Chapter 842

"Soul Sovereign, Xiao Yan?"

Before him stretched a magnificent landscape, its energy so dense it seemed solidified; this realm resembled a primordial land of the Great Thousand World, with top-tier spiritual plants glowing brilliantly, clusters of lingzhi mushrooms, and treasure trees swaying gently—a scene of holy sacred land that left observers awestruck.

No one would have imagined such a paradise-like treasure land lay beyond the Domain Beyond, controlled by the Domain Beyond's demonic clans.

At the heart of this supreme treasure land, where energy was most concentrated, a man clad in a white robe like a scholar sat in the courtyard, sipping tea while admiring the cliffside waterfall before him.

The scholar was tall and slender, his refined face framed by bright, sharp eyes that radiated intelligence and alertness.

His black hair was neatly tied at the nape, his appearance simple yet immaculate; his fingers were long and agile, his gaze revealing a deep passion for knowledge and pursuit of wisdom—he seemed a cultured, elegant young man.

Yet on the Dou Qi Continent, this seemingly gentle scholar was a figure whose name struck terror into hearts, for he was none other than Hun Tian Di, the Clan Leader of the Soul Sovereign, once the most powerful Dou Emperor Family on the Dou Qi Continent.

Upon hearing those four words, Hun Tian Di's lips curled into a faint smile as he turned his head toward the black-and-white flame shadow behind him and asked, "You've seen him?"

The black-and-white flame shadow was naturally the Heavenly Demon Flame clone of the Holy Heavenly Demon Emperor; the Holy Heavenly Demon Emperor himself was not here—this land belonged to the Soul Sovereign, not the Soul Sovereign of the Dou Qi Continent, but one of the Thirty-Three Great Tribes of the Domain Beyond, the continent known as Tian Hun Da Lu.

"He, like you, earned the Saint Pupil's recognition. Not long ago, he chased a Spirit Rank Heavenly Supreme into the Domain Beyond and used the Saint Pupil to unleash my god's Divine Technique, slaying that Heavenly Supreme," said the Holy Heavenly Demon Emperor.

Hearing that Xiao Yan had hunted a Spirit Rank Heavenly Supreme into the Domain Beyond in just two years, even Hun Tian Di found it unbelievable.

Though Hun Tian Di now possessed the combat power of a Yin Demon Emperor, in truth, like Xiao Yan, he had only broken through in Soul Force—his Cultivation Realm had not yet reached that level. Yet the Soul Sovereign possessed unique traits: their Soul Force was intrinsically tied to their Cultivation Realm and could be converted into it.

After arriving in the Great Thousand World, Hun Tian Di departed alone, following the guidance of the Gate of Death into the corrupted Shen Shou Continent, where he discovered a site where a Demon Emperor had perished; though the Demon Emperor was dead, his residual soul and potent Demon Qi still lingered.

Hun Tian Di was not the only one who found this fallen Demon Emperor's site—there was also a squad of Execution Demon Masters, sent to eradicate the Demon Emperor's residual consciousness.

In the end, Hun Tian Di not only tricked and killed that squad of Execution Demon Masters, but also deceived the half-dead Demon Emperor, sucking his residual soul into the Gate of Death, refining it to enhance his power, and using the Demon Emperor's soul memories to locate a Saint Pupil of Tian Xie Shen within the corrupted Shen Shou Continent.

Hun Tian Di obtained the Saint Pupil and was recognized as its master, but unlike Xiao Yan, he leveraged his identity as the Holy Son to directly enter the Domain Beyond, join the Domain Beyond's demonic clans, pass one of their Trial grounds, acquire a Secret Treasure, and thereby break his Soul Force beyond the Emperor realm.

He became the leader of a new great tribe among the Domain Beyond's demonic clans—though ranked last and possessing the weakest power among the Thirty-Three Great Tribes' Clan Leaders, his status remained high due to possessing the Saint Pupil.

"If he obtained the Saint Pupil, it's not surprising," said Hun Tian Di. In two years, with the Domain Beyond's vast resources, he had pushed his Soul Force past the Heavenly Supreme—already an astonishing pace—yet still failed to outpace Xiao Yan.

The Holy Heavenly Demon Emperor found it unsurprising that Hun Tian Di knew Xiao Yan, since both hailed from the same Lower Plane.

Hun Tian Di set down his teacup and gazed toward a direction, speaking calmly, "He has also reached Heavenly Supreme power. It is time for me to move."

As Hun Tian Di finished speaking, the silent realm remained still for several minutes—then, before him, the empty space rippled, and as space violently undulated, a vortex slowly formed.

From within the vortex emerged several figures familiar to Xiao Yan: Hun Xu Zi, Hun Mie Sheng, Hun Feng, the Four Demon Saints, and other powerful Soul Sovereign warriors!

