After I stopped trying, a rich woman trained me into a demon emperor.

The Primordial Bone was bearing the immense pressure of being a half-step Nascent Soul cultivator. Black and gold patterns lit up along the nodes of its spine, and its muscles were on the verge of breaking.

The Overlord Body is already operating beyond its capacity.

If we keep going like this, our bones will break first.

Zhou Ran turned around, preparing to go ashore.

With each step, the bluish-white light on the ice surface parted on its own, creating a narrow gap.

The sword intent recognized the bloodline of the Primordial Desolation, but did not harm him.

Just as they were about to reach the south bank, Yama's words came from behind.

"Zhou Ran".

They stopped in their tracks.

"I have another message for you."

Zhou Ran didn't turn around.

Yama, the King of Hell, spoke across three hundred feet of ice, each word delivered clearly.

"Your city in the mortal realm..."

The celestial corpse beneath the earth will open its last eye today.

Guess what the first thing he'll do when he wakes up?

Yama, the King of Hell, stroked his beard.

"I did not do this."

"It woke up on its own."

On the ice, Zhou Ran's shadow remained still for two breaths.

Inside the Golden Core, the gray cracks expanded to twice their original size.

The Golden Elixir of the Mind was pushed to its peak speed, desperately resisting the erosion seeping from its core.

Zhou Ran closed his eyes.

When I lifted my eyelids again, a gray light flashed across the bottom of my pupils.

It's brighter than last time.

They also hang for a longer time.

He blinked, and the gray light faded completely.

"The frequency is getting faster and faster."

He muttered to himself.

When they retreated to the south bank, Qiao Kun had already led his men to take control of the second line.

The remains of the fusion soldiers were scattered on the front line of the position.

The skeleton was shattered and scattered all over the ground. The Eastern soul in the chest cavity was sealed by the Yin Talisman and could not dissipate for the time being.

The results weren't huge, but the momentum was back.

"Grand Commander!"

Qiao Kun, carrying the Yaksha, came over, but seeing that Zhou Ran's face was pale, he swallowed back the words he was about to say.

Zhou Ran waved his hand.

He walked straight to the back of a broken boundary marker on the south bank, pressed his back against the stone, and closed his eyes to look inward.

Inside the dantian, the surface of the Golden Elixir of the Mind was no longer recognizable.

The gray crack splits into three from one.

Each one was slowly wriggling, drilling into the core of the golden elixir.

The golden radiance left behind by the Heavenly Dao pressed down on the outer layer.

The Taihuang pattern is also at the top.

But the resonance with the Heavenly Corpse was getting stronger and stronger.

Tens of thousands of miles away, underground in the mortal realm of Jiangcheng, the third eye of the Heavenly Corpse is slowly opening up.

Zhou Ran perceived it very clearly.

It does not rely on divine sense.

It was the Golden Core itself that was being manipulated by the Heavenly Corpse.

"Grand Commander."

Qiao Kun squatted down in front of him and lowered his voice to the lowest possible level.

"You don't look well."

Zhou Ran opened her eyes.

"Communication instrument".

Qiao Kun took out a dark red bone fragment from his pocket.

The Yin-Yang communicators distributed by the three halls can transmit short messages across the Yin-Yang boundary.

Zhou Ran took it and poured in a wisp of true essence.

The bone fragment made a buzzing sound.

Three breaths later, Li Zhiyao's voice came out.

Intermittent, broken and incomplete by the boundary wall.

"Your projector talks too much."

Hopefully, the original body would be even more valuable.

Zhou Ran braced herself for bad news and took a deep breath.

"The aurora has appeared over Jiangcheng for three hours now."

The government blocked the news, telling the public it was a geomagnetic storm.

But the temperature in the entire city dropped eight degrees in an hour.

The hospital emergency room was completely overwhelmed...

A large number of elderly people and children have fallen into comas, and the cause cannot be determined.

Zhou Ran tightened his grip on the bone fragment.

"What about the manor?"

"The formation can hold."

I set up a ghost realm barrier, and the yang energy within a three-kilometer radius was temporarily stabilized.

But my magical power is also being suppressed.

Li Zhiyao paused for a moment.

"And... Xiao Hongli's own collection of ghost banners also encountered trouble."

The demons inside the banner erupted in chaos, and several rushed out.

