These bursts of roaring sounded like the death knell, striking deep into the soul of every person present; mortals on the nearby stars instantly had their souls shattered, as if struck by heavenly thunder.

This was Ega's roar of fury directed at heaven and earth after suffering the agony of losing his son—a roar like thunder, shattering souls and exploding sacrificial altars!

Shiro and Mandis had temporarily contained "Devour," but they hadn't expected that under such circumstances, "Devour" could still draw Ega near, utterly destroying their preparations in one fell swoop.

With Ega’s appearance, the thunderous roar shattered Mandis’s temporal seal, allowing "Devour" to recover its strength.

Before Shiro could even act, Ega was already bellowing, demanding answers from Rabbit as to why Putai had died.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The death knell rang incessantly in the minds of Guy, Meiji, and Sea Shark Emperor; their faces changed drastically as the divine power they had gathered seemed like a severed river, unable to sustain itself.

Rabbit seized the moment, transforming into a wisp of dark, eerie light and retreating back into the depths of the Dark Abyss, pointing remotely toward Shiyan and declaring, "Brother Ega, the one who killed Putai is Shiyan, the successor chosen by Bloodthirst back then! Not only did he slay Putai, but he absorbed and fused Putai’s profound meanings, intending to destroy the Old Ancestor!"

Ega of the Devour Clan, glowing eerily green, his facial skin trembling, tore at the void, instantly extracting the blood of the deceased from those planets.

A gruesome pool of blood congealed before Ega’s eyes, vibrant red like a demonic jewel. Ega gasped for breath, like an enraged beast, and pointed a finger at Shiyan.

A shriek erupted from within the sanguine pool; the pool morphed into a giant, gore-dripping python. Death, destruction, and ruin emanated from its body, an evil aura swirling within. The giant serpent slithered forward, its mysterious markings absorbing the fear, irritability, and madness permeating the surroundings.

"Ugh!"

Xuanhe, Frielett, Minghao, and the others clutched their chests, groaning as one, their faces turning pale.

They were pinned by the python's gaze, their minds invaded by intense negative emotions, momentarily losing control, feeling as if they were being disciplined by their former master, Bloodthirst.

The suddenly appearing Ega was comparable to Bloodthirst in his prime, and in his comprehension of the profound meanings of Death, Destruction, and Chaos, he was even more exquisitely profound than Bloodthirst had been!

Strictly speaking, Ega was an advanced lifeform evolved by "Devour" through immense effort. Just as "Desolate" painstakingly condensed "Devour," "Devour" used its own vital essence as the core to grant Ega life, pass down its profound meanings, and establish Ega as the patriarch of the Devour Clan.

Ega was not of the first generation of the Devour Clan, but the fact that he later propelled the Devour Clan to become one of the Seven Clans, achieving the level of a Ten Great Domain Ancestor without fully grasping the profound meaning of Devouring, demonstrated his terrifying nature!

In the Void Sea, Ega was revered as the "God of Death," considered the embodiment of evil. Where he passed, life withered, creatures perished, and life-bearing stars produced no grass; he was death, drawing in the breath of all life...

Having integrated the three profound meanings—Death, Destruction, and Chaos—and mastering them to an exquisite degree, Ega was a figure feared by all in the Void Sea. Even equals like Mandis and Shiro were hesitant to provoke him, for Ega was a mad dog! Once frenzied, he possessed not a shred of rationality.

That was the side effect of uncontrolled profound meaning.

The blood-soaked giant python, imbued with the three profound meanings of Death, Destruction, and Chaos, opened its hideous, crimson maw, a thousand meters long and as thick as giant tree roots. As it swam through the void, it constantly radiated malice, irritability, wickedness, and destruction. Xuanhe, Frielett, and Minghao trembled violently, and after several seconds of stupefaction, they were forced to retreat several steps.

They simply could not bear it!

Dicalo and the others nearby also found themselves unable to withstand the pressure and had to pull back from Shiyan's side.

In just a few seconds, only one person remained standing next to Shiyan.

This person was Audrey, who possessed only the cultivation level of Immortal Tier One. As the giant python charged, a cold, sharp gleam shot from her clear eyes.

The Soul Refining Cauldron abruptly materialized above her head. The massive cauldron seemed like a sky, securely enveloping Audrey. Innumerable Primordial Runes writhed upon the cauldron; these runes resembled countless ghosts wandering in the River of Souls—chilling, icy, spectral, and terrifying.

Shiyan’s eyes widened in astonishment. Looking up, he instantly recognized those Primordial Runes. The Primordial Runes drifting on the Soul Refining Cauldron were all Primordial Ancient Texts representing Soul, Po, and Spirit. These characters combined to form a mysterious, arcane array.

"Go!"

The billions of Primordial Runes, formed from ferocious souls, malevolent ghosts, and wandering spirits, converged like swallows returning to their nests, forming a single torrent that slammed into the giant python.

"Rumble!"

With an earth-shattering explosion, soul fragments splashed outward, and the ferocious souls turned into hazy smoke. The python’s entire head caved in, and the writhing markings on its body suddenly dimmed.

"Soul Refining Cauldron! Naphton's Soul Refining Cauldron!" Ega shrieked. "What of the Soul Refining Cauldron? Even Naphton, wielding the Soul Refining Cauldron, dared not fight me! You, a mere martial artist at Immortal Tier One, relying on the Soul Refining Cauldron to contend with me—what a joke!"

