Snatching Food from the Tiger's Mouth

"The Devil's Contract"

"It's a joke to expect these extensions of chaos to obey the covenant of order."

Keosius thought to himself, but he still put on an eager look, making no attempt to hide his greed for power.

The avatar vanished from the Astral Plane void, turning into a waning flame that had burned out, leaving only the Calamity Dragon Eye monitoring the situation. Keosius returned his will completely to his original body, located in front of the Astral Prism on the Prime Material Plane.

"I don't want to sign the contract."

"But I don't want to give up this Kareks' Body either."

"Let's take a gamble and, while the seal is still intact, stage a scene of Snatching Food from the Tiger's Mouth."

Keosius stared intently at the Astral Prism emitting a faint glow, his eyes revealing the excitement of facing a high-stakes gamble.

The current Jezal Slack has definitely not broken the seal, or at least he is not confident that he can keep him here. Otherwise, this demon would not have gone to such lengths to lure him into signing the so-called "cooperation contract" with the precious divine corpse.

However, this Revenge Lord, sealed away for millennia, was perhaps a little too complacent, prematurely revealing his trump card and forgetting that Keosius had the extra option of "flipping the table."

"Then let me see it."

"The so-called wrath of the demon, perhaps."

Keosius grinned coldly, thinking to himself.

As the Dragon Sorcerer's will distorted reality, magical auras and spatial fluctuations suddenly appeared, and spells such as Undying Reverse Scale, Graceful Dragon, Aerial Maneuvering, Energy Scales, and Omniscient Eye, which are among the few spells that can have some effect in high-level battles, were added to his massive dragon body.

Keosius tucked his wings in and somewhat reluctantly squeezed into the portal to the star-filled Color Pool.

The Red Dragon passed through a rainbow-like tunnel of light, traversing an imperceptible distance, and arrived in its true form in this deep Astral Plane void.

A pure spiritual world, a silver void between all true planes.

But physical organisms can still survive here.

"It's a pity I didn't find the Astral Plane projection, otherwise I could have minimized the risk."

Keosius gently flapped his wings and quickly adapted to the almost weightless environment of the Astral Plane. With the help of Aerial Maneuvering, he mastered the flying skills for traversing the Astral Plane.

"Keosius, you've finally come."

"My perfect collaborator, sign a contract with me."

"You will share with me an inexhaustible source of power and become the creator of a new world."

The demon's whispered calls grew louder and more elusive as they approached, lingering in the Red Dragon's ears and luring him into the deepest, Abyss.

Keosius flapped his wings with all his might, streaking across the Astral Plane void like a red comet. In just a few breaths, he had covered a distance of nearly a thousand meters. He could even see the floating island in the distance and the emaciated body of the demon.

"Come, sign a contract with me."

"Rescue me, and you will gain eternal life!"

Suspended in mid-air, Jezal Slack's voice grew even more excited, like a prisoner about to be pardoned.

The contract formed by the turbulent currents of the Abyss waved in the void, as if it were a living thing, welcoming the arrival of the contractor.

However, Keosius was fortifying his Mind Barrier to resist all the whispers of evil.

Instead of arriving at the demon's side as promised, he flapped his wings and accelerated again. Crimson flames even appeared behind the Red Dragon. He actually flew directly past the sealed demon and headed straight for the distant, mountain-like Dragon Corpse.

"No--"

"Keosius! What do you want to do? Have you forgotten our agreement?"

The demon, known as the "Revenge Lord," who was suspended in mid-air, trembled violently, and his deep eyes burned with the fire of vengeance.

The entire floating island trembled violently, and a colossal human face made of chaotic mist appeared in the Astral Plane void.

"Revenge--"

"Destroy--"

"Chaos--"

The face was roaring and howling, as if it wanted to devour the Red Dragon that swept across the void.

Keosius tightened his wings and continued to accelerate, not forgetting to make sarcastic remarks.

"Who told you I was going to sign some kind of contract?"

"The Devil's Contract sounds to me like a joke even more ridiculous than 'the devil's conscience'!"

