Chapter 138: Rule Spirit Root, Diverting the Waters Eastward

At the same moment players encountered the Heavenly Soldier, Qi Sheng and the Guidance’s consciousness descended together.

According to the Guidance’s feedback, this being named the Heavenly Soldier carried within it a trace of rule-based power.

Driven by curiosity, he followed the fading bloodline trail through the air toward the direction from which the Heavenly Soldier had come.

Guided by the Guidance, his consciousness crossed two seas and arrived at a sea whose waters glowed emerald green.

The analysis information identified this sea as: Thousand Army Sea.

There, they located the origin point of the bloodline combustion trail—a massive island.

【Boss, this island clearly isn’t native to the Monster World; it was brought in by another faction during their arrival and has since become fully integrated into the Monster World as part of it, introducing new energy elements upon merging.】

After analyzing the island’s data, the Guidance provided feedback.

Qi Sheng nodded upon hearing it.

He wasn’t surprised that world integration brought new energy elements.

The Guidance had previously taught him about this when explaining how to comprehend Emperor Zhao’s foundational power.

It explained that the Monster World could be understood as an open world, originally a completely closed space where its domain nodes were tightly interconnected.

But after Emperor Zhao’s fall, the connections between domain nodes severed, turning the Monster World into an open world and exposing it fully to external factions.

Since then, the Monster World has become a new faction composed of countless puzzle pieces (domain nodes).

Any external faction with sufficient power can merge its own world into the Monster World, squeezing into the gaps between domain nodes and inserting its own domain.

During this process, some core elements of the new world also merge into the Monster World.

For example, if the original Monster World lacked fire elements, a world carrying a fire-element generation framework that merged into it would embed its fire framework into the Monster World’s foundational structure, thereby generating fire energy within the Monster World.

In essence, the Monster World is growing at every moment.

Factions with sufficient power all seek to embed their homeland’s core blocks into the Monster World, aiding its growth to create home-field advantages.

This has caused the Monster World’s spirituality to grow stronger and its generated elemental components to multiply.

All manner of strange and bizarre elements now fill the heavens and earth.

But not every faction can achieve this.

To bring a core world block into the Monster World requires an utterly terrifying amount of energy.

Even the Heavenly Fire Clan, which spent a millennium to build a massive one-time teleportation array for mass migration, could never carry an entire world block.

Those who can achieve this step are already considered potential mighty clans.

He once asked the Guidance a question: if the Monster World grows larger and new rule elements multiply, will the Four Gods’ control over it weaken?

The Guidance gave a negative answer.

It stated that although the Monster World had become an open world, its supreme authority remained Emperor Zhao, followed by the Four Gods.

Like a game that adds countless mods—the game’s ownership still rests with the developer.

Thus, no matter how the Monster World grows, the Four Gods remain the ultimate holders of authority; if they regained their peak strength, they could easily delete those external rule elements.

But the Guidance also noted there was absolutely no need to do so.

The Monster World’s strengthening is fundamentally beneficial—the stronger the world, the more energy it generates during operation.

The only trouble is that the number of powerful enemies is also increasing.

As thoughts surged, Qi Sheng’s consciousness followed the Guidance deeper into the island.

The scenery along the way astonished him.

It resembled a vast assembly-line arms factory, with multiple breeding bases constructed, each filled with enormous numbers of breeding pods.

More importantly, he discovered multiple spatial corridors connecting to outer worlds.

The beings active on the island were a unique lifeform composed of half-energy, half-flesh, their bodies resembling flames condensed from bloodline energy.

After activating his analysis ability, information about one such being surfaced in Qi Sheng’s mind.

【Heavenly Spirit Root】:

Hunting Rank: 205

Target Description: A member of the Ascension World’s Ascension Clan. In early life, they cannot develop normally and must parasitize the flesh of other lifeforms to absorb growth bloodline energy and power. Upon reaching maturity, they emerge from their cocoon, completing a second life evolution into a mature stage capable of free development.

…

“Ascension Clan?”

Curious, Qi Sheng continued following the Guidance’s consciousness as it swiftly traversed the island.

