The chapter begins exactly where the previous chapter ended.
Aekrox had noticed something.
Before he could fully understand what was happening, an unknown object suddenly rushed toward him at an unbelievable speed.
Aekrox immediately noticed it.
In the blink of an eye, the mysterious object reached him.
Without hesitation, Aekrox attacked the exact location from which the object had approached.
However—
Nothing happened.
His attack had been completely stopped.
Aekrox Die was slightly shocked.
He had never expected that someone—or something—in this world could actually block his attack.
Aekrox narrowed his eyes.
"Oh? I never thought there would be someone in this world capable of stopping my attack. Who are you?"
The mysterious object suddenly launched another attack toward Aekrox.
Aekrox casually blocked it with one hand.
But the moment the attack was blocked, the mysterious object suddenly changed its direction and launched another attack.
This time, Aekrox became genuinely annoyed.
He extended his power and attempted to capture the mysterious object.
But he failed.
Its speed was simply too fast.
Aekrox tried again.
Failed.
He tried once more.
Failed again.
Again.
And again.
Every attempt ended in failure.
Aekrox Die's expression gradually became darker.
His patience was running out.
Finally, he stopped treating it casually.
He focused completely on the target.
His spiritual sense locked onto the mysterious object.
This time—
He caught it.
Aekrox's eyes flashed with satisfaction.
But the moment he grabbed it—
BOOOOOOM!
The object suddenly exploded in his hand.
Aekrox stood there in silence.
For a moment, he couldn't believe what had happened.
Then his expression became furious.
"I worked that hard just to catch this thing…"
"And in the end, it simply exploded?"
A tremendous amount of energy suddenly erupted from Aekrox's body.
His anger was so intense that the ground around him began cracking.
The surrounding space trembled under the pressure of his aura.
Aekrox looked toward the Heavenly God Profound Sect.
"If they refuse to let me recruit my ancestor into the Die Family…"
"Then I'll simply destroy the entire sect today."
However, Aekrox suddenly paused.
He looked at the remnants of the mysterious object.
"Wait…"
"Why was this thing even used against me?"
"It didn't actually hurt me."
"It only made me angry."
Aekrox's eyes narrowed.
"There must be something else behind this."
Somewhere Else — An Unknown Location
Meanwhile, the scene suddenly shifted to a completely different place.
The environment looked almost like a man-made heaven.
Beautiful landscapes stretched endlessly in every direction, while an enormous mountain stood above everything else.
At the very peak of that mountain, an unknown man was sitting peacefully while cultivating.
Suddenly—
His eyes opened.
His expression changed.
"My puppet…"
"Someone destroyed my puppet?"
He couldn't believe it.
"Impossible."
"There shouldn't be anyone this powerful left in the Lower World."
The mysterious man immediately stood up.
"I need to go there."
His identity was not revealed.
His name was not mentioned.
Even his face remained hidden.
It was clear that this mysterious character was being introduced as an important figure for the future.
The Die Family
At the same time, Aekrox Die suddenly began creating a mysterious formation.
The purpose of the formation was still unknown.
But something else was happening within the Die Family.
Ten of the other Ancestors suddenly sensed something unusual.
One of them was about to enter the battlefield.
His name was—
Haru Kai Die.
He was a Rank 1, Fourth-Stage cultivator.
Haru Kai slowly stopped his cultivation.
In the next instant—
WHOOSH!
His body disappeared.
He had teleported directly above the Die Family's residence.
Haru Kai took a deep breath and immediately sensed something strange.
"Hmm…"
"I can feel something."
"Someone is approaching the World Core."
His expression became serious.
"It feels like someone is coming to attack our family."
But then he sensed the direction of the energy.
"Wait…"
"This energy is heading toward the Heavenly God Profound Sect."
"I wonder what is happening over there."
A slight smile appeared on Haru Kai's face.
"It looks like something interesting is about to happen."
After saying this, Haru Kai looked toward the sky.
The Ominous Sky
The entire sky had suddenly become covered with enormous black clouds.
The atmosphere was terrifying.
It looked as though the entire Lower World might come to an end that very day.
And it wasn't only Haru Kai who could sense it.
Even ordinary cultivators and mortals could feel that something terrible was approaching.
Animals became restless.
Dogs began trembling in fear.
Birds fled from the sky as if desperately trying to escape from an approaching disaster.
Then—
Something enormous appeared above the clouds.
A gigantic foot slowly descended from the sky toward the earth.
Its size was beyond imagination.
The foot was heading directly toward the Heavenly God Profound Sect.
Haru Kai stared at it.
"So my suspicion was correct."
"Something really has happened."
"I just hope Aekrox can handle it."
The Giant Descends
At the Heavenly God Profound Sect, Aekrox Die suddenly looked upward.
A gigantic figure was standing above him.
Its body was so enormous that Aekrox couldn't even see its face properly.
He tried to look at the creature's head.
But it was simply too massive.
Before Aekrox could understand exactly what he was looking at—
The enormous creature raised its foot.
Then—
It brought the foot down toward Aekrox.
Aekrox immediately moved away.
But the moment the gigantic foot touched the ground—
BOOOOOOM!!!
The entire continent shook.
The impact was catastrophic.
The Heavenly God Profound Sect was completely destroyed.
And the most terrifying part was—
The creature hadn't even used a technique.
It had simply placed one foot on the ground.
Aekrox managed to escape the direct impact and flew high into the sky.
He stared at the enormous creature.
Its body structure suddenly reminded him of something from the ancient legends.
The Twelve Venerables
According to the ancient mythology of the Heavens, there were once Twelve Venerables.
Every single one of them possessed unimaginable strength.
They were even regarded as the Four Pillars of the Heavens—beings whose existence was essential to the stability and strength of the Heavens.
Their power was beyond ordinary imagination.
There were ancient legends claiming that, at one point, the Twelve Venerables had expanded their bodies to such an enormous size that an entire galaxy appeared tiny compared with a single finger.
The Twelve Venerables also had different responsibilities.
Whenever a world became completely corrupted or was overwhelmed by evil, the Venerables would eventually intervene.
Their roles were different from one another.
And among them was a Venerable whose authority represented one thing above all else—
Destruction.
He was known as the God of Destruction.
Aekrox suddenly remembered the ancient legends.
His expression changed.
For the first time, a trace of cold sweat appeared on his face.
He had never personally encountered such an existence before.
But now—
He finally understood what he was looking at.
The name of that legendary existence was finally revealed:
Lord Unyielding.
However, the enormous being standing before Aekrox was not Lord Unyielding's true body.
It was merely a clone of Lord Unyielding.
Yet this clone was far from weak.
It contained approximately 30% of Lord Unyielding's power.
Aekrox slowly wiped the sweat from his forehead.
He stared at the gigantic figure in front of him.
For the first time in a long while, he felt genuine pressure.
But instead of retreating, Aekrox clenched his fists.
A determined smile appeared on his face.
"Fine…"
"Today, I'll finally find out…"
"Just how strong I've become."