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

"Thump! Thump! Thump!"

The heavy pounding of his heart grew clearer, each beat seeming to strike the depths of Lu Zhao's soul, carrying a primal, chaotic, yet incredibly tenacious fighting spirit. This fighting spirit differed from the mad venom of the "Blood Fiend Dragon," instead being a stubborn determination that, even in death, with a fragmented soul, and after countless years of suppression and tempering, remained unyielding, undying, and yearning to burn away all enemies.

Within Lu Zhao's body, most of the essence of the annihilating dragon energy had been absorbed, his injuries had recovered by 70-80%, and his late-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation had been completely stabilized, even showing a slight sign of advancing towards the peak. However, he dared not slacken in the slightest. The throbbing from the "Reverse Scale Pact" between his brows grew stronger and stronger, creating a strange attraction and... resistance with the awakened will from the ground.

"We can't wait for it to fully awaken..." A resolute glint flashed in Lu Zhao's eyes. Sitting idly by and waiting for death wasn't his style. Since this "Earthly Fiend Dragon Soul" was activated by the "Reverse Scale Pact" and the Annihilation Dragon Qi, perhaps he could take the initiative and try... communication? Or even... refinement?

This idea was utterly insane. Even if the opponent was merely a wisp of remnant battle intent combined with an Earthly Fiend, its essence still originated from an ancient war general, possessing an extremely high rank and a power level far exceeding his current cultivation. Forcibly refining it would, with the slightest carelessness, result in his soul being overwhelmed by the destructive battle intent within, or being corrupted into madness by the power of the Earthly Fiend.

But fortune favors the bold! Moreover, the existence of the "Oath of the Reverse Scale" gave him a sliver of hope.

"I'll risk it all!" Lu Zhao abruptly stood up, dispelling the protective array around him. He unleashed his own annihilating dragon energy and the aura of the "Reverse Scale Pact" without any concealment. At the same time, using his divine sense as a bridge, he mixed the ancient dragon language will from the "Ember" inheritance and proactively, tentatively, "called out" to the awakening will underground.

"Awaken... the power of the same origin... the messenger of annihilation... do you recognize this covenant?"

"Roar..." A deep, mournful dragon roar, filled with endless pain and confusion, came from the ground, responding to Lu Zhao's call.

"Buzz—" The ground began to tremble violently, and the scattered dark golden bone fragments in the dried-up dragon claw crater in the center slowly floated up, emitting a faint golden light. More dark red mist, formed from pure earthly evil energy and chaotic battle intent, gathered from all directions, condensing above the crater into a huge, indistinct phantom of a dragon's head!

This illusory dragon head wasn't as massive as the "Bloodthirsty Vengeful Dragon" above, but it was more solid, filled with a sense of weathered hardship and destructive power. Its eyes were two flickering dark red flames, devoid of reason, containing only endless fighting spirit, pain, and… a trace of instinctive affinity and longing for Lu Zhao's aura.

"Who...are...Jin...of...a...a...contract..." Fragmented and chaotic thoughts were laboriously transmitted to Lu Zhao through the contact of their divine senses.

"I am the successor of 'Ashes,' wielding the 'Pact of Reverse Scale.'" Lu Zhao suppressed the shock within him, striving to make his will calm and resolute. "Your battle spirit is immortal, senior. Would you... be freed? Return to annihilation? Or... walk with me, to fight once more across the land?"

"Liberation... Battle..." The dragon-headed phantom trembled violently, its two dark red flames flickering. Clearly, Lu Zhao's words had touched the deepest, most lingering obsession of its remaining will. It yearned for battle, and for liberation from this endless pain and seal.

"Roar!" After a long while, it let out a low roar full of determination. The huge dragon head phantom suddenly moved and took the initiative to transform into a dark red light stream that was condensed to the extreme. It mixed with the last trace of the original essence left in the floating dark gold bone fragments and rushed towards Lu Zhao like a flood that had broken its dam!

This is not an attack, but a kind of... active fusion and... entrustment!

It chose Lu Zhao! It chose this successor, who bore the "Ember" contract and possessed the power of the Annihilating Dragon, as the final resting place for its undying fighting spirit!

"Well done!" Lu Zhao's eyes blazed with soaring fighting spirit. Without dodging or evading, he spread his arms wide, the "Silent Demon Dragon" Dao Foundation within his dantian spinning wildly, and the "Reverse Scale Pact" between his brows shining brightly, welcoming this torrent representing the last, indomitable will of an ancient warrior!

"boom!"

In an instant, Lu Zhao felt as if his soul had been thrown into an erupting volcano! Endless battle scenes, the shouts of slaughter, the roars of the dragons, the light of destruction, and the unforgettable pain, resentment, anger, and final resolve... A massive amount of chaotic information and emotions frantically assaulted his consciousness! At the same time, a vast energy, condensed to its extreme and filled with destructiveness and indomitable will, surged into his body, cleansing his meridians, pounding his flesh, and merging into his Dao foundation!

