These phantom images of human ancestors from the long history of the Dragon Nation have crossed time and space to arrive. Their eyes are resolute and their expressions are tragic. Hand in hand and shoulder to shoulder, they build a seemingly thin but indomitable Humanity Barrier above Xiao Han and the gray crystal.
Almost simultaneously, deep within Xiao Han's soul, the [True Demon Origin Imprint] left by the Otherworldly True Demon, stimulated by the golden light of the Pseudo-God, seemed to be provoked and actively released a wisp of incomparably pure Primordial Demon Qi. This wisp of demonic Qi silently emerged and instantly merged into the Worldheart Fragment sealed by the Cocoon of Chaos.
In an instant, the original aura of the fragments underwent a strange distortion and change, gaining a trace of demonic nature that did not belong to this world and belonged to a higher level.
Boom!
The golden light of destruction finally descended, crashing heavily against the "Humanity Barrier"!
The fortress trembled violently, and the phantom images of countless sages flickered, as if they might vanish at any moment. But in the end, it did not break.
The Pseudo-God's will contained within that golden light had precisely locked onto the Worldheart Fragment. However, upon contact with that sudden wisp of Primordial Demon Qi, it experienced a moment of astonishment and hesitation.
"Target recognition error?"
It was this very moment!
The function of the Humanity Barrier suddenly reversed! It was no longer a barrier, but transformed into a huge vortex that devoured the heavens and earth. Countless illusory figures of the ancients simultaneously reached out and forcibly grabbed the golden light that destroyed the world. In an unreasonable manner, they guided and pulled it, pouring it all into Xiao Han's body on the verge of collapse below the barrier!
A cold system notification sound exploded in Xiao Han's chaotic consciousness:
[WARNING! The Human Dao Merit Golden Wheel has activated its hidden feature - Passing the Torch!]
[This ability can forcibly convert heretical divine power into the host's own essence, but the risk is extremely high! The pain endured will be more than ten thousand times that of ordinary cultivation! Host, please... hold fast to your true self!]
"Ahhh--"
The excruciating pain was beyond words, making Xiao Han's very soul wail.
His physical body was instantly crushed into the most primitive particles under the infusion of this violent divine power, and then forcibly reshaped by the power of the Golden Wheel and the Chaos Green Lotus.
Crush, reshape, crush again, reshape again...
The cycle repeats itself endlessly, like a never-ending cycle of purgatory.
His cultivation level, which had plummeted to rock bottom, rebounded wildly at an unbelievable speed amidst this extreme pain!
Martial Master Realm...
Martial Grandmaster Realm Level 1!
His breath was still rising, but his consciousness had already fallen completely into an abyss of boundless pain.
High above, the Pseudo-God behind the rift realized that his power had been "stolen," and for the first time, his indifferent eyes revealed a look of fury. He wanted to increase his divine power output and wipe out the audacious ant below, along with the entire world.
However, at that very moment...
Inside the sealed Worldheart Fragment, the Otherworldly True Demon soul that Xiao Han had suppressed with his life let out a long sigh that seemed to have traversed countless ages.
An invisible force of law, beyond the comprehension of this world, flashed from the fragment and precisely struck the point where the Pseudo-God and the golden pillar of light connected.
As if the power had been cut off, the earth-shattering golden beam of light instantly lost its source, quickly dimmed, and finally turned into a rain of light that dissipated into nothingness.
The enormous golden crack in the sky began to slowly close.
But in the final instant before it completely shut down, a cold and indifferent golden giant eye, seemingly composed of pure laws, cast a deep glance at the tiny figure below, bobbing in the energy storm.
A [Divine Punishment Mark Divine Oracle Tracking Mark], disregarded the barriers of space and time, imprinting itself upon this world and firmly locking onto Xiao Han's aura.
The storm subsided, and everything returned to silence.
Xiao Han's body slowly fell, and Lin Qingxia caught him again. His physical body had been completely repaired, even more translucent than before, radiating a faint precious light. His cultivation level had also been restored and stabilized at the first level of the Martial Grandmaster Realm, with a terrifyingly solid foundation.
But his eyes were tightly closed, his face contorted in pain, and he remained unconscious, still immersed in an endless purgatory.
"Roar..."
The Chaos-Devouring Beast let out a low roar, and its enormous body began to shrink, eventually transforming into a strange creature about half a person's height, furry, and looking more like a fat cat than a ferocious beast.
It strolled up to Lin Qingxia, raised its paw and scratched its head, then spoke in a deep, aged voice:
"The path of the 'Lord of Return to the Ruins' has begun, but the 'God' has already seen you."
It looked up at the sky, which had returned to normal, its eyes filled with apprehension.
"We cannot linger here; we must leave immediately!"
Lin Qingxia and Su Linglong were both startled.
"Go? Where to?" Su Linglong couldn't help but ask.
The creature, referred to as "Little Chaos" by the Chaos-Devouring Beast, sighed in a human-like manner, its tone carrying a hint of world-weariness and disdain that belied its appearance.
"Here? This is merely a relatively barren patch among the many 'nurseries' of the Divine Court. They sow regularly and harvest regularly, and you are like wheat in the field, never growing tall enough to threaten them."
The shocking secret left the two women deeply shaken.
"To truly grow and escape the fate of being kept in captivity, the only way is to go to the place where all worlds converge— the Central Great World!"
Before the words were even finished, Little Chaos suddenly raised its sharp claws and ripped them apart at the ravaged earth beneath its feet!
"Sizzle!"
The earth was easily torn apart like a piece of cloth, revealing not soil and rocks, but an ancient interdimensional teleportation array covered in dust and engraved with countless mysterious runes!
At the center of the ancient formation, something crucial seems to be missing.
Little Chaos turned its head to look at Xiao Han in Lin Qingxia's arms, and the gray crystal that had become unremarkable and quietly floated beside him.
"Let's go, use that 'key' as the key to the formation, and open the real battlefield!"
"This formation was secretly constructed by the first principal using his supreme divine power to reverse the ley lines of the Imperial Capital's earth veins, creating an emergency refuge passage." The Little Chaos, disguised as a fat cat, spoke with a seriousness and urgency beyond its years. "Its destination is not the true core of the Central Great World, but its edge, a chaotic exile land called the 'Shattered Star Sea.' There, the laws are broken, and the Divine Court's gaze cannot directly reach it; it is our only path to survival."
Lin Qingxia and Su Linglong exchanged a glance, seeing the same resolute determination in each other's eyes. Their homeland was destroyed, their mentor had perished, and the unconscious man before them was everything they had left.
"Let's go." Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Qingxia, carrying Xiao Han, took the lead and stepped into the ancient formation that exuded an aura of vicissitudes.