God of the Pit.

The ashen-skinned and grey-haired Stone-Soul King's expression was heavy and gloomy as he looked down at Liang Chen, his pupils flickering slightly as he glanced at the two corpses that fell to the ground next to Liang Chen. His gloomy expression wasn't due to the fact that these weren't just his closest aides and also his concubines, it was due to the strength that Liang Chen had revealed.

He hadn't used the law of time in their previous exchange, and he certainly hadn't seemed so strong that he could even use that law to freeze normal early-stage Primordial Immortals. The horde of beasts he brought along also didn't look like it would be of any help, at least not the type of help he originally planned for them, they were practically petrified in the face of the storm that now surrounded them.

With the situation having taken such a turn, the Stone-Soul King had no choice but to properly face what he previously thought would be a quick meal to strengthen his bloodline. He straightened his back and exuded the most regal aura he could, his gaze chilly as he continued to gaze down at Liang Chen.

"This Divine Demon King has taken the name Chengong, you may identify yourself before we fight."

Liang Chen couldn't resist raising an eyebrow in the face of Chengong's introduction, he was certainly more than just a little proud about the fact that he had a Divine Beast bloodline. Liang Chen didn't really plan on responding, but the little kid pretending to be a feathered tiara seemed to have a different idea.

"Hehe, you're standing in front of the God of the Pit, so you'd best get on your knees and present your neck, just make it easy and save us some time."

The chuckling voice caused Liang Chen's eyebrows to twitch repeatedly, the slightly distant Shen Fei cracking a small smile. Chengong's expression sunk a bit further, he was clearly being made fun of. But he couldn't just charge forward as he would normally, he wanted to first finish up his hidden preparations. As a result, Liang Chen had the time to grab onto Yumao's neck and pull him down from his head, shooting him a light glare that only made him chuckle once more.

"What? Didn't that little fruity sparrow welcome you to the pit of monsters in that grand manner? Since you're already down there, it's obvious that you'll trample them all and stand above them, not much different from a god. And don't look at me like that, Mother would agree. Hey, she might have actually made up an even better title for you!"

Yumao wasn't bothered in the slightest by Liang Chen's slight glare, or by the tense atmosphere pushing down on the entire area. Liang Chen might not be the kind of person to show off or the like, that had always been more Yan Ling's thing. But Yumao had already told Liang Chen that it felt good to show off from time to time, so he obviously wasn't going to waste an opportunity like this.

Looking at the completely unconcerned Yumao, Liang Chen could only spit out a heavy sigh. All notions of peace and quiet had been thrown out when Yumao got the ability to speak, he had already been tainted completely by Yan Ling's mannerism. Thinking about Yan Ling, Liang Chen felt a slight pang in his chest, but he quickly subdued the loneliness and let go of Yumao's neck.

"You just do you. You can leave those guys alone, but if they try to attack then you can finish them off."

Yumao flapped his wings so that he didn't fall to the ground, turning his gaze onto the seemingly endless horde of beasts standing a bit away. Liang Chen swept his own gaze across the horde, his voice calm as it boomed out along with the thunder coming from the storm.

"As long as you don't try to attack, I won't kill you either. You can flee if you want, but I'll come for you if I hear that you've tried to attack the city or its inhabitants."

There were plenty of beasts in the horde that were intelligent enough to understand his words, they would convey his message to those who didn't have enough intelligence to understand the human tongue. But while some beasts tried to scurry away, Chengong quickly shot a fierce glare at them and halted them in their steps, the beasts finding themselves stuck between a rock and a hard place.

But Liang Chen had given them enough warning so he stopped bothering with them and once again turned his gaze onto Chengong. The Stone-Soul King locked eyes with Liang Chen, quickly suppressing the tremor that ran through his heart when he gazed into the seemingly empty depths of those golden pupils.

His expression stilled into an eerie calm as he shot down to the ground, some of the stone splintering beneath his feet due to the force of his descent. He bent his knees and then kicked off of the ground, shooting straight at Liang Chen while forming a claw with his right hand.

"Very well, Pit God, let me show you how a proper Monarch fights."

Chengong's bent fingers took on an even greyer hue as he charged at Liang Chen, his nails extending slightly and gaining a sharp glint. As a human-form Divine Beast, he could use almost every part of his body to unleash the characteristics of his true form.

Liang Chen immediately responded to the charge by smashing his spear down onto Chnegong's head, forcing him to angle his claw-shaped hand upwards to catch the spear. But before either of them could move along with their next move, a carefree voice reached them from the side.

"Oh, Monarch, I like that one! Father, what do you think about Monarch of the Pit? Or maybe Monarch of the Scourge just to keep a bit of consistency?"

Hearing Yumao's cheerful comment from the side, Liang Chen almost felt the urge to apologize to Chengong. The two were currently fighting for their lives, yet there was someone just sitting on the sidelines and commenting as he pleased. But as this was a battle to the death, both of them made the same choice and decided to pretend like Yumao wasn't just flying there and chattering at them.

The veins on Chengong's right arm bulged for a quick second, three of the Stone-Soul Scorpions in the vast horde suddenly falling down without any sign of life. And as they died, the force contained within Chengong's arm instantly grew, allowing him to push Liang Chen's spear into the air and clear a path for him.

He immediately took advantage of this path to step forward and close the distance between them, pointing his claw-shaped hand at Liang Chen's chest and stabbing it forward. Aiming for the head would mean that he was more likely to kill the target if he hit, but the downside was that it would also be easier to dodge since the head had more room for movement when it came to dodging in moments like this.

