343: Chapter 343 You're so capable, you really aren't human!

The absolute control over the Moon's Back Heavenly Palace, along with the pulse of the entire planet, all fell into the hands of one person.

Lu Sheng's consciousness withdrew from that sea-like golden Origin, and his feet stepped onto the cold metal floor once more. Without a moment's pause, his figure transformed into a streak of light, tearing through the vacuum as he boldly returned to that azure planet.

He didn't come back to rest.

He was back to take stock of his assets and, while he was at it, clear out the weeds that had newly sprouted in his backyard.

...

East Sea, Dengxian Island.

Lu Sheng's figure silently appeared at the peak of the iceberg at Heros Tomb.

His gaze pierced through the thick ice and rock walls, looking down at the devastated island below. Dao Yi and Li Xiaoyao were leading the Disciples to clear the battlefield, while one hundred and eight Xianqin Terracotta Warriors, under Luo Tianfei's command, were reconstructing the island's defensive array with absolute precision and efficiency.

Everything was in order.

Except for a few "rats" hiding in the shadows.

Lu Sheng's gaze locked onto a group of reefs on the south side of the island. There, a dozen figures dressed in black tight-fitting combat suits were blending into the shadows of the reefs with the help of some kind of optical camouflage. They had no stench of the Abyss on them, nor the iron-blooded Evil Qi of the Immortal Qin, but rather a cold, deathly stillness like that of a tomb guard.

"Interesting. I've just become the new owner, and already thieves are eyeing my granary."

Lu Sheng's figure disappeared from the mountain peak.

The next second, he appeared behind Luo Tianfei, so close he could smell the lingering scent of gunpowder on the tips of her hair.

Luo Tianfei was focused on adjusting the soldiers' defense matrix on a portable light screen when she suddenly felt a heart-palpitating aura descend behind her. Her body instinctively tensed, and she turned to strike.

When she saw clearly it was Lu Sheng, the vigilance in her eyes turned into a flicker of relieved joy.

"You're back."

"Yeah." Lu Sheng nodded, his gaze seemingly casual as it swept over her slightly tired profile. Changing the subject, he asked in a nearly teasing tone, "Speaking of which, I've never asked, where is your home? You're so capable, your family must be quite impressive too."

Luo Tianfei's fingers adjusting the light screen paused for a brief moment.

She quickly returned to normal and shook her head with a light laugh. "I have no family. I grew up in the war zone and am an orphan adopted by the military."

The answer was seamless.

Before, Lu Sheng might have believed it.

But now, he was the "administrator" of this planet.

The moment Luo Tianfei answered, Lu Sheng secretly activated the Earth rule authority he had just obtained. An invisible probing force, originating from the planet's Origin, quietly enveloped Luo Tianfei.

[Analyzing target life information...]

[Analysis failed.]

[The target has an out-of-spec information barrier; planetary authority has been forcibly isolated.]

Deep within Lu Sheng's Cross-shaped Pupils, a flash of death-gray light flickered.

The entire Earth was under his control. Only this woman before him was like a mystery wrapped in thick fog; even the planet's will could not peer into her truth.

At that moment, a sudden change occurred!

In the southern reef group, those dozen or so lurking dark shadows moved.

They wasn't charging, but instead knelt on one knee in unison, their hands forming a strange blood-colored seal in front of their chests, their mouths chanting dry, ancient syllables.

Buzz—

Above Dengxian Island, the crimson sky was torn open.

A dozen dark red pillars of light descended from the sky, landing precisely around Luo Tianfei. Upon hitting the ground, the pillars transformed into a cage constructed from countless twisted skeletons and wailing Soul shadows, trapping her firmly inside.

A strange power leaning toward "sacrifice" and "summoning" began to frantically drain Luo Tianfei's life Origin!

"Recover... the Ancient Emperor's legacy Bloodline!"

The leading man in black let out a hoarse roar, his eyes filled with fanaticism.

Their Cultivation Technique system was unheard of.

"Seeking death."

Lu Sheng didn't even turn around.

He simply raised his left hand toward the skeletal cage and clenched his fingers in mid-air.

Crack!

That cage constructed from strange Laws, along with the billions of wailing Soul shadows inside, shattered instantly like a crushed egg, disintegrating into a sky full of light specks.

The attack was broken, and the dozen men in black over a kilometer away all spat out a mouthful of black blood, their faces filled with disbelief.

They didn't even have time for a second reaction.

A giant hand reaching to the sky, composed of black-gold Qi flames, descended from above, grabbing them along with the reef group in its palm.

There were no screams.

Only the tooth-aching sound of bones and rocks being crushed together.

Lu Sheng made a grasping motion with his left hand, and a massive suction force erupted, forcibly pulling the leading black-clothed man's yet-to-dissipate remnant Soul before him.

Soul Search.

His violent will instantly crushed the other's Soul defense line.

[Target: Gravekeeper.]

[Mission: Recover the last dominant Bloodline of the Ancient Emperor left in this world, bring it back to the 'Ancestral Tomb' as a backup energy source to awaken 'Unit 0'.]

"Gravekeeper? Ancestral Tomb?"

Lu Sheng digested the memory fragments, the killing intent in his eyes growing colder. He casually crushed the remnant Soul and turned around, his Cross-shaped Pupils burning with death-gray flames as they locked onto the pale-faced Luo Tianfei.

The surrounding air seemed to be sucked dry at this moment.

"Now, can you explain to me what 'Ancient Emperor Bloodline' means?"

Lu Sheng approached step by step.

With every step he took, the terrifying pressure radiating from him—a Fusion of the Ancient Desolate Divine Body and the planet's will—grew heavier.

Under that pressure, Luo Tianfei's breathing became rapid, and her body involuntarily retreated until her back hit the cold stone wall of Heros Tomb, with no further way to go back.

She looked into Lu Sheng's emotionless eyes, a look of bitter struggle and then resolve appearing on her face.

Finally, she gave up on hiding it.

Luo Tianfei slowly raised her left hand and unfastened the seemingly ordinary obsidian bracelet on her wrist.

Beneath the bracelet, on her fair wrist, a extremely complex blood-colored mark was clearly branded.

The form of that mark was seventy percent similar to the Imperial Markings on Lu Sheng's chest, yet it had countless more intricate lines like shackles, emitting a sealing aura that shared the same source as Lu Sheng but was diametrically opposite.

"I indeed have no family."

Luo Tianfei's voice carried a hint of trembling, yet it was exceptionally clear.

"Because, I am not 'human' at all."

She looked up, staring directly into Lu Sheng's all-piercing eyes, and said word by word:

"I am the backup activation 'key' for the Immortal Qin flagship, the ark."

"It is also the final... left by the Ancient Emperor when he created you, this all-devouring Vicious Beast, to prevent the plan from spiraling out of control..."

"Insurance."