Her voice became even lower.

Lin Qingxue also saw some of the cause and effect.

Wait for me...

A rustling sound.

The voice changed to Lin Qingxue's.

The sound was very faint.

"The gray line."

It's rising up from underground...

There are thousands of them, and each one is linked to someone in the city.

"Only a few thousand?"

Upon hearing this news, Zhou Ran was somewhat surprised and even breathed a sigh of relief.

The situation didn't seem as bad as he'd imagined.

"Who is on the other end of the line?"

Lin Qingxue's breathing was heavy and labored.

"...a person who is about to die."

The communication bone fragment emitted a piercing interference sound, and the signal weakened.

Zhou Ran quickly gave the order.

"The manor's protective formation is fully activated."

The radiation range has expanded to three kilometers.

"Li Zhiyao is responsible for stabilizing the earth's veins using methods from the underworld."

"Su Qingling, Su Qingwu, go to several key water sources in Jiangcheng and set up tidal suppression formations."

Slow down the rate at which the Heavenly Corpse absorbs Yang energy.

He paused for a moment.

"Lin Qingxue".

"……exist."

"Fa Mu stared at the gray silk thread."

The number surged, and a message was sent immediately.

"clear."

The aura on the bone fragment went out.

The boundary wall was too thick, and the signal was completely cut off.

Zhou Ran put the bone fragments away.

He stared at the ice on the south bank for three breaths.

The Heavenly Corpse opening all three eyes is only the first stage.

It takes anywhere from a few days to several weeks to fully recover and build up energy.

But the River of Oblivion will only be sealed off for two more days.

If he were to return to the mortal realm now, two days later the rebels would raze the three palaces, seize the reincarnation seal, and Yama, the King of Hell, would use his power to influence the Heavenly Corpse, reducing days and weeks to just minutes.

"First eliminate the immediate threat."

Zhou Ran stood up.

Qiao Kun watched his retreating figure, his lips moved, but he didn't dare to utter a sound.

Zhou Ran walked up to Qiao Kun and slapped the Grand Commander's token into his palm.

"Night Wanderer".

His voice drowned out all the wind above the River of Oblivion.

"From this moment forward, you are my vanguard general."

Qiao Kun's eyes, like those of a man with a pair of braised eggs, were wide open to the limit.

"Two hundred ghost soldiers guarded the south bank of the Naihe Bridge for twelve hours."

Qiao Kun gripped the token, his mouth opening and closing repeatedly.

"Grand Commander... then... where are you going?"

Zhou Ran turned his head to look eastward.

The direction of the Fifth Hall.

"Raid their hideout."

Qiao Kun almost threw Yaksha away.

Are you alone?

"To the rebel headquarters?"

Zhou Ran countered with a question:

"Are you coming with me?"

Qiao Kun twitched his lips twice and obediently shook his head.

"Then guard your bridge well."

Zhou Ran turned around and took two steps.

From the shadows behind, a gaunt figure emerged.

Meng Po.

Her complexion was even worse than it had been three days ago.

Sealing the river consumed most of her essence, but when it was taken over by the Divine Transformation Sword Intent, she managed to squeeze out a sliver of remaining strength.

But that last bit of strength was scraped off from his manhood.

Meng Po walked up to him but didn't say anything.

She slipped something into his hand.

Amber-colored bead.

It's about the size of a fingernail, translucent and smooth, with what looks like half a bowl of thick soup sealed inside.

Zhou Ran held it in his palm and felt an extremely clean and calming power.

"What is this?"

Meng Po spoke in a very low voice.

"My final essence."

Zhou Ran retracted his fingers.

"It was formed from the last drop of soup in the bowl."

Meng Po looked at him.

"In critical moments, feed the people most important to you."

It can save her life.

Zhou Ran's lips moved, but she didn't say anything.

Meng Po had already retreated into the shadows.

Before disappearing, the figure left behind a sentence.

"You'll find out who it is then."

Zhou Ran gripped the bead for two breaths.

Then it was tucked into the innermost layer of my underwear.

He took his first step toward the east.

Behind him, Qiao Kun's voice boomed at the two hundred ghost soldiers.

"Get your act together, all of you!"

"We just need to hold out for twelve hours!"

Twelve hours!

"Whoever runs first, I'll personally rip out their soul flame and feed it to the dogs!"