Flying above this expanse of collapsed ruins, Yuèyǐng’s heart held indescribable complexity, as if the time of two past eras flowed like rushing torrents beside him.

Nothing was left behind, except memories.

However, those things from the past were far too ancient. If not for returning to the Great Lord’s dream today, he would have almost forgotten the appearance of his homeland.

But ultimately, it no longer existed.

Even these collapsed ruins only existed within this dream.

How long had the Great Lord been sleeping?

Yuèyǐng really couldn’t remember clearly, only recalling that He had fallen in the ancient long night?

Those deities, overestimating their abilities, had attempted to return this universe to chaos, even willing to sacrifice the most powerful deity among their clan, Mùsǐ.

But what was the result in the end?

They merely retreated back into the darkness of heaven and earth, cowering for an entire era, and only now, in the present age, had they recovered some vitality and were plotting their comeback.

And he had been waiting all along—waiting for the right moment, waiting for a suitable person.

Everyone in this world believed that Pangu had perished in the long night, His body transforming into the Desolate Domain, drifting in a corner of this universe.

But few knew that Pangu was not dead!

He was merely sleeping.

However, eternal slumber was equivalent to death!

But how could Pangu die?

He had led the human race in migration, fought fierce battles against the deities, created reincarnation with His own power, and ultimately fell at the end of the long night for humanity’s sake!

He was the Human Ancestor, a true deity!

Yuèyǐng’s gaze became distant and cold. Through the firmament above his head, he seemed to already see the oppressive darkness approaching from outside!

Ultimately, his strength had been damaged, and he had fallen short by one move…

During the Yin-Yang Realm War in the Primordial Realm, although he had preserved reincarnation and killed Qin Guang who had birthed consciousness, Shaojí had taken advantage of the chaos to seize the crucial Divine Key!

That was the key to opening Great Lord Pangu’s ancestral aperture, and also the key to awakening Great Lord Pangu!

Fu Chaosheng had brought the Divine Key to infiltrate the Desolate Domain this time, probably for this very purpose. Although he believed that with their power, they still couldn’t pose any threat to Pangu’s slumbering divine soul, but…

If they didn’t have sufficient confidence, why would they do all this?

At the moment of opening the ancestral aperture, if they couldn’t kill Pangu, once Pangu awakened, what would be destroyed would be the entire deity clan!

Unease, restlessness, tension, apprehension…

All of these emotions churned in his heart as he stole three drops of heart blood incense from Jian Chou and urgently pursued Fu Chaosheng.

No matter what the deities planned, he absolutely could not let them succeed!

As long as he could arrive in time, what did those deities’ schemes amount to?

By then, Great Lord Pangu would not only awaken from two eras of slumber but would also gain new life!

However, just as he was about to catch up with Fu Chaosheng ahead, sharp wind sounds came from behind!

Someone was speeding toward him!

Yuèyǐng frowned, dark light flickering in his eyes. Everything in the dream instantly appeared in his mind, and he immediately understood who was pursuing him.

“Ungrateful fool!”

His displeasure reached its peak, but unfortunately, this person who recklessly pursued him was quite crucial to his plan and couldn’t be killed just like that.

Yuèyǐng sneered coldly, forcibly suppressing his anger and waving his hand!

“Rumble!”

Behind him, all the buildings began moving under this wave, layer upon layer, even flashing with the light of restrictions.

The pursuing figure was immediately blocked behind.

But in just a moment, before Yuèyǐng could withdraw and leave, this mountain of stacked massive buildings crumbled like sand in an instant under a streak of approaching ink-colored qi!

Xie Buchen’s cold face appeared in the dust after the high walls collapsed, suppressing a brewing storm of anger. His azure robes fluttered in the rapid advance, accentuating his aura of slaughter!

Like a traveler going against wind and snow on a winter night.

The ink ruler in his hand gathered mysterious and strange energy, as if it could dismantle all rules in this universe, treating conventions as nothing!

At the moment when he saw Yuèyǐng and Yuèyǐng saw him, he didn’t say any superfluous words, didn’t even explain any causes or consequences, only coldly spat out three words: “Give me the incense.”

“Hmph, overestimating yourself!”

Yuèyǐng scoffed, not taking Xie Buchen seriously at all. He raised his hand again and struck with a palm!

Magnificent purple light poured down like moonlight!

But at the moment of striking, a doubt couldn’t help but arise in his heart: How would Xie Buchen know that the incense was now with him?

“Boom!”

Palm force exploded, radiance trembled chaotically!

Before Xie Buchen’s eyes, only various shades of purple remained. Standing within this palm force, he was like being swept along in a great river, as if he would be rolled up in an instant.

But how could he tolerate this?

These three drops of heart blood incense were originally extremely important to him. Legend had it that making incense with nine-headed bird’s heart blood could achieve miraculous effects, storing a person’s lifetime of cultivation, comprehension, and even mental state within the incense.

This incense could store what was nearly the “Dao” itself!

Once cultivators reached the out-of-body realm, they shifted from body cultivation to heart cultivation, with realm and strength improvement relying on mental state and comprehension.

In other words, obtaining this comprehension would make ascending to heaven in one step entirely possible!

Now that Xie Buchen was already a Saint Immortal, how much effect this comprehension and mental state would have on him was unknown. However, just a few hours ago, he had learned that this incense not only contained nine-headed bird’s heart blood but very likely also contained Pangu’s heart blood!

A strong premonition of falling into someone’s scheme inevitably appeared in his mind!

How could his fate be controlled by others?

Regardless of whether there was a conspiracy, and regardless of what kind of conspiracy existed, this stick of incense absolutely should not fall into others’ hands!

