I transmigrated to a chaotic world and became the sole player.

"roar--!!!"

The chilling roar of demonic energy was no longer Lu Zhao's suppressed growl, but rather filled with primal savagery and an endless greed for blood and power. Lu Zhao's dark eyes swept across the battlefield, and everyone whose gaze fell upon him, whether his companions from the Qingyun Dao Sect or followers of the "Soul Devouring Demon Lord," felt a chill and tremor from the depths of their souls.

After devouring the essence and souls of a mid-Foundation Establishment cultivator and two Qi Refining cultivators, Lu Zhao's aura became even more bizarre and powerful. Dark demonic energy, like living tentacles, wriggled and coiled around his body; the wounds on his shoulders and legs had completely healed, and faint dark demonic patterns appeared beneath his skin.

His gaze finally settled on the two black-robed men closest to him, who were locked in combat with Zhao Ming and Liu Qing.

"Blood...food..." The hoarse voice rang out again, and "Lu Zhao's" figure suddenly disappeared from the spot, appearing behind one of the black-robed men in the next instant. That black-robed man was at the early stage of Foundation Establishment and was fully focused on dealing with Zhao Ming's attack, completely unaware of the danger behind him.

"puff!"

A jet-black hand, its fingers sharpened into claws, pierced through the back of the heart without hindrance and emerged from the front of the chest, holding a still faintly beating heart stained with black blood.

"Uh..." The man in black robes looked down at the pitch-black claws protruding from his chest, his eyes filled with unbelievable fear, his life force rapidly fading away.

Lu Zhao withdrew his hand, stuffed the heart into his mouth, chewed it twice, making a chilling sound. At the same time, the black-robed man's corpse rapidly shriveled up, all his essence, blood, and soul were absorbed.

"Monster...monster!" The other black-robed man fighting Liu Qing was terrified when he saw this scene. He could no longer care about attacking and turned to run away.

However, "Lu Zhao" simply made a grabbing motion in the air in his direction.

"Ah!" The man in black robes let out a shrill scream, his body flying backward involuntarily, as if an invisible hand had grabbed him and slammed him hard at "Lu Zhao's" feet.

"No! Holy Lord, spare me! I am your devout believer!" the man in black pleaded desperately.

Lu Zhao simply lowered his head, his dark eyes staring at him emotionlessly, before stepping down with one foot.

"Pfft!" Brain matter splattered.

Another clump of essence, blood, and soul was devoured.

The horrific, brutal, and highly efficient method of killing shocked everyone present. The battle even paused briefly.

"Lu Zhao! Wake up! You are Lu Zhao! Not a demon!" Elder Yun's eyes were bloodshot as he desperately tried to rush over, but his opponent held him back with all his might.

"The Soul-Cleansing Mantra! Quickly recite the Soul-Cleansing Mantra!" Elder Xuanjizi forced his opponent back with a sword strike, then shouted fiercely in Lu Zhao's direction. At the same time, a condensed silver divine sense transformed into an invisible sharp needle, piercing fiercely towards Lu Zhao's brow, attempting to stimulate his suppressed self-awareness!

"Ugh... Ah!" Lu Zhao's body trembled violently, letting out a painful groan. For a moment, there was a struggle and confusion in his dark eyes, and a faint gray flame flickered in the darkness. He clutched his head, and the demonic energy in his body also became briefly disordered.

"It works!" Elder Yun was overjoyed.

However, at this moment, another unexpected event occurred!

"Stop!" The gaunt, pseudo-Core Formation cultivator confronting Xuanjizi suddenly uttered a sharp cry of protest. His gaze was fixed on "Lu Zhao," who was clutching his head in agony, his eyes filled with unbelievable excitement, fanaticism, and even... worship? "You fools! Don't attack him!"

His words startled all the men in black robes present.

"High Priest...this..." A black-robed man in the late Foundation Establishment stage looked at the gaunt old man with a puzzled expression.

"Fools!" The gaunt old man—the High Priest—trembled with excitement. "Can't you sense it? That pure, supreme aura of the Holy Lord emanating from him! That's...that's an aura closer to the Holy Lord's origin than any of us combined! And that power to devour everything..."

His gaze fell on the dark mark between Lu Zhao's brows, obscured by demonic energy but still faintly visible, and on the aura emanating from him—aura of the same origin as the "Soul Devouring Demon Lord," yet seemingly more ancient and domineering.

"The Holy Son... or... the vessel for the Holy Lord's will!" The High Priest's voice became shrill with excitement. "He is the opportunity bestowed upon us by the Holy Lord! The key to opening the perfect passage to the 'Nine Nether Blood Sea'!"

"All of you, heed my command! Protect the Holy Son! Bring him to the altar!" the high priest commanded fervently.

This sudden turn of events left everyone from the Qingyun Dao Sect completely bewildered. Protection? The Holy Son? Invite him to the altar?

After their initial shock, the black-robed figures quickly sensed the aura emanating from "Lu Zhao" that sent shivers down their spines and compelled them to kneel in worship. It was the power originating from the very source of their faith! Instantly, the hostility and fear in the eyes of all the black-robed figures vanished, replaced by a complex emotion blending fanaticism, awe, and a hint of doubt.

