Chapter 291: I Will Expedition, Until the Void's End

On the palace wall of the Imperial City, Wang Zhize's closed eyes already have his consciousness beyond the mortal world.

The Core of his "Newborn Realm", that chaotic furnace transmuted from a seed of the Void, is frantically parsing the torrent of memories it just devoured.

That million‑year‑old memory of the Corrosion Device, like a shattered star, its countless fragments are forcibly reassembled and restored under Wang Zhize's will.

A vast, icy, suffocating star map unfolds within his world.

It is not a normal universe.

The pitch‑black background is not void, but a living, constantly writhing "Dark".

On the star map, each flickering Light Spot represents a once vibrant world.

Now, the overwhelming majority of Light Spots appear as a dim, dying gray.

What makes his expression even colder is that many Light Spots bear a large or small black blot, identical to the pollutant source beneath the Return-to-Origin Sect's forbidden underground.

Invisible strands that twist dimensions and causality extend from these black blots, spanning endless light‑years, linking one another.

Eventually, all strands converge at the center of the star map.

There, an absolute darkness that even Wang Zhize's will cannot fully pierce.

A net.

A Void Web that uses worlds as nodes, dimensions as strands, and the despair of all beings as sustenance…

At the web's center, an indescribable massive shadow lies sleeping.

The entire colossal net contracts and expands in sync with each breath‑like pulse of the shadow.

Each pulse extinguishes the brilliance of a world completely.

"So… this is your true face."

Wang Zhize's will returns to his flesh; he opens his eyes, gazing down at the myriad lights of the Imperial City, the warm mortal fireworks contrasting starkly with the icy death‑star map in his mind.

"A spiderweb that spans the heavens, preying on worlds."

The curve of his mouth is no longer the previous sternness, but an extreme calm.

It is the deathly silence of the deepest sea before a storm arrives.

Sweeping a world's trash is now meaningless.

What he intends is to find the spider that weaves the net, and then… flip its table.

"These 'Lurking Shadows' are both signposts and connecting nodes."

A thought pierces space, exploding directly in the minds of Li Hu and Zhang Mei within the Return-to-Origin Sect's Forbidden Area.

"Between them exists a special resonance, which I call… Void Beacon."

Wang Zhize's voice bears no emotion, yet it carries the authority that defines everything.

"I will use this beacon to travel upstream, to find its source."

Li Hu and Zhang Mei's spirits are violently shaken.

Reverse… cutting the heavens?

Sir, does this mean… to actively storm the enemy's lair?!

"Your mission is over."

Wang Zhize's orders follow in succession.

"Return to the Imperial City, assist Zhao Wuji, stabilize the new dynasty's fortunes. Additionally, using the Imperial City as a base, select from the Imperial Guard those with top‑tier mind, root, and soul, and cultivate them in secret."

"I want you to forge for me a 'Lawbreaker' legion."

"In the future, my world will need Sword Bearers."

Li Hu and Zhang Mei's blood boils instantly at this moment!

They are no longer mere guards, but the first batch of craftsmen shaping the future in the master's hands!

"Obey… the lord's command!"

Both bow, their tone a unprecedented fervor and resolve.

In the next instant, Wang Zhize's will envelops them, space folds, and the two instantly return from the southwestern sect's Forbidden Area to the Imperial City thousands of miles away.

The valley of the Forbidden Area now contains only Wang Zhize and Wang Zhitao.

Or rather, Wang Zhize's will projection and Wang Zhitao's true body.

"Brother."

Wang Zhitao burps loudly, a wisp of pure Void breath lingering at his mouth corner, and curiously looks at Wang Zhize, "Aren't we going home to eat?"

"Eat."

Wang Zhize's projection gives a faint smile, his gaze landing on him.

"But this time, we go to a larger dining hall."

He extends a finger, pointing at Wang Zhitao's forehead.

"Simulate its breath."

Command issued.

Wang Zhitao's body trembles, the pure, devouring nature belonging solely to the 'Devouring Origin Overlord Body' begins a subtle transformation.

His breath is no longer merely hunger and dominance; it now bears a layer of disguise.

A layer of ancient, deathly silence, imbued with decay and Termination, the breath of a 'Void Walker'.

He seems to have become a minor pollutant source.

"Very good."

Wang Zhize's will precisely captured the faint Core "Beacon" imprint remaining inside the 'Jet‑black Crystal' that Wang Zhitao had digested.

At this moment, under the pull of the homogenous breath simulated by Wang Zhitao, this imprint is activated!

Buzz—!

The space was not torn, but like a sugar cube dropped into water, it began to dissolve itself.

A twisted, irregular void silently expanded above the Altar.

It was not a door; it resembled a wound of a world, constantly oozing pus‑like "error" information.

A mixed stench of sulfur, rotting corpses, and the charred smell of souls burnt to ash seeped from the void, enough to drive any being below the Divine Soul realm into instant madness.

Opposite the void lay a world that could not be described in words.

The sky was a solid violet‑black, like a massive pool of clotted blood.

A black sun hung on the horizon, emitting not light and heat but despair and cold.

The ground was ash‑gray, as if the ashes of countless beings that had burned out over eons were piled there, turning to powder underfoot.

Faintly, one could hear an eternal, unending wail that crossed dimensions, the collective cries of billions of beings.

"So fragrant…"

Wang Zhitao's eyes lit up instantly, and saliva involuntarily dripped from the corner of his mouth.

Amid the wail and despair, he smelled a … a feast fit for a gluttonous demon that made his very soul shiver!

Wang Zhize merely stared on, coldly.

Wang Zhize raised his hand, and, facing the ever‑writhing expanding wound, issued a new definition.

【Definition: This passage is a one‑way transmission.】

【Definition: This coordinate is my anchor, not the enemy's beacon.】

【Definition: All reverse probing is fog.】

Words spoken, law follows.

The unstable spatial wound was instantly sealed by an invisible force of order, becoming a clear, stable, circular passage with defined edges.

All overflowing polluted aura and negative information were forcibly blocked inside the passage.

From the Outside World it appeared calm and still, as if nothing had happened.

"Zhitao."

Wang Zhize looked at his younger brother.

"Behind the gate lies the true hunting ground. Every prey inside may be more dangerous than everything you have devoured before combined."

"Hehe."

Wang Zhitao grinned, showing a set of white teeth; his smile was brilliant yet cruel.

"Brother, I'm hungry."

In his eyes reflected the scene of that desperate world, not fear but, like a mortal seeing endless delicacies, a primal appetite etched into his genes.

Wang Zhize said no more.

Wang Zhize's will projection gave one last glance at the earth he himself had forged, now moving toward rebirth.

The lanterns of the Imperial City, the veins of mountains and rivers, the breaths of all beings…

All of this would be protected by him.

"Let's go."

His projection stepped forward first, entering the gate that led to hell.

"Time to eat!"

Wang Zhitao shouted, following close behind, like a starving wolf charging toward a buffet; his figure was instantly swallowed by that violet‑black world.

In the next instant after they vanished,

The circular passage, forced fixed by the law, closed silently as if it had never existed, smoothing all folds of space.

The forbidden ground of Guiyuan Sect once again returned to eternal deathly silence.

On the high walls of the Imperial City, Li Hu and Zhang Mei stood side by side, gazing toward the southwest, their hearts surging.

They knew.

A war that would sweep the heavens, cross dimensions, and truly belong to the "gods".

From this moment, the prelude began.