Amidst the vast Arid Sea, near the Ancient Demon Continent, lies a region devoid of stars, steeped in deathly stillness and desolation. There, a colossal dark vortex slowly churns, like a gaping abyss, pressing in upon the Ancient Demon Continent.

Should anyone dare enter that abyssal darkness and venture deep within, they would find a mysterious world unto itself inside. This dark vortex bears an uncanny resemblance to the black hole within the Stone Rock Altar, seeming capable of devouring everything in existence.

Indeed, it is so; this vicinity once held stars and meteorites, but since the arrival of the dark vortex, those celestial bodies and space rocks have been swallowed, their inherent energy signatures transformed and integrated deep within the swirling depths. Entering this strange internal world.

For many years, this dark vortex has been associated with one individual who appeared as if descending from the Star Sea itself—that person was Bloodthirst. Bloodthirst once emerged from the heart of the dark vortex, inflicting unparalleled slaughter across the world, causing many extremely talented figures from the Four Great Races to defect and pledge allegiance under his banner.

This dark abyss, much like the desolation of the Ancient Continent, perpetually churns and flows. It also vanishes intermittently, leaving no trace for anyone to find.

The Divine Race spent ten millennia searching but never truly located the dark abyss, allowing the lineage of Bloodthirst to retain a Holy Land and continue to exist. Today, this dark abyss is gradually approaching the Ancient Demon Continent, creeping toward it like a silent black hole.

At this moment, the Ancient Demon Continent has regained a slight hint of vitality, yet it remains utterly devoid of living beings. The members of the Celestial Demon Race, under the summons of the Sacred Ancestor Azure Dragon, have all departed for the Divine Grace Continent, settling in the Boundless Sea and returning to their ancestral grounds.

The Ancient Demon Continent has consequently fallen into silence. Within the dark abyss lies a peculiar world.

It is an ocean of blood, a vast, boundless expanse of dark crimson matching the color of the sky. This ocean resides deep within the abyss, beneath a dark red canopy studded with countless floating micro-vortices, writhing like open mouths.

At this moment, numerous figures descend from those tiny vortices in the dark red sky, plummeting into the sea of blood like falling meteors. Scattered throughout the blood-red ocean are nine islands constructed entirely of bleached white bones.

Each island is roughly the size of the Undying Island, submerged in the thick, viscous blood-sea. Eight of these bone islands subtly encircle one central, largest island, forming a configuration reminiscent of the stars revolving around the moon.

All nine islands loom within the blood sea, eerily sinister and heavy with the stagnation of death, oppressive to the spirit like an underworld of Hades. Currently, shadowy figures vaguely materialize upon the eight outer bone islands.

These individuals belong to different factions and various races: there are members of the Divine Race, the Undying Demon Race, the Nether Emperor Race, the Celestial Demon Race, the Corpse Race, the Dark Spirit Race, the Ghost Rune Race, the Human Race, the Sea Race, and others. In the sky, the figures dropping from the vortices land upon the different islands.

Every single one of them bears an imprint centered on their brow—a blood-red mark. They were originally scattered across every corner of the Star Sea but have been summoned by their respective leaders to this Holy Land.

Above the eight islands, distinct auras swirl. Upon careful discernment, these eight auras correspond precisely to the eight great inherited profound principles: Soul Control, Death, Corrosion, Darkness, Chaos, Destruction, Despair, and Corpse Qi.

The central island, however, is shrouded in dense blood-light. Suspended above it is a massive, pitch-black vortex, seemingly mirroring the center of the external dark abyss.

Of the nine islands, the central one remains sealed and empty, while the other eight teem with figures. On the island wreathed in the aura of Darkness, there stands a dark palace, so black inside that one cannot see one's fingers.

Many warriors cultivating the Dark Profound Principle are seated motionlessly outside this palace, surrounding its perimeter. A strange light shoots down from a vortex in the dark red sky, striking directly upon this island corresponding to the Dark Profound Principle.

It lands upon the dark palace before the island's entrance. The various race warriors gathered outside the palace bow their heads and respectfully intone, "Martial Uncle Xuan He." The newcomer is Xuan He.

He glances at those around him, nods slightly, and enters the dark palace. Within the palace gleam a pair of eerie green eyes.

This was the sight Shang Chen encountered when he was drawn to this black location; the owner of those green eyes is Philete. Seeing Xuan He arrive, a glow of anticipation sparks in his green pupils.

He asks, "Did you obtain it?" "I did," Xuan He replies with a smile. "I can finally escape this hellhole, Laomo.

This place where all light is extinguished, though it keeps me safe, has subjected me to ten millennia of solitude," Philete declares. Philete is a member of the Corpse Race, whose nature recoils from sunlight.

However, those of high attainment can gradually ignore this defect and operate under all light. As one of the eight foremost attendants, Philete, an ancient progenitor of the Corpse Race, was originally entirely unaffected by light.

But, due to certain circumstances, his divine body has become utterly strange; he cannot bear even a sliver of light, making him far more fragile than a newly born member of the Corpse Race. As the foremost of the Corpse Force leaders, this affliction prevents him from residing on his proper island.

He is forced to hide from the light within the dark palace. This once-great overlord can only occasionally let his soul venture out, his physical body perpetually constrained—a truly pathetic state.

