Chapter 538: The Oasis in the Swamp

The monster leader’s actions were puzzling—was it planning to attack the newly arrived monsters? The newly appeared monsters were clearly summoned by the monster leader, so why would it turn around and attack its own allies? Just as everyone was puzzled, the Sphinx, upon seeing this scene, suddenly seemed to remember something. Her expression changed drastically as she shouted urgently, “Master, stop it quickly! These two are part of the ancient demon Jin Gu. Jin Gu is one of Tiamat’s most powerful subordinates, even stronger than the higher gods. We must prevent its will from merging with its body, otherwise its strength will increase beyond its current level!”

Donald knew something was wrong as soon as the Sphinx spoke, so he quickly waved his hand. The spear that had been planted in the ground appeared in his transformed hand. With a gentle swing, a green light, fast as a meteor, shot out from the spear and struck the black mass that constituted the monster leader’s form first.

A skill like the Light of Divine Retribution, which contained natural laws and divine power, dealt far greater damage to an entityless being like the monster leader than to a physical creature.

The monster leader let out a painful scream and was forced to reveal its true form. Green light, like electric currents, flashed across its body, distorting its shape.

During this brief pause, Loki, who was controlling the ring of fire nearby, promptly created a black flame that transformed into a coiling fire dragon, blocking the monster leader’s path.

With a fierce fire dragon blocking its way and its own body being eroded by external forces, the weakened monster leader hesitated no longer and charged headlong at the fire dragon.

Just as everyone thought it was seeking its own death, the monster leader’s massive, illusory body exploded with a loud boom after being ignited by the black flame. The black flame, scattered by the explosion’s force, couldn’t gather back immediately. Yet the monster leader’s form reappeared after the explosion, but it was at least one-third smaller than before. It seemed this self-destruction had severely weakened it.

After recovering, the monster leader immediately transformed back into a black light and sent it toward the approaching monster’s body. Since everyone was too far away to stop it in time, a green lightning bolt shot out at blinding speed. At the moment the black light was about to merge with the monster’s body, it was struck hard by the lightning.

The unprepared monster leader was locked in by Donald’s Light of Damnation, and naturally could not escape the subsequent attacks of the Thunder of Damnation. He let out a shrill scream, abandoning most of his form once again. What remained was a cluster of black light the size of a human head. Within that black aura, a soul identical to that of the monster could be faintly seen, entwined with emerald light and green lightning, which flashed and merged into the monster’s body below.

Yet as soon as it merged in, the monster let out agonized howls. It turned out that after the monster leader entered the monster’s body, he also brought some of the Light of Damnation and Thunder of Damnation with him. Although the Light of Damnation caused little damage to physical beings, the Thunder of Damnation was another matter! Such lightning, imbued with the power of the divine domain of damnation, inflicted far greater damage on living beings than ordinary lightning in nature. It was even more effective against chaotic and evil entities like negative-energy dark creatures. Both the monster leader and the monster itself were powerful demons from the realms of darkness and chaos. Even a small portion entering the monster’s body dealt a severe blow, not to mention the monster leader himself. That strike of the Thunder of Damnation had reduced him by at least 90% of his strength, leaving only a tiny remnant that merged with the monster’s body.

“It was only after King Malduk separated Jin Gu’s soul from his body that he was able to kill him. Aside from using Jin Gu’s blood to craft divine artifacts and create creatures, his remaining body has never been destroyed by the gods. Who would have thought that Jin Gu’s body is here in this divine tomb, and his demonic spirit has found it? With a physical body, Jin Gu’s strength will surely soar. Thankfully, you dispersed most of his demonic spirit; otherwise, we would be in great danger!”

Everyone knew this was not the Sphinx exaggerating—it was indeed the case. After all, Jin Gu had possessed the strength of a high-ranking god in life. Even as a demonic spirit after death, he still held the power of a mid-ranking god. Coupled with his nearly indestructible body, his strength would surely rise to the peak of mid-ranking gods. The only high-ranking god present, Loki, had not yet recovered his strength and only had the combat power of an ordinary mid-ranking god. Thus, facing this ancient demon Jin Gu, he would likely be no match!

Moreover, this divine tomb contained not just Jin Gu, a powerful ancient evil demon, but also his master, the world-destroying dragon Tiamat.

