This alone did not feel terrifying.
After all, this was the realm of a Dou Emperor.
Plenty of people would claim they could do as much.
But then Xun'er's fingers shifted again and again.
The black flames in the sky split into thousands; each mouth of fire condensed into a tiny figure—
and in an instant, every one of them turned into Xun'er.
An external avatar!
In other words, Xun'er was the Black Flame, and the Black Flame was Xun'er.
As long as the black flame did not go out,
Xun'er would not die.
No one in the world of Battle Through the Heavens had ever seen such a terrifying sight.
Just as everyone was exulting, they heard Xun'er say, with clear dissatisfaction, "Still not good enough. I only just obtained the Black Flame, so this is all I can manage."
Her power was sufficient.
But her research was not yet thorough.
Everyone felt their cheeks burn with shame at that.
They couldn't even achieve this much.
After that, Xun'er tried several more times, then told the clansmen, "This time, the Tiamat of the gods descended and slew the people of the Soul Palace. We will press our advantage, pursue in victory, and gather the people of the other ancient clans."
"Understood, Lord Master."
"By the way, Master Priest, do we want to retrieve the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Jade?"
Back then, they had gone to that city for this very piece of jade.
It ought to be in the hands of a young man.
Xun'er thought for a moment, then said softly, "Go. Bring back the Tuoshe Ancient Emperor's Jade. If that young man dares to resist, let him understand how powerful the Faith is. If he wishes to join, let him join."
Although they had not spent much time together,
Xun'er still had a favorable impression of Xiao Huo and the dead soul in the ring.
They could become helpers of the gods.
…
At that very moment, Xiao Huo had no idea that he had been marked as a target.
He was still reeling from the figure that had vanished in the sky.
He said to the old man in the ring, "Between you and that terrifying god, who's stronger?"
"Are you spouting nonsense?" Old Yao muttered. "The other side killed the Soul Race with a single thought! How am I supposed to compare to that?"
The other party's divine body covered the sky,
its height unknowable.
How could he compare?
Besides, judging by that voice, it seemed the Soul Heaven Emperor himself had perished. Ha… a single strike to annihilate the Soul Palace—this already surpassed the power of this world.
For some reason,
a small girl's figure surfaced in Yao Lao's heart.
He jolted in shock.
Then he said to Xiao Huo, "By the way—do you remember what Xun'er, that girl you've been pining after, said before she left?"
"What did she say?"
"Didn't she say they would offer a sacrifice to the gods and let us witness the greatness of the gods?"
"Huh? You mean the god came for Xun'er!"
Xiao Huo was completely stunned.
So that was the "god" the other side spoke of?
He had thought the god had come for the Soul Palace. It turned out the god had answered someone's call.
Good grief.
It was unbelievable.
For a moment, Xiao Huo felt a sour sting in his chest.
But even knowing that, there was nothing he could do.
Right now Xiao Huo had only just recovered his Dou Qi.
His strength could not compare to the ancients at all.
Even if Old Yao returned to his peak,
they still wouldn't be a match for the other side.
...
In the Wanjie Chat Group—
Pursuing Sentient Beings: "It's been too quiet lately. Boring as hell. Someone say something?"
Fallen White-Robed Wizard: "What do you even want to say? Trash."
General Yuwen: "Fight… Fight…"
Demon Hunter: "Wuhu, Wizard Saruman is about to stir up trouble again!"
Queen Vampire: "Heeey… Wizard Saruman, did you kill your servant—Grima?"
Fallen White-Robed Wizard: "Why would I kill my own servant? Ridiculous. If words alone could make me kill, that would be impossible."
Pirates of the Caribbean: "Really? Not even tempted a little?"
Inside the world of The Lord of the Rings—
Saruman was conducting experiments in his tower.
A shifty-eyed, small, dwarfish man was locked in a cage.
"Master, please let me go."
"I am your most faithful servant."
"Why won't you believe me?"
…
His pleading cries laid bare Grima's desire to live.
But Saruman ignored his pleas.
Instead, the Uruk jammed a gag into Grima's mouth.
"Hmph… Never fear ten thousand possibilities—fear the one chance. The idiom from their world applies here too… But why am I afraid?"
Saruman frowned.
Was he afraid?
A top-five Maia in this world—
shaken by a single remark?
No… It wasn't that simple. He was shaken by his own end.
Once a person's heart is shaken,
his thoughts follow with suspicion, and he slowly falls into the snare that Liu Che laid.
Saruman was exceedingly proud.
He did not believe in anyone.
Every strategy, every move,
carried a deeper meaning.
But the more confident a person is, the easier it is to spiral into a vicious circle.
For example… Do you really think others don't know you've fallen?
And the existence of Morgoth—
surely creatures of other worlds shouldn't know of it.
Morgoth was immensely strong.
Sauron was also immensely strong.
