When Ghoul King Xue Yi looked around, Tianming was nowhere to be found. That didn’t bother him, since the gate to the Kilostar Domain had been blocked off. With nowhere to escape to, Tianming would likely meet his end. The more important thing for them now was to hunt for treasures.

“There’s some kind of protective formation that acted on us the moment we stepped in. Give me a second,” said the ghoul king in green. He exited the domain and re-entered a short while later. “The formation disappeared the moment I left the domain. It seems that this formation will restrict our saint springs while we are inside here, making us a lot weaker.”

“Li Caiwei, you are the expert on formations here. Do you have a way to get rid of this?” Feng Qingyu asked, drawing everyone’s attention to her. They had initially all rushed to look for treasures, but the abnormal phenomenon had stopped them in their tracks.

“There’s no way of breaking this unless one of us is stronger than the person who set it up. I also figured out the purpose behind this formation.” Li Caiwei answered.

“Which is?”

“Look that way. This is a fragmented world where space is fractured. If we exert too much force here, it might hasten the destruction of the domain. The formation is protecting the domain by restricting our strength.”

“In other words, we must bear with this formation, both for the sake of Kilostar Domain and for our own good,” replied Ghost King Xue Yi. The destruction of the domain was the last thing they wanted.

“That is correct.”

“How much of your strength can you use now?” asked Ghoul King Xue Yi.

“Well, not much,” Li Caiwei answered. The five Divine Realms were competing for the resources inside the domain, so none of them wanted to reveal their true strength. Since the other four realms were only collaborating with Nonahall, they too wanted their own share of the treasures here. In fact, their pact stated that once they entered the domain, the rest would be fair competition between them. That benefit was also the reason Li Caiwei had risked her life to abduct Tianming in the first place.

“Who here isn’t affected by the formation, come out now,” Ghoul King Xue Yi commanded, gathering a group of cultivators before him.

“Seems like all those under seventh-level samsaran, including seventh-level death phase, aren’t affected by the formation. It’s likely that they don’t possess enough power to disturb the domain. For all those stronger than that, the number of dragons will be affected by the exact stage, up to a maximum of five dragons?” Ghoul King Xue Yi speculated. He wasn’t sure about the others, but the five dragons in his body were suppressing his strength to that of a seventh-level death phase samsaran.

That said, the formation was only capable of limiting their tribulation energy. The difference in skills and techniques would still ensure that a regular seventh-level death phase samsaran would be no match against them.

“Whatever it is, the good news for us is that the domain is open. We should also transfer all those in the sect who are seventh-level samsarans over,” the Ghoul King in green robes suggested.

“Correct. We should also block off the entrance of the domain and make sure no one from the other four realms can enter,” Ghoul King Xue Yi said with a ghastly glow in his eyes. “Actually, there’s one more thing I’m concerned about.”

“Which is?”

“Great Emperor Xuanyuan’s lifebound beasts were five dragons corresponding to the five elements. The Human Emperor's Dragonhide was made from the scales of those five dragons after his passing. When Li Tianming entered just now, the Dragonhide automatically appeared and absorbed the ultimate tribulation manna, opening the Kilostar Domain for him. Even the five dragons inside my saint palace correspond to the five elements. Do you think it’s just a coincidence?”

“Clearly, Kilostar Domain has got something to do with Great Emperor Xuanyuan!”

“But why isn’t that information recorded by our ancestors?”

“Beats me. Maybe those records were destroyed. After all, Great Emperor Xuanyuan was the one who defeated the specter race, so we must defeat his descendants if we want to achieve our aims.”

“In that case, that’s more reason for us to trap and kill Li Tianming here!” Ghoul King Xue Yi sneered.

“I informed the scouts to bring two-thirds of those from the sect who are seventh-level samsarans here. I’m sure not even a fly can escape from us now. Even though he’s still a kid, he holds many treasures and we can’t afford to let Feng Qingyu or the others get hold of them,” said the ghoul king in green.

“We needn’t worry since we easily outnumber them. Since the domain is open, we should continue our attack on Pentaphase. The least we should do is to make sure those four realms have no additional manpower they can send here. Without them disturbing us, we can easily achieve our purpose here….”

