A Thousand Years of Companionship, Not as Good as a Moment of Life and Death

As Luo Chuan's voice faded, a giant demonic beast standing fully a hundred feet tall suddenly emerged from within the hurricane.

The Hurricane Beast King before them was massive, possessing enormous, textured bat-like wings that unfurled with an awe-inspiring aura.

Its head was crowned with several twisted, curved horns, sharp and etched with unique patterns, while its face resembled a skull, its red eye sockets and gaping maw exuding a sinister air.

Its body was rough-skinned with prominent muscle definition, and its claws were razor-sharp; the overall appearance was highly intimidating, radiating a sense of evil and terror.

"A Beast King at the Great Perfection of the Spirit Transformation realm? My god, I never expected a demonic beast of this caliber to exist here. Meng the Hunchback is going to pay a price for this."

Luo Chuan glanced at Xu Liguo inside the Black Tower, then fixed his gaze on the Hurricane Beast King before him, smiling indifferently.

"Late-stage Great Perfection of Spirit Transformation, heh. Meng the Hunchback, let's see how you manage to fend this off."

The Hurricane Beast King glared at Meng the Hunchback with eyes like copper bells and immediately launched an attack, a deafening sonic wave sweeping forth and sending ripples through the void.

"Damned human, you have slaughtered countless of my kin! Today, this King shall execute you here to offer a sacrifice to the Life Souls of my people!"

Meng the Hunchback's pupils constricted sharply. He stumbled back two steps, panicked, and stammered, "Spi... Spirit Transformation Great Perfection? How is that possible!"

At this moment, Meng the Hunchback was filled with fear. He could hardly believe that his own atrocious, inhumane slaughter had actually drawn out the local Beast King.

Gritting his teeth, he immediately searched for a way to escape, and when he caught sight of Luo Chuan in the distance, his eyes lit up.

"Fellow Daoist, save me!"

As if he had grabbed onto a life-saving straw, Meng the Hunchback rushed straight toward Luo Chuan's position, his eyes filled with desperate excitement.

However, before he could even get close to Luo Chuan, countless peach blossom leaves transformed into blades, instantly blocking him and denying him any chance to approach.

Meng the Hunchback halted his steps and roared in frustration, "Fellow Daoist, what is the meaning of this!"

Luo Chuan stood with one hand behind his back, his expression indifferent as he snorted coldly, "This is your own affair; it has nothing to do with This Seat. Scram at once, or die!"

Seeing that Luo Chuan was unwilling to help, Meng the Hunchback glared in fury. Just as he prepared to lure the disaster toward the other, the Hurricane Beast King kicked him squarely in the stomach.

Under the force of this massive shockwave, Meng the Hunchback's body slammed into the ground like a cannonball. He spat out a mouthful of crimson blood, and his aura withered instantly.

Gritting his teeth, Meng the Hunchback immediately clutched Li Tian and retreated into the Black Tower, hoping the tower could help him withstand the beast for a while.

But seeing all his magical treasures shattered, Meng the Hunchback went completely berserk, roaring like a madman:

"Damned beast! Damned brat Luo Chuan!!"

"If I, old Hunchback, can survive this, I will make you pay a painful price! I will ensure you have no place to be buried!"

Outside the Black Tower, the Hurricane Beast King snorted in disdain. It slowly raised its right hand and slammed it directly against the barrier in front of it.

"The Black Tower cannot stop this King! Human, you have slaughtered countless of my kin; today, you shall not leave this place alive!"

Seeing the Black Tower on the verge of collapse, Meng the Hunchback became utterly deranged, howling, "No! I, old Hunchback, cannot die here! I cannot die here!"

Meng the Hunchback looked at Li Tian, who was continuously coughing up blood. He gritted his teeth, walked over with trembling steps, and said coldly:

"It has come to this; I have no other choice... Li Tian, counting it up, you have been with me for a thousand years now."

"I have not treated you poorly, but today we face a dead end. If I do not do this, we shall both die miserably here today."

This Li Tian Toad had accompanied him for thousands of years, never leaving his side. He had watched it grow from a low-grade spirit beast all the way to a peak high-grade spirit beast, already belonging to the Sub-Desolate rank. If it had another few thousand years and the aid of some spirit herbs, it might very well have become a Desolate-rank beast!

Now that the situation was set, without Li Tian's help, he would surely die at the hands of this Beast King at the Great Perfection of Spirit Transformation.

Meng the Hunchback grabbed Li Tian's body and said cruelly, "Li Tian, forgive me! I still wish to live a few more years!"

Under Li Tian's gaze, Meng the Hunchback's hand pierced through its body without resistance, and he ruthlessly ripped out a jade-green inner core.

Looking at the core in his hand, Meng the Hunchback felt a pang of reluctance, but he was helpless. "Li Tian, this is your fate. If you must blame someone, blame that brat Luo Chuan and this Beast King!"

Without a second thought, Meng the Hunchback swallowed the inner core. A massive surge of energy, like a raging sea, began to spread outward, and wherever it passed, the void on both sides shattered inch by inch.

The moment he swallowed the core, Meng the Hunchback's entire body shuddered violently. It felt as if his meridians were being pierced by thousands of steel needles; the agony twisted his features, and he let out a roar like a wild beast.

The immense energy rampaged through his body, impacting and reshaping every inch of his flesh and blood.

Meng the Hunchback's body began to swell. His previously hunched frame was forcibly straightened, his clothes were instantly shredded, and veins bulged beneath his skin like writhing earthworms.

On his face, the original toad-like pustules grew increasingly swollen, and the fluid that leaked out after they ruptured was no longer ordinary pus.

Instead, it was a highly toxic, jade-green slime. As the slime dripped onto the ground, it hissed, instantly corroding deep, bottomless pits into the stone floor.

His hair grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, dancing wildly. Every strand seemed to contain immense power, slicing through the air with sharp whistles.

Meng the Hunchback's eyes turned a bizarre, eerie green, his pupils flashing with madness and brutality. His spiritual energy surged wildly, forming a massive vortex.

The surrounding air was sucked in greedily, and the sand, stones, and dust on the ground were swept into the air, spinning at high speeds within the vortex and being ground to dust.

The already sinister Earth-Element Land became even more terrifying under the shroud of this powerful and bizarre force.

"This body, it cannot be wasted either!"

Meng the Hunchback licked the remaining slime from the corner of his mouth, his green pupils reflecting Li Tian's broken corpse, and a series of eerie laughs erupted from his throat.

His claw-like fingers plunged deep into the toad's swollen abdomen, tearing out its still-twitching organs.

Foul-smelling blood sprayed onto the walls, forming twisted runes. As he chewed greedily, the runes began to slowly squirm.

"A thousand years of companionship... it is better to serve as nourishment for my flesh and blood!"

The skin on Meng the Hunchback's neck suddenly split open, and countless tiny buds of flesh grew wildly, instantly wrapping around and devouring the torn chunks of meat.