The High Priest Auro spoke with such lightness, as if resurrecting the dead were no great feat. The life forms gestating within those spheres, should they be warriors of the Purgatorial Ghost Clan, would undoubtedly form an immensely formidable power in the Dead Star Domain upon their revival.

Auro’s words struck Ji Changkong with profound shock; he remained stunned for a long moment before finally asking, “Are their Soul Imprints still intact?”

Generally, only Heavenly Masters who had reached the Nirvana Realm could forge a Soul Imprint. After death, such Heavenly Masters’ Soul Imprints would persist, allowing for reincarnation. However, if reincarnation were possible, the Purgatorial Ghost Clan, being sparse in population, lacked the necessary vessels—a critical predicament.

“The Soul Imprints are gone,” Auro shook his head, his face etched with regret. “That catastrophe struck too suddenly; in an instant, my clan’s warriors were all annihilated. In that disaster, the Soul Imprints of the fallen warriors were shattered as well. After studying soul power for so many years, I finally discovered a method to reassemble shattered Soul Imprints.”

Ji Changkong’s heart jolted. “So, the life forms within these spheres are truly dead warriors?”

A shattered Soul Imprint was akin to an ordinary person being slain, their soul gradually returning to the cosmos—a true scattering of the spirit. For such deceased beings, virtually no trace remained in the world, making revival almost impossible. For the High Priest to achieve this feat was earth-shattering.

“Indeed, they are truly dead,” Auro nodded, smiling gently. “But nothing in the world is absolute. Even total annihilation leaves behind a trace of the Soul Imprint. As long as I reverse the flow of time, I can grasp the patterns before their Soul Imprints fragmented, and then reconstruct them using the same method. Do you understand?” “I don’t understand.”

“Heh, it’s only natural you don’t. You possess the latter volume of the Soul-Donating Melody—a power that utterly extinguishes all living things. It is fundamentally different from my upper volume.” Auro settled back, wearing an amiable and approachable expression, completely devoid of airs.

“Could you explain where the souls within those black vortexes originate?” Ji Changkong pondered for a moment, then inquired suddenly.

Auro’s face, projected onto the giant net, clearly hesitated before he replied, “Very well. You are the new God-King of my clan; you are entitled to know all of this.”

He paused, then continued, “Those black vortexes lead to black holes in other star domains. These black holes possess the function of gathering soul power. Through them, any soul that died in those domains is transmitted here. This place is the center and the control hub for all external domains.”

“Every soul possesses a measure of soul force. This force serves as the nourishment for my soul array, used to reconstruct the battle souls of my clan’s warriors, allowing their spirits to regain sentience—that is, soul resurrection.”

“Far from the Dead Star Domain, there are numerous distant star domains. These domains contain few masters, and almost certainly no one at the Chaos Realm. No one suspects my actions this way. Over these many years, I have collected a vast number of souls using this method.”

“I can extend my influence into those domains. I can conjure strange Specters, and these Specters can perform many tasks for me. They will initiate massacres in those domains, spreading my will. The continuous killing and fighting generate more Death Souls, and these Death Souls become the power for my soul array, extracting strength for the rebirth of myself and my clan’s warriors!”

At this point, Auro stopped speaking. He then opened his mouth and exhaled a mass of black vapor. This vapor settled over the giant net, and a faint, ashen current shot out from the net, striking a Human Clan soul that had just entered from a black vortex.

This was merely a Heavenly Master of the Star Convergence Realm. His soul was filled with terror and he had no time to react before he was enveloped by the black vapor. Soon, altered by the influence of the strange soul power within the vapor, he transformed into an entirely new life form—a Specter shrouded in black mist. “A Specter!” Ji Changkong cried out in horror.

The Death Pact, one of the eight supreme powers in the Solar Star Domain, was composed entirely of these Specters. The Pact Master also manifested in this form, existing between the tangible and the ethereal, possessing the aura of a soul yet moving freely in the world.

Once the Specter materialized, it instantly drilled into a black vortex under High Priest Auro’s command and departed. Having completed this, Auro smiled faintly. “You have seen this kind of Specter before?” “I have,” Ji Changkong nodded, bitterly adding, “I nearly lost my life to one of these Specters!”