Passing through building after building, even entering small worlds to inspect them, the Ascension Clan’s situation became clear to him—he now understood what had befallen the Heavenly Soldier who had fled to the Cangxing Sea.

This foreign island could be viewed as the Ascension Clan’s breeding factory.

Unlike the terrifying Black Black Tide or Battle Insect Black Tide’s mass-production methods, the Ascension Clan’s breeding process could be understood as elite cultivation.

Their unique biological structure renders their offspring extremely vulnerable in early stages, requiring parasitism to obtain growth nutrients.

To this end, the Ascension Clan had domesticated lifeforms from multiple worlds and fabricated a grand lie.

That lie: the myth of the Immortal Realm.

And the so-called Immortal Realm was this very massive island.

Mature Ascension Clan members would hatch here, completing their second life evolution.

The entire island connected to twenty-three small worlds, each housing domesticated flesh incubators.

Detailed investigation revealed:

Ascension Clan members periodically dropped countless offspring seeds into these twenty-three small worlds.

The seeds were nearly invisible; upon entering a small world, they merged into the air and automatically sought newly born lifeforms, fusing with them.

After parasitism was complete, the host lifeform would develop a Spirit Root.

That is, the cultivation seed perceived by the small world’s inhabitants—the foundation for becoming an immortal.

Several special cases existed during this process.

For instance, when a lifeform was born with multiple Ascension Clan seeds embedded, it developed multiple Spirit Roots.

Such lifeforms grew and cultivated extremely slowly, as the numerous Ascension Clan seeds competed for bloodline energy and power, slowing their cultivation progress by several times compared to single-root cultivators.

In essence, the Ascension Clan considered no member who failed to ascend as a true clan member.

The small worlds could be understood as life incubators—vast structures resembling wombs.

After investing billions of offspring seeds, only those successfully hatched from the incubators were recognized as true clan members.

During this process, the Ascension Clan also poured various resources into the small worlds to accelerate the growth of their flesh hosts.

Yet the beings of the lower worlds perceived this as divine blessing.

But none of the lifeforms in the twenty-three small worlds knew this was all a lie.

This parasitic growth model had two characteristics.

The first was internal breeding.

The Ascension Clan’s seeds were competitors; only a few could truly transform into Ascension Clan members, while the vast majority perished within the domesticated worlds.

The second characteristic was external extraction.

The more the lower-world lifeforms strived, the faster the Ascension Clan seeds grew.

Longevity, the Immortal Realm… all were lies crafted by the Ascension Clan to help their seeds grow better, designed to drive their domesticated hosts toward goals they had set.

Qi Sheng did not yet know when the Ascension Clan had arrived in the Monster World.

But he was certain: the Ascension Clan’s power was immense.

They had extracted a core block from their original world, brought a vast territory with them, and built their development upon this territory.

What was absurd was that beyond the world’s core territory, they had even brought along the spatial tunnels connecting the twenty-three small worlds.

But Qi Sheng fully understood the logic behind this behavior.

Their unique biological structure doomed their offspring to be unable to grow independently during infancy—they must parasitize potential lifeforms and grow alongside them.

The current Monster World was a battlefield of gods; the Ascension Clan could not find suitable hosts here.

Even if they found some, they were unlikely to be viable targets.

Moreover, their lie could not deceive members of powerful factions.

Especially the cataclysmic factions that fought across multiple worlds—the concept of ascending to the Immortal Realm was a joke to them, their cognitive level utterly crushing the Ascension Clan.

Thus, they had relocated their parasitic breeding grounds to the Monster World to continue raising offspring here.

The entire island covered five domain nodes of the Monster World, drawing energy from the nodes and air to nourish the small worlds, aiding the growth of their lifeforms.

To Qi Sheng, this act was outright theft—siphoning Monster World resources to nurture small-world lifeforms.

Then using those nurtured lifeforms to hatch Ascension Clan members, forming a parasitic breeding cycle that continuously produced elite warriors for the Ascension Clan.

Every successfully hatched Ascension Clan warrior had a minimum combat rank of 170.

This breeding system even featured an internal-external dual-cycle recycling system.

