As life gathered in the Nether Soil.
Now that they had Hou Qing's guidance, they naturally had no desire to waste time.
Hou Qing nodded, then gathered everyone together.
"Now, the time has come to offer your lives to your master!"
Countless Saint Realm Experts stepped out of the crowd like puppets.
They knelt on one knee, long blades in hand, and aimed them at their own hearts.
They were already dead, undead revived only through resentful qi. Yet, faced with a second death, they remained numb, without the slightest fear.
In truth, they could not feel any emotion, for they were already under the control of the four deities.
Under the deities' control, they cut out their own hearts and placed them on the altar.
Power radiated from each of those beating hearts.
The Void Gate seemed to come alive, greedily sucking in that life force.
Even the undead possessed life in the eyes of these Void Deities.
Existence itself was justification; existence itself was life.
Even a stone possessed its own special form of life.
At their level, they were no longer bound by mere physical forms.
The Void Gate greedily absorbed the life force.
Batch after batch of Saint Realm Experts stepped forward, offered up their hearts, then silently closed their eyes.
Had they died? No.
Even without their hearts, they still awaited their master's call.
Their breathing was steady as they knelt there like wooden stakes.
Yet faint traces of life still emanated from their bodies.
This was a special kind of sacrifice.
It would not take their feeble lives, but would instead offer their imprints to the void.
As the Void Gate received this power, it grew even larger.
That membrane, too, gradually grew thinner and weaker.
Enormous hands frantically tore at the membrane. They