Han Li Appears!

He withdrew his gaze from the sky screen and slowly swept it across the hall below.

At last, his eyes settled on Prince Xue Beng, who stood at the front.

Xue Beng was very young, only in his teens, with a strong body and vigorous vitality.

Although he usually put on the act of a spoiled young playboy, that youthful body was brimming with a life force that made Emperor Xue Ye mad with envy.

Then he looked at the young Royal Knights standing straight beside him in silver armor.

Every one of them was so young, so full of vitality.

A mad thought began to grow wildly in Emperor Xue Ye's mind like poisonous weeds.

"What if... I could master this method too?"

Emperor Xue Ye's breathing grew somewhat heavy.

That Elder Wu had also been a decrepit old husk with only three years left to live.

Yet he only needed to set up an array and swallow a few pills to easily send his soul into a young man's head.

He could wipe out the other person's consciousness and directly seize that perfect young body!

To live another life!

What a heaven-defying method!

Emperor Xue Ye's gaze gradually darkened.

If the Heaven Dou Empire could obtain this secret art of body possession, could he not do the same as Elder Wu?

He could secretly build an identical underground stone chamber deep within the imperial palace.

Then, from condemned prisoners among the common folk—or simply from lowly civilians—he could select a young man with the strongest body and most handsome appearance.

Without anyone noticing, he could complete the exchange of souls.

By then, he would still be Emperor Xue Ye.

Only, he would possess a brand-new young body that could live for several more decades, perhaps even a hundred years!

He could even use that young body to cultivate the technique known as the Eternal Spring Technique and pursue a lifespan of five hundred, a thousand years!

At that thought, Emperor Xue Ye felt as though the blood throughout his body had begun to boil.

Morality, cruelty, forbidden arts.

Before the temptation of immortality and power, they were all bullshit!

Having sat upon the imperial throne for decades, Emperor Xue Ye's heart had long since turned cold.

For the empire, for imperial power, what wouldn't he do?

What did the sacrifice of a few commoners' lives amount to?

"Your Majesty, are... are you all right?"

Seeing Emperor Xue Ye's somewhat twisted, flushed expression, the old eunuch cautiously asked.

Hearing that, Emperor Xue Ye finally withdrew his gaze and concealed the darkness in his eyes.

He took a deep breath, doing his best to make his voice sound majestic and calm.

"Pass on my decree."

"Immediately send more men. At any cost, gather records of every cultivation-world array, pill, and cultivation technique that appears on the sky screen."

"Especially that red array set up by the man called Elder Wu. Have the painters copy it with absolute clarity. Not a single detail of even one rune may be omitted!"

The ministers below immediately knelt to accept the order.

No one knew what sort of scheme this aged emperor was plotting in his heart.

Meanwhile, far overseas from Douluo Continent.

Amid a vast expanse of azure sea stood a massive island bathed year-round in the light of the Sea God.

Sea God Island.

This was the sacred land in the hearts of all sea soul masters on Douluo Continent, as well as the absolute core of the Sea God faith.

Atop Sea God Mountain, within the magnificent Seven Sacred Pillar Plaza.

Waves crashed against the reefs, producing deafening roars.

Yet the atmosphere in the plaza was as cold as ice.

The seven Title Douluo guarding the sacred pillars all stood at the edge of the plaza, staring up at the sky.

The sky screen visible elsewhere on Douluo Continent was equally clear here.

Sea Dragon Douluo, this level ninety-five Super Douluo, had muscles twitching uncontrollably across his face.

Before this mere tip of the iceberg revealed by the sky screen, his formidable soul power seemed utterly meaningless.

"Grand Worshipper..."

Sea Dragon Douluo turned his head and looked toward the red figure standing at the very front of the plaza.

Bo Saixi.

The High Priestess of Sea God Island, a level ninety-nine Limit Douluo, one of the three peerless Douluo.

She wore an elegant red robe and held a three-meter-long golden scepter in her hand.

Time seemed to have left no trace on her face. She still looked like a stunningly beautiful mature woman in her thirties.