“Who would’ve thought that the return of Archaion’s goddess was in fact an occurrence in our favor? Without her, we wouldn’t be able to gather the five realms so easily.”

“It’s been eight years since the appearance of the ultimate tribulation manna, and now is our best chance!”

“They’ll return to us soon!”

“Once the tunnel opens, all that’s left is the Heaven Cauldron.... ”

As he spoke, a fervent flame blazed in Ghoul King Xue Yi’s eyes.

……

Back in Archaion, Fang Taiqing had just returned to Soulburn Hall. He saw the young girl with dark red eyes staring at him from her throne. He wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but she looked way more intimidating than he remembered.

“Your Eminence, Tianming escaped into Kilostar Domain due to some strange behavior of the ultimate tribulation manna. The domain is now guarded by sentries from the five realms, with two ghoul kings and a thousand tribulation elders. It will be close to impossible for me to go in and rescue him. But Your Eminence need not worry. The young man is capable of performing miracles, and he even managed to deal with Ghoul King Xue Yi’s heartscourge worm unharmed. I don’t think he will die in there,” explained Fang Taiqing.

At least he was alive! That was good news for Feiling.

“One more thing,” Fang Taiqing continued with a serious look. “We have received important updates from our informant. The Kilostar Domain is gradually disintegrating, and a sealing formation is acting on all those beyond seventh-level samsarans to restrict their power. The stronger they are, the more they will be limited by the formation. Since that is the case, Tianming’s chance of survival will be even greater. Many signs have shown that he has received Great Emperor Xuanyuan’s blessing, so please rest assured....”

While that was comforting news, it wasn’t enough to calm Feiling down. She wouldn’t be at ease until she saw him back alive and well.

“So are we leaving him there to his own fate?” Feiling asked.

“Your Eminence, we would like to rescue him immediately as well. But before that, we need to plan our next moves. The enemies have already sent troops to the Kilostar Domain, and they have set up formations there. We are losing in numbers, and if we leave the sect’s protective formation, we can easily be wiped out if we get caught. We simply can’t afford to pick a battle with them right now. The best we can do is select an elite troop and try sending them into the domain.” Feng Taiqing answered.

“One more thing, Your Eminence. Troops from Nonahall, Quadform, and Heptastar are currently sieging Pentaphase. Pentaphase is heavily outnumbered, and they risk being attacked any time now. Their messenger has already arrived requesting help. We simply can’t afford to divert more manpower to the Kilostar Domain at this point in time, ” Xuanyuan Dao added. Everything suggested that it would be close to impossible for them to rescue Tianming.

“I understand.” Feiling pursed her lips.

The atmosphere was tense in Soulburn Hall. The focus of the war was slowly shifting from Feiling to the Kilostar Domain. Wasn’t Nonahall’s goal to rule the continent, or did they intend to first obtain the treasures in the domain before attacking Archaion?

“Your Eminence, the envoys from Triflair and Octagram will be arriving soon. We will need to discuss our next course of action carefully,” Fan Taiqing said.

“Hm.” Feiling nodded. She waved her hand, signaling for them to get out.

“Please excuse us,” said the audience as they left Feiling alone.

Feiling rose from her seat. Alone, she walked across the corridor to the outdoors, where it was still snowing. She took a deep breath and her skin took on a mysterious glow resembling an eternal energy. As she looked up into the sky, a divine beam shot out of her reddened eyes. A perpetual city could barely be seen glowing inside her body.

……

Far away, in a lonely snow-covered field was a tomb with the words ‘Here Lies Fang Xingque’ engraved on it. An elderly lady placed a plate of peeled fruits in front of it. There was a loving smile on her face.

“My grandson, the world is now a strange place. It’s a shame you didn’t get to see it.”

As night fell, she rubbed the tomb as if it was the head of a child. Her expression was filled with love and adoration.

“But grandma’s world can never be the same again. Then, what’s the purpose of this world?” She shook her head.

Soon, she hopped onto the blue phoenix that landed beside her, and together they disappeared into the distant clouds.

“This world… doesn’t have any gods.”

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