189: New Journey

In the underground cavern, the last trace of the golden divinity fragment was drawn into his palm; Li Dong exhaled slowly.

The breath was long and steady, carrying a faint scorching sensation, blowing a stalactite in front of him into powder.

His Golden Core was round and flawless, without a single crack, and surging power rushed through his limbs and bones like a river about to burst its banks.

“Golden Core Late Stage Peak...” Li Dong clenched his fist, feeling the crisp popping sound from his knuckles. “Not bad, not a loss.”

He raised his head. Although he was deep underground, his spiritual sense had long since pierced through the thick rock layers, bringing the entire scene of Qingzhou City into his perception.

The core was destroyed, the altar extinguished, just like a giant signal tower that had suddenly lost power.

The fanatics in the city whose bodies had mutated froze in an instant.

The fanatical vortex of flesh and blood in their eyes began to dissipate, replaced by confusion and pain.

Some who were less mutated even let out inhuman wails, clutching their heads and rolling on the ground, seemingly struggling against the residual madness in their brains one last time.

And those rats that had been hiding in the sewers and drains... no, the survivors, also noticed this sudden change.

“What's going on? Those monsters... have they stopped?”

“Has the... has the divine punishment ended?”

After a brief silence, the hatred and anger that had been suppressed for too long erupted like a volcano.

“Kill them! Avenge my child!”

“These inhumane beasts! The God Lord abandoned you long ago!”

Shouts of killing rang out from every corner of the city; a single spark had instantly started a prairie fire.

Li Dong had no interest in this.

He didn't have the time to stay and be some savior, helping people clean up the battlefield. But leaving it alone would be too messy and affect his mood.

With a thought, a few imperceptible strands of Mental Energy extended along the ley lines, turning into countless tiny whispers that sounded in the ears of those rebels and those who had recovered some of their sanity.

“The core beneath the City Lord's Mansion has been destroyed; they no longer have a source of power...”

“The West City armory contains the weapons they have hidden...”

“The granary in the southeast corner has the weakest defenses...”

True and false information, like ghostly whispers, was precisely delivered to the ears of those who needed it most. Under his guidance, a chaotic revenge began to become orderly and efficient.

After doing this, Li Dong turned his attention back to the loot in his hands.

That divinity core seized from the capital was undergoing a wondrous transformation after absorbing the most essential fragments left behind by the collapse of the Qingzhou agent.

On the originally smooth crystal surface, brand new, more complex and profound golden runes were emerging on their own, as if a craftsman were meticulously carving a work of art.

“It can even auto-update its version?” Li Dong raised an eyebrow, feeling a bit intrigued.

As the new runes took shape, he could feel that the core's efficiency in analyzing the God Lord's power had at least doubled.

At the same time, the God Lord's mark between his eyebrows, which had once been a nuisance, now transmitted a wave of warmth.

After the mental anchor point in Qingzhou was removed, this mark did not disappear; instead, it was like a polished mirror, producing a clearer “resonance” with other light points on the “Hunting Ground Map” in his Sea of Consciousness.

He could even “smell” the different “scents” coming from those light points.

“This one in the South Sea... it carries a salty, damp fishy smell, and it's a bit domineering.”

“The one in the Northern Desert... it's dry, like weathered sandstone, but it hides a dead, cold chill inside.”

“The one in the Western Regions... oh, this one is the most complex, mixed with dozens of different religious scents, all messy, like a hodgepodge.”

This feeling allowed Li Dong to more accurately judge the composition and strength of each anchor point's power. This was much more intuitive than simply looking at the brightness of the red dots on the map.

It was practically a menu with built-in navigation and target analysis.

“Quite a few surprises.” Li Dong smiled.

The ground beneath his feet transmitted a slight, almost imperceptible vibration.

It was the ley lines of Qingzhou.

It was cheering, rejoicing, and conveying to him a sense of relief and gratitude after breaking free from its shackles.

Immediately, a weak yet pure surge of ley line Qi flowed along some mysterious connection, heading toward the distant capital.

Li Dong could sense that the Dragon that had just revived in the capital also gave a joyful response upon receiving this “goodwill,” accelerating its revival by another fraction.

“So it can link up like this... it's like patching the main server.”

Deep in his Sea of Consciousness, the long-silent black crystal and the ancient stone slab suddenly shone brightly.

The “Void Realm Fusion” command became clearer than ever before; it was no longer a vague impulse, but like an illuminated star map route, clearly pointing to a coordinate so distant it was unimaginable.

Li Dong understood that every time he removed a God Lord's anchor point, he took a step forward on this route.

On the “Hunting Ground Map,” the light point representing Qingzhou had completely dimmed, turning into an inconspicuous gray.

But further away in the South Sea and Northern Borders, those blood-red light points remained glaringly bright, as if silently provoking him.

“Return to the capital? No need for that.”

Li Dong muttered to himself.

Going back now would just mean having a meeting with Wei Zheng and Li Qingxuan, reporting the results, and then discussing the next steps. Too slow, and a waste of time.

The prey has already refreshed on the map; what kind of hunter goes home to sleep?

He glanced at the devastated cavern, then looked at the “evolving” divinity core in his hand.

He flicked his finger, and several strands of the purest divine power, purified by his Perfect Dao Body, turned into specks of golden light, drifting silently out of the cavern and merging into the air of Qingzhou City.

These powers were enough to help the wounded recover quickly and allow this polluted land to regain its vitality.

Consider it... a dessert after the meal.

He had no interest in meeting the survivors in the city, and even less desire to hear their thanks or complaints.

Those things had nothing to do with him.

His battlefield was not in any single city or place.

Li Dong turned around and identified the direction of the blood-red light point on the map that emitted a salty, damp smell.

South Sea.

Next target.

He knew this would be a longer and more dangerous journey.

The God Lord would never sit idly by while his “mental anchor points” were removed one by one.

Perhaps, stronger enemies were already waiting for him at the next stop.

But so what?

He took a step forward, his figure merging into the shadows and disappearing without a trace.

To Li Dong, this world was not a crumbling building, but a massive hunting ground. And he was the only hunter.

From the capital to Qingzhou, then to the South Sea, and finally to the stars and the Void Realm.

This grand banquet had only just begun.