Overseas, in a remote stretch of sea.

Deep beneath the sea, a pitch-black chasm had formed. All waters converged within it, and a thousand veins of fire radiated from its perimeter, like a host of stars paying homage to the moon.

The Earth Fire Sea Heart Furnace!

And in the heart of this underwater volcano, a handsome young man with the refined air of a scholar was holding a Jade Scroll, perusing it with his Divine Sense.

A moment later, he lowered the Jade Scroll, a troubled expression on his face.

"Things have been restless Overseas lately."

Summon had been in seclusion in the Earth Fire Sea Heart Furnace for several decades now. To be precise, he had entered seclusion right after Minor Metal achieved the realm of No Heaven.

He’d had no choice. It was the way the winds were blowing.

When Minor Metal achieved No Heaven, all the Perfected Lords were taken away in one fell swoop. The ones most excited by this were those Overseas; the Dragon Monarch had even left laughing.

After all the Perfected Lords went into seclusion, the True Dragon Race immediately mobilized its full strength. They began to sweep across the Overseas regions, searching for Spiritual Materials to prepare for the Dragon Palace’s Crown Prince, Celestial Python, to undergo Seeking Gold. In the face of such a powerful tide, Summon, a lone Outer Heaven Wanderer with no backing, could only choose to lie low for the time being.

Thinking of this, he couldn’t help but sigh again.

"Alas..."

Minor Metal taking away all the world’s Perfected Lords was a great thing for most Cultivators, but for him, it was a devastating blow, like a bolt from the blue.

Because unlike others, Summon needed a Perfected Lord for his Seeking Gold!

Forget everything else—just to reach the foundational requirement for Seeking Gold, the Foundation Establishment Perfection Realm, he needed the Daoist Court Emperor to personally bestow an Official Position upon him.

But now, the Daoist Court Emperor was in seclusion.

The Crown Prince Regent’s attitude toward him was completely different. They had spoken several times, but the other party was completely unwilling to grant him an Official Position that would bring him to Foundation Establishment Perfection.

And so, Summon was stuck.

For a moment, a look of despair crossed his face. "My own end is fast approaching... Is the World Ruins Realm truly going to be extinguished with me?"

He couldn’t accept it!

But... what could he do, even if he couldn’t accept it? Summon lowered his head in dejection. "At this point, all I can do is wait... wait until the Perfected Lords return..."

However, at that very moment—

BOOM!

The entire Earth Fire Sea Heart Furnace began to tremble violently. Summon’s brow furrowed, and he looked toward the source of the vibration.

It would have been better if he hadn’t looked.

The moment he did, he shot to his feet.

"Bastards!"

His eyes swept over the scene. In the remote sea where the Earth Fire Sea Heart Furnace was located, billions of tons of seawater were being forcibly lifted into the air by an immense power!

Summon gazed into the distance and saw hundreds of thousands of Demon Soldiers standing upon the sea’s surface. They were arranged in an Array, channeling the Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. It was their power that was lifting the ocean. And at the very forefront of the Demon army stood an impressive-looking man and woman—both old acquaintances of Lü Yang.

Dragon King Sui Ying and the Dragon King’s Spirit.

The two Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment Dragon Kings, their Qi traces now surging thanks to the support of the hundreds of thousands of Demon Soldiers, were staring intently in Summon’s direction.

"So you really are here."

"Are you Summon?"

Summon ignored the two Dragon Kings’ questions, his hands trembling with rage. His Earth Fire Sea Heart Furnace had been destroyed!

You must understand, the Earth Fire Sea Heart Furnace was constructed based on Feng Shui.

As such, its entire structure depended on the terrain and topography. But now, by lifting the seawater, the two Dragon Kings had shattered the Feng Shui, ruining his Earth Fire Sea Heart Furnace!

’Audacious fiends...!’

Summon cursed them virulently in his heart, but in the end, he couldn’t bring himself to say the words out loud. After all, in his current state, he couldn’t afford to provoke the ascendant True Dragon Race.

"...Fellow Daoists, for what reason have you come looking for me?"

Summon flicked his sleeves, observing all the proper courtesies.

Sui Ying smiled faintly at his words, a mocking glint in his dragon eyes. "I hear that you, an Outer Heaven Wanderer, possess a Spirit Ruins Blessed Land. Is this true or false?"

As soon as these words were spoken, Summon’s heart sank.

’So that’s why they came for me. They’ve set their sights on my Spirit Ruins Blessed Land! Are they planning to consume my Blessed Land as a Magic Instrument for their Seeking Gold?’

