"The Black Iron City is truly prosperous; it certainly lives up to its reputation as the jewel of the Vast Ocean Merchant Guild."

Strolling down the bustling, crowded streets, observing the countless towering shops lining the way, Shi Yan couldn't help but sigh in admiration.

Black Iron City was but one of the nine cities on Vast Ocean Star, yet its sheer expanse surpassed the territory of the old Divine Continent. The merchandise displayed in the innumerable shops was dazzling, a dizzying array of goods.

Forged from dark, profound iron from beyond the heavens, the city was black as ink and supremely solid. He secretly tested it a few times and realized that even a martial artist at the first level of the Primal God realm might struggle to shatter the city walls; the profound iron, tempered and polished by the Vast Ocean Merchant Guild, rendered Black Iron City impregnable.

Shang Chen, presenting himself like an elegant scholar, offered explanations about the Vast Ocean Merchant Guild all the way toward the manor where Mu Wei and the others were hiding.

Void-skimming was forbidden within Black Iron City; one had to abide by the Merchant Guild’s rules inside the walls, which severely restricted the speed of all martial artists traversing the area.

“I’m only responsible for bringing you to the destination; I won't interfere with anything else.” Shang Chen suddenly declared his stance, grinding his teeth as he cursed under his breath toward Shi Yan, “Once this errand is finished, I’ll owe nothing more to your Bloodthirsty lineage!”

Shi Yan was surprised. “I never forced you to do anything. If you're upset, you shouldn't take it out on me, should you?”

Shang Chen smiled wryly and nodded. “Your Bloodthirsty lineage doesn't welcome outsiders. You offended countless stellar domain powers back in the day; the fact that you still exist speaks volumes about your strength. Whether the Bloodthirsty lineage can rise again, no one can say for sure, but I truly hope you don't end up replacing the God Clan.”

The street was a torrent of people, members of all races entering and exiting the surrounding shops.

Shang Chen spoke in a voice barely lowered, seemingly unafraid of being overheard.

“Why do you detest the Bloodthirsty lineage?” Shi Yan frowned.

He had long suspected it. Back on the Ancient Continent, when Cecilia and Sha Qiu first discovered he was cultivating the mysteries of Death, they showed immediate shock and fear, along with undisguised aversion to him being a successor of the Bloodthirsty lineage.

If the God Clan hadn't harbored the intent to destroy all others, Sha Qiu and Wu Feng wouldn't have willingly traveled with him. The acceptance he gradually earned from Wu Feng and the others was won entirely through his own efforts.

He was originally a man of **. Reflecting seriously afterward, he realized that Sha Qiu and Wu Feng had no inherent objection to his identity as an Undying Demon; their resistance was aimed solely at the status of being a Bloodthirsty successor.

As far as he knew, in the ten millennia preceding the God Clan's dominance, the Bloodthirsty lineage ruled the cosmos. The Eight Great Leaders held reputations as illustrious as the current Twelve Great Families of the God Clan, commanding immense prestige across the major stellar domains—all were individuals of profound arcane power and great political acumen.

The previous generation of the God Clan gained the Origin Fruit, boosting their strength, and then allied with powerful figures from major stellar domains to launch a full-scale resistance, finally suppressing the Bloodthirsty lineage and causing its power to gradually dissipate.

This demonstrated the lineage's formidable might.

Yet, like the God Clan, this lineage was unpopular in that era, and in certain aspects, they were even worse than the God Clan.

“I didn't live through those times, but I know that when the Bloodthirsty lineage was at its apex, it brought ruin and devastation to the myriad living beings across the stellar domains, shattering many Life Stars into barren wastelands. What the eight inheritances of the Bloodthirsty lineage brought to this vast sea of stars was only death, destruction, darkness, and chaos. They were far more extreme than the God Clan in many ways in the places they ravaged.”

Shi Yan rubbed his nose and sighed inwardly.

The eight Evil Inheritances of the Bloodthirsty lineage were: Soul Control, Death, Corrosion, Darkness, Chaos, Destruction, Despair, and Corpse Qi. The eight Great Leaders who cultivated these profound mysteries acted with inherent arrogance and wild abandon, refusing to spare a glance for anyone else.

When they rampaged across the cosmos, the God Clan could only barely survive. It was precisely because of their extreme arrogance and excesses that they eventually declined toward extinction.

“The Lord of Bloodshed appeared out of nowhere; no one knows his identity or origin, nor his race. His appearance caused many extreme experts from the Undying Demons, Heavenly Demons, God Clan, and Underworld Sovereign Clan to convert and abandon their own races to serve him. To this day, the God Clan is still searching for his identity and origin, desperate to know where he truly came from and what race he belongs to. The mysteries he cultivates never existed before him; he remains an eternal enigma of the sea of stars.”

Shang Chen gazed deeply at him, his eyes lingering on Shi Yan’s Blood Mark Ring, and sighed softly.

Shi Yan didn't know what to say, so he remained silent.

He knew in his heart that the actions of the Bloodthirsty lineage back then were indeed improper. However, he had been drawn across dimensions by Luo Mo’s soul and had been branded with the mark of the Bloodthirsty lineage from the very start.

Without the Devouring Mystery cultivated by the Lord of Bloodshed, he could never have achieved a miracle. The person he was today could not be separated from his connection to this lineage. And because of the God Clan’s existence, if he didn't fight back, he would certainly be killed by them.

Therefore, he had no choice. Even knowing the lineage's flaws, he had to follow this path to the end.

