Ducat hovered above the black hole that was once Earth, cradling Lily—sweaty, semi-conscious, and wearing a faint smile—in one arm, while his Mother Light shimmered, fixed upon the void before him. A colossal suction emanated from the black hole, relentlessly swallowing surrounding stardust, meteorites large and small, light, and every electromagnetic wave. Yet, this pull held no sway over Ducat. He remained suspended, not far from the abyss, not even a strand of his hair disturbed.

He reached out toward the black hole, forming a loose fist. Dark, thick veins bulged along Ducat's massive arm. He muttered something to the black hole, then suddenly roared toward the sky. A blinding black light erupted from his right fist, which he slammed toward the void. A stream of black light, as thick as a bowl's mouth, shot from his knuckles, tracing a spiral path deep into the black hole.

After a full quarter of an hour, the immense black hole shuddered violently. Countless streams of ultra-high-speed particles and high-energy rays erupted from its core. These emissions successfully escaped the black hole's gravity, blasting outward along a steep spiral trajectory. The potent high-energy particles and rays scraped frantically against Ducat's body, igniting great plumes of fluorescence. Jie jie, Ducat chuckled dryly a few times, gathered Lily into his arms, and kissed her face hard upon her lips a few times, before sharply turning his head and rocketing straight toward Mars.

Three pairs of gigantic black wings unfurled behind Ducat. As these massive wings beat and thrashed, the very void around them seemed to tremble faintly. Ducat streaked toward Mars as a line of black light, moving at nearly absolute light speed. After just over ten minutes, he tore through the Martian atmosphere and slammed down onto the planet's surface. Here, Ducat abruptly decelerated. His passage tore through the air with a deafening roar, as if a colossal bomb had detonated within the Martian atmosphere. The desert beneath Ducat's feet suddenly convulsed, collapsing into a massive crater a hundred meters deep. "The feeling of this power is truly wonderful!" Ducat nodded with satisfaction, turning his gaze toward the former site of the Roman Pantheon.

Mars had since been abandoned by the Romans, with only scattered, weakened Spirit Race vassals left behind to guard unimportant structures and items too cumbersome to move. These Spirit Race vassals had already sensed the colossal disturbance Ducat brought, and were now cautiously piloting a dozen small skirmish vehicles toward his location. "Aha!"

Ducat burst into laughter, a sinister, faint blue luminescence flashing through his eyes as he swept a mocking, playful glance toward the direction of the vehicles.

A minute alteration occurred within the Martian atmospheric convection belt. This tiny shift instantly triggered a massive upheaval in the entire Martian atmospheric circulation. Just as the flap of a butterfly’s wing can incite a massive storm tens of thousands of miles away, this slight change ignited a hurricane in the airspace occupied by the vehicles within mere seconds. The wind speed instantly escalated to over four hundred meters per second, sweeping across the desert for nearly a thousand kilometers, utterly destroying and shredding every vehicle instantly. "Excellent power!" Ducat gently rubbed his eyes, nodding with deep satisfaction. "Power that works beautifully!" He slapped Lily, soft in his embrace, on the hip before laughing loudly and flying directly toward the secret cave where he and Lily had once hidden away.

With a few powerful ascents and descents, Ducat arrived at the cave, inhaling a deep breath of profound contentment. Rich Azure Wood spiritual energy surged into Ducat's body, causing his muscles to writhe in waves. A thin layer of black scales slowly pierced through his skin, instantly filling the entire cave with a fierce, long-standing, malevolent aura of tyranny.

"So comfortable!" Ducat sighed toward the heavens. He opened his mouth, exhaling streams of dark energy that plunged into the cave walls and the pool of water in the center, greedily draining the Azure Wood spiritual energy stored within the cavern. "It's all mine, entirely mine! With this much energy, just how far can I grow?"

Massive energy surged into Ducat's body. The scales on his surface grew thicker, glossier, and more lustrous. Eventually, the black scales on his body were half an inch thick, the crystalline scales looking as if they were carved from pure crystal. Even his muscles, bones, and internal organs underwent strange transformations. Looking at him from the front, one could vaguely glimpse objects behind him through his body; his physique was becoming crystalline.

Dull cracking and twisting sounds emanated from within Ducat. His body gradually swelled, then hunched over. His aura grew progressively stronger. When the spiritual energy concentration in the cave was reduced to about half its original level, the black energy coating Ducat’s body had thickened to resemble a pool of ink, saturating the entire cavern.

With a hehe sinister chuckle, Ducat’s two legs grew increasingly robust, and thick, sharp claws sprouted from his toes. His legs had transformed into two strong, stout dragon feet. His arms, however, became nimble and slender; when he occasionally moved them, the tips of his nails scraped the air, leaving behind faint, extremely fine spatial fissures.

"This is power!" Ducat's eyes burned a deep crimson. At the core of his pupils, the vertically slitted, spindle-shaped irises shone with an ominous, faint blue light, appearing profoundly wicked. Six massive black wings, spanning over thirty meters when fully extended, slowly unfurled behind Ducat. His combined form had transformed into a colossal dragon nearly ten meters tall. His head had taken the shape of a wyvern, and on top of his skull, several sharp black horns slowly extended, fine strands of electric light constantly dancing around them, looking exceptionally vibrant.

