Ducat, suspending himself just above the black hole that the Earth had become, held Lily—sweating profusely and bordering on unconsciousness—tucked securely under one arm, a faint smile still playing on his lips. His eyes were fixed on the black hole ahead. An immense suction radiated from the void, ceaselessly swallowing the large and small meteorites, light, and all electromagnetic waves in the vicinity. Yet, this powerful pull seemed utterly ineffective against Ducat; he hung suspended a short distance away, not buding an inch.

He extended a hand toward the black hole and clenched it in an empty grasp! Thick, pitch-black meridians bulged across Ducat’s brawny forearm. He muttered something to the black hole, then suddenly roared heavenward! His right fist suddenly erupted with a blinding dark light of ten thousand zhang! He slammed a blow toward the black hole; a beam of black energy, thick as a bowl, shot forth from the impact point, weaving into a tight spiral toward the heart of the void.

A full quarter of an hour later, the massive black hole shuddered violently. Countless streams of ultra-high-speed particles and high-energy rays burst forth from its core. These ejections successfully overcame the black hole’s gravity, spraying outward in a swift spiral trajectory. The high-energy particles and rays collided furiously with Ducat’s body, sparking vast sheets of fluorescence.

“Jie jie,” Ducat cackled several times. He lifted the fragile Lily, pressing fervent kisses upon her lips and face before abruptly shaking his head and rocketing straight toward Mars. Two immense black wings unfurled behind him, their powerful, sweeping beats causing the surrounding vacuum to tremble faintly. Ducat accelerated to an almost absolute speed limit, streaking toward Mars in a black flash. In barely ten minutes, he burst through the Martian atmosphere and plunged directly onto the planet’s surface. Here, Ducat’s descent abruptly ceased. His body tore through the air, creating a deafening sonic boom, as if a colossal bomb had detonated within the Martian troposphere. The desolate Martian ground beneath Ducat’s feet violently convulsed, collapsing into a gigantic crater a hundred zhu deep.

“The feeling of power… it’s quite satisfying!” Ducat nodded contentedly, turning his gaze toward the former location of the Roman Pantheon.

Mars had long been abandoned by the Romans, with only scattered, weakened Spirit Servants left behind to guard insignificant legacies and items that were inconvenient to transport. These Spirit Servants had already sensed the massive disturbance brought by Ducat and were now cautiously approaching in dozens of small war chariots.

“Aha!”

Ducat burst into laughter. A dark, ominous glint suddenly flashed in his eyes. He swept a glance toward the approaching chariots with a look of mocking surprise and disdain.

A minute perturbation suddenly arose within the Martian atmospheric circulation band. This tiny ripple instantly propagated throughout the entire Martian atmospheric cycle, much like a butterfly’s wing stirring up a massive storm thousands of li away. Within mere seconds, this minuscule alteration triggered a hurricane in the airspace where the chariots hovered, a tempest instantly reaching over four hundred meters per second. The hurricane swept across the desert for nearly a thousand li in radius, instantly crippling, shattering, and pulverizing every single war chariot.

“Remarkable power!” Ducat gently rubbed his eyes, nodding with deep satisfaction. “A very useful tool!”

He patted Lily’s hip firmly where she lay soft in his arms, calculating his trajectory toward the secret cave where he and Xi-Li had once hidden.

With several quick ascents and descents, Ducat arrived at the heart of the cavern. He took a deep, satisfying breath. Thick Wood Spirit Qi surged into his body, causing his muscles to writhe rhythmically. A thin layer of black scales slowly emerged from beneath his skin, and a violent, sinister aura of brutal tyranny instantly permeated the entire cave.

“So comfortable!” Ducat sighed toward the heavens. He opened his mouth and spat forth a stream of black liquid. It rapidly pierced the cave walls and the pool of water at the center, voraciously draining the Wood Spirit Qi stored within the cave. “All of it is mine, to be completely drained by me. Such immense energy—how far can it propel my growth?”

