The Split-Gold Strike, the Water-Severing Wave Slash, the Earth-Rending Cleave, the Sea-Slicing Blow... combined with the Earth-Shattering Slash and the Eight Forms of Blood Battle...

forging a chain of strikes, subtly hinting at the emergence of something new within the Star Core. Qian Jin watched the myriad changes within his body with quiet contemplation, charting the connections between the various Battle Seals.

The stars enter my body, and I become the Star Heaven! Qian Jin understood his own being more deeply; within this internal domain, he was a god.

If he could just find the underlying pattern, he could arrange things exactly as he willed. One by one, the Battle Seals intertwined, threads of Battle Qi linking them together.

Qian Jin’s body began to resemble an independent star system, beneath which all the Battle Seals pulsed with vibrant life. The stars are fundamentally one entity!

Yet, each star remains distinct! Qian Jin was dimly grasping the essence of what his instinct demanded: to unite all the Battle Seals into one truly complete celestial body.

The sheer magnitude of power held in mastering the stars—how vast would that be? Top-tier Battle Souls!

Top-tier Battle Souls! Top-tier Battle Souls!

Qian Jin chuckled as he felt the perfection of the three great Battle Souls within him. If it had only been the essence of Lucifer’s Heart, he would never have reached this point.

This brush with death, this trial by fire, had catalyzed his potential. Had he lacked potential, none of this would have been possible.

Potential! For the first time, Qian Jin felt his own potential with absolute certainty, and it did not yet seem to have reached its zenith or exhaustion limit.

His power felt as though it was still surging, yet it stubbornly refused to break through the so-called peak and enter the state of Sainthood. Almost simultaneously, a strange sensation washed over Qian Jin: even without his Soul Weapon or Saint Artifacts, he could rely solely on his own efforts to breach into Sainthood.

This wasn't blind confidence; it was an ineffable, inexplicable feeling. However, achieving this breakthrough required a deeper accumulation, and exactly how to perform this accumulation—Qian Jin realized he didn’t know.

“He’s awake... he’s awake...

Qian Jin is finally awake...” The ethereal, vague voices slowly sharpened. Qian Jin quickly identified the voice belonging to Fen Tu Kuangge.

Beside him, someone was breathing urgently—Duan Feng Bu’er. The one whose heartbeat had sped up but was mastering his breath was Qie Shuai.

The one whose spirit exhibited rapid fluctuations was Mu Ne Zhence. Qian Jin snapped his eyes open, staring at the group before him, their complexions ruddy, showing no signs of having suffered grave injuries.

A knowing smile flickered across his pupils: “You guys... Lucifer’s Heart?” “What else?” Duan Feng Bu’er stretched luxuriously, collapsing into the sofa, lighting a cigarette, drawing the thick smoke deep into his lungs, then exhaling it through his nostrils.

“We thought we were done for this time. Unexpectedly, this disaster turned out to be a blessing.” They exchanged glances and smiled.

The desperate, fierce struggle they had faced together that day still sent their blood racing when they recalled it. No matter how eloquently one spoke of bravery, it paled in comparison to having lived through such an event.

“Did someone reach Sainthood?” Qian Jin asked curiously, sweeping his gaze across the group. They were all warriors brimming with potential.

Surviving that life-and-death battle, coupled with the restorative properties of Lucifer’s Heart, it wouldn’t be surprising if one of them had ascended. “No...” Fen Tu Kuangge shook his head.

Qian Jin’s gaze settled on Qie Kefulite’s face. Although he still possessed two eyes, one of them lacked any spark of vitality, appearing entirely gray, devoid of all luster.

The Demonic Eye of Destruction—ruined! “I made you blind...” Qian Jin’s tone dropped low.

“If I hadn’t switched eyes with you that day...” Qie Kefulite cut him off: “It was my choice, and it has nothing to do with you. If I hadn't agreed, it wouldn't have happened.” Qian Jin fell silent for several seconds, his mind fixed on the blinded eye.

“I will restore this eye to sight!” “I believe you,” Qie Kefulite said, revealing a rare smile. “I’ll be waiting.” “That’s right!

Even if we have to carve out the Great Demon King’s eye to restore our little concubine’s vision... Damn it!

I’m saying this for your own good, why are you drawing your sword on me? My Female Demon will fight you to the death.” Duan Feng Bu’er shielded his front defensively, gripping the cigarette holder between his teeth with a rogueish grin.

“Let’s go!” Qian Jin sprang from the bed and strode towards the door. “We’re going back.” “Where to?” Duan Feng Bu’er looked at Qian Jin quizzically.

“The Ancient Desolate Sea of Sand,” Qian Jin declared, stretching his limbs. His bones popped and cracked continuously, like a string of firecrackers.

“We can’t just let this go. There must be a Saint Artifact in there!

More importantly, the undead must assume we’ve retreated...” “They won’t take it away?” Mu Ne Zhence voiced the shared query. “I don’t know, but I want to visit again.” “I’m coming too,” Duan Feng Bu’er grinned, heading toward the door.

