A brief pause followed, and then Hong Kong spoke again, "Wood Ancestor, can this truly seal the 'Boundary Gate' between the 'Grand Supreme Spirit Realm' and the Heavenly Spirit Continent?"

As he spoke, Nie Kong willed it, and the inky black Soul Orb leaped out of his pet backpack and settled into his palm. Instantly, the surrounding green light seemed to be completely absorbed by the orb, and the space within the Wood Ancestor's tree heart grew unnervingly dim, as if night had fallen.

Back then, when Nie Kong first proposed injecting the terrifying soul power contained within the Soul Orb into the Heavenly Gate, although the Dark Night Divine Venerable was greatly angered, Nie Kong was still unsure if the orb would truly be effective, nor was he certain if the Wood Ancestor now possessed the ability to seal the Boundary Gate.

"What immense power."

A soft sigh echoed, and the Wood Ancestor's aged face emerged from the dark green sphere, his brow tinged with subtle astonishment. He gazed intently at the Soul Orb for a long time before nodding with a slight smile, "The power within this Soul Orb can indeed seal the Boundary Gate, completely isolating the 'Grand Supreme Spirit Realm' from the Heavenly Spirit Continent. Even if those five Divine Venerables joined forces, it would take them at least ten years to forcibly reopen it, and even with the Grand Supremes there, it would still require three to four years."

Nie Kong groaned, "So, I only have three or four years to prepare?" The Dark Night Divine Venerable already knew that some Star Gods who perished ten thousand years ago were not truly dead. To eliminate future trouble, it was highly likely that the Grand Supreme experts over there would intervene personally.

"The Grand Supremes are the strongest beings in this heaven and earth!"

The Wood Ancestor let out a dry chuckle. "When the 'Profound Void Grand Supreme Congealed the Boundary' was formed, it was precisely to prevent beings above the Spirit God level from entering the Heavenly Spirit Continent. Once that Boundary Gate took shape, even the Grand Supremes were constrained by it. Otherwise, even with this Soul Orb, it wouldn't be of much use."

He paused, then continued, "You don't need to worry excessively about the Boundary Gate right now. Although I cannot truly leave the Yin Ruins, I can still integrate the Soul Orb into the gate. What you should be most concerned about now are the remaining Heavenly Spirit Masters from the Spirit God Hall."

"Them?" Nie Kong asked, curious.

"This time, it might be difficult to completely eradicate the Spirit God Hall," the Wood Ancestor admitted.

Seeing Nie Kong's slight disbelief, the Wood Ancestor slowly elaborated, "Within the Spirit God Hall, there is a one-way 'Illusionary Teleportation Array' connecting to the 'Divine Void Realm.' Although it is damaged, the Spirit God Hall possesses the 'Spirit Cultivation Illusionary Realm.' By using the Illusionary Realm as a guide, they can still forcibly activate the array one time, bringing some Spirit Masters away from the Heavenly Spirit Continent."

"There is such a thing?"

Nie Kong was mildly surprised, but then reassurance settled in his heart. The Spirit God Hall had existed for thousands of years, one of the most ancient and powerful sects on the Heavenly Spirit Continent, and had produced more Spirit Gods than any other. Possessing such a hidden life-saving artifact was not unusual.

After a moment's thought, Nie Kong smiled, "The remaining Heavenly Spirit Masters in the Spirit God Hall are few, and even Kou Xilai’s power is greatly diminished. If they manage to escape, so be it; they won't pose much of a threat."

"No, you are mistaken."

The Wood Ancestor raised an eyebrow and said solemnly, "Nie Kong, this matter must not be taken lightly. We have the Boundary Gate here, and there must also be a Boundary Gate between the 'Divine Void Realm' and the 'Grand Supreme Spirit Realm.' If they establish a 'Gantong Divine Tower' in the 'Divine Void Realm' and re-establish contact with the 'Grand Supreme Spirit Realm,' Kou Xilai and the others may have left a spiritual imprint here. Once the Dark Night Divine Venerable and the others arrive in the Divine Void Realm, they can rely on that spiritual imprint to forcibly break the barrier between the Divine Void Realm and the Heavenly Spirit Continent and come here."

