Mei Ji knew the old woman’s identity and her utterly venomous nature; hearing her words chilled Mei Ji to the bone.

The old crone was named Gan Fu. Even within the Devourer Clan, she was infamous. She relentlessly pursued the profound mysteries of Corrosion, often practicing forbidden techniques on low-level living martial artists. She had managed to alienate every secondary race under the Devourer Clan banner, provoking such outrage that they all clamored to secede.

When Gan Fu heard these races petitioning against her, she simply remained silent, then used her Corrosion Profound Art to annihilate all those secondary races, dissolving their entire domain realms into nothingness.

Such inhuman ruthlessness earned Gan Fu no friends even within the Devourer Clan. If she hadn’t recently grasped a thread of the profound mystery of Dark Energy, holding the key to breaking through to the Domain Ancestor realm, the strong figures within the Clan would likely have restrained her, forbidding her from causing further trouble outside.

Gan Fu’s methods were cruel, her disposition malicious and utterly ruthless, yet she remained fiercely loyal to the Devourer Clan.

She had gone to great lengths for the Profound Art Talisman Tower. Tate, acting out of self-interest, had withheld the latest developments from his master, believing his master’s reputation alone would force Gan Fu to comply meekly.

The result was that Tate had been corroded into a spray of viscous blood. This venomous old hag feared neither Tate’s master nor Heaven itself for the sake of the Talisman Tower, so naturally, she held Mei Ji in utter contempt.

If Mei Ji were at her peak, even if she couldn't defeat Gan Fu, retreating safely would have been no issue. But now, escaping with grace was difficult. Gan Fu had dared to dissolve Tate, showing utter disrespect to the Soul Clan, meaning she certainly wouldn't hesitate to imprison Mei Ji or offend the Shadow Charm Race. This realization unsettled Mei Ji deeply.

She instinctively glanced towards Batuum.

Batuum hung suspended in mid-air, his face shifting between dark and light as he wrestled fiercely with his internal conflict.

Batuum was a warlord in his own right. After several seconds of intense consideration, he grinned ferociously, revealing his teeth, and nodded. “Old poison hag, you capture Mei Ji for me. I will first claim the Primal Source Talisman. As for that Profound Art Talisman Tower... I can let you have it, provided you promise to refine a Primal Source Talisman suited to my Profound Art for me afterwards.”

“Deal!” Gan Fu cackled, her voice like that of a shrieking ghost, and in mid-air, she extended a hand, reaching out to seize Mei Ji from a distance.

Hundreds of hazy, greyish vipers writhed like writhing vines, spewing foul mist, aiming to ensnare and bind Mei Ji.

Mei Ji’s eyes turned frigid. As her will shifted, her Profound Art began to circulate.

“Boom!”

Crystalline ice shards, tens of meters long, suddenly erupted from Mei Ji’s graceful form. The ice was bone-chillingly cold, sharp as tempered steel blades.

At a glance, Mei Ji appeared like a colossal hedgehog, every spine on her body fully unfurled.

“I expected you to react this way,” Gan Fu stated coldly, contempt dripping from her tone.

The hazy vipers moved with extraordinary agility, emitting piercing shrieks. As they neared the crystalline ice shards, they suddenly radiated an intense corrosive aura, transforming into grey flames that completely enveloped Mei Ji’s body, using the Corrosion Profound Art to gradually dissolve the ice into vapor.

“Mei Ji cannot escape,” Gan Fu declared, looking up confidently at Batuum and urging him, “Hurry up and strike.”

Her watchful gaze swept towards Ming Hao and Brian, paying particular attention to Ming Hao. For some unknown reason, as soon as he arrived, she felt an instinctive disquiet. From Ming Hao, she sensed a familiarity—a feeling akin to facing an unprecedented master of the Soul Control Profound Art within her own Clan.

The Eight Great Evil Powers of the Devourer Clan possessed many incomplete Profound Arts; the most profound mysteries of many arts could not be fully elucidated. However, the feeling Ming Hao gave her was profoundly strange, actually inducing in her the absurd sensation of facing someone who had achieved mastery in the Soul Control Profound Art.

While dealing with Mei Ji, she kept one eye on Ming Hao, desperately trying to unravel the confusing thread of recognition in her mind.

