Ren Zu slowly shook his head, pushing away the dark thoughts that still lingered in his mind. The bitterness over Hei Jiyue's death would not disappear so easily, but he could not and would not allow it to paralyze him.
"That's enough…"
He murmured to himself in a low yet resolute voice.
Gradually, the cold and domineering gleam returned to his crimson eyes.
The past was the past.
Lamenting would not bring Hei Jiyue back.
Ren Zu then took a step forward. His black robes rippled elegantly around his body, contrasting in an almost hypnotic manner with his long, snow-white hair.
"It's time to meet the famous Devil Queen…"
A faint smile appeared on his lips, cold, deep, and filled with anticipation.
But before that…
There was another place he needed to visit first.
Ren Zu slowly raised his right hand.
In the next instant, the space before him began to distort violently, as though reality itself were being twisted by an invisible force. Without hesitation, he stepped into the rift he had created, and his body completely vanished within the spatial distortion, disappearing from the Eternal Dark Devil Palace as though he had never been there at all.
He appeared directly within the Central Ruins Realm, one of the Mid-Level Star Realms located in the Northern Divine Region. That realm was also part of the so-called Five Silent Ruins Realms, a group of five extremely peculiar and dangerous realms scattered throughout the northern region.
Unlike most ordinary Star Realms, the Central Ruins Realm did not belong exclusively to a single dominant force. The entire region was jointly governed by the major sects and Kings of the other four realms belonging to the Five Silent Ruins Realms, maintaining an unstable balance sustained by power, interests, and mutual vigilance.
The environment of that place was extraordinarily hostile. Vast desolate lands stretched as far as the eye could see, covered by incessant storms that tore through the skies day and night. Violent winds carried spiritual sand, black lightning, and chaotic profound energy capable of shredding weak practitioners to pieces within seconds. Even so, precisely because of those extreme conditions, countless profound practitioners longed to enter that region.
The storms of the Central Ruins were famous for generating extremely rare resources related to the elements of wind, lightning, and destruction. Furthermore, many practitioners used that environment to cultivate Profound Arts linked to storms, attempting to comprehend profound laws through the natural chaos of that realm.
Naturally, such a valuable place would never remain open to the public.
Since the Central Ruins Realm was jointly administered by the ruling forces of the Five Silent Ruins Realms, access to the territory was strictly controlled. Under normal circumstances, virtually no one could freely enter the region. The only exception occurred during the famous Battle of the Central Ruins.
The Battle of the Central Ruins, held only once every fifty years, was the event responsible for deciding the distribution of the Central Ruins Realm's resources for the following fifty years. The Four Great Kings of the Five Silent Ruins Realms had divided the entire territory of the Central Ruins into ten major regions. After the battle ended, the first-place winner gained the right to control four of those areas; the second-place winner received three regions; the third-place winner obtained two; while the last-place winner was restricted to only a single region.
Naturally, this existed to maintain a balance of interests between the great realms and prevent open wars over control of the Central Ruins and its extraordinarily valuable resources.
But obviously, none of that truly mattered to Ren Zu.
In practice, he was already virtually the absolute ruler of the entire Northern Divine Region. Since that was the case, he naturally possessed complete freedom to enter that place whenever he wished. And even if he did not have such permission, it would make no difference whatsoever. Ren Zu would simply use his absolute power to force his way in regardless.
After all, there was something in that place that he wanted.
Ren Zu moved directly in a specific direction, crossing the Central Ruins Realm at high speed until he appeared before a terrifying sandstorm devastating the surrounding region. Violent winds roared like maddened beasts, capable of tearing ordinary practitioners apart within moments. The sand swirled through the skies like a chaotic golden ocean, accompanied by bolts of lightning.
But the instant he appeared in that place, everything changed.
The terrible storm ceased abruptly.
The winds vanished.
The sand that filled the skies dissipated into nothingness within seconds.
Silence engulfed the region.
Ren Zu then slowly stopped and directed his gaze several meters ahead of him.
Without the storm obscuring the view, the scenery before him became perfectly visible. That entire area was absurdly flat and smooth, as though it had been polished to perfection by the countless storms that had ravaged the region for ages.
And right at the center of that silent, flat world was a small vortex.
Inside it, a point of green light shone faintly.
Yes.
That tiny point of green light was the Wind Heretic God Seed....
In truth, Ren Zu had already sensed the presence of the Heretic God Seed from the very first day he arrived in the Northern Divine Region.
The moment he entered that territory, he immediately realized that the eternal storms ravaging the Central Ruins Realm were most likely caused by the residual influence of the Wind Heretic God Seed.
But he had not come looking for it immediately.
After all, there had been no need to rush. Even so, he thought it appropriate to retrieve the Heretic God Seed now because, after conquering the Devil Queen and spending approximately one year fully stabilizing and organizing the Northern Divine Region, he would finally have to move forward with his true plan...
