Zu An chuckled. âYouâve already died to me, but you still want to escape somewhere else? Then wouldnât I have made this trip for nothing?â
He was now the underworld emperor and had death and reincarnation within his very grasp. It would be weird if he let this guyâs soul get away right in front of him. Thus, he quickly made a grabbing motion. Just like that, the monsterâs figure was sucked right into his hand and had its neck clamped between his fingers.
The Thousand-Footed Elderâs entire body trembled. He now felt a natural fear and pressure that came from his very soul, as if Zu An was his natural predator...
No, it was even stronger than fear toward a natural predator. He had encountered some powerful enemies when he was still weak, but the fear he'd felt back then was still far from what he was currently experiencing. It was as if he could vanish without a trace with a single thought from Zu An. He gradually materialized again, struggling a bit.
âI admit that I was speaking a bit too boldly earlier. Your respected self is generous, so please just treat what I said like a fart in the wind...â The Thousand-Footed Elderâs face was full of fear and an obsequious smile.
Sang Qien and Zheng Dan were speechless. They had both seen countless powerful beings before. Normally, those beings all had great pride and self-respect. They had really never seen such a being bending and scraping for favor like this guy.
Of course, they also understood that all of this was because of Ah Zuâs power. The arrogance the monster had treated the two of them with was still fresh in their memory. The two women couldn't help but give the tall and strong figure in front of them another look. The love and adoration in their eyes became even stronger.
âAnswer my questions,â Zu An said indifferently.
âWill you let me go if I answer your questions?â the Thousand-Footed Elder asked in a trembling voice.
âIf you answer my questions, I'll grant you an easy death.â Zu Anâs voice was completely indifferent, as if he didnât even want to bother lying.
The Thousand-Footed Elderâs eyes opened wide.
What kind of condition is this? If I'm going to die anyway, why would I tell you anything?
A second later, Zu An waved his hand, and countless scenes of Hell appeared in the monsterâs mind.
The monsterâs entire body began to shake uncontrollably. There was actually such a terrifying place in this world! So it turned out an easy death was actually a kind of benevolence in itself. He didnât hesitate at all and immediately asked, âWhat does your respected self wish to ask? This humble one will definitely tell you everything without skipping a single detail!â
âThe monsters split into three paths. One was the sealed land, and another was the Tomb of Ten Thousand Dragons. Is your group the last one?â Zu An asked.
âYes, of course, thatâs right,â the Thousand-Footed Elder replied as he carefully observed Zu Anâs expression. He felt that his reply was a bit too simple, so he didnât wait for Zu An to ask more before adding on his own, âYou clearly already know about the other two paths. The third pathâs main objective was to incite chaos within the human race. War and death would bring about destruction, causing the entire world to be thrown into disorder. Then, the world barrier would be weakened, allowing the monster army to break through and enter this world.â
Zu An took a moment to think to himself. He now understood a bit about this worldâs laws, after all.
The world barrier protected this world, and its energy enabled people to strengthen themselves in cultivation. At the same time, the humans, fiends, and ocean races could make the world flourish and thrive. That would strengthen the world barrier in turn. But if the world fell into chaos and wars broke out everywhere, causing widespread death, that would contaminate the world that was normally filled with vitality, causing it to be flooded with evil and sinister beings. There had been records of such things in the past.
If there were no outside enemies, after decades or perhaps even a century, the world would slowly recover its vitality as it became peaceful again. However, the alien monsters were eyeing them right now. If the scenario of chaos breaking out occurred, those monstersâ main force would sneak in. Then, the entire world would be devastated.
Zu Anâs expression grew cold. These monsters really had thought of all kinds of different methods to torment this world. Even though he grasped the worldâs authority right now, and the world barrier was much stronger than before, who knew what kinds of things could happen if he let these monsters go into hiding and left them alone?
He asked, âWho is your leader? Where are your other colleagues?â
The Thousand-Footed Elder immediately replied, âThere are two leaders this time, the Doomsday Spirit and Plague Monarch.â
âIs the Doomsday Spirit a soul body? What kind of abilities does he have?â Zu An asked. He thought to himself that if the Doomsday Spirit was a soul, that would make him extremely easy to deal with. His abilities would naturally counter the Doomsday Spirit in that case.
The Thousand-Footed Elder quickly shook his head. âThe Doomsday Spirit isnât a soul body. Instead, he's someone who's good at stirring up public sentiment through false statements. He magnifies the darkness in oneâs heart and creates conflict and discord, which ultimately escalates into war.
âAs for his exact abilities, we monsters are actually quite guarded against each other and are ready to be turned on or ambushed at any time, so no monster would ever reveal all of their trump cards to the others. That's why I donât know what else he is capable of, and only know that he's much stronger than me.â
âThen how do they compare to the Shadowhorror Devil, Bloodthirst Crocodile, and Lord of Myriad Transformations?â Zu An asked. He needed something as a reference point.
âThatâs hard to say.â The Thousand-Footed Elder had a troubled expression as he said, âIf it were a frontal fight, the Doomsday Spirit and Plague Monarch would probably be on equal footing with the Shadowhorror Devilâs group. Even if they were a bit stronger, it wouldnât be overwhelmingly so. However, the Doomsday Spirit and Plague Monarch have never fought others directly. Instead, they've always chosen to use their abilities to place the enemy in a terrible situation. So if there really were a conflict, even the Shadowhorror Devil, Bloodthirst Crocodile, and Firedevil Sea Beast added together wouldn't necessarily be a match for the Doomsday Spirit and Plague Monarch.
âAs for the Lord of Myriad Transformations, perhaps he would be able to rely on his unique abilities to protect himself.â
Zu An thought to himself that the Lord of Myriad Transformations' skill was indeed useful. He wondered what the mysterious pearl that had been left behind after the monster's death could be used for. He had to use the Skill System on it once he got a chance in the future. He'd almost forgotten about it due to all the events that had happened in the Ocean races' territory, and his main priority of saving his people.
âIs the Plague Monarch good at spreading plagues?â Zu An continued his questioning when he saw that the Thousand-Footed Elder didnât actually know that much about the Doomsday Spirit.
âYes.â The Thousand-Footed Elder nodded. âThe two of them are actually a perfect match for each other. The Plague Monarch needs a large amount of corpses to start his plagues, while the Doomsday Spirit provokes people into fighting against each other. A large-scale war can create countless corpses.â
Zu An sneered inwardly.
This Monster Lord is quite good at putting people in the right places, arranging them together.
âThen how do I find them?â he asked.
âI donât know.â The Thousand-Footed Elder shook his head. He was scared that Zu An would think he was trying to dodge the question and quickly explained, âBecause the others failed, and because of the successive deaths of powerful monsters, the Monster Lord told us to be especially careful this time. The Doomsday Spirit and Plague Monarch are famous for being really good at hiding and surviving among monsters, and theyâre even more cautious now. It's always been limited to one-way communication ever since we entered this world, and only they can contact us. We have no way of contacting them. That way, regardless of what happens to one side, it wonât end up impacting the safety of our comrades.â
The Thousand-Footed Elder was feeling more and more depressed the more it explained. At first, it had actually approved of that countermeasure, thinking it would be safe even if the other monsters were caught. But now that it was exposed, it really was frustrating.
Why do I have to be the only one?
This was how monsters were; they didnât have any kindness at all. They all hoped to seize all the benefits for themselves, and for as much misfortune to fall upon the other monsters as possible.