Solanky sensed that something was amiss. Without hesitation, he erected a protective barrier around the group before sitting cross-legged. Closing his eyes, he extended his spiritual sense into the desolate land beneath them. The others immediately followed his example.
It did not take long for them to realize the truth. The land had once overflowed with boundless spiritual energy. Crossing it through physical strength alone was impossible. Only by relying on their spiritual senses could they uncover its true nature.
As Solanky's perception expanded, a startling discovery unfolded. Every stretch of land beneath him perfectly corresponded to the shattered galaxy they had witnessed upon arriving.
He slowly opened his eyes.
To his physical sight, only a broken wasteland remained. Yet when he observed through his spiritual sense, the ruined galaxy appeared once more. It was not an illusion, nor was it merely a visual phenomenon. It existed as a genuine reality whose appearance depended entirely upon the observer's level of spiritual perception.
Realization flashed across Solanky's eyes.
He formed a series of hand seals.
A moment later, his spiritual body emerged from his physical form.
It towered over five trillion light-years in height.
Although unimaginably vast, it appeared insignificant against the endless desolate world. It resembled nothing more than an ordinary six-foot golden man walking across Earth's Sahara Desert, swallowed by the sheer immensity of its surroundings.
His colossal spiritual projection gently picked up his physical body before taking its first step toward the brilliant star shimmering in the distance.
The other participants quickly grasped the purpose of the trial.
This was not a test of cultivation.
It was a test of spiritual sense and spiritual bodies.
One after another, enormous spiritual bodies rose from their physical forms. Each carefully lifted its original body into its hands before beginning the long journey toward the distant star.
As Solanky's spiritual body advanced, he suddenly turned around in astonishment.
A gigantic figure was effortlessly overtaking him.
Its spiritual body measured nearly ten trillion light-years.
His pupils contracted.
He immediately deduced the truth.
Half-Step Peak-Turns spiritual sense... and consciousness.
The overseer observing the trial was equally shocked.
He had originally believed Solanky to be the greatest genius among this batch of recruits.
Never had he imagined another individual of such terrifying caliber could perfectly conceal her strength while carrying herself with complete humility.
As the woman with the ten-trillion-light-year spiritual body passed him, she merely smiled before continuing forward without a word.
The remaining participants stared in disbelief.
None of them had expected such an overwhelming prodigy to appear in the same recruitment.
From that moment onward, they unanimously regarded the mysterious woman as the strongest among them, with Solanky standing only behind her.
Questions flooded Solanky's mind.
The one that troubled him the most was simple.
Why was someone this powerful still a Peak Entity?
With spiritual attainments of this magnitude, she could break through to the Transcendent Saint Emperor Realm whenever she wished.
Even among Saint Emperors, she would stand far beyond ordinary standards.
The journey continued.
Despite possessing spiritual bodies that stretched across trillions of light-years, it still required nearly three hours of uninterrupted walking before they finally reached the brilliant star.
Only then did they realize it was not a star at all.
It was a colossal statue.
The statue of the Desolate God Radiance.
Its majestic brilliance illuminated the surrounding galaxy, while its overwhelming aura could be felt from an unimaginable distance.
As they advanced, countless participants gradually fell behind.
It was not because Solanky or the others refused to help them.
Rather, every step closer to the statue subjected their spiritual bodies to increasingly terrifying pressure from the Desolate World itself.
Eventually, only a fraction of the original group remained.
Every survivor possessed at least a Transcendent Saint-level spiritual body.
This had been the Desolate God's intention from the very beginning.
A Peak Entity whose spiritual body had already reached the Transcendent level was almost destined to become a Saint and continue climbing higher, regardless of whatever bottlenecks currently obstructed their cultivation.
This recruitment was never about selecting the strongest cultivators.
It was about discovering those whose potential had already surpassed ordinary genius.
The Desolate God eagerly gathered such individuals beneath his banner, personally studying their talents while helping them overcome the limits of their cultivation. In doing so, he established karma with future powerhouses who might one day assist him whenever matters within the Beyond Realm required their intervention.
After all, True Peak-Turns Beings were restricted from acting freely within the Beyond Realm.
Throughout the Beyond Realm, the Desolate God was known as the most approachable True Peak-Turns Being.
Countless experts owed their breakthroughs to him.
Many of those individuals eventually became Half-Step Peak-Turn Beings themselves.
The difference between a peak Saint Emperor Transcendent Entity and a Half-Step Peak-Turn Being was nothing short of absolute.
A single Half-Step Peak-Turn Being could effortlessly annihilate numerous Saint Emperor Transcendent Entities without suffering the slightest injury.
Eventually, Solanky and the remaining survivors stopped roughly ten meters before the statue.
The Half-Step Peak-Turn overseer appeared before them once again.
"You may return your spiritual bodies to your physical forms."
Everyone immediately complied.
Traversing such an immense distance through spiritual projection had exhausted them greatly.
Even Solanky and the mysterious woman displayed faint signs of spiritual fatigue.
The overseer nodded approvingly.