Only by crippling the God Clan, only when he one day transcended all rules, would he have the qualification to contemplate the policies of the Bloodthirsty lineage, and possess the ability to reshape them with his own will.

In front of the manor, Shang Chen stopped. “They are inside. I was only responsible for bringing you here; I will not involve myself in your affairs anymore.”

Before Shi Yan could say more, Shang Chen walked away alone, his figure looking bleak, as if a heavy burden had been lifted from his heart.

Watching him recede into the distance, Shi Yan sighed inwardly and stepped into the manor.

The moment his body crossed the threshold, Mu Wei, Jiao Mu, Bai Yefeng, and the others knew, and they all came out to greet him.

Sha Qiu, Wu Feng, Mo Fu, and the younger generation were all present, greeting him with solemn faces and occasional wry smiles.

The stellar domain they occupied was currently under invasion by the God Clan, and they were at a disadvantage, desperately needing aid from other forces. Their meeting here was to discuss important matters aimed at securing more power, and Shi Yan... represented a power that no one present could afford to underestimate.

They needed the help of this power!

“We were too rushed last time in the Maya Stellar Domain; I’ll properly introduce everyone this time.” Wu Feng stated gravely, pointing to the assembled figures.

“That is my uncle, Wu Lie, from our Wu family. Second Heaven Primal God, cultivating the Mystery of Flame.”

“Senior Mu Wei, Grand Elder of the Gu God Sect, cultivating the Heavenly Gu Divine Abilities of the sect, a Third Heaven Primal God.”

“Senior Jiao Mu, from the Jiao family. Second Heaven Primal God, cultivating the Mystery of Wood.”

“Bai Yefeng, from the Black River Stellar Domain. Third Heaven Primal God, cultivating the Mystery of Lightning.”

“Sang Ji is from the Earth Mu Stellar Domain, Fuler’s uncle. Second Heaven Primal God, cultivating the Mystery of Earth.”

Wu Feng respectfully detailed the identities of the powerful figures present. Each one nodded slightly toward Shi Yan, but every single one also held a subtle tinge of disappointment.

This was because Shi Yan had arrived alone.

They had anticipated that Shi Yan would be accompanied by one or more experts from the Bloodthirsty lineage—those figures with notorious reputations who filled them with both dread and excitement. They had even prepared beforehand, fearing they might falter in their demeanor.

Unfortunately, only Shi Yan had arrived. Although Shi Yan was the inheritor of the Lord of Bloodshed, he hadn't yet reached that ultimate realm of cultivation.

Shi Yan might reach a shocking height in the future, but currently, his weight in the balance felt a bit slight, causing them some discouragement.

“This was personally delivered by Tie Dun, the person in charge of Black Iron City. He told me to give it to you; it must be a decision made by higher-ups in the Vast Ocean Merchant Guild. I don’t know what’s inside,” Bai Yefeng said, handing the jade casket attached to a slab of stone to Shi Yan with an indifferent expression. After a moment of hesitation, he didn't elaborate further.

Wu Feng and the younger generation were unaware of the jade casket, watching with secret curiosity.

Wu Lie, Mu Wei, and the others saw their eyes sharpen, staring intently at the jade casket in Shi Yan’s hand, each displaying a strange expression.

Because no well-known figures from the Bloodthirsty lineage had come, they harbored a degree of dissatisfaction, believing they were being looked down upon. Because of this, they deliberately withheld information about the strangeness of the jade casket, harboring a secret desire to see Shi Yan suffer a little setback, and thus none of them mentioned the severity of the item.

“Something from the Vast Ocean Merchant Guild?” Shi Yan was taken aback.

His eyes flickered with confusion as he looked at the jade casket, which was attached to an unbroken stone slab. He instinctively stroked his chin before picking up the casket. He casually tossed the stone slab aside.

The jade casket felt extremely heavy, emanating a chilling aura. Shi Yan couldn't discern any mystery about the box itself. He pondered for a moment, about to reach out and lift the lid, but the instant his fingers touched the edge, a terrifying, malevolent power surged directly into his Soul Altar, like an instantaneous enlightenment.

His body violently shuddered, and the grand hall shook several times in quick succession. Countless fine cracks appeared on the walls of the structure.

Yet, he remained rooted to the spot, motionless. Unlike Wu Lie, he didn't stagger back three steps. Though a look of awe and fear crossed his face, his expression momentarily froze, as if he were quietly listening to something.

Mu Wei, Wu Lie, and Jiao Mu’s expressions stiffened, their eyes subtly shaken, revealing a hint of concealed astonishment.

Wu Lie, a veteran of the Second Heaven Primal God realm, had been forced back three steps in terror, yet Shi Yan, who had only just entered the Primal God realm, reached out to lift the lid and didn't budge an inch—like a millennia-old monolith. Judging by this alone, wasn't Shi Yan stronger than Wu Lie?

The crowd was stunned, immediately looking toward the lid to see if it had been lifted.

They quickly looked disappointed: the lid of the jade casket hadn't moved the slightest bit, showing no sign of being opened. The person specifically indicated by the Vast Ocean Merchant Guild hadn't even managed to lift the cover, which made them even more curious.

“I sense the Master’s aura…”

Meanwhile, inside Shi Yan’s mind, the spirit within the ring suddenly spoke, awakening after a long silence. It had been roused by the aura emanating from the box lid.

Shi Yan’s brow twitched. He casually held the jade casket and said calmly, “Seniors, please find me a private chamber.”

“Follow me.” While the others were still stunned, Sha Qiu was the first to react, immediately taking the lead.

Shi Yan followed behind him.