“That is truly fascinating,” Auro seemed rather pleased. “Besides the Auro Divine Sect, I have created many other forces. The Death Pact, composed of Specters, is just one. Additionally, there are groups like the Shadow, the Heaven-Slaying, the Bloodthirsty, and others. These forces all worship me as a deity and are spread across the major domains. The purpose of their existence is to incite conflict and generate warfare within the star domains. Only this way can I continuously acquire more soul power.” “Heaven-Slaying? The Heaven-Slaying in the Solar Star Domain?” “The Shadow, the largest evil organization in the Abyss Sea Domain, is similar to the Heaven-Slaying in the Solar Star Domain—irrational and notorious for wanton slaughter!” Listening to Auro’s words, Ji Changkong stood dumbfounded.

The two most powerful factions in the Solar Star Domain, the Heaven-Slaying and the Death Pact, both worshiped the High Priest as their god. It was no wonder they could unite instantly at critical moments; they shared a common faith. The Heaven-Slaying was the foremost power in the Solar Star Domain, infamous for targeting the divine souls of powerful Heavenly Masters on life-bearing stars. They frequented the Moon and the Sun, forming Divine Soul Hunting Squads, using the potent divine souls of Heavenly Masters as a peculiar medicinal ingredient for strange sacrificial rites…

Listening to Auro, the scattered mysteries began to unravel. He realized that whether it was the Heaven-Slaying’s wicked rituals or the Specters’ act of abandoning flesh to become specters, it all served High Priest Auro. The ultimate goal was to generate more Death Souls, thereby augmenting the power here. “The few Chaos Realm old monsters remain within the Dead Star Domain; they generally do not waste time in other domains. Therefore, I focused most of my efforts on those star domains exceedingly far from the Dead Star Domain. I create battles there, consuming the souls existing there to bring about changes here.”

Auro seemed to grow more animated and continued his exposition: “As this soul power is transmitted and continuously refined, part of it replenishes my main soul, but the majority enters this central hub, providing sufficient soul power for my clan’s fallen warriors.” “After all these years, do you know how many battle souls I have here? Seventy million! Seventy million battle souls of my clan, all above the Ten Directions Heaven Realm!” Auro was immensely proud. “Watch, the day my clan reigns supreme over all races once again is not far off, is it?” “Why haven’t any of them appeared?” Ji Changkong frowned. “They are just shy of the final spark.” Auro chuckled, staring at Ji Changkong. “Aren’t you the missing piece?” “What has it got to do with me?”

“The Heaven Origin Pearl is in your hands, and you possess the latter volume of the Soul-Donating Melody. Hand the Heaven Origin Pearl to me, and tell me the contents of the Melody’s latter volume, and I can complete the final step and resurrect all my warriors,” Auro laughed heartily. “I can create the Blood Race; I can create Specters. Now, I can resurrect my clan’s warriors. Watching them spring back to life, one by one—what a glorious sight that will be, wouldn’t you agree?” “What is your ultimate goal?” Ji Changkong asked again. “Once my warriors are resurrected one by one, what do you plan to do?”

“Blood-purge the Dead Star Domain. The slaughter and extermination campaigns waged against my clan by the major races back then, I shall impose upon them! Once my forty million warriors are revived, they will surely sweep away the major races of the Dead Star Domain. The might of my warriors is something they cannot withstand. The divine majesty of my Divine Race shall once again illuminate this vast cosmos!” “They managed to destroy your divine soul once; that means the Chaos Realm masters of the Dead Star Domain can unite to destroy you again. Remember, my clan only has the Divine Mother at the Chaos Realm. And you—your physical body is already destroyed. How will you cope with the Chaos Realm powerhouses of the various races?”

“Do you think my Soul Seclusion back then was caused by that traitor Yang Haili?” Auro sneered coldly. “That was merely the perfect preliminary arrangement I laid out. When those old monsters unleashed their power to strike me down, I collected all of it. Their power became the source for my soul array. Otherwise, how could I possess the ability to construct such a massive array and punch through the black holes into those other star domains?”

Auro declared proudly, “The power of black holes—only I, who cultivates the upper volume of the Soul Quelling Melody, know even a fraction of it. Those old monsters could never guess the power I wield! They did me a great service, yet they think they got the better of me.”

