"No!"

An extremely shrill roar cut through the rumbling atop the snow-capped mountain.

Kujo Koji knelt at the edge of the shattered altar, his hands gripping the ground tightly, his nails broken and dripping with blood, but he couldn't feel the pain, staring with split eyes at the black chain spanning across the sky.

At the end of that chain was the "Pendulum of Life" that had been forcibly dragged away from the golden cocoon.

The departure of the Divine Artifact meant that the pipeline for energy transmission was completely cut off.

The golden torrent of life that had originally poured wildly into the golden cocoon suddenly collapsed at this moment, turning into countless aimless golden light dots filling the sky, blooming and sorrowfully announcing the end of the ritual.

The resurrection ritual of the Pendulum of Life was interrupted once again!

And this time, it was at the most crucial final step!

"Damn Great Xia people! Again and again, you ruin my good deeds! You deserve to die! You deserve to die!"

Kujo Koji's hair was disheveled, acting like a madman.

He suddenly turned his head, looking anxiously and fearfully at the huge golden cocoon.

Having lost the energy supply of the Divine Artifact, the light on the surface of the golden cocoon was dimming at a speed visible to the naked eye, and its originally powerful, heartbeat-like pulsation was also becoming weak.

"Lord Naruya! Are you alright?"

Kujo Koji's voice trembled.

He was afraid.

He was afraid that this newly awakened ancestor would inflict divine punishment out of rage, and even more afraid that the failure of the ritual would lead to the ancestor's fall once again; if that happened, the Kujo Family would truly be finished.

However, no earth-shattering roar of fury came from inside the golden cocoon as expected.

Quite the contrary.

It was eerily quiet inside.

A few seconds later, a faint sigh echoed faintly through the thick cocoon wall.

"So be it."

Kujo Naruya's voice was very calm, devoid of joy or anger, yet carrying a vicissitude of seeing through worldly affairs.

"A predestined tribulation that no one can change."

Hearing this voice, Kujo Koji shuddered all over, slamming his head heavily against the hard frozen soil, making a dull "thud thud" sound.

"Ancestor! It is all my fault! It is your descendant's incompetence for failing to protect the ritual! I am a sinner of the Kujo Family!"

He kowtowed until his head was bleeding and he was weeping bitterly.

There was a moment of silence in the golden cocoon, and that voice sounded again, but it was not a reproach.

"It is fine that the ritual was interrupted."

"At least... no more people will die because of me."

Kujo Koji suddenly raised his head, his face full of astonishment.

He keenly sensed that something was amiss.

In the process of speaking, Kujo Naruya's voice was undergoing a terrifying change.

At first, those words were still full of breath and carried the majesty of a god.

But by this last sentence, the voice quickly became withered, even with wheezing breaths.

Like an old man on the verge of death.

Kujo Koji's heart sank to the bottom.

Just at this moment, gravel rolled down from the distant deep pit.

Boom!

Insect Emperor Caesar, sitting on the newly recondensed armored insect throne, rose from the smoke and dust.

Although tattered in clothes and with blood stains hanging from the corners of his mouth, the cold gleam flashing in his compound eyes did not decrease by the slightest bit.

And in the ruins on the other side.

A pillar of Holy Light soared into the sky.

He was coming to Yasuo's side, hands crossed, chanting obscure sacred incantations.

Yasuo's state at this moment was extremely miserable.

Having directly withstood the wrathful blow of an SSS-Rank Expert, even with the buffering of the Thunder God Armor, there was hardly any good flesh left all over his body, his skin charred and cracked, and blood gushing out.

The HP health bar above his head had only a thin sliver of skin left, and it was still flashing with dangerous red light, looking as if it would be completely cleared in the next second.

"Divine Healing."

Gabriel gave a soft shout, and a Holy Light so rich it was almost liquid wrapped around Yasuo.

Sizzle sizzle —

Nourished by that warm Holy Light, the terrifying scorch marks on Yasuo's body quickly fell off, new flesh grew at a speed visible to the naked eye, and his broken bones made snapping sounds as they reset.

In just two or three breaths of time.

The precarious health bar above Yasuo's head suddenly recovered most of its capacity, and his originally languid aura became fierce once again.

Yasuo moved his newly regenerated arms, expressionlessly fished out a bottle of Advanced healing potion flashing with purple light from his storage space, and tilted his head back to gulp it down.

As the potion entered his stomach, his last bit of injuries completely healed.

He had returned to that full-health and full-mana Peak swordsman state.

The black chain in his hand was still tightly wrapped around the Pendulum of Life, stepping it firmly underfoot.

This scene was taken in entirely by Kujo Naruya inside the golden cocoon.

But he just watched silently and did not launch another attack.

The wind and snow stood still at this moment.

A moment later, that aged voice sounded again from the golden cocoon, carrying genuine curiosity in its tone.

"I am very curious."

"Young man of Great Xia."

"You have clearly successfully interrupted the resurrection ritual of the Pendulum of Life, and you have also gotten your hands on the Divine Artifact."

"Since your goal has been achieved, why aren't you running?"

"Could it be... you still want to stay and continue fighting with me?"

This was indeed contrary to reason.

Facing an awakened SSS-Rank Expert, a normal person's first reaction after succeeding would definitely be to use that instantaneous gap to run as far as possible.

Zhou Huai's consciousness was attached to Insect Emperor Caesar at this moment.

Hearing these words, a corner of Insect Emperor Caesar's stern face split open into a grin, revealing a cold sneer.

He raised his hand, pointing at the Pendulum of Life beneath his feet, and then pointed at the golden cocoon.

"You guessed right."

"Seizing the Pendulum of Life is indeed part of my goal."

"But my other goal..."

"Is to send you on your way!"

As the words fell, the air froze.

After a few seconds of silence.

"Hhahahaha..."

A burst of laughter came from inside the golden cocoon.

"Send me on your way?"

"Great Xia person, aren't you being too arrogant?"

The laughter stopped abruptly, and an overwhelming, terrifying coercion swept over.

Rumble!

Even separated by the golden cocoon, the surrounding space began to distort, and the snow on top of the snow-capped mountain immediately melted and evaporated.

"You wouldn't think that by interrupting the ritual and preventing me from returning to my Peak state, you would have a chance to fight me, would you?"

"Have you ever truly understood what kind of strength the class 'Amaterasu' represents?"

"That is the sun! That is radiance! That is the authority to dominate life and death!"

"After so long, have you Great Xia reptiles forgotten the fear of once being trampled under my feet?"

Facing this monstrous coercion, Insect Emperor Caesar, controlled by Zhou Huai, only narrowed his eyes slightly, and the armored insect throne behind him emitted creaking sounds under this pressure.