Vast torrents of energy flooded Ducat’s body. The armor plating on his skin grew thicker and smoother, shining with a rich luster. By the end, the black scales covering his body had thickened substantially. These crystalline scales looked as though they had been carved from pure crystal. His muscles, bones, and internal organs underwent bizarre transformations. Looking straight through the front of his body, one could vaguely discern the objects behind him—his physique was progressively crystalizing!

A dull sound of crushing and twisting emanated from within Ducat. His body gradually swelled and then hunched over. His aura grew steadily stronger. When the concentration of Spirit Qi in the cave had only dropped to about half its original level, the dark, viscous aura emanating from Ducat’s body had thickened to resemble a pool of ink, saturating the entire cavern.

With a wicked, strange chuckle, Ducat’s legs morphed, becoming thick and powerfully muscled. Sharp claws erupted from his toes! His legs had transformed into two thick, powerful Dragon Feet. His arms, conversely, became nimble and slender; when waved, his fingernails grazed the air, leaving behind faint, razor-thin spatial fissures.

“This is power!”

Ducat’s eyes glowed crimson. At the core of his irises, a pair of ominous, pale-blue ghost lights pulsed, appearing profoundly sinister.

Six black wings, spanning over thirty mi when fully extended, slowly unfolded behind Ducat. His body had now become a colossal serpent reaching about ten meters high, and his head had morphed into the shape of a Wyrm. Several sharp, black horns slowly protruded from the crown of his head. Electric light continuously flowed around these black horns, making them appear incredibly vibrant.

With a low growl, a shadowy image flashed along Ducat’s neck. Next to his long neck, a second neck materialized—then a third Dragon Head! Three heads and six wings; Ducat’s current form bore an uncanny resemblance to the three-headed dragon depicted on the Blood Sacrifice Ring of the Sect Master.

The central Dragon Head’s horn was wrapped in coiling black electricity—this head naturally commanded the power of lightning. The horns of his other two heads were entwined with flames and the specter of wind, clearly indicating that the other two heads commanded the powers of raging fire and gale-force winds. When Ducat opened his three massive mouths to let out a soft roar, crackling electricity, brilliant fire, and howling winds spewed forth, projecting a horrifying might. Occasionally, stray sparks of fire and electricity landed on the ground, instantly fusing craters several meters wide.

When every shred of energy within the cave had been plundered, and the ancient Spiritual Veins beneath the cave, which had persisted to this day, were forcefully drawn into Ducat’s body and completely annihilated, the energetic aura emanating from within him firmly settled at the realm of the Sixth Grade Celestial Immortal of the Seventh Heaven, Qimo Moyi Tian.

The three Dragon Heads thrashed violently in all directions. The surging primal force instantly expanded the volume of the cave several times over. Dazzling electricity coursed over Ducat’s massive serpentine body. His form gradually began to shrink, slowly reverting to human shape. His clothes had turned to ash during the transformation. The naked Ducat stood in the now utterly chaotic cave, his body spewing out great plumes of heat; the superheated air caused the space around him to visibly ripple.

“Such immense power!” Ducat slowly rubbed his neck, murmuring vaguely. “Why do I possess such formidable power, yet still have to obey the orders of others? I should be existing above all living beings, looking down upon every creature! Why must I listen to the words of Gu Xiechen?”

After a period of silence, Ducat nodded. “Certainly, I do not feel any goodwill toward him! But that is all. If he is willing to become my subordinate, I can grant him sufficient benefits. After all, he did help me once. I have always repaid kindness with kindness and grievance with vengeance.”

“Aha!” Ducat suddenly laughed heartily, happily calculating. “And repaying grievance—let me go wipe out those damned Romans! Mmm, slaughter their men, and then, fully enjoy those lovely Roman women. I can hardly wait. The women of the Roman lineage possess very excellent genes. Children born from coupling with them should possess incredibly superior genetic sequences, yes? Powerful physiques, strong mental capabilities—this combination is truly extraordinary!”

