C2018 They Returned One by One
Han Qi finally set foot on the Path to Godhood, just as he had hoped.
The surviving soul of the Ghost King found its resting place upon the Undead Altar, a creation of the Root of the Lunar Meridian, forged from the skull of a Titan Spinosaurus and bathed in the corrupting flow of psionic power.
The violet-gold altar, in response to his sacred journey and the influx of a primal source, suddenly burst forth with numerous gray-white glows.
These ethereal lights, like resplendent stars, adorned the Undead Altar.
Within this altar, Han Qi's Ghost King soul absorbed a cluster of the gray-white light into his spirited body, and he beamed with joy, exclaiming, "I knew this was the ultimate Primal Anima!"
Contained within that cluster of light was the exquisite Spirit Magic, a gift of insight from the Root of the Lunar Meridian, derived from the Primal Vitality of the Wraithlands.
Previously in the Wraithlands, Han Qi had been elevated to the status of God of Ghosts by an Undead Lord. His memories from that time remained intact, and he vividly recalled the sophisticated Spirit Magic he wielded.
Comparing these memories with the new ones he had just acquired, he quickly grasped the significance of what had transpired.
The Root of the Lunar Meridian, once known as the First Undead Dominator, had managed to locate the skull of the Old Titan Spinosaurus and transform it into an Undead Altar. This altar was used to govern the cycle of souls throughout the Everlands, with the Will of the Deep providing substantial assistance from the shadows.
As the altar he had become one with showcased the power of reincarnation, the Spirit Magic and the cosmic rules from the Primal Vitality, studied by the Root of the Lunar Meridian, were seamlessly etched into its structure.
The First Undead Dominator, through the Altar of Rebirth, had already imprinted the learned Spirit Magic from the Primal Vitality.
Thus, these arcane mysteries of the soul were revealed as Han Qi approached godhood, ready to be integrated into his Demonic Vessel.
This was a boon from the Will of the Deep!
His ascension, bolstered by the presence of the Undead Altar and the inscribed Spirit Magic, would endow him with the might once wielded by the Root of the Lunar Meridian.
Like Yu Yuan, his Demonic Vessel would transcend the ordinary, inheriting a portion of the Undead Lord's formidable power.
"Thank you for your kindness!"
Han Qi gathered the tainted Soul Power and fused it with his black and green primal essence, crafting his own divine seat as the First Undead Dominator.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
A considerable force, brimming with chaos and ferocity, also flowed into the Undead Altar, complementing his essence and amplifying his power.
"It's the power of the Abyss!"
Han Qi was ecstatic.
...
Above the Land of Quiescence.
Yu Yuan's Demonic Vessel had left the Fireheart Mountains and was en route to the Land of Terror.
However, since his real body had arrived first, deploying the Heaven-Opening Sword Array to ensnare Samantha and annihilating Han Qi's real body and soul fragment, he halted mid-flight.
He was aware that Han Qi had utilized a tributary of the Lunar Meridian to carry the Undead Altar away, emerging in the underground filth.
From his Demonic Vessel, he gazed out over the Rainbow Ocean, attuning his senses in secret.
"Hmm?"
After a brief attunement, he instantly detected something amiss.
With the assistance of the Will of the Deep from the Everlands, Han Qi was already constructing his God Throne, supported by a primal source.
Yet, from the depths of the Undead Altar, a surge of Spirit Magic related to the Undead Lord emerged, along with a wealth of knowledge from the Root of the Lunar Meridian.
Once Han Qi ascended to the status of God of Ghosts, he would be on equal footing with the two Undead Lords of the Wraithlands.
He would undoubtedly surpass the God of Ghosts, Matina, Wagner, and Youyu!
"That Undead Altar!"
His spiritual sense stirred as he attempted to connect with the mysterious Undead Altar, crafted from the bone of a Titan Spinosaurus, only to find his perception incredibly vague.
His insight and clarity were twisted and obscured.
The Undead Altar, forged by the Root of the Lunar Meridian and the Will of the Deep, had vanished from his senses, indicating that the subterranean force had concealed it from him.
Otherwise, he should have been able to pinpoint its exact location and descend upon it.
"Break!"
Realizing the Demonic Vessel was ineffective, his real body unsheathed his sword atop the Dragon Slaying Stage.
Blood-colored sword rainbows streaked along the Lunar Meridian tributaries flowing towards the Land of Terror, splashing through the spatial glow in the opposite direction, locking onto the Defiled World he had once probed.
Clang!
Invisible and tangible barriers, like an array of halos—silver and gold—encircled the realm where ghosts and alien souls roamed, each one twisting and distorting the polluted lands around them.
His sword light failed to penetrate these peculiar halos, unable to reach their core.
In that moment, a long spear fell from the heavens, piercing the sphere of sword light that had engulfed Samantha. The fabric of space, governed by its own rules, interwove and shredded the sphere that resembled the vastness of the Everlands.
The spear was the flagpole of the Wraithbanner, one end anchored in the celestial ocean of the Nine Heavens, the other impaling the sphere of light.
The flag no longer waved, and the cacophony of ghosts and alien souls had ceased.
The immense energy from the extraterrestrial expanse, transformed by the Heart of the Everlands, surged into the flag, turning the flagpole into a column that seemed to pierce through the Everlands, shattering the boundary between heaven and earth.