Xuan He flicks his finger, and a drop of seven-colored blood manifests in the darkness. Light ripples within the sanguine droplet, resembling myriad folded mirrors, faintly showing the soul imprints of one hundred different race members, encompassing many races that have appeared across the Star Sea.

"To refine this single drop of Hundred-Race Essence Blood to resolve the seal on your body, I have nearly traversed every corner of the Star Sea. Through countless years of battle, many race members have perished, many races have been exterminated.

For this drop of Essence Blood, I scoured the very edges of the Star Sea; the effort expended was truly immense." Xuan He sighs deeply, filled with emotion. Philete, however, pays him no heed.

His green eyes flash with fanatical light, and he swiftly swallows the drop of blood containing the soul imprints of the hundred races. He immediately closes his eyes, and within the dark palace, the sound of violent bone cracking echoes, suggestive of a transformation within the physical body.

Xuan He nods slightly, says nothing more, and steps out of the dark palace to wait outside. After a long while, a towering, robust Corpse Race warrior bursts out laughing from the dark palace.

His skin is extremely pale white, his eyes glow eerily green, and his mouth bears slender, elongated teeth, resembling a monstrous specter—terrifyingly frightening. "Congratulations, Martial Uncle Philete." Outside the dark palace, the warriors cultivating the Dark Profound Principle are visibly shaken and cannot help but offer respectful congratulations.

Philete laughs boisterously, his laughter saturated with ferocious and domineering Corpse Qi, causing the blood sea itself to boil. Suddenly, his laughter halts, and a flicker of astonishment crosses his eyes.

He immediately streaks skyward, heading toward an adjacent island covered in white bones. Xuan He follows closely behind.

This island is shrouded in endless Corpse Qi. Above the bone-strewn isle are numerous gravestones, beneath which Corpse Race members are cultivating.

Faint traces of coffins can be discerned within the stones. At the mouth of one particularly large gravestone rests a jade coffin.

The entity that emerged from the jade coffin—the one that once appeared in Black Iron City—was the one who fatally bit and dissolved Bai Yefeng and Mu Wei, who had enslaved the two soul remnants of the Soul Control lineage leader, before vanishing deep into the Grand Vast Chamber of Commerce's underground palace. The moment Philete appears on this island, a cracking sound echoes from beneath many of the gravestones.

Soon after, Corpse Race members begin emerging from the earth, one by one, bowing in homage to Philete. The lid of the jade coffin lifts, and a Corpse Demon leaps out—a creature covered in white fur, resembling a white ape.

Its fingertips are like sharp, cold blades, bone-white, surging with potent Corpse Qi, incredibly fierce. Its mouth reveals dagger-like teeth, from which issues a thick, foul stench.

This Corpse Demon was personally refined by Philete, utilizing a powerful ape imbued with Celestial Demon bloodline, taking countless days and nights to forge. It is an ultimate malevolent entity in the world.

For years while Philete was trapped in the dark palace, many affairs were handled by this Corpse Demon. It can be said that this Corpse Demon serves as Philete’s fearsome weapon; its appearance signifies Philete’s personal presence.

The Corpse Demon bows deeply upon seeing Philete and speaks in a strange dialect. Philete listens with a stern face.

Only when the demon stops does he snort, "He truly cannot remain patient, trying to seize the Master's remains. If I hadn't made arrangements beforehand, that brat would surely have been overwhelmed." Xuan He frowns and sighs, "His ideals were inconsistent with ours even back then; it seems nothing has changed now.

By the way, what exactly is the Grand Vast Chamber of Commerce President plotting? He made an agreement with us to help search for the Master's remains in the Star Sea's crevices.

Is it merely a gamble that we can surpass the Divine Race so that his Chamber of Commerce can maintain its peace in the future?" "The President of that Chamber of Commerce undoubtedly has motives we do not know. This person is as mysterious as that other fellow.

Many times, I suspected he might be that fellow’s main body, but his actions and methods are completely contrary to that person’s. If he hadn't helped me settle the Corpse Demon this time, that person's attempt to seize the Master's remains would have succeeded.

He shouldn't be that person..." Philete shakes his head. Xuan He and Philete have long suspected that the President of the Grand Vast Chamber of Commerce is the main body of the Soul Control lineage leader.

They had secretly probed this possibility, only to repeatedly find that the two employed entirely different methods. "Mmm, I also believe they are not the same person.

Still, the President is as mysterious as that other one; what exactly does he desire?" Xuan He too is unclear. "Let's set the President aside for now.

Through the Corpse Demon, he transmitted a message telling us that the brat Shi Yan has vanished, to the extent that even he cannot detect his trace." Philete states. "Vanished?" Xuan He’s face fills with astonishment.

"You can finally break free now. All our painstaking planning was for the sake of his ascent.

Now, just as the Blood Twist is sent out, the boy suddenly disappears. What is this brat trying to do?" "It seems he is quite displeased that we have arranged everything for him," Philete suggests.

Xuan He furrows his brow deeply. "From the moment he accepted the Master's inheritance, his life has been predetermined.

He is our hope; the Master's will must be borne by him. Everything we have done is to transform him into...

the New Master, regardless of whether he wills it!" "Precisely. Only when he becomes like the Master can our Eight Great Inheritances dominate the heavens and earth!" Philete agrees.