"Ugh—" Lu Zhao roared in pain, blood spilling from his seven orifices again, his skin cracking open to reveal the sinews and bones beneath, shimmering with dark gold and gray-black light. His body involuntarily floated up, enveloped by a storm of energy mixed with gray-gold, dark red, and black.

This is a far more dangerous process than refining the "Soul-Devouring Demon Seed" and the "Wraith Dragon Soul Crystal" for evolution! Because what is being fused this time is a fragment of "will," a fragment of "Dao"! The slightest misstep could overwhelm his own will with boundless fighting spirit and pain, turning him into a madman who only knows killing and destruction.

"Hold fast to your true self! I am Lu Zhao! My path is annihilation, is devouring, and even more so... My fate is in my own hands!"

Deep within his soul, the Daoist belief of "My fate is in my own hands" once again erupted with brilliant light, becoming an unwavering beacon in the storm. The "Pact of Reverse Scales" also emanated a gentle yet resolute power, helping him to sort through and resolve the overwhelming chaos of information and emotional turmoil.

With extraordinary perseverance, Lu Zhao continued to persist, digest, and absorb the destructive fusion process.

Time seemed to lose its meaning in this underground space.

It's unclear how much time passed—perhaps a day, perhaps several days. The energy storm enveloping Lu Zhao gradually subsided and receded.

"Hoo..." A long breath of turbid air, carrying a scorching heat and a faint metallic glint, was exhaled from Lu Zhao's mouth.

He slowly opened his eyes. In his pupils, besides the original deep darkness and gray-gold flames, there was now a flash of dark red light, full of indomitable fighting spirit. There were no more wounds on his body; his skin had a healthy bronze color, but upon closer inspection, there seemed to be dark gold patterns flowing beneath his skin, as if it contained boundless power.

His aura had firmly established him at the peak of the late Foundation Establishment stage! He seemed only a hair's breadth away from the Pseudo-Core Formation stage! More importantly, his "Silent Demonic Dragon" Dao Foundation was not only more solid and powerful, but also carried with it a fierce battle intent belonging to an ancient warrior—unyielding in a hundred battles, capable of destroying everything! His physical strength, tempered by both the power of the Earthly Fiends and his battle intent, had also reached a new level; with his physical body alone, he probably wouldn't fear ordinary attacks from the late Foundation Establishment stage.

Moreover, in the process of digesting that massive amount of fragmented information, Lu Zhao also glimpsed some scattered scenes from ancient times:

* In the boundless void battlefield, dragons clash with all sorts of ferocious and terrifying monsters, causing the sky to collapse and the earth to crack, staining the sky with blood.

* A corner of the "Ten Thousand Dragons Devouring the Heavens Formation," a colossal array stretching across the starry sky and indescribably magnificent, is being attacked and destroyed by countless powerful beings.

* A dragon warrior clad in dark gold armor, whose aura was somewhat similar to "Jin" but even more ruthless and decisive, burned his last breath and dragon soul amidst the siege of countless enemies, unleashing a devastating attack that turned a star field into a wasteland, before crashing to his death...

These images were extremely fragmented, but enough to give Lu Zhao a more intuitive understanding of the ancient war and the terror of the "Ten Thousand Dragons Devouring the Sky Formation." At the same time, he also vaguely sensed that beneath this "Dragon Bone Wasteland" lay a deeper secret related to the formation, but with his current strength and the information he had obtained, he was not yet able to access it.

"Thank you for your gift, senior." Lu Zhao bowed deeply to the empty crater. Whether it was "Jin" or this nameless warrior, their legacy was, to him, akin to being reborn.

Just then—**

"Boom!"

The entire underground space began to tremble violently like never before! More violently than ever before! Countless huge cracks appeared in the surrounding rock walls, and scalding magma gushed out from the ground like fountains! The originally stable earth fire spiritual veins, because the core "Earthly Fiend Dragon Soul" was absorbed by Lu Zhao, lost a certain balance and suppression, and began to erupt in full force!

"We can't stay here any longer!" Lu Zhao's expression changed. He quickly scanned the area with his divine sense, searching for a way out.

The entrance to the fissure from which they had come was completely blocked and even beginning to collapse. From other directions, lava flowed freely, and subterranean fire erupted.

The only relatively "stable" energy fluctuation came from the deepest part of the underground space, where the magma erupted most violently. There, Lu Zhao's "Reverse Scale Pact" and newly fused battle intent vaguely sensed an extremely faint, yet undeniably present... spatial fluctuation? It was as if there, a rift had briefly opened due to the subterranean volcanic eruption and the loosening of the seal, leading to another place!

"There's no other choice." Looking at the impending utter destruction around him, Lu Zhao gritted his teeth, his figure transforming into a streak of gray-gold light. Braving the scorching lava and terrifying fiery winds, he resolutely charged towards the place where the energy was most violent, and the only possible source of life!