On the external cycle, each breeding pod contained instruments that decomposed flesh tissue; after new Ascension Clan members emerged, the remaining unabsorbed flesh was gradually dissolved and shredded by the machines, then reintroduced into the small worlds as dispersed energy.

Squeezing the final value from the hosts.

The internal cycle was the small world’s framework: all spiritual matter from deceased lifeforms would disperse and return to nourish the world, ensuring no spiritual matter leaked out.

Thus, even if conflicts and battles within the small worlds caused some lifeforms to die, the world’s material balance remained unaffected.

Combined with external energy irrigation, the internal-external cycles ensured the breeding farm’s healthy operation.

At the island’s central region, Qi Sheng saw a rune divine pillar.

The pillar was forged from a dark-gold material, its surface glowing with faint You light.

Upon the divine pillar were carved intricate, ancient rune patterns, with a massive black stone embedded at its apex.

Around the pillar’s base were twelve circular grooves, each holding a rune corresponding to a power system: Metal Spirit Root, Water Spirit Root, Wood Spirit Root, Fire Spirit Root, Earth Spirit Root, Ice Spirit Root, Wind Spirit Root, Thunder Spirit Root, Yin Spirit Root, Yang Spirit Root, Heavenly Spirit Root, Earthly Spirit Root.

As his analysis ability activated, information about the rune divine pillar flooded his mind.

【World Rule Trait: Spirit Root】:

Rule Analysis Introduction: The Spirit Root Divine Pillar can bestow innate spirit root traits upon newly born lifeforms; thereafter, lifeforms blessed with rune power gain special ability bonuses corresponding to that trait.

……

Through this analysis, Qi Sheng gained a deeper understanding of the Ascension Clan.

The Ascension Clan possesses a world rule force capable of implanting trait characteristics into the bodies of newly born lifeforms.

Every seed of the Ascension Clan receives this enhancement upon birth, acquiring a random spirit root trait, before being dispatched to the 23 minor worlds, where their offspring seeds freely seek host bodies to complete life fusion.

In other words, the Ascension Clan also descended into the Monster World with a cheat from their homeland.

Their elite cultivation path prevents them from mass-producing troops like Catastrophe-tier forces, unable to control infinite combat units.

Yet the combat power of the Ascension Clan is terrifying.

Every Ascension Clan warrior is an extraordinarily powerful lifeform—calling them celestial beings descending into the minor worlds is no exaggeration; they are utterly unmatched by minor world lifeforms.

And that lifeform named Tianbing is clearly a host body cultivated within the minor world.

For some reason, it slaughtered a semi-mature Ascension Clan member whose body was infused with rule power, escaped from the cultivation assembly line, and flew toward the Cangxing Sea, where it crashed, gravely wounded.

The faint trace of rule energy lingering on Tianbing was clearly the residual spirit root energy left behind after the death of the Ascension Clan member within it.

“Another new faction has appeared. This world is becoming increasingly chaotic.”

【The system of creating combat units through parasitism and breeding—I’ve never seen anything like it. The Ascension Clan clearly developed this complex cultivation assembly line before descending into the Monster World. Perhaps the resources of their homeland could no longer sustain the continuous operation of this cyclical cultivation system, so they relentlessly searched for a new world rich in resources. Eventually, after prolonged searching, they found the Monster World and descended here, carrying their homeland’s rule power and core territory, establishing a new Ascension Clan territory.】

“Let them come. Adding one more Ascension Clan to the Monster World now isn’t a big deal.”

After thoroughly understanding the Ascension Clan’s situation, Qi Sheng’s consciousness retracted along the guidance.

……

Cangxing Sea, Dream Island.

After manipulating his brother to bite fiercely for a long time, Yu Yun once again dragged the Level 75 hunter Tianbing onto shore, still unable to break its defense.

Realizing he could not open the treasure chest through force, Yu Yun fell into deep thought.

There was no doubt that killing Tianbing would bring him massive wealth gains.

But the problem was an ant trying to shake an elephant—his own strength was utterly insufficient to kill Tianbing; this exceeded his maximum penetration threshold.

Yet how could he bear to leave now?

He retrieved his battle axe again and violently swung at Tianbing.