Yet at this moment, Bo Saixi's eyes, once as deep as the sea itself, were filled with confusion.

"You all saw it."

Bo Saixi did not turn around. Her voice sounded somewhat ethereal in the sea breeze, but also weary.

"We saw it." Sea Star Douluo swallowed, his voice dry.

"That sixty-thousand-year Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear was subdued by three old men with nothing more than a metal ring."

"And that evil technique that could take over another person's body."

"What kind of place is this cultivation world...?"

In truth, what truly shocked her was neither that formation nor Elder Wu's body-snatching method.

It was the theory of lifespan revealed on the heavenly screen!

Core Formation stage, equivalent to a Title Douluo, lifespan of five hundred years.

Nascent Soul stage, equivalent to a Limit Douluo, lifespan of one thousand years.

Then did the Divine Transformation stage correspond to the supreme gods they worshipped—the deities?

The more she thought about it, the more chaotic Bo Saixi's mind became.

Ever since childhood, she had been chosen as a priestess of Sea God Island, receiving the Sea God's inheritance and baptism.

In her understanding, the Sea God was the supreme existence of this world, the one who created the seas and established the rules.

The meaning of her existence was to guard Sea God Island.

And one day in the future, to sacrifice her life for the inheritance of the next Sea God's successor.

This was an unparalleled honor, one she had always believed in without wavering.

But everything she had seen today had shaken her.

As a level ninety-nine Limit Douluo, she was likely not one of the strongest in the cultivation world as she was now on the Douluo Continent.

And the Sea God she had worshipped all her life, that lofty first-class god of the Divine Realm, would likely not be a ruler-level existence in the cultivation world either.

She did not understand—within the cultivation world's system of ranks, what did the Nascent Soul stage amount to?

The mortal realm, the spirit realm, the immortal realm?

Perhaps each world was stronger than the last.

Then what kind of existence stood at the very peak of the immortal realm?

Unlike the confusion on Sea God Island, in Slaughter City—

There was no sunlight here, only an eternally dim, blood-colored sky.

Severed limbs lay scattered across the streets, while the air was thick with the stench of blood.

Countless vicious fallen ones struggled to survive here, slaughtering one another for a daily cup of Bloody Mary.

In the eyes of everyone on the Douluo Continent, this was the most terrifying place.

Yet at this moment, these villains who lived with blades at their throats had all stopped killing.

They hid in dark corners, trembling as they stared at the enormous light screen hanging in midair, which had likewise pierced through the underground barrier and appeared before them.

At the center of Slaughter City, within that towering dark-red hall—

The Slaughter King sat upon a broad throne of skulls.

He held a cup of still-steaming blood in his hand, yet he had not taken a single sip.

His scarlet eyes stared fixedly at the scene on the light screen where Elder Wu's primordial spirit left his body and drilled into Zhang Tiezhu's brow.

The Slaughter King—or rather, Tang Chen, who had been parasitized by the Bloodred Nine-Headed Bat King—

Was currently in a state of chaos.

The original owner of this body had been Tang Chen, a level ninety-nine peerless Douluo. But while undergoing the Asura God's trial, he had been schemed against by the Rakshasa God, causing him to lose his mind. A mutated hundred-thousand-year soul beast, the Bloodred Nine-Headed Bat King, had seized the opportunity and occupied his body.

In a sense, the Bloodred Nine-Headed Bat King's current state was much like body snatching.

However, this form of parasitism had enormous flaws.

"Damn it! How can the methods of this cultivation world be so perfect?!"

The Slaughter King's low roar echoed through the hall.

The Bloodred Nine-Headed Bat King's consciousness churned madly within Tang Chen's mind.

It watched Elder Wu's body-seizing process, so jealous it nearly went mad.

Back when it had taken over Tang Chen's body, it had paid an enormous price—and even now, it still could not completely erase Tang Chen's lingering consciousness.

Tang Chen's Limit Douluo-level soul fought back every so often, leaving it in unbearable agony.

