This cry of agony spread on the wind, reverberating through the divine souls.

This was!

The scream of the Lord of Chaos Brainstorm. Had the Lord of Chaos Brainstorm finally been caught? So many powerful individuals had pursued him—including those from the Star Civilization famous for speed, and those from the Wind Civilization whose tracking skills were unrivaled—as well as formidable figures like the Son of the Desolation and Jiu Huangzhui. None of them could catch him. Now that someone had caught him, they naturally had to admire that person’s skill. Who could it be whose tracking prowess was so astonishing that they managed to trace the Lord of Chaos Brainstorm?

But as the scream intensified, the onlookers realized that this agony, emanating from the very depths of the soul, suggested far more than just being overtaken; it hinted at utter annihilation. The Lord of Chaos Brainstorm, with his infinite thoughts and countless avatars, was hailed as the most impossible entity to slay. Even the Son of the Desolation admitted he couldn't kill him. For him to be killed now—how could this be possible?

"The Lord of Chaos Brainstorm is dead?"

"Impossible. The Chaos Brainstorm Core has never died since its inception." came one dissenting voice.

"The Lord of Chaos Demon Tongue had also never died since birth, yet he still fell to the Son of the Desolation. If the Lord of Chaos Demon Tongue can die, so can the Lord of Chaos Brainstorm," countered another.

"Listening to that scream, and feeling how much the surrounding wind has weakened, I fear the Lord of Chaos Brainstorm is truly dead." "Who could have killed the Lord of Chaos Brainstorm?" "There were quite a few Half-Step Civilization Realm experts dispatched; perhaps it was one of them?"

"Even Feng Xingxing, a Half-Step Civilization Realm expert from the Wind Civilization, couldn't track the Lord of Chaos Brainstorm. It would be difficult for anyone else to catch him, and even harder to kill him. It looks like the Son of the Desolation did it again, likely catching up and slaying him with that faintly chaotic-tinged divine soul long saber." Some speculated on the probability.

"The Son of the Desolation truly lives up to his name, slaying the Lord of Chaos Brainstorm." Clearly, the majority believed the Son of the Desolation was the most likely candidate. Others simply didn't offer plausible scenarios; only the Son of the Desolation fit the profile.

"Yes, the Son of the Desolation is the Son of the Desolation. Now he has killed the Lord of Chaos Demon Tongue and the Lord of Chaos Brainstorm—two monsters previously considered immortal."

"The Son of the Epoch is indeed the Son of the Epoch." Almost everyone concluded it was the Son of the Desolation who had terminated both entities.

At that moment, Jiu Huangzhui had just finished declaring that he couldn't find the Lord of Chaos Brainstorm, and everyone else couldn't find him either, only to immediately hear news of his demise. This caused Jiu Huangzhui a moment of acute embarrassment, but also intense curiosity. If even he couldn't track the Lord of Chaos Brainstorm, who succeeded?

The Son of the Desolation gripped his Primordial Divine Halberd. "Who exactly?" He maintained that he hadn't killed the Lord of Chaos Demon Tongue, nor had he slain the Lord of Chaos Brainstorm. The Son of the Desolation was eager to know who had eliminated these two incredibly troublesome monsters. He hadn't fought the Lord of Chaos Demon Tongue, but he had fought the Lord of Chaos Brainstorm. While he could win, killing him was incredibly difficult. So, who actually delivered the fatal blow?

The Son of the Desolation closed his eyes in contemplation, then murmured, "Among the fifteen thousand people, there is one exceptionally tenacious individual. That must be the one who killed both the Lord of Chaos Demon Tongue and the Lord of Chaos Brainstorm. Potentially someone near the fiftieth rank on the Celestial Ledger. This person is a great adversary of mine, and I must proceed with caution." He sensed a powerful enemy lurking in the shadows, putting considerable pressure on him.

Simultaneously, among the tens of thousands present, a figure whose arcane mastery was profound and brimming with the mysteries of magic murmured, "If the Son of the Desolation killed both the Demon Tongue and the Brainstorm Lords, then he is terrifyingly strong—his power might be comparable to mine." This person spoke with such assurance; it wasn't bravado, but a plain statement of fact. The vast assembly of over ten thousand people was indeed teeming with hidden dragons and crouching tigers, masters aplenty.

Lu Yuan, having slain the Lord of Chaos Brainstorm and secured the valuable Chaos Brain Crystal as his trophy, experienced a significant surge in his divine soul’s power. He then flew straight toward the next section without delay.

It had been mentioned earlier that the Chaos Civilization Beast lacked the seven orifices and five senses in its original state. Because these were forcibly opened, vital essence had drained away, leaving little substance or advantage in the brain. Both the beast’s Mouth Hell of Five Tongues and its Soul Hell of the Brain were essentially filters, beneficial only to those like Lu Yuan.

The true prizes were to be found in the body beneath the head of the Chaos Civilization Beast. The heart was paramount.

Of course, the other eight locations—the feet, lungs, spleen, gallbladder, intestines, stomach, kidneys, and liver—were also focal points; everything else was secondary.