"You may recover your depleted spiritual energy here. Congratulations on successfully reaching this side of the galaxy."
He gestured behind them.
"This serves as the teleportation point leading into the true core of the Desolate Region. The place where you first arrived was the final territory personally created by the Desolate God. We have occupied it for one hundred thousand years within the Beyond Realm."
He paused before continuing.
"That is equivalent to ten trillion years inside the Desolate God Region."
The newcomers were visibly shaken.
Only Solanky and the mysterious woman remained calm.
The Half-Step Peak-Turn Being found this unsurprising.
Judging from the size and strength of their spiritual bodies, he had already suspected they understood the extreme time dilation that existed inside the inner world of a True Peak-Turns Being.
He smiled faintly.
"Now that you have officially become members and heirs of the Desolate God, you deserve to know my identity."
"My name is Elder Tahira."
"I am the Third Elder of the Desolate God Region."
"You may address me simply as Third Elder."
Tahira appeared surprisingly ordinary.
Aside from the pair of dark gray horns curving gracefully from his head, he looked no different from an average human from Earth.
He walked toward the statue before gently placing a hand upon it.
Immediately, the overwhelming radiance faded.
For the first time, the recruits could clearly see the true appearance of the Desolate God.
He possessed four massive horns extending from each side of his head.
A long beard flowed down his chest.
Six eyes rested above a single mouth, while two enormous canine fangs protruded upward from his lower jaw.
His nose resembled that of a wild boar.
He had no ears.
Six muscular arms extended from his upper body.
His chest was covered by what appeared to be a naturally formed metallic armor resembling a breastplate.
Below his waist stood two immensely powerful legs ending in enormous feet resembling the paws of a colossal bear.
To those who had never encountered a special lifeform or a personally modified being, the Desolate God's appearance was undeniably terrifying.
Moments later, the statue blazed with golden light once more.
A massive halo-shaped seal emerged from its body before rapidly expanding until it completely enveloped every new recruit.
For a brief instant, Solanky felt the surrounding world glitch.
Reality itself seemed to fracture.
Then, just as quickly, it repaired itself.
When the distortion vanished, everyone sensed an entirely different world surrounding them.
A hidden spiritual realm, one vastly superior to every spiritual plane beneath the Beyond Realm, now revealed its faint outline.
Its entrance radiated an indescribably sinister energy.
Any being below the Half-Step Peak-Turn level would be incapable of enduring even its presence.
Elder Tahira calmly said,
"You need not concern yourselves with the higher spiritual planes."
"They remain far beyond your current reach."
He pointed toward a magnificent pathway stretching into the distance.
"Follow this road into the core lands of the Desolate Region. The other elders and members have been awaiting your arrival."
At the end of the pathway stood an enormous spherical dome constructed from priceless crystals, divine minerals, and countless rare artifacts gathered from every corner of the Beyond Realm.
Even before reaching it, they could hear innumerable voices echoing from within.
As they drew closer, their spiritual senses swept across the interior.
Everyone froze.
Over one hundred thousand beings were gathered inside.
The pressure radiating from the dome alone revealed the terrifying truth.
Every single one of them was at least a Saint-level Transcendent Entity.
Elder Tahira stepped through the entrance first.
The mysterious woman followed immediately behind him.
Solanky entered next, with the remaining recruits close behind.
The moment they crossed the threshold, every expectation they had vanished.
There was no colosseum.
No grand arena.
No rows of seats surrounding a central stage.
Instead, an enormous cosmic expanse unfolded before them.
More than one hundred thousand stars floated through the vast space, arranged in magnificent concentric circles.
Upon each star sat a cultivator.
Their combined presence was enough to shake the souls of even the strongest newcomers.
At that moment, two figures descended toward them.
The instant they appeared, Solanky recognized their cultivation.
Both were Half-Step Peak-Turn Beings.
The countless experts seated upon the surrounding stars were all Transcendent Entities.
The two newcomers introduced themselves as the First Elder and the Second Elder.
Every Transcendent Entity present gazed at the new recruits with anticipation.
Each of them had once stood exactly where these newcomers now stood.
Gradually, the countless stars began disappearing one after another as the gathering came to an end.
The mysterious woman looked toward the three elders.
"Why are the Transcendent Entities leaving already?"
The Second Elder smiled.
"It is our tradition."
"Whenever new members join the Desolate God Region, every member gathers to welcome them personally. It allows everyone to become acquainted and ensures that no one bullies their own people."
He continued,
"Furthermore, every member is bound by a single absolute rule."
"If you encounter another member of the Desolate God Region facing mortal danger in the outside world, you must assist them and buy them enough time to escape."
"It is the only unbreakable law within the Desolate God Sect."
The First Elder nodded.
"It is also their way of expressing gratitude toward the Desolate God."
"He has guided countless cultivators through impossible bottlenecks, personally lectured them on Half-Step Peak-Turns techniques, and granted opportunities that changed the course of their lives."
A faint smile appeared on his face.
"Now..."
"It is time for you to meet the Desolate God himself."