The Abyss Plane.
The 76th Layer.
From the charred earth, eleven shadows slowly rose from the ground, their bodies shrouded in darkness, unable to reflect even light.
"What a chaotic, smoke-filled atmosphere. How interesting."
Jiang Xiu's blood-red eyes swept over the boundless wilderness as he murmured in quiet admiration. The other ten shadows stood guard around him like loyal soldiers.
"So that's how it is. With my true body breaking through, the shackles on the Shadow Monarch have broken through as well?"
After silently sensing the change, Jiang Xiu's eyes glimmered with surprise as he murmured under his breath.
After he broke through Level Ten, the Shadow Monarch's authority had been further unlocked. Now, he could not only extract the shadows of ordinary dead, but also choose one shadow to become a legion commander.
A shadow that became a legion commander would retain all its memories and strength from life. It could also continue to grow stronger through the Shadow Soldiers under its command, helping Jiang Xiu direct the mindless Shadow Legion.
The legion commanders would still be absolutely loyal to Jiang Xiu, taking him as their supreme authority.
"As for the legion commander candidate... I feel like the Ant Emperor of the Ant Emperor Clan still has plenty of charm."
Jiang Xiu couldn't afford to be careless in choosing a legion commander. If he wanted to gradually take control of the entire Abyss, the first thing he had to do was deal with the Ant Emperor Clan. He could then use it as a stepping stone to conquer the other Abyss races, so sooner or later, he would have to face the Ant Emperor.
"The road ahead is long and arduous. I have to increase my strength as quickly as possible."
Jiang Xiu stroked Black One's head, his gaze distant.
The Abyss Plane had a total of 108 layers. Every thirty-six layers marked a major leap in strength.
Among the bottom thirty-six layers, the king of each Abyss species was as strong as a human Soul Master with the title of Titled Douluo.
Among the middle thirty-six layers, the king of each Abyss species was as strong as a human Soul Master with the title of Super Douluo.
Among the top thirty-six layers, the emperor of each Abyss species was as strong as a human Soul Master at the demigod level of Limit Douluo. The few emperors above them had even stepped into God Level in certain domains, like the Spirit Monarch's spiritual power and the Fierce Emperor's own Divine Power.
And on the 76th Layer where Jiang Xiu now resided, the Ant Emperor, king of the Ant Emperor Clan, had the strength of a Titled Douluo.
"Come on. Let the slaughter begin!"
With his spiritual power replenished this time, Jiang Xiu was determined to kill to his heart's content and expand his Shadow Army's ranks.
"Squeak! Squeak! Squeak!"
At their monarch's command, the ten Abyss Shadow Ants sprang into action. Their scarlet eyes blazed with ferocity as they charged shoulder to shoulder at a slightly larger Abyss Ant. Their immense bite force rivaled that of a hyena-like Soul Beast. Black One even snuck in attacks from behind, repeatedly striking where it couldn't see.
Jiang Xiu followed behind them, continually extracting the shadows of dead Abyss Ants and adding them to his glorious Shadow Legion.
As time passed, the shadow army behind Jiang Xiu grew larger and larger. By the time he had extracted his seventy-sixth shadow, he could completely surround and hunt Abyss Ants on par with a Soul Grandmaster.
As the shadow of that Abyss Ant appeared, a streak of dark light suddenly flowed into Jiang Xiu's body, and the shadow's strength abruptly increased a little.
"Is this feedback?"
Jiang Xiu raised an eyebrow, as if something had occurred to him, then suddenly understood.
The shadows he'd extracted before were all too weak. The energy had been burned up just converting them, let alone giving anything back to him. But after killing an Abyss Ant on par with a Soul Grandmaster, there was naturally some energy left over to feed back to him.
"Since this shadow of mine can now level up on its own, I should make it as strong as possible."
After a moment's thought, Jiang Xiu settled on a plan.
This shadow had been his from the start; it had simply been lost in the Abyss Plane. The Shadow Monarch Martial Soul was like a medium, capable of transmitting his consciousness to this shadow.
Perhaps one day, when the Abyss Plane invaded, this shadow would merge back into his true body. Then all that energy would naturally return to his true body as well.
Everything he accumulated now was preparation for the future.
"Maybe the way to salvation—to break through to God Level in the future—is hidden in this..."
Jiang Xiu narrowed his eyes slightly. With a sweep of his hand, he led his Shadow Army forward to slaughter once more, even activating the Monarch Domain to boost the Shadow Soldiers' strength and conceal their presence.
In an instant, the area where Jiang Xiu stood descended into chaos. Roars and the sounds of battle blended together.
But compared with the vast expanse of the entire 76th Abyss Layer, this small patch of land was utterly insignificant.
Time trickled by. Only when Jiang Xiu's spiritual power was nearly exhausted did the slaughter finally begin to slow.
Even so, Jiang Xiu's Shadow Legion had expanded to a full 150 soldiers, and the shadow's strength was on the verge of reaching the Soul Grandmaster level.
"Thanks for nature's generous gift."
Feeling his strength grow, Jiang Xiu murmured softly. Nothing felt better than leveling up.
Just then, a dark-purple Abyss Ant, as big as a calf and bristling with fangs, charged straight at Jiang Xiu and his soldiers from afar. It even stopped to eat one of its own along the way. Five golden marks gleamed across its body.
"Time to run! Retreat!"
Sensing the aura it gave off, Jiang Xiu realized it was already on par with a Soul King, and gave the order without hesitation.
His Shadow Legion wouldn't truly die, but they would grow weaker with each death. He had personally raised every soldier. How could he let them make needless sacrifices?
Besides, the gap between their strength and the enemy's was too great, and his spiritual power was nearly depleted. A strategic retreat was the best option.
"Just you wait. Next time I come back, I'll butcher you."
After giving it one last long look, Jiang Xiu led the Shadow Legion and sank completely underground.
The Abyss Ant stamped its feet in frustration at the Shadow Legion that had vanished before its eyes. But, lacking much intelligence, it soon wandered off to another place to keep eating its own kind.
"It's about time. I should head back and get some rest."
After covering the Shadow Legion with his Monarch Domain, Jiang Xiu sighed and prepared to return to his true body. After all, the next day he had to go to the Spirit Ascension Platform to increase his Soul Ring's age, and he had also figured out that time flowed at the same rate here as it did on the Douluo Plane.
"I'll probably run into Leng Yaozhu's disciple, Na'er, at the Spirit Ascension Platform tomorrow."
Jiang Xiu mused. He was sure Leng Yaozhu hadn't asked him to stay at the Spirit Pagoda today just to help him ascend.
As Jiang Xiu's consciousness returned, silence settled over the entire Monarch Domain.
At that moment, a transparent thread, no thicker than a strand of hair, appeared above each of the 150 Shadow Soldiers. They all flowed toward Jiang Xiu.
At last, on the back of Jiang Xiu's right hand, they converged into an Ant Emperor Mark depicting an ant emperor roaring up at the sky. It was so faint as to be almost invisible, but it was undeniably there.
Then the entire Monarch Domain sank once more into eternal night...
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