A cluster of translucent green bubbles hung suspended in the seawater, like emerald lanterns resting silently, or perhaps like the watchful, sinister eyes of some vile entity, observing the approach of the newcomers.

Within the center of nearly every bubble was the desiccated corpse of a martial artist, their faces frozen in expressions of absolute terror and despair from the moment of their deaths.

"Everyone, be careful!"

Falonny’s voice rang out, her frame, bulkier than any man’s, encased in shimmering layers of silvery-white light. The shield, shaped like an elongated egg, pulsed ceaselessly with strange soul fluctuations, as if wisps of consciousness were escaping, probing the environment.

The members of the Dark Demon Clan gathered close around her, even Telega, the furthest among them, remaining within twenty paces. On closer inspection, it was evident they were subtly arranging themselves into a formation, fanning out with Falonny at the core.

The Ancient Demon Clan, led by Yebol, deliberately kept their distance from Falonny’s group, ensuring no interaction occurred between the two factions.

They, too, advanced slowly toward the area of the green bubbles.

Falonny, having cultivated the rare mysteries of the Soul, possessed a keen sensitivity to all forms of consciousness, coupled with an almost mystical alertness that allowed her intuition to flag danger.

She extended her soul consciousness...

Suddenly, she glanced back towards the area where the water had previously exploded, a thread of doubt weaving through her mind.

Just moments ago, as her soul consciousness spread, she thought she had detected an extremely faint ripple of soul energy—a fluctuation that vanished in an instant. A subsequent sweep revealed nothing; it was gone.

A trick of perception?

She quietly shook her head, dismissing the momentary confusion, and refocused her search toward the green bubbles.

In the shadows.

Shi Yan’s spirit tightened, and he immediately became more cautious. Falonny was only at the third heaven of the Immortal Realm, not the peak, and thus incapable of pinpointing his location as accurately as Mei Ji could when he concealed himself using dark energy. However, the mystery the woman cultivated was peculiar, and his own lapse in caution had nearly betrayed him.

This realization spurred his vigilance.

He knew he stood little chance against so many members of the Dark Demon and Ancient Demon Clans. Exposure meant a grim end: capture, followed by being sacrificed as cannon fodder.

He had to ensure he remained undiscovered, permanently cloaked in darkness, before the others plunged into deeper peril.

He withdrew the divine sense he had momentarily released, severed his aura, and sealed himself completely. He ceased all external perception, relying solely on sight and sound.

His eyes constricted sharply!

A powerfully built brute from the Ancient Demon Clan stepped among the green bubbles. A look of stark horror flashed across his face. In the next instant, his mind seemed violently hijacked. He erupted into madness, howling as he unleashed a savage attack on the nearest Ancient Demon Clan member.

"Boom!"

A monstrous, vicious python erupted violently from his palm. Its head ballooned instantly, opening a maw lined with ghastly teeth. It swallowed the targeted Ancient Demon Clan member whole, its interlocking fangs masticating the victim until the flesh was ripped into bloody tatters.

"Screeeech!"

A piercing, shrill cry suddenly ripped through the abyssal depths of the sea—a sound like a sharp blade slicing into the core of every being, hacking at the altar of every mind.

Falonny, the Dark Demon whose masculine frame was radiating her released soul consciousness, seeking to unravel the mystery, began to tremble violently. Fine rivulets of blood started to seep from the corners of her mouth, nostrils, eyes, and ears, resembling tiny, blood-red snakes—a truly horrifying sight.

Her eyes wide with profound terror, she shrieked, "Retreat! Everyone, retreat now!"

She screamed hysterically, instinctively preparing to flee, but the expanse of water instantly manifested gravity thousands of times stronger, as if unseen chains had coiled around them, binding them all.

The members of the Dark Demon and Ancient Demon Clans struggled with all their might, unleashing the power mysteries they had cultivated for millennia. Lightning cracked, fire dragons roared, ice shot out like serrated blades, and kaleidoscopic rainbow lights burst forth, turning that stretch of ocean into a living purgatory wracked by unending explosions of force.

Those martial artists trapped within seemed to have their souls invaded, their faces etched with desperate fear as they desperately tried to flee.

Some succumbed, their souls utterly possessed, and they began savagely attacking those nearby, directing the full force of their ultimate power mysteries against the comrades they had fought alongside for years.

Limbs flew, gore splattered—the scene in that hellish sea was unbearable to witness!

Shi Yan, who had been poised to strike and demand a price from them, lost his focus. His dark energy rushed back into his mind, momentarily revealing his presence as he watched the spectacle in horror from a distance.

The area ahead had become a completely sealed zone. Not a single trace of life force leaked from those who had perished there.

He could reap no benefit.

He watched from afar, observing the Dark Demon and Ancient Demon Clans ensnared in desperation. He watched as Falonny, Telega, and Yebol—three individuals of clearly noble standing—each drew forth their supreme treasures, driving them with their vital essence and pouring in their entire magical reserves. Three bolts of electric light ripped violently through the chaos, allowing them to break free.

He did not know that Falonny, Telega, and Yebol were all elite figures within their respective clans, prioritized for cultivation, and carrying life-saving divine artifacts painstakingly forged for them by their clan's Domain Ancestors.