“We can’t have taken a beating for nothing.” Fen Tu Kuangge smiled silently and followed them out. While the beating hadn't been in vain—they had all gained something more—the reason they gathered was a shared habit: Obsession!

They hadn't gotten what they sought last time, and they’d been beaten until they ran around like grandsons. Just letting it go?

That wasn't their nature! If they possessed such temperaments, Duan Feng Bu’er would have long ago returned to the Serpent Emperor family and taken their surname Pan.

Qie Kefulite would already be one of Lucifer’s numerous consorts. Fen Tu Kuangge would have long since abandoned his quest to surpass Bloodline Warriors.

And Mu Ne Zhence wouldn’t have risked death to save Qian Jin back then. As for Qian Jin?

They all understood his refusal to bow before the might of the colossal Qian family. Obsession!

This common thread had drawn them together. “Then let’s slip away quietly,” Mu Ne Zhence fanned himself open.

“Before my Second Brother arrives, and while Iron Man is still recovering, otherwise...” They all nodded in unison. Trying to sneak into the Ancient Desolate Sea of Sand without Mu Ne Zhence now was impossible; Saobao Liu would absolutely refuse.

But if the Second Prince found out, Saobao Liu would be completely prevented from going. And if Saobao Liu couldn't go, he would drag the rest of them into finding another time to raid the Ancient Desolate Sea of Sand.

The Ancient Desolate Sea of Sand—a landscape that had remained unchanged for hundreds of thousands of years. Qian Jin couldn't recall how many times he had entered this place, nor how many times he had marveled at the spectacle beneath the stars.

No matter how fierce the battle fought here previously, the sands could utterly erase all traces of conflict. It seemed nothing could leave a mark upon it, just as no one could alter the stars in the sky.

The Ancient Desolate Sea of Sand! People had tried to conquer this massive expanse; many had attempted to plant trees, but not a single sapling had ever survived near its borders.

Standing on the exact spot where the fierce battle had raged, Qian Jin even doubted if he had truly fought here at all: the swirling yellow sands, the endless blood and shattered remains, the earth-shaking roars of battle, the collapsing ground. Every vestige of that combat had been wiped clean by a faint stirring of the Ancient Desolate Sea of Sand.

If a Battle Skill could achieve such a result... The sand shifted once more, and a colossal Sand Worm, accompanied by swarms of smaller ones, reappeared before them.

Qian Jin smiled again. It truly was impossible to tell that a savage battle had taken place here.

In any other location where such carnage had occurred, the surroundings would be desolate, so much so that even magical beasts would avoid the area. Yet, these Sand Worms, creatures that clearly did not belong here originally, had already established a habitat.

Fen Tu Kuangge stepped forward and leaped high, bringing his massive palm down onto the head of the largest Sand Worm. Tremendous force flooded into it, instantly shattering the worm’s body into countless pieces.

Its astonishing regenerative capacity vanished without a trace, and a beautiful magic core tumbled into the air. With the largest dune-worm dead, Duan Feng Bu’er immediately unleashed his Bloodline Power.

The phantom of the Nine-Headed Serpent had barely manifested when the previously agitated Sand Worms burrowed back into the earth, vanishing completely. Having survived a conflict that was tantamount to death, Duan Feng Bu’er’s Nine-Headed Serpent Bloodline Power had grown stronger.

The phantom hovering behind him seemed perpetually on the verge of materializing, and his entire being radiated a savage aura akin to that of a primal beast. The Sand Worms instinctively sensed that the entity before them was not prey, but a truly formidable magical beast capable of swallowing them whole with ease.

Duan Feng Bu’er retracted his Bloodline Battle Form and grinned at Fen Tu Kuangge, who was returning: “How was that? Mine is still more effective, right?” Fen Tu Kuangge casually tossed the magic core to Qian Jin.

A single core could be exchanged for currency, but it was far more useful given to an Inscriber. Without realizing it, they had developed a tacit understanding: any valuable materials they obtained—whether for potions, arcane elixirs, or anything else—were to be handed straight to Qian Jin.

Slicing and killing their way through, Qian Jin now possessed hundreds of different magic cores, an astonishing quantity he couldn't have dreamed of previously. Only in a place like the Ancient Desolate Sea of Sand, teeming with magical beasts, could such a hoard be gathered.

In less hazardous adventuring environments, warrior mercenaries often outnumbered magical beasts by a factor of a hundred or a thousand. Encountering a single beast was rare; often, several mercenary groups would fight over the discovery of one.

Only in a location like the Ancient Desolate Sea of Sand—where the population of beasts was massive, and the number of entrants, be they human or demon, was exceedingly small—could one acquire so many cores. In terms of personal collection within the Zhence Dynasty, this was quite rich.

Of course, compared to the hoard Qian Jin possessed in the Endless World, this collection of cores was insignificant. It was just a pity that the cores from the Endless World could only be used for inscription or forging practice; they couldn't actually be brought back to the Zhence Dynasty for use.

Qian Jin stowed the cores and vigorously shook his head. Prolonged immersion in the Endless World had begun to blur his perception, making him question which space he currently inhabited was illusory, and which was real.

What exactly was illusion? And what was reality?