After his palms went numb from the shock, he sheathed the axe and sat dejectedly on the ground, summoning his Society list.

Yu Yun: Brothers, give me some advice—I can’t open the wealth chest because my level is too low. (Screenshot of Tianbing analysis.jpg)

Mang Xingxing: You’re dead, man. Where’d you find this chest? Any more nearby? Give me one too.

Lu 174: My suggestion: put the chest back where you found it. You can’t handle it. If you can’t break its defense, it’s never meant for you. Let nature find someone worthy.

Luo Feng Yuhuo: Try feeding it a gene seed—see if it kills. If one isn’t enough, shove in a handful. If it still doesn’t work, forget I said anything. Or swap your Soul Soul for a Blood Burn Soul to deal true damage. If it works, send me a red packet.

No Novels to Read: Give me coordinates—I’ll lend a hand. Quickly form a team!

Mo Li Linglongyue: Obviously swap your Soul Soul. Before you do, euthanize all your fish brothers—don’t waste them. Send me one to taste (laughing emoji.jpg)

Ji Ren Baoxiao: Give me coordinates—I’ll help. I know how to open treasure chests!

……

Seeing his Society friends suggest swapping Soul Souls, Yu Yun turned to look at his brothers gathered around his feet.

“Hey, looks like our time together is over.”

To successfully penetrate its defense, Yu Yun decided to follow his Society friends’ advice: decompose his current Soul Soul and replace it with a Blood Burn Soul to deal true damage.

He summoned his Star Vein panel, and just as he prepared to strip his Soul Soul, a sudden flash of inspiration struck his mind.

“Huh… what if I try controlling it?”

Although controlling a target with a much higher hunter level is extremely unlikely.

But the key point is Tianbing is already in a near-death, critically wounded state, with severely damaged mental consciousness—perhaps success is truly possible.

Without hesitation, he immediately closed the Star Vein panel, knelt down, and stared at Tianbing.

The Control Soul Soul trait activated. Invisible threads of spiritual energy, centered on him, wrapped around Tianbing and seeped into his body.

When his spiritual vision penetrated Tianbing’s mind sea, the scene before him stunned Yu Yun.

Tianbing’s mental mind sea resembled a shattered, storm-ravaged minor world—its spiritual energy nearly depleted.

But then came overwhelming joy.

To control a target, the Control Soul Soul has three judgment criteria: your own spiritual strength, the target’s spiritual strength, and the Control Soul Soul’s level.

Hunter level, however, primarily reflects the target’s overall combat strength.

Theoretically, a high-hunter-level target could still have low spiritual strength—such targets are easily captured and controlled.

Tianbing’s current state is exactly that.

His body still holds rich blood essence, keeping his hunter level at 75, but his mental consciousness is nearly extinguished—this state is perfect for implanting a “Control” imprint.

As the spiritual threads continuously poured into Tianbing’s body, they automatically formed the Control imprint within his mind sea.

Soon, his spiritual energy could no longer sustain output.

Yu Yun immediately opened his eyes, killed one of his brothers—still in good condition but now worthless—with his battle axe, and stored it in his space satchel.

After withdrawing the surplus spiritual energy into his body, he resumed output, but soon reached another critical threshold.

He had no choice but to continuously reduce the number of his brothers, summoning the Mall panel to purchase and drink Spirit Restoration Potions to restore his condition.

But even after sacrificing all his brothers, he still fell short of fully forming the Control imprint.

Victory was within reach—how could he give up now?

He summoned the Star Vein panel and decomposed his third and fourth Soul Souls, keeping only the first Soul Soul—Control—and the second Soul Soul—Dusk Shadow.

He invested all the evolution points gained from decomposition into the Control Soul Soul.

The Control Soul Soul reached Level 34.

The spiritual threads resumed output, pouring into Tianbing’s mind sea.

Finally, a dark red spiritual imprint solidified above Tianbing’s mind sea, its glow stabilizing after a brief shimmer.

Instantly, Yu Yun’s mind filled with Tianbing’s sensory perception.

“Hahaha! I’m rich! I’m rich!”

