixedly onto Adeis.

"Was it you who killed my child, as well as Othrolis?"

Though phrased as a question, his tone was absolute and unwavering, clearly having long since concluded that Adeis was the culprit.

At this, Adeis smiled faintly, radiating a trace of majesty that effortlessly neutralized the overwhelming pressure bearing down from the opposite side.

The man's pupils contracted slightly, a hint of solemnity coloring his gaze as he looked at Adeis.

He was exceptionally tall, standing a full three to four meters in height, with dark skin and a robust physique that exuded a murderous aura forged through countless years of slaughter.

Without further inquiry, his entire body tightened as he began to undergo a transformation.

The black robes draped over him began to tear apart, and a massive surge of demonic power erupted. His posture shifted, ultimately morphing into a six-armed fiend standing over ten meters tall.

The oppressive majesty of a formidable bloodline weighed down heavily. Locking his gaze on Adeis, he let out a furious roar.

Ripples tore through space as terrifying demonic power surged, whipping up a violent tempest right where he stood, its sheer force shattering several nearby mountains.

In that very instant, the might of a fiend overlord was displayed without reservation, the power of Tier 4 unequivocally real.

Opposite him, witnessing this terrifying spectacle, Adeis merely sneered.

A point of scarlet light emerged upon his body, then rapidly surged skyward. Endless blood Qi danced through the air, painting the entire firmament. In terms of sheer momentum, it surpassed even his opponent.

Amidst the sea of blood Qi, his own form began to transform. A bloodline true form towering over a dozen meters tall manifested, radiating immense majesty as he coldly stared down the fiend monarch across from him.

The atmosphere turned deathly still for a moment. Down on the earth stood two towering bloodline true forms, each over a dozen meters high. Two completely distinct bloodline forces collided violently, forming a tempest at their center that fractured both space and the ground beneath.

All around them, vast elemental energy and demonic power intertwined and annihilated one another, triggering a chain reaction across the surroundings.

Such a terrifying sight meant that unless they were powerhouses of the exact same caliber, even a Tier 3 expert with lofty bloodlines like Othrolis would be torn to grievous injuries if they stepped into this domain.

The next moment, a cataclysmic explosion erupted on the spot as both figures moved simultaneously.

The fiend monarch roared, distinct radiances blooming across his six arms as he lunged toward Adeis.

Meanwhile, Adeis's river of blood Qi wailed. Driven by his divine power, the Natural Divine Domain manifested, suppressing the surrounding dozen miles of territory.

The two collided, every single strike capable of drastically altering the landscape of the surrounding earth.

"You deserve to die!"

The six-armed fiend bellowed, his pupils burning crimson. Exerting force with all six arms, he yanked a small mountain straight out of the ground and hurled it toward his opponent.

The river of blood Qi surged skyward, shattering the small mountain to pieces in a single breath. Seizing the opportunity, Adeis charged straight ahead.

The immense power erupted once more on the spot as the two engaged in close combat. Every single exchange emitted thunderous shockwaves that shook the very earth.

Through the hazy blur of the battlefield, at the absolute core of the explosive power, the two towering figures intertwined.

A massive, bloody hole appeared on Adeis's chest, with blood Qi streaming endlessly; he appeared to have suffered heavy injuries. Yet the six-armed fiend opposite him was in an even more wretched state—two of his six arms had been snapped clean off, ripped away and hurled backward by Adeis only to be dissolved instantly by the rushing blood Qi.

The two separated, locking gazes with eyes filled with bloodline majesty and glacial coldness. Then, striking in unison, they shattered space itself, revealing the void storms raging within.

Standing upon the earth, the six-armed fiend looked at Adeis with a face contorted in shock.

After a brief silence, he spoke: "Your power is no longer inferior to mine."

"Beings like us possess boundless lifespans; why should we slaughter one another for the sake of those mere ants? If you are willing, not only will the matter of you killing my subordinates be written off, but I can even introduce you to the other monarchs and use secret arts to transform your bloodline into that of a fiend."

"From then on, you shall be a new fiend monarch, ruling this earth alongside us. What do you say?"

He watched Adeis, slowly attempting persuasion with a tone dripping in temptation.

Yet, listening to his words, Adeis merely sneered inwardly.

Putting aside the fact that his true body was a Tier 6 deity harboring ambitions of eternity, fiends by nature were treacherous and cold-hearted, utterly untrustworthy.

Thus, he did not take the other's words seriously for a second, keeping his gaze cold and detached.

"Besides, even monarchs—what do they truly signify to us fiends?"

Opposite him, the six-armed fiend continued to speak, his expression grim and devoid of any emotion.

"This land has been ruled by us fiends since antiquity. There are as many as seven monarchs alone, and above the monarchs exist the emperors."

He spoke coldly: "In the eyes of our fiend emperors, this meager strength of yours is nothing more than something to be suppressed with a wave of the hand."

Hearing this, Adeis, whose expression had remained indifferent throughout, finally smiled, his countenance turning bone-chillingly cold: "And what of it?"

"No matter how powerful a fiend emperor may be, it cannot alter the outcome that you shall perish here today."

The six-armed fiend was startled, followed instantly by an eruption of formidable blood Qi from his body. The power that had been suppressed by Adeis was unleashed without concealment.

A river of blood Qi surged into the sky, wherein a towering bloodline true form re-emerged. The wounds that had previously marred his body vanished entirely as he lunged forward once more.

"Damn it!"

Watching Adeis approach, a flash of greenish hue crossed the six-armed fiend's face, yet under this overwhelming majesty, evasion was utterly impossible.

Another collision ensued. The fiend delivered a strike aimed straight at Adeis's heart.

Yet facing this fatal blow, Adeis did not dodge or parry; instead, he brewed all his strength, seemingly intent on a mutual destruction.

"Have you gone mad?!" The fiend cried out in alarm, watching Adeis's closing figure, leaving him with no choice but to grit his teeth and press the attack.

Potent blood Qi coiled tightly. At that exact fraction of a second, Adeis's bloodline true form dissolved completely, and his hidden divine power erupted without hesitation, transforming into a cage that locked the fiend firmly in place.

Roar!

A final, dying roar of desperate struggle erupted on the spot, then slowly faded into nothingness.

Amidst the devastation, Adeis stood tall upon the earth, gazing into the distance. Behind him, the corpse of the fiend monarch drifted silently as its flesh and blood were thoroughly vaporized.