With a low roar, a phantom image flashed across Ducat's neck. Beside his long neck, a second neck appeared—he had grown a second dragon head! Then, a third head! Three heads and six wings—Ducat’s current appearance was strikingly similar to the image of the three-headed dragon etched on the Elder Council's bloodline ring.

The sharp horn on the central dragon head was coiled with black, electrical energy, clearly signifying the power of Lightning. The horns on his other two heads were wreathed in flames and wind shadows, unmistakably showing that the other two heads commanded the powers of raging fire and gale winds! When Ducat opened his three massive maws to let out a soft roar, electrical arcs, flames, and raging winds sprayed in all directions, presenting a truly terrifying might. The occasional spark of fire or electricity that landed on the ground instantly melted a crater several meters wide.

When every last bit of energy in the cave was plundered, and after the spiritual vein resting beneath the cave since antiquity was forcibly drawn into Ducat's body and completely digested, the energy aura emanating from Ducat’s body firmly settled at the realm of the Seven Luminaries Mo-Yin Heaven—the realm of the Sixth Grade Celestial Immortal!

The three dragon heads thrashed violently around them. The resulting immense, muffled pressure immediately expanded the volume of the cave several times over. Dazzling electrical light flowed across Ducat's gigantic draconic body for a moment, and then his form began to shrink, gradually reverting to human shape. His original clothes had disintegrated into ash during the transformation. A naked Ducat stood in the now chaotic cave, spewing large amounts of hot vapor. The searing airflow caused the air around his body to subtly undulate.

"Such immense power!" Ducat crooked his neck slightly, mumbling indistinctly, "Why do I possess such formidable power, yet still have to take orders from others? I should be the existence that stands above all life, looking down upon every living thing! Why should I listen to... Gu Wuchen's words?"

After a moment of deep contemplation, Ducat nodded. "Of course, I won't deny I feel some fondness for him! But that’s all! If he is willing to become my subordinate, I can grant him sufficient benefits. After all, he helped me once; I always repay kindness and repay grievances in kind!"

Aha! He suddenly laughed a few times, Ducat chuckling joyously, "Repay grievances! I should go wipe out those damned Romans! Hmm, kill their men, and then, thoroughly enjoy those lovely Roman women... I can't hold back! The Roman genome is an exceptionally excellent one. Children born from union with them should possess the most perfect genetic sequences, right? A powerful physical body, potent mental strength—this is an extremely ideal combination!"

The small figure of Lily struggled to sit up from the ground. She stared blankly at Ducat for a moment, then looked at the surrounding wreckage, asking with confusion, "Xiao? What's wrong?"

Frowning in thought for a while, Ducat shook his head. "Nothing, Lily... Come, let us create our very first child! Procreation, that is my mandate!"

His body trembled violently. The uncontrollable flames of plunder and possession flared up again in Ducat's eyes. He strode quickly to Lily and heavily pinned her down.

Low gasps and moans gradually arose. Lily gazed at Ducat in ecstasy as streams of black energy circulated within her body. Slowly, fine, dense black scales began to emerge on Lily’s delicate skin. These scales were exquisitely delicate and beautiful, shimmering with a faint green light in the dimly lit cave.

Three days later, a re-energized Ducat emerged from the cave, holding a limp Lily. He happily gazed at the sky and let out a resonant dragon roar. A beam of black light shot from his mouth, emitting a piercing shriek like a living thing, heading straight toward the direction of the Roman Pantheon. In the time it takes to snap one's fingers, a blinding flash erupted on the distant horizon. A gigantic mushroom cloud rose slowly, the earth shook violently, and a gale force wind rushed toward him. The Roman Pantheon and the ancestral lands of several nearby major 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 can be spared!"

With a cold snort, Ducat’s eyes suddenly widened, and a beam of black light shot out from between his brows. The power of the Domain, which he activated after fusing with the Christo Crystal, erupted. A colossal shadow was conjured above his head by the immense force, gradually taking shape as Ducat poured more and more energy into it. A metal fortress, about five hundred kilometers in diameter and identical in appearance to the Death Star vessel, materialized on the surface of Mars.

"Oh ho ho ho, this is the power I deserve!" Ducat gazed intoxicatedly at this gigantic fortress, its energy shield a thousand meters thick. Having attained the power of the Seven Luminaries Mo-Yin Heaven, what he summoned was no longer the armed robots, but an enhanced starship built precisely to the template of the Death Star vessel! According to Ducat's calculations, this enhanced Death Star vessel, approximately five hundred kilometers in diameter, possessed a standard combat capability equivalent to ten Death Star vessels controlled by Gu Wuchen combined.

Frowning slightly, Ducat shook his head with a trace of distress. He lacked Divine Crystals in hand, so although this enhanced Death Star vessel possessed terrifying conventional combat capabilities, it could not unleash the Death Star's most potent attack, which equaled that of a Primordial Golden Immortal. He vaguely regretted devouring all the Divine Products he possessed.

