"Swoosh!"

What Su Ran hadn’t expected was that as soon as the Decay Bead burst forth with emerald radiance, it slipped from his control and surged into the spirit of the King Snake.

"Should have the soul recovered by now?"

Su Ran wasn’t worried about the Decay Bead being digested by the King Snake. He watched intently as the bead embedded itself in the snake’s vital seven-inch mark, the spirit’s aura churning continuously, and visibly growing at a pace that exerted an intense oppressive force on Su Ran.

As time slowly passed, Su Ran’s heart had risen to his throat, fearing that the previous mishap would happen again and leave him with false hope.

Suddenly.

A strange noise sounded, and the light emanating from the Decay Bead abruptly retracted back into itself, transforming into a stone bead, falling from the spirit of the King Snake onto the Demon-sealing Platform.

"Oh man, don’t break this treasure!"

Startled, Su Ran didn’t care about how the King Snake was recovering; he reached for the Decay Bead at once.

"Boom!"

Just as Su Ran grasped the Decay Bead, an explosive surge of force erupted from the body of the King Snake, sending him flying and crashing to the ground with extreme awkwardness.

"Damn it, give some warning next time, you scared me half to death!"

Grumbling, Su Ran got up, rubbing his sore hips, and glanced at the spirit of the King Snake with a face full of grievance, hoping to convey his dissatisfaction. But one look was all it took to leave him stunned.

"Hahaha, it wasn’t easy, but it finally succeeded!"

On seeing the King Snake’s spirit now solid as if it were truly standing before him, Su Ran’s eyes sparkled with mad joy. He was just about to burst out laughing when the words of warning from that sly merchant echoed in his head, and he had to forcibly suppress it. The feeling was truly unbearable!

The King Snake seemed vividly alive before Su Ran. If one didn’t touch it with their hands, it was unimaginable that this was actually a spirit!

Carrying the excitement in his heart, Su Ran cast the Detection Technique over the Demon-sealing Platform.

[Demon-sealing Platform] (Enhanced)

Ownership of this building increases loyalty of all boss creatures within one’s faction by +20 and reduces their chances of betrayal by 45%.

Sacrificing a boss creature with a loyalty of 80 or higher can further enhance the territory’s attributes, with the strength of the boss affecting the degree of enhancement.

Spirit of the King Snake: All buildings in Skeleton Village gain +100 defense, +2000 durability.

Skill One: Manifestation—When the altar or Demon-sealing Platform is attacked, the spirit materializes autonomously to guard the Demon-sealing Platform. The spirit’s attributes are 100% of the original strength. It is immune to physical damage but takes 15% more damage from magical attacks.

Skill Two: Thorn—All buildings in Skeleton Village possess a rebound property. They reflect 45% of the damage received from physical attacks.

Skill Three: Seal—When the Demon-sealing Platform is attacked, enemies have a chance to be forcefully sealed. Sealed targets cannot attack or move for a duration of four seconds.

Note: The boss can be replaced. After a successful replacement, the previously sacrificed boss permanently disappears.

"100% strength, haha, it really has returned to its prime!"

Excitedly clenching his fist, Su Ran’s gaze lingered on the Beast King’s Coffin above, "Five-clawed Bone Dragon King, I want to see what kind of surprise you’ll bring!"

In Su Ran’s view, the Five-clawed Bone Dragon King, as the apex of the food chain, should exude an air of disdain for the world, powerful and domineering. Not like now, curled up in the narrow Beast King’s Coffin, living in constant trepidation... ƒгeewebnovёl.com

The fate of the Five-clawed Bone Dragon King was indeed fraught with setbacks.

Imagining the Five-clawed Bone Dragon King’s disdainful stance, Su Ran’s eyes became excited, a heroic spirit emerged. As soon as the five-minute timer elapsed, he couldn’t wait to use the Treading on Air Technique and came beside the levitating Beast King’s Coffin.

"Open for me!"

Under Su Ran’s full effort, the Beast King’s Coffin opened a crack the size of a palm, revealing the Five-clawed Bone Dragon King in a deep slumber.

Huge swaths of black mist emanated from within the coffin and, upon sensing Su Ran’s Dark Breath, they retracted, relinquishing their protective state.

Without hesitation, Su Ran tossed the Decay Bead inside, intending to utilize the soul revival skill to mend the Bone Dragon King’s feeble soul.

However, to Su Ran’s disappointment, even after the Decay Bead had done its healing, the Bone Dragon King did not awaken, leaving him quite puzzled. Could it be that he must complete the task given to him in order to fully heal the Bone Dragon King?

This was no small trouble!

With a sigh, Su Ran temporarily abandoned the idea of waking the Bone Dragon King.

After some effort in retrieving the Decay Bead from the coffin, Su Ran carefully closed the coffin and leaped down from midair.

"No time like the present; let’s make a foray into the Demon Tower!"

Having acquired the control talisman, Su Ran was fully capable of rescuing the Skeleton Saint, and with all his current missions concluded, it was the perfect time to head to the Demon Tower!

If he could subdue the Skeleton Saint and claim Skeleton Village for himself, wouldn’t that be a delightful triumph?!

While Su Ran’s thoughts might have been impractical, it surely wasn’t a crime to fantasize, right?

...

The Demon Tower.

A large, fully armed troop stood at the entrance of the Demon Tower, ready for battle, with all kinds of weapons pointing at the tower as the atmosphere grew tense.

"Brothers, we’re all here, let’s move out!"

A player on a jungle wolf raised his arms and shouted, leading the charge. The other players responded with thunderous cheers, like a tide flowing towards the Demon Tower; within moments, the surroundings of the tower cleared out.

"What’s going on?"

These events happened to catch the eye of Su Ran, who inadvertently got a first-hand look at the action.

"Could it be that the Dancing Demons guild has had a long-standing grudge with Tiger Supreme, and a large-scale war has now begun?"

With both guilds entrenched in their own territories and constant friction between them, it’s not surprising that Su Ran thought in this direction.

Indeed,

What Su Ran didn’t know was that the affairs of the Demon Tower had already spread like wildfire across the forums of the Gods and Demons. One could find related information in any post they opened. However, as for the specifics, they varied wildly, everyone having their own version of the story.

"Isn’t this a disruption? How am I supposed to sneak in now?"

Looking at the entrance of the Demon Tower not far ahead, Su Ran felt even more disgruntled. An earth-shaking battle was bound to erupt inside, and his Invisibility Technique would not be able to avoid detection; if his invisibility were broken and he got dragged into the fight, it would be even more troublesome!

"Forget it, better to wait for some time until most of the players have died off before going in!"

Resolved, Su Ran lay down in the grass, camouflaging his form and patiently waiting for the right moment.

But before Su Ran could even find a comfortable position, to his surprise, he noticed another group of several hundred players racing to enter the Demon Tower, albeit this group was disorderly and ragtag, a far cry from the previous wave of players; they were clearly a motley crew.

"Just what has transpired inside this Demon Tower? It’s truly odd."