As a direct subordinate of Tiamat, the demon Jin Gu, though possessing the strength of an upper god, existed in dependence on Tiamat. Thus, after their downfall, their divine tombs were connected, forming a sacred site far more powerful than those of ordinary upper gods!

Now, Jin Gu’s plan to merge its body has been interrupted by Donald and Loki working together, reducing its demonic power to less than one-tenth of its peak. Even if it were to merge with a physical body, it could only reach the level of a mid-tier god. Faced with an upper god like Loki, who has not perished and has just recovered from a state of twilight, it has virtually no chance of winning—at best, it could rely on its superior physical strength to remain undefeated.

The ancient demon Jin Gu, having regained some consciousness, clearly realized this as well. When the opposing upper god stepped forward, it immediately lost the will to fight and turned to flee back the way it came.

“Let’s chase after it!”

Seeing their target trying to escape, Donald immediately abandoned his transformation into a demon lord, whose mobility wasn’t very strong. In the space of this sacred site, the demons’ powerful spatial teleportation abilities were useless, making them less advantageous compared to agile magic-wielders like hunters!

Since they had come to such a powerful sacred site and time was limited, they naturally wouldn’t miss this opportunity.

So, led by Donald and Loki, the group pursued the fleeing monster.

Jin Gu’s own speed wasn’t particularly fast, but within the space of this sacred site, it was enhanced by the rules of the site, while Donald and the others were subtly suppressed. As a result, they could only follow closely behind Jin Gu, unable to overtake it and intercept it.

Apart from Loki and Donald, the rest continued to chase under the leadership of the demi-god puppet Sphinx, launching attacks from time to time.

Yet Jin Gu was indeed a powerful demon born in ancient times. Attacks below the level of demi-gods could at most leave marks on its sturdy body without causing any real damage. Even attacks at the demi-god level only inflicted minor injuries that healed on their own within a few breaths.

“Jin Gu’s greatest strength lies in this immortal body. Even the ancient gods couldn’t think of a proper way to deal with it. Even if they wanted to destroy it, it would require a significant cost and time!”

As they pursued, the Sphinx provided everyone with detailed information about their opponent. Although it hadn’t seen it with its own eyes, it had learned quite a bit from what it had heard among the Babylonian gods.
As the Sphinx had said, among everyone’s attacks, only Loki’s Black Flame and Donald’s Divine Thunder could affect King Gu’s massive body—but only to a limited extent, without causing decisive damage.
Soon, the group ran along with the giant monster King Gu deep into the swamp, where it plunged headfirst into a strange area and disappeared in an instant.
To everyone’s surprise, there was a region within it that was completely different in environment from the rest of this sacred tomb site.
“Sphinx, what is that place?” Donald asked the Sphinx beneath him, pointing at a green area surrounded by swamp, resembling an oasis in the desert.
That green area, covering at least dozens of square kilometers, was filled with plants and trees similar to those in Earth’s subtropical and tropical regions. The yellow soil was somewhat dry, but there was no lack of water, and in the distance, there were faintly visible clusters of buildings.
This idyllic, sunny paradise seemed to remain unchanged even after King Gu dived into it.
The Sphinx looked up at this strange green area that shouldn’t exist there and was also very puzzled.
“Master, I have no memory of this place. Such a terrain simply cannot exist in Tiamat’s sacred tomb.”
Donald nodded, not surprised by the Sphinx’s answer.
Just from the pale red rule barrier surrounding this area, which was completely different from the swampy environment of the sacred tomb site, it was clear that this place must be of external origin.
“Then is it possible that it was a palace or resting area set up by the original Babylonian gods?” Donald asked for a reason—after all, this sacred tomb site had once been a testing ground for the Babylonian gods.
The Sphinx shook its large head firmly, denying it outright: “That’s impossible. Aside from those undergoing trials, this sacred tomb is off-limits to all members of the godly clans. The gods kings would never set foot here unless necessary. After all, they were the ones who participated in the battle that killed Tiamat and King Gu. Entering the sacred tomb could provoke the resurrection of those two fallen beings!”

The Sphinx thought for a moment before saying, “It’s somewhat possible if someone came in from the outside. During that great war back then, many divine realms of different pantheons were destroyed, so nothing would be surprising if something like that happened!”
Loki, who was standing nearby, suddenly spoke up, “I recognize this place. If I’m not mistaken, this should be a temple of the Maya pantheon!”