The flagpole penetrated the sphere of light and continued its descent, reaching down to the core where the Earthfire blazed.
Hiss!
Intense flames, like Flame Spirits lost to the annals of history, spotted a column reaching for the heavens and climbed along the flagpole to where the sphere of sword light was.
The power of the blazing fire burst forth anew.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
The flames, roaring with thunder and a myriad of lightning strikes, eroded the sword light that constituted the Heaven-Opening Sword Array, as well as the bloodline mysteries bestowed by Yu Yuan.
The once modest sphere of sword light had become a cataclysmic source of explosive energy, unleashing a terrifying impact.
In the Land of Terror, a vast chasm rivaling the size of nations emerged with a thunderous roar.
Dozens of Shadow Mountains collapsed in an instant, reduced to dust that was scattered by the wind.
The Land of Terror, once shrouded in perpetual darkness, had become a desolate, icy desert with a gaping pit at its center.
Flames, thunder balls, lightning, sword light, and blood glow clashed endlessly at the pit's bottom, like legions in battle, drawing the gaze of countless onlookers.
"Has it begun?"
Cao Jiaze, from the Moonfall Sanctuary, murmured with narrowed eyes, occasionally massaging his temples in evident confusion.
Within his sea of consciousness, the Soul Pillar had two sources that corresponded to his own, making him feel as though two consciousnesses were in conflict, each vying for dominance.
Wow!
The Domain Channel before him was filled with dazzling spatial light, and breaths of air that even he found terrifying emerged from the channel that connected to worlds beyond. The long-dormant Soulforge Matrix suddenly sprang into action.
Taishi, ever graceful and composed, was the first to step through the channel, his feet firmly planted on a massive bronze coffin.
"Everlands."
Upon Taishi's arrival, he retrieved the Soulforge Pool, the lynchpin of the Moonfall Sanctuary, from his palm and gently placed it on the ground where it seamlessly melted into the earth.
His return had activated the enigmatic Soulforge Matrix, causing the newly formed light curtain to abruptly contract.
"Lord Taishi."
Cao Jiaze bowed respectfully.
"No need for formalities."
Taishi flashed a smile, harboring no ill will toward this rising star of the Ebon Star Sect. "Where is Han Miaoyuan? How is it that, with the battle raging to such an extent, he has yet to return from the Abyss?"
"The Abyss?"
Cao Jiaze's expression grew somber. It was only now, from Taishi's words, that he learned Jihui had taken Han Miaoyuan, Lin Daoke, and others to the Abyss.
"Young man, you know nothing, never mind."
Taishi didn't care to elaborate further. Once the Soulforge Pool settled into its destined place, this man, once the shield of the Everlands and attuned to the cosmic order, spoke with a complex tone, "Even though you may be our creator, the origin of our blood and souls, we are not your slaves."
He stamped his foot with force.
Centered around him and the Moonfall Sanctuary, a dense 'spider web' pattern emerged across the Aetherius Continent's surface, as if the land were being sliced open by countless blades.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
Visible to the naked eye, the Bright Brilliance Rule, akin to divine meridians, flashed within the earth's fissures, disintegrating as the ground split apart.
Boom!
The heart of the earth trembled. The extraordinary being that had lain hidden for years was incited to fury by Taishi's return, his words, and his current actions.
An unfathomable, transcendent force bore down on Taishi, piercing straight to his Mindscape.
His primordial spirit, refined through his ascension, felt as though it was being ripped apart by unseen colossal hands, subjecting him to the same torment Yu Yuan had previously endured.
He realized that even without merging with an original source, as long as he stood in the Everlands, within the magnetic field of that individual, he would be subject to restraint.
After all, Taishi was human too, and deep within his soul bore the imprint of that entity.
Taishi's soul convulsed as the cosmic order he had spent his life deciphering was ruthlessly erased.
"Thank goodness I was prepared."
In agony, Taishi slowly collapsed backward.
He landed on the bronze coffin, the Divine Artifact he had purposefully brought with him when he fled to the stars, now gathering his body within the little world inside the coffin.
Suddenly, he vanished from the perception of the Will of Everlands.
The bronze coffin severed the link between Taishi and the Everlands. The dense runes on the coffin became the hands of Taishi's divine power, continuing to lever the ground beneath him.
Following Taishi, Kaiya emerged from the Domain Channel.
Cao Jiaze caught only a fleeting glimpse of her before she vanished without a trace.
Tianqi, Taixu, Ann Ziqing, Xuanli, and other formidable beings from the Everlands also emerged from the Domain Channel. Seeing Cao Jiaze as if he had been waiting for an eternity, they were somewhat taken aback.
After a brief moment of shock, Cao Jiaze's attention returned to the Domain Channel.
He awaited the arrival of a pivotal figure.
The Will of the Everlands had long anticipated the appearance of Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit. Han Miaoyuan had conveyed the message for Yu Yuan to enter the depths with the Solar Spirit, promising many divine seats to the Boulderdawn.
The Blazing Fire, which had already demonstrated its might in the Fireheart Mountains, was also awaiting the arrival of his Solar Spirit.
The life dew was in the possession of the Solar Spirit.
"Where is he?"
Cao Jiaze inquired.