This was too much!

If it were anything else, Summon would have handed it over out of respect for the True Dragons’ power. He had bowed his head more than once; bowing it again would be nothing.

But the Spirit Ruins Blessed Land was the one thing he could not give up.

It was the seed for the World Ruins Realm’s revival, his greatest hope for having clung to life this long. If he gave it away, the World Ruins Realm would truly be finished!

’...Courting death!’ 𝒇𝒓𝙚𝒆𝔀𝓮𝓫𝒏𝓸𝙫𝓮𝓵.𝓬𝙤𝙢

In that instant, fury ignited in Summon’s heart and malice took root. He stared at Sui Ying and Evil Spirit with a grim gaze, a trace of killing intent leaking out.

True, the two Dragon Kings were empowered by an Array of hundreds of thousands of Demon Soldiers, but they were still only at the Mid-phase of Foundation Establishment. He, on the other hand, had the combat strength of a Late Stage cultivator. With the boost from his Spirit Ruins Blessed Land, he was by no means weak even among those at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishment. If a real fight broke out, he could suppress these two young dragons with a flip of his palm!

However, the moment his Qi trace shifted, almost simultaneously, Evil Spirit and Sui Ying, as if fully prepared, produced a trident and raised it into the air, where it began to radiate a clear, shimmering light.

’The Imperial Trident!’

As the weapon hovered in the air, it instantly reflected a thousand brilliant colors. A sky-shattering BANG erupted, and the rumbling sound of flowing water echoed from the clear sky.

"This is..."

Summon’s pupils contracted as he recognized the weapon’s origin. It was the personal weapon of the Dragon Palace Crown Prince, Celestial Python—a Superior Sentient Artifact!

The Imperial Trident appearing here had clearly been empowered beforehand by one of Celestial Python’s Abilities. Now activated by Evil Spirit and Sui Ying, it immediately granted them the augmentation of a Foundation Establishment Perfection Position. The two individuals, whom Summon had previously dismissed, suddenly became several times more threatening!

In an instant, a chill ran down Summon’s spine.

’Are they... trying to kill me?’

It was obvious that Evil Spirit and Sui Ying had come prepared. The Dragon Palace’s Crown Prince, Celestial Python, might even be watching him from the shadows at this very moment!

At this thought, all of Summon’s killing intent vanished instantly.

’Forget it. It’s just another escape, that’s all.’

Summon closed his eyes, not daring to entertain the slightest thought of resistance. Ever since he had arrived in this broken place, the so-called act of resisting had been nothing more than a fantasy.

But just as he was preparing to risk everything for a chance at survival, a sky-shattering bang suddenly erupted from high in the heavens. It instantly spread across the entire Overseas region, causing countless Cultivators to look up in unison. They saw only a hole torn in the Gang Clouds, through which an endless torrent of Spiritual Qi was pouring in from Beyond the Heavens!

It was as if the very sky were collapsing!

"Is this... an Outer Realm falling?"

Summon raised his head, and for a dazed moment, it was as if he had returned to the past. The World Ruins Realm of old had been just like this, seized from Beyond the Heavens and dragged into this world by the Perfected Lords.

But this one seemed different.

It seemed to have entered of its own volition.

Before Summon could sort out his thoughts, he witnessed a sight that left him dumbfounded: a colossal hand, descending from the sky, vast enough to blot out heaven and earth.

Evil Spirit and Sui Ying had already lifted an ocean of billions of tons into the sky—a sufficiently grand spectacle, especially with the augmentation of a Foundation Establishment Perfection Position that made it seem like a true Celestial River. Yet, when this descending hand opened up, it pressed everything down into its palm!

"Who’s there!?"

Evil Spirit and Sui Ying were terrified. Both transformed into their True Dragon Bodies and tried to flee through the void, but they couldn’t escape the grasp of that giant hand.

BOOM!

There was no suspense. The next second, the hand’s five fingers closed, crushing the two Dragon Kings in its palm as easily as if they were chicks.

"Daoist, please be merciful..."

From a distant part of the sea, Celestial Python’s voice carried over.

However, the only response he received was a soft sound.

POP!

Flesh and blood splattered as the two Dragon Kings were instantly annihilated. Then, the great hand of light dimmed, its divine radiance receding to reveal the upright figure of a young man.

"This broken place... I’m back!"

Surveying his surroundings, Lü Yang broke into a vicious grin.

As for Celestial Python’s words, he paid them no mind at all.

’Be merciful?’

He had returned this time for the sole purpose of waging all-out war!