Ming Hao looked toward Vidsen, his expression chillingly cold. He knew Vidsen wouldn't dare show himself unless he was utterly confident. Ming Hao subtly assessed Vidsen.

Ming Hao's face slowly transformed...

Vidsen exuded a dense, almost tangible aura of terrifying malevolence, as if he had slaughtered billions of souls. That killing intent flowed like a vast, endless river, strong enough to make even Ming Hao's own soul tremble.

Deep within Vidsen's soul resided an extremely fearsome, evil energy field. The sheer pressure emanating from that field subtly threatened to counteract his Soul Control Profundity.

He couldn't even discern Vidsen's current realm of cultivation.

Yet, the individuals accompanying Vidsen all possessed exquisite cultivation realms, showing marked advancements and breakthroughs. It seemed they had all gained immense benefits since following Vidsen.

"Did Shi Yan really not tell you?" he chuckled. "Shi Yan went to the Sea of Annihilation, met the members of the Devouring Clan, and even obtained the Profundity Talisman Tower. He even killed Gan Fu and Qi Mo of my clan. Tell me... who am I?"

"Shi Yan was right; you are indeed that Young Master of the Devouring Clan." Ming Hao's spirit shook violently. Finally, from the other's words, he pieced together the sequence of events.

Immediately, his expression drastically changed, and he roared, "How do you know Shi Yan obtained the Profundity Talisman Tower, and how do you know we killed Gan Fu and Qi Mo?"

"It really was you!" Vidsen's eyes turned icy. "Killing my kin, you absolutely cannot escape death. Did you think returning to the Desolate Domain would let you evade it?"

"My name is Putai, the Young Patriarch of the Devouring Clan. I was passed down the Profundities by my father when I was very young. Do you know the price my clan paid to communicate with the Progenitor and reclaim our lost heritage?" Putai, as he called himself, twitched the corner of his mouth. "To communicate with the Progenitor, millions of my kin sacrificed themselves, using the blood of their lives to forge the altar, and at the cost of our Clan Ancestor severely draining his own strength, only then did we manage to contact the Progenitor."

"To enter the Desolate Domain, to coordinate with the Progenitor's plan, I, as the Young Patriarch, did not hesitate to self-detonate my body, letting my soul traverse the void, enduring for hundreds of years within that ring! To awaken the Progenitor, for the thousand-year grand endeavor of our Devouring Clan, we sacrificed too much."

Putai looked coldly at Ming Hao, Xuan He, and the others, sneering, "Ten thousand years ago, Shi Xue, that traitor, betrayed the Progenitor! He dared to take advantage of the weakened state when our Progenitor was locked in struggle with the Desolation, severely wounding and sealing our Progenitor. His Devouring Profundity and the Eight Great Evil Powers were all gifts from our Progenitor; he stole what belonged to my Progenitor! Then he created your strength, created the Shi Xue lineage. Today, what belongs to us, I, Putai, shall inherit. All of this was destined!"

By the end of his speech, Putai's expression grew fierce, and his emotions became increasingly agitated.

"It was your Progenitor who utilized him first, trying to achieve the goal of destroying and refining the Desolation through him. It was inherently malicious; who can it blame after failing?" Ming Hao signaled the Xuan He group to remain quiet for a moment; he wanted to use Putai to uncover some secrets and unravel some mysteries.

"His inheritance was bestowed by the Progenitor. Without the Progenitor, there is no strength for him, no Shi Xue lineage today, and no strength for you! If you tally it up, the Shi Xue lineage is merely a branch stemming from the inheritance of our Progenitor, belonging to our Devouring Clan. And all of you are essentially servants of our Devouring Clan because you cultivate our Devouring Profoundities!" Putai shouted.

"Nonsense," Xuan He scoffed.

"Arrogant fool," Philete grunted.

"The inheritance of Shi Xue was granted by my Progenitor. My Progenitor has awakened and is currently refining the Ancient Demon Continent. The marks that Shi Xue’s previous lineage bore on their foreheads have already been changed. Today's Shi Xue lineage has completely submitted to me. Once the Progenitor finishes refining the Ancient Demon Continent and the Divine Marsh Continent, our Devouring Clan will surely stand above all races in the Void Sea of Nothingness, becoming the foremost race in the Eternal Star Sea," Putai laughed proudly.

"Just a fool's dream," Ming Hao replied. Seeing that Putai yielded no more valuable information, his expression froze, and he impatiently stated, "While the Devouring Clan is refining the Ancient Demon Continent, you cannot interfere in the battle. With you... can you stop us from breaking this setup?"

"Hahahaha!" Putai suddenly burst into wild laughter, pointing at Ming Hao. "You are merely in the Immortal Realm. You might be formidable in the Desolate Domain, but what are you in the Void Sea of Nothingness?"

His expression suddenly turned frigid. Putai continued, "Don't you understand why I know about the Void Sea of Nothingness, why I know every move made in the Sea of Annihilation?"

Ming Hao was stunned, then roared in shock, "You have connected to the Void Sea of Nothingness?"

"Relatively intelligent."

A cold, chilling voice drifted from within the depths of the dark abyss. A cloud of pitch blackness flew out and materialized beside Putai, revealing an aged Devouring Clan elder. This elder was gaunt, his eyes like a viper's, backed by endless darkness. As he appeared, the surrounding light was entirely swallowed up.

"Young Patriarch," the old man nodded to Putai upon arrival. "You have labored hard, Young Patriarch. You sacrificed too much for the great plan of our race. Fortunately, we are on the verge of success."

