Chapter 251: The Lord's Fury

In an indescribably dim space, all things were silent, even light and time seemed frozen.

At the center stood a throne forged from the bones of an unknown colossal beast and solidified shadows.

Upon the throne sat a vague human silhouette, as if he were the source of this darkness, the master of all stillness.

In front of him floated hundreds of pale‑blue soul lanterns, each representing the life of a Shadow Guard.

They burned quietly, like ghostly flames in the deep sea.

Suddenly.

"Crack."

A faint, almost imperceptible cracking sound arose.

The silhouette on the throne did not move, seeming indifferent to the sound.

A tiny Shadow Guard died, as if a speck of dust were brushed away.

"Crack... crack."

Two consecutive cracks, and two soul lanterns shattered in response, turning into wisps of blue smoke that vanished completely.

An entire squad of Shadow Guards was annihilated.

Now, the silhouette on the throne finally made a faint, subtle movement.

"Oh?"

A low voice, as if it could scrape the soul, echoed through the vast hall. The voice bore no emotion, only pure curiosity, like a player watching one of his pieces being captured in an unexpected way.

"Interesting."

He muttered to himself, seeming to think this trivial incident brought a minuscule ripple to the eternal stillness.

At that moment, from the shadows of the hall, a Heipao Ren slipped out silently, kneeling on the ground, trembling like a leaf in an autumn wind.

"Lord... Lord... Gui Gan squad, soul lanterns... all annihilated."

"I see," the Lord on the throne said evenly, "the Array Eye that monitors the Whirlwind Trap Zone has also lost its response."

Heipao Ren buried his head deeper, almost pressing it against the cold floor: "Yes... yes! We... we have lost all perception of that area, as if... as if we were completely cut off by a wall."

"Wall?" The Lord seemed amused by the word; he extended a shadow‑wrapped finger, lightly tapping the skeletal armrest, producing a "knock, knock" sound, each tap feeling as if striking Heipao Ren's heart.

"Not a wall," the Lord said calmly, "it's a lock. Someone... from inside, locked the door."

Heipao Ren dared not reply; he could feel that beneath the Lord's calm tone, something was awakening.

"Retrieve the final image of that area."

"Yes... as you command!"

Heipao Ren trembled, pulling a pitch‑black crystal from his coat and infusing it with mana. A ripple like water spread in mid‑air, and a vague image slowly materialized.

In the vision, there was no fierce battle, no energy explosion. Only an ultra‑stable, other‑dimensional space radiating black‑gold light. At its exact center stood a vague, massive humanoid silhouette, the Core of the entire space, the embodiment of the law.

That space was originally their meticulously arranged "Whirlwind Trap Zone," a furnace designed to grind, dissect, and devour powerful cultivators. But now, that furnace... has grown its own will.

The Lord's finger halted.

The temperature of the entire hall suddenly dropped, the air seeming to solidify into ice. Heipao Ren, kneeling, could even see his own breath.

"This is..." The Lord's voice wavered for the first time, a mix of disbelief and absurdity, "Wang Shan?"

He recognized the outline of that humanoid silhouette as the most crucial "Flesh and Blood Key" in his plan!

The plan was not supposed to be like this.

In the plan, Wang Shan would, under the trap's pressure, be forced to merge with his two grandsons, becoming a mindless, ravenous monster. Then, guided by the trap, this monster would devour everything around it, eventually sacrificing itself to open a gate to an ancient ruin for him.

Wang Shan is a key, a sacrifice, a consumable.

But now, this key, instead of opening a door, forged itself into the lock itself! It was not devoured by the trap; rather... it devoured the trap!

It harnessed the trap's power, the Shadow Guards' attacks, even the bloodline of his descendants, achieving an inconceivable leap of existence!

"Ha..."

The Lord let out an extremely low laugh, devoid of any joy, only bone‑chilling cold and an angered authority.

"A pawn daring to become the player?"

Boom!

A wave of indescribable terrifying pressure erupted from the throne, instantly sweeping the entire space! The Heipao Ren on his knees could not even scream; his whole body was crushed to the ground, his bones groaning under the unbearable weight, blood seeping from his seven apertures.

Dark crimson veins lit up across the giant beast's skeletal throne, as if coming to life. The entire dim space shivered under this fury.

"How dare he? How dare he!"

The Lord's voice was no longer even; it roared like thunder. The roar stemmed not from the loss of a few Shadow Guards, but from his work being defiled, his plan utterly overturned by a mere ant in his eyes!

"He thought that turning himself into a turtle shell would keep him safe?"

"He thought that by hiding inside, I would have no recourse?"

The Lord sprang up from the throne; his vague silhouette became strikingly clear, a body forged of pure darkness and a will of destruction, whose mere gaze could shatter a soul.

"Stupid! So stupid!"

He stared at the stable, harmonious black‑gold space in the vision, his eyes brimming with brutality.

"You wanted to be a 'home', didn't you? To protect your grandsons? Very well!"

"I will erase you, this 'home', and everything inside it, from this world... completely!"

He no longer looked at the nearly unconscious Heipao Ren, but issued a command to the empty hall, his voice cold and devoid of any feeling.

"Relay my command."

"Activate the 'Heavenly Disaster' sequence."

"Target coordinates: Whirlwind Trap Zone... no, it should now be called 'Wang Shan's Divine Realm', haha."

"Summon three 'Calamity'-grade Shadow Guards and one 'Executor'."

"I don't care what methods they use, what permissions they invoke; I will turn that space, even a speck of dust, into primordial void."

Tell them they don't need to retrieve anything, they don't need to keep any living souls.

There is only one request...

His Majesty slowly sat back on the throne, and the oppressive pressure of the whole space instantly receded, as if everything that had just occurred were merely an illusion. He again lightly tapped the armrest with his fingers, and the sound regained that heart‑pounding plainness.

... to make them, in the deepest despair, watch their own 'home' being crushed inch by inch.