Of course—Hun Tian Di had already joined the Domain Beyond's demonic clans, and the Soul Sovereign had become one of their great tribes; how could their warriors still remain on the Dou Qi Continent?

Guided by Hun Tian Di, Hun Xu Zi and the others left the Dou Qi Continent, entering the Domain Beyond.

The Soul Sovereign of the Domain Beyond is a tribe—not merely a lone commander like Hun Tian Di!

Clad in a Soul Robe, Hun Mie Sheng knelt on one knee and barked to Hun Tian Di, "Clan Leader, all clan members are ready."

Hearing Hun Mie Sheng's report, Hun Tian Di's face retained its detached, world-weary smile as he nodded lightly: "Good. Then let us depart—to seize the Dimensional Embryo!"

"Yes, Clan Leader!"

Hun Tian Di had no intention of returning to seize the Dimensional Embryo of the Dou Qi Continent—the Domain Beyond's demonic clans had always scoured Lower Planes to seize their Dimensional Embryos, draining their power, and even capturing their inhabitants as blood offerings for Tian Xie Shen's resurrection.

Hun Tian Di had only broken through in Soul Force beyond the Emperor realm, yet his Cultivation Realm had not yet reached Heavenly Supreme—he still needed a Dimensional Embryo. Perhaps due to the Soul Sovereign's exceptional Soul Force Perception, he had indeed discovered a previously unknown Lower Plane.

With a flick of his sleeve, Hun Tian Di unleashed terrifying Soul Power, tearing open Space; on the other side of the rift lay a beautiful, fertile Lower Plane continent—unaware that danger was already approaching.

"Soul Sovereign, Xiao Yan… you're having quite the fun in the Great Thousand World," Hun Tian Di murmured, his eyes narrowing into a knowing smile, before leading countless Soul Sovereign warriors toward the Lower Plane.

Six months later, on the other side, Xiao Yan—who had long returned from the Domain Beyond to Ning Tian Continent—stood before a massive Spirit Array, preparing to return to the Dou Qi Continent.

"Brother Xiao Yan, the interstellar Teleportation Spirit Array is fully constructed," said Xun Er, beside him, checking the array as she completed the Universe Space Teleportation Spirit Array, her voice filled with excitement.

"Thank goodness you understand how to construct such an advanced Spirit Array—otherwise, every trip would require Mao Wu, and it'd be too troublesome for others to reach the Great Thousand World." If Xiao Yan had to personally fetch everyone each time, it would be unbearable.

Fortunately, Xun Er possessed extraordinary Spirit Array talent; in just six months, she had not only elevated her Cultivation Realm to Upper Earth Supreme, but could now use Sacred Artifacts and the Wisdom Eye Array Heart to construct high-rank Patriarch-level Spirit Arrays.

In the center of Western Region City on Ning Tian Continent, Xun Er, through cultivation and study, spent half a year and consumed nearly one billion Supreme Spirit Liquids and countless precious ores to finally complete this colossal Teleportation Spirit Array capable of spanning Universe Space.

A gigantic Teleportation Spirit Array stood at the city's heart—a portal capable of reaching the Universe Space where the Dou Qi Continent lay.

This was thanks entirely to the Xuanshi Emperor; after Xiao Yan and the others raided the Xuanshi Palace, they acquired vast resources, and with the wealth of a supreme faction, Xun Er had been able to construct such a massive array.

The farther the teleportation distance, the rarer and more precious the materials required—making construction exponentially harder, not to mention the cost of hiring a high-rank Spirit Array Patriarch.

Naturally, with the support of such a colossal faction's resources, and over these six months, Xiao Yan had finally elevated his Spiritual Power Cultivation Realm to Great Perfection Earth Supreme, while Xiao Yixian and Cai Lin reached Upper Earth Supreme.

It was hard to imagine that someone capable of slaying a Heavenly Supreme had yet to reach Great Perfection Earth Supreme in Spiritual Power Cultivation!

"This Teleportation Spirit Array is truly extraordinary—such complexity, Xun Er, you're incredibly talented," said Xiao Yixian, gazing at the monstrous array beside her, lavish in her praise—for even Xiao Yan could not achieve such feats in Spirit Arrays.

Cai Lin nodded beside her, softly saying, "No time to waste—the first teleport requires initial positioning, and it will take longer."

This colossal Teleportation Spirit Array had never been activated before, so Xiao Yan must lead the way, setting its destination point on the Dou Qi Continent to establish mutual connectivity—so that those on the Dou Qi Continent could later use the array to reach Ning Tian Continent directly.

Of course, activating the array still required immense energy.

"If we depart now and don't stop, we should reach the Dou Qi Continent in about ten days," Xun Er said softly to Xiao Yan.

"Ten days—much faster than our journey here on the Heavenly Tomb ship," Xiao Yan nodded. "Let's go—we're returning to the Dou Qi Continent!"