"Protect the Holy Son!" Someone shouted first, and immediately, apart from the few experts who were confronting Xuanjizi and Elder Yun, the other black-robed men actually stopped attacking Zhao Ming and Liu Qing. Instead, they formed a semi-encirclement and cautiously and respectfully approached "Lu Zhao," who was still struggling in pain with his head in his hands.

"Not good!" Elder Xuanjizi's heart sank. He immediately understood the other party's intention! These evil demons and heretics actually regarded the possessed Lu Zhao as the incarnation or vessel of their so-called "Holy Lord"! They wanted to bring Lu Zhao to the altar, probably to use Lu Zhao as a catalyst, or even to sacrifice him directly, to stabilize or even expand the passage to the "Nine Nether Blood Sea"!

"We absolutely cannot let them succeed!" Elder Xuanjizi roared, desperately trying to rush towards Lu Zhao, but the High Priest and two other late-stage Foundation Establishment experts held him back tightly. Elder Yun, Zhao Ming, and Liu Qing were also being desperately blocked by their opponents.

"Lu Zhao! Lu Zhao, can you hear me? Don't let demonic thoughts control you! Hold fast to your true self!" Elder Yun was so anxious that tears were almost in his eyes. He kept sending messages through his divine sense while frantically circulating the "Heart-Cleansing and Soul-Suppressing Mantra," sending streams of cool moonlight towards Lu Zhao in an attempt to awaken him.

"Uh...ah..." Lu Zhao's struggle intensified, his dark eyes flashing with alternating, clashing gray flames and deep darkness. Xuanjizi's spiritual stimulation and Elder Yun's moonlight power were like ice water thrown into boiling oil, constantly provoking the demonic soul to launch an even more frenzied counterattack.

"Get out of my way!" Lu Zhao suddenly raised his head and let out a roar full of pain and violence at the approaching black-robed men. His demonic energy suddenly erupted, sending the first few black-robed men flying backward.

However, this did not deter the men in black robes; instead, it intensified the fanaticism in their eyes.

"The Holy Son is resisting! This is a test from the Holy Lord!" the High Priest cried out excitedly. "Do not harm him! With the 'Binding Chains,' gently invite the Holy Son to the altar!"

Immediately, several men in black robes took out several jet-black bone chains engraved with runes and carefully wrapped them around "Lu Zhao" from different directions.

Just then, within Lu Zhao's body, the gray dragon-shaped mark that had been fighting against the demonic seal but had been temporarily suppressed after the demonic energy erupted seemed to sense the increasingly dense stench of blood and demonic energy outside, and... the aura closely related to "Nine Netherworlds" emanating from behind the spatial rift on the altar, and suddenly trembled violently once more! A sense of unwillingness, anger, and a vigilant will to face the danger of "their own kind" rose from the depths of the mark!

At the same time, the Nether Dragon's Reverse Scale within the [Human Skin Pocket] once again emitted rapid vibrations and intense heat!

"Roar..." From Lu Zhao's throat came a deep and majestic dragon roar, different from the previous demonic roar! In his left eye, in the deep darkness, the gray flame suddenly blazed brightly, even forcing the darkness back a bit!

"I...am...Lu Zhao..." A faint but indomitable voice struggled to escape from "Lu Zhao's" lips.

Through the combined effects of the dragon-shaped imprint, the Nether Dragon's Reverse Scale, and external stimuli, his consciousness temporarily regained a sliver of control in this desperate situation!

However, this sliver of control was incredibly fragile, and could be swallowed up by the demonic soul at any moment.

He raised his head, one eye burning with ash flames, the other with deep darkness, looking at the black bone chains about to wrap around his body, at the black-robed man approaching with fanaticism, at Elder Yun and Elder Xuanjizi desperately trying to rush over in the distance, and finally, his gaze fell on the center of the altar, at the constantly writhing, pitch-black spatial rift that exuded endless allure and destructive aura.

A crazy, all-or-nothing thought flashed through his mind as he was about to be swallowed by darkness once again.

"Since... they all want to devour me... since... this passage connects to the 'Nine Netherworlds'..."

"Then... let's... perish together!"

His right hand, without him even realizing it, had tightly gripped the Nether Dragon's Reverse Scale in his arms. At the same time, he recklessly and frantically poured all the remaining will belonging to "Lu Zhao," along with the primal source of annihilation within him originating from the dragon-shaped mark, into the Reverse Scale!

"Take me...in!" He shouted silently at the spatial rift with all his might!

"Buzz—!!**"

The Nether Dragon's Reverse Scales suddenly erupted with an unprecedentedly dazzling gray-gold light! A powerful force, filled with the will of annihilation and world-destroying, exploded outwards from Lu Zhao!

The next moment, to everyone's utter astonishment, Lu Zhao's figure, along with the burst of gray-gold light, vanished from the spot in an instant!

It's not an invisibility tactic, it's not teleportation.

Instead… it was violently sucked in by the powerful suction force generated by that pitch-black spatial rift leading to the "Nine Nether Blood Sea"!

"No!" Elder Yun screamed in anguish.

"Holy Son!" The High Priest's expression also changed drastically, unsure whether to be happy or worried.

The pitch-black crack, after swallowing Lu Zhao, rippled violently a few times, and then... began to slowly close at a speed visible to the naked eye!