"I am indeed not his equal," Audrey whispered softly.

Shiyan turned and saw two trails of blood silently flowing from the corners of her mouth, the blood like snakes burrowing into her snow-white neck, a shocking sight.

The vibrancy in Audrey’s eyes faded. This single strike had left her gravely injured, completely drained of the strength to fight further.

"Rest well, don't push yourself," Shiyan soothed gently. He raised his hand and illuminated a milky-white imprint, which transformed into an ancient Life Rune and disappeared into Audrey’s body, using life force to mend her injuries.

"Star Shatter!"

Turning back, he faced Ega and suddenly grinned widely.

Next to the giant python, a planet where all life had been extinguished exploded at its core, erupting in a fierce, shattering blast.

The giant python was engulfed by the energy of the planetary explosion, and before everyone's eyes, it disintegrated, scattering into streaks of energy light flying everywhere.

Ega himself shuddered, horror replacing the frenzy on his face. "You have actually merged with Desolate's will and temporarily become the master of this domain! Possessing the power to shift stars and overturn the heavens!"

"Star Movement!"

Shiyan lowered his gaze, concentrating on operating the profound meaning of Stars, guiding the heavens and earth with his soul, manipulating the domain's celestial bodies.

Under the shifting of his thoughts, numerous inhabited planets quickly moved away from that location, while lifeless stars emerged one by one from behind. Dozens of planets hovered orderly beside him like massive, brilliant lanterns.

He then spoke, "If the battlefield were anywhere else, not here in the Desolate Domain, I wouldn't have a shred of hope of surviving a fight with you."

Ega’s gaze gradually calmed, forcefully suppressing the rage erupted over Putai, and he began to treat the matter seriously.

"But this is the Desolate Domain, my territory. I can move stars, harness the energy of heaven and earth, and even temporarily bend the rules," Shiyan said with a chilling, composed expression. "Here, if you wish to kill me, it won't be so easy! Otherwise, keep trying, and see if your Domain Ancestor Second Heaven realm can break the laws of someone else's domain!"

"You troublesome thing, since when did you start loving to tell such grand lies?" A charming and captivating voice drifted from a tiny speck of light. The speck, initially no bigger than a fingernail, rapidly expanded the instant the voice echoed, growing to the size of a room.

A magnificent, seven-colored crystal lotus seat appeared first. Ziyao, clad in a stunning purple gown, sat smiling radiantly in the center of the lotus seat, her beautiful eyes rippling with shimmering light.

Surrounding the crystal lotus seat, Tianxie, the patriarchs of the various Divine Race families, the elders of the Elder Council, Gu Lian of the Thousand Illusions Sect, Layna of the Celestial Water Palace, and many other experts of profound cultivation materialized one by one. One person in particular instantly stunned Shiyan.

It was Cecilia!

Cecilia, who had once fought alongside him in the Desolate Domain and shared an emotional history, stood beside her master, Layna, her face heavy with gloom, a mixture of resignation and sorrow in her expression.

In the center of Cecilia's brow was a small, dark cyan serpentine mark—a mark unique to Ziyao!

All the martial artists under Ziyao's command bore such a mark on their foreheads, proof of their soul dedication and willing servitude. All had submitted to Ziyao's command; their very lives and souls were bound to hers, meaning that if Ziyao perished, they too would cease to exist.

Ziyao arrived with her subordinates from the Ancient God Star Field. The moment she appeared, Shiro and Mandis’s expressions changed drastically. They exchanged a look, temporarily halting their suppression of "Devour," and immediately gathered beside Shiyan.

"The fluctuation of her aura is even stronger than... Devour. If I’m not mistaken, she must be the other Primordial Lifeform you mentioned?" Mandis looked grave.

Shiyan sighed inwardly and nodded gently.

Shiro, Mandis, Guy, Meiji, Sea Shark Emperor, and the others suddenly converged beside Shiyan, forming a clear demarcation from Ega in the Dark Abyss and Ziyao’s contingent. They remained suspended in this star field, and the atmosphere instantly became extremely bizarre.

"Are you, or are you not, her?" Shiyan stared at Ziyao, and after a long pause, suddenly demanded in a sharp voice.

Ziyao smiled sweetly, her beauty fully rivaling Meiji's, perhaps even surpassing her in seductive charm. Her eyes sparkled mysteriously. "She is certainly me, and I may or may not be her. It depends on how you choose to see it."

"What do you want?"

"I want nothing, only to recover my strength and reclaim what is mine. Oh, right, the Profound Meaning Talisman Tower you obtained should have belonged to me as well. You should return it to me. I sent Brian and Minghao into it, hoping they could bring the Profound Meaning Talisman Tower back for me, but I never expected life to be so unpredictable, and you ended up acquiring it," Ziyao said with a smile, extending a hand as clear and white as jade. "Give it back to me."

"Boom!"

In Shiyan's mind, it was as if heavenly thunder exploded, and billions of streams of light flew past.

The Profound Meaning Talisman Tower seemed to be drawn, genuinely wanting to break free from his mind and return to Ziyao's palm.

Everyone’s expression shifted drastically.

ps: Thanks to the brothers who voted with monthly passes; please continue to support vigorously!! Requesting monthly passes (To be continued)