944: All chapters have returned! They have merged into my being!

Those tentacles tightly coiled around the beast shadows like shackles forged of steel.

The eerie runes on the tentacles flickered with a ghostly green light, emitting an aura that seemed to devour everything.

The powerful beast shadows dimmed and became illusory at a speed visible to the naked eye, the light on their bodies gradually dissipating.

The energy and Soul Power within them were greedily absorbed and devoured by the tentacles, making a "sizzling" sound as if enjoying a feast.

The devoured energy and Soul Power flowed along the tentacles, feeding back into the crack of the Netherworld Gate, making the darkness within the fissure even deeper.

Moreover, several exceptionally thick tentacles split off like whips of death, whistling through the air as they viciously lashed out at Elder Antu, who had transformed into Killing Intent; Elder Wang Er, who was in a state of Man and Sword as One; and Jian Changsheng, who was controlling the demon vines.

Elder Antu, who had been hidden in the air, was forced to reveal himself, a look of distress appearing on his face.

His body moved rapidly to dodge the lashings of the tentacles that ignored concealment, and every time a tentacle brushed past him, it brought a wave of chilling cold.

Elder Wang Er's finishing strike, carrying sharp Sword Qi, slashed at the tentacles; with several "clangs," he severed a few of them.

However, he discovered even more tentacles swarming forward one after another like a rising tide, coiling around him.

His sword light quickly dimmed, fine beads of sweat broke out on his forehead, and the sword in his hand seemed to grow heavy.

Jian Changsheng's Bloodthirsty Demon Vines had been growing wildly across the battlefield, brimming with vitality.

However, the moment they were touched by the tentacles, they withered and disintegrated instantly, their life force completely annihilated by the power of death.

The demon vines, like plants drained of moisture, rapidly shriveled and turned black, scattering across the ground.

Jian Changsheng's expression turned grim, his eyes filled with shock and resentment.

The storm-like joint offensive of Hu Lai and the other three was forcefully suppressed, disrupted, and even devoured by the sudden appearance of the Netherworld Gate's crack and the countless eerie tentacles!

The originally intense rhythm of the battle was completely derailed, and all four showed expressions of anxiety.

Baili Ziyuan stood before the Netherworld fissure, his long gray hair dancing wildly in the gale like fluttering threads.

The deathly aura around him surged like a vast sea, spreading outward continuously like crashing waves.

Baili Ziyuan once again gripped the death scythe that had been plunged into the ground, the blade glinting with a cold light in his hand.

His cold gaze locked onto the four men, whose faces were extremely pale, his eyes revealing a sense of determination and resolve.

"I said, this path is closed."

His voice was calm, yet it carried the majesty of a Netherworld Dominator.

"Now, do you believe me?"

Relying on the powerful trump card of summoning the Netherworld Gate's Projection, Baili Ziyuan once again single-handedly stalled the four top experts of the Beast God Sect who had erupted with their full strength!

The battle fell into an even more agonizing stalemate!

Every second of delay made the atmosphere even more oppressive.

And with every second wasted, the suppressed Blood Consort and Ding Lingxuan drew one step closer to annihilation!

Their Soul light grew increasingly faint under the suppressing force, as if it could be extinguished at any moment.

Above the Void Realm, the aftershocks of the battle between Li Wuji and the Lord of Chaos grew even more terrifying.

Their attacks streaked through the void like meteors, each collision generating massive waves of energy.

The waves were like a tsunami, sweeping through everything around them as if the apocalypse had arrived.

Space itself twisted and deformed under the aftershocks of their battle, emitting "cracking" sounds as if it would collapse at any moment.

Seeing the thick, slimy tentacles frantically reaching out from the eerie and terrifying Netherworld Gate, wantonly devouring his Hundred Beast Battle Soul.

Every tentacle that touched a beast Soul seemed to carry an endless suction, continuously draining the Soul's power and even strengthening that damned gate in return.

The runes on the gate flickered with an eerie light, seemingly mocking Hu Lai's helplessness.

Meanwhile, Baili Ziyuan still stood in front like an insurmountable barrier of death.

Standing tall, he radiated a cold and powerful aura of death, the death scythe in his hand gleaming with a ghostly light, as if proclaiming his dominion over this place.

Hu Lai looked at him, the anxiety in his heart like a raging fire and his madness like a surging tide, finally breaking through the critical point.

For Leng Ningbing, he had long ago abandoned everything.

Once, he was a human with a kind heart, treasuring everyone around him.

However, for the sake of his beloved, he did not hesitate to violate human morals and ethics, abandoning his human form and principles.

In his heart, Leng Ningbing was more important than everything he had; even if it meant falling into eternal damnation, he would not hesitate.

"All return! Melt into my body!"

Hu Lai let out a roar intertwined with pain and resolve, a sound that seemed to come from the depths of his Soul, carrying endless struggle and determination.

His hands suddenly formed an eerie hand seal, the twisted angles of his fingers seemingly reciting an ancient and mysterious incantation.

In an instant, the dozens of Yao Beast phantoms being entangled and devoured by the Netherworld tentacles seemed to receive an irresistible summons.

They emitted cries of resentment, their voices filled with the fear of death and a longing for freedom.

Immediately after, they forcibly broke free from some of the tentacles' restraints, transforming into violent streams of energy of various colors.

Some energy streams were like blazing fire, radiating scorching heat; others were like freezing frost, carrying a bone-chilling cold.

These energy streams surged back into Hu Lai's body like a hundred rivers returning to the sea.

"Ugh, aaaaaah—!"

Hu Lai's body swelled and distorted violently, like a balloon being forcibly inflated.

His body endured immense pressure, as if it could explode at any moment.

His dark red robes instantly burst open, the sound of tearing fabric like a sharp alarm.

Revealing the horrific mutation occurring in the body beneath. The crackling of bones sounded as densely as popping beans, a sound that seemed like the knock of the Grim Reaper.

The muscles of his limbs bulged wildly, like a volcano on the verge of eruption.

Blue-black scales and coarse beast fur rapidly covered his skin, the scales shimmering with an eerie luster and the fur as hard as steel needles.

His nails became sharp and curved, like a combination of Dragon claws and ape arms, each nail glinting coldly as if it could easily tear through anything.

His spine protruded from his back, towering like a mountain peak and piercing through his skin to form a hideous dorsal fin of bone spikes.

Dark red blood flowed over the dorsal fin, looking like the mark of a demon.

His head also became distorted, one half like a ferocious crocodile with a massive mouth and sharp teeth, the other half like a demonic ape with a hideous face and protruding brow bones.

Fangs protruded from his mouth like two sharp blades, and his eyes completely turned into a chaotic crimson, filled with madness and the desire for slaughter.