He paused, his tone becoming steady: "Now, you have the qualifications to come and chat with me."

"I am waiting for you in the city. If you have the guts, then walk in yourselves."

After saying this, the old man's figure completely vanished into the night sky.

"Hey! Old geezer, where is the city..." Zhou Huai just wanted to ask further.

The next second.

"A deafening roar—!"

A tremor that felt like the earth shaking and mountains quaking arrived.

Zhou Huai's vision spun.

The originally ink-black night sky suddenly became like a torn curtain, and large swathes of darkness rapidly receded.

Scorching sunlight poured down without warning, so bright that it was impossible to keep one's eyes open.

The surrounding temperature soared sharply, and violent yellow sand and strong winds howled once more.

When Zhou Huai opened his eyes again, they were still standing on the back of the Abyssal Magic Dragon, Demon Dragon Xiao Hei, who was hovering in mid-air.

In every direction, there were still endless golden sand dunes, the scorching sun was high in the sky, and the air was distorted and warped by the high temperature.

The sky full of poisonous fog, the thousand-meter Pharaoh, and the projection of that old man from the Old Era they had just experienced were all just an absurd hallucination.

"Was everything just now... an illusion?" Demon Dragon Xiao Hei shook its massive Dragon head and let out a confused, low roar.

"No, it was not an illusion."

Beside him, Chun continued to pat sunscreen on her arms while saying: "That was a high-dimensional layered spatial projection. We were pulled into another layer of space by him just now, but now, he has voluntarily removed the spatial barrier."

"It seems that the phantom of the Guardian Goddess you summoned just now gave this old monster a real fright." Chun turned her head, her beautiful eyes shining as she looked at Zhou Huai, "Otherwise, given the arrogance of these Old Era monsters, they would not let you off without skinning you alive and pulling out your bones."

Zhou Huai steadied his breathing, and the 【Void Realm Omniscience】 spatial perception belonging to Viktor within his body activated, expanding outward.

Within his range of perception, the originally monotonous and infinite desert had disappeared.

Just as it extended to a spatial node ten kilometers away, an image clearly appeared in his mind.

At the end of the flying yellow sand, behind a massive sand dune, an ancient city built of huge black stone blocks was standing quietly.

The architectural style of the city had Ancient Egypt characteristics, with huge obelisks piercing the sky, and countless eerie and powerful energy fluctuations hovering above the city.

"Found it." Zhou Huai smiled slightly.

"It seems we have escaped his spatial maze. Furthermore, the city is right in front."

"Xiao Hei, fly in that direction." Zhou Huai pointed ahead.

Xiao Hei let out a low Dragon roar, flapped its wings, and flew at full speed with rolling heat waves.

On the Dragon's back, Zhou Huai couldn't help but turn to look at Chun: "What exactly is the First World you mentioned? Could it be that before this world and the Old Era, there were even more ancient eras?"

Chun sighed, toying with the wooden jar in her hand, her green eyes looking into the distance as she said: "There is no such thing as an eternal era in this world. The so-called First World was the ultimate civilization before the System conducted its first great purge. The top-tier Professionals of that time had strength far exceeding the current max-level Professionals, and the Law they comprehended could directly affect the underlying code of the world."

"And the Guardian Goddess you summoned just now was someone comparable to a god in the First World, having mastered the absolute rule of protection. Her power specifically restrains all pollution and toxins in the world, so it's no wonder that old poison-master from Ancient Egypt was scared into stopping."

Zhou Huai listened with flickering eyes: "The System's great purge... Since the powerhouses of the First World were so strong, even comparable to gods, why did they end up destroyed?"

"Because of the human heart," Chun said faintly, "When power becomes strong enough to contend with the rules of the world, some people are no longer satisfied with being bound by the System. They want to transcend, they want to replace the Heavenly Dao. What Mr. Duan is doing now has already been done countless times in the era of the First World."

"And the result?" Zhou Huai pressed.

"The result was that the Heavenly Dao brought down an irresistible Lightning Tribulation, completely wiping out the civilization of that entire era, leaving behind only some remnant souls like us, lingering on in the depths of endless ruins."

"As for those four gods, some died in battle while resisting the Heavenly Dao, and some exhausted their Origin to protect their people, such as this Guardian Goddess." Chun looked deeply at Zhou Huai, "I am very curious, what method did you use to be able to summon the projection of her will, which had completely fallen in the ✧ NоvеIight ✧ (Original source) previous era, from the depths of the Law?"

Zhou Huai laughed at himself: "Perhaps my profession just has a bit of fate with her."

He certainly couldn't say that this was because he was carrying a System capable of breaking the rules.

"Compared to that, I am more concerned about the old monster ahead. You said he is the Dominator in the Ancient Egypt ruins, so what was his strength during his lifetime?"

"The Underworld High Priest of Ancient Egypt, Anubis—of course, this was just his former title, not a true god, but a Divine Rank Professional who inherited that totem." Chun's expression turned serious, "What he is best at is spatial mazes and the corrosive poison of the Underworld River. If you hadn't directly unleashed the Guardian Goddess's purification Domain just now, those poisonous mists alone would have been enough to strip a layer of skin off us."

"However, since he took the initiative to invite us into the city, it means he also has something to ask of us, or rather, he also wants to see how far you, the variable who can contend with Mr. Duan, can actually go."

"Ask something of me?" Zhou Huai looked puzzled, "Isn't he a companion awakened by Mr. Duan?"

"Alliance? Don't joke around." Chun sneered disdainfully, "People from the Old Era, where is there any real trust? Mr. Duan awakened us only to treat us as cannon fodder to consume the will of heaven, and incidentally as backup batteries for him to devour Law. That old fox Anubis has lived for countless years, how could he not see through Mr. Duan's intentions?"

"His previous agreement to cooperate with Mr. Duan was just a facade, merely wanting to borrow Mr. Duan's power to avoid being wiped out by the Heavenly Dao. Now that he sees you, a powerhouse who can restrain his toxins and even carry the power of the Guardian Goddess, he naturally has to re-evaluate his position."

Zhou Huai nodded thoughtfully.

It seems that Mr. Duan's side is not an impregnable fortress. These Old Era monsters he awakened each have their own agendas. For him, this is undoubtedly excellent news.

"Since that's the case, let's go and see what this old fox really wants to chat with us about."

Zhou Huai sneered, his gaze piercing through layers of heat waves, and he could already see the towering city built of black stone ahead.

The city gate was wide open, quietly waiting for their arrival.