Likewise, Ming Hao’s spirit trembled violently. He watched Gan Fu coldly as she executed the Corrosion Profound Art, a profoundly peculiar light flickering in his eyes.

“Within the Void Sea, there are seven major races: the Soul Race, the Profound Heaven Race, the Black Demon Race, the Ancient Demon Race, the Devourer Race, the White Bone Race, and the Shadow Charm Race. Among them, the Devourer Race are the inheritors of the Primal Being, Shi. Their unpassed Profound Art was Devouring, unfortunately lost long ago. They now primarily cultivate the Eight Great Evil Powers, and with the passage of time, many subtleties have been lost…”

Audrey’s clear voice cut in at the perfect moment, weaving out secrets unknown to Ming Hao and the Divine Lord, illuminating the origins of the Devourer Race.

Ming Hao and the Divine Lord were figures of immense stature; they instantly grasped the entire sequence of events. They exchanged glances, both seeing the surprise reflected in the other’s expression.

“For ten millennia, you have kept a tight watch on our Bloodlust lineage. That poison hag cultivating the Corrosion Profound Art—you should deal with her,” Ming Hao mused for a moment. Seeing that Gan Fu and Batuum had struck an agreement, and both were moving into action, he spoke unhurriedly. “I will take care of that Batuum fellow. You and I, one each; let’s resolve this quickly.”

His words were light, yet the killing intent woven into his tone was intensely thick, chilling observers to the bone.

Mei Ji understood instantly.

She could see that Ming Hao and the Divine Lord were extraordinary, knowing they possessed formidable abilities. However, she could not sense the unique aura of a Domain Ancestor emanating from either of them. If they weren't Domain Ancestors, how could they possibly contend with Batuum and Gan Fu?

Batuum and Gan Fu had both grasped Dark Energy; both had one foot planted firmly in the Domain Ancestor realm.

Arrogant fools! Mei Ji scoffed internally.

Yet, the very next scene caused her heart lake to heave violently, waves of shock crashing through her mind!

“Vast Heaven Radiance! Surge forth with me!”

The Divine Lord brought his hands together. Behind him, a blinding brilliance suddenly burst forth. Within that dazzling light, the subtleties of the five elements—Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth—flickered. The five Profound Arts were linked by the radiance, making the Divine Lord at that moment appear like a god descending, unleashing infinite might.

Billions of beams of light shot out like shuttles from the Divine Lord’s body. Ten thousand zhang of light converged, striking Gan Fu.

“Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!”

Gan Fu’s Corrosion Profound Art seemed like a poisonous reptile scorched too long by the sun; it began to evaporate. Gan Fu herself was seared by the flames, faint smoke rising from her body. She snarled horribly, unable to focus more energy on Mei Ji.

Mei Ji instantly felt several times lighter. The corrosive forces surging toward her were recalled by Gan Fu, who redirected them to contend against the Divine Lord.

“Who are you?” Gan Fu’s face changed drastically. “You haven’t even fully comprehended Dark Energy, yet you possess this power! Furthermore, you are clearly not one of the Seven Races. Who exactly are you?”

The strength and means displayed by the Divine Lord shocked even Gan Fu. She could not comprehend how an opponent of this level could instill such dread in her.

She instinctively looked towards Batuum, wanting to check his condition. The moment she glanced over, Gan Fu’s expression warped in horror, and she screamed, “Soul Control Profound Art! And who are you? How do you know the Soul Control Profound Art? That is an Art of my Devourer Race!”

Ming Hao had transformed into billions of ghostly shadows; every shadow was a clone of Ming Hao. Innumerable clones emerged, radiating profound soul fluctuations, acting as soul chains intended to tether Batuum’s altar.

Once the altar was bound, Batuum, who had one and a half feet in the Domain Ancestor realm, would have his soul and consciousness forcibly hijacked by Ming Hao, becoming merely a projection of Ming Hao’s clone.

This was the terrifying nature of the Soul Control Profound Art.

Now, the Soul Control Profound Art Ming Hao displayed revealed its most terrifying subtlety—even the high-level practitioners of the Soul Control Art within the Devourer Race likely could not achieve such exquisite refinement. To Gan Fu, this was utterly bizarre.

