In a remote corner of the God-Ancient Starfield. On the surface of a scorching sun, tiny solar flares bulged and exploded furiously. On the crimson land, like a branding iron, a figure suddenly halted.

The searing true fire of the sun posed no threat to him; he seemed to merge with the light and heat. He was the God Lord, Brian.

His expression held a trace of fatigue as he gazed at the four-colored beams relentlessly pursuing him, an icy coldness settling in his heart.

He had never anticipated that his former subordinates, aided by Hui, would also break through to the Immortal Triple Heaven, having grasped the true power of the soul, reaching a level nearly equivalent to his own. Most critically, those four knew the art of combined attack; once united, they could unleash power that multiplied their individual strengths—a force that grew exponentially.

Brian had reached the peak of Immortality, capable of perceiving Dark Energy and beginning to condense his own Domain Realm. He couldn't afford to waste too much power, lest the time required to break through to the Domain Ancestor be indefinitely prolonged. Furthermore, he wasn't entirely certain of victory against the Four Heavenly Kings; he feared being entangled by them, allowing Tian Xie and his group to corner and exhaust him to death. Thus, he had been fleeing.

He fled to this searing sun because on it, he felt a sense of familiar closeness, a feeling he couldn't quite name, yet it brought him peace…

“Brian, don't blame us for our relentless pursuit. We served you for many years and deeply understand your might,” said the Heavenly King of Freedom, walking over with a calm, faint smile. “You are the inner demon for all of us. If you live, we will struggle to advance further our entire lives. Only by slaying you can we break through to the Domain Ancestor realm. Your continued existence also affects the Mother God’s refinement of the Divine Grace Continent, so we must kill you.”

The Heavenly Kings of Divine Might, Brilliance, and Ease also descended onto the scorching sun, observing Brian. Their expressions were grave.

“It matters little that you betray me, but you should not have betrayed our Ancestor, nor should you betray this heaven and earth,” Brian roared.

“Ancestor, heaven and earth?” Zizai chuckled in surprise. “We have never met them; who are you referring to? Are you referring to Huang? Haha, what difference does it make? Under Huang’s rule, we were merely slaves. Otherwise, we wouldn't have joined forces back then to destroy the Blood-Thirster. Now, the Mother God has erased the slave imprint Huang branded on our souls, allowing us to convert to her command, and she has enlightened us on the mysteries of Soul Energy—this treatment surpasses anything Huang offered. Why should we stand with Huang? He chose you back then, not us. Moreover, after choosing you, he never informed you of the mysteries of Dark Energy.”

The God Lord looked at them coldly, knowing they were utterly determined to side with Hui. He also knew words were useless. He was but a single step away from the Domain Ancestor and refused to squander his strength. As he contemplated this, he prepared to depart once more.

Just then, within the searing flames of the sun, a rift appeared, and from within that breach emerged Gui Liao!

After devouring Putai’s body in the Ancient Demon Starfield, the strangely vanished Gui Liao had appeared here!

As soon as Gui Liao materialized, it lunged directly at the Four Heavenly Kings, letting out a roar that shook the firmament like ten thousand thunderstorms exploding. Within that sound, subtle mysteries flickered—the heat of fire, the violence of lightning, the sharpness of metal—all seemed concentrated in that single cry.

The Four Heavenly Kings were jolted, their minds spinning; they realized their altars were shaking, and their souls felt suddenly terrified. They were utterly shaken, turning sharply to look at the suddenly appearing Gui Liao, momentarily stunned.

“Gui Liao, that ferocious beast that swallowed Cang Yun! The successor chosen by the Azure Dragon of the Celestial Demon Race—that thing has been missing for nearly a hundred years!” cried the Heavenly King of Ease. Having been responsible for gathering intelligence across the God-Ancient Starfield for the past century, he reacted after a few seconds of shock.

“Crack! Crack!”

In Gui Liao’s enormous mouth, reeking strongly of gore, it chewed on Putai’s corpse, and thick waves of pure, bloodthirsty aura slowly integrated into its grotesque demonic body.

Brian looked at Gui Liao, his expression instantly changing, and he cried out in disbelief, “You, you are…”

Gui Liao glanced at him coldly. Brian did not finish his words, leaving the Four Heavenly Kings unaware of what origin he had discerned in Gui Liao. They were all shocked by the current aura emanating from Gui Liao—a life fluctuation pushed to its absolute peak, making their hearts pound with alarm.

“Awooo!”

Another beast roar followed, this one truly earth-shattering. Immediately, the solar flames gathered, and countless sparks spun wildly, enveloping the Four Heavenly Kings.

The Four Heavenly Kings experienced a primal fear, as if facing a natural predator. They tried to circulate their profound truths (Aoyi), only to find, for some reason, that those truths had become somewhat uncontrollable. Alarmed, they exchanged glances, dared not linger, and quickly withdrew.

Gui Liao roared, but did not give chase. Having forced the Four Heavenly Kings back, it ignored the God Lord’s shouts and also suddenly departed, vanishing without a trace in a flash.

Brian’s eyes shone with extreme astonishment. After Gui Liao withdrew, he was still murmuring to himself, “Such a familiar aura… who is it? Is it… him?”

...

On the God-Ancient Continent.

Atop a massive celestial serpent head on Celestial Peak, Zi Yao sat enthroned on a crown-like crystal seat, countless shooting stars flashing within her bright eyes.

She suddenly attained an insight and transmitted a mental ripple, summoning her subordinates.

Soon after, Tian Xie, carrying his powerful subordinates, gathered around Zi Yao, kneeling respectfully, their eyes filled with doubt. They did not know why Zi Yao had summoned them, only that something momentous must have occurred, which excited and thrilled them.

“Shi Yan has returned from the Void Sea. He is in the Ancient Demon Starfield, attacking that fellow Shi. Shi’s situation is not good,” Zi Yao’s eyes revealed wisdom that penetrated all things. “Shi Yan is truly audacious, colluding with the Domain Ancestor powerhouses from the Void Sea. Is he not afraid that the Desolate Domain will shatter, that this world will collapse…”

“Mistress, are you saying there are outsiders?” Tian Xie exclaimed in horror.

“More than one. Those outsiders are peak existences of this current era; even I find them quite troublesome to deal with. Shi… he was more heavily injured than I was back then; he likely cannot hold on much longer,” Zi Yao stated calmly.

“An existence like yours cannot handle the peak experts of this era either?” Tian Xie’s face shifted.

“Neither Shi nor I have recovered. We suffered grievous wounds in the previous era; it is not something that can heal overnight. Only by devouring and refining the Desolate Domain can we fully recover. This is why Shi and I are so eager to refine the Ancient Demon Continent and the God-Ancient Continent. If those outsiders destroy Shi, they will come to the God-Ancient Starfield next, searching for us,” Zi Yao spoke plainly, then commanded, “Open the passage. We will cross into the Ancient Demon Starfield to find Shi. I had an agreement with him; we must go.”

Directly above Celestial Peak, a bridge woven from streams of light materialized, a bridge capable of traversing the boundless cosmos.

Zi Yao and her master, Tian Xie, walked upon that bridge, their forms gradually fading until they vanished one by one.