"It's the Death God. Could this be showing the scene of the Underworld King's invasion of the Realm of No Boundary back then?" Ye Xiu sucked in a cold breath. He descended lightly, merging into the battlefield. He was surrounded by streaks of crimson blood, witnessing the carnage of the ancient war, yet unaware of the battle's true significance. "If this is truly the ancient war, then where is the Underworld King of the Death Kingdom?"

"Ya ha ha ha!" At that moment, a figure with long hair stood atop mountains of countless skeletons. Dragon-shaped flames emanated from his hands, sweeping across the area, utterly unstoppable. "Let the Realm of No Boundary submit to the flames of the Death Kingdom!"

"It's the Underworld King!" Ye Xiu had witnessed this very figure before—the sight of the Underworld King retreating to the Death Kingdom under the protection of the Eight Directions. Now, he stood right before him, beside the pile of corpses that had already accumulated and grown taller.

The people of the Realm of No Boundary above the Eight Directions continued to charge toward the Underworld King, but no matter how they struggled, only one outcome awaited them. The flames in the Underworld King's hand had already reached the Nine Heavens, casting the entire Realm of No Boundary in a deep crimson glow.

With such momentum, the Death God should not have been at a disadvantage in the battle within the Realm of No Boundary. So why did the Underworld King suddenly withdraw his army? Ye Xiu walked toward the Underworld King when suddenly a silvery-white ray struck the King's abdomen, and the image of a woman appeared before him.

"The Saint Empress of Ten Thousand Demons!" Of course, Ye Xiu recognized this figure. But wasn't the Saint Empress trying everything to find the Underworld King's successor? Why would she attack the Underworld King at this juncture?

The Underworld King turned, seemingly unharmed by the white light. He spoke with the woman atop the towering corpse pile for a good while. Suddenly, a red streak of light erupted from his body and vanished into the distance.

"What was that?" Ye Xiu felt a surge of suspicion about whatever had emerged from the Underworld King's body. He wanted to pursue it, but the space within the cavern seemed confined only to the Underworld King's vicinity. Had that thing's departure signified a loss of power for the King, or something else?

The vision abruptly ended. The entire cavern reverted to its ordinary state. He looked up at the ceiling. Lake water flowed down from all four sides, only to be instantly vaporized the moment it reached the bottom—for reasons unknown. He touched the cavern wall; thankfully, possessing the Soul of a Hundred Insects allowed him to crawl his way up bit by bit.

"But..." Ye Xiu questioned himself as he ascended. From past experiences, he had always believed the Saint Empress played a supportive role to the Underworld King. He always held that the Empress and the Death God stood on the same side.

But why would the Saint Empress approach the Underworld King in this manner during the ancient war?

What did that red ray shooting out of the Underworld King's body signify? Could it be the primary reason for the King's troop withdrawal?

Jun Bugu finally managed to climb onto the floating stone and lay motionless, staring at the cavern entrance. He roared incessantly, "Ye Xiu, you didn't just die in there, did you!"

"Dying would be an overstatement; I just don't know how to get up yet!" Ye Xiu had also managed to climb up by this time. Knowing what lay at the bottom of the cavern, the predatory sand that had tried to push him back from the lake water seemed far less terrifying. He swayed slightly and moved towards the base of the floating stone to investigate. "Do you have anything like a chain on you? I need a way to get up there too."

Jun Bugu felt around his body like a monkey, and before long, he roared excitedly, "No way, there really is an iron chain!"

"Damn, there really is!" Ye Xiu hadn't placed much hope in Jun Bugu. Seeing the long, slender iron chain in his hand now, he pressed, "Where did you get this thing?"

"Weren't I locked up on the Forbidden Island of the Heavenly Cloud Mechanism back then? There wasn't much to do on that island, just some special chains..." Jun Bugu roared with laughter and immediately let one end of the chain down. "But how long is this thing? Maybe I should tie my two blades together, so you have something better to grab onto."

"You were imprisoned and you were thinking of playing with people's chains? You really are something!" Ye Xiu gauged the height of the chain. If he could accurately blast his Heiyan [Black Flame] at it, he should be able to grasp it. "You better tie those twin blades securely, don't mess with me!"

"Don't worry, here we go." Jun Bugu leaned over and flattened himself at the edge of the floating stone.

"Boom!" Ye Xiu sprang up, his entire body shooting toward the sky like a rocket. Only when he neared the chain did he realize that idiot Jun Bugu had positioned the flat side of his blade facing him, making it impossible to grip. "I curse you, you're trying to kill me!"

"How about this!" Jun Bugu, only focused on his game, violently thrust his Jue Tian Dao [Heaven-Severing Blade] into the floating stone. He then flipped himself down and grabbed the chain, using it to haul Ye Xiu up. "Up!"

