Meanwhile, thousands of miles away, inside the Black Stone Hall within the pyramid of the Ancient Egyptian Ruins.

The hall was vast and silent, the air stifling.

"Crack... crack..." The sound of shattering echoed through the vast hall.

Beside Zhou Huai's low table, the wooden carving that had been emitting emerald green life fluctuations now completely lost its luster.

Dry wood shavings peeled off the surface of the statue, and the Law patterns representing the will of the Nature Goddess's Clone rapidly turned gray and withered.

In the span of a few breaths, the wooden carving transformed into a humanoid piece of rotten wood.

The last bit of green fluorescence also dissipated into the air, turning into nothingness.

"Oh my, it seems she has failed completely."

On the golden throne, Anubis swirled the golden goblet in his hand, the crimson wine swaying inside the cup.

He shook his head and sneered, "As the Nature Goddess of the First World, to think that even her means of escape were so pathetic. It is truly regrettable."

Although he spoke of regret, his gray eyes were filled with mockery and indifference; there was no hint of pity in his tone.

The death of the Nature Goddess was merely the curtain call of an inconsequential play.

Zhou Huai sat by the low table, his dark golden pupils fixed on the withered wooden carving, his brow furrowed.

He raised his head, his gaze piercing the high-and-mighty Anubis, his tone calm yet carrying a cold probe, "Anubis, your plan is well-calculated. But you forget, Mr. Duan's strength is becoming increasingly powerful. Once he completely absorbs the Nature Goddess's Origin Life Law and completes the final piece of his high-dimensional divine spark, his next target will be you."

Zhou Huai picked up the white jade wine cup on the table and toyed with it, "Facing a Transcendent who can devour you like a battery, you don't seem to have any sense of urgency?"

Upon hearing this, Anubis chuckled.

He tilted his head back, drained the wine in his cup in one gulp, and then tossed the golden goblet aside, producing a crisp clattering sound.

"It is not that I lack a sense of urgency, young man." Anubis tapped the armrest of his throne with his long, slender fingers, his tone deep, "I am merely waiting for an opportunity. An opportunity that can completely reverse this dead end."

"What opportunity?" Zhou Huai narrowed his eyes, catching the subtext in the other's words.

"The opportunity when the Eighth Ruin opens." Anubis spat out the words.

The Eighth Ruin?!

Zhou Huai's mind instantly conducted a comprehensive search of all intelligence regarding the ruins in the current world.

Two ruins in the Free Federation, two ruins in the Great Xia, one Ise Grand Shrine in Sakura Country, this pyramid in Ancient Egypt, plus that ruin on the distant ocean islands... that only totals seven.

In this world-class challenge quest known as the Chaos of the Eight Directions, the System mentioned eight ruins, but as of now, neither the top-secret archives of the Great Xia Military Department nor the intelligence network Zhou Huai himself controlled had any clues regarding that eighth one!

It was a ghost that did not exist in this world.

Zhou Huai set down his wine cup, his gaze locked onto Anubis, "You mean... the Eighth Ruin hasn't opened yet?"

He threw out three lethal questions in succession, his tone pressing step by step, "Where exactly is it? Why do you know that the Eighth Ruin is the key to dealing with Mr. Duan? What kind of chips do you actually hold in your hand?"

The atmosphere in the hall plummeted to freezing point with these questions.

Anubis did not answer; he picked up a clean cup again and poured himself a glass of wine.

"You have too many questions, little one."

Anubis took a sip of the wine, his gray eyes looking down at Zhou Huai from above, his tone revealing the arrogance and impatience unique to a high-dimensional powerhouse, "I have no obligation to explain so much to you. You only need to know that in this game of Era Cleansing, your current chips are not enough to qualify to see my trump cards."

He set down the wine cup and leaned forward, the terrifying Aura belonging to the Dominator of the old Netherworld surging toward Zhou Huai.

"You only have two choices now."

Anubis held up two fingers, his voice cold, "Either tear off the mask now and become my enemy. Or, cooperate with me and obediently do as I say."

"The first choice benefits neither of us and would only benefit Duan." He paused, sneering, "I suggest you choose the second. Unless... you are confident you can defeat me here."

A threat. An undisguised threat.

Anubis dared to be so arrogant because he was certain that Zhou Huai would not dare to act rashly ❀ Nоvеlігht ❀ (Don’t copy, read here) in this Ancient Egyptian Ruins which he completely controlled. This was his home turf, filled with the pervasive Law of the Underworld River, and every tiny spatial node was covered by his Necrotic Curse.

However, facing the ultimatum from this god of the old era, Zhou Huai suddenly laughed.

"Heh heh..." Zhou Huai grinned, revealing his stark white teeth. He stood up from beside the low table and brushed some non-existent dust off his hem.

"Sorry, I was born with a stubborn streak; what I dislike most is being manipulated by others."

Zhou Huai raised his head, and a heart-stopping murderous intent suddenly erupted from his dark golden pupils, "Since you are so confident, then let me give it a try. Let's see what kind of strength this so-called god of the Netherworld has to make me obey you!"

A blast of Qi! As his voice fell, a terrifying Aura that did not belong to any conventional Professional of the current world erupted from within Zhou Huai's body!

The absolute Fusion of All-Aspects Unity was driven to the extreme!

Dazzling thunder light and rich shadow Laws intertwined around him. Yasuo's 【Armor of the Thunder God】 instantly covered his entire body, the violent blue lightning emitting a deafening roar; Moria's 【Night Demon Descent】 caused a pair of black devil wings that blocked out the sky to spread behind his back; and the power of Xiang Yu's 【Indestructible Demon God】 caused his bones to emit a teeth-gritting cracking sound as his height surged to three meters, like an ancient god of war!

Not only that, the Law of Space of the Void Realm Arbiter Viktor transformed into countless silver chains, centered on Zhou Huai, piercing into the surrounding Void Realm, forcibly tearing countless cracks in the necrotic spatial maze that Anubis had set up in the hall!

"Arrogant human!" Anubis's expression changed drastically, and the golden goblet in his hand was crushed to pieces by him!

He stood up from the golden throne, his gray eyes turning ink-black.

"Since you are seeking death, I will grant your wish!"

Swish—! A phantom of a dark yellow Netherworld River, condensed from the Law of Death and corrosive toxins, soared into the sky from behind Anubis. Countless vengeful spirits emitting shrill screams rolled in the river water, exuding a stench capable of dissolving all life. 𝒻𝓇𝑒𝘦𝘸𝑒𝒷𝓃ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝒸ℴ𝘮

The Auras of the two top-tier powerhouses collided within the spacious Black Stone Hall!

"Boom—!!" The mere confrontation of their Auras triggered a violent tremor in the space of the ruins. The indestructible Black Stone floor cracked inch by inch, and huge fissures spread in all directions like a spider web. The originally dull, veiled dancer Puppets around the hall didn't even have time to scream under the pressure before being crushed into blood-colored powder flying all over the sky.

It was not just inside; above the entire Black Stone City, the winds and clouds changed color!