Chapter Forty-Three: Crisis Lurking

The caverns collapsed, lava surged backward, and Luo Longyu stood amid the chaos, letting the massive stones tumble past him. He beheld the past and the end of the gods, and an indescribable sensation welled within his heart. As he watched the gods vanish and the subterranean depths fall into ruin, Luo Longyu no longer hesitated. The wheel of corpses behind him emitted a low hum, and his figure soared skyward, rushing toward the surface.

The gelatinous mass shrank into ash, and many under-evolved phantoms wailed as they plummeted, instantly devoured by the magma. Some were mere decayed skeletons, resembling flayed ghosts. At first, Luo Longyu paid little heed, but when he saw fully evolved phantoms also falling into the magma, a sense of foreboding enveloped him. He steadied himself, watching as countless phantoms plunged into the seething lava.

The surface had completely collapsed. Kong Yuxuan and her companions had already retreated beyond the city limits, where they could clearly see the entire city sinking underground. The heat was oppressive, the sound thunderous.

Luo Mengxuan spoke anxiously, "Sister, why hasn't Luo Longyu come out yet?"

Kong Yuxuan shook her head. She was certain Luo Longyu had discovered something extraordinary below; otherwise, such upheaval would not have occurred.

"Dead, dead," Little Guai said, shaking its head inappropriately.

Luo Mengxuan flicked Little Guai's forehead. "Don't talk nonsense."

Huge fissures spread across the ground in all directions, resembling enormous earth dragons. Wherever they passed, collapse followed. The farthest cracks reached the foot of the mountains, causing the slopes to tilt dangerously. It was clear the underground space was vast beyond imagination—the caverns they had seen were merely the tip of the iceberg.

Flames occasionally erupted from the fissures, hinting at the tumult below. Luo Longyu ignored the collapsing mountains around him, his body covered in blood-colored crystals. He turned and dove back down, following the phantoms into the rushing magma.

It was only after this plunge that Luo Longyu understood: the phantoms were entering a colossal starship. The central section of the ship had broken, and a gate built of white bones stood there. The gate was vivid with color, and a strange force field pushed the lava ten meters away, forming a spherical void within the magma.

The phantoms streamed through the gate one after another. Without hesitation, Luo Longyu rushed forward as well, only to be forcefully repelled by a barrier of light. The phantoms passed through unhindered.

Luo Longyu picked himself up, his blood-red eyes and corpse wheel activated. His gaze pierced the dazzling barrier, and beyond it, he saw a group of primitive people in simple clothing, conducting a grand ceremony to honor the heavens. In front of the primitives stood a tall, round altar with a stone stele atop it. What had begun as a solemn ritual was now thrown into chaos by the sudden appearance of the phantoms.

Many under-evolved phantoms chose to devour the primitives to perfect their bodies. Luo Longyu wanted desperately to intervene, but he could not cross the threshold.

He watched helplessly as the primitives were slaughtered, his rage impotent.

In his desperation, Luo Longyu suddenly recalled something: when he had first accompanied Elder Ge and the others to the Tomb of Ten Thousand Corpses, Elder Ge had said that corpse-speech was a kind of password.

Could this gate also have a password? Luo Longyu’s mind raced, and he guessed the password was a genetic code—only phantoms could enter.

Though he could not transform his genes into those of a phantom, if he could attune his power’s frequency to match theirs, the gate might not detect him.

Thinking thus, Luo Longyu shifted sideways and dragged a half-entered, incomplete phantom out of the barrier. The phantom howled furiously, its mangled face twisted in rage, and it lunged at Luo Longyu. Luo Longyu acted decisively, slashing off half its head with a blow. The corpse wheel swiftly copied the phantom’s power frequency, and Luo Longyu tossed aside its corpse, unleashing the first three forms of the Nine Techniques of Heaven-Slaying.

Beyond the barrier, the world changed. Wind and thunder surged, the sun blazed fiercely, and a giant blood-red hand smashed down from above the altar, wielding a hundred-foot blood blade that swept through the phantoms. For a moment, they suffered heavy casualties—most had not fully evolved and were easily destroyed.

Luo Longyu poured all his power through the blood-eyed corpse wheel into the space beyond the barrier.

Above the altar, a pair of blood-red eyes opened in the sky, vast as lakes in the heavens. The overwhelming aura forced the fleeing primitives to halt and kneel, believing a deity had manifested.

Luo Longyu's gaze was cold as the phantoms turned on him. He raised his hand and unleashed the fourth form of Heaven-Slaying, crushing them. A sea of blood surged; even the stars above seemed affected, the Milky Way recoiling, a scene both awe-inspiring and terrifying. The blood blade, forged from starlight, pulsed with indescribable energy, obliterating swathes of phantoms.

Just as Luo Longyu prepared to use the fifth form, the corpse wheel sounded an alarm: his corpse energy field was depleted. Transforming his powers exhausted him far more than usual.

