A wisp of the soul of Desolation, using Audrey as a vessel, descended, putting Zi Yao on high alert.

The Lizard Ancestor quickly sensed something was wrong and sent a soul transmission, attempting to summon Mantis, Xi Luo, and Heaven Shaker for reinforcement. Zi Yao's expression shifted as she detected the Lizard Ancestor's action and immediately called out to stop them: "Don't make any moves! His soul energy can penetrate any barrier; stay strictly where you are!"

Zi Yao's sharp shout caused the restless group to react. They kept their eyes fixed on that one spot while continuing to consolidate their power, firmly guarding the areas they protected.

As Desolation’s soul entered Audrey, the cold composure of Audrey’s face contorted and blurred indistinctly. Drawing power from Audrey’s body as the source, he suddenly looked towards the distant stones and rocks, opening his mouth to utter strange, dream-like sounds. As these sounds manifested, brilliant Primal Imprints congealed beside him, assembling like spirits forming an ancient Primal Array.

Not far away, Shi Yan, transformed into his Primal Body, tightly gripped the shrinking Continent of Divine Grace, refining it with absolute power.

Suddenly, a violent upheaval surged from the sub-soul deep within the Continent of Divine Grace, instantly severing the connection between Shi Yan's main soul and his sub-soul!

The Continent of Divine Grace abruptly flew out of his palm, transforming into an arc of light that sped rapidly toward Desolation.

"Do my severed soul and my avatar truly think they can be refined so easily by others? How naive," Desolation stated coldly, a dense, spectral flame surging from his body. The Domain Soul that Audrey had acquired from the Soul Race, which she had hidden in the space within the Soul Refining Cauldron, now transformed into a faint, shadowy black light and instantly plunged into her Soul Altar.

"Sizzle, crackle!"

A crisp, pleasing sound emanated from Audrey's Soul Altar. That Domain Soul was instantly melted down, transforming into a small Soul Pool, settling deep within the eerie, ghost-realm-like Sea of Consciousness in Audrey’s being.

Instantly, Audrey’s realm underwent a bizarre breakthrough. The Ancient Tree of Divine Power surged upwards!

"As expected of the soul body once chosen by my avatar; her aptitude is truly extraordinary. And she even possesses a divine artifact—marvelous!"

Desolation nodded slightly with cool indifference. The Soul Refining Cauldron abruptly materialized, hovering steadily in the void, as billions of cries and shrieks of souls roared out from within it.

"This Primal Artifact can only truly display its devastating power when held in my hands," he said calmly to Zi Yao, "Don't you agree?"

A chill spread through Zi Yao's heart. She had assumed that Desolation, arriving merely as a wisp of consciousness, could not stir up great trouble in the Cloud-Covered Domain Realm. However, hearing Desolation speak now, she finally understood that no matter the time or place, one must absolutely never underestimate the God of War from the Primal Era!

Audrey was only at the Immortal Realm, separated from the Domain Realm by numerous formidable thresholds. With Desolation occupying her soul, even releasing all of Audrey’s power, he should only be at the peak Immortal level, restricted by Audrey's inherent realm strength. He shouldn't pose a threat to her.

Yet, Zi Yao now realized she was mistaken...

The Domain Soul harvested from the Soul Race was intended for Audrey to use to advance to the Domain Ancestor realm after breaking through to the third level of the Immortal Realm; thus, she hadn't consumed it yet, knowing the timing wasn't right.

In truth, the original Audrey indeed lacked the cultivation level necessary to refine a Domain Soul.

But with her soul consciousness temporarily usurped by Desolation, everything changed. Desolation now occupied her Soul Altar, and with his supreme realm height and insight, refining a Domain Soul required almost no effort. In a short span, the Domain Soul bizarrely integrated into Audrey's Soul Altar, becoming a Soul Pool!

After merging the Domain Soul, the power Audrey’s body could release immediately reached an entirely new height. Moreover, Audrey possessed the Soul Refining Cauldron, a Primal Artifact containing countless malevolent and fierce souls. Audrey currently lacked the means to unleash the artifact’s true might.

But Desolation could!

As Desolation spoke, the billions of fierce souls within the Soul Refining Cauldron suddenly surged out. Under the subtle shift of Desolation’s Profound Meanings, these fierce souls and ghosts coalesced into hundreds of spectral Netherworld Ghost Dragons. Each dragon was pitch black as ink, its scales sharp and jagged, its eyes a faint, eerie green, emitting an aura of icy dread. They all let out piercing, monstrous roars as they frantically lunged toward Zi Yao.

Formed from tens of millions of fierce souls and ghosts, the spectral Netherworld Ghost Dragons channeled their most savage and brutal mental energies miraculously into one cohesive force, manifesting a tide of soul-shocking aura that caused even Zi Yao’s expression to change drastically.

"Splash!"

A vast expanse of colored mist cascaded down like a waterfall from the depths of the Nine Heavens. The Heavenly Serpent avatars hanging in the sky all opened their mouths, spitting divine rainbows to bombard and destroy those Netherworld Ghost Dragons.

"It's a pity the fierceness stored in the Soul Refining Cauldron is still too little. If a Primal Sacred Soul resided within, the cauldron's power would surely be superior," Desolation murmured to himself, no longer looking at Zi Yao, diverting his attention to the Continent of Divine Grace flying toward him. He stated calmly, "My avatar and my sub-soul can also merge into this girl’s physique and soul. After integrating this sub-soul and avatar, I shall be able to engage in a proper battle with Hui."