The petite Lily struggled to push herself up from the ground. She stared blankly at Ducat for a moment, then glanced at the surrounding wreckage, asking with confusion, “What… what happened?”

Frowning in thought for a moment, Ducat shook his head. “Nothing important. Come here; let us create our first child together! Procreation—this is my command!”

Her body trembling violently, the uncontrollable avarice and possessive flames reappeared in Ducat’s eyes. He strode rapidly toward Lily and pressed down heavily upon her.

Low gasps and moans gradually arose. Lily yielded to Ducat’s embrace, and streams of black energy flowed through her body. Gradually, even her delicate, tender skin began to sprout small, densely packed black scales. These scales were exquisitely crafted, shimmering with a faint green light in the dim cave.

Three days later, the invigorated Ducat emerged from the cave holding the utterly limp form of Xi-Li. He looked joyously toward the sky and let out a long roar—a beam of black light shot from his mouth, whistling piercingly like a living thing as it sped toward the Roman Pantheon. In the span of a single breath, a blinding flash erupted on the distant horizon, and a colossal mushroom cloud slowly ascended! The ground vibrated violently, and a strong wind charged toward him. The Roman Pantheon and the ancestral territories of several nearby great Roman families were blasted into ruins, leaving behind a massive impact crater two kilometers deep and over one hundred kilometers in diameter.

“This is where Mother once lived, so Mars may be spared.”

He snorted coldly. Ducat suddenly glared, and a beam of black light spewed from his brow. The domain power, triggered after he merged with the Christal Crystal, surged outward. A colossal shadow was outlined above his head as immense power flowed from him. Gradually, as Ducat continuously injected his energy, a metallic fortress exactly matching the design of a Death Star, about five hundred kilometers in diameter, materialized on the surface of Mars.

“Ohehehehe. This is the power I deserve.” Ducat gazed rapturously at the enormous war machine, whose surface energy shield was a thousand meters thick. Having attained the power of the Qimo Moyi Tian, what he summoned was no longer mere armed robots, but an enhanced Death Star template based on starship blueprints. According to Ducat’s calculations, an enhanced Death Star roughly five hundred kilometers in diameter had an actual combat capability equivalent to ten of Gu Xiechen’s Death Stars combined.

Frowning slightly, Ducat shook his head with some vexation. He was currently short on Divine Crystals, so while this enhanced Death Star possessed extremely formidable conventional combat capabilities, it could not execute the Death Star’s most powerful attack, which was comparable to a First Grade Golden Immortal. He almost regretted consuming all his Divine Crystals at once.

Now he needed sufficient Divine Crystals, but where could he acquire them? Favierlmus had been completely destroyed! Obtaining them from the Star Alliance was impossible. The Gallic Empire presented an option, but Ducat was not confident in confronting the combined forces of all Gallic Imperial royalty, especially since they possessed Death Stars capable of posing a lethal threat to him. Moreover, the journey to the Gallic Empire was distant; traveling so far for a few Divine Crystals seemed hardly worth the effort.

He pondered, stroking his chin for a moment, then suddenly slapped his thigh with a sharp exclamation and charged toward the enhanced Death Star he named the Yi Qiu.

Heavenly Star, Nine Nether Dao Sect Gate.

Thick, earthy Nether Qi permeated the area. Peng Hua sat cross-legged atop a forbidden peak rising one hundred zhang high, cheerfully tossing out immortal artifacts that shone with various esoteric auras.