With a simple and subtle movement of his profound energy, the tiny dark-green star immediately rose into the air. It flickered for an instant before shooting directly toward him, as though drawn by an irresistible force. In the next moment, the Heretic God Seed collided with his solar plexus. But there was neither explosion nor resistance. The green star silently passed through his body and completely merged into his existence, disappearing inside him like a drop of water returning to the ocean.
Whoosh!!
A special vortex appeared within his profound veins, and the instantaneous eruption of profound energy caused his clothes and hair to dance wildly in the air. A green world appeared within his profound veins before the vortex vanished....
His profound strength advanced directly to the Fifth Level of the Divine Master Realm!
The energy contained within it had been sufficient to allow him to cross the entire Fourth Level and directly reach the Fifth Level of the Divine Master Realm, especially since he had already been at the peak of the Third Level beforehand and extremely close to a breakthrough.....
A faint satisfied smile appeared on Ren Zu's perfect lips.
"Not bad at all… Now, let's head to the next destination."
With a single thought, his body disappeared like a phantom, completely dissolving into space.
When he reappeared, he was already at the border of the Soul-Stealing Realm.
Unlike the other regions of the Northern Divine Region, that place seemed separated from the rest of the world, as though it were a domain created exclusively for darkness and despair. From a distance, the Soul-Stealing Realm resembled the gigantic open maw of an ancient demon of darkness, a bottomless abyss capable of devouring any existence foolish enough to approach it.
The surrounding space was covered by an extremely dense black mist that constantly changed shape as though it were alive. At times, it seemed to form distorted faces; at others, it resembled hands attempting to stretch out from the darkness.
A terrifying cold permeated the environment.
It was a cold that affected not only the body, but also the soul.
At the same time, a suffocating pressure continuously radiated from that Royal Realm, accompanied by a sense of danger so intense that it would instinctively repel any living being before they even dared to take a single step forward.
After all…
That was the Soul-Stealing Realm.
The domain of the famous Devil Queen of the Northern Divine Region.
But Ren Zu remained completely unconcerned.
With his current strength, he no longer feared even a true God. Someone at the peak of the Divine Master Realm simply could not make him feel any real pressure; they were merely a slightly larger ant that he could kill with a mere thought...
Even so, his blood-red eyes displayed a faint gleam of interest as he observed the Soul-Stealing Realm from afar.
After all, according to the original story, the famous Devil Queen possessed a beauty capable of ruining kingdoms and driving countless men insane. Apparently, she had a face that could enchant the entire world, and every frown or smile she made could consume both body and soul... literally! It was said that she had married four men throughout her life: first a lower realm king, then an intermediate realm king, and after that a higher realm king... her throne was built upon the corpses of men. It was said that all three realm kings had died because she drained their blood essence until they withered dry....
That sparked a certain curiosity within him.
A small smile slowly appeared on his lips.
Well…
He also intended to fully use his own "charm" to conquer her.
Although he could simply crush the entire Soul-Stealing Realm through absolute force, he honestly had little interest in resolving everything that way. Compared to that, voluntarily conquering a woman like Chi Wuyao seemed far more interesting.
After crossing a large portion of the Soul-Stealing Realm, his senses finally encountered something different.
An enormous invisible barrier appeared before him.
Even from approximately fifty kilometers away, merely the oppressive pressure emanating from that barrier was already enough to intimidate most people and force them to stop immediately.
The true heart of the Soul-Stealing Realm was hidden within that region and was considered one of the most important places in the entire Northern Divine Region. Although it was protected only by an invisible barrier to the naked eye, that place seemed to exist on a completely separate plane from the surrounding world.
Ren Zu continued advancing calmly through the air, as though taking a casual stroll. His black robes fluttered softly, and his long white hair shone like snow beneath the dim light of the Soul-Stealing Realm.
The moment he approached the invisible barrier protecting the heart of the realm, a violent wave of black energy suddenly exploded before him.
The energy was dense, corrosive, and filled with overwhelming killing intent. A hoarse and powerful voice echoed like dark thunder:
"All who dare invade this sacred region shall be ki... UWAAAH!"
Before the words "killed without exception" could be completed, the arrogant shout transformed into a muffled, agonized scream.
Bang! Bang! Bang! Bang!
Four black-clothed figures were spat out from the storm of darkness like old rags. They violently crashed against the protective barrier, falling heavily onto the ground with their bodies twisted at grotesque angles.
They were dead.
There were no visible injuries on their bodies. No cuts, no burns. Only expressions of pure terror and extreme pain frozen upon their faces. Their eyes were wide open, as though they had witnessed death itself incarnate.
Ren Zu had not even moved.
He had merely cast a casual glance toward the storm of black energy. His killing intent, concentrated and sharp like the blade of a demonic god, pierced through the attack as though it were wet paper, instantly crushing the four barrier guardians.
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(A/N: First of all, thank you for reading this story.
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