He never expected his attempt to actually succeed—he had captured a Level 75 hunter lifeform.

A new brother appeared, giving him a massive, unmatched advantage over all other players.

With this brother, his sacrificial power output would skyrocket, far surpassing the damage potential of controlling a group of silver-tailed fish.

But soon, Yu Yun froze in shock.

No matter how he tried to control it, Tianbing remained unconscious, unable to awaken.

He suddenly realized: although control was achieved, Tianbing was still critically wounded and near death—there was no way he could awaken.

“Damn it, seriously?”

Realizing that if Tianbing never woke up, all his brothers would have died in vain, and all the Soul Souls he decomposed would be wasted, he panicked.

He immediately pulled out healing potions from his space satchel and fed them to Tianbing.

But after Tianbing drank seven bottles of low-grade healing potions, there was still no sign of awakening.

Realizing seven low-grade potions were utterly insufficient, he summoned the Mall panel and spent 2000 sacrificial power to buy twenty medium-grade healing potions at once.

Watching bottle after bottle of healing potion poured into Tianbing’s mouth, Yu Yun felt heartbroken.

Saving money was hard—these were all the growth resources he’d earned through day and night of struggle.

Yet Tianbing’s body was like a bottomless pit—downing bottle after bottle of medium-grade healing potions still showed no sign of awakening.

But the analysis panel confirmed his condition had entered “Weak,” proving the potions were effective.

Soon, all twenty medium-grade recovery potions were consumed.

He’d already invested so much—giving up now would be a total loss. He decisively summoned his Society chat channel:

Yu Yun: Brothers, lend me money—the chest is open, now I need funds to activate the wealth (Screenshot of controlled target.jpg)

Dawn Spirit Eternal: Damn it, you promised to team up and share, yet you’re hoarding everything! Pay back double! (Specified red packet: 800 sacrificial power)

Hyper Electromagnetic Cannon Eternal: I’ll lend at triple return—thanks, boss! (Specified red packet: 500 sacrificial power)

Dragon God Supreme: If I hadn’t known you for three years, you could kneel and beg at my feet—I still wouldn’t lend you a cent. Get your brother to take us leveling! (Specified red packet: 1200 sacrificial power)

Jingtao TNT: You’re bold enough to ask, hoarding loot like this deserves death! Pay back with interest! (Specified red packet: 300 sacrificial power)

……

With support from his Society brothers, Yu Yun quickly gathered 5000 sacrificial power.

He immediately summoned the Mall panel, bought one high-grade recovery potion worth 500 sacrificial power, and poured it into Tianbing’s mouth.

After the effect faded, he bought another, repeating the process.

He couldn’t bring himself to buy ten at once.

Although Mall-purchased items can be sacrificed to recover sacrificial power, only 70% is returned—each high-grade healing potion incurred a 150-point loss.

Finally, after the sixth high-grade healing potion was poured into Tianbing’s mouth.

The “Weak” status marker vanished from Tianbing.

He attempted switching to Tianbing’s viewpoint to control him—Tianbing suddenly opened his eyes, but his gaze was vacant, devoid of any vitality.

Realizing his investment had finally paid off, Yu Yun exhaled deeply.

But then he remembered a serious problem.

The target controlled by the Control Soul Soul is not part of the player system, so it cannot be brought back to Emperor Tomb Village.

This means that if he dies, he will permanently lose his powerful Tianbing.

Secondly, when Heavenly Soldiers die in battle, they cannot be resurrected like pets in other games.

“We’re screwed. One-life Cultivation Mode.”

Yu Yun’s expression froze instantly—he realized he had made an extremely serious mistake.

If his good brother died before recouping his investment, all his expenditure would be utterly wasted.

More importantly, he could no longer return to the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range, since the teleportation array was located within the Misty Coast novice village space.

The Heavenly Soldier could not follow it into the novice village space, and thus could not reach the Emperor Tomb Mountain Range.

At this moment, he turned his head toward the floating guidance water orb beside him:

“Guidance Brother, how can I bring a target marked with the Control Seal back to Emperor Tomb Village?”