Ignoring the obstruction of the chaotic mist, he streaked through the void like a meteor, his body shrouded in Sulfur Scent smoke, and crashed down onto the chest of the Dragon Corpse.

"This is Kareks, the World Purger."

Keosius let out a long sigh of relief.

This thousand-meter-long Red Dragon had been dead for tens of thousands of years, but Keosius actually stood in front of it, he still felt an incredible sense of oppression. It was an oppression that came from bloodline, inheritance, and even essence, and even his wings were trembling uncontrollably.

Keosius's target was the heart.

He couldn't possibly bring the entire remains back to the Prime Material Plane.

Although everything about the divine corpse can be considered priceless, the most valuable part of this Dragon Corpse is undoubtedly the precious organ that has countless Base Blood Vessels supplying it with true blood, and the heart that is still trembling slightly and still contains one-thousandth of its bloodline power from its lifetime.

Heart of Kareks.

"Keosius! You're courting death!"

"You have abandoned the great gift I gave you and chosen ultimate destruction!"

A magnificent, chaotic phantom approached from afar, and the enraged Revenge Devil unleashed the power leaking from its seal, venting its fury on this "traitor."

Keosius knew that his time was running out.

This demon has been sealed away by the gods for ten thousand years, but even so, the power of the Abyss Lord is far beyond his reach.

"Roar--"

The dragon crystal on Keosius's chest shimmered with a blinding light, white smoke billowed from its pores, and a blazing white pillar of high-temperature fire spewed from its mouth.

Immediately afterwards, two rows of dazzling flames emerged from his neck and tail, and the dragon crystal on his chest was filled with the light of the flames. The blazing white pillar of fire went even further, and its outer flames even turned slightly blue.

However, the terrifying breath of extreme heat struck Kareks's mangled body, but was blocked by the dull scales.

Even a body that has been dead for ten thousand years and has long lost its source of power is not easily destroyed by the flames of ordinary things due to its powerful material composition.

"That's terrifying."

"Even the Maximized Breath feels like a tickle."

Noticing the approaching demonic phantom in the distance, Keosius gritted his teeth and finally made up his mind.

Instantly, the Base Blood Vessels all over the Red Dragon's body emitted a faint light, even shining through the body and revealing a root-like shape on the surface.

The continuous flow of energy was channeled into the dragon crystal. Brilliant, high-temperature white flames erupted from the pores on its neck and tail, accompanied by terrifying fluctuations. A violent magical fission reaction occurred within the dragon crystal, with light spots and arcing lines appearing erratically within it. Mars flew wildly at its chest, and the dragon crystal became dazzlingly bright, like a miniature star in the universe.

A violent wind spread outwards from the Red Dragon, forming a ring of dust on the floating island. A moment of silence followed, then a deafening explosion erupted from the void.

The next moment, blue and white flames shot out from Keosius's mouth.

[Primal Breath]

A pillar of extremely hot fire shot towards the body.

This breath finally cut through the dull scales, piercing through the magnificent Dragon Corpse and creating a huge gash.

"Huff, huff"

Keosius gasped for breath, his body becoming somewhat translucent, emitting scorching white smoke, indicating he was on the verge of overload.

But he didn't relax at all, nor did he have time to rest. Without hesitation, he burrowed into the crack and continued to widen it with his sharp claws.

"Sizzle—"

Finally, he tore open the thick flesh and blood on the Dragon Corpse's chest.

The heart, still trembling slightly and flickering with firelight, was exposed to the air.

This is Kareks from ten thousand years ago. Its heart alone is nearly thirty meters in diameter, making it larger than most Red Dragon of this era.

"This is Kareks's heart."

Keosius exhaled a puff of white smoke, his pale golden pupils radiating heat.

"Keosius! You have betrayed your trust!"

"You will bear the wrath of the Abyss Lord!"

He turned his head, and the phantom of the demon had already arrived. Its body, made of chaotic mist, stretched out a ferocious giant hand, trying to grab the Red Dragon.