The Continent of Divine Grace zipped toward Audrey in an arc of light. Shi Yan, who had just been refining it while manifesting his Primal Body, was stunned for a few seconds before suddenly roaring like a thunderclap.

Amidst the roar, the light in Shi Yan’s eyes turned blood-red. He circulated his Profound Meanings with all his might.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Devouring black holes materialized across the sky of the Cloud-Covered Domain Realm. Each black hole spanned hundreds of acres, raging with violent, wicked power within.

Soon, several devouring black holes merged, becoming one gigantic black hole capable of swallowing heaven and earth, enveloping Audrey’s head.

The most utterly wicked and devouring rotational force in existence was unleashed from the black hole, applying sudden, immense pressure onto Audrey.

Audrey's Soul Altar was forcefully pulled out and manifested above her head. Within that gloomy, abyssal altar, her main soul suddenly shifted, transforming into the cold, severe visage of Gui Liao—a form truly resembling the human avatar Desolation could once take.

He settled onto Audrey's Soul Altar, which appeared dark and shadowy, obscuring its true interior.

Looking up at the frantically swirling devouring black hole, his expression was cold. He spoke lightly, "Back then, Shi, who fought me with the Profound Meaning of Devouring, couldn't swallow me whole. What can you do? It’s lamentable that in order to counter me, he imprinted a portion of his Profound Meaning upon Shi Xue, ultimately forging Shi Xue's power. That imprint has now passed back to you. Unless you two merge into one, the Profound Meaning of Devouring and the Eight Great Evil Forces cannot touch me..."

As he spoke, the Continent of Divine Grace was about to merge into that soul fragment of his. From the fluctuations emanating from his soul, the Primal Imprints in the sky were all irresistibly drawn toward the Continent of Divine Grace!

The Continent of Divine Grace and the sub-soul within were originally parts of him. Back when he slept, the avatar and sub-soul could resist him and possess independent consciousness. But now that his power had recovered, the energy from Shi Yan within the sub-soul could no longer suppress his soul energy.

"Starfall!"

The Splendor of the Falling Star River manifested brilliantly, coalescing into a dazzling, luminous galaxy. With Shi Yan's furious shout, the stars, like scattered jewels, suddenly plunged downward in torrents.

Their landing points were aimed directly at that soul fragment of Desolation!

"The Splendor of the Falling Star River?" Desolation sneered. "Its previous master was obliterated by me. How can it possibly injure me?"

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

The energy violently impacting the realm barrier intensified tenfold. The Lizard Ancestor could not withstand it, staggering backward, his body splattered with blood as he fell from the void.

"Crack! Crack! Crack!"

As the crystal wall in that location exploded and fractured, rolling torrents of energy descended, congealing into a lush, towering ancient tree. This tree seemed capable of connecting heaven, earth, and the void. Its apex pierced through the barrier of the Cloud-Covered Domain Realm to an unknown location. Its myriad branching boughs suddenly shook.

Countless crisp leaves, carrying rich and vigorous life force, instantly assaulted every single star.

Explosions roared across the sky. The firmament of the Cloud-Covered Domain Realm appeared ripped apart; light shattered space; the realm itself seemed on the verge of collapse. The colossal tree grew wildly, its roots descending firmly to hover right above that soul fragment of Desolation.

The Soul Tree of Life!

This was the towering ancient tree Shi Yan had witnessed within Desolation's continent before. Its roots penetrated deep into the continent, its branches obscuring the sky, its depths unknowable. It was the most renowned divine artifact of the Primal Era!

With the appearance of this Primal Artifact, the entire Cloud-Covered Domain Realm seemed to detonate. The crystal walls of the void shattered like mirrors, exposing all living beings within the Cloud-Covered Domain Realm.

That soul fragment of his, originally minuscule, instantly swelled, its energy climbing madly.

Vast soul energy, like a surging deep ocean, poured into Audrey's Soul Altar. In a short time, at least half of Desolation's soul power had traveled across the void.

Seeing the situation turn dire, Zi Yao could no longer afford to care about the fate of the beings in the Cloud-Covered Domain Realm. Her twelve Heavenly Serpent forms split apart and then recombined into one. She herself sat upon the Serpent Head Crystal Throne, her divine body appearing as if forged from seven-colored neon, radiating millions of rainbow beams every second.

Heaven Shaker, Xi Luo, Mantis, and the others were all aghast.

From Zi Yao’s descriptions, they had already regarded Desolation as an unbeatable powerhouse. Yet, seeing Desolation actually move, they finally understood they had still underestimated the terrifying nature of the God of War, Desolation. Even the partial soul residing within Audrey’s divine body could be this terrifying; if his true body were to arrive, who in heaven or on earth could oppose him?

Furthermore, they clearly understood that the Desolation before them was not yet the strongest Desolation!

Only upon the complete fusion of his avatar and sub-soul would Desolation be the true God of War of the Primal Era, achieving his genuine peak state!

If that happened, what entity in the current age could possibly suppress him?

Just as they thought, in this era, absolutely no one wished to see Desolation fully integrated. Shi, dwelling far away in the forbidden grounds of the Shi Race, was one such entity. Solun, guarding the Gate of Primal Beginnings, was another.

Desolation’s movement as his soul traversed space shook the heavens and the earth. Solun, who had been closely monitoring the changes in the star sea, immediately understood Desolation’s intention.

He couldn't help but strike first!

Almost simultaneously, Shi, who had slaughtered the Land of the Void and shattered the Sea of Ruin, recovered significant power. Like Solun, he began to channel his strength, forced to act to prevent Desolation’s integration...