Apocalypse: Master of Soul Beasts

The difference in Recovery Ability was clear as day!

The fate-bound duel that Wanping and Ye Nan swiftly launched into for the second time quickly evolved into a one-sided pursuit!

Chased all the way from the First Layer of the Heavenly Palace to the Third Layer, under the intense pursuit, Wanping didn’t even have time to search for a professionist. He could only passively endure the almost ceaseless attacks from afar.

This situation had persisted until that moment.

In the Third Layer of the Heavenly Palace, Wanping barely managed to hold onto his last breath. He found a stone forest with complicated terrain and dove straight in, then promptly slipped into a near-fainting state.

「 」

Within the Heavenly Palace, unknown light sources glowed and scattered, bathing the entire expanse in a sprinkling of dim light—this was the night of the Heavenly Palace, mysteriously beautiful with a touch of splendor, and exceptionally serene in its silence.

The dim light dappled the stone crevice where Wanping was hidden. Violet light spots slowly seeped through the fissure, gently illuminating Wanping’s battered face.

Perhaps sensing the warmth on his face, the unconscious Wanping moved his fingers slightly.

However, Wanping was simply too exhausted at that moment.

Wanping was fully aware of his extremely perilous situation and that his formidable enemy was hot on his heels. However, in his dazed, semi-conscious state, he couldn’t muster a shred of energy.

Dim fog slowly rose, rendering the entire stone forest where Wanping was located exceptionally dreamlike.

In his hazy consciousness, Wanping seemed to hear a faint, ethereal, gentle melody.

”Sleep...”

”Sleep...”

This eerie, lullaby-like voice slowly dragged the heavily injured Wanping into an even deeper state of unconsciousness.

Then sleep it is...

Exhausted, Wanping was powerless against the dual hypnotic effects on his body and Soul. After a brief struggle, he decisively surrendered to his body’s instincts.

「 」

The fog in the stone forest grew increasingly dense, until at some point, strange sounds seemed to echo from within the illusory haze, like a girl’s weeping or the cries of birds and beasts.

However, within less than ten minutes, as the fog slowly thinned, these unknown, illusory noises gradually disappeared.

All things strange and unknown seemed as if they had never happened. The stone forest remained as it was, and Wanping remained as he was.

TAP, TAP...

Sounds like footsteps slowly echoed out. Within the stone crevice where Wanping lay, a tattered Shadow slowly materialized beside him.

The black Shadow moved slightly, and a ripple, as gentle as a breeze, passed over Wanping’s body.

Faint, surreal voices seemed to resonate from all directions.

KEKEKEKE, a life form from another world...

Perfect experimental material...

「 」

”He should be right here.”

Upon hearing Akad’s words, Ye Nan slowly stopped and gestured to Akad, who was beside him.

Although they hadn’t been together for long, the inexplicable connection between the Avenging Spirit and the Avenger had undoubtedly forged a significant bond between Ye Nan and Akad.

Seeing Ye Nan’s gesture, Akad shrugged unconcernedly.

Crimson spread like a tidal wave, a sea of blood. This sanguine fluid surged madly from Akad’s body, extending to a radius of one hundred meters.

A lake reeking of blood instantly formed.

The next second, the bloody lake began to roil and churn. One after another, peculiarly shaped Blood-red Demons clambered from the lake onto the shore, roaring as they charged toward the distant stone forest.

Using these low-level blood slaves to scout and search for people was making good use of their capabilities!

「 」

The waiting time was not long. It wasn’t because these blood slaves were particularly efficient, but because the stone forest itself was not large.

However, the result Ye Nan awaited was not ideal.

”There’s no trace of Wanping.”

”How could there be none?”

Akad shrugged nonchalantly, indicating he also had no explanation.

Unwilling to accept his arch-enemy vanishing into thin air, Ye Nan pressed further.

”Are you sure Wanping last disappeared right here?”

