Qiongqi Could No Longer Sit Still in the Beast Emperor Palace!

Deep in the Northern Land stood the Beast Emperor Palace.

The disturbance in the Myriad Sha Abyss had gradually subsided, but Shen Ni was still in a foul mood.

In the center of the great hall, several blood-colored patterns flowed slowly, finally converging into a black water mirror.

The mirror showed the deepest reaches of the Myriad Sha Abyss.

The severed finger of a Chaos Demon God, stretching hundreds of thousands of li, was once again covered by layers of restrictions. The damaged rock strata were also gradually closing under Shen Ni's power.

Only the gap at the edge of the finger, where Lu Yuan had bitten off a chunk, remained glaringly obvious.

The black-armored giant stood below in the hall, his expression darkening as he stared at the gap.

"Your Majesty, did that Grand Void Sky Whale really take such a huge chunk of the Demon God's flesh?"

Shen Ni raised his head and glanced at him.

"Can't you see for yourself?"

The black-armored giant's face stiffened slightly, and he hurriedly lowered his head.

"I spoke out of turn."

Qiongqi stood beside him without interrupting.

Qiongqi knew full well that what concerned Shen Ni most now went beyond the loss of a chunk of the Demon God's flesh.

The damage to the seal on the Myriad Sha Abyss showed that this precious place at the heart of the Imperial Court had a weakness.

Previously, with the seal intact and the Beast Emperor personally guarding it, naturally few beings had dared set their sights on the place.

Now that the severed finger's presence had leaked out on a massive scale, even innate great Divine Ability users like Hongjun and Luohou had sensed it.

From now on, keeping this place completely hidden would clearly be extremely difficult.

Shen Ni slowly raised a hand.

Blood-colored runes flew one after another from his fingertips and merged into the water mirror.

"The core of the severed finger is stable. The outer layer lost some of its origin, so the rate at which Sha Qi accumulates will be affected somewhat in the future. Fortunately, it isn't enough to shake the Imperial Court's foundations."

Hearing this, the black-armored giant finally breathed a small sigh of relief.

What he feared most was that the entire Myriad Sha Abyss would be rendered useless as a result.

If it really came to that, the Ferocious Beast Imperial Court's ability to cultivate experts would inevitably be severely affected.

Shen Ni continued, "However, from today onward, the depths of the Myriad Sha Abyss will be sealed off again. The Sha Veins from various regions that supply this place must also be restored to their original courses."

Qiongqi nodded.

"I will pass down the order."

Shen Ni fell silent for a moment, then suddenly asked, "Where did Lu Yuan go after he left?"

Qiongqi answered, "He didn't go far. He's currently on a wasteland in the Northern Land, apparently digesting the Demon God's flesh he took away."

"Still digesting it?"

Shen Ni's expression shifted slightly.

That was consistent with his assessment.

The origin of a Chaos Demon God was tyrannical beyond measure.

Although Lu Yuan had managed to swallow a portion earlier, truly refining it completely would take time.

Moreover, he had just completed his bloodline transformation, and there was ultimately a limit to what his body could withstand.

Shen Ni was about to ask more when an urgent presence suddenly came from outside the Beast Emperor Palace.

Qiongqi frowned slightly.

He raised a hand and beckoned.

A wisp of blood-colored beast markings passed through the palace gates, carrying a message straight into the great hall.

A moment later.

Qiongqi's previously calm expression suddenly froze.

The black-armored giant noticed something was wrong.

"What is it?"

Qiongqi did not answer immediately.

He checked the message again, the surprise in his eyes growing more apparent.

Shen Ni also looked at him.

"Speak."

Qiongqi took a deep breath.

"Your Majesty, a Golden Immortal ferocious bird that pursued Lu Yuan from the outskirts of the Myriad Sha Abyss has just sent word. Lu Yuan was digesting the Demon God's flesh on the wasteland, and his body has grown again."

Shen Ni frowned slightly.

"How much?"

Qiongqi was silent for a moment.

"More than a thousand li at least, possibly close to two thousand."

As his words fell.

The entire hall suddenly went quiet.

The black-armored giant slowly turned his head, a peculiar expression on his face.

"Say that again?"

Qiongqi glanced at him.

"After that Grand Void Sky Whale left the Myriad Sha Abyss, his body length increased by nearly another two thousand li."

The black-armored giant's mouth fell slightly open.

The words he had been about to say caught in his throat.

He naturally knew how immense the power contained in the Demon God's flesh Lu Yuan had taken away was.

But the problem was.

Power of such a high level was extraordinarily difficult to refine in the first place.

Even a true Daluo Golden Immortal would need considerable time to fully absorb a small piece of a Chaos Demon God's remains.

Yet this Grand Void Sky Whale.

How long had he been gone?

He had already grown nearly two thousand li!

The black-armored giant could not help stepping forward, his voice noticeably louder.

"Has he already finished refining the portion of the Demon God's flesh he swallowed?"

Qiongqi shook his head.

