The forces of the Thousand Illusions Sect, the Shattered Hall, and the Celestial Water Palace declared their positions and, seeing no reason to linger, departed the manor.

Jiao Mu, Wu Lie, Sang Ji, and the others were overjoyed to learn that the Thousand Illusions Sect would honor its alliance responsibilities and handle matters concerning the God Clan, and they eagerly rushed back to relay the news.

"Brother Xing truly has a good temper."

On the way out, Gu Lian smiled radiantly, glanced at Xing Ming, and offered her praise.

The moment Xing Ming stepped out of the manor, his expression instantly turned grim. Hearing Gu Lian's teasing only made his face more unsightly; he let out a cold snort and said, "If this brat manages to reach the summit, I will swallow this insult. If he fails... Hmph!"

"What odds does Brother Xing give him for reaching the summit?" Gu Lian’s eyes flickered as she chuckled lightly.

"His chance of reaching the summit depends on how the eight lineage leaders of the Bloodthirsters treat him. As far as I know... that mysterious leader of the Soul Control lineage has always had very distinct ideas of his own," Xing Ming stated grimly.

When discussing that leader of the Soul Control lineage, both Xing Ming and Gu Lian appeared solemn, unconcealed dread etched onto their faces.

This person's fearsome reputation spanned every star domain, known as the strongest and most mysterious among the eight Bloodthirster retainers. To this day, no one knew his true identity. It was known that he manifested in countless forms, secretly controlling numerous powerful factions, and even within the God Clan itself, some had converted to him and secretly worked on his behalf.

The Bloodthirster lineage remained a force that no party dared to underestimate; this individual was immensely meritorious, carrying colossal weight...

"My apprentice Leina has a deep connection with Shi Yan. I wonder if this will affect Leina's judgment of that boy. The Celestial Water Palace has been quiet these years, plotting unknown schemes in the shadows. We must watch them closely," Gu Lian frowned, looking toward the direction Leina had departed, offering a warning.

"She will make the correct judgment," Xing Ming replied with a sinister look.

...

"Master, you can return to the Palace. Why must you drag me along?"

In another direction, Cecilia followed Leina with a pained expression, reluctantly trailing behind as she transformed into a clear stream flowing slowly across the heavens.

"Until Shi Yan reaches the summit, do not become overly intimate with him; it will do you no good," Leina frowned deeply. "The relationships among the eight Bloodthirster lineages are complex. Before he reaches the summit, unforeseen changes could arise at any moment. He could even be killed."

"What does it mean to reach the summit?" Cecilia asked, stunned.

"It means receiving unanimous recognition from the heads of the eight lineages and ascending to... that position. That is called reaching the summit. Reaching the summit signifies truly having a voice within the eight great systems, and it means the Bloodthirster followers genuinely submit to him, granting him the capability to command the future," Leina explained.

"He is the successor of the Bloodthirster lineage, cultivating the profound mysteries of Devouring. Shouldn't it be a natural progression for him to claim that position? What issues could possibly remain?"

"It's not that simple."

Leina shook her head and glanced back behind her. "Philiet's appearance proves that the Corpse Power faction should be fine, but how many of the eight Bloodthirster lineages truly submit to him—that is truly uncertain. If even half the people don't trust him, he won't be able to hold the title of Sovereign."

"What happens then?" Cecilia exclaimed in alarm.

"If he cannot prove he possesses the infinite potential to eventually replace the Bloodthirster of ten thousand years ago, then he will be required to surrender his inheritance. All his profound mysteries will be directly reclaimed," Leina said gravely. "That means death."

...

In the manor.

Shi Yan sat at the head seat. In a corner of the adjacent hall rested a single jade coffin, from which a faint, icy chill emanated.

Everyone who needed to leave the manor had already gone, and this hall was utterly deserted. He looked at the coffin, a thoughtful expression on his face, silently pondering something.

Suddenly, his pupils contracted, and fierce light flashed in his eyes. He looked coldly toward the outside of the hall.

Two figures approached step by step, blurred shadows flickering deep within their pupils. Both men wore dazed, vacant expressions, as if their souls had departed.

They were none other than Mu Wei and Bai Yefeng, who should have long since left.

Mu Wei and Bai Yefeng currently looked absentminded, their steps heavy. As they trod upon the stone floor of the hall, the floor resonated with a strange, rhythmic sound—like war drums pounding against the heart, making the chest violently shake as if to shatter one's blood vessels and bones.

Shi Yan watched them coldly, fixing his gaze on their eyes, and then suddenly let out a cold laugh.

With their eyes vacant and dull, and shadows flickering rapidly in their depths, Mu Wei and Bai Yefeng suddenly fixed their gaze on the Void Illusory Ring on Shi Yan's hand. Unconscious growls and roars erupted from their mouths, and they charged towards him like ferocious beasts.

Mu Wei's body began to writhe and strangely metamorphose, instantly transforming into a massive, bloated insect. The creature resembled a maggot, emitting a foul stench, its mouth lined with serrated, sinister fangs—snow-white and incredibly sharp.

The giant insect, large and legless, rolled forward like a ball, emitting a powerful stench. Its massive body suddenly sprayed out viscous yellow fluid, which enveloped Shi Yan’s head like a curtain of water.

Shi Yan’s face chilled. Starlight erupted from his body like rain, spreading outward as streaks of stellar light condensed and coiled around him.

He formed an esoteric seal with both hands. The starlight of the heavens suddenly retracted, transforming into a celestial curtain, which then shot towards the giant insect.

The moment the insect materialized, Shi Yan instantly understood: this Mu Wei was not Mu Wei, but a transformation of Mu Wei's natal Gu-worm.

