This Place Belongs to Me Now

The next morning, just as dawn broke, the group arrived at the open space outside the back mountain of the Yuanen Family.

This area was originally a very flat grassland, surrounded by low mountains, with only a very narrow exit to the north.

Last night, the Yuanen Family rolled the ground again, and all the wood chips and broken stones were cleared away.

The frost hadn't completely melted yet, and the grass blades were covered in fine white dust.

Yuanen Zhentian stood at a distance with several clan elders.

They were dressed neatly, but their faces were paler than usual.

Everyone knows that if this succeeds today, the Yuanen Family will no longer be the family cursed by their Martial Soul.

If we lose, this entire valley might disappear from the map.

Yun Jingheng stood in front of Yuanen Yehui, with his back to her.

He looked at the sky first.

The sky was still clear, with a few thin clouds hanging very low.

The wind blew from the west, passing through the mountain pass with a mournful sound.

He turned around and looked at Er Ming.

Er Ming nodded, took a step back, and threw his outer robe to Yuanen Zhentian.

He said, "I'm all better."

Yun Jingheng then looked at Gu Yuena.

With a flick of her wrist, Gu Yuena revealed a thin, silvery scale in her palm.

The silver scales slowly melted into light, spreading around the crowd.

She said, "I've already cast a layer of Dragon Pressure. If the door doesn't open, it won't break. If it does open, it will at least block the outermost layer of impact."

Ye Xinglan remained silent, her Stargod Sword held firmly in her hand.

Tang Wulin, Xie Xie, and Xu Xiaoyan had also arrived at their respective positions.

Tang Wulin was in front, Xie Xie was on the left, Xu Xiaoyan was on the right.

Star Lines emanated from her, forming an extremely fine and dense net that connected everyone together.

Yun Jingheng looked at Yuanen Yehui one last time.

Yuanen Yehui also opened her eyes at that moment.

She said, "Let's begin."

Yun Jingheng nodded and waved his hand towards the air.

Half-Sweet Coffee's voice rang out simultaneously in everyone's ears. "All ready. First layer of protective array activated. Second layer of Dragon Pressure stable. Third layer of Star Net without gaps. Begin the timer."

Yun Jingheng turned around and walked towards the sidelines.

He walked slowly, each step pressing down on the surrounding wind.

By the time he stood still, Er Ming had already walked up behind Yuanen Yehui.

Er Ming raised his right hand, without gathering any strength or channeling any energy.

He placed his palm down, very slowly, and pressed it half an inch above Yuanen Yehui's head.

Then, his palm split open, and a drop of deep red blood welled up from the crack.

The blood was twice the size of a normal person's, and its color was so dark it was almost black, but at its very center was a spot of extremely bright gold.

Blood dripped down.

The moment it touched Yuanen Yehui's forehead, it seemed to come alive and burrowed inside.

Yuanen Yehui straightened up abruptly.

A very short, muffled groan escaped her throat; the sound was low, yet it instantly reddened Xie Xie's eyes.

Er Ming's palm was still hovering above her head, making her look like a stone statue that had been pressed half an inch into the ground.

He said softly, "Hold fast to clarity. Don't let another version of yourself emerge."

Yuanen Yehui didn't speak, closed his eyes, and began his ascent.

At first, it was just a surge of Soul Power.

The Titan Giant Ape's bloodline stirred first; an extremely powerful force rose from her spine, stretching her body inch by inch.

The ground began to tremble, very slightly, and even the blades of grass beneath everyone's feet shook.

Then, a very faint grayish-brown light emanated from her body.

That was the Titan Strength, pure and profound.

Xie Xie's eyes lit up.

But the next instant, something else suddenly surged out of Yuanen Yehui's body. As soon as that thing came out, Yun Jingheng took half a step forward.

The purplish-black aura was not ordinary Soul Power; it was something colder, more chaotic, and even more alien to this world than Soul Power.

They emerged from beneath her skin, more and more of them, swirling wildly around her body, blowing her hair wildly.

Behind it, a pair of enormous, jet-black wings suddenly unfurled with a "whoosh".

The wings stirred up a gust of wind, whipping up the frost from the ground.

Those wings were not an illusion, but real, black-feathered wings of Fallen Angel.

Her entire aura changed; the Titan Bloodline that had been as stable as a mountain just moments before seemed to be pressed into the water by a hand reaching up from the ground.

A purplish-black light emanated from her eyes, fingertips, and strands of hair.

Her ninth Soul Ring suddenly materialized and lit up instantly.

No one urged them to do it.

It lit up on its own, purple and black, like an ancient seal that had been pried open from the inside.

Yuanen Yehui suddenly spoke, her lips barely moving, but everyone heard it. It wasn't her voice; it was as if another version of herself was speaking close to her throat, "Darkness will eventually descend, and only through fall can one find freedom."

Xie Xie froze completely, and Tang Wulin's Blue Silver Grass recoiled violently as if it had been scalded by fire.

Gu Yuena said softly, "They've arrived."

Er Ming hissed, "Don't listen! Stop!"

Yuanen Yehui's body swayed slightly, and the golden light on her forehead flashed brightly before slowly disappearing.