But even with Chengong's sudden burst in power, it wasn't enough to trap Liang Chen. He shook his arm and transmitted the force currently gathered in his spear down into his own body, borrowing it to twist his body so that Chengong's hand slid past him and only grazed his robe. His empty hand shot forward at the same time, Chengong's robe taking on a carapace-like appearance as Liang Chen's fist slammed into it.

A thin bolt of lightning shot out from Liang Chen's fist the moment he hit his target, but the lightning just moved around on the carapace-like robe until it expelled all its energy and dissipated. The lightning may have failed, but Liang Chen's punch still contained enough physical force to push Chengong back several steps.

Chengong hurriedly stomped the ground, four more scorpions dying behind him as his legs swelled somewhat, forcefully halting his backwards movement. His pupils suddenly narrowed sharply when a part of his own shadow rose up and pierced through his waist, spilling fresh blood that made the stone it hit sizzle faintly.

Chengong quickly stepped away and burst forth with energy to suppress his own shadow, over ten more scorpions dying behind him as his wound started to heal rapidly. Liang Chen looked at the wound, which had already vanished, he would have to be an idiot if he still didn't understand what was going on.

"I didn't think that you'd be able to absorb the lifeforce of other Stone-Soul Scorpions to temporarily strengthen yourself. Or, since I'm not seeing any energy moving from them to you, are you absorbing their bloodline instead? Is this what you meant when you said you'd show me how a monarch fights?"

Liang Chen didn't use it all that often, but he still had the law of death, he had even merged it into his soul along with his poison and rot. If Chengong was just absorbing the lifeforce of the other scorpions then Liang Chen should at least be able to see or sense something, but there was nothing, not even the smallest sign. Chengong wasn't surprised by Liang Chen figuring out his trick, only snorting coldly once.

"To be a monarch is to think about what's best for your subjects. As the ruler of this herd, as long as I live and grow stronger, the herd will thrive and live a better life. To give their life for that future, is that not the duty of the herd?"

Chengong stomped the ground and shot forward when he finished talking, several tens more scorpions dying as his energy swelled. The lizards and the other beasts in the herd were already panicking, but the scorpions were strangely still, their eyes somewhat hollow while their bodies didn't move an inch. His herd might not be able to be used as he intended, but this was still a good way to make use of them, he would just have to spend some time breeding more scorpions in the future.

And with how many scorpions he had brought along this time, he had a practically endless supply of energy that he could throw around as he pleased. One had a finite supply of energy and strength while the other had an endless supply, it was clear who this battle of attrition favoured. But sadly for Chengong, just as Liang Chen hadn't known about his skill, he didn't know about Liang Chen's skills.

Chengong's charge was far faster this time than previously, but speed was always one of Liang Chen's strongest points. The wind, rain, and dull violet lightning in the immediate area suddenly gathered around Liang Chen and sank into him as he raised his spear, his aura sky-rocketing as he smashed his spear down upon the incoming Chengong.

Chengong's pupils immediately shrank sharply, both his fists quickly pushing up to block the descending spear. But he immediately felt his fingers shatter as he touched the spear, his arms sinking down as even his knees bent. He immediately grit his teeth, hundreds of scorpions dying to heal his wounds and further bolster his own energy, allowing him to push Liang Chen's spear aside.

But Liang Chen had already stepped forward by the time Chengong pushed his spear aside, his fist smashing towards Chengong's chest. Chengong felt an invasive stream of energy enter his body, his thoughts slowing down so that he couldn't position his arms in a defensive position. Liang Chen's fist collided with his chest, a creaking sound coming from the carapace-like robe as Chengong took advantage of the attack to jump back, allowing himself to be flung away.

The slowing of his thoughts ceased as he was flung back, giving him the chance to swipe the bronze ring he wore on his left hand. A glass orb the size of a grape appeared in his hand and was quickly flung at Liang Chen, the orb shattering and unleashing a thick stream of Anima Essence that washed over Liang Chen.

As a Divine Beast, his body and abilities were Chengong's strongest point, but that didn't mean that he couldn't take advantage of humanity's ingenuity and use some of their weapons too. He quickly stabilized his body as he white Anima Essence swept over Liang Chen, rubbing the spot on his chest that Liang Chen had just hit.

"That actually hurt quite a bit, but you'll need much more than that if you want to actually pierce my defence. My poison may not work on you, and you may have a body strong enough to actually fight me head-on, but I'd like to see how you'll fight me when all that Anima Essence has finished ravaging your soul."

Chengong sneered as he spoke, and Liang Chen could understand why, the Anima Essence that had been contained in that orb was indeed attacking his soul rather heavily. But Liang Chen did have an exceedingly strong soul after all, so the best that this Anima Essence could do was eat away at his own Anima Essence to leave a hole in his soul- defences that Chengong could take advantage of.

But sadly for him, he still didn't understand the depths of Liang Chen's abilities, nor did he understand how perfect this battlefield was for him. Liang Chen raised his gaze from his own chest and turned it back onto Chengong, his gaze not even the slightest bit bothered. And before the seed of unease could even be sown, Chengong understood why Liang Chen didn't look bothered.

A faint mist of energy suddenly rose up from the scorpions that Chengong had killed to bolster himself, the mist brimming with poison and death energy. And all that energy sank directly into Liang Chen's body, replacing all the Anima Essence that was drained by Chengong's glass orb.

His body could absorb the surrounding storm to grow stronger, and with Chengong willingly sacrificing so many poison-type Demonic beasts, how could there not be plenty of death and poison energy in the area that Liang Chen's soul could absorb. All his energy was instantly restored, Liang Chen once again pointing his spear at Chengong, who had just jumped to the side to dodge another sneak attack launched by Yumao.

"I'll need much more? Alright, let me see just what it'll take to pierce that shell of yours."