Inside the Netherworld Palace.
The blood aura was so dense it could not disperse, forming a tangible red mist.
Within that mist were countless twisted, wailing faces.
They were the Living Beings devoured by the Sea of Blood over billions of years. They could never be reborn and could only become part of this palace.
The Golden Crow True Fire within Lu Ya churned violently.
Every breath he took felt like swallowing blades.
The laws here were fundamentally opposed to his very existence.
Chen Ran stood before him, shielding him from most of the pressure.
The power of the Ancestral Dragon Heart-Guarding Scale formed an invisible barrier over his chest, keeping all filth outside.
He raised his head and looked at Ancestor Minghe upon the lotus throne.
That was not a physical entity.
He seemed to be the embodiment of the Sea of Blood's will, the god of this land of sin.
"Waiting for me?"
Chen Ran spoke, breaking the suffocating silence.
"That's right, waiting for you."
Minghe smiled.
His smile stirred the entire Sea of Blood into turmoil.
Countless waves of blood surged into the sky before crashing down thunderously, as though cheering his words.
"From the moment you established the Heavenly Net System in the Primordial World, I had been waiting for you."
Minghe's words made Chen Ran's pupils contract slightly.
He knew the Saints had been watching him.
But he had not expected the lord of the Sea of Blood to have begun paying attention to him so early.
"A mortal, yet you sought to use order to bind Immortals and Gods."
Minghe's tone carried a trace of admiration.
"An ant, yet you dared to pry at the Saints' chessboard."
"Your every action exceeded my expectations and made me increasingly interested in you."
"Especially when you decided