387: Source

Xiao Zhuo nodded slightly.

The strange and ominous power permeating the space here was indeed much thinner than expected.

However, the native creatures clearly bore the marks of a deep Fusion with this power.

Their Divine Sense could now easily cover a radius of dozens of miles. As they flew further, Xiao Zhuo’s Divine Sense first touched upon a cluster of buildings suspended in the deep Void Realm—

Perhaps it should be called a Void Realm city.

Within the city, there were many auras of Demon Race descendants.

“Old Ancestor!” Xiao Zhuo transmitted.

Xue Tian heard the sound, his gaze shifting slightly, evidently having also locked onto the Void Realm city about forty miles from them.

To the naked eye, that area was enveloped by a sophisticated Formation, leaving only a void.

But under the Divine Sense of two Saint-Grade cultivators, such a blinding trick was useless.

Two figures descended silently like shadows.

“The strongest is merely a Great Luo Realm,” Xue Tian’s voice was low, carrying a hint of disdain.

“I’ll go catch him and ask,” Xiao Zhuo smiled faintly, his tone utterly calm.

“Alright.”

Within the city, the Demon Race lived orderly lives, with distinct residential and commercial areas, forming a small society.

A faint light flowed around Xiao Zhuo, and the Illusion Domain formed by the Heavenly Illusion Sacred Art perfectly concealed him.

He moved as if in an uninhabited land, walking directly towards the towering, thousands-of-feet-high black castle in the center of the city.

At the castle entrance, two Demon guards, five zhang tall and exuding a fierce aura, stood like statues.

Xiao Zhuo passed them silently; the guards were completely unaware, as if he were just a wisp of breeze passing through the castle’s shadow.

The castle’s internal structure was complex, adorned with crude Demon-style decorations, possessing a primitive and eerie quality.

However, a surging Great Luo Realm aura in the deepest part of the castle, like a lighthouse in the darkness, clearly guided Xiao Zhuo’s path.

In just a moment, Xiao Zhuo appeared in a secret chamber constructed from black bones in the depths of the castle.

Upon the altar, a burly Demon sat cross-legged.

He had curved horns, and his grey skin was covered with flowing dark purple Demon Pattern. A thick ominous black Qi and faint blue glow enveloped his body, seemingly immersed in Cultivation.

He was the ruler of this city, the Demon God King—Ayatis.

Suddenly, Ayatis’s tightly shut eyes snapped open! His dark pupils shot out beams of shock and fury!

A formidable and irresistible power descended from thin air, instantly seizing him from the altar! He didn't even have time to mobilize a shred of power, only feeling his Divine Soul struck by a heavy hammer, his consciousness instantly plunging into Chaos.

When he regained clarity, the biting Void Realm cold wind howled past his body, chilling him to the bone.

He discovered with horror that he was already on the platform of the castle’s sharpest spire!

Before him stood two unfamiliar beings, resembling angels but without wings and with different hair colors.

The aura emanating from both of them caused an uncontrollable fear and tremor to surge from the depths of his Soul.

“You…who are you?! How dare you offend the great Demon God King Ayatis!” He forced himself to roar fiercely.

“Noisy.” Xue Tian didn’t even bother to lift his eyelids, merely flicking his finger casually.

Pfft!

Ayatis felt an indescribable sharp pain in his right shoulder, as if a piece of his Soul had been torn away!

He looked down in horror, only to see his right arm severed at the shoulder!

The cut was smooth as a mirror, with no blood gushing out. The severed arm, separated from his body, disintegrated into ashes in the Void Realm, scattered by the cold wind.

“Ugh ah—!” A piercing shriek escaped his lips, and cold sweat instantly drenched his entire body.

However, this sound was tightly confined to the platform by an invisible barrier, unable to spread even an inch.

After a moment, Ayatis, wracked by pain and fear, barely managed to suppress his screams, leaving only heavy gasps and violent trembling.

“Now, can you be quiet?” Xue Tian’s icy voice, like ten thousand years of cold ice, pierced directly into the depths of Ayatis’s Soul, “I ask, you answer. Hesitate, and you’ll lose something else. Talk nonsense, die.”

Every word carried a tangible killing intent.

Xiao Zhuo watched from the side, his Divine Eye of Illusion Breaking quietly open, silver light faintly flickering, intently analyzing the energy fluctuations emanating from Ayatis’s severed arm, and the subtle interaction between the Taboo Power and his own demonic Origin Qi within his body.

The agonizing pain of his severed arm and Xue Tian’s undisguised death threat completely crushed Ayatis’s arrogance as a Demon God King.

He clutched his severed shoulder tightly, his body shaking like a sieve, his voice hoarse and dry: “…You…please ask…”

“Where is this place? And what are you?” Xiao Zhuo spoke, his voice calm as water, yet carrying a power that pierced the mind.

