At the bottom of a vast abyss, Xuan He spoke at length, “Adela, I came today to see your brother.”
A flicker of sarcasm danced in Adela’s beautiful eyes, and she sneered, “Then you’ve come to the wrong place. When he was seduced by the Bloodthirst sect, he chose to forsake his position as Patriarch of the Underworld Royal Clan and leave with the Bloodthirst. Since then, he has ceased to be one of our own, and he hasn't returned to the Clan or contacted me in all these years!”
“I don’t believe that,” Xuan He chuckled.
Adela’s face turned cold in anger. “He is the leader of the Soul Control lineage in your Bloodthirst branch. You can’t reach him yourself, so you come looking for me? That makes no sense!”
“I have already attempted to contact him using our lineage’s methods, but I couldn't find him. All I’ve seen these past years have been clones. I must see his true self!” Xuan He insisted.
“I’m afraid I can’t help you,” Adela replied coolly.
Xuan He let out a soft laugh, not pressing the issue further. It seemed he suspected Adela maintained some secret contact with that Soul Control leader. By coming to her directly, he presumed Adela would inform the leader, and that the leader would already know the reason for his visit.
“The Divine Race is now aggressively attacking the major Star Domains. What is your view on this matter?” Xuan He stroked his chin, his tone laced with something wicked. “You allied with the Divine Race back then; are you perhaps planning to tie your fate to theirs this time as well?”
Adela’s slender brows furrowed slightly, a thoughtful expression crossing her face before she answered.
“The Divine Race is not what they once were. They used the pretext of eradicating my Bloodthirst lineage to rally the scattered powers across the Cosmos, ultimately overthrowing us. Afterwards, they broke their promise and refused to share the Star Rivers with you, choosing instead to dominate the heavens and earth alone. Surely, you aren't still blinded by delusion this time?” Xuan He’s expression darkened.
“If your Bloodthirst lineage had exercised some restraint back then, you wouldn't have ended up in this predicament. This is all your master’s own doing!” Adela scoffed, pausing after a moment of contemplation. “In this current conflict, my Underworld Royal Clan will remain neutral. We hope you both destroy each other!”
“Hahahaha!”
Xuan He burst into loud, delighted laughter. “Very good. It’s best if your Underworld Royal Clan stays out of it.”
He stopped abruptly, then added, “I came this time to deliver a gift for your daughter.”
The moment his words fell, Xuan He pointed toward the sky above the Underworld Royal Clan’s territory. Clusters of dense, pitch-black clouds suddenly gathered, enveloping an area spanning millions of miles. Roars and howls emanated from within these clouds. Soon, tens of thousands of ferocious souls and malevolent spirits emerged from the inky darkness.
A brilliant, multicolored divine light suddenly shone in Adela’s luminous eyes, and she was visibly startled, her expression shifting.
All those malevolent spirits were souls at the Origin God or Void God level. Among them were ten massive soul clusters, each a hundred zhang tall, resembling ten mountains, displaying terrifying and ferocious presences.
Those ten soul clusters had been refined from the principal souls of Primordial God experts.
Xuan He pointed at Audrey and chuckled, “My niece is about to break through to the Primordial God realm; this is a congratulatory gift from me.”
The tens of thousands of malevolent souls shrieked as they surged from the black clouds toward Audrey, only to be tethered by an invisible force. They screamed miserably, struggling to break free. The ten colossal souls formed by the Primordial God principal souls let out earth-shattering roars filled with humiliation and unwillingness.
Yet, none could escape Xuan He’s restraint. They transformed into wisps of hazy gray shadows, each one merging into a blurred, chaotic void realm above Audrey’s head.
Fierce cries erupted from within Audrey’s body, like the furious denouncement of the heavens by billions of living beings—an aura born of pure, malevolent resentment, seemingly capable of erasing the very soul.
Her exquisitely beautiful face flushed with a trace of rosy color, blending a clear radiance with bright vitality, as if she had been injected with potent medicine. A thin veil of life force permeated her body, and the vague void realm above her head, replenished by the tens of thousands of malevolent souls, was gradually beginning to solidify.
Adela looked deeply at her, a hint of concealed joy in her eyes, though her expression remained cold and rigid. “Xuan He, after all these ten thousand years, you have finally done one decent thing.”
“Hahahaha.”
Xuan He roared with laughter, transforming into a streak of lightning that pierced into the center of the dense clouds. His voice echoed down from above the clouds: “Tell your brother that the Master’s successor is about to enter the Mayah Star Domain. As the leader of the Soul Control lineage, he should know what to do.”
Adela snorted, offering no agreement or denial.
Shadow Ghost Prison.
Void passages were sealed, floating like gleaming threads within the cracks of the void. The Star River resembled a mirror cracked with countless fine fissures, presenting a most peculiar sight.
Following the invasion by the Askott family of the Divine Race, this area was temporarily desolate and abandoned, with no living beings nearby, and no cultivators practicing here.
This location also served as the Domain Sea for the Mayah Star Domain. The Domain Sea was the passage for travel between Star Domains. Almost as soon as a Star Domain formed, the Domain Sea would slowly manifest, a wonderfully strange occurrence, as if intentionally condensed by the heavens to allow the countless Star Domains of the universe to connect rapidly.
Between some Star Domains, there existed thick barriers, keeping them separated.
For instance, the Mayah Star Domain and the Fire Rain Star Domain or the Mist Fantasy Star Domain—though separated, they possessed natural void barriers that were difficult to traverse.
Other Star Domains had no barriers between them, yet they were separated by infinite distances. Even a highly accomplished expert in Space Profundity would require a lengthy journey, perhaps ten years or several centuries, to cross such immense gaps.