Her breathing was extremely erratic, but she didn't collapse.

The ground suddenly sank, as if something extremely heavy and cold had struck from underground.

In the very center of the open space, with Yuanen Yehui at its core, a purplish-black magic circle emerged. The magic circle was enormous.

It covers an area of nearly 100 meters in radius.

The array patterns were moving, like countless black snakes, turning out from the ground, one after another, until they finally formed a perfectly complete array.

When the magic circle lit up, the entire sky began to turn gray.

Frost rose from the ground, and the air became dry and cold.

Er Ming was forced back three steps by that force. He crossed his arms and used his gray-brown Soul Power to protect his entire body.

He didn't approach, but simply blocked Tang Wulin and the others behind him.

Er Ming whispered, "The door is about to open. Anyone not involved should step back ten paces."

Xie Xie refused.

Yuanen Yehui is still in the formation.

Tang Wulin pulled him back. "Don't distract her."

Xie Xie clenched his teeth tightly.

Xu Xiaoyan released several more Star Lines, covering the area within ten meters of the formation.

She said, "I can stall for time."

Yun Jingheng shook his head. "No need. Let it open."

His voice was extremely calm, yet it stopped everyone in their tracks.

Yun Jingheng looked at the door that was about to take shape and said, "After the door opens, don't panic. Form an array first. Wait for them to come out."

He had just finished speaking when a very high-pitched and thin voice suddenly rang out from the void.

Cracks began to appear in the center of the purplish-black magic array. An extremely thin and narrow opening tore outward from the center of the array. There was no light in the crack, only darkness.

The darkness was so intense and thick that it seemed to devour all the light around it. A few frosty leaves, swept up by the wind, disappeared as soon as they flew close.

The next second, the gap suddenly opened outwards, and a door stood up.

Three meters, five meters, ten meters, fifteen meters.

It didn't stop; as if propelled by something extremely heavy and enormous inside, it surged wildly all the way up.

The door frame was formed from purplish-black spatial rifts, and the doorposts were covered with twisted ancient characters, each one writhing.

The inside of the door was a deep, dark black, so dark that it was impossible to tell whether it was a door or a wound from another world.

And deep within that wound, crimson lights began to glow.

One, ten, hundreds, thousands upon thousands—a whole sea of eyes is slowly turning toward us from the far distance.

Yun Jingheng clenched his fist.

A voice suddenly came from inside the door; the voice was neither loud nor deep.

Its voice was extremely low and slow, as if it came from underground on the other side of the world. "Someone opened the door... How long has it been... Finally... Someone opened the door..."

That voice wasn't from a Demon; it belonged to everyone.

The entire plane behind the door gasped simultaneously. Yuanen Yehui remained seated at the center of the formation, her pupils now a purplish-gold color.

A stream of purplish-gold energy surged from the doorway, pouring directly into her body. Her black wings spread wide, and she was lifted half a foot off the ground by the light.

She was like part of the door, and like the door breathing through her body.

Yun Jingheng didn't wait any longer.

He stepped forward and shouted, "Attention everyone! They're out!"

The first thing to burst out of the door was Hellhounds.

A whole herd of Hellhounds.

It had black and red fur, a spine like a blade, and emitted a thick, sulfurous odor from its mouth and nose.

They crawled on all fours, lowered their heads as soon as they came out, and growled softly.

But they didn't pounce on people immediately; they seemed to be waiting.

More poured out of the door, this time Demonfolk.

It is over two meters tall and its entire body is covered with purplish-black scales.

There was no light in their eye sockets, only two extremely dark red dots. As soon as they landed, they automatically lined up in formation, one row, two rows.

This is an army that has been waiting behind the door for countless years.

Finally, there's the Flying Demons.

Their wings were enormous, and when they flapped, they suppressed the frost. One after another, they rushed out and circled in the sky.

The shrieks blended together, as if the entire valley had been plunged into another world, Er Ming's face changed.

Yuanen Zhentian had already led several clan elders to block the north side, Gu Yuena's Dragon Pressure began to be squeezed outward by the force of the door.

Yun Jingheng turned and glanced at Ye Xinglan, Ye Xinglan nodded.

A sword light rose from her hand, Tang Wulin let out a low shout as the Golden Dragon Spear was already in his grasp.

Xu Xiaoyan's Star Lines are no longer just connecting lines; they have begun to shine.

Xie Xie also drew his twin blades, but did not charge again.

He was waiting, waiting for the first sound, waiting for Yun Jingheng to make the first move.

From inside the door, the voice rang out again. "Kill."

Just one word.

As if the entire plane had given a command at once, the Hellhounds pounced out first, followed by the Demonfolk, and the Flying Demons swooped down from the sky, a dark mass.

Yun Jingheng looked up, chuckled softly, and then raised his hand.

The Heaven Saint Rift Abyss Halberd exploded with blue-purple light in his hand.

He slashed forward, and that slash seemed to tear a gash in the sky, causing the Hellhounds to explode in pieces.

The first two rows of Demonfolk were swept away in one fell swoop, and the Flying Demons was shredded by the moonlight in mid-air, but he did not stop.