【Cannot bring back to Emperor Tomb Village. Cannot enter novice village space.】

“Why is there such an absurd rule!” Yu Yun erupted in fury.

【Because this thing is merely controlled, not fully yours—it differs from the weaponized vehicle’s life-extension Cultivation Mode. The target you control belongs to a different life system from players.】

What Guidance did not elaborate was that the Heavenly Soldier fundamentally had no connection to the Challenger System.

This meant its existence was independent of the player’s individuality, and entering Emperor Tomb Village carried certain risks.

After giving this answer in a lazy tone, Guidance continued:

【By the way, I must warn you—this thing still retains residual energy markers from other factions, which have not fully dissipated. It will take half a month for them to gradually fade as its bodily functions operate. There’s a high chance enemies will come hunting you. Suggest you flee early.】

“Holy shit, enemies are coming to hunt us?” Yu Yun turned pale with fear.

He suddenly recalled the Heavenly Soldier’s condition just now.

It was likely driven into near-death by a powerful faction’s pursuit.

So the enemies would very likely come hunting again.

If he had heard this news before controlling the Heavenly Soldier, he wouldn’t have even lifted his eyelids.

As a player, who hasn’t been in the penalty box? Die? Fine. An hour later, you’re still a hero.

No matter how powerful the faction, to him it wasn’t a threat—he’d curse them to his dying breath.

But now it was one-life Cultivation Mode. If his good brother died, he was gone for good.

“Guidance, what should I do?”

【When the hunters arrive, maybe try kneeling down and begging for mercy?】

“Will that work?”

Hearing this, Yu Yun was stunned.

If it could save the Heavenly Soldier’s life, he’d kneel. This was a control target acquired at enormous sacrificial power cost.

If bowing could preserve this fortune, he’d bow.

But the question was—would bowing even work?

“Guidance, will bowing actually help?”

【Highly unlikely. You know the Monster World’s background—bowing’s only effect is to make your death more humiliating.】

“Then why did you suggest I kneel!”

【Theoretically feasible, though probability is extremely low. What if it works?】

“We’re ruined. I’m going to lose everything.” Yu Yun’s expression turned hopeless.

At that moment, a flash of inspiration struck his mind:

“Guidance, can I take the Heavenly Soldier to the sea where the Ancient God Clan’s Arena is located? If the hunters enter Ghost Shadow Sea, will the Ancient God Clan possibly intervene?”

【Good idea. All major factions have territorial awareness. Any powerful lifeform entering their domain will inevitably draw attention—or even direct confrontation.】

“Alright. Head for Ghost Shadow Sea.”

Unable to return to the novice village space, Yu Yun decided to take his good brother on the run.

Their destination: Ghost Shadow Sea—the territory of the Ancient God Clan.

…

Two days later, the Crimson Moon Domain.

On the blood-red sea beneath the Crimson Moon, the Heavenly Soldier surged forward like an arrow loosed from a bow, cutting through waves at astonishing speed in a freestyle stroke, its body nearly parallel to the water’s surface. Each arm stroke sliced the water, propelling it like a flying fish breaching the waves, leaving behind a web of intersecting ripples spreading outward.

At this moment, Yu Yun stood atop the Heavenly Soldier’s back, feeling the wind lash his Iron Face, and a surge of heroism rose within him:

“What ocean vehicle? None compares to my brother.”

Suddenly, a bulge swelled on the sea ahead—a monstrous, jet-black derivative evil spirit burst from the waves.

Its gaping, bloodied mouth bristled with razor-sharp teeth; its spine resembled a serrated saw-blade as it roared and lunged.

As his gaze locked onto it, analysis data surfaced in Yu Yun’s mind:

【Mingshui Demon】:

Hunting Level: 31

Target Analysis: Crescent-level domain-derived aquatic evil spirit, possessing the special ability to control the blood sea.

…

Seeing the Hunting Level of 31, Yu Yun’s eyes flickered with disdain.

Three days ago, he might have avoided it—but now, with his good brother’s power, he didn’t even consider it a threat:

“Brother, ram it to death!”

Under his mental control, the Heavenly Soldier accelerated instantly and slammed straight into the Mingshui Demon.