The next stage would involve a free-for-all among the remaining hundred-plus contenders. In reality, because Lu Yuan eliminated the Lord of Chaos Demon Tongue and the Lord of Chaos Brainstorm, the difficulty in the Five Tongues Hell and the Soul Hell was drastically reduced. As a result, a full fourteen thousand people advanced to the beast’s body, with only a few hundred being eliminated in those two trials. The greater the number advancing, the more ferocious the subsequent competition would become.

As he rapidly exited the Chaos Civilization Beast's brain, Lu Yuan spotted familiar figures ahead. "Wait, aren't those the Imperial Sons Fa Sheng, Fa Xiao, and Fa Qiang?" Lu Yuan knew all three well. He approached them, and Imperial Son Fa Sheng laughed heartily. "It's you! Since we've met, let’s proceed together within the Chaos Civilization Beast’s body."

Imperial Sons Fa Sheng, Fa Xiao, and Fa Qiang were currently discussing the demise of the Lord of Chaos Demon Tongue and the Lord of Chaos Brainstorm. Imperial Son Fa Xiao remarked, "Everyone says the Son of the Desolation killed them, but I disagree. I distinctly saw the Son of the Desolation from afar when the Lord of Chaos Brainstorm perished; it wasn't him acting."

"It seems there is a truly formidable expert among the ten thousand, capable of dispatching both the Lord of Chaos Brainstorm and the Lord of Chaos Demon Tongue," Imperial Son Fa Sheng mused, clearly, none of these three Imperial Sons, whom Lu Yuan knew well, suspected Lu Yuan was responsible. The notion was too incredible for them to countenance.

"Right, Lu Yuan, since this is your first time in the Civilization Holy Land of the Chaos Civilization Beast, let me explain the Chaos Holy Land. The real fight begins within the body. Inside the Chaos Civilization Beast, there are eight major points located in the visceral organs: feet, lungs, spleen, gallbladder, intestines, stomach, kidneys, and liver. Each spot holds a certain amount of Chaos Civilization Fragments, though the quantity is small. Only after all eight spots have been cleared will the heart activate, which contains an immense concentration of Chaos Civilization Fragments. Our final battle will be over those heart fragments." Imperial Son Fa Sheng continued, "We are heading for the stomach now, to see if we can seize the stomach fragments."

"That sounds good, I'll join you," Lu Yuan agreed.

Imperial Sons Fa Sheng, Fa Xiao, Fa Qiang, and Lu Yuan—a party of four—flew off. Among them, Fa Sheng was the strongest, a Half-Step Civilization Realm expert. Fa Xiao was at the tenth heaven of the World Realm, and Fa Qiang, who had once trained Lu Yuan, was at the ninth heaven of the World Realm. Fa Qiang watched the progression of the young man he once mentored with a touch of emotion; Lu Yuan was nearly as strong as he was now.

As they flew, the three Imperial Sons pushed their speed to the absolute maximum, partly intending to test Lu Yuan’s current strength. After all, Lu Yuan had been out of sight for two full years, and they were eager to gauge his progress. Since a direct confrontation was inappropriate, testing their speed would suffice for now.

The resulting flight showed Fa Xiao and Fa Qiang that even at their peak velocity, Lu Yuan kept pace effortlessly, seeming nowhere near his limit. Imperial Son Fa Sheng secretly calculated that his own maximum speed might only be marginally faster than Lu Yuan's. It appeared Lu Yuan had indeed grown significantly during his silent two-year absence.

The four flew swiftly. The first three Imperial Sons had visited the Civilization Holy Land before and knew the routes well, yet it still took considerable time to reach their destination.

It was a large lake, emitting a sour odor capable of eroding the divine bodies of World Realm cultivators, though it posed little threat to those at the Celestial Venerable level or above.

Imperial Son Fa Sheng announced, "This is the stomach of the Chaos Civilization Beast."

"Really? It looks so small?" Lu Yuan expressed surprise. The beast's mouth and brain cavities were monstrously huge, yet this lake, while large, seemed dwarfed in comparison to the creature's overall scale. Imperial Son Fa Sheng nodded. "Yes. We heard that the Chaos Civilization Beast’s stomach was enormous in life, but upon its death, it instantly shrank by ninety-nine point nine percent. Its current size is less than one ten-thousandth of what it was naturally."

"Now, we must first secure control of this stomach, and then refine the Stomach Chaos Civilization Fragments within," stated Imperial Son Fa Sheng. He was certainly capable of this feat; he was an Imperial Son of the Ancient Law Civilization, holding the Half-Step Civilization Realm. One should never underestimate the Half-Step Civilization Realm experts; there were only a few dozen among the ten thousand contenders. Typically, each of the five great ancient civilizations had two or three, while the thirty general civilizations might contribute one each, totaling around forty experts.

These forty or so individuals needed to be distributed across eight directions, meaning only three or four, perhaps five, would be positioned for each sector. Imperial Son Fa Sheng had come here for this specific purpose, and seizing the Stomach Civilization Fragments was a highly achievable goal for him.

(Second update delivered. There will be one more tonight. I have finally figured out how to approach writing the body section.)