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Chapter 537: King of Skulls

"Clack, clack."

As a pitch-black skeletal hand emerged, another one followed from the black hole. Slowly, a gigantic black skeleton, about the height of two people, crawled out.

The skeleton was utterly black, its eye sockets emitting a faint red glow, as if angry at being disturbed. On the middle finger of its right hand was a very exquisite ring.

"Your Majesty, it seems we don\'t need to run!" Mr. Corpse suddenly laughed.

"Indeed," Zhong Shan nodded.

Zhong Shan also noticed that the pitch-black Skeleton King had countless cracks on its bones, resembling a spider\'s web, infinite and seemingly ready to collapse at any moment. Deadly energy constantly seeped from the cracks as if its power was being drained.

"Zhong Shan, why don\'t we need to run?" Xianxian, still pale, asked.

Zhong Shan immediately stood in front of Xianxian to shield her from the pressure.

"Because this is a severely injured Skeleton King!" Zhong Shan affirmed.

The Skeleton King was merely here to recover from its injuries. Even in recovery, it wasn\'t something an ordinary Emperor Extreme Realm could insult.

After emerging, the Skeleton King quickly noticed that Zhong Shan had the highest cultivation here, at the Emperor Extreme Realm, and the three zombies were merely mindless.

The Skeleton King tilted its head back and let out a long howl to the sky.

"Haaaaaaah~~~~~~~~~~~"

This howl carried an infinite might, causing countless bones on the ground to fly into the air. The sky was filled with a swirling death aura, rising up to the clouds.

The three zombie Buddhas quickly shielded the trio, sparing them from significant harm.

"Even severely injured, a Sky Extreme Realm shouldn\'t be underestimated," Zhong Shan said solemnly.

"Your Majesty, you should retreat. This Skeleton King is unusual; let the zombies fight it!" Mr. Corpse immediately suggested, his eyes full of seriousness.

"No need," Zhong Shan shook his head.

"Eh?"

"No matter how injured, the Skeleton King can still exert the power of an Emperor Extreme Realm. If it fights the zombies, the destruction would be immense. The Yin-Yang Hall is right beside us; it mustn\'t be damaged," Zhong Shan shook his head.

"But..." Mr. Corpse frowned.

"Let me handle this," Zhong Shan said firmly.

Surprised, Mr. Corpse glanced at Zhong Shan and then nodded, "Yes."

"Zhong Shan!" Xianxian called out worriedly.

"Don\'t worry!"

After speaking, Zhong Shan stepped forward. The three zombies moved aside but stayed close to Zhong Shan under Mr. Corpse\'s instructions to guard against any accidents.

The Skeleton King\'s crimson eyes fixed on Zhong Shan, who had walked to the front. A powerful pressure bore down on Zhong Shan, even whipping up a whirlwind that blew toward him.

Emperor Extreme Realm? An Emperor Extreme Realm dares to act recklessly before me? In my prime, an Emperor Extreme Realm wasn\'t even fit to carry my shoes.

Yet this Emperor Extreme Realm cultivator withstood the Skeleton King\'s pressure, meeting its gaze with an equally piercing look.

The Skeleton King disdained Zhong Shan\'s power but had no intention of letting anyone go. It had slumbered for years, healing its grievous wounds, only to be rudely awakened at a critical moment. Whoever disturbed its rest deserved to die.

With this thought, the Skeleton King suddenly extended its right hand. From all directions, endless death energy surged madly toward the Skeleton King\'s palm, forming a small, terrifying black ball.

The death energy continued to gather, growing denser and stronger, creating ripples in the space before the Skeleton King\'s hand. Even severely injured, the powerful Skeleton King was not something these ants could contend with.

At the sight of the black ball, Zhong Shan\'s pupils contracted sharply, then dilated. His originally black pupils turned green.

The Eyes of Reincarnation!

With the opening of these eyes, yin and yang reversed.

As soon as Zhong Shan activated his Eyes of Reincarnation, a mysterious force spread in all directions.

Mr. Corpse\'s body trembled involuntarily, his face full of shock as he looked at Zhong Shan\'s back. He was extremely sensitive to this kind of power and knew its terrifying nature. Even though it wasn\'t aimed at him, the residual effect alone convinced him that the Skeleton King was doomed. Zhong Shan\'s standing in Mr. Corpse\'s mind soared. What kind of power was this?

Xianxian felt her soul tremble, then looked at Zhong Shan\'s back with admiration.

Directly facing Zhong Shan were the severely injured Skeleton King and the golden skeleton that had been heavily damaged by the zombies earlier.

The golden skeleton had been acting arrogantly, relying on the Skeleton King. But as soon as Zhong Shan\'s Eyes of Reincarnation locked onto it, the soul flame, the lifeblood of the skeleton clan, in its skull extinguished.

Extinguished. The soul flame of the skeleton snuffed out like a person\'s shattered soul, causing the golden skeleton to collapse into a pile of bones.

This was just the residual effect.

Facing the full force of the Eyes of Reincarnation was the Skeleton King.

The death energy ball in the Skeleton King\'s hand dissipated instantly!