“Brian, don't you think the folks in the Void Sea are overrated? Perhaps your Four Heavenly Kings could fight the Immortal Third Heaven experts here. It’s truly strange,” Ming Hao suddenly remarked.

The Divine Lord felt the same way.

Logically, the Void Sea, as the center of the universe and a gathering place for high-level beings, should possess a leading edge in Profound Arts, power, and realm. In contests between martial artists of the same level, they should comfortably defeat those from the Desolate Domain.

The reality was quite the opposite.

Gan Fu cultivated the Corrosion Profound Art, her realm being Immortal Third Heaven, even more refined than the Corrosion Leader Jiatuo from years past. However, in actual combat, he realized that the gap between Gan Fu's strength and Jiatuo’s was not substantial. He was certain that if Jiatuo were in the Immortal Third Heaven, he would far surpass Gan Fu.

“The Devourer Race inherited their Art from Shi. That Art… is incredibly ancient. When Shi fought the Desolate One, his understanding of the Profound Art became ever more refined and profound. The Art he passed down to the Bloodlust lineage was of a higher order, more mysterious. Over the immense passage of time, the Bloodlust practitioners cultivated it with natural genius, gradually perfecting those Arts and breathing new life into them. Meanwhile, the Devourer Race, due to constant infighting, lost some of the subtle intricacies. With this imbalance, they are simply no match for you,” stated Ming Hong, perched on Audrey’s shoulder. Having witnessed ten millennia in the Void Sea, his insight was sharp and cut straight to the core.

“Our Desolate Domain was created and opened by the Desolate One. Legend holds that in the earliest epoch, the Desolate One was the most outstanding peak existence, and he carried two Primal Artifacts—one with miraculous effects in creating life, and the other capable of imbuing life with the most profound mysteries. Therefore, the strong individuals emerging from our Desolate Domain, when matching realms, are in no way inferior to anyone from any other domain, including the Void Sea! It is not unusual for us to subtly surpass them in certain aspects. Our ability to challenge those above our level here is the very meaning of the Desolate One and those two Primal Artifacts!”

The Divine Lord’s expression shifted. He pondered with a frown, then suddenly understood. He, too, had merged with a fragment of the Desolate One's soul and had undergone trials in the Desolate Domain. He knew of the source of Profound Arts and the Ancient Tree of Life, believing both were likely Primal Artifacts. Hearing Ming Hong’s explanation slowly brought clarity to the ambiguities in his mind.

“Desolate Domain! Bloodlust!” Gan Fu suddenly shrieked, pointing at the Divine Lord and Ming Hao. “You are people from that evil place! You come from the same source as that madman called Bloodlust! You damnable heretics! You have plundered the precious wealth of our Devourer Race, shamefully stolen the essence of our Arts! You all deserve to die ten thousand times over!”

“Even your progenitor, Shi, was defeated in our Desolate Domain. What sort of waves can you possibly create?” the Divine Lord’s expression turned icy.

A sea of multicolored light, containing five planets of Gold, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth, their celestial bodies like brilliant diamonds, descended upon Gan Fu. Gan Fu was like a venomous snake yanked from its cool lair by the scorching sun, dragged into the open and baked by searing flames. Her body grew feverish, and any Corrosion Profound Art she managed to condense immediately evaporated.

After so many years, the Divine Lord had regained his former glory. Ten thousand years ago, he was already at the peak of the Immortal realm, only held back from the Domain Ancestor realm by his inability to perceive Dark Energy. Perhaps this inability stemmed from fear within his heart, perhaps from the Bloodlust lineage’s misleading guidance, or maybe even from suppression by the Desolate One himself…

No one could deny the Divine Lord’s power and peerless talent. He had commanded the Divine Race for ten thousand years, making them dominant in the Desolate Domain; his methods, bearing, and vision were all top-tier. In the vast Desolate Domain, he was second only to Bloodlust.

A mere old woman from the Devourer Race, having grasped only a trace of the profound truth of Dark Energy, was ultimately no match for an ultimate devil like Bloodlust. To be completely suppressed, defeated, or even killed was entirely expected.

… ps: Chapter one, Little Niqiu begs for guaranteed monthly tickets for support, I implore everyone to help!!