Half an hour later,
The rabbit had collected all the resources in the vicinity.
Concurrently, the potion duration for the four contracted spirits ended, and they all fell into a state of weakness.
Among them, Erha suffered the worst, collapsing directly and foaming at the mouth...
However, a single "Death Revival" from the little sprite lifted it from its weakened state, restoring its combat power.
Soon, the trio returned to the church headquarters.
"En?"
Chen Shu arrived at the entrance of the treasury and detected a spatial power sealing it.
"Kong?!"
His brow furrowed, and he muttered, "You bastard, you're stealing my stuff as soon as your back is turned, aren't you?!"
With that said, he fed the rabbit another bottle of berserk potion.
Instantly, Erha and the rabbit unleashed their full might, bombarding the spatial barrier before them.
Although Kong's sanity was questionable, his strength as a peak spatial master was undeniable. The intensity of the barrier surpassed his expectations.
However, the primary reason was that Erha, without the ultimate potion, had a significant drop in strength.
Several minutes later, the spatial barrier was finally breached.
Chen Shu, along with his contracted spirits, entered the treasury directly.
Upon entering, he saw a small black beast hovering in the air, looking at him with a smile!
It was Kong's spatial contracted spirit!
Chen Shu was only a hundred meters away from it, which for a beast tamer of his caliber, was merely a step.
Yet, layered spatial barriers separated them.
Chen Shu found himself unable to advance further.
"Lur-lur—"
The small black beast stuck out its tongue at Chen Shu in a provocative manner.
"You little thing, I'll cook you sooner or later!"
Chen Shu glared at it, instructing his contracted spirits to bombard the barrier with all their might.
If he were any later, Kong would have plundered all the resources.
He had no habit of letting others feast while he only got to drink the soup.
However, Kong was not plundering resources at this moment; instead, he was in the depths of the treasury, having entered a mysterious state.
Beside him, 'Ming' had already turned into a dried corpse...
Kong's objective was not the treasury's resources, but Chen Shu!
He had long anticipated that Chen Shu would not abandon the treasury resources. After completing the transaction, he had come to the treasury immediately to wait.
With the black beast blocking the way, he could buy himself enough time.
Once he broke through to Legend, Chen Shu would not be able to leave...
And the church treasury would become the graveyard where the Southern Jiang Bandit was buried...
At this moment, Chen Shu was unaware, still bombarding the barrier before him with full force.
He had indeed considered this possibility, but he trusted the old man more, confident that the latter could not break through to Legend.
"Damn it, this barrier is truly resilient!"
Chen Shu's brow furrowed as he slowly advanced, but his progress was slow.
He finally understood now how troublesome spatial beast tamers truly were...
In the blink of an eye, two hours passed.
Chen Shu moved forward step by step, reaching the depths of the treasury.
The rabbit was still unleashing its skills with all its might, having refilled a bottle of berserk potion mid-way to maintain its King-level combat power.
"Let's see where you can run, you little thing!"
Chen Shu gazed at the small black beast before him, his mind already conjuring hundreds of cooking methods...
"Jiji—"
The small black beast showed no fear, continuing to retreat deeper and simultaneously casting various spatial immobilization skills.
Chen Shu pursued relentlessly, feeling a hint of annoyance.
The spatial power of the opponent was not weak; even the rabbit's divine skill couldn't easily teleport, unless used with potions.
However, his teleportation potions were running low, and he intended to save them for self-preservation. Strengthening the nuke would also work, but it risked destroying the surrounding resources.
Chen Shu could only advance one step at a time. Fortunately, they were already in the treasury's depths, and the opponent was being cornered.
Another half hour passed.
At this moment, Chen Shu's steps faltered, and he instantly looked into the distance.
He saw Kong sitting motionless, his eyes closed, a strange aura flowing around him.
"En?"
Chen Shu raised an eyebrow, looking at Kong ahead, surprise in his eyes.
"Chen Shu, you truly dare to come!"
At this moment, Kong's voice was extremely cold, devoid of any emotion.
"You broke the rules and took my things, why wouldn't I dare to come?"
"Your things?"
Kong was slightly taken aback, not expecting the other party to be so brazen...
"What a pity, even if all the things were yours, you have no life left to enjoy them!"
"I have no life?"
Chen Shu chuckled mockingly and said, "You don't seriously think you've become a Legend, do you?"
"What do you think?!"
In an instant, Kong's eyes suddenly snapped open, filled with brilliant golden light, and a terrifying aura erupted!
"En?"
Chen Shu, along with the spatial rabbit, looked on with a hint of caution.
"No wonder Legends can stand aloof... this power is too intoxicating..."
Kong slowly rose, his eyes brimming with extreme excitement.
Simultaneously, the small black beast on his shoulder emanated a terrifying aura, and with a raise of its hand, it completely sealed the space there.
"You can only stay here!"
Kong's lips curved upward as he slowly walked towards Chen Shu, saying:
"You killed Ling Chen because he was destined to be your stepping stone, and today, you will also become my stepping stone, helping me ascend the path to the pinnacle of beast taming!"
Looking at the seemingly deranged Kong, Chen Shu's eyes held a strange glint, and he couldn't help but say:
"Um... just a friendly reminder, there's something wrong with your body..."
"En?"
Kong was momentarily stunned, instinctively looking down. He saw blood gushing from his body, like a sieve.
"How can this be?!"
His expression was one of shock, clearly not anticipating this outcome.
"Is this the might of a Legend? Truly extraordinary!"
Chen Shu crossed his arms, observing the scene as if watching a show.
He truly didn't believe this guy could be a Legend. What kind of Legendary beast tamer looked like this...
"I'll kill you first!"
Kong ignored his physical condition, intending to deal with it later.
The spatial beast on his shoulder let out a sharp cry, its internal spatial power surging.
However, before the contracted spirit could unleash a single skill, its body suddenly shattered, spewing forth a large amount of blood...
"..."
Chen Shu was also astonished by this scene and said again:
"Are you sure you're a Legendary beast tamer right now?"
"..."
Ling Chen's heart was filled with dread and anxiety, and he cried out hoarsely:
"I failed?! Impossible! My meticulously planned scheme for so many years, how could it fail?!"
"Reality is often less than ideal; we must learn to accept it."
Chen Shu stood by, acting as a spiritual counselor, attempting to soothe the other party's wounded soul...
But anyone listening could detect the sarcasm in his words...
He wasn't particularly skilled at offering timely help, but he was a master at kicking someone when they were down...
"Why..."
Kong ignored Chen Shu's words, merely staring blankly at his own body.
At this moment, his body was becoming increasingly fragmented, showing no signs of healing.
If he possessed the physique of a Legendary beast tamer, such injuries would have healed easily, indirectly proving his failure...
"Unwilling, I am unwilling!"
Kong's expression was frenzied, his head developing spiderweb-like cracks, and blinding blood poured out.
In a flash, Kong transformed into a hideous bloodied figure...
Concurrently, his aura began to decline, returning to King-level, and the downward trend continued unabated.
Gold, Silver, Bronze...
Ultimately, Kong devolved into an ordinary person, and his contracted spirit had long since died.
"Why..."
He spread his hands, looking at himself in disbelief, still in a dazed state.
Moments later, he let out a wild laugh, saying hoarsely:
"I failed in the end... Hahaha... It's easy to know heaven's will... but difficult to defy it..."
Chen Shu looked at him, shaking his head and sighing:
"You truly are a man who defies the heavens..."