So he, too, wished to become a second Sauron, ruler of the continent!
By then, even those in the Overseas Wonderland would be beyond their own control.
But could his plan truly succeed?
At that moment, another voice rose in Saruman's heart.
Since you have already betrayed one master, why not betray Sauron now?
So long as you can gain power—
what does it matter if you become a devil?
Saruman pressed his lips together. His strength had not improved for a long time.
He possessed eternal life.
He possessed great power.
Yet that absolute power that crushed all things—he did not possess it.
Put simply—
Saruman still lacked confidence!
If Sauron stood before him, would he choose to remain a loyal dog, or strike out alone?
The answer was obvious.
"I should broaden my options before the other side awakens…"
Meanwhile, in the chat group—
the noise swelled.
Saruman turned into a serial flamer, basically roasting everyone in turn.
And then, with a backhand download, he acquired the Eternal Sacrifice Technique and the Eternal Pluto Thought.
The Fox Who Only Loves Money: "Ooh… Saruman, is it? I want to join the Faith!!!"
Pursuing Sentient Beings: "Heh, big-tailed wolf who's been posturing for ages—why don't you keep waddling along behind your old master Sauron? Trash!"
Fallen White-Robed Wizard: "I'm merely trying something new. What do you know?"
Junior Brother of Dazhufeng: "Do you know why people despise you? Because you're too arrogant and always believe only what you see. Now you're afraid of death, aren't you?"
Queen Vampire: "In the end it's just one line: a dead duck's hard mouth. Not even as good as Yang Jian…"
Judicial God: "Ahem, ahem… I blacked out, didn't I already apologize? Back then the bald fellow didn't believe in the gods."
Blond Boy Sam: "That's how people are—wishful thinking. They don't realize the other side is telling the truth."
Demon Hunter: "Right. Yang Jian, how are things on your side? How's it developing?"
Judicial God: "Not bad. After negotiating with the Jade Emperor, I can spread the Faith across the land of Shenzhou. But because of Heaven's strictures, he himself seems unable to join."
Spirit of the Demon Sword: "That's the benefit of power. I suppose your mother has already been released, right?"
Judicial God: "Mm. My elder brother and father's souls are gathered together. Honestly, I was stubborn at first and only saw the surface."
He had once thought the Jade Emperor ruthless.
He thought it was merely to maintain imperial majesty.
But in truth, the Jade Emperor had been forced into it, helpless.
That group of ancient immortals didn't take him seriously at all in the beginning.
When all else failed, they imposed all manner of harsh constraints.
Now he had become the Chief Priest of the Eternal Faith.
Now that group had quieted down as well.
Pursuing Sentient Beings: "Exactly. We won't deceive you—because if we do, we get castrated."
Pirates of the Caribbean: "Bloody hell, you bastard! Are you ever going to let that go? That's ancient history—ugh… despise.jpg"
For Peace: "It's a pity it'll take me some time yet; otherwise I'd be able to go to the Divine Realm and meet the others. By the way, why didn't I see the fighters this time?"
Tanjirou: "Don't bring it up. Kaguya is a God-sama. She was besieged by the three forbidden weapons. In a fury, she used a Shinto weapon and pierced a god. Now we're busy to death, patching the world."
Second Li: "Sigh… her old lady is in high spirits. People in the Yang World have now announced they'll join us, and they're so busy they're coughing blood."
Tosaka University: "Weh… I haven't rested for ten days. If my skin goes bad, Lord God will definitely complain."
Kaoru: "So intense? I just held a sacrifice here, and it was Lord Tiamat who descended."
Pursuing Sentient Beings: "How did it feel? Shocking, wasn't it…"
They had all seen images of Tiamat, one of the gods.
Rin Tosaka was in the group.
Basically all the names of the goddesses and gods were transparent.
Otherwise, if a goddess descended and they couldn't even address her by name, that would be embarrassing.
Tosaka University: "Shorty, let me see what power you gained?"
Kaoru: "You're not tall yourself, you flat girl!"
Tanjiro: "Don't you two start. I'll send the latest videos—take a look. @Fallen White-Robed Wizard, if you think the gods of your world are more powerful than ours, brag about it later."
Group member Tanjiro uploaded a video.
Group member Ninja Scientist uploaded a video.
Group member Chu Dashan uploaded a video.
Ten videos in total.
Each with a different title.
Saruman curled his lip. Look at what?
They couldn't kill him anyway!
Weren't these so-called close attendants of the gods merely servants who waited upon the deities?
But when Saruman's soul merged into the video feed, he realized how ridiculous his assumptions had been.
Gods—
vast as the sun, spanning the heavens.
Group members were fighting there.
Immortal clay statues.
Terrifying taboos.
Each one made Saruman feel on the verge of death.
Just after watching Tanjiro's single video,
Saruman fell silent.
. . .