With the Graceful Dragon in flight, the Red Dragon easily dodged the attack, but it was still tainted by the chaotic aura. Its spells became extremely unstable, and even the Omniscient Eye collapsed under this influence.

"This is the true power of the Abyss."

"We must leave as soon as possible."

Keosius felt the chaos of the infectious confusion and thought with lingering fear.

The Red Dragon burrowed directly into the Dragon Corpse's chest, dodging the attacks of the demonic phantoms while tearing apart the already lifeless blood vessels with its claws and Scratch Spell.

Finally, the luminous heart, containing the immense power of the Progenitor Dragon, lost its connection to flesh and blood vessels and slowly fell out of the chest.

Seeing this, the Dragon Sorcerer did not hesitate to distort reality with his will and unleash the spell once again.

The Bag of Greed

A bag-shaped force field gradually formed behind him, allowing him to drag the enormous heart.

"Roar!"

Keosius flapped his wings with all his might and roared, and he actually took off, dragging his heart, which was even larger than his dragon body.

Fortunately, gravity in the Astral Plane is almost negligible; otherwise, even with the power of the Red Dragon, it would be difficult to support such a heavy heart while flying.

The Red Dragon flapped its wings with almost all its might, managing to drag the heart a hundred meters into the air.

"Ignorant mortals!"

"You don't understand the consequences of angering a Abyss Lord!"

A black spear materialized in the demonic phantom's hand and was hurled directly at the Red Dragon, which was caught in mid-air and could not dodge.

But just as the Chaos Power touched the Red Dragon and was about to inflict a fatal wound, a scale on his body suddenly shattered, and a golden light membrane enveloped his entire body. It turned out that the [Undying Reverse Scale] had forcefully blocked this fatal blow.

Taking advantage of this precious opportunity, Keosius used all his strength to climb higher and higher, finally leaving the floating island completely, leaving the demonic phantom only able to roar helplessly on the ground of the floating island.

"Goodbye, no, farewell forever— Jezal Slack."

"I will remember your selfless dedication."

"Keosius said, panting."

The battered Red Dragon, dragging the "Heart of Kareks," struggled to fly to the coordinates of the Astral Prism, then plunged into the Astral Plane Color Pool leading to the Prime Material Plane, entering the shimmering Astral Plane Vessel.

As the stars shone, the Red Dragon vanished.

Astral Plane, on the Kareks Floating Island.

The imposing demonic phantom vanished completely, leaving only the gaunt demon suspended in mid-air.

"Sure enough, the smartest fish will always bite the last bait without hesitation."

"The demon said in a low voice."

At this moment, Jezal Slack was not as furious as he had been just moments before; instead, he calmly raised his head.

"Hehe, as expected of the Red Dragon, who is known for his greed, he really is a bit beyond my expectations."

He stared in the direction where the Red Dragon had disappeared, as if gazing at the endless chaos beyond the Astral Plane, a strangely frivolous smile on his face.

"But I haven't finished speaking. Foolish mortals say that Kareks is in fact insane, which has resulted in the endless raging winds in the Howling Void Tunnel."

"But isn't that just a distant dream from Abyss?"

"Keosius, the mark of chaos will be deeply engraved on every scale of yours and flow in every vein of yours. When you have truly grown strong, that will be the time for me to reap the rewards."

"I originally wanted you to be immersed in the illusion of power, so that you could eventually accomplish all of this naturally. But you chose a more arduous path, one that makes it harder to preserve your existence in form."

The imprisoned demon stretched out its thin arm toward the Astral Plane void, then suddenly gripped it as if it had grabbed something, the chains rattling loudly.

"This is a destiny that runs through the universe, and you cannot escape it."

"After all, dragons are just mortals who don't understand the rules of the world. I don't know whether to praise you for being clever or to call you foolish."

The endless void remained empty, with silver currents drifting everywhere. Occasionally, an unknown light would flash, and a lonely floating island would drift by, whether it was a colossal beast from the Astral Plane or the remains of yet another god.

A long chapter of 3700 words, please add some.