"What... is that?!"

In an instant, a demonic wind swept across the ground, and a powerful sense of oppression descended.

Tie Wu's face was pale as he gripped his long pickaxe.

The souls of the Pure Land all looked up, only to see the sky shrouded in darkness, with dense dark clouds and the light receding.

At the same time, the figure sitting beneath the Sushen Tree also opened his eyes.

"Day... one thousand seven hundred and ninety-four."

Rising after destruction, living from death.

The bottleneck on the ninth level of the Deep Sea Zone had finally been broken.

The birth of the Fire of Life domain heralded the smooth breakthrough into the Fourth Order.

Gu Shen took less than a second to digest the overlapping memories of eternal darkness in the Ice Sea. His mind split into three, comprehending the ancient text of the Eternal Life Arts Stele, completing the Fire of Life domain, and meditating in the Pure Land world, all merging together at this moment. His eyes became clear and sharp in an instant.

He stood up, and Tie Wu's shout immediately rang in his ears.

"Lord Divine Seat!"

Tie Wu pointed to the sky.

Darkness shrouded the Sushen Tree, and countless strands of darkness descended like a waterfall, as if to drag this Pure Land world into another realm.

Gu Shen's expression did not change.

He simply looked calmly at the darkness descending upon the Pure Land and said softly, "It's finally here."

In the real world.

Gu Shen, who was sinking into the depths of the Ice Sea, had a withered body, like decaying wood. It was already a dying body, but after perfectly condensing the "Fire of Life" domain, his skin regained its luster, and even the flow of blood began to vibrate with a deep, low rumble, a sign of miraculous rebirth.

But at this moment, countless dark shadows poured out from Gu Shen's orifices, like ink, enveloping this body resurrected from death, along with the Fire of Life!

These dark shadows were the "Ominous" that had been缠绕 (chan rao, entangling) Gu Shen for so long!

The extraordinary being is itself a being that violates the laws of order. The stronger their strength, the greater the damage they cause to order… and destiny is fair: the more you gain, the more you bear.

In these six hundred years, countless powerful extraordinary beings have emerged, and none have been able to escape the lock of this rule of fate.

The Ominous is a price that countless extraordinary beings must bear!

Every time Gu Shen used the [Truth Ruler], he would invisibly bear a layer of "Ominous." This was the price of overstepping and breaking the rules!

He knew that these stacked and accumulated "Ominous" had not launched immediately, not because he was special and could be spared.

But because these "Ominous" were waiting…

Waiting for a truly fatal opportunity!

He also knew that what the devil plotted from the beginning of the transaction with him was not "peaceful coexistence."

Those called "devils" must be cruel and vicious; how could they accept coexistence?

There was only one final outcome: either you die, or I perish!

As the true holder of the [Truth Ruler], the guy sitting on the dark throne had compromised and retreated for so many years, probably waiting for this moment.

His physical body had gone through tribulations and been reborn.

Although his mind sea had expanded, his spirit had long been trapped in the mortal world.

This was seemingly his most powerful moment, but in reality, it was his weakest.

The Ominous accumulated for nearly ten years erupted at this moment—

The darkness above the Pure Land swept and spread like dark clouds. A dark figure sitting on a throne slowly condensed above the sky. He looked down, and Gu Shen raised his head.

"Gu Shen, we meet again."

This time, the devil took the initiative to speak.

His blurred face and body in the darkness gradually became clear.

The souls on the ground looked at this scene, their expressions blank.

Although the black figure in the sky had no facial features, judging from his figure and outline, he was exactly the same as Gu Shen… This was clearly the second Lord Divine Seat!

Gu Shen smiled and said, "You can really endure. Aren't you afraid that I'll really die at the bottom of the Ice Sea?"

"Those who achieve great things must take a gamble."

The devil chuckled softly, "Although the Ice Sea's dead end is difficult to break, I believe you can break through and be reborn."

"Is that so? It seems you gambled right. I've broken this dead end."

Gu Shen's expression was as usual as he looked at the countless dark clouds sweeping his Pure Land. "No wonder the scene in the [Ruler Space] is exactly the same as the Pure Land. You've long prepared to plunder my body and spirit… You want to kill me and then take the Pure Land for yourself?"

"How could I be willing to kill you? I'm just 'replacing' you."

The devil smiled and said, "Your body is indeed perfect. Even the previous King of the Underworld would not be your opponent in the same realm. If you give up resisting now, I can spare the lives of these souls, and even leave you a glimmer of hope, allowing your soul to retain a wisp of divine thought in this Pure Land."

As soon as these words came out, the faces of the many souls in the Pure Land turned pale.

Li Qingci clenched her fists, and Tie Wu couldn't even hold his long pickaxe.

"What if I say no?" Gu Shen also smiled.

"I will pierce your mind sea and shatter your soul. As for these souls… I will make them disappear forever, completely annihilated." The devil said softly, "Even if everything in the Pure Land is destroyed, it doesn't matter. Rebuilding this divine domain will only take some time."

"I see."

