Further away, Eloxi and others were rushing towards their destination by private jet.
Their speed was not as fast as An Jianyou, who was piloting the three-star ghoul, mainly because boarding and circumventing the airspace control of the Kingdom of Waves took some time.
They were not very far from the ancient castle where the ritual was to take place.
As the great terror surged in their hearts, they suppressed their panic and looked out the window, their faces pressed against the glass.
They saw a sky full of flesh and blood, and streaks of lightning tearing through the flesh and blood, flying in the clouds.
"The mentor has made a move!"
"After all, only the mentor possesses such power."
Bai Shuang and the other girls' eyes sparkled.
Eloxi gazed into the distance, secretly clenching her fist.
"Is this the mentor's true strength?"
"I am still too far behind, I need to work harder and become stronger."
"One day, I will surpass the mentor and reach the pinnacle of the world."
"Hahahaha—"
Eloxi mused, gradually becoming lost in thought.
...
Elsewhere, on another private jet.
Xing Jinglei and others were still rushing towards the final ritual site, needing to support their fellow warriors of the Sacred Fire who were fighting on the front lines.
But before they could arrive, the distant horizon began to change, with swirling winds and clouds, and red light shooting into the sky.
A sense of great terror arose in their hearts.
A premonition from the depths of their souls told him that he must stop it, otherwise a great disaster would occur, possibly threatening the entire Blue Star!
But how could they stop it?
They were still a great distance from the final ritual site, and even from afar, they could vaguely feel the impending great terror.
It was heart-stopping!
However, the great terror appeared as quickly as it dissipated.
Before the great terror suddenly receded, Xing Jinglei saw the brilliant lightning illuminating the night sky in the distance, and... that fleeting golden radiance.
All disasters seemed to have subsided.
'Did the mentor make a move?'
He couldn't see due to the great distance.
However, the brilliant lightning and the fleeting golden radiance made him wonder.
A while later,
When the private jet approached the destination, Xing Jinglei, Dao Hun, Shan Xiong, and other Sacred Fire elites leaped from the sky with parachutes.
They rendezvoused with Hei Dao and others, clearing the surrounding cultists and powerful ghouls.
As well as, clearing and collecting any valuable items that remained in this area.
This was their mission.
Carrying out the mission, Xing Jinglei moved forward, unleashing powerful cannon punches. Combined with his awakened abilities, even a three-star ghoul could be blown to pieces with a single punch.
The fist force shot out like cannonballs, plowing a trench dozens of meters long across the ground, and leaving a huge pit over ten meters in diameter at the point of explosion.
This destructive power made Dao Hun, Shan Xiong, and other elites gasp.
"The boss has gotten stronger again."
"I guess even Instructor Hei Dao is no match for the boss now."
"Captain Xing is awesome."
Xing Jinglei's thick skin could barely take it.
Brother Hei Dao? He admitted he was not yet his match, but indeed, his progress was extremely rapid. Even a disaster-level ghoul that could easily destroy a city, he felt he could wrestle with.
It was just a pity that there were no such enemies for him to test his strength against.
Xing Jinglei walked with his chest puffed out. When he reached the mission site, he saw Sacred Fire comrades searching for spoils in a large pit from afar.
He was about to greet them when he suddenly stopped.
This large pit looked so much like... like a giant palm print.
No way!
Xing Jinglei stood before the giant palm-print pit, trembling all over.
He seemed to see the mentor, enveloped in golden radiance, standing in the sky, and with a wave of his hand, thunder dragons intertwined to form a giant hand of lightning that covered the sky, pressing down on the spot and wiping everything away.
"This, is the mentor's true strength?!"
But I, Grandpa Xing, will also catch up one day!
Let's set a small goal first, to catch up with the strong man Brother Hei Dao.
...
Time went back a bit.
The Ghoul Realm, a place beyond description.
In the magnificent hall cast with red and black, the tall and imposing figure of the Scarlet Emperor sat on the throne.
His gaze was cold, as if it could pierce through space.
"Blood-bearded people, Priest Pukaala."
"The Seven-Phase Ascension Ritual."
He shook his head slightly.
For a lower race like the Blood-bearded people to be able to set up a ritual to ascend to heaven, it was naturally with his sponsorship and guidance.
If the Blood-bearded people could offer this world to the great Scarlet Moon, then he, the Scarlet Emperor, would have a share in the rewards from the great Lord.
And he would have the vast majority.
Only after he had eaten his fill would the small races like the Blood-bearded people get some leftovers.
Naturally, the Scarlet Emperor was also paying attention.
He even received news of the Seven-Phase Ritual Array immediately.
Not long after it began, four array bases were broken.
He "tsk"ed.
"The Blue Star world seems to have something."
"Pukaala is also somewhat disappointing."
While he said "disappointing," the Scarlet Emperor did not care much. His expression remained indifferent, only with a slight hint of surprise within his indifference.
That was all.
Ascending to the mythical level through the Seven-Phase Ritual?
The Blood-bearded Priest might believe it, but he scoffed at it. The mythical level was not so easily reached, otherwise there would not be the saying of ascending to heaven.
One step across, and from then on, one would be a divine being, transcending the shackles of the mortal world.
Did the ritual to ascend to heaven exist? Yes! But it was far from being achievable by using seven cities as a base, even though the population of these seven cities was immense, which surprised the Scarlet Emperor.