Not only that, this parasitism had left its body incomplete and damaged.

Whenever it encountered the Sea God's Light or the pure divine power of the Asura God, it suffered immense suppression.

Every day, it lived in fear of being devoured in return.

But what about that Elder Wu in the light screen?

His primordial spirit had left his body, swallowed the other person's soul in one bite, and perfectly taken over the other's flesh.

There was no rejection, no lingering hidden danger. He could even directly inherit the other person's cultivation techniques and spiritual power!

To the Bloodred Nine-Headed Bat King, such a method was nothing less than the supreme divine art it had always dreamed of!

"If I could learn this method of body seizure..."

At that thought, the Slaughter King suddenly crushed the goblet carved from human bone in his hands, blood streaming down his fingers.

"If I could learn this method, I could completely devour Tang Chen's soul!"

"Not only that, I could even abandon this ruined body and find a younger, more promising genius to take over!"

"At that time, I would not only perfectly master humanity's cultivation system, but also free myself from the restraints of the Asura God's trial and truly become the ruler of this continent!"

The Bloodred Nine-Headed Bat King's greed swelled to its peak at that moment.

Outside the great hall, the fallen ones of Slaughter City were no less shaken than the Slaughter King.

They had always believed themselves to be the most ruthless and evil people in the world.

They killed as easily as breathing, without even blinking.

But today, after witnessing the survival laws of the cultivation world, they suddenly felt that they were merely average.

Killing someone was nothing more than a head hitting the ground.

No matter how cruel the killings on Douluo Continent were, they amounted to hacking people into pieces or torturing them with poison.

But what about the cultivation world?

At the slightest provocation, souls were extracted and refined. People's souls were imprisoned inside magical artifacts as nourishment, forced to endure torment for all eternity.

Sect elders who looked like immortal sages secretly treated their disciples as ingredients for cultivating cauldrons. After knocking them out with drugs, they directly erased their consciousness and took over their bodies.

Even these villains of Slaughter City felt a chill rising from the depths of their hearts.

"Th-this cultivation world is the real hell, isn't it?"

A fallen one with a scar across his face threw away the cleaver in his hand and said as he swallowed nervously.

"Yeah. Here, if you lose, you can at least die quickly."

"But if you go there, even death becomes a luxury. Your soul will be captured and turned into a living candle..."

Just as the various forces across Douluo Continent were immersed in this unprecedented shock, each harboring their own thoughts, the scenes concerning body seizure and lifespan on the heavenly screen slowly faded away.

Immediately afterward, the heavenly screen's majestic voice rang out once more.

[The first batch of randomly selected explorers has been completely wiped out. Survival rate: zero.]

[The fundamental laws and brutality of the cultivation world have now been preliminarily displayed.]

[Now beginning the selection of the second batch of explorers.]

[Note: The number of selected candidates will be expanded to five. Due to the extreme danger of the cultivation world, the selection mechanism will be slightly adjusted.]

[Priority will be given to individuals from Douluo Continent with profound fortune, greater strength, or special backgrounds.]

[Slots are being locked...]

The moment that voice rang out, every powerhouse, civilian, and soul beast across Douluo Continent held their breath.

Especially upon hearing the words "profound fortune" and "greater strength."

Bibi Dong of Spirit Hall, Bo Saixi of Sea God Island, Yu Xiaogang and Tang San of Shrek Academy, and even the Titan Giant Ape of Star Dou Forest—

everyone's hearts seemed to skip a beat.

Before long, as words appeared on the heavenly screen, one name after another finally emerged.

[The new batch of explorers has been confirmed:]

[Spirit Hall deacon, twenty-sixth-level Great Soul Master, Su Yuntao!]

[Canghui Academy team leader, fifty-third-level Soul King, Ye Zhiqiu!]

[Beast Academy, thirtieth-level prospective Soul Elder, Meng Yiran!]

[Fourth prince of the Heaven Dou Empire, thirty-fifth-level Soul Elder, Xue Beng!]

