364: Chapter 364 A Hellish Scene, General Kongling!

A day passed quietly.

The Dark Star piloted by Li Fan had now arrived at a point less than twenty million miles from the Abode of Cessation.

Looking into the distance...

There lay a vast, dark cloud mass stretching across billions of light-years.

Even from afar, it exuded an intense, oppressive aura.

Scattered around the periphery of this luminous mass were many flickering points of light.

These were the ships of desperadoes.

They recklessly attempted to traverse it, braving immense risks in search of elusive opportunities.

Taking a deep breath,

Li Fan donned a conical hat, draped a red robe over his shoulders, and put on a mask, urging his ship to speed toward the cloud mass.

Now, all preparations were complete.

All that remained was for him to lure the snake out of its hole.

...

A distance of tens of millions of kilometers was but a matter of minutes for the Dark Star.

Upon reaching the outer edge of the cloud mass,

Li Fan stowed the Dark Star, adjusted his attire, and stepped forward into the cloud mass.

While passing through the clouds, he encountered an extremely violent and dense sea of thunderstorms. Here, every thunderbolt was as thick and ferocious as a planet. Had Li Fan not promptly summoned the Dark Star, he would have nearly suffered a severe blow right then and there.

Regarding this,

Ming Yan couldn't help but avert his gaze, remaining silent.

He had completely failed to account for this sea of thunderstorms.

There was no helping it. Given his former strength, this would have felt weaker than a mosquito's bite, far too easy to overlook.

Fortunately, Li Fan showed no signs of blaming him, though his face still bore traces of lingering fear.

Such a deep and violently powerful thunder sea was likely enough to filter out the majority of desperadoes.

And upon emerging through the cloud layer,

the sight before him truly made Li Fan's heart race uncontrollably.

Within the boundless green-tinged void drifted dense clusters of severed limbs, broken remains, and heads frozen in expressions of terror. Dark red blood flowed slowly under immense gravitational pull, writhing like countless crimson worms.

The horrific scene was simply akin to the eighteen layers of hell!

Even someone like Li Fan, who had seen his share of grand spectacles, felt his scalp tingling with numbness.

These must be the desperadoes who never made it back, he presumed.

"Don't be afraid, kid. Try to appear as calm as possible. Now, go find that door!"

At that moment, Ming Yan's voice rang out.

Hearing this, Li Fan steadied his breath and immediately proceeded to the next step.

Soon,

after traversing layer upon layer of the sea of corpses, Li Fan spotted, deep within the void, the massive bronze gate Ming Yan had described to him earlier.

This bronze gate was covered in green rust, as if it hadn't been opened for endless eons.

Upon arriving beneath the bronze gate,

Li Fan crushed several cultivation simulation talismans in succession, then began reciting the script Ming Yan had previously instructed.

"General Kong Ling, it's been a while!"

Li Fan spoke slowly, his voice infused with cosmic primordial energy, instantly echoing throughout the entire void.

And as Li Fan's voice faded,

the entire void fell into utter silence.

This silence persisted for a long while, with no response forthcoming.

Just as Li Fan was beginning to wonder inwardly if the script was effective, the bronze gate emitted a thunderous sound, as if emanating from ancient times.

The next second,

the bronze gate swung open with a mighty rumble.

A hunched old man gradually appeared before Li Fan.

This old man's eyes were hollow, like stagnant pools of dead water, yet his every movement exuded an aura of slaughter, radiating an oppression terrifying to the extreme!

Li Fan swore that this was absolutely the most dangerous person he had ever encountered among all he had met!

"This old one's name... has not been spoken by others for a very long time."

The old man spoke faintly, his tone filled with the vicissitudes of time and tinged with an air of twilight.

"Has the Blood God Hall finally deigned to emerge into the world once more?" The old man now turned his gaze toward Li Fan.

"Indeed. General Kong Ling should have some awareness of the current situation in the outside world," Li Fan replied, doing his utmost to suppress the trembling in his heart as he spoke slowly.

The old man fell into brief silence before saying, "This old one has been in seclusion for a long time. I ceased caring about matters of the outside world long ago and am not aware."

"You might as well speak plainly. What has your master sent you to find me for this time?"

"That battle back then... this old one has already repaid the debt of gratitude. My account with your Blood God Hall is settled. If you've come to quibble over such matters, I'm afraid you've come to the wrong place."

As he spoke to this point,

a trace of anger had already kindled in the old man's eyes.

"General Kong Ling jests. Naturally, it cannot be about quibbling over so-called debts of gratitude. Our Blood God Hall will forever remember your contributions from that battle."

"This time, I was sent to formally invite General Kong Ling and your subordinates to emerge once more!"

Li Fan continued, following Ming Yan's script.

To these words, the old man immediately refused, "If this is the matter, then please return!"

Li Fan pressed on, "General Kong Ling, do not be hasty in refusal. Our master has stated that if the General is willing to emerge, our Blood God Hall is prepared to treat the Dao injuries of the General and your subordinates. With the foundation of our Blood God Hall, even if a complete cure is impossible, we can eliminate the majority of the damage from these Dao injuries."

As these words were spoken,

a flash of sharp light suddenly appeared in the old man's hollow eyes, and he fell into silence.

Seeing this, Li Fan immediately turned as if to leave.

"General Kong Ling, I have delivered the message. Should you agree to this transaction, contact me at once. Of course, I do not frequent this place often, so establishing contact may require some time."

Saying this, Li Fan stepped into the air, preparing to depart.

And at that very moment, the old man's voice rang out.

"I agree!"

Hearing this, joy surged in Li Fan's heart.

Indeed.

Everything so far was unfolding exactly as Ming Yan had predicted.

Immediately,

Li Fan turned back to face the old man.

"General Kong Ling, you have made a very wise decision."

The old man listened to these words without the slightest change in expression, remaining utterly placid.

"General Kong Ling, I must trouble you to gather your subordinates so that we may all undertake the Blood God Oath together."

"The rules of the Blood God Hall... the General has not forgotten them, I trust?"

Li Fan said slowly at this point.

And though Li Fan appeared perfectly calm on the surface, inwardly he was terrified to the extreme.

For now, they had reached the most critical step!

Success or failure hinged on this single move!