A shimmering gate of light flickered, and a powerfully built figure flashed through it in an instant.

Deep within the shadowy Ghost Prison, a cerulean star seemed to tremble infinitesimally. At its core, a blinding white light emerged, and from it stepped a solitary figure.

This was the center of the Continent of Divine Grace, the very source of the Star Soul. Shi Yan’s secondary soul resided here, merged with the Star Soul, secretly presiding over the continent.

His main body materialized, collapsing onto the ground utterly exhausted, devoid of a single trace of strength.

The void turbulence had been too perilous and terrifying; he had expended all his power within it, finally using the last vestige of his residual strength to tear open a passage and return directly here via the link between his primary and secondary souls.

Now, his divine power was depleted. He focused his will, condensing a thought, and a thread of consciousness shot into the Illusionary Void Ring.

Slabs of divine crystals instantly flew out, hovering and piling up beside him like crystalline mountain ranges. The secondary soul, concealed within the Star Soul, suddenly leaped out, instantly transforming into clusters of fiery cloud masses.

These fire clouds enveloped the divine crystals, burning fiercely, vaporizing the divine power within to transform it into liquid-thick spiritual energy that coiled around Shi Yan.

The millions of divine crystals in his Illusionary Void Ring were all extracted; his entire body was encased in them, and the crystals were consumed by the Heavenly Fire.

Streams of pure energy nourished his withered ancient tree of divine power, soothing his fatigued body. A coolness spread through him, as if bathing in an ocean of spiritual energy, calming his mind and spirit.

"Now you can detail the mysteries of the Sword and Shield for me?" Maintaining his posture, he established contact with the Ring Spirit. "Both that Blood Sword and Blood Shield were the formidable weapons of the Bloodthirsty in his early days. What exactly were their great effects?"

"To be precise, the Sword and Shield were items the Master held in his early years. Once the Master's profound mysteries reached an unknowable, mystical realm, he no longer relied on artifacts," the Ring Spirit replied. After a pause, it added, "Open your mind; I will imprint the arcane formula into your spirit sea."

Shi Yan complied, opening his mind and taking a deep breath, severing the chaotic thoughts in his brain.

Waves of profound memory imprints suddenly took root in his mind, branding themselves deep within his recollection, instantly granting him knowledge of the Sword and Shield's marvels.

His gaze grew distant, his face etched with solemnity and shock. He fell into deep contemplation, silently assimilating the wonders of the Sword and Shield.

During this process, the flesh, blood, and sinews of his divine body trembled, hungrily absorbing the pure spiritual energy emanating from the millions of divine crystals, restoring his strength.

The Blood Sword and Blood Shield suddenly appeared above his head. A sliver of blood-light burst forth from the mark on the primary soul, situated at the very top of his Soul Altar. This blood-light shot into the Blood Shield. The markings on the shield's surface writhed as if coming alive, then violently descended, covering the skin and flesh of his entire body.

In an instant, the Blood Shield evolved into an exceedingly form-fitting, dark-red suit of armor. This armor was covered in blood veins. Five clusters of blood clouds—like five ferocious bloody mouths—appeared over his chest, shoulders, and the back of his heart. These blood clouds continued to shift slowly, containing infinite mysteries.

All seven hundred and twenty acupuncture points on his body became linked to this armor. That miraculous quality of devouring the essence of death seemed to be magnified manifold through the Blood Shield.

When the Blood Shield transformed into armor, it became the most solid barrier of his physical body. When the armor sustained an attack, it could absorb all the power contained within that attack and channel it directly into the center of his acupoints.

Unless the attacker's realm was supremely high, far exceeding his own cultivation, capable of delivering a fatal blow in one strike, the armor could withstand it and devour the resulting explosive power.

The Blood Sword’s blade filled his scarlet eyes. These scarlet eyes were the eyeballs of individuals who had perished miserably under the hands of the Bloodthirsty—they retained the endless resentment, hatred, despair, and violent negative emotions of those powerful beings. The sword could only be truly activated by stimulating his inner demonic blood; only when drops of demonic blood seeped into the eyes could the Blood Sword be fully unleashed.

The Blood Sword was not only supremely sharp but also possessed the formidable power to reach directly into the depths of an enemy's soul, capable of shattering and severing the Soul Altar, filling the enemy's primary soul with negative malice until it exploded.

The Blood Sword could extinguish the soul, or it could cooperate with the Soul Control arcane art to perform miracles, instantly binding and confusing the enemy's soul, imprinting a slave mark within the soul itself, making the target an eternal servant, never to awaken.

The Blood Sword, specializing in offense, and the Blood Shield, specializing in defense, were the early powerful weapons of the Bloodthirsty. They accompanied him as he conquered the world, earning him a fearsome, ominous reputation.

However, as the Bloodthirsty’s realm ascended, and he gradually grasped the unknowable, mysterious forces, he abandoned the Blood Sword and Blood Shield. He needed only the power erupting from his physical body and soul to be invincible throughout the world; all arcane arts became natural, effortless, and traceless.

Deep within the earth's core.

Shi Yan silently comprehended the mysteries of the Blood Sword and Blood Shield while simultaneously using the millions of divine crystals to restore his divine power, engaging in secluded, arduous cultivation.

At this time, after burning and refining the millions of divine crystals into rich energy, his secondary soul did not return to the interior of the Star Soul crystal. Instead, it transformed into wisps of flame, dancing continuously above his head.

The insights gained from his battle with Heg, the hardships of the void turbulence, and his exploration and understanding of the Blood Sword and Blood Shield—the evolution of all these aspects of his state of mind—caused his life form to undergo sublimation. Concurrently, his secondary soul’s perception of the Heavenly Fire seemed to advance a step further.