"The message didn't say. But the Golden Immortal ferocious bird saw with his own eyes that Lu Yuan's remaining injuries had almost completely healed, and the presence of his scales was stronger than when he left the Myriad Sha Abyss."

The black-armored giant was utterly speechless.

He turned to look at the Demon God's severed finger in the water mirror, his expression now exceedingly complicated.

He had previously thought that although Lu Yuan had snatched a chunk of the Demon God's flesh, actually turning that power into strength of his own would surely take a long time.

Now it seemed.

This fellow's ability to digest might be even more outrageous than his ability to devour.

Shen Ni fell silent as well.

He carefully recalled his fight with Lu Yuan.

At the time, he had already used a considerably refined Beast Emperor Principle.

He had broken through his opponent's scales several times and even truly wounded the flesh beneath.

Yet after every injury, Lu Yuan had been able to use the power he devoured to heal rapidly.

Now he had swallowed a Chaos Demon God's flesh as well.

His recovery and growth would likely only become faster and faster.

Shen Ni gradually came to understand.

The most troublesome thing about Lu Yuan was that every high-level battle he fought could make him grow.

If he had continued to let Lu Yuan remain in the Myriad Sha Abyss and the two sides fought repeatedly, the Imperial Court would expend resources while Lu Yuan could continually replenish and strengthen himself.

Shen Ni naturally would not allow that.

The black-armored giant hesitated for a moment before finally speaking again.

"Your Majesty, should we gather the kings to surround him while he's still digesting the Demon God's flesh?"

Qiongqi immediately frowned at this.

"How many do you want to send?"

The black-armored giant said in a deep voice, "The Imperial Court has more than one Great Luo, and with the many Taiyi ferocious beast kings as well, we might be able to trap him."

Qiongqi looked at him.

"When I fought him before, he hadn't yet grown past a hundred thousand li. Now his body has grown stronger still, and even His Majesty had to fight seriously to wound him. How much use do you think ordinary Taiyi ferocious beast kings would be if they surrounded him?"

The black-armored giant's face darkened.

"Are we just going to let him go, then?"

Qiongqi did not answer immediately.

He had come to understand Lu Yuan's character somewhat.

The giant beast did like devouring power, but as long as no one took the initiative to stop him, he would not go around killing for no reason.

Heaven-Splitting Hou and Qiongqi had each fought him before.

Both had ultimately left alive.

That alone said a great deal.

Listening to their argument, Shen Ni slowly raised his hand.

The hall fell quiet again.

"Leave the matter of surrounding and killing him aside for now."

Shen Ni's expression had grown calm again.

"The Myriad Sha Abyss needs to be stabilized once more. Since Hongjun, Luohou, and the others have already sensed the Chaos Demon God's remains, they will surely pay closer attention to the Northern Land from now on."

"If I were to divert a large number of experts to attack Lu Yuan now, it would only leave other parts of the Imperial Court understaffed."

Qiongqi nodded.

Though the black-armored giant was unwilling to accept it, he understood that Shen Ni had a point.

Shen Ni looked at Qiongqi again.

"Go and see Lu Yuan."

Qiongqi was slightly taken aback.

"Your Majesty?"

"Tell him that the Myriad Sha Abyss has been sealed off again. I will not pursue the previous matter for now. Since he has already taken that chunk of the Demon God's flesh, he may take his time digesting it."

At this, Shen Ni's voice gradually grew stern.

"But if he breaks into the Myriad Sha Abyss again, or forcibly devours any of the Imperial Court's important Sha Veins, I will personally settle accounts with him."

Qiongqi considered this for a moment, then nodded respectfully.

"Understood."

Shen Ni paused briefly, then added another instruction.

"Pass the word to the other kings as well. If Lu Yuan is merely passing through, none of them is to provoke him."

The black-armored giant jerked his head up at this.

"Your Majesty!"

Shen Ni fixed his gaze on him.

"What, are you still planning to have those Taiyi ferocious beast kings stop him?"

The black-armored giant's face stiffened.

Remembering how Heaven-Splitting Hou had been sent flying by a single lash of Lu Yuan's tail, he said no more.

Shen Ni slowly leaned back against the imperial throne.

"When it is time to fight, we naturally must fight. But now the entire Northern Land knows his strength. If we keep sending people to their deaths, what will we gain besides weakening the Imperial Court?"

After hearing this, Qiongqi finally breathed a sigh of relief.

He had indeed been worried that Shen Ni would fly into a rage and immediately gather a large force of ferocious beast kings to hunt Lu Yuan down.

Now that Shen Ni had decided to halt hostilities for the time being, it was naturally a more prudent choice.

"I'll go at once."

Qiongqi turned and left the hall.

Just as he approached the palace gates, Shen Ni's voice came from behind him again.

"Qiongqi."

Qiongqi quickly stopped.

Shen Ni looked at him and said evenly, "After you meet him, take another look and see just how much his body has grown."

Qiongqi's heart tightened.

"Yes."

Outside the palace gates.

Billowing Sha clouds slowly gathered.

Qiongqi beat his wings and transformed into a long, dark-red streak of light, flying toward the wasteland where Lu Yuan was staying.