At contact, it was like a hot knife through butter—the Heavenly Soldier’s arms, swinging in freestyle, instantly tore through the demon’s thick skull skin, piercing into bone and flesh, carving a bloody path forward.

Within seconds, the Mingshui Demon was split cleanly from head to tail.

The Heavenly Soldier’s motion never paused.

A Challenger notification chimed in Yu Yun’s mind—this kill elevated his Control Soul Level to 36.

Turning to watch the massive corpse sink into the seabed, Yu Yun laughed triumphantly.

“Brother, you’re incredible!”

After two straight days of travel and multiple combat tests, his good brother’s strength had surpassed all expectations.

With a Hunting Level of 75, the good brother was nearly invincible in this sea—especially after entering the Crimson Moon Domain, where every aquatic evil spirit fell with a single strike, requiring no finishing blows.

He believed the good brother’s strength could even hold its own against the Heavenly Fire Law King.

But the danger hadn’t passed—he had to survive until the residual energy markers in the good brother’s body fully dissipated. Only then would he truly own him.

Now, he remained in a constant state of mental tension, terrified the good brother’s enemies would come hunting.

Yet during these two days of travel and kills, he had already recovered nearly a quarter of his cost—the sacrificial power yield from kills was astonishing.

Twenty minutes later, the good brother carried him through the Crimson Moon Domain, revealing a completely different seascape.

The sea surface here was shrouded in thick fog; ghostly green flames drifted through the air, and howling winds collided over the waves, producing mournful, wailing cries.

The environment was oppressive—but Yu Yun exhaled in relief.

Entering Ghost Shadow Sea meant reaching the Ancient God Clan’s territory.

If an outsider invaded, the Ancient God Clan might intervene—reducing the chance of his good brother being hunted down.

He summoned the map function, located the position of the Death Arena, and adjusted course to continue forward.

But this time, he slowed his pace.

Although the good brother’s Hunting Level of 75 meant nothing to the Ancient God Clan—even less than their servants—he still feared being killed.

He could only hope the Ancient God Clan would ignore their arrival, mistaking them for random ocean creatures.

His next task: take his good brother hunting in this sea, and recover his costs as quickly as possible.

He summoned the Star Vein panel and purchased an Eagle-Head Demon Soul from his Soul Repository, embedding it in his third Soul Slot, setting its evolution point yield to 5%.

This was his crucial auxiliary tool for hunting targets.

He activated the Perception Perspective—Level 1 Eagle-Head Demon’s range was a 50-meter radius, but could be enhanced by mental strength.

And the “Control” soul he had embedded was the primary mental-strength-boosting soul.

With mental strength enhancement, his Perception Perspective extended to a 160-meter radius.

He quickly locked onto a marine creature beneath the surface, issued a mental command, and spoke aloud:

“Brother, take it down!”

Instantly, the Heavenly Soldier dove beneath the waves, racing toward the target. Soon after, it completed the kill. Yu Yun surfaced, holding fish meat, feeling utterly delighted.

If he could preserve his good brother’s life, he’d become rich.

His good brother was a money-printing machine—ordinary marine creatures couldn’t survive a single round against him.

Three days later.

Yu Yun had been circling the island where the Death Arena was located; every time a flying vehicle passed overhead, his heart leapt in terror.

Once, he had desperately longed to please the Ancient Gods.

Whenever flying vehicles arrived at Misty Coast, he’d eagerly sign up, hoping to be chosen and sent to the Death Arena.

Now, he feared being captured and separated from his good brother.

Worse—he feared his good brother would be captured too. That would be the end.

His good brother would become a tool to please the Ancient Gods, doomed to die in round after round of combat.

As for fifteen victories—he doubted his good brother could even reach that stage.

Swimming along the island’s coastline, Yu Yun pulled a piece of fish meat from his spatial pack and shoved it into his good brother’s mouth to aid recovery.

His extended perception continued scanning for targets.

Suddenly, a thunderous crash echoed from the sky—he turned his head.

A bright blood-red hue appeared in the eastern sky, followed by countless figures emerging from the blood-colored light.

These figures resembled burning blood flames, hurtling toward him at incredible speed.