The cyan World-Ending Thunder Flame transformed into interlocking, colliding cyan lightning, scattering billions of fragmented electric rays. The bright silver Netherworld Soul-Devouring Flame manifested an aura of soul annihilation, capable of dissipating souls until they vanished. The icy white Profound Ice Cold Flame was bone-chillingly cold, manifesting as clusters of crystalline snowflakes...

The World-Ending Thunder Flame, the Netherworld Soul-Devouring Flame, and the Profound Ice Cold Flame slowly converged. The three flames trembled strangely, using the Profound Ice Cold Flame as a guide to permeate the cold essence into the World-Ending Thunder Flame and the Netherworld Soul-Devouring Flame.

All three flames carried a trace of frigid aura. As they gradually drew closer, they began the path toward fusion in a subtle, incomprehensible manner.

This fusion of primordial flames was attributable to the breakthrough in his Prime Realm, the shattering realization of the laws of heaven and earth, the starry sky, and the profound meaning of life and death. As his experience grew and his life sublimated, his perspective broadened, and his understanding of the origin deepened.

He was stabilizing his Prime God realm, comprehending the subtleties of the Blood Sword and Blood Shield, and merging the primordial Heavenly Fires.

Meanwhile, many marvelous events were unfolding in the outside world.

...

The Fire Rain Star Domain.

In a strange, dim location, Yu Shan, Shawn, and Xuan Fei had been trapped, ruthlessly suppressed and hunted by the Divine Race.

However, following the great victory in the Mara Star Domain battle, when the Divine Race retreated to regroup their strength, they temporarily escaped immediate danger.

The Divine Race Elder Council issued a decree, summoning back the clansmen who had invaded other star domains to retaliate against the provocations of the Gu God Sect, the Wu Family, and the Jiao Family against the Divine Race. The Divine Race members active in the Fire Rain Star Domain were also recalled, and the crisis in that domain suddenly lifted.

Yu Shan and Shawn, who had been cornered, were ecstatic at the Divine Race's withdrawal.

They prepared to summon Benny to the hinterlands of the Fire Rain Star Domain to continue training troops for them, laying the foundation for future battles in the domain.

But when they finally found Benny, they were instantly stunned, their expressions turning horrified.

Amidst a desolate pile of rubble, the blood-colored mark on Benny's brow spun, and surges of inexplicable power were stimulated from it, forming streaks of rainbow light that illuminated the sky. The power within Benny was rapidly drawn out, forcibly pulled into that mark.

As the mark absorbed his power, it seemed to open a door. Directly above Benny’s head, a small, crimson vortex bizarrely appeared, generating a powerful suction force that seemed intent on dragging Benny into it.

Under the terrified gaze of Yu Shan and Shawn, Benny vanished into the blood-red vortex, which then immediately disappeared as well.

This location was on the edge of the Fire Rain Star Domain, an extremely desolate and barren place where the void was sealed; there was no secret passage known to anyone.

Yet the vortex had forcefully taken Benny away. No one knew where it came from, nor where it vanished to.

An identical scene was occurring in many regions across the vast Star Sea.

Before Shi Yan returned to the Continent of Divine Grace, Lianna, Feran, and Cato, who were cultivating diligently on Undying Island, also felt a piercing pain in the blood-colored marks on their brows. This pain stimulated the mark's power, causing three blood-red vortices to appear above their heads.

Lianna, Feran, and Cato—Lianna was training troops for the Demon Race and was furious—when a sharp pain struck her brow, and she involuntarily facilitated the appearance of the vortex.

All three vanished into the crimson spirals.

Similarly, Yang Qingdi in the Boundless Sea also developed a mark on his brow. He, too, was carried away by a vortex.

The Blood Demon cultivating on Blood Demon Star in the Mara Star Domain was also violently shaken during his seclusion. A mark appeared on his brow, his entire body's power was instantly drawn out, forming a blood-red vortex above his head, and he consequently vanished within it.

They were unaware that in every corner of the Star Sea, those cultivating the Eight Profound Arts, who had developed the blood-colored mark on their brows like them, were all experiencing a sudden, inexplicable pain in their marks, drawing out their divine body power, triggering the appearance of blood-red vortices, and then mysteriously disappearing.

This was the Blood Edict!

It was the Blood Edict for the Bloodthirsty lineage to return to their holy land. No matter where they were, they could be summoned back directly via the Blood Edict.

...

Inside the Dark Abyss, within the endless, vast ocean of blood.

Benny, Lianna, Feran, Cato, Yang Qingdi, and the Blood Demon all appeared in the sea of blood, situated on six separate bone islands.

Benny was on the Island of Destruction, Lianna on the Island of Darkness, Feran on the Island of Corrosion, Cato on the Island of Chaos, Yang Qingdi on the Island of Despair, and the Blood Demon was on the Island of Death.

There were many people near them. Those individuals came from different races, their realms varied in height, but like them, they bore marks on their foreheads and cultivated the same profound arts.

The Blood Demon descended from the blood-red vortex and appeared directly on the Island of Death. As soon as he landed, many people on the island showed looks of shock and actively moved away to avoid him.

The Blood Demon was utterly bewildered. After landing on the island, he suddenly shuddered, gazing at the people whose brows bore marks and whose bodies clearly radiated the same deathly aura as his own. He was instantly stunned speechless.

"Senior, are you a clansman of our Undying Demon Race?" A youth, only at the God-King realm but clearly an Undying Demon, showed joy and approached respectfully.

"Indeed."

The Blood Demon nodded, sweeping his gaze around. He noticed several thousand martial artists of various races on the island, their realms ranging from the Prime God realm—as high as his own—down to the True God realm for the lowest.

But on every single brow, a blood-colored mark manifested, flashing with mystery.