[Canghui Academy's Vice Principal, a level seventy-two Soul Sage, Shi Nian!]

As soon as the list was revealed, hushed discussions erupted across Douluo Continent.

Many people secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

Although the heavenly screen had said it would choose people with deep fortune or great strength, thankfully, it had not directly selected figures at the very peak of the pyramid, such as Qian Daoliu or Bibi Dong.

Of these five, aside from Shi Nian, who was a level seventy-two Soul Sage, the rest could only be considered lower to middle-tier.

Heaven Dou Empire Imperial Palace.

Emperor Xue Ye looked at the name "Xue Beng" on the list, and an imperceptible glint flashed through his clouded eyes.

He had just been thinking about possession and rebirth.

Yet unexpectedly, his son had truly been chosen by the heavenly screen.

"If Xue Beng can find the later stages of the Eternal Spring Technique in that world, or bring back a manual of those possession formations..."

Emperor Xue Ye's withered fingers lightly tapped the armrest of his dragon throne.

He even faintly hoped that Xue Beng could survive over there a little longer.

As long as he could bring back what he wanted, what did sacrificing one son matter?

Meanwhile, within Spirit Hall.

Bibi Dong's gaze rested on the two names, "Shi Nian" and "Su Yuntao."

Su Yuntao was merely a low-ranking deacon, insignificant.

But Shi Nian was different. A level seventy-two Soul Sage was already considered a powerful figure in Douluo Continent.

Judging from what had appeared on the heavenly screen before, as long as he did not go somewhere like the Immortal Realm, he should count as a formidable expert there as well.

"I would like to see just how much chance a Soul Sage from our Douluo Continent has against a cultivator of the same level in the cultivation world," Bibi Dong muttered.

It was not only her. Every Soul Master on the continent with even a little knowledge had focused their attention on Shi Nian.

They desperately wanted to know whether Douluo Continent's high-level combat power could truly run rampant in the mortal world.

Just as everyone entertained different thoughts.

The countdown on the heavenly screen came to an end.

Whoosh.

Five pillars of light descended from the sky, instantly teleporting away the five people on the list.

Immediately afterward, the heavenly screen split into five windows of varying sizes, each fixed on one of the five people's perspectives.

The image lit up, and Su Yuntao's view was the first to become clear.

This was a dense, secluded primeval mountain forest, filled with all sorts of strange plants that could not be named.

A faint mist hung in the air, and the spiritual energy was exceptionally abundant.

Su Yuntao swallowed and warily surveyed his surroundings.

He wore Spirit Hall's distinctive deacon uniform, with a badge proving his identity pinned to his chest.

"Good. Looks like I was sent to the mortal world."

Su Yuntao sensed the surrounding environment. He had not encountered terrifying spatial gravity pressure like Huyan Lie, and his heart immediately settled somewhat.

He had watched the livestream.

So long as he did not encounter something flying in the sky, or some sect elder, as a level twenty-six Grand Soul Master, he should have no trouble protecting himself in this wilderness of the mortal world.

Just as Su Yuntao was about to pick a direction and explore.

A faint rustling of leaves suddenly came from the bushes ahead.

"Who's there?!"

Su Yuntao's eyes narrowed, and he immediately stopped.

Two yellow hundred-year soul rings rose beneath his feet. The phantom of a lone wolf emerged behind him, while his hands transformed into sharp wolf claws.

Martial Soul Possession, Lone Wolf!

In a dangerous place like the cultivation world, he did not dare let down his guard in the slightest.

The leaves were gently pushed aside.

A young man who looked seventeen or eighteen, with somewhat dark skin and utterly ordinary features, emerged from behind the bushes.

The young man wore a somewhat yellowed coarse linen robe and looked like an ordinary mountain villager.

Yet his eyes were exceptionally calm—so calm that they even seemed somewhat indifferent.

The viewers of Douluo Continent also saw the young man's appearance clearly through the heavenly screen.

"Is this a native of the cultivation world?"

"He looks way too ordinary. He doesn't have any kind of presence, either."