C2015 He Was Already Prepared
Han Qi, gaunt and skeletal, materialized in the chilling depths of a pond beneath Horror Land, his cultivation still within the Soul Wandering Stage. Yet the Yin God within his sea of consciousness had ascended to the Ghost King level, and the blood coursing through his veins seemed infused with a frigid energy. In human form, he possessed the soul of a Ghost King, marking him as an anomaly.
As he surfaced in the icy pond, the ghostly spirits rushing toward the heart stone were abruptly halted by an unseen force, rendered immobile. The flowing Yin Meridians slowed to a stop as well.
"Youyu, do you understand why the source of the Yin Meridian is located within that deep pond?" Han Qi, hands empty, asked with a grin, his gaze fixed on the pond where the heart stone lay.
"This pond can be considered the body of the Yin Meridian source. It's the hub for all the Yin Meridian tributaries and also harbors the power of rebirth. A mere pond, despite housing the Yin Meridian source, should not possess such formidable power," he mused.
Youyu cast a puzzled look downward.
With a thunderous boom, the pond, deeply embedded in the earth, began to rise, accompanied by the sound of the ground splitting. The gray stones along the pond's edge crumbled away like dried clay, revealing the pond's true substance.
A colossal purple-golden skull!
The skull had been hollowed out, its cavernous interior forming the pond. It must have undergone countless refinements, shrinking hundreds of times over to become the pond beneath Horror Land, the dwelling of the Yin Meridian source, charged with the weighty task of governing the reincarnation of all living creatures.
The purple-golden skull bore the visage of a dragon's head.
"The Spinosaurus's skull," Youyu murmured, his shock fleeting before realization dawned.
The head of the Spinosaurus, an Eleventh Level Starry Behemoth that had perished in the vastness, had been preserved. It lay beneath Horror Land, transformed into a receptacle for the Yin Meridian's departed souls.
"The Undead Ruler's prolonged stay in the vastness was not without reason," Han Qi remarked with a sneer. "The vastness remains unchanged, and that's something no one can alter! You, Youyu, as long as you cling to your essence, will always be regarded as part of the vastness. Yet you persist in your ignorance of what truly benefits you."
Crackle and boom!
The altar, crafted from the skull of a Titan Spinosaurus, was alive with the dance of fine lightning. Ghosts attempting to infiltrate the heart stone vanished into thin air.
The flow of the Yin Meridian ceased, and Youyu's body, reforged in the depths of the Demon Area, began to smolder amidst the electric arcs.
In the dim underground expanse, a new silhouette emerged.
She was a delicate being, her form resembling a tree, appearing as a woman devoid of flesh and blood, with lightning coursing through her as if it were her veins and lifeblood.
"My name is Samantha. I hail from the abyss, the vessel of the Thunder Origin."
The petite creature from the abyss stood beside Han Qi, her luminous silver eyes captivating like orbs of lightning.
As she spoke, she gazed down at the world beneath her feet with awe.
"Origin Master."
She silently invoked, seeking to draw the attention of the vast subterranean consciousness.
Her arrival was purposeful.
The guardian of the Evil God Temple had roused the Origin Master, instructing her to serve in another world once the Abyss Gate lay in ruins.
As Lin Daoke, Han Miaoyuan, and their companions journeyed from the Vast Ocean to the abyss, Samantha, under the directive of Extreme Intelligence, had used that very gate to enter the Vast Ocean.
Upon her arrival, she was commanded to plunge into Horror Land.
Among the multitude of Evil Gods in the abyss, she was a formidable presence, a key player in the siege against the Great Demon God Beilstein.
Regrettably, since the Thunder Origin was not of the highest echelon, even with its power bestowed upon her, she could not ascend to the Eleventh Level.
Her prowess paralleled that of the Demon God Tan Xiaotian, perpetually on the cusp of the Eleventh Level.
According to the Thunder Origin and the conjectures of Extreme Intelligence, she needed to locate and merge with the fragment of the Thunder Origin hidden in a secret domain within the Origin Realm, sealed by the Great Demon God Beilstein, to have a glimmer of hope for achieving the Eleventh Level.
Currently, a cultivator named Qi Yunhong possessed the relic of the Thunder Origin that had been lost in the Origin Realm.