“Squander it, squander it! I am squandering today too!” Cackling and singing nonsensical lyrics, Peng Hua cheerfully shook his hips, distributing the immortal artifacts he acquired from the Heavenly Craft Hall to the various members of the Nine Nether Dao. Innumerable monstrous beasts, demon hordes, and strange entities gathered densely around the towering peak, each one excited, waving their limbs and cheering loudly: “Grand Master is mighty! Long live the Grand Master! Eternal fortune and pleasure!” Especially the Nine Nether Dao disciples who managed to grab one or two artifacts were grinning ear to ear, hopping excitedly, embracing every fellow disciple within sight, enthusiastically kissing any Nine Nether Dao disciple, known or unknown. Crowds of zombies, skeletal specters, vile spirits, and fiends, along with a large contingent of shaggy monsters—including quite a few early-stage demon disciples who retained significant bestial features—were entwined in passionate embraces. The entire scene would have given the faint-hearted nightmares.

“Hahahaha! Brothers, refine all these immortal artifacts well! Those above the Nascent Soul stage can utilize a special technique to unleash a fraction of their power—it will definitely be a hundred times stronger than mere Dharma artifacts or Spirit artifacts!” Peng Hua cheered wildly, waving his arms. “For the disciples below the Nascent Soul stage, you cannot yet control the immortal artifacts! Just use them for hoeing the fields or chopping firewood—that is quite good too.”

The disciples of the Nine Nether Dao grew even more ecstatic. They jumped and cheered, tossing the immortal artifacts they had snatched into the sky, conjuring a splendid array of diverse, dazzling colors that illuminated the heavens.

Peng Hua watched his disciples joyously, laughing loudly. “Bring wine! Bring meat! Hahahaha! Today we continue to celebrate to the fullest! Children, bring the wine and the meat!”

The sound of chittering arose everywhere. Thousands of strange ape-like creatures, standing about two zhang tall and covered in golden fur, rushed forward like the wind, carrying jars of fine wine.

A multitude of Rocs, with wingspans exceeding ten meters, flew in from the sky. In their claws, they clutched countless writhing, twitching beasts. Large pools of blood dripped from the wounds inflicted by the Rocs’ talons, as if a rain of blood was falling.

The disciples of the Nine Nether Dao cheered excitedly. They tilted their heads back, inhaling deeply, sucking every drop of the blood raining from the sky into their mouths. Not a single drop was wasted.

A Golden Roc placed a ferocious tiger before Peng Hua. Peng Hua hissed, snatched it up, and tore open its jugular vein with one bite. The tiger struggled wildly but was no match for Peng Hua’s grip. In a short time, the tiger’s blood was completely drained, and Peng Hua tossed the carcass tens of li away.

Having quenched his thirst with the tiger’s blood, Peng Hua was just about to roar in triumph when a dark beam descended from above. The dozens of layers of protective mountain arrays of the Nine Nether Dao shattered like fragile glass. A fierce gale pressed down, and a dark shadow lunged toward him at a speed too high for Peng Hua’s naked eye to track. In an instant, it seized Peng Hua’s head and, with a sharp crack, snapped his neck around a full three hundred and sixty degrees. Peng Hua grunted, choked on blood trapped in his throat, and collapsed limply onto the ground.

The dark shadow moved with lightning speed. It snatched the extra-large capacity storage ring from Peng Hua’s left hand and immediately transformed into a streak of brilliant light, shooting upward into the sky.

Many sharp-eyed disciples within the Nine Nether Dao saw that Peng Hua’s neck had just been broken; almost simultaneously, they activated the immortal artifacts they had just acquired.

Thousands of streaks of colorful light shot toward the dark shadow, but the shadow had already soared high into the sky, vanishing instantly.

“Who was it?” The senior disciples of the Nine Nether Dao, those who held high status and decision-making power, rushed forward, shouting in shock and cursing, scrambling to rescue Peng Hua.

Peng Hua, however, appeared unperturbed. He placed both hands on the back of his head and forcefully twisted his neck back, resetting his broken cervical vertebrae.

He stared at the sky, his face etched with an expression of unbelievable shock.

“Ducat, what madness possesses you? Do you think I cannot smell your scent?” (To be continued. To know what happens next, please log on to [website address]. Encourage the author by supporting genuine reading!)