Gu Shen said, "So you've been waiting for so many years, just for today?"

The devil nodded. "Waiting just for today."

At this moment, in the real world, Gu Shen's body was缠绕 (chan rao, entangled) by the Ominous, and his spirit had been silent for many years, falling to the bottom!

"Good, this is the answer I've been waiting for."

Gu Shen took a deep breath, and in the depths of his eyes, which were gradually being shrouded in deathly silence, there was still a glimmer of fire, "You will soon regret it, regret not acting when I was dying!"

Sitting枯坐 (ku zuo, sitting motionlessly) for five years in the depths of the Ice Sea.

Gu Shen's hair was scattered to his waist, and the strong wind blew, fluttering wildly.

As soon as the words fell, his spiritual projection in the Pure Land world suddenly became illusory.

That was because of the onset of the Ominous in the real world. His body, nourished by the "Fire of Life," regained vitality but was also quickly corrupted by the torment of the Ominous calamity. The two states of life and death switched rapidly, causing his spirit to be directly suppressed. The Pure Land phantom became ethereal, indicating that he was about to lose control of the Pure Land!

A few seconds later, Gu Shen's consciousness projection in the Pure Land disappeared directly!

The Pure Land… briefly lost its master at this moment!

"Heh."

Seeing this scene, the devil couldn't help sneering.

He sat upright and pressed his hands down.

Rumble! The dark throne slowly sank!

Countless darknesses shrouded down like a heavy rain.

The devil used the power of the [Truth Ruler] to break through the barriers of the two spiritual worlds and officially launched his attack!

The darkness and shadows in the [Truth] shattered the white and clean sky of the Pure Land, and began a large-scale invasion.

The loud noise was like thunder—

The low-level souls in the Pure Land world were directly压 (ya, pressed) to the ground by this immense pressure.

The world consciousness of the Sushen Tree began to awaken. It made a instinctive resistance, and countless branches,萦绕 (ying rao, surrounded) with faint light, turned into sharp swords and stabbed towards the dark iron dome. However, these lights were already dim, and after piercing into the sky, they completely annihilated their brilliance.

"Since you want to recognize a master, why not submit to me?"

The devil sat on the dark throne, coldly watching the towering tree, "This Pure Land is going to have a new sky. If you don't obey, I will dig you up by the roots, burn you to ashes, and replant you!"

The giant tree's hundreds of millions of branches and leaves all vibrated with an ear-piercing sword cry, indicating its response!

Not obeying!

"Kill!"

At this moment, from among the many souls suppressed by the darkness, there erupted a hoarse roar suppressed to the extreme!

The Sushen Tree sat in the Pure Land. When Gu Shen disappeared, it was considered the true "master" of the Pure Land world. At this moment, it released the restraints of this spiritual world on its subordinate souls…

The first to awaken was Tie Wu.

Or rather… Apostle Tie Wu.

Countless slender branches and leaves slashed towards the dark sky. A certain iron leaf that was shattered fell in front of Tie Wu. The latter stared blankly at the iron leaf falling in front of him and silently grasped it.

This was a gift from the world's will, and also an arrangement made before Gu Shen's consciousness dissipated.

To allow Tie Wu to regain his own abilities.

The next moment.

Millions of sword cries rang out over the wilderness. Thousands of falling iron leaves all vibrated and re-formed their array under the command of the [Iron Throne].

Buzz buzz buzz—

The scalp-numbing sound of the array being formed, trembled and reverberated hundreds of meters above the Pure Land!

Light and darkness collided violently, and the Sushen Tree iron leaves manipulated by Tie Wu turned into the last layer of barrier to protect the meager light of the Pure Land!

Tie Wu roared and stood up.

He raised his arms, as if carrying a tripod, but he truly completed this miracle.

Almost single-handedly, he withstood the pressure on top of the heads of the Pure Land souls!

"Tie Wu… you don't submit either?"

The devil's voice was gloomy, "I originally wanted to leave you a wisp of soul!"

Layers upon layers of dense iron leaves, like a peacock spreading its tail, propped open a canopy. Amidst the crackling sounds, the [Iron Throne] gradually fell apart, but Tie Wu, who stood up, had a stubborn smile on his face.

"... Fuck you!"

He looked towards the dark throne in the sky and spat out two words with a sneer.

"Come on!"

Because of the spreading tail of the [Iron Throne], the entire Pure Land gained a brief respite. The fallen leaves of the Sushen Tree fell one after another, falling on the foreheads of every wisp of soul.

The gift of the world's will descended before these unconscious souls, bestowing all the accumulated extraordinary source substance of these years.

"Boom! Boom! Boom!"

These souls prostrating on the ground struggled to stand up.

[Truth] turned into a dark waterfall, rushing down.

The Pure Land souls turned into fireflies, flying upwards. This was not a contest of the same quality level at all. The moment they made contact, these fireflies immediately shattered and were destroyed.

The Pure Land world's will gave them rebirth.

So the next moment, the resurrected fireflies surged up again, but they became weaker than before.

Darkness descended, and light shattered.