The murderous aura between his brows gradually intensified, as if freezing over.

Xie Buchen wielded the ink ruler with unprecedented violence, tearing apart the approaching purple light. Even when a pure thread of power scattered a tuft of hair by his cheek, he didn’t spare it a glance!

Speeding forward, every move aimed to kill!

Intense battle instantly erupted in this corner of Pangu’s dream. Despite Yuèyǐng’s cultivation and techniques, he was pressed step by step by Xie Buchen, unable to escape even half a step!

He was in a hurry to pursue Fu Chaosheng—how could he have anticipated Xie Buchen’s sudden appearance?

By now, he was extremely angry, but he couldn’t break free from this battle, and the more he fought, the more alarmed he became!

Just this brief delay had caused Fu Chaosheng to disappear without a trace.

After his sneak attack on Xie Buchen failed, he sped out of the ruins with a numb expression. At a certain place, he leaped up and actually jumped down!

It wasn’t like jumping to the ground, but like jumping into water!

The ground of this dream sank like soft cotton, and in the blink of an eye, it was pierced through!

All the magnificent houses and collapsed city walls from before disappeared. What appeared before Fu Chaosheng was the original vast, boundless Desolate Domain.

Looking down from this height, one could see it was human-shaped.

And the direction of his descent was precisely the head of this human form!

Bones had become hard rock; flesh had transformed into soft earth; forehead, brow bones, nose bridge, lips—all protruding places had become hills, mountains, and peaks; the eye positions had sunk into two massive valleys, filled with dead trees and thick, floating mist.

The deity Shaojí stood on the mountain ridge formed by the left brow bone.

He sensed Fu Chaosheng’s presence and looked up to see him landing nearby, but his “kinsman’s” expression really couldn’t be considered good.

The words he originally wanted to say circled in his mind before being suppressed by Shaojí. His dark, lightless pupils slightly contracted as he only asked: “You certainly took long enough. Everyone has been waiting for you.”

Fu Chaosheng still wore Yìnghuǐ’s skin, as if he had completely forgotten to remove it, his mind not on this matter at all.

Upon hearing Shaojí’s pointed remark, he only raised his eyes to look at Him once.

His calm, unrippled gaze actually revealed several traces of terrifying death-like silence.

He gripped the Divine Key in his hand, with faint purple light leaking from between his fingers, and asked in a perfectly level voice: “Can’t you wait?”

An oppressive feeling struck head-on!

What alarmed Shaojí even more was his completely unfeigned coldness at this moment!

His entire being gave a feeling completely different from before entering the Desolate Domain.

At this moment, Shaojí felt extremely wary.

In the ancient era, the deity Mùsǐ had been the undisputed strongest among the deity clan; three eras later, the deity Chaosheng, even though he hadn’t gathered all the power that belonged to Mùsǐ, still had no deity who could surpass him!

Just as no deity dared oppose his wielding of the Divine Key.

Shaojí forcibly suppressed the displeasure in his heart, slowly laughed, and said: “Naturally we can wait. It’s good that you’ve come. This old thing Pangu didn’t even die cleanly—it’s time for us to send Him off properly. Let’s begin.”

The entire Desolate Domain was already covered by darkness.

Looking in all directions, all stars in the universe had been extinguished, as if frightened by some terrifying existence and no longer daring to shine.

Fu Chaosheng moved forward, about to walk toward Pangu’s brow center.

However, at this very instant, from the endless void came a clear shout!

“Whoosh!”

Sword rain like a waterfall!

Crimson sword light mixed with brilliant golden radiance actually exploded from above, cleaving toward that massive dream!

Shaojí and Fu Chaosheng immediately turned to look.

The might of this sword was truly too fierce.

Even Pangu’s dream was split open by it!

Dozens of figures seized the opportunity, at this instant breaking through the snowy sky’s black sun, escaping through the gap and appearing above the dream, appearing in their line of sight!

The one holding a long sword and standing at the front of everyone was precisely Jian Chou!

Beside her were Great Emperor Baihe, Luye Laozu, Immortal Lord Bixī…

Almost all the cultivators who had previously entered the Desolate Domain had appeared.

After leaving the dream, the true face of this dream, this Desolate Domain, was finally revealed before everyone’s eyes.

At this moment, everyone was too shocked to speak.

The massive Desolate Domain lay beneath their feet like an isolated island in the universe, and one could even discern a clear human form!

A wisp of faint white smoke emerged from the brow center of that human form’s head.

Rising continuously, floating and drifting.

At the heights, it transformed into strange and magnificent myriad images, constructing a magnificent dream—like a mirage, it was that ancient dream homeland they had been in before!

Like a divine miracle!

Even Jian Chou couldn’t help but hold her breath.

But soon, her gaze moved away from this scene that made one want to prostrate and worship, instead falling on Fu Chaosheng and Shaojí standing on Great Lord Pangu’s head, then slowly rising to fall on that darkness almost pressing down on people’s heads!

At this moment, she said nothing, only raised her hand and swept her sleeve!

Wild wind carried bright light, blowing toward that void!

The endless darkness suddenly surged, actually seeming to be dispersed by this gust of wind, becoming clear in the blink of an eye…

Only then did everyone discover—

Where was the darkness above their heads?

After layers of black mist dispersed, there were figures in black robes standing in the darkness, densely packed, opening their lifeless eyes, looking down at them, surrounding them!

The Desolate Domain was their prison!

The universe was their hunting ground!

Those beings born from ancient times, who had departed with the retreat of the ancient long night, had finally returned with darkness, making their comeback!