After eating and drinking their fill.
The three of them leaned against the towering ancient tree behind them.
Illuminated by the dying embers of the campfire and the starlight, they gradually drifted into sleep, recovering from the exhaustion and depletion of the past several days.
However.
For Long Zhanye, this night was not a peaceful rest, but a bizarre and fantastical dream he would remember for the rest of his life.
In his deep sleep, his consciousness drifted aimlessly until it arrived at a boundless Sea of Consciousness shrouded in mist.
There was no up or down, no left or right, no passage of time. Only he himself floated there like an isolated island.
Beneath his feet was the manifestation of his spiritual power—
A calm yet unfathomably deep silver sea, reflecting the equally endless "sky" above.
Within that vast void.
A distant, desolate voice that seemed to have crossed endless time, space, and the barriers of the void.
Slowly came from every direction, from unreachable depths far away:
"Once... there were nine people..."
"They each stood atop different continents..."
"They were all humans... who had touched the threshold of godhood and come infinitely close to becoming 'gods'..."
"But... later... they lost..."
"One soul-stealing shadow shattered nine heavens; ten thousand miles of mountains and rivers were emptied for me!"
The chant-like murmur of those two lines carried a resolute force capable of tearing apart heaven and earth, as well as a tyrannical loneliness.
It echoed through Long Zhanye's Sea of Consciousness, making even his spiritual power tremble slightly.
He seemed to see fragmented scenes, blurry yet horrifying—
Nine figures towering between heaven and earth, a soul-stealing shadow piercing through the world, shattered continents, and ten thousand miles of desolate mountains and rivers...
"I... wander through the endless void... unaware of the passing years... only to... find one destined for me..."
"Look beneath your feet... shall I grant you a fortune...?"
Long Zhanye subconsciously lowered his head and looked at the "sea surface" beneath his feet.
Then he saw.
At the place below him where the phantoms of the four black Ten-Thousand Year Soul Rings from the real world had been reflected.
The outline of a fifth Soul Ring slowly and eerily emerged!
It was also black, but its richness of color, ancient aura, and strange texture far surpassed the other four Ten-Thousand Year Soul Rings!
This Soul Ring did not seem to have been condensed from a Soul Beast.
An indescribable quality flowed across it, as though it bore the aura of countless years and the desolation of the void.
Faint gray-black mist curled around it, radiating cold fluctuations that did not belong to the laws of this world.
At the same time, a strange black shadow transformed into a thick, pure mass of gray-black mist.
It rapidly sank and merged into the depths of Long Zhanye's Sea of Consciousness, then fell silent.
There was no further movement, as if an eternal black reef had simply appeared on the ocean floor.
Long Zhanye's consciousness blurred for a moment before being pulled back into the depths of sleep.
The next morning.
Birdsong rang crisply through the forest as the morning light streamed down through gaps in the leaves.
Long Zhanye was awakened by the sounds of stretching and yawning.
Old Man Gu and Zhua Yun were already awake, loosening up their stiff limbs.
When Old Man Gu saw Long Zhanye open his eyes, he immediately urged, "Brat, stop dawdling and get ready!"
"Today, we're finding your Fifth Soul Ring. Once we hunt down this final ring, we can head home and stop feeding mosquitoes in this forest!"
Long Zhanye rubbed his slightly swollen temples. The memories of last night's dream remained vivid.
Especially that black Soul Ring that had appeared from nowhere...
His heart was full of questions. Instinctively, he released his Martial Soul and revealed his Soul Rings.
The Heavenly Eye on his forehead warmed slightly before slowly opening.
Within the depths of its silver iris, a mysterious black gleam had appeared.
Then.
Soul Power surged beneath his feet as five Soul Rings—black, black, black, black, black—
Rose one after another!
Wait... five?!
Long Zhanye's eyes widened abruptly as he stared fixedly at his feet!
The spot that had originally been empty, the place where his Fifth Soul Ring should have awaited him, now held a mysterious... black Soul Ring!
It was identical to the phantom "Soul Ring" he had seen in last night's dream!
"This... this is real?!" Long Zhanye rubbed his Double Pupil in disbelief, then sensed it again carefully.
The connection between the Soul Ring and himself was incomparably real. His Soul Power flowed smoothly, as though this Soul Ring had always belonged to him and had existed for a long time.
His Soul Power had also stabilized at level fifty-five, precisely the increase one should gain after absorbing a Ten-Thousand Year Soul Ring!
He tried hard to recall the final whisper from last night's dream. That voice seemed to have called itself...
"The God of Sin"?
The title made his heart tighten, yet left him even more confused.
"Hey! Brat! What are you spacing out for? I told you to get ready... huh?"
Old Man Gu turned around impatiently, but stopped halfway through his sentence.
His gaze landed on the five Soul Rings beneath Long Zhanye's feet, and his voice abruptly cut off!
His old eyes instantly widened as if he had seen a living ghost!
"You... you, you, you!" Old Man Gu pointed at Long Zhanhai, his tongue tangling.
"You have... an extra Soul Ring?! And it's a Ten-Thousand Year one?!"
"Didn't you only have four before we went to sleep yesterday?! Brat, what did you do last night?!"
"Did you sneak off while we were asleep to hunt a Soul Beast by yourself?!"
Zhua Yun, standing nearby, had seen it as well. His face was equally filled with shock. "Junior Brother, what... what happened?"
"Last night, you..."
Long Zhanye looked at their shocked and suspicious expressions, then shook his head with a bitter smile. "No..."
"I didn't secretly go hunt a Soul Beast. I... I just had a very strange dream last night, and when I woke up... it was like this."
"A dream? You dreamed a Soul Ring grew out on its own? Who are you trying to fool, brat?!" Old Man Gu clearly did not believe him, glaring with puffed cheeks.
"Tell us the truth! What happened? Did you find some treasure-filled Soul Beast nest we don't know about?"
Zhua Yun wore the same expression that said, Do you really think I'd believe that?
Long Zhanye did not understand the situation himself. The dream had been far too bizarre. The source of that voice and the manner in which the Soul Ring had been bestowed were completely beyond his understanding.
Unable to explain it in detail, he could only emphasize again, "I really don't know. I had a dream, and then the Soul Ring appeared."
Seeing that Long Zhanye's expression was also filled with confusion, Old Man Gu and Zhua Yun exchanged a glance. Though doubts still filled their hearts, they did not press him further.
Old Man Gu stroked his beard and put on an inquisitive expression. "Forget it, forget it. I've lived this long—what strange things haven't I seen..."
"Since you have the Soul Ring, let me see what kind of thing this Fifth Soul Skill from your 'dream' is."
"It won't be a dream too, will it?"
Long Zhanye composed himself. He was also eager to know what ability this Soul Ring of unknown origin had given him.
Black light slowly flowed across the Soul Ring.
"Fifth Soul Skill—"
Long Zhanye shouted softly as his hands formed a strange yet solemn seal.
The middle and ring fingers of his left hand lay horizontally across the Heavenly Eye on his forehead, while the middle and ring fingers of his right hand stood upright before it.
The four fingers crossed to form a slanted cross, and then his arms slowly pulled apart to either side!
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