“They can’t possibly be here to kill my good brother,” Yu Yun thought, instantly tensing up at the sight.

【No doubt about it—they’re here for your good brother. If all else fails, get ready to kneel and beg. Who knows? Maybe it’ll work.】

“Don’t mess with me!”

Hearing the guide’s reply, Yu Yun decisively gave the order—his good brother’s swimming speed surged abruptly.

But before the approaching figures, his good brother’s swimming speed was negligible.

The blood-flame figures drew ever closer, and Yu Yun’s tension reached its peak.

Just as the Ascendant Clan warriors were less than one kilometer from the Death Arena Island.

The sky suddenly tore open under invisible force—a blazing molten hue erupted from the island’s depths, spreading across the heavens and rapidly coalescing.

A colossal, unmatched energy arm rose abruptly from the island’s unknown depths, piercing through thin clouds and gentle winds, reaching for the heavens.

The arm’s hue resembled boiling magma, radiating an ominous aura; every inch of its skin seemed to contain terrifying energy capable of shaking mountains and rivers. Its muscular texture was clearly visible—even from afar, Yu Yun could feel the heart-stopping heat and the searing, oppressive pressure emanating from deep within his soul.

As the arm slowly lifted, the surrounding air ignited, forming concentric rings of warped heat. Vegetation on the island withered and turned black under the force’s impact; all of nature bowed in that instant to this indescribable power.

The sea waves near the island churned violently in response to the power’s ripples, crashing against the shore with deafening roars, while vast plumes of steam rose from the ocean’s surface.

The colossal energy arm suddenly slammed down upon the approaching Ascendant Clan warriors.

BOOM!

With the thunderous explosion, Yu Yun clapped his hands over his ears and was instantly blown far away by the shockwave from the sky.

Countless Ascendant Clan figures collided with the giant arm; where they met, brilliant light erupted—blinding as the sun.

Watching this from midair, Yu Yun couldn’t help but burst into laughter.

He summoned the guild group chat panel in midair:

Yu Yun: Brothers, one good news and one bad news. The bad news: your good brother’s enemies have truly come to kill him. The good news: the Ancient God Clan has intervened—now both sides are fighting.

Wu Li Qu Pai: Holy shit, turn on the livestream immediately—I want to watch gods fight.

Lu Xiang Xi Nan: You’re a real monster—you actually pulled off diverting the disaster eastward! If the Ancient God Clan gets crushed, you’ll be branded a traitor to the player faction. You won’t even be able to return to your village. Players and the Ancient God Clan are spiritual allies. How much benefit have they given us? If they fall, half the players will hate you to death.

Yi Xiao Zi: Stop talking. Turn on the livestream. I want to watch the fight.

……

Under intense pressure from guild members, Yu Yun, now fallen into the sea, activated livestream Cultivation Mode and switched the camera view to his own perspective.

Instantly, guild members flooded in.

After surfacing, Yu Yun first directed his good brother toward himself, then looked up at the sky.

In the sky above, the massive energy arm was locked in fierce combat with the Ascendant Clan warriors.

In initial clashes, the Ascendant Clan clearly couldn’t match the energy arm—each swing of the arm effortlessly sent an Ascendant warrior flying.

“Beautiful! Go, Ancient God Clan!”

Seeing the Ancient God Clan gaining the upper hand, Yu Yun cheered inwardly.

News of the Ancient God Clan’s war with foreign races spread across the forum, drawing ever more players to Yu Yun’s livestream.

Seeing the Ancient God Clan truly battling other races, players flooded the livestream, cheering and chanting for the Ancient God Clan.

In recent days, the frequency of aircraft arriving at Caiwu Coast to capture fighters had increased dramatically.

Each trip to the Death Arena brought them substantial profits.

All players immediately sided with the Ancient God Clan, hoping for its victory.

Many players in the livestream asked what had happened—how had the Ancient God Clan come to fight other races?

Some even declared they would unleash supreme power to aid the Ancient God Clan in crushing the invading forces.

(_) 10,000-character update complete. Today is day 33 of the 10,000-character streak. Tomorrow continues.

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(End of Chapter)