The tower poked through the clouds, pointing straight at the sky!
The white sun faded in and out within the deathly qi. Even the sunlight seemed lifeless. Everything within a range of fifteen hundred kilometres had already been reduced to a land of death.
Perhaps this was the tallest building this world had ever witnessed. It shimmered with ghost flames as souls of the deceased lingered about, moving around through the tower. However, it only made everything seem even more deathly silent.
Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings constructed the tower without a single grumble, silently enduring the harsh scolding of the supervisors like lowly slaves. They held all of their fury and resentment inside, anticipating the day the tower would be completed.
By then, it would be a greedy feast, where all the living creatures of this world would become food in an attempt to satisfy their hunger that would never be satiated.
That day would not be too far off.
At this moment, a green sprout erupted from the earth in the dense jungle forever covered in mist at the boundary of the land of death. In the beginning, it was still very tender, such that it was impossible to tell what kind of plant it was, but it swelled up very soon. It grew into a great banyan tree that was even wider than a person with their arms outstretched.
It spread its branches towards the sky as if it still was not satisfied. Aerial roots as thick as dragons plunged into the ground to support its trunk that only became even more glorious.
The laws hidden beneath the sky and within the earth silently got to work, like a pair of invisible hands helping this newborn.
Yes, it was a child of the world.
When the great banyan tree grew to the point where it was taller than any tree or mountain throughout the history of this world, it could already rival the tower over a thousand kilometres away. The milky-white mist was spread out at his base like a thick, soft carpet with dark-green patterns.
At the end of the “carpet” were deathly-grey floorboards with many sharp, black nails scattered across it. It also resembled a cutting board—the withered, lifeless forest stood there in despair.
The great banyan tree opened a pair of inky-green eyes, gazing at the tower in the distance. The uneven bark was like firmly furrowed eyebrows, while the drooping leaves and branches were like a beard. It formed the vague image of a face, which was the Great Banyan Tree King.
Using his control of over half of the world, he unleashed his ten millennia of cultivation and all of his strength to prepare for this battle.
This battle would decide the fate of the world, as well as his fate.
He obviously was not alone. Daemon qi rushed into the air, gathering behind him. It was not just the Daemon Kings from the Mist province, but from the Green province and the Scarlet province as well. The White Camel Sand King was among them. There were many of his other old friends too. He had begun making preparations a year ago, and he had assembled them three days ago!
It was not just daemons. When the Silver Dragon King sailed over, the great cultivators all showed themselves too. They followed the King of Southern Yue’s lead, but it was not only the honoured guests of the King of Southern Yue’s estate. The Dauntless monk and the Unraging monk were among them.
A cloud descended from above, purging the grey haze and maintaining its pure-white colour. It shone with a dazzling, white light above this world of death. Wrapped in white feathers, Li Fengyuan clasped his hands towards the Great Banyan Tree King from afar, demonstrating his bearing as a king.
Who wasn’t a king here? Those that had not undergone the third heavenly tribulation did not even possess the right to participate in this battle.
He had used all of his connections and gathered all of his forces. They were only waiting for one person to arrive now.
The true target of the Hungry Ghost realm, the buddha nemesis Xiao An!
Out of everyone present, they were all countless times older than her apart from Li Fengyuan, but no one felt displeased. Over the years, she had basically made it to where she was right now through mountains of corpses and seas of blood, stepping over the corpses of countless Daemon Kings and great cultivators. She made “buddha nemesis” become a reality, and she was even more terrifying than the Daemon King Northmoon of the past!
There was a disturbance throughout the entire ghost tower. Under the organisation of the supervisors, the Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings stood ready for battle. Death qi surged into the air, standing in opposition.
It was like a siege. There were no so-called sneak attacks in consideration. Between the living and the dead, there was no such thing as deception or schemes.
Instead, the undead were much better assembled. The Corpse Kings roared away furiously, possessing greater morale than their enemies. It was not just because they had a commander of absolute power behind them—sovereign Li, but also because they had no path of retreat. They either died here or they would be devoured.
The Daemon Kings and cultivators were divided into several dozen groups of different sizes. Even if they failed to take down the tower, they could retreat from this land of death. The Great Banyan Tree King had only recruited them. Not a lot of powerful cultivators that had undergone the third heavenly tribulation were accustomed to following the orders of others, as they already stood at the apex of the nine provinces.
However, battles on such a scale occurred very frequently in the Hungry Ghost realm. Even Corpse Kings and Ghost Kings knew to follow the orders from those above them.
The Great Banyan Tree King furrowed his brows even more. This battle would definitely be filled with danger, but why hadn’t the Dragon province made a single response at all yet?
According to his original plan, the Great Xia empire would serve as the mainstay of this battle. This had nothing to do with personal debts and grievances. According to his calculations, this world would be anchored to the Hungry Ghost realm once the ghost tower was completed, unable to break free again. That would be countless times more terrifying than invasions from the Demon domain.
When the Demon domain wanted to invade, they completely relied on demonfolk to fight. At most, they had the convenience of demon caverns, but those were only equivalent to secret paths for sneaking in.
However, behind these undead was the Hungry Ghost realm. The six realms of sa?sāra had always been closely connected to all the worlds. Once they opened a path, it would be a highway. Countless undead would be able to surge in. That was why the Umbral Yin sect had treated it as their trump card to ensure mutual destruction with the world.
The Hungry Ghost realm also happened to be extraordinarily aggressive. It was basically the natural predator of worlds. Several decades ago in the Green province, a mere Corpse King had almost ripped away a chunk of the nine provinces.
The reason why the Hungry Ghost realm had not launched a large-scale invasion immediately, instead spending the effort to build the tower here, was exactly because of Xiao An’s existence. She was far too effective against them.
Once the ghost tower was completed, they could probably borrow the power of the Hungry Ghost realm and break free from the restraints of the laws of the world, allowing existences that surpassed the third heavenly layer to pass through or maybe even that sovereign Li. By then, even the Great Xia empire would be absolutely useless.
However, under such a precarious situation, the Dragon province actually made no response at all, basically completely ignoring the world as it descended into chaos. They allowed the ghost tower to rise higher as they blindly held their ground in the Dragon province, which greatly subverted his expectations. His messages for assistance a while ago were met with absolutely no reply either. Now that the ghost tower was about to be completed, he finally ran out of patience and had to take action.
That was because if he still did not take action, she would be taking action.
Cling!
The hollow sound of a bell rang out, so clear that everyone felt it was right by their ears. Their seas of consciousness rippled, basically unable to stay calm.
The White Camel Sand King’s blank face changed slightly. Right before she had incinerated Pearl city, this was the exact bell she had rung.
Out of everyone present, even if they had not personally heard the bell before, they had heard of its rumours and legends.
“She’s here!”
Clang!
There was a commotion in the ghost tower. The impact they had received was far greater than what the cultivators and Daemon Kings experienced. The supervisors all swung their whips to maintain order, but fear flashed through their eyes as well. Clearly, they knew what they would be facing. This morale immediately plummeted.
When the white holy flames descended, the Hungry Ghost realm would be destroyed.
They had come here just so they could end this legend or perhaps witness a legend!