”There’s absolutely no mistake about that.”

Akad’s affirmative reply undoubtedly solidified Ye Nan’s determination.

”Keep searching! Search every inch of this stone forest!”

「 」

This wait was somewhat longer, but it finally yielded a sliver of a result.

However, there was still no news of Wanping...

Standing before a huge stone stele, Ye Nan’s mouth twitched as he carefully examined the massive stone monument, which looked no different from any other in the stone forest.

However, Ye Nan couldn’t possibly recognize the script of the Universe of Immortals and Heroes.

”This one looks like a little man, this one like the sun, and this one like an animal...”

Akad, on the other hand, made a show of trying to decipher the characters on the stele, attempting to interpret them as pictograms—an endeavor bound to be fruitless.

”So, you’re saying this is the only discovery?”

”That’s exactly it.”

Not having caught Wanping, Akad was naturally in a foul mood, and his tone was anything but pleasant.

”Then why exactly did you drag us here?”

”To find treasure.”

Akad stated his purpose very decisively.

If they couldn’t find Wanping, finding something valuable wouldn’t be a loss—Akad’s reasoning wasn’t flawed.

”...Alright...”

Ye Nan was no stranger to Akad’s behavior. Since Wanping’s trail had gone cold, dwelling on his whereabouts was pointless. It was better, as Akad suggested, to focus on the mystery before them.

However, what exactly is written on this...

「 」

”The Blood Soul Sect, one of the eight Great Demonic Sects of the Universe of Immortals and Heroes. This was once the Blood Soul Sect’s station in the Heavenly Palace, and you are now standing on the Mountain Protection Array of their former station.”

A voice carried from afar, striking Ye Nan and the other two like a thunderbolt from the heavens.

The tremendous sound, reminiscent of a Buddhist Lion’s Roar technique, instantly seized their attention.

Ye Nan abruptly turned to look into the distance.

There, a tattered humanoid Skeleton, riding a giant flying sword like a sword cultivator straight out of a novel, approached them with a pretentious flair.

However, it had barely covered half the distance when the massive flying sword, seemingly unable to bear the Skeleton’s weight of less than a hundred pounds, suddenly let out a series of loud CREAKS and GROANS.

Having been neglected for so long, even an SSS-grade item couldn’t withstand the ravages of time, let alone the personal flying sword of a Third-level dead soul...

”Oh, sh*t! Foreign friends ahead, help me, save me!”

With just one sentence, it was impossible to discern friend from foe; how could Ye Nan and the others act rashly?

CRASH!

The corner of Ye Nan’s eye twitched as he watched the accident unfold. A series of question marks flashed through his mind.

Blood Soul Sect? A flying sword, a talking Skeleton? Foreign friends?

What on earth is all this...

Skeletons possessed certain advantages—physical injuries could hardly destroy them. After all, with flesh and internal organs gone, who would care about a few broken bones? As long as the Soul Fire within the cranium remained undamaged, these dead souls could not truly be considered deceased.

At that moment, Ye Nan, Zhang Shaojie, and Akad stood gathered around a smooth, round skull, listening in bafflement as it spouted nonsense.

”I am Wang Sanman. It is a pleasure to meet you, foreign friends. Just moments ago, I sensed immense Energy Fluctuations from afar and thus dared to come and behold your impressive presence. Please forgive any offense I may have caused.”

When the skull, Wang Sanman, finished speaking, the bleached-white head wobbled slightly twice—he was likely attempting a bow, but alas, he had no hands.

Hearing this, Ye Nan and the other two drew in sharp breaths and exchanged glances, the same bewilderment reflected in their eyes.

Who am I? Where am I? What has happened to this world...

Perhaps Wang Sanman—or rather, Wang Sanman’s skull—sensed their confusion and spoke again.

”Friends, I am aware you must be perplexed, but I must add that this is not a benevolent place...”

”Shall we leave the Blood Soul Sect’s array first?”