"Hoo..." Ye Xiu's feet finally touched solid ground, and he let out a deep sigh of relief. Using leverage, he pulled Jun Bugu up as well. "I'm telling you, kid, since you love playing games, we better find a way to combine the Jue Dao [Severing Blades]."

Jun Bugu chuckled and pointed toward the vast sky. "No need to worry, I've already found it. Look up there."

Ye Xiu followed his gaze. Above the floating stone were successive floating stones, climbing higher and higher. They rotated in a regular pattern, leading toward a single focal point in the sky. Within that point was a furnace inverted beneath a dim, yellowish sky. Flames churned inside the furnace, yet not a speck of slag dropped out. "It seems the power generated by that furnace is what keeps these stones suspended. Look at that tiny dot—it means it's incredibly far away from us."

"Doesn't matter, don't we have flames?" Jun Bugu had become addicted to wielding the Death Kingdom flames. Fortunately, the distance between each floating stone was just right for climbing. As he spoke, he had already left Ye Xiu far behind. "What are you waiting for?"

Ye Xiu licked his lips, gazing at the unattainable furnace. If that thing had the energy to attract floating stones, why couldn't it draw him up too? Taking advantage of Jun Bugu being far ahead, he summoned Susu to ask, "Do you think the power inside that guy's body is the Soul Energy of the Death God?"

"I only know that his power shares some similarities with yours," Susu stated frankly. "When I'm inside the ring, I sometimes even confuse the two of you. I truly don't know what's going on."

"You mean that you feel like he and I... are like one person?" Ye Xiu couldn't fathom Susu's assessment, but upon reflection, he and Jun Bugu shared a deep destiny and some things that were hard to sever. "Let me ask you another question: can you sense the power within that flaming furnace?"

Susu circled around, staring intently at the flames inside the furnace with concern. "That is the Purple Flame of the Death Kingdom. The entire place reeks of the Death God's aura. Something related to the Death God must have happened here."

"The Underworld King's business?" Ye Xiu knew Susu could sense the vision he had just witnessed, but Susu was only present within his unique Soul Stone. Since Jun Bugu was considered a Death God, what was his Soul Stone? "Right, you said that guy is like me. Can you sense his Soul Stone?"

"He doesn't have a Soul Stone right now!" Susu stated with certainty. She elaborated, "This guy clearly had a Soul Stone near him before, but for some reason, his Soul Stone has left him."

"Ye Xiu, what are you dawdling for? Hurry up and come!" Jun Bugu had already ascended quite high; from this distance, the figure looked tiny.

Ye Xiu shook his head at him and asked Susu, "Part of his power was drawn out, or perhaps one personality is missing. Could that other personality be his Soul Stone?"

"I don't know, or perhaps his Soul Stone is within that extracted power." Susu was highly perceptive regarding energy. Seeing Jun Bugu greeting his 'master' made her smile slightly. "Heh heh, this guy is endearingly silly. The Soul Energy in that furnace is the same as the Soul Energy in your bodies. You can completely use the fusion of power to attract each other."

"Power fusion?" Ye Xiu seemed to grasp what Susu meant. "You mean it can attract me, just like it attracts these floating stones?"

"Master, try to activate the Altar Body Realm!" Susu instructed from the side. "Let the flame merge into your entire body."

"Boom!" Ye Xiu was already adept at controlling flames. At that moment, fierce flames erupted from his whole body again, and simultaneously, his body slowly began to float. "I didn't expect it to actually work! That guy is going to be dead with envy!"

Susu nodded with satisfaction and circled back into Ye Xiu's jade ring. As she left, she said, "Activating that furnace will probably require both of your powers. When the powers are identical, perhaps you can sense the situation within him. Then, everything will become clear."

Jun Bugu was still struggling hard to fly upwards. Seeing Ye Xiu effortlessly ascending made him furious: "Hey, how did you do that!"

"How did I do it? First, set yourself on fire." Ye Xiu stuck out a finger and pointed to the sky, looking smug. "I'll wait for you up there. Don't make me wait too long."

"Damn it!" Jun Bugu was straightforward and remarkably childish in temperament. He roared with his Soul Energy, causing the great fire beneath his feet to instantly turn the floating stone into ash. "Oops, I messed up!"

"Sigh..." Ye Xiu thought that this guy was even more foolish than Old Liu. He truly couldn't believe that such an eccentric character existed within the lineage of the Death God. "A mysterious Death God, a wayward personality. I wonder how long this guy has survived in the Realm of No Boundary."

Jun Bugu fell straight down, but once his body flames stabilized, his body slowly began to float up again. He waved his arms as if preparing to fly. "Hahahaha, so I can do it too! Ye Xiu, wait for me!"

Ye Xiu ignored him, his eyes fixed on the rapidly approaching furnace. The furnace was firmly embedded in the Nine Heavens, like the very eye of this sky, staring down at the earth. The presence of the Death God's Soul Energy and the Underworld King's influence in the territory of the Ferocious Beasts—what exactly did this imply?