Ming Huo snapped his wrist, striking the ground hard with his Bone Staff.
The dozens of True Gods around him fell silent. Holding their breath, they stared at the Prison-Suppressing Black Tower ahead.
Dark shadows flowed across the tower's surface, carrying an utterly unfamiliar aura of law. The pressure that had once kept these Scavengers at bay now looked like a prize ripe for the taking.
"What do you think, Ancestor?" The Half-Step Void beside him swallowed and pointed at the dark gold bloodstains on the ground. "The Judgment Archon has nearly bled dry. Something earth-shattering must have happened inside that tower. The Ancient Prison Lord is probably gone for good."
Ming Huo said nothing.
He had survived on the outskirts of this forbidden zone for thousands of years by being cautious.
But the temptation of a God King Tier weapon was too great.
If he could take control of the Black Tower, he could charge straight into the Sea of Chaos and stand as an equal to the Lord of the Altar. He would never have to scavenge in this godforsaken backwater again.
"The Ancient Prison Lord's Origin Essence aura has indeed vanished completely," Ming Huo said hoarsely. "The tower's change in color means its Bottom Layer Logic is rebooting without an owner. An opportunity like this comes once in ten million years."
Ming Huo raised his Bone Staff and pointed at the closed Dark Gold Gate.
"Fortune favors the bold. Get in there!"
The dozens of True Gods' eyes reddened. They surged forward, each racing to be first.
The moment they came within a hundred meters of the Black Tower—
Rumble.
The immense Dark Gold Gate slid open to either side without warning.
There was no light behind it, only a blackness so deep it resembled a gaping