Mu Wei's natal Gu-worm had fused with his soul and consciousness; its aura and life fluctuations were perfectly identical. Someone had used a secret art to temper it, drawing the natal Gu-worm out and vivifying it into another Mu Wei.

This Mu Wei, refined from the natal Gu-worm, was like an external incarnation of the real Mu Wei, possessing identical memories and consciousness, even the soul was extremely similar.

One could say this transformed Mu Wei was virtually indistinguishable from the true Mu Wei, even capable of using Mu Wei's realm mysteries, though with slightly diminished power.

However, just before the natal Gu-worm manifested its true form, the blurred shadows deep within its eyes appeared. At that moment, Shi Yan understood.

The entity refined from Mu Wei's natal Gu-worm had already had its soul and consciousness usurped by the leader of the Soul Control lineage. Just like Beilo, its reason could be seized at any moment, forcing it to serve him, becoming his soul-slave, awaiting his command.

The same must be true for Bai Yefeng; even if he were the real Bai Yefeng, his soul and reason were likely possessed now.

Threads of lightning interwove, forming a dazzling eye in the void, an eye purely condensed from lightning, which suddenly glared fiercely at Shi Yan.

Shi Yan's soul violently shook; his spirit and will felt on the verge of shattering. The altar shook violently. His consciousness was becoming uncontrollable.

Bai Yefeng remained expressionless, but the movements of his hands never ceased. As his fingers interlocked, streaks of lightning shot out like whips of electricity, lashing at Shi Yan. Savage electrical discharges instantly blasted the hall into fragments.

The eye condensed from divine lightning continued to lock firmly onto Shi Yan. Under the illumination of that lightning, his soul and consciousness rapidly dispersed.

Bai Yefeng moved forward, his body landing directly in front of Shi Yan. He showed no intent to take Shi Yan's life. Taking advantage of Shi Yan's failing soul and consciousness, he intended to seize the Void Illusory Ring.

The light in Shi Yan's eyes faded, but he stared fixedly at the ring on his finger. In that moment, he suddenly understood.

Bai Yefeng and Mu Wei had come for the jade box, for the finger within the jade box, for the Blood Pattern Ring!

That jade box was presented by the Giant Wave Merchant Guild, passing through Bai Yefeng and Mu Wei’s hands. Wu Lie and he had both opened it. Mu Wei and Bai Yefeng naturally knew what was hidden inside. The fact that they hadn't acted earlier, but instead sent the box away, must have been for the sake of the Blood Pattern Ring—to place the Blood Pattern Ring directly over that finger!

A current of electricity flashed, and Shi Yan suddenly realized it: Bai Yefeng and Mu Wei were merely puppets; the true entity seeking the finger and the Blood Pattern Ring was the leader of the Soul Control lineage.

Under the gaze of the lightning-condensed eye, his soul and consciousness gradually disintegrated, losing control over his divine body, as if frozen in place.

That person wasn't trying to take his life; the target was merely a segment of the Bloodthirster's finger and the Blood Pattern Ring above it. Because of this, as he was held rigid, the giant insect formed from Mu Wei and the intertwining lightning did not press the attack. Bai Yefeng merely reached out dazedly, intending to grab the Void Illusory Ring.

Clatter!

Suddenly, the lid of the jade coffin in the corner of the hall was violently thrown open. Streams of corpse energy materialized in the void as bizarre tongues, and these tongues suddenly shot out to lick at Bai Yefeng.

Bai Yefeng's eyes were vacant, as if unaware of the danger, still stubbornly trying to collect the Void Illusory Ring.

The pale tongues directly stuck to Bai Yefeng's body. Like a fly caught on a frog's sticky tongue, Bai Yefeng was suddenly flung backward towards the jade coffin, instantly falling into its center. Immediately, sounds of bones being crushed began to emanate from within the coffin, and faintly, blood mixed with shredded flesh could be seen splashing out near the coffin's rim.

More pale tongues shot out, clinging to the giant insect as well, instantly yanking it towards the jade coffin.

Splat!

The giant insect seemed to explode violently, and sticky yellow fluid spurted out of the coffin, splashing onto the stone floor and corroding holes into it.

The chilling sounds from the jade coffin continued. Bai Yefeng appeared to be gnawed away, and Mu Wei's natal Gu-worm was also bitten to pieces. The coffin lid slammed shut with a bang. All that remained beside the coffin was a pool of bloody water.

The eye condensed from lightning remained suspended in the void, not dissipating. A vague shadow faintly emerged within it. The shadow seemed to glance at the jade coffin, issuing several silent, fierce roars within the pupil, before the eye abruptly vanished. It seemed to be an unwilling cry of frustration, unable to continue the spell to seize the ring because the vessel had been destroyed.

The jade coffin rested in the pool of blood. After the eye dissipated, the coffin sank directly into the ground, moving strangely underground, escaping Black Iron City, drifting off to an unknown destination.

The bizarre power that had enveloped Shi Yan's soul and consciousness vanished the moment the lightning eye disappeared.

Shi Yan was drenched in sweat, collapsing into the head seat, breathing heavily, his face extremely pale.

The leader of the Soul Control lineage had not come in person; he had only directed the soul slaves to fight using two strands of countless soul thoughts, borrowing the slaves' own power. Yet, even so, being targeted by that lightning eye left Shi Yan completely powerless to retaliate—a struggle far more difficult than facing Hage.

That jade coffin was clearly a contingency set up by Philiet, seemingly a defense against the Soul Lineage leader seizing the ring. He had not seen the being inside the jade coffin.

But the terrifying fluctuations emanating from that coffin made his scalp tingle. In a battle of that level, he could only watch; he had no chance of interfering.

This left his face ashen, his eyes filled with violent rage, like a suppressed volcano on the verge of eruption... (To be continued)