The deathly chill permeating the cellar was instantly thrown into chaos, swirling about like a hurricane.

Piercing shrieks, sharp as a knife's edge, swept across the stone walls of the vault.

Beneath the sickly green lamplight, countless scorch marks appeared on the cellar’s stone surfaces—marks so deep they truly seemed carved by fiercely wielded blades.

The dense network of scratches numbered in the thousands; every single one bit deep into the rock.

Blazing shafts of strange light, source unknown, began to sweep through the cellar.

The elders of the Corpse God Cult suddenly erupted in a bone-white, phosphorescent glow; their bodies became shrouded in thick, oppressive Yin energy, wrapping them like heavy walls.

Hundreds of thousands of torrents of crystalline soul power became clearly visible, like streams of brilliant light descending from the boundless Milky Way—a shimmering cascade pouring down from the celestial river, densely filling the cellar, forcefully occupying every corner.

Yi Tianmo and the other two squinted, motionless, yet their bodies became the focal point where these crystal lights converged, wrapping and entangling everyone in the cellar with dazzling filaments of light.

Even Shi Yan was not exempt.

His Sea of Consciousness was pierced by hundreds of radiant soul beams. These crystalline soul threads from Yi Tianmo and his companions acted like infinitely long, resilient filaments, barely allowing any ripple to form within his Sea of Consciousness, making movement difficult even for the Five Fiends and the Main Soul residing there.

Yi Tianmo and his pair had not yet focused on him as the primary target, yet the pressure he endured was already monumental.

The Cult Master of the Corpse God Cult, Qing Ming, his emerald eyes filled with billions of shimmering, bright threads.

The soul restraints originating from Yi Tianmo and the two others, through some inexplicable, mystical method, seemed to pour entirely into Qing Ming's body, entering his mind, binding both his Sea of Consciousness and his Main Soul.

The Sea of Consciousness and the Main Soul are the core foundation of any martial artist, and the key to controlling the Pi Jue Corpse Fire. Once restricted, any thought he projected was instantly severed, unable to transmit, and thus he could not command the Pi Jue Corpse Fire at will, posing no real threat to Shi Yan.

An intensely dense, chilling Yin aura, laced with the desperate struggles of various souls, enveloped Qing Ming, the Corpse God Cult Master, as he strained with all his might to tear apart the soul threads invading his mind.

Yi Tianmo and the two others sneered repeatedly, combining their efforts to amplify the soul suppression, unleashing the profound secrets of the Yin Charm Tribe's soul arts.

In an instant, the entire cellar glittered with various visible, strange lights; dazzling clusters and beams of brilliant crystal light arrayed themselves into intricate, inscrutable formations, crashing down upon the Corpse God Cult Master, Qing Ming.

Qing Ming struggled intensely to resist the combined soul assault from the three, and the light in his emerald eyes gradually dimmed.

Yin Hai sat upright on a coffin made of dark wood, his face grim, yet his eyes brimmed with terror, his body trembling slightly.

He had discerned the true cultivation of Yi Tianmo and the two others. The formidable soul suppression exerted by three God Realm martial artists had turned this cellar into the epicenter of a soul storm!

Anyone standing there could not escape the soul magnetic field of Yi Tianmo and his companions; the mere thought of resistance would immediately draw upon the soul tidal waves emanating from the three.

The Yin Charm Tribe's understanding of soul profundities far surpassed that of ordinary human martial artists. Their joint deployment of various soul secrets prevented the Corpse God Cult Master from finding even a sliver of an opening to unleash his Heavenly Fire.

It forced him into a purely defensive posture, desperately holding against the barrage of soul arts, utterly incapable of fighting back.

As a fellow God Realm cultivator, Shi Yan alone would have been sufficient to suppress him in a pure soul battle.

What hope did he have against the combined might of three?

...

"Enough," Shi Yan waved his hand, his expression indifferent. "I think Cult Master Qing Ming should no longer be as supremely confident as he was moments ago, no longer arrogantly believing he could turn all of us into his Corpse Slaves through his solitary power."

Earlier, Shi Yan had paid close attention. When the Yin energy gathered within Qing Ming's body, he immediately recognized Qing Ming's malicious intent.

The Pi Jue Corpse Fire was incredibly difficult to handle. Once that Corpse Fire truly erupted from Qing Ming's body and enveloped the cellar, even Yi Tianmo and his pair would find it hard to manage.

Although his Ten Thousand Year Earth Heart Fire was potent, as Qing Ming had noted, his own cultivation realm was too low.

In an actual fight, his Ten Thousand Year Earth Heart Fire might be consumed by the Pi Jue Corpse Fire and drag him down into servitude long before it could even approach Qing Ming.

Qing Ming indeed held this plan.

This man not only intended to enslave Shi Yan but even dared to plot against Yi Tianmo and his companions!

He believed the power of the Pi Jue Corpse Fire was something even the three of them couldn't handle, which fueled his arrogant notion.

It was precisely because he saw through Qing Ming's scheme that Shi Yan did not hesitate, immediately ordering Yi Tianmo and the two others to act, using a superior level of soul suppression to prevent Qing Ming from even releasing the Pi Jue Corpse Fire.

...

Yi Tianmo and his pair slowly retracted the hundreds of thousands of soul threads.

