232: swan song

Stepping forward, Li Dong raised an eyebrow slightly at the sight before him.

This so-called Holy Land had long since lost its true meaning.

There was not a shred of holiness here; the air was thick with an unyielding decay and deathly silence.

The earth was grey and lifeless, the sky gloomy. The rivers that once flowed with life energy had dried up, leaving only cracked riverbeds that resembled ugly scars.

Countless figures wandered aimlessly across this land filled with Death Qi.

They were once living beings of this world, but now, their eyes were hollow and their movements stiff, like Puppets that had their Souls extracted.

"They..." The Child of Ash beside him spoke in a hoarse voice, his suppressed pain evident beneath his charred battle armor. "They are all sacrifices."

Li Dong did not speak, merely watching quietly.

He could see that above the heads of these "living sacrifices" were invisible, illusory threads connecting them to the very center of the Holy Land.

There, a massive black vortex that blotted out the sky was slowly rotating. With every rotation, it extracted the purest Soul power from those threads, accompanied by silent wails.

"What an inefficient method of extraction," Li Dong suddenly remarked, his tone as calm as if he were critiquing a dish. "It enjoys this process."

The Child of Ash whipped his head around to look at him, grey flames flickering violently beneath the gaps of his heavy armor.

He did not understand how this person could remain so calm in the face of such tragedy.

"I will destroy it!" he let out a low growl, the grey flames around his body rising uncontrollably.

"Wait."

Li Dong raised a hand to stop him.

At that very moment, a sudden change occurred.

The surrounding space seemed to transform from liquid to solid, and an invisible pressure squeezed in from all directions, trapping them firmly in place.

"Hum—!"

The Void Realm trembled as countless chains made of the purest dark energy emerged from all directions like living things, carrying the binding power of Law and coiling toward the two like venomous snakes.

At the same time, a cold, vast, and emotionless will descended directly into their minds.

"Error: Variable detected."

"Error: Residue detected."

"Initiating purge sequence."

The Child of Ash was stunned. He had been fighting for thousands of years, yet this was the first time he had "heard" such a clear voice from this evil entity.

There was no anger or will in this voice, only a coldness like that of a program executing.

"You want to purge me?" He suddenly laughed, a tragic and crazed sound. "I have stayed in this prison for three thousand years! Do you think a few chains can lock me up?!"

"Roar—!"

A roar exploded, not from his throat, but from the depths of his Soul!

The grey flames that had always been suppressed within him erupted completely at this moment, without reservation.

It was no longer just flames, but a grey storm sweeping across the world! All the dark chains coiling toward him were burned into primordial nothingness the instant they touched the grey flames.

Like a burning meteor, he bathed the entire silent Holy Land in a layer of grey light. He was no longer a struggling resistance fighter, but a martyr determined to burn himself out to illuminate the darkness.

Li Dong watched him, a flash of admiration in his eyes.

The next second, several equally thick dark chains coiled toward him as well.

Li Dong did not even move.

The Law Scalpel appeared in his hand on its own, black and white colors swirling as he gave a gentle slash.

Without any earth-shattering momentum, those chains containing terrifying Law power were severed cleanly in the middle, like hemp ropes cut by scissors, before disintegrating inch by inch and vanishing without a trace.

"A cage made of rope is too crude," Li Dong muttered, as if talking to himself or perhaps speaking to the high and mighty "True Lord."

He extended his right hand, and a miniature black vortex quietly appeared in his palm.

[Eternal Prison].

The power that imprisoned the space, the residual energy left after the Child of Ash burned it, and even the will that the "True Lord" had descended, all seemed to find an outlet, madly surging toward that small vortex.

Li Dong even raised an eyebrow, as if tasting the flavor of this power.

"Hmm... the energy is impure and carries a rotten stench; it seems your appetite isn't very good."

His actions completely enraged that high and mighty existence.

The massive vortex at the center of the Holy Land suddenly accelerated, and endless Void Realm energy gushed out, rapidly condensing in mid-air into a giant a thousand feet tall.

The giant was pitch black with no facial features, yet it radiated a terrifying pressure comparable to a Peak Mahayana.

The moment it appeared, it locked onto the greater threat, Li Dong, and brought down a giant hand carrying the power to destroy everything.

The Child of Ash saw this scene.

He looked at the Void Realm Clone made of pure power, then at Li Dong, who was composed and even had the leisure to "taste" the enemy's energy, and suddenly understood something.

He laughed—a laugh of relief and release.

"So... that's how it is."

He suddenly changed direction, no longer attacking the irrelevant Puppets, but turning into a beam of grey light and rushing without hesitation toward that massive Void Realm Clone.

"I have burned for three thousand years, always waiting for an opportunity, waiting for a chance to truly burn it in pain!"

A resolute thought crossed space and rang directly in Li Dong's mind.

"I don't know who you are, nor do I care where you come from! But your power is the true hope! This is the last thing I can do! Live on... and then, end it!"

Li Dong paused slightly.

He saw the grey flames around the Child of Ash burn to their limit in that instant, turning from grey to a blinding, pure white.

He ignited everything he had—his life, his Soul, his will, and his three thousand years of loneliness and hatred—transforming it into the final and most brilliant strike of his life.

"Deal," Li Dong responded softly.

Boom—!

The extreme white light and pure darkness collided with a roar.

There was no sound, no shockwave.

In that instant, the entire world lost its color and sound. Light swallowed everything, and that arrogant Void Realm Clone melted and disintegrated like snow in the pure white flames.

And that burning figure also turned into specks of starlight in this extreme radiance, dissipating forever.

A vast, pure Origin energy, carrying an unyielding will and resolute belief, surged like a bursting flood into Li Dong's [Eternal Prison].

This was not merely power; it also contained a person's three thousand years of memories and three thousand years of resistance.

Li Dong stood quietly and closed his eyes.

A moment later, he opened his eyes. In those calm orbs, there was now a hint of warmth left over from the burning ashes.

He completely absorbed and purified the energy that had surged into his body. Pushed by this power, his own cultivation was completely stabilized at the Peak Mahayana, and he even faintly touched that higher barrier.

The massive devouring vortex at the center of the Holy Land trembled violently due to the disintegration of the Void Realm Clone, and a clear crack even appeared on it.

The "True Lord's" will descended again. This time, for the first time, a trace of fluctuation appeared within that programmatic coldness.

It was... a tremor, the kind that occurs when the System discovers an unfixable error.

"Damage confirmed... Variable... exceeds calculation range..."

Li Dong looked up, his gaze seeming to pierce through the endless Void Realm to see the cold "True Lord" behind it.

He spoke, his voice not loud, yet it clearly echoed throughout the entire Void Realm.

"Do you feel it? This is called pain."

"Don't rush; this is just the beginning."

After analyzing the final legacy of the Child of Ash, a brand-new star map slowly unfolded in Li Dong's mind from the [Eternal Prison] within him.

On it were marked coordinates even more secretive and dangerous than this world.

These were the true "experimental grounds" established by the "True Lord" throughout the Universe.

Li Dong withdrew his gaze and did not look at this Holy Land, which was currently being purified, ever again.

He turned around, took a step, and his figure turned into a stream of light, merging into the Void Realm and disappearing.

The hunt had only just begun.