Suddenly, the Mother Tree extended a lush branch, as thick as a mountain and wreathed in sharp sonic booms, smashing down towards the group of Beast Taming experts.
Faced with this cataclysmic blow, everyone was terrified, engulfed in the shadow of the flesh-and-blood branch.
At this moment, the branch gradually slowed, halting completely while still a dozen meters above the ground. From a distance, it resembled a scarlet tentacle pressed to the earth, writhing continuously.
In the next moment, a cold and aloof silhouette materialized in the air. Her robes billowed as a crescent moon emerged behind her, transforming into a brilliant blade of slaughter. The human-skin skulls in its path were shredded into pieces. Grotesque severed limbs rained down like autumn leaves. A vast swathe of the dense forest was cleaved by a sweep of the Moon Blade, unleashing a torrent of blood. An aura of corruption, evil, and savagery spread rampantly.
"It’s Her Highness, the Princess!" a female Beast Tamer exclaimed in utmost adoration.
In this Eternal Night Realm, the Moon Princess was a leader of immense charisma. Elusive as a deity, her aloof aura captivated all her followers.
A magnificent maidservant in an ink-black dress trailed billows of dark mist, which coalesced into shadowy battle armor draping the Moon Princess. This was a possession-type skill, allowing the Master to unleash power far exceeding her current level.
"No matter who you are, invading my realm comes at a price!" Her slender hand rose high, her silver hair, as radiant as moonlight, fluttered. Her pale silver eyes, devoid of any human emotion, were truly godlike as she prepared to deliver divine retribution to the blasphemer.
The next moment, under the stunned gazes of the crowd, a meteorite over a thousand feet long streaked from the sky, crashing towards the Desire Mother Tree.
One of the powers of the Moon Authority: Field Control!
Under the Moon Princess’s precise control, the meteorite obliterated a large expanse of the flesh-and-blood forest, carving a massive trench through the land. This scene of one-sided annihilation made the followers’ blood boil. They were astounded by the Moon Princess’s destructive capability, truly a weapon capable of shattering cities.
"So... so powerful! Even the King-level Mechanical Tyrannosaurus in our clan, even at maximum overload, doesn’t possess such destructive power!"
"That’s obvious! The Princess is the reincarnation of the Moon Goddess, the creator of all moonlight-type Pet Beasts. How could a mere mortal like you compare to her?"
"Then what are we doing here? Just cheering ’Awesome!’ for the Princess?"
Everyone’s face was filled with admiration, their eyes burning with a fervent glow.
Such excellence! No wonder she is favored by the Night Goddess—the future Moon’s Chosen foretold in the Book of Prophecy. With such a mighty lord to follow, their own futures seemed bright. If the Princess were to win the Divine War and successfully establish her Divine Kingdom, they would become its founding heroes and attain immortality.
However, the Desire Mother Tree continued to writhe, its core undamaged, its advance merely halted by a Power of Rules. The Moon Princess’s expression turned grave; she had encountered a troublesome opponent this time.
"Withdraw," she commanded coldly, ordering the miscellaneous personnel to retreat. The ensuing battle would engulf the entire Royal City.
At the same time, a thought intruded into her mind: What was the King of Black Robes doing now?
She dispatched a wisp of her divine sense to probe the Moon Cage. Peeking inside, she saw the black-robed figure collecting lines. The Moon Princess was slightly puzzled. Can this fellow truly endure the solitude of the Moon Cage? Is he studying its structure?
"The renowned Moon Princess. I’ve heard so much about you."
Just then, a flippant voice drifted from the distance. The dense forest squirmed, and a flayed, blood-blurred corpse, slumped on dark brown roots, abruptly turned its head, its eyes bulging like copper bells.
Moonlight, sharp as a blade, descended from above.
The corpse was instantly bisected. Its surface was covered with myriad web-like cracks before it shattered into a blood mist and dissipated into the air.
The Moon Princess remained expressionless. She raised a delicate Moonlight Grass in her palm; it resembled a bellflower adorned with tiny hanging moons, from which a surge of sharp power erupted.
Moon Cage Grass, a King-level, moonlight-type Pet Beast! One of its special skills, when paired with the Moon Authority, was to imprison enemies within a Moon Cage and deliver a dimension-crushing blow!
"How rude! Can’t you even let me finish speaking?"
From all directions, countless blood puppets crawled forth. Their mouths twitched into eerie smiles as they rushed forward, attempting to tear the noble goddess to pieces.
The Moon Princess waved the Moon Cage Grass in her hand. A small moon flew out, transforming into a surging blade of energy that roared like a dragon!
A white flood dragon lunged forth, annihilating everything in its path with devastating force!
Countless Corpse Puppets developed web-like cracks and exploded as if embedded with bombs, showering the area in a rain of blood! The blood splattered onto the ground, where root-like tendrils resembling suckers absorbed it completely.
The Desire Mother Tree’s aura is still intensifying. The Moon Princess frowned. She couldn’t fathom her opponent’s intentions and was even more wary that the King of Black Robes might ally with it to conspire for something.
Soon, the branches of the Desire Mother Tree stretched and voluntarily parted, clearing a path forward. Skulls formed ridges, and bones stood like a forest. Piled craniums, with blood flowing over them, formed a crimson carpet, welcoming distinguished guests to participate in this frenzied banquet.
Chu Yi glanced at the tangled mass of lines, having finally gathered all the materials for the Banquet Dish. He kneaded the tangled threads into a ball, then took out a Wheat Ears Divinity. Using a tentacle, he hammered it into a fine powder resembling scattered stardust, then kneaded it into the dough like seasoning. Then, using a rolling pin embedded with a Blood Bead, he rolled the dough out from various angles, flipping and turning it until it was uniformly thin. He folded it three times, then began slicing the dough into noodles with a kitchen knife, occasionally shaking and pounding it. Next, he pulled them into thread-like strands and simmered them in water.
After working for half a day, Chu Yi served a bowl of steaming hot boiled noodles. A small smile touched the corner of his mouth; he had finally crafted the Banquet Dish.
The Divine Hand pulsed with white light, conveying an intense greed; this Banquet Dish was perfectly suited to its appetite. Feeding a Deceit Beast was no simple task; careless feeding would only restrict its evolutionary paths.
[Banquet Dish]: String of Destiny
[Effect]: Increases mastery of causality-type abilities, allows comprehension of the special skill—[String of Destiny].
[Evaluation]: A bowl of plain boiled noodles.
[Reward]: Evolution Points +50
Composed from the threads of Forbidden Items, countless faint rules twisted together—perfect!
The white light flickered, accompanied by a soft munching sound. The boiled noodles were instantly devoured, and a rare sensation of fullness emanated from the Divine Hand. A potent warm current surged through him, his entire body relaxing as if soaking in a hot spring—a wonderfully comfortable sensation.
The Divine Hand leaped to level 28 and acquired a new skill.
[String of Destiny]: Tear the veil of the Soul, destroy the string of causality, erase the Life Chart, and inflict a fatal attack.
Limitations: Must be used in close combat, by hand only, without the aid of any tools.
Chu Yi was skeptical. The skill description didn’t detail its specific effects, but it certainly seemed powerful.