Hearing this, Nie Kong was horrified. If the Dark Night Divine Venerable and his group came from the Divine Void Realm, sealing the gate here would be useless.

"Wood Ancestor, I will find a way to go to the Divine Void Realm immediately and kill them!"

Realizing the gravity of the situation, Nie Kong grew anxious and couldn't help but push himself up. The top floor of the Medicine Pagoda in his Spirit Mansion also contained an Illusionary Teleportation Array; if Hua Pianxian could repair it, he could reach the Divine Void Realm with maximum speed. Even if the array couldn't be used, he could take the path of the Fish King. Fortunately, Yu Tinglei had brought the 'Prison Fire Nether Spring' back when he attended the sect-founding ceremony, and the little fellow was currently in the Spirit Mansion. It would just take more time this way.

"No hurry. I will go seal the Boundary Gate first. You can come with me to observe; it might be beneficial for your future cultivation," the Wood Ancestor smiled slightly, stopping Nie Kong who was about to leave. Then, a stream of ink-green energy, thick as a thumb, shot out from the heart and rapidly sank into Nie Kong's glabella.

"Boom!"

Nie Kong's mental landscape felt as if a heavy bombshell had been suddenly dropped into it. The ink-green energy spread out like a spiderweb, instantly fusing intimately with his mental image. The next moment, the 'Purple Luo Illusionary Spirit Incense' mental image surged out of his glabella uncontrollably, held aloft by a circle of green light, ascending rapidly.

Along with his mental image, all of Nie Kong's soul and consciousness departed his body.

The surrounding scenery shifted rapidly. In the blink of an eye, Nie Kong had left the tree-heart space. The colossal 'Ancestral Heaven Divine Luo Tree' entered the range of Nie Kong's spiritual perception. Immediately, the giant tree vanished; Nie Kong had left the Yin Ruins, rocketing toward the firmament like a shooting star.

The thick cloud layer was cast far below, leaving only a vast expanse of white around him.

It felt like the span of a finger snap, yet also like ten thousand years had passed, before Nie Kong's rapidly ascending mental image suddenly halted. The scenery around him grew bizarre. The seemingly endless expanse of the sky had transformed into an incomparably enormous dome, covering the entire Heavenly Spirit Continent.

Embedded at the very center of the dome’s apex was an oval opening several tens of meters in circumference.

A monumental aura churned and surged within the hole, seeming ready to burst through the dome's restraint at any moment and cascade down in a sweeping torrent.

Nie Kong only took one look before his soul was inextricably drawn in.

That whitish opening was like a giant magnet, and Nie Kong was a tiny iron filing—no matter how much he struggled, escape from the magnet’s pull seemed impossible. Nie Kong had a premonition: if he were truly sucked into that round hole, his soul would likely dissipate completely.

With a flicker of thought, Nie Kong violently reined in his soul aura, and the stems, leaves, and roots of the Purple Luo Illusionary Spirit Incense began to sway in a peculiar rhythm.

The suction gradually weakened, but waves of crushing pressure immediately squeezed in from all directions, nearly suffocating Nie Kong.

Seconds ticked by, and Nie Kong suddenly experienced a strange illusion: under the surrounding compression, his mental image seemed to be continuously shrinking.

Before long, the several-meter-tall 'Purple Luo Illusionary Spirit Incense' had diminished to the size of a grain of rice.

The shrinking of his mental image caused Nie Kong's soul to weaken continually. When the mental image had shrunk to a minuscule speck of dust almost impossible to capture even with spiritual (nian), Nie Kong felt his own soul becoming faint, barely existent, as if it could dissolve into the very fabric of heaven and earth at any moment.