A chill ran down Ming Hao's spine. Seeing the old man appear, he finally grasped what was happening.

"You all leave!" Ming Hao opened a shimmering gate behind him, his voice thundering like a crash of thunder. "He is at the Ancestral Realm! Go to the Divine Grace Continent and find Shi Yan!"

Figure after figure of Ming Hao forcefully pushed Adela, Audrey, and the others into the light gate. Almost simultaneously, Ming Hao fearlessly charged toward the emerging Devouring Clan elder.

He was completely lucid now!

As the leader of the Soul Control lineage, he had spent tens of thousands of years in the Forbidden Blood Sea. He knew that the Forbidden Blood Sea contained the Central Island, where the altar was incomparably mysterious, seemingly capable of piercing through layers of spatial barriers. However, because it required the Blood Pattern Ring and the activation by the Shi Xue inheritor, the altar remained sealed.

But now, Putai had seized Vidsen’s divine body, and within Vidsen’s body resided the essence of the Shi Xue remains. Putai had obtained the Ring Spirit and the Devouring Inheritance. His ability to awaken the Devouring Ancestor meant Putai had completely mastered everything within the Forbidden Blood Sea and could activate that altar.

Putai knowing about the Sea of Annihilation proved that the altar was active, meaning this location could be interconnected with the Devouring Clan territory in the Sea of Annihilation!

It wasn't surprising that a powerhouse from the Devouring Clan could descend here. As one of the Seven Great Clans of the Void Sea of Nothingness, the Devouring Clan possessed an Ancestral Realm expert presiding over them.

The Ancestral Realm, within the Desolate Domain, was absolutely an unparalleled existence!

The moment the old man appeared, Ming Hao understood everything, realizing that if he didn't act decisively, all of them would be annihilated by the elder. Thus, he chose without hesitation to buy time for Audrey and the others to escape to the Divine Grace Continent, to the region where Shi Yan resided.

On the Divine Grace Continent, Shi Yan was at the second heaven of the Immortal Realm, possessed of profound mysteries. Moreover, the Divine Grace Continent was Shi Yan's world.

There, Shi Yan would be even more powerful and terrifying, and only there would Audrey, Adela, and the others stand a chance of escaping the pursuit of the Devouring Clan and Putai.

Ming Hao instantly figured it all out, decisively tearing open space and tossing Audrey and the others in, blasting Xuan He and Philete in as well.

He activated his Dark Energy, condensing his ultimate technique. As he lunged toward the Devouring Clan elder, a sinister, bizarre, ghostly domain emerged above Ming Hao's head.

That was his Primordial Realm, like the Nine Netherworld, within which countless fierce ghosts, malevolent spirits, and resentful souls flickered. Those spectral images flowed like rivers of souls, surging toward the Devouring Clan elder.

"He is just one step away from the Ancestral Realm; he's a latent threat and must be removed sooner rather than later." The Devouring Clan elder's eyes flickered with strange fluctuations. He focused all his attention on Ming Hao, completely ignoring the departure of Xuan He, Philete, and the others.

In his view, those in the Immortal Realm who had not yet grasped the profundity of Dark Energy, like the Xuan He group, were far from reaching the Ancestral Realm.

This meant they posed no threat whatsoever and could not possibly impact their Devouring Clan in the future. Thus, whether those people left or stayed was irrelevant; he could hunt them down slowly, giving them time, but he could not continue giving Ming Hao time!

Because if Ming Hao were given more time, he could break through to the Ancestral Realm. Once he reached that level, Ming Hao could genuinely threaten the Devouring Clan and gain the true capability to interfere with their Progenitor's refinement of the Ancient Demon Continent, possessing terrifying destructive power.

Endless darkness suddenly spread out from the old man. The darkness advanced, swallowing all light, until gradually, not a single ray of light remained in that space. Everyone present was blinded; they could not see their own hands, and even their released souls encountered only infinite blackness.

This darkness affected not just the eyes but also the soul; it was the true might of the Darkness Profundity.

Ming Hao and his Primordial Realm vanished within that darkness without a sound, without any strong fluctuations of power. No one knew what had happened.

"Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Figures suddenly materialized from the skies above the Divine Grace Continent, crashing down onto it.

It was Xuan He, Philete, Audrey, and the others, flashing behind Undying Island like streaks of light. Their voices boomed like thunder: "Shi Yan! Shi Yan! Shi Yan!"

In the valley behind Undying Island, Shi Yan sat as still as a boulder, his face calm and indifferent.

He had been sitting there for a long time.

Beside him, Blood Demon, Yang Qingdi, and others were also seated, watching him meditate with closed eyes. Everyone else was cultivating as well.

The Divine Lord, Ming Hao, and the others had left several days prior. Suddenly, Shi Yan’s voice echoed throughout the entire Divine Grace Continent, causing everyone to look up in surprise. Then, they saw Xuan He, Philete, Audrey, and the rest frantically flying toward Undying Island.

"Ming Hao is in trouble!"

Xuan He transformed into a streak of blood-light and stopped before Shi Yan, shouting, "A martial artist of the Devouring Clan’s Ancestral Realm has already stepped into the Desolate Domain. He is currently above the Dark Abyss on the Ancient Demon Continent, and Ming Hao is trapped! The situation is extremely critical!"

"Shi Yan! Please step forward and save my Uncle-in-Law! I beg you!" Adela cried out sweetly.

"You are the new Sovereign Lord of Shi Xue; you have a responsibility to stand up for us, and you must step forward!" Philete roared.