"I need that stone he holds."
Han Qi unapologetically gestured towards the heart stone Youyu had retrieved from the Demon Realm and assured Samantha, "I will certainly track down this Qi Yunhong for you."
"Alright."
Samantha, who had evolved from a plant-like being from the abyss, struck a deal with Han Qi.
Youyu's face was etched with gravity as he sensed an immense threat emanating from the visitor from the abyss. He transmitted a telepathic message: "A visitor from the abyss appears to be waiting specifically for us."
Above them.
Yu Yuan, having released the ghostly spirits concealed within the Soul Summoning Flag, received Youyu's mental message and became aware of the events unfolding in Horror Land.
He also came to understand the source of Youyu's confidence.
The divine power of lightning was a notorious nemesis to ghostly entities.
Samantha, the being from the abyss, had been guided to the vast expanses by Youyu but chose to remain hidden in Horror Land, evidently biding her time for Youyu or himself to appear.
Yet, Yu Yuan had not anticipated that the source of the Yin Meridian, the cold pond, had been consecrated with the skull of a Titan Spinosaurus.
He had processed the Yin Meridian's source within the Realm of Demons, erasing vital memories in the process, oblivious to this fact.
What did this imply?
It meant that some memories of the first Undead Ruler, imprinted during his experiences in the vastness, had also been partially erased by an underground will, all to obfuscate the origin soul.
"Titan Spinosaurus, the skull."
A flicker of realization crossed Yu Yuan's eyes.
In a world ablaze, the Dragon Slash Platform transformed into a suit of purple-gold armor, safeguarding his head, limbs, chest, and all critical areas.
Clad in this purple-gold armor, he remained unscathed amidst the engulfing flames.
Neither the meteor shower from the heavens nor the magma spewing from the earth's fissures could dissolve this wondrous armor or harm his flesh.
"I have one too."
The Extreme Flame, now inhabiting Yuan Lianyao's body, manifested a consciousness Yu Yuan recognized.
President Lyi of the Babel Chamber of Commerce!
He had transmuted himself into 'true gold,' his iron essence descending to the heart of the earth, ultimately becoming the gold metal spirit of the Heaven and Earth Furnace, and now, the Artifact Soul within the shield revealed a spark of sentience.
The furnace lid became a colossal golden shield wielded by the Extreme Flame.
Holding the shield in one hand and the flame knife in the other, he fixed his gaze on Yu Yuan, conveying a world of meaning through their silent exchange.
"I will go to the realm you dominate."
As soon as she spoke, Yuan Lianyao transformed into a blazing meteor, swiftly exiting the fiery orb and making her way to the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area.
Amidst the astonished stares of onlookers, the flaming meteor descended into a deep chasm that connected to the heavens.
This chasm was not only linked to the Delude Devil Abyss but also concealed a secret path leading directly to the Gray Domain!
Indeed, it was bound for the Gray Domain!
Deep within Yuan Lianyao's mind lay all the memories associated with the Gray Domain: the Tia Main Planet, stars engulfed in flames, the Heaven Opening Flare Star, and numerous other extraordinary locales she had once witnessed.
She could see every memory that existed.
As familiar as Yuan Lianyao was with the Gray Domain, so too was her knowledge of it.
Whoosh!
Draped in Yuan Lianyao's guise and wielding a fire shield and flame knife, the entity known as Extreme Flame emerged from a secluded cavern on the Heaven Opening Flare Star.
The various alien races that had settled nearby watched in terror.
Soon after, the members of the Star Race, Bright Clan, and Banshee Clan began to spontaneously combust, quickly reducing to ash.
A Devaputra soared nearby, but with a mere glance from the entity, it too transformed into a stream of flaming meteors, burning to ash as it passed.
The entity shifted the battleground from the vast expanse to the Gray Domain, unleashing its wrath upon the alien races allied with the Divine Soul Sect. Having achieved its goal, it then set a direct course for the Tia Main Planet.
Boom!
The Flame Star, once explored and cultivated by Yuan Lianyao, was displaced by the entity's presence, moving across the void as it soared like a comet.
Chaos erupted throughout the Gray Domain.