Just as the halberd borrows strength, so too does the person.

He walked towards the door.

Ye Xinglan and Gu Yuena flanked from the left and right, while Tang Wulin and Xie Xie surrounded them from both sides.

Xu Xiaoyan's Star Net tightened upwards, blocking the Flying Demons in mid-air.

Er Ming stood in front of the formation, while Yuanen Yehui remained in the center, her eyes growing brighter and brighter.

Inside the door, something was moving towards the door, extremely heavy and extremely slow.

With each step, the ground trembled as if by a heartbeat. Yun Jingheng narrowed his eyes; the main character hadn't appeared yet.

But he's already at the door; today, he's going to fight his way to the other side.

A gust of wind blew out from the door, carrying an extremely pungent and hot aura, belonging to the Demon Plane.

Yun Jingheng stepped onto the formation.

He turned around and said to everyone, "I'm going in. You all guard her."

Ye Xinglan and Gu Yuena followed at the same time.

Tang Wulin swept away a circle of Demonfolk with a single shot, roaring, "Xie Xie! Watch the doorway!"

Xie Xie "I understand."

Yun Jingheng looked at Yuanen Yehui again. Yuanen Yehui seemed to see him too; her lips moved, but no sound came out, though Yun Jingheng saw it clearly.

She said, "Don't die."

Yun Jingheng smiled, "No." He raised his halberd.

He walked through the twenty-meter-high door.

The Hellhounds and Demonfolk surged forward like a tide, only to be torn apart by his halberd.

It was extremely cold inside the door, not from the wind, but from a kind of chilling cold that seeped into your bones.

The air was extremely heavy; every breath felt like swallowing a handful of invisible sand.

The ground was made of purplish-brown rock, extremely hard and coarse, and there was no sky overhead.

Only patches of dark red and blackish-purple intermingled, like blood that had been congealed.

There were no mountains or trees in the distance, only countless purple, sharp rocks piercing the ground, like inverted knives.

The world inside the gate is completely different from the Abyss. The Abyss is the Abyss, but this is Demon Soil where every inch of land rejects living people, yet also seems eager to swallow intruders whole.

Yun Jingheng stopped and closed his eyes.

The next moment, the moonlight behind him suddenly exploded.

Three figures separated from his body.

The Good Corpse sat on the left, Moonlight like a garment, its face serene.

The Evil Corpse was on the right, surrounded by a black and red light, its eyes extremely cold and full of killing intent.

After the True Self Corpse, his face remained expressionless.

As soon as the Three Corpses emerged, the demonic energy inside the gate seemed to be cleaved open from both sides.

The Soul Ring appeared: thirty-six orange -Golden Soul Ring.

The rays of light intertwined, forming identical divine halos behind each of their heads.

Yun Jingheng opened his eyes, his pupils now completely silver-white. He twirled the Heaven Saint Rift Abyss Halberd in his hand, its tip pointing diagonally at the ground.

Four enormous statues made of light each supported them.

The purplish-brown rock layers continued to crack, and the inverted sharp rocks in the distance were also crumbling one by one.

The Lesser Demon that had poured out from behind the door had already scattered and fled; they dared not approach, for this place was no longer their home.

He raised his hand, Heaven Saint Rift Abyss Halberd hummed softly in his palm, its blue-purple light spreading outwards.

This time, however, his power was no longer merely repulsive; the moonlight falling on the Demon Soil was like water flowing into a parched riverbed.

The ground ceased to resist him; the frenzied, purplish-black energy, upon touching the moonlight, was torn into even finer fragments, which were then gradually swallowed up by the moonlight.

Yun Jingheng sensed that the energy of the Demon Plane was of the same origin as a certain type of energy on the opposite side of his moon.

Those things that grow from the Abyss, from the shadows, from the depths of the Lunar Yin, share an extremely similar root with this Demon Soil beneath our feet.

They are resonating with him, or rather, they want to recognize him.

Yun Jingheng smiled, looked up at this skyless world, and the two corpses spoke at the same time.

The Good Corpse said, "They belong to us now."

The Evil Corpse said, "It should have been returned long ago."

The True Self Corpse did not speak, but slowly raised one hand.

The statue's hand rose, and the entire Demon Soil began to tremble.

In the far distance, several powerful auras hidden in the shadows suddenly trembled simultaneously.

They were both shocked and enraged; those were the old things from the Demon Plane.

They discovered that someone was standing at the dimensional entrance, neither moving, retreating, nor running.

Yun Jingheng raised his voice, his tone sweeping across the room like moonlight. "I don't know who among you is watching."

He said, "But listen carefully, this place, like you, is a dark place, and that's perfect."

He suddenly opened his eyes, his silvery-white pupils like the moon, but a deep black ring shone in the center.

The Moonlight exploded from his body.

The four statues behind him roared in unison, and the sky shattered.

The auras of those old monsters in the distance surged again, as if they were about to charge forward.

Yun Jingheng ignored him, slowly tightening his grip on the Heaven Saint Rift Abyss Halberd, and said in a low voice, "Come on, all of you. This place should belong to me now."