There were too many humans on the Blue Star world!
In theory, the Blood-bearded Priest Pukaala had a slight possibility of crossing the gate of divinity.
If he could enter, he would be worthy of his attention.
But it didn't matter if he couldn't enter. The most fundamental purpose of the Seven-Phase Ritual was to break through the barrier of the Blue Star world, allowing the Blood-bearded Priest Pukaala to enter the Blue Star in advance.
Furthermore, it could enhance Pukaala's own power, allowing him to reach the pseudo-mythical realm in a short period.
To completely take over this "relatively valuable" world of Blue Star, before the claws of other evil gods descended.
Therefore, the Scarlet Emperor was not disappointed at all when the four ritual bases were destroyed.
At most, he was slightly surprised.
And it was only slightly. It was normal for there to be some accidents in world conquest. As for what truly surprised him... the Scarlet Emperor couldn't help but recall more than a thousand years ago.
At that time, in a strange world, he saw a miracle of light displayed by humans that was beyond his comprehension.
He was even more astonished by that event.
As for now?
The Scarlet Emperor continued to pay attention. Conquering a world of considerable value did not require him to constantly worry about it; he could leave it to priests like Pukaala to handle it. If it succeeded, it succeeded; if it failed, he would find another priest.
But since it had reached a critical juncture, he did not begrudge pouring his attention into it.
He found that,
Bang—Bang—Soon, two more ritual bases were destroyed, which were the more important two.
With these two places broken, the entire ritual was truly affected, its power had declined, and it was difficult to reach his expectations.
"Is Pukaala too useless, or... is this world called Blue Star not normal?"
The Scarlet Emperor's surprise grew.
He couldn't help but pay more attention to the Blood-bearded tribe.
He saw that the Blood-bearded Priest Pukaala was already preparing to forcibly activate the ritual power, using this unfinished power to force his main body to enter the Blue Star.
This was also what the Scarlet Emperor wanted to see.
Even if Pukaala didn't do it, he would have guided him.
This was the value of Priest Pukaala!
At this time,
The ritual power was insufficient, and he suffered backlash repeatedly. The Pukaala who descended to the Blue Star did not even have one-third of his full power.
However, after all, Pukaala was a peak six-awakened Awakener.
Even if he couldn't achieve the estimated goal, and even if Pukaala's injuries were basically unhealable within the Blue Star, the descent of a Throne-level being could establish absolute dominance for their Scarlet Moon Church.
It was still acceptable.
The Scarlet Emperor gathered his strength, preparing to use the Blood-bearded Priest Pukaala as an anchor to cast his gaze upon the Blue Star.
His divine power converged within his body.
The power unique to the mythical level and above slowly diffused in the grand hall.
Suddenly,
The Scarlet Emperor was stunned. The indifferent expression on his face finally couldn't help but reveal surprise!
Very surprised!
His power had not yet converged, and his gaze had not yet been cast, but the anchor, the Blood-bearded Priest Pukaala, was...
Gone!
He was already dead!
This was too fast!
What exactly happened?
Leaning on the throne, the Scarlet Emperor tapped his finger. "A common world, with only abundant population resources, actually possesses the power to kill a Throne-level Pukaala?"
Combined with the rapid destruction of the ritual before, he became even more certain that the Blue Star world was not normal.
There was a problem!
Perhaps the value of the Blue Star world needed to be re-evaluated!
He pondered.
There was still a hidden hand of his in the ritual arranged by Priest Pukaala.
However, should he activate it?
Doing so would require him to pay a considerable price.
Was the Blue Star world worth him paying such a price?
In the grand hall, terrifying power spread, and outside the hall, there was silence.
...
In the giant palm-print pit,
The Sacred Fire warriors, mostly starting at the second level of awakening, continued to excavate. Under the ruins of the ancient castle, they indeed dug out some things that were not destroyed.
Precious mystical materials!
A horn-shaped ghoul artifact!
And,
"Boss, I found a statue!"
"It's somewhat similar to the statues in our organization, but this one has a face and depicts a figure wearing blood-colored armor with horns on its head."
The second-level Awakener Baoli Shi shouted.
Xing Jinglei, Eloxi, and others approached.
But before they could get close, the dark red statue seemed to come alive, flying into the air and landing outside the giant palm-print pit. The statue, originally half the height of a person, continued to grow until it was about five or six meters tall. Dark red energy flowed across its surface, and a terrifying aura was reviving.
Dong—!
Dong—!
Dong—!
At this moment, Xing Jinglei and the others felt their blood freeze, their hearts almost stopped beating.
Their pupils contracted, and their hair stood on end.
Their spines could no longer stand straight, and their entire bodies slowly bent down. The weaker ones had already crawled to the ground.
Even Xing Jinglei and Eloxi found it difficult to breathe and trembled all over.
Every cell was trembling!
It became incredibly difficult to move even a single finger.
This aura, this aura...
It was a great terror!
It was a great disaster!
Hundreds of times more terrifying than the Blood-bearded Priest from just now!!
What kind of existence was this!
"Ding!"
"Notification: An existence above the mythical level wishes to break through the barrier and descend to the Blue Star."
"Notification: The avatar of the terrifying being is descending, and a world mission is being generated."
Fang You looked up at the changing clouds and sky.
In his hand appeared a card depicting an armored figure.
A golden card.
Two usage methods slowly unfolded before him.