“Hmph! I’ve long known the intentions of that traitor Yang Haili. He thought he harmed me, thought he snatched my Heaven Origin Pearl—little did he know everything was within my grasp. That traitor ultimately met his end, backlashed by the Heaven Origin Pearl! And the Pearl ultimately fell into your hands. Before my main soul entered this place, I placed a restriction within the Heaven Origin Pearl. The Pearl would automatically seek out any clansman with the royal bloodline of my Divine Race. It would appear on your life star and ultimately fall into your hands. Did you think it was all coincidence?” In a few brief sentences, Auro dispelled another great mystery from Ji Changkong’s heart.

He had always wondered why the Heaven Origin Pearl descended from the outer heavens, and why it suddenly burrowed into his body during the spirit treasure assembly at the Chen family. Initially, he truly believed his luck had turned. As he learned more about the Pearl, and after Ji Yuan explained its history, he vaguely suspected there was an underlying plot. Now that Auro explained it, he finally understood fully.

It was not predestination working through the veil of fate, but rather a figure like the High Priest having secretly tampered with the Heaven Origin Pearl, causing it to come into his possession through a series of ‘coincidences.’

Auro was indeed the High Priest of the Purgatorial Ghost Clan. Even in a soul state, he had managed to accomplish so much. First, he schemed against the Chaos Realm powerhouses of the Dead Star Domain, borrowing their strength to construct this soul array, positioning himself within it to orchestrate events, subtly influencing the domains beyond the Dead Star Domain, gathering their strength for his own use, intending to rise again. “You still haven’t explained how you plan to deal with the Chaos Realm powerhouses of the other races,” Ji Changkong pressed again.

He was unsure exactly how many Chaos Realm powerhouses resided in the Dead Star Domain, but based on rumors, he knew almost every major race had one sitting in power. Races without a Chaos Realm anchor were relegated to second-tier status, incapable of achieving much in the Dead Star Domain. No matter how formidable Auro was, he was only in soul form. Although the Heaven-Connecting Ghost Mother existed physically, she was only one individual. The reason the major races’ experts hadn't joined forces over the years was mutual deterrence, coupled with the Purgatorial Ghost Clan not making any major moves—those leaders were unwilling to risk mutual destruction against the Ghost Mother.

But once Auro emerged and resurrected the seventy million Divine Race warriors, his plan to sweep through the Dead Star Domain would inevitably provoke a united front from the Chaos Realm powerhouses of the various races. How would he manage that confrontation? This was clearly a massive hurdle.

“Aren’t you here?” Auro smiled. “Me? What use am I?” Ji Changkong was bewildered.

“You possess the latter volume of the Soul-Donating Melody, and you’ve brought me the Heaven Origin Pearl. Once I fuse with the latter volume of the Soul-Donating Melody, I can reconstruct my physical body here, and I will have the potential to reach the Ultimate Chaos Realm! The Soul Quelling Melody is the most profound Chaos profound truth! Once the upper and lower volumes are fused, it will naturally transcend other Chaos profound truths! Once I break through to the Ultimate Chaos Realm, what use would the combined efforts of the various races’ experts, whose cultivation is only at the Primal Chaos level, be?” Auro roared with laughter, his spirits soaring.

“Did I say I would return the Heaven Origin Pearl to you? And why didn’t you give me the upper volume of the Soul Quelling Melody? I believe maintaining the continuation of the Divine Race would be safer in my hands than yours. Your methods are too sinister; you leave no room for compromise. You will only plunge my race into eternal damnation. I do not approve of your methods,” Ji Changkong stated coldly after a long contemplation.

“What a pity. When you arrived, did you hear her mention me? I am a person who dislikes taking counsel the most. What I deem to be true is absolute truth. If you disagree, I can only realize the prosperity of my race in a different manner,” Auro expressed regretfully. “What manner?”

“By possessing your body!” Auro laughed. “Divine Race blood flows in your veins, mixed with the blood of the Sacred Beast Race and the Human Race. The compatibility of human blood allows my Divine Race blood and the Sacred Beast blood to fuse perfectly. You are a brand-new evolved form; the potential of your blood and body surpasses even that of the previous God-King! By acquiring your body, I can expend far less energy, and my chances of reaching the Ultimate Chaos Realm will increase significantly.”

He paused, then burst into loud laughter: “In truth, I’ve been waiting for you to resist me. If you had been compliant, as an elder, it would have been awkward for me to strike against you.”

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