All present nodded, and without hesitation, they moved as one, transforming into streaks of light that surged into the massive Teleportation Spirit Array; Xun Er swept her sleeve, sending forth one hundred thousand drops of Supreme Spirit Liquid into the central groove of the array.

Xiao Yan summoned Mao Wu, who stood upon the array's Space Compass; Mao Wu then unleashed a wisp of Strange Fire, locking the spatial coordinates—suddenly, the Teleportation Spirit Array erupted in blinding Spiritual Light, space twisted, and in the next instant, a spatial vortex formed, swallowing Xiao Yan and the others whole.

When the Spiritual Light faded, the four figures within the teleportation array had vanished.

Watching Xiao Yan and the others depart, Qiao Shihong shouted, "Brother Xiao Yan, return soon!"

—

In the Great Thousand World, vast and boundless, beyond its outer edges, in Cosmic Spaces where Spiritual Energy could not reach, countless self-contained Lower Planes existed.

The Dou Qi Continent was one of these countless Lower Planes—an ancient land whose existence predates many Lower Planes and small continents of the Great Thousand World, and possibly even surpasses some Super Continents in antiquity.

If measured by sheer size, this ancient continent, once sealed, could not rival Super Continents like Tian Luo Da Lu or Shen Shou Continent—but if judged by the peak strength of its past masters, it surpassed even Tian Luo Da Lu and Western Heaven Continent.

After all, in the distant ancient era, the Dou Qi Continent had produced two Original Dharma Bodies.

Two of the Ten Great Original Dharma Bodies who fought Tian Xie Shen were born from the Dou Qi Continent!

Though these two Original Dharma Bodies had been lost in the Great Thousand World—no cultivation methods remained, not even their names remembered—there could be no denying that the Dou Qi Continent had once been glorious and mighty.

But that was all in the past; due to the Domain Beyond's demonic clans, the ancient Dou Emperors sealed the Dou Qi Continent, cutting off cosmic energy, causing the strength of its cultivators to steadily decline. For fifty thousand years, no Dou Emperor had emerged, and even Dou Saint peak-level Golden Pill Alchemists had become as rare as phoenix feathers.

Of course, two and a half years ago, Xiao Yan shattered the Great Thousand World's Flame Sealing, opened a passage, and introduced cosmic energy, after which the Dou Qi Continent gradually returned to its former state, with spiritual plants flourishing across the land and the overall Cultivation Realm of all cultivators continuously rising.

The continuous improvement of cultivators across the entire continent was not only due to the influx of cosmic energy into the Dou Qi Continent, but also because, before leaving, Xiao Yan vigorously developed the cultivation system and disseminated various cultivation methods to every corner of the continent through auctions, causing countless Sects and Factions to rise in power.

And when it comes to Sects and Factions, one cannot avoid mentioning the number one Sect of the current Dou Qi Continent—Yun Lan Sect!

"What! You mean even Tianren Qike from Zhong Zhou plans to join Yun Lan Sect!" Upon hearing this name, no matter how arrogant or self-proclaimed brilliant the genius, all were struck dumb with shock.

To dare call oneself Tianren is proof of one's level of strength.

Tianren Qike was one of those geniuses who rose to fame after Xiao Yan and his companions broke through the void, when cosmic energy flooded the Dou Qi Continent and restored it to its ancient glory.

"Not just that—rumor has it even Yan Clan's Fire Sha Immortal Maiden is joining Yun Lan Sect!" But before this news had even spread, another earth-shattering revelation emerged: a core disciple of the Dou Emperor Family Yan Clan was also set to enroll in Yun Lan Sect.

"Impossible!" Upon hearing this, everyone was stunned.

The Yan Clan, a Dou Emperor Family, stood at the very pinnacle of the Dou Qi Continent—hardly any other lineage could rival it. As a member of the Yan Clan who came to the continent, Huo Sha's qualifications needed no explanation.

The Yan Clan's depth of heritage was even stronger than, not weaker than, Yun Lan Sect's—yet even Huo Sha of the Yan Clan had suddenly enrolled in Yun Lan Sect, leaving everyone speechless.

"Just what is going on with Yun Lan Sect's recruitment this time!" Hearing this, many cultivators who had hoped to join Yun Lan Sect were utterly bewildered.

Yun Lan Sect was not located in Zhong Zhou, but within the legendary Jia Ma Empire—and Yun Lan Sect had already become the spiritual cultivation Holy Land in the hearts of countless cultivators, so every year, during its recruitment, countless people flooded in.

"This is truly creating a golden age—only when His Majesty still lived did countless geniuses from all corners of the world come, even geniuses from Dou Emperor Families arriving out of admiration." Seeing this grand scene, some Sect Patriarchs and Ancestral Masters murmured softly.

Catching up on yesterday's update—stayed up all night, going to sleep now~