An overwhelming power emanated from Zhong Shan\'s eyes, surging toward the Skeleton King.

Overwhelming, it was merely a sensation. Zhong Shan\'s Eyes of Reincarnation hadn\'t reached their perfect state, and with his current cultivation, he could only unleash part of their power. But even this partial power gave the Skeleton King a sense of vast, irresistible force.

It felt like the might of heaven, the law of heaven and earth! The Dao!

This immense power seemed to target the soul. Skeletons lacked a soul but had a soul flame in their skulls.

If he were at his peak, the Skeleton King might not have feared this. With his cultivation, resisting Zhong Shan\'s weak reincarnation power wouldn\'t have been too difficult. But now, the Skeleton King was grievously injured, with countless fractures in his bones.

A powerful suction force from Zhong Shan\'s eyes was drawing the soul flame from the Skeleton King\'s skull.

The Skeleton King couldn\'t move. If he resisted, the soul flame would be pulled from his body, and he would be utterly finished, even as a king.

The Skeleton King frantically used his energy to block the fractures, but the suction was eerily penetrating, acting directly on the soul flame.

The Skeleton King felt his consciousness waver, barely maintaining control.

This was impossible. How could there be such a monster? The Skeleton King felt a deep sorrow.

Zhong Shan also sensed the Skeleton King\'s resistance. His Eyes of Reincarnation hadn\'t yet taken effect? It seemed he couldn\'t afford to underestimate Sky Extreme Realm experts in the future.

But prolonging this wasn\'t Zhong Shan\'s intention either. His eyes widened, pupils expanding suddenly.

The power of the Eyes of Reincarnation surged wildly under Zhong Shan\'s command.

The Skeleton King now felt like crying, if only it had tears. This suction force was unprecedented, something the Skeleton King had never encountered in its lifetime. The soul flame within its skull flickered wildly, relentlessly crashing against the energy in the skull as if it could break free at any moment.

It was on the brink. It couldn\'t hold on much longer.

Was it really going to die so miserably? In the past, it had faced countless powerful foes in a hopeless situation and still managed to create a bloody path to survival. Those foes were a hundred times stronger than this one, yet they all perished by its hand. But today, it couldn\'t do anything against this ant, even facing imminent annihilation!

As the Skeleton King reminisced, Zhong Shan\'s reincarnation power grew stronger, frantically pulling at the soul flame, trying to draw it out of the Skeleton King\'s body.

The Skeleton King stared at Zhong Shan, realizing it couldn\'t hold on any longer. Was this the end? If the soul flame left its body, it wouldn\'t even have a chance at reincarnation; it would face utter destruction.

Making a difficult decision, the Skeleton King suddenly knelt on one knee.

Seeing this, Zhong Shan raised an eyebrow and slightly reduced the power of his Eyes of Reincarnation.

"Wang Ku submits to you!" the Skeleton King uttered in a grating voice.

"Submit?" Zhong Shan narrowed his eyes.

"I, Wang Ku, swear by my soul flame," the Skeleton King reiterated.

"An oath? I never trust the oaths of enemies," Zhong Shan replied coldly.

Hearing this, the Skeleton King felt like coughing up blood, if only it had any.

"Your Majesty! A skeleton\'s soul flame oath is absolutely binding," Mr. Corpse quickly interjected, wiping away cold sweat.

"Oh?" Zhong Shan frowned, curious why Mr. Corpse was speaking for the Skeleton King.

"Your Majesty, skeletons are different from humans and beasts. Their existence is bound to their soul flame. Human oaths are not binding, but a skeleton\'s soul flame oath is bound by its very life force. If it breaks the oath, its soul flame will be extinguished, leading to its complete destruction," Mr. Corpse explained.

"A soul flame oath binds for life?" Zhong Shan asked, frowning.

"No, once the life force evolves, it can break free from previous oaths. This is a Skeleton King of the Sky Extreme Realm. If it advances to the immortal realm, it can break the oath," Mr. Corpse clarified.

Zhong Shan stared at the Skeleton King, who lowered its head in worry, awaiting Zhong Shan\'s judgment.

The power of the Eyes of Reincarnation was formidable indeed!

"Swear by your soul flame," Zhong Shan ordered after some thought.

"What is your name?" the Skeleton King asked.

"Zhong Shan."

"I, Wang Ku, swear by my soul flame to serve Zhong Shan from this moment forward. If I break this oath, may I be utterly destroyed," Wang Ku declared.

As Wang Ku spoke, a black light suddenly radiated from its skull, forming a strange pattern like a shackle that rushed into Wang Ku\'s forehead and vanished.

"Your Majesty, the soul flame oath is complete," Mr. Corpse confirmed.

Satisfied, Zhong Shan\'s pupils contracted, then returned to normal as he deactivated the Eyes of Reincarnation.

Wang Ku, still kneeling on one knee, felt a sudden relief. The soul flame in its skull stopped its frantic dance. With a trace of fear, it glanced at Zhong Shan and then stood respectfully.

Wang Ku felt a deep sorrow. Once so powerful and revered, it now served an Emperor Extreme Realm cultivator. What a tragedy!