The Barren Mountain wasteland lay beneath a wind as sharp as knives.
The six-day countdown hung heavily over everyone's hearts, its icy pressure making every powerhouse breathe with difficulty. Shrek's five members forcibly suppressed the maddened inner demons within them. Pale-faced, they stood at the back of the crowd, while the divine imprints deep within their souls throbbed faintly and dark obsessions continued to surge.
Everyone was wounded. Everyone was sick. Everyone was desperate.
Bibi Dong stood silently at the center of the wasteland, her violet eyes fixed on the transparent seal that was continuously cracking apart.
The spiderweb-like fractures continued to spread slowly. Dark, frigid Chaotic aura leaked steadily through the gaps, contaminating every inch of rock and soil on Barren Mountain.
Everyone knew that there was almost no time left.
Yet even now, they still could not fully understand—
Why had the gods spared no expense in consuming endless origin power to forcibly create Tang San, a living anchor?
Why had they insisted on refining a living being into an Eternal Gate connecting to the Dark Heavens?
Doubt coiled around every powerhouse's heart.
At that moment, the sky suddenly turned dark red.
The Blood-Red Sky Screen, which had flickered in and out of sight before, lit up completely without warning, spanning ten thousand miles.
The dim crimson light blotted out the sun, plunging heaven and earth into an instant gloom of oppression.
There had been no warning, no prompt.
Light and shadows flowed across the Sky Screen, beginning to play an ancient record of refinement that had never been revealed and had been sealed away for eternity.
The scene was vast and ancient. Chaotic mist filled the air as ancient gods stood beyond the stars, coldly overlooking the still-developing Douluo Plane.
The first frame unveiled the truth at