Only six phantoms remained, now through the bone gate, each half-human, half-beast, baring their fangs at Luo Longyu. The blood crystal hand pressed down, and all six joined forces to resist. One even used brute strength to hurl Luo Longyu's blood crystal hand skyward, his weakened energy field greatly diminishing his combat strength.

At that moment, Luo Longyu looked toward the distant blazing sun. A flash of insight struck him. His power could not compare to the legendary Lady Yama in blue—she could command stellar forces with a mere gesture, scorching the earth for thousands of miles.

He could not control stars, but borrowing some heat was not impossible.

The blood-eyed corpse wheel in the heavens focused all the sun’s intense heat into a single beam, reflecting it at an angle to strike the six phantoms.

The tactic caught them off guard. The searing light sliced across their bodies like a sword, and their incomplete forms were burned through instantly. Luo Longyu’s blood crystal hand then smashed down, utterly annihilating the last six phantoms.

As he watched the monsters wiped out, the primitives raised their arms in fervent worship, their adoration nearly frenzied.

Because his corpse energy field was depleted, Luo Longyu quickly withdrew all manifestations, his body so exhausted he nearly collapsed. The bone gate began to crack, then completely shattered.

This time, Luo Longyu did not linger, leaving hurriedly with a mind full of questions.

Above ground, the collapse was gradually ceasing. Though tremors persisted, no major changes occurred.

Kong Yuxuan and her companions returned to the ruins, gazing wordlessly at the transformed landscape. An outsider would never believe that, only minutes ago, this sunken wasteland had been a bustling city.

The Crown Prince spread his divine sense, scanning the area. After a moment, he shook his head. "I can't sense Luo Longyu's presence... hmm?" He interrupted himself, frowned, crouched, and placed a hand on the ground. Suddenly, he looked up. "I sense him! Four hundred meters below—faint, but detectable. And he's getting closer!"

"Three hundred meters... two hundred meters... My god, he's picking up speed—he's coming out!"

Boom!

A surge of power drowned out the Crown Prince’s shout. A crimson beam burst from the earth straight into the clouds. Sunlight bathed Luo Longyu, his blood-colored crystals sparkling as they absorbed energy.

Suspended high in the air, Luo Longyu seemed stable, but the Crown Prince sensed something was off, though he couldn’t pinpoint it.

Moments later, Luo Longyu landed. The blood crystals vanished, leaving him looking like an ordinary man. Weakness overtook him, and as the crystals disappeared, he stumbled, caught by Rong Fei.

"Are you alright?" Rong Fei asked warily, clearly uneasy due to Luo Longyu’s earlier slaughter of the Ju Feng squad—many in the Arcane Pavilion harbored resentment toward him.

Luo Longyu shook his head, signaling he was fine, and said nothing.

"What happened down there?" Kong Yuxuan asked, frowning.

Luo Longyu’s expression was somber. "Something terrifying. I need to return to the Arcane Pavilion and speak to its leaders about matters that could affect the future."

Central China, in the city of Qindu, a young man with white eyebrows sat in the corner of a crowded restaurant. Due to the national strategy of contraction, most people had been relocated inland. Qindu, as an ancient capital and China’s central hub, was now overflowing with people. The restaurant was no longer open—during these times, all supplies were reserved for military use and under unified army management.

The white-browed youth sipped tea, squinting at his watch, patiently waiting.

By evening, a man in a robe finally arrived, apologetic, speaking awkward Chinese. "Sorry I’m late. God, the roads were so congested."

The white-browed youth smiled. "It’s alright. I understand China’s situation. Let me introduce myself: I’m the Arcane Pavilion’s foreign liaison. May I have your name?"

"I am Froyer Mason, a Vatican papal guard. I am here on the Pope’s orders. You may call me Froyer." He revealed his Catholic badge.

The white-browed youth nodded. "May I ask why you’ve come to China at this time?"

Froyer replied, "Yes. It’s about the vampire incident in China. The Church has learned of vampire activity here and that the Arcane Pavilion has suffered at their hands. The Pope has issued a holy mandate, which I must deliver personally to the Pavilion’s leaders. It’s a grave matter. Please help—thank you."

The white-browed youth spun his teacup, scrutinizing Froyer and the crowd around them. After a long silence, he whispered, "Tomorrow at this time, meet me atop the tower across the way."

Froyer glanced out the window at a derelict signal tower. When he looked back, the white-browed youth was already gone.

The Arcane Pavilion. The white-browed youth emerged from a teleportation array, and as the array faded, his features rapidly aged, reverting to Elder Xuan’s original appearance. Without delay, Elder Xuan strode toward Wu Yifeng’s office.

Meanwhile, Kong Yuxuan and Luo Longyu’s group had left long ago. Deep underground, a crimson light continued its rapid ascent, the corpse wheel behind it buzzing...