Now he needed enough Divine Products, but where could he possibly find them? Davirmus had been utterly destroyed; obtaining them from the Star Alliance was impossible. Attacking the Blazing Dragon Empire seemed like a good idea, but Ducat wasn't confident he could withstand the combined might of all the Blazing Dragon Imperial family members, especially since the Death Star vessels they possessed could pose a fatal threat to him. Moreover, the journey to the Blazing Dragon Empire was far; traveling such a distance just for a few Divine Crystals wasn't worth the trouble!

He stroked his chin and pondered for a moment before Ducat flashed a sinister grin, embraced Lily, and rushed into the enhanced Death Star vessel he named Yi Qiu.

Heaven Star, Nine Nether Dao Sect Gate.

Thick Earth Fiend Yin Qi permeated all directions. Guo Hua sat cross-legged atop a towering spire a hundred zhang high, merrily tossing out immortal artifacts that shone with various hues to the surroundings.

"Waste it, waste it! Big Brother is being extravagant today!" Howling out nonsensical lyrics in excitement, Guo Hua cheerfully swayed his hips, distributing the immortal artifacts he acquired from the Heavenly Craft Hall to the disciples of the Nine Nether Dao. Countless demons, ghosts, and specters encircled the spire, all dancing with excitement, roaring slogans like 'Great Senior Brother is mighty!' and 'May Great Senior Brother reign for ten thousand ages and enjoy endless bliss!'

Especially those disciples of the Nine Nether Dao who managed to snatch one or two immortal artifacts were beaming, hopping with delight, excitedly embracing every fellow disciple nearby, warmly kissing any disciple of the Nine Nether Dao they recognized or not. Crowds of zombies, skeletons, wraiths, chi-devils, and the like, alongside a large group of furry monstrous disciples—including many first-stage demon disciples who still retained many beast-like features—were embracing and passionately kissing each other. The scene alone was enough to give a timid person nightmares.

"Hahahaha, brothers, refine all these immortal artifacts well! Those above the Nascent Soul stage can use a special technique to unleash a sliver of their power—it will definitely be a hundred times stronger than Dharma Artifacts or Spirit Artifacts!" Kan Hua cried out exuberantly, waving his hands. "Brothers below the Nascent Soul stage, if you cannot yet command the immortal artifacts, then... use them for tilling soil or chopping wood. That is also quite useful."

The disciples of the Nine Nether Dao grew even more ecstatic. They jumped and cheered, hurling the immortal artifacts they had seized high into the sky, conjuring a spectacle of radiant, awe-inspiring light that illuminated the void for ten thousand li.

Guo Hua watched his disciples merrily, laughing loudly, "Bring wine! Bring meat! Haha, today we continue to revel to our hearts' content! My children, bring wine, bring meat!"

Sounds of zhi-zhi came from everywhere on the ground. Thousands of heteromorphic apes, about two meters long with golden fur all over, moving like the wind, rushed over carrying jars of fine wine. A large number of Rocs, with wingspans exceeding ten meters, flew down from the sky, clutching countless writhing, twitching beasts in their talons. Great sheets of blood dripped from the wounds inflicted on these beasts, as if it were raining blood.

The disciples of the Nine Nether Dao cheered excitedly. They tilted their heads back, inhaling deeply, swallowing every drop of the blood falling from the sky, wasting not a single drop.

A Roc placed a fierce tiger before Guo Hua. Guo Hua chuckled, grabbed the tiger, and tore open its main artery with his mouth. The tiger struggled and roared madly but could not escape Guo Hua's grip. Before long, the tiger's entire body was drained of blood, and Guo Hua tossed it a dozen li away.

Having gorged himself on the tiger's blood, Guo Hua was just about to roar with laughter when a blinding light slammed down from above. The dozens of layers of mountain-protecting arrays of the Nine Nether Dao shattered like brittle glass. A fierce gale pressed down, and a black shadow lunged toward him at a speed too high for Guo Hua's naked eye to follow. The shadow struck, grabbing Guo Hua's head with a backhand and snapping it around 360 degrees with a sharp kacha. Guo Hua groaned, a mouthful of reverse blood surged into his throat, and he collapsed to the ground, completely limp.

The black shadow moved with extreme speed. It snatched the extra-large capacity storage ring worn on Guo Hua's left middle finger, then immediately transformed into a streak of light and shot upward.

Among the disciples of the Nine Nether Dao, many were elites. Their reactions were swift; just as Guo Hua's neck was broken, they simultaneously activated the immortal artifacts they had just obtained.

Thousands of rays of radiant light simultaneously shot toward the black shadow, but the shadow had already transformed into light and soared away, vanishing instantly. "Who was that?" The high-ranking, authoritative disciples of the Nine Nether Dao stepped forward, exclaiming in shock and cursing, while rushing to save Guo Hua.

Guo Hua, however, casually placed both hands on his head and forcefully twisted his neck back, resetting his fractured cervical vertebrae. He stared at the sky, his face filled with incredulous shock.

"Ducat, what madness has seized you? Do you think I can't smell your scent?"

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