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

They were all injured, and their demonic energy was severely depleted.

"You all wait here."

Hold onto your escape route.

"Demon Emperor..."

"That's an order."

Zhou Ran lifted his foot and stepped into that layer of "nothingness".

"laugh--"

A layer of black-gold scales on the surface of the Primordial Overlord Body vaporized.

The flesh and blood were exposed, and then regenerated under the frenzied repair of the primordial energy and blood.

The bones groaned under the strain.

The purple-gold light membrane flickered violently, its brightness constantly shifting.

The pain is a hundred times more intense than before.

Zhou Ran gritted his teeth and poured his Nascent Soul power into the Primordial Overlord Body without reservation.

He pressed himself entirely into the solidified nothingness and began to carve.

Every step forward comes at the cost of flesh and blood being torn away and reborn.

One step, two steps, three steps...

Time loses its meaning here.

Only pain and the instinct to move forward.

Finally, my feet slipped and I stepped onto solid ground.

The pressure of emptiness vanished suddenly.

Zhou Ran suddenly looked up, gasping for breath, blackish-gold blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.

Before us lies the summit platform of the sacred mountain.

In the center of the platform stands a huge gate made of cast metal.

The gate was tightly closed, its surface adorned with dark purple patterns that shared the same origin as the sacred mountain.

Deeper inside, there is a faint blue, cold light characteristic of modern electronic devices.

The heartbeat was coming from behind the door.

Heavy and powerful, each strike made the platform tremble slightly.

Zhou Ran regulated his breathing, and the Primordial Qi and Blood repaired his injuries.

He walked to the door, raised his hand, and pressed it against the cold door panel.

There are no locks, no restrictions.

The door slid open silently by itself.

Behind the door, there was no altar, no statues of gods, and no ancient ruins.

There is only one circular laboratory with a modern, high-tech feel.

The dome is a simulated starry sky, and the surrounding walls are smooth silver metal panels.

In the very center of the laboratory is a giant control console with a diameter of over ten meters.

It was filled with flickering screens and control panels.

The control panel is located through countless pipes flowing with a grayish-purple liquid.

It connects to the ground and leads directly to the deeper "heart" area below.

And sitting at the main control panel on the console is a person.

The man was wearing a well-tailored dark blue suit, his hair was neatly combed, and he was facing away from the door.

He was looking at the largest holographic projection screen in front of him.

On the screen is an aerial map of Jiangcheng, along with constantly flashing red dots.

Each point of light represents a gray line that is drawing life from the earth.

The person did not turn around when they heard the door open.

The sound was amplified by the indoor sound system, crystal clear, with an air of scholarly detachment:

"You were 37 seconds later than expected."

Considering you cleared some unnecessary 'interference' along the way, this margin of error is acceptable.

Zhou Ran's gaze fell on a logo on the side of the control panel.

A golden shield emblem encircling the Earth.

Sheng Hui Foundation.

He looked at the retreating figure, his voice calm.

"Marcus Weber."

The man slowly turned around.

Blonde hair, blue eyes, a high nose bridge, and a sharp jawline; he looks to be around forty years old.

He wore a smile that suggested he had everything under control.

He was holding a steaming cup of coffee in his hand.

Zhou Ran's purple-gold demonic eyes darted around.

Deep within those blue eyes floated a layer of gray light membrane that resonated with the heartbeat of the Heavenly Corpse.

The edge of his body beneath the suit silently merged with the gray-purple pipes of the control panel.

"Welcome to the 'Door to the Heart,' Mr. Zhou Ran."

Marcus took a sip of his coffee.

"Or should I call you... 'Key'?"

Zhou Ran took a step forward.

"stop."

Marcus raised his hand, palm facing outwards.

"If I press this button again, all 30 million people in Jiangcheng will be wiped out in one go."

He was referring to a red button in the center of the console.

Zhou Ran stopped and found a chair to sit down.

He pinched the corner of his eye with his fingers, his face full of exhaustion.

It seems that this underworld must be controlled.

Su Xiaoxiao, the Zhao family (father and son), Mr. Da, Marcus...

They're all like cockroaches that can't be killed.

"The number of underground gray lines in Jiangcheng has exceeded 10,000."

Zhou Ran spoke.

"11,400."

Marcus corrected him, his tone as if he were reading a lab report.

"Data from nine minutes ago. There should be more now."

Six gray lines burned on Zhou Ran's chest.

The fragments of the jade pendant in his arms were still stuck between his fingers.

"You've connected with its nervous system."

Zhou Ran said,

"It's not that the Heavenly Corpse is using you, it's that you want to use the Heavenly Corpse."

Marcus paused for a moment while holding his coffee.

"keen."

He looked down at his hand, the edge of which was merging seamlessly with the piping on the control panel.

"I have been studying the virtual world for eleven years."

Two hundred psychic scholars, four hundred billion euros, all to figure out how the Old Gods were created.

"Moon Emperor".

Thirty thousand years ago, a wisp of her divine consciousness underwent a tribulation.

A physical body fell to earth, giving rise to the Ten Kings of Hell, the Penglai Pavilion, and the entire Underworld.

He spread his hands.

"What a waste."

They are all waiting for the Heavenly Corpse to wake up on its own.

Penglai was guarded for 30,000 years, Yama, the King of Hell, paid with 30 million lives, and Emperor Song secretly explored the route.

A group of gravediggers.

"You are different."

Zhou Ran took the call for him.

"If you don't defend, you'll rob."

Marcus's blue eyes narrowed slightly.

"You understand."

He put down his coffee cup.

"Once the Heavenly Corpse is fully activated, it will not be the lingering resentment of the Moon Emperor that drives it, but me."

It is the Sheng Hui Foundation.

Technology and capital—two things, sewn into the body of an old god.

"You are not a living person."

Zhou Ran said.

"The physical body in the mortal world is underground in the East City, soaking in the life-giving liquid."

This is a projection.

Marcus laughed.

"Once the ceremony is complete, this body will replace the other, becoming permanent—"

"god."

Zhou Ran finished speaking for him.

Marcuston stayed.

Zhou Ran smiled.

The laugh was soft, but the gray membrane under Marcus's eyes shrank.

"When I was almost rotting into mud in the underground landfill..."

Zhou Ran said,

"I've imagined many different kinds of people sitting in this chair."

King Yama, Du Ziren, and Emperor Song.

He glanced at the metal control panel covered in screens.

"I never expected him to be a salesman who wanted to treat God like a slave."

Marcus's smile faded slightly.

"You don't understand power."

He says,

"Power is data."

It can be quantified, collected, and redistributed.

Thirty million lives for a new god—that's a worthwhile trade.

"You're the one who doesn't understand power."

Zhou Ran took another step forward.

Marcus pressed his finger on the red button.

"I warned you."

Zhou Ran didn't stop.

When I took the third step, the platform beneath my feet shook.

Marcus pressed it.

The entire sky of the virtual world, that dark purple, instantly turned blood red.

The entire sky was soaked in blood.

Alarms sounded simultaneously on all console screens, and red dots exploded.

The heart underground suddenly contracted and began to beat wildly again, each beat causing the platform to crack.

A ripple radiates outward from the mountaintop.

Visible red ripples spread rapidly, circle after circle.

Zhou Ran's Purple Gold Law membrane was instantly pressed against his skin.

"Reverse assimilation wave".

Marcus picked up his coffee again and leaned back in his chair.

"First assimilate to the underworld, then resonate with the mortal realm."

Jiangcheng will be the first to be dragged into the rules of the virtual world.