Ayatis gasped, not daring to hesitate in the slightest: “This…this is the ‘Void Holy Realm’…it’s…it’s the Fusion world formed after the final collision and annihilation of the great Primal Demon Realm and the Light God Realm…it’s the last refuge for all beings of the Dark Realm…we…we are the last survivors of the two realms…”

“What are that faint blue glow, and the demonic patterns and black spots on your bodies?” Xiao Zhuo pressed, his gaze sharp as a sword.

“The blue light…the blue light is the Origin great power of the Void Holy Realm, it is the ‘source radiance’ born from the Fusion of the Shattered Realm Origins of the two realms!” A trace of instinctive reverence flashed in Ayatis’s eyes, “It…it can partially resist the erosion of the omnipresent ‘Taboo Power’ of the Dark Realm…” He caught his breath, his face a mixture of fear and a pathological fanaticism, “But…but the erosion of the Taboo Power…is too terrifying…yuan hui also cannot completely isolate it. Over endless eons, our ancestors…under the protection of yuan hui, explored…the secret art of Fusion with the Taboo Power…after Fusion, these dark markings will appear on the body…”

“Fusion?” Xue Tian’s blood-red eyes narrowed slightly, his scrutinizing gaze almost tangible, “What good is there in fusing with such filthy power?” He acutely grasped the key point.

“Yes…it is Fusion!” Ayatis’s voice suddenly took on a desperate fanaticism, “Taboo Power…is a power even the will of the boundary sea fears! Once our Saint Race fuses with it…we can obtain nearly endless Lifespan…and possess…the terrifying power to restrain and erode all Dao Laws! Once our race steps out of the Dark Realm, the boundary sea will also submit to the great Source Master!”

As he spoke, his eyes flickered with demonic light, as if the pain and distortion had become badges of power.

Xiao Zhuo and Xue Tian exchanged glances, both seeing the solemnity in each other’s eyes.

Indeed!

This twisted Fusion allowed these survivors in desperation to gain a distorted way of survival and strange power, but it also completely alienation them, turning them into walking vessels for Taboo Power.

“yuan hui…where does yuan hui come from? Where is the Origin of this realm?” Xiao Zhuo’s voice suddenly turned cold, and a powerful Divine Soul power pierced directly into Ayatis’s Divine Soul.

Ayatis trembled violently, his face instantly turning ashen white, but his eyes, instead of their previous fear and submission, surged with a trace of madness!

This question seemed to have touched his reverse scale.

“No…I cannot! This absolutely cannot be said! Not even if I die!” He shook his head frantically, his lips trembling so much he could barely form a complete sentence, “You…you came for the ‘Source Heart’?! Dream on! I, Ayatis, am the Source Master’s most loyal servant, I will never betray the Source Master! The great Source Master will surely judge you all!”

As he spoke, the extreme fanaticism instantly transformed into a near-mad resolve. He suddenly raised his head, his eyes as black as ink: “Kill me! Kill me now! Even if my form and spirit are annihilated, I will never reveal a single word about the Source Heart! You will not succeed! The Source Master…the Source Master will never let you go!”

He shrieked, the Taboo Power within him seeming to be ignited by this intense resistance, boiling violently, and the black spots on his body squirmed frantically like living things!

“Source Master?” Xue Tian’s lips curled into a cruel, cold smile, and dark red divine intent once again condensed at his fingertips, emitting terrifying fluctuations that caused space to subtly twist, “It seems your tongue is still too stiff. This Old Ancestor has many ways to pry open your mouth.”

He took a step forward, the invisible pressure almost suffocating Ayatis.

Just as Xue Tian was about to employ thunderous means to forcibly search his Soul—

Xiao Zhuo’s pupils suddenly contracted to pinpricks!

The silver light of his Divine Eye of Illusion Breaking flared, and his gaze sharply pierced through the castle walls, locking onto the deep, boundless dark Void Realm outside the city!

“Old Ancestor! Wait!” Xiao Zhuo’s voice carried an unprecedented solemnity, like a taut bowstring, “A big guy…is here!”

Almost at the same time Xiao Zhuo gave the warning!

On the altar, a profoundly eerie expression suddenly appeared on Ayatis’s fear-filled face—a twisted blend of extreme piety and complete liberation!

The black spots squirming on his body instantly became like the deepest ink, so black they seemed to swallow light, and spread wildly over his entire body at an unprecedented speed!

“Source Master…listen…to your humble servant’s…sacrifice…” A hollow, inhuman gibberish squeezed out from deep within his throat.

Boom—!!!

A destructive, terrifying energy, far exceeding his own Great Luo Realm level, erupted without warning, centered on his body!

That was not his own power, but the Taboo Power accumulated within him, which, under the inducement of some unknown will, instantly devoured all his life Origin and Cultivation!