The brilliant light filling the chamber gradually dimmed and blurred, then dissolved into billions of motes of light, flowing back into the bodies of Yi Tianmo and the two as if flocks returning to their roosts.

The intense killing intent suffusing the cellar vanished abruptly; everything quietly returned to its former state.

All the Corpse God Cult elders wore grim expressions, their eyes filled with resentment, yet they dared not make any rash move.

In Qing Ming's emerald eyes, streaks of green light flickered erratically; he stared silently at Shi Yan, then at Yi Tianmo and his companions behind him, remaining mute for a long time.

Qing Ming made no further move.

"I know that the power you sensed from our bodies was less dense and pure than your own, which led to your hubris in thinking you could subdue all of us with your Heavenly Fire,"

Yi Tianmo followed with a chilling, scornful laugh. "Our Yin Charm Tribe is physically different from yours. This means that at the same realm, our physical bodies are not as sturdy as yours, and the divine power we can gather does not reach your level of abundance."

He paused, then added coldly, "But that does not mean our Yin Charm Tribe is truly inferior to yours at the same realm!"

"Yin Charm Tribe? A foreign race?" Qing Ming was startled. "So you are actually an Alien Race!"

"Hmph!" Kaba scoffed disdainfully. "So what if we're an Alien Race? In ancient times, humans weren't the masters of this continent; you were just one race among many, with less influence than others. If you humans weren't so adept at conspiracy and exploiting the conflicts among us Alien Races to stir up trouble, this continent would still belong to us Alien Races."

Qing Ming's gaze gradually darkened; he looked down at Kaba, then let out a low, cold laugh. "Do you really think you have me cornered?"

"Roar!"

A heaven-shaking roar, filled with endless, fierce malice, erupted from the earth below.

Tremors capable of shattering heaven and earth radiated outward from the ground, and a terrifying aura that induced a deep-seated powerlessness suddenly seeped up from the depths.

Every dark wood coffin in the cellar began to shake violently, and under the influence of the inexplicable, eerie atmosphere, sounds of active Heavenly Corpses came from within the coffins.

Yin Hai and the others looked overjoyed and couldn't help but exclaim, "Cult Master, you brought it as well?"

Qing Ming nodded proudly, confidence returning. "Perhaps I alone am not a match for the three of you, but with the Old Thing beneath the earth assisting, I doubt you can truly do whatever you intend and still retreat unscathed."

Shi Yan's expression shifted dramatically.

He knew that the creature slumbering beneath the ground was the Corpse God Cult's Ten Thousand Year Corpse King!

The Corpse King was the truly formidable war machine that made the Corpse God Cult famous throughout the world!

Legends about the Corpse King circulated ceaselessly across the Endless Sea; every expert who had ever fought a Corpse King had unequivocally affirmed its terrifying might.

The Corpse King was comparable to a God Realm expert; its true power might even surpass that of an average God Realm cultivator!

Yi Tianmo and his pair inwardly sucked in their breath, their brows deeply furrowed. Their soul sensing abilities were exceptionally acute.

However, the Corpse King had remained completely hidden within the earth, utterly unnoticed by them—this discovery sent a shock of alarm through them, bringing a chill at the Corpse King's capability.

The Corpse King's roar from below shook the entirety of Sun Island.

Numerous God Realm experts on the island were roused from their meditation and involuntarily extended their divine consciousnesses, all probing toward the location of the Corpse God Cult.

Even Sun God Tang Yuannan's face palled in horror. Just as he was about to release his divine sense, Li Fu came scurrying over, urgently explaining the situation: "Shi Yan and the others have gone to the Corpse God Cult."

Tang Yuannan startled violently, his body twisting; ten thousand rays of sunlight burst forth, and his form vanished abruptly from thin air.

In the cellar thick with Yin energy, a small, bright red speck materialized out of nowhere. The speck gradually grew larger, forming itself into a blazing sun, which then warped suddenly, taking the visage of Sun God Tang Yuannan.

The surrounding sunlight suddenly retracted; Tang Yuannan's face was flushed a deep crimson, his brow furrowed in displeasure as he looked toward the Corpse God Cult Master. "Brother Qing Ming, what offense have I committed against you that you would use the Corpse King to try and destroy my Sun Island?"

The light in Qing Ming's emerald eyes gradually subsided; he took a deep breath and stated, "A misunderstanding."

A strand of thought was released, and the terrifying, monstrous, fierce aura deep underground slowly subsided.

The ancient, ten-thousand-year-old corpse belonging to Qing Ming settled down beneath the earth, ceasing its roars.

Tang Yuannan positioned himself squarely between Qing Ming and Shi Yan, his back to Shi Yan, yet Shi Yan's body trembled slightly.

He felt his heart pounding violently, and waves of numbing Starlight Power involuntarily flowed out, causing his body to grow gradually translucent, resembling a cold star from the heavens, giving off an extremely bizarre feeling.

Tang Yuannan did not turn around, but his body slowly grew hot, turning vividly scarlet.

Rings of solar light spontaneously radiated outward, filling the cellar, turning the space into an ocean of light—the brilliance of the fire was dazzling, and the temperature soared.

...

PS: Second update today! Requesting monthly votes~~