Falonny gripped a crystal sphere tightly, inside which countless intricate and brilliant lines of light swirled. Telega held a long spear, its shaft engraved with patterns resembling writhing lightning snakes. Yebol wore a suit of brilliant golden armor, which now clearly showed fissures.

These three champions of their clans, relying on the ancestral life-saving weapons bestowed upon them, carved out a bloody path and escaped the bizarre domain.

Unyielding terror flickered in their eyes. They stared ahead, watching their clansmen slaughter each other to the death, watching them sink one by one into the seabed of that haunted ocean.

The expressions of despair and terror on the faces of those in the green bubbles seemed to subtly change, transforming into sinister mockery...

It was as if they had briefly revived, releasing some form of malevolent consciousness that had then influenced all those who entered.

Soon, the area settled back into stillness, though traces of blood still tainted the water. The remains of the clansmen brought by Falonny and Yebol sank to the bottom, and the location appeared to revert to its former state.

Falonny, Telega, and Yebol stood frozen, cold dread filling their hearts. The massacre of their clansmen had terrified them to the extreme, yet they dared not venture back into that place.

One hundred meters away, Shi Yan had already revealed himself. They saw him, but they made no abrupt moves.

They simply continued to stare forward.

After a long, long moment, Falonny was the first to recover, though a flicker of terror still lingered in her eyes. "With our strength, we cannot penetrate that area. It’s a waste of effort. We should return and report this to the higher-ups."

Yebol did not answer, only nodding with difficulty. He knew Falonny spoke the truth; the sheer danger displayed by that stretch of sea was far beyond what they could handle. Had they not relied on the ancestral divine artifacts granted to them, their fate would have been the same—to become just another corpse submerged ahead.

Yebol turned his head toward Shi Yan’s position, his expression suddenly shifting. "It's you?"

Shi Yan looked completely impassive, now walking toward them deliberately. "Are you preparing to withdraw?"

No one paid him any mind.

Although the mysteries Shi Yan cultivated were profound, his realm was too low—only the first heaven of the Immortal Realm—and he was not one of the Seven Great Races. Falonny and the others had just suffered a devastating blow and were in a state of extreme agitation. Seeing him reappear and actively approach them bred a strange suspicion in their minds.

Was he coming to throw his life away?

"Have you all become mute?" Shi Yan frowned, looking at Falonny. He spoke with gravity, "What did you sense inside there? I know your cultivation mysteries are unique; you should have felt something..."

While hiding in the shadows, when the Dark Demon and Ancient Demon Clans were suffering the most, he had released his divine sense, opening the perception of his secondary soul.

From the depths of that water, he had once again detected a familiar aura, a profound, alluring call.

However, the terrifying consciousness that had destroyed the Dark Demon and Ancient Demon Clans was distinctly not the familiar thread he sensed in his soul. This was precisely why he remained extremely cautious and dared not advance rashly.

"I am very curious how you managed to conceal yourself? Even I couldn't locate you. Besides spatial mysteries, what other power do you cultivate?" Falonny countered instead of answering.

"I asked first," Shi Yan insisted.

Falonny's rugged face twisted with impatience. "Who do you think you are? A mere cultivator in the first heaven of the Immortal Realm, not even one of the Seven Great Races. Do you think you merit a fair dialogue with me?"

"Did Mei Ji not come along?" Yebol suddenly asked.

At his words, Falonny and Telega both froze, looking at Yebol in surprise.

"He should be called Shi Yan. He caused quite a stir on Dragon Lizard Star. Yes, your guess is correct—he is the lucky one who managed to merge with a fragment of the soul of a Primal Being. I, too, am curious. Curious why Mei Ji didn't simply refine you? As far as I know, Mei Ji is competing fiercely with Batum, both sparing no effort to break through to the Domain Ancestor realm. Why would she spare you? Did she take a liking to you?" Yebol stated darkly.

Falonny and Telega caught on immediately, astonishment mixed with thinly veiled greed appearing in their eyes.

"You all want to refine me to death and seize the Primal Being soul fragment I fused with?" Shi Yan let out a wry laugh. "Mei Ji failed. Are you truly certain you can succeed?"

Mei Ji failed?

The three were stunned.

Between them, Falonny and Yebol were in the third heaven of the Immortal Realm, not the peak; Telega was only in the second. In terms of prestige, qualification, or power level, they were inferior to Mei Ji. If Mei Ji truly failed, did that not mean they had zero chance of success?

Yet, how could a minor martial artist at the first heaven of the Immortal Realm have caused Mei Ji to fail? If she hadn't failed, why was this person still alive?

All three were filled with confusion, their minds unsettled by Shi Yan’s words, unsure if he was telling the truth or lying.

"More people are coming," Shi Yan’s expression shifted slightly. He turned his head backward and stated calmly, "They should be clansmen from your Seven Races again. It seems the matter of the Primal Relic is indeed widely known. You were just the first group to arrive—and the unluckiest."

Yebol and Telega looked toward Falonny.

Falonny frowned slightly, shaking her head. "I didn't sense anything. I don't know if what he says is true or false."

...(To be continued)RQ