Thus, for Star Domains to communicate, another method was necessary.
The Domain Sea was the best path, a natural feature bestowed upon the Star Domains by the heavens. Those threads of void passages were naturally formed spatial teleportation arrays, spanning Star Domains and covering billions of miles in an instant.
The Shadow Ghost Prison was the Domain Sea of the Mayah Star Domain.
On this day, an extremely turbulent spatial rift suddenly began to expand violently, like a balloon being inflated.
In just a few dozen seconds, the rift expanded hundreds of times over. Then, a blinding glare erupted, and the void passage could no longer withstand the strain, shattering into pieces. Countless fragments of the void scattered, transforming into a meteor shower that filled the space outside the domain.
A beautiful life-bearing star suddenly emerged from the explosion of the void passage and appeared directly in the Shadow Ghost Prison.
The life-bearing star was covered in a natural energy light shield. Within, mountains and lakes resembled a painting, and the fluctuations of life were vigorous and vibrant.
The life-bearing star did not stop moving but continued to drift rapidly through the Shadow Ghost Prison.
It finally came to a halt near the Battle Alliance’s War Star.
“Finally, we see the sun, moon, and stars.” “Finally, we see light.” “What happened?” “I don’t know.”
The mortals and martial artists aboard the life-bearing star cried out in awe, their eyes wide with astonishment. They felt as if they had been sealed in a dim world, unaware of how much time had passed due to the absence of alternating day and night. They only knew that period filled them with anxiety, making them believe the end of days was approaching.
Inside the star.
A youth opened his eyes. Billions of minute stellar particles flickered within his pupils, as if his eyes contained the entirety of the star sea.
He grinned and murmured to himself, “We’ve finally arrived.”
A corner of the Demon Dragon Star.
The Sacred Ancestor of the Sky Demon Clan felt a violent tremor in his heart. His eyes lit up, and he suddenly laughed heartily.
He abruptly fled the Demon Dragon Star and flew toward the Shadow Ghost Prison. Though he hadn't cultivated Space Profundity, his speed was faster than that of an expert in Space Profundity at the Primordial God level. In a single instant, he crossed dozens of life-bearing stars, covering billions of miles in the blink of an eye.
As he headed toward the Shadow Ghost Prison, he was unaware that the person he sought had gone directly to the Demonic Blood Star.
The Spatial Oddity Array beside the Blood Pool on the Demonic Blood Star.
Streaks of electricity flashed, intertwining to form a spectacle like a heavenly net enveloping the entire array.
The moment intense fluctuations transmitted, a youth suddenly materialized, flashing through the array.
The several Demon Clan Void God experts guarding the array were all startled and rose abruptly. But when they tried to find the source of the presence, they found not a single trace of aura remaining.
Divine State City.
The City Lord’s Mansion, home to the Yang and Shi families, was located in the center of the city. Family members of both clans cultivated here, enjoying wealth and luxury.
Yang Qingdi was deep within an underground chamber a hundred meters down. The chamber was built from divine crystals and numerous strange stones that drew in the energy of heaven and earth, solid and ancient. Energy surged within, and streams of milky-white energy flowed around him, like peculiar, spiritual snakes, which Yang Qingdi inhaled and exhaled.
He suddenly frowned, stood up, and vanished from the stone chamber.
To the east side of the City Lord’s Mansion, Shi Jian was berating the younger generation, including Shi Tianluo and Shi Tianxiao. “You brats, life has become easy for you now, yet you don't cultivate diligently? Do you think you’re honoring Shi Yan?”
Shi Jian’s beard bristled as he ranted angrily, “Everything our old Shi family has today was earned through Little Yan’s life-risking efforts. But Little Yan is also a Yang family member! Look at the sons of the Yang family—Yang Mu is nearly a Divine King! What about you? You lazy good-for-nothings, if you keep this up, you’ll bring shame upon the entire Shi family!”
Shi Tianluo, Shi Tianke, Shi Tianling, and the other youngsters looked crestfallen, sighing deeply, daring not to argue, though they felt deeply frustrated inside.
How could they compare to the Yang family?
The Blood Demon treated the Yang family as his own, opening the Blood Pool for their cultivation and bestowing countless rare treasures and elixirs from the Demonic Blood Star upon them. This was how the Yang family achieved their power.
Their bloodline was inherently potent, and they possessed such heaven-sent advantages—how could they possibly compare?
The crowd refuted internally.
Elder Han Feng secretly chuckled on the side, nodding solemnly while occasionally adding fuel to the fire with a remark or two: “Alas, they are all human, yet the gap is so vast. Young Master Yan only possessed a sliver of Yuan Power at seventeen. You all started earlier, yet look how far behind you’ve fallen! I’m almost embarrassed to say!”
“Who dares compare themselves to that monster, Little Yan? You dare?” Shi Tianke retorted.
Han Feng shrank his head back, letting out a wry smile.
“Alas, speaking of which, it’s been a long time since I’ve seen that brat. His realm is getting higher, and his status is different now. He probably doesn’t even have the leisure to stop by and chat with his old Grandpa,” Shi Jian lamented with a wistful sigh, his expression melancholic.
“Wasn’t I just here?”
Suddenly, a clear voice sounded, and a dark figure abruptly appeared inside the room.
Shi Jian’s body trembled, and his old eyes involuntarily welled up. Yet, he scolded, “You naughty brat! Have your wings grown so strong that you’ve forgotten your Grandpa?”
PS: Uh, another chapter today. I’ll catch up tomorrow. I’m embarrassed myself; the subsequent plot points haven’t been sorted out. I spent hours struggling, completely muddled, because I don’t want to introduce too many logical errors. So, apologies~