225: Chapter 225 The True Nature of the Void

Within a hundred-kilometer radius of the Wang Family base, everything was undergoing drastic changes.

Golden runes spread outward from the center of the altar, taking root deep into the earth like tree roots.

The ground trembled, and the air was filled with an ancient and heavy energy fluctuation that made it hard to breathe.

The first to be swallowed were the members of the Wang Family closest to the altar.

They didn't even have time to react before they were enveloped by the golden light.

The ground beneath their feet vanished, the sky above twisted, and their bodies were dragged into another world as if gripped by an invisible hand.

Then came the Beast Tamers who had camped around the Wang Family base, those who had rushed from Fengling City, and those who had poured in from other cities.

Regardless of status, Rank, or background.

Everyone within a hundred-kilometer radius was swallowed.

Civilians were among them too.

Shortly after entering the God-level Ruins, everyone encountered a Nightmare Demon.

Nightmare Demons emerged from the Void Realm, descending from the sky like translucent clouds.

They varied in size and color intensity.

Several core Elders of the Wang Family were the first to notice the pattern.

"The purer the color, the higher the quality."

Grand Elder Wang Yuan stood on a golden-yellow field, with a milky-white, nearly transparent Nightmare Demon hovering beside him.

The Nightmare Demon's tentacles had already wrapped around his arm and were forming a contract with him.

Its color was so pure, free of any Impurities, and it shimmered with a warm luster in the sunlight, like a piece of high-quality mutton-fat jade.

Wang Yuan closed his eyes, feeling the changes after the contract was completed.

A surge of pure energy poured out from the Nightmare Demon, flowing through the contract channel into his Soul Talisman. The energy was gentle and dense, flowing slowly through his body like a quiet underground river.

He could feel his Meridians widening, his Soul Talisman being nourished, and even the Gold Peak Bottleneck that had stuck him for years showed signs of loosening.

"Good!" Wang Yuan opened his eyes, a sharp glint flashing within them. "Good stuff!"

As for those Nightmare Demons with mottled, gray colors, their quality was much worse.

A collateral descendant of the Wang Family contracted a gray-white Nightmare Demon, and the energy that surged into his body was as thin as watered-down porridge, barely enough to make his Meridians heat up slightly, let alone touching the threshold from Black Iron to Bronze.

Even worse were the civilians.

They had no Soul Talisman and no energy foundation, so the contract the Nightmare Demon signed with them was more like a form of parasitism.

The Nightmare Demon's tentacles burrowed into their skin, spreading throughout their bodies along their blood vessels.

They could feel something growing inside them; their physical strength and spirit both improved, and more importantly, they experienced the world of a Beast Tamer.

But everyone knew this didn't come without a price.

However, at this moment, no one cared to think that far ahead.

Because the world before them was too tempting.

The golden-yellow field was covered in unknown Spiritual Plants. Some glowed, some were fragrant, and some would ooze dew-like droplets at the slightest touch—sweet to the taste and warm upon entering the stomach.

On the distant hills, fruit trees were laden with fruit. Each one was the size of a fist, brightly colored like gems, and emitting an alluring fragrance. Someone couldn't resist picking one and taking a bite; juice overflowed, and a massive amount of energy surged from their stomach to their limbs and bones. They broke through from Black Iron Mid-grade to Black Iron High-grade on the spot.

There were fish in the streams, crystal clear, their scales emitting a faint fluorescence as they swam. Someone caught one, and there was actually a tiny crystal core condensed inside the fish, with energy so pure it could be absorbed directly.

The colorful-feathered birds flying in the sky were each no weaker than Gold Rank. But they didn't attack people; they just flew quietly overhead, occasionally dropping a feather or two. Those feathers were warm to the touch, with energy patterns flowing on the surface, making them excellent Materials for crafting flight-type equipment.

Everyone's eyes turned red.

"Grab them—!!!"

I don't know who shouted, but the crowd surged in all directions like a burst dam.

Some people's Pet Beasts rushed to the fruit trees, grabbing a dozen fruits with one swipe; others' Pet Beasts jumped into the streams, sweeping up seven or eight fish with a flick of their tails; some even rode their Pet Beasts directly, flying toward the distant hills to see what other good things were there.

Several Elders of the Wang Family stood where they were, unmoved.

It wasn't that they weren't tempted, but they were waiting.

Waiting for those who rushed to the front to scout the path for them.

Grand Elder Wang Yuan swept his deep gaze over this strange world and whispered: "Every faction will be swallowed in. What the Wang Family needs to do is not grab those fruits, but to seize the momentum."

Beside him, Second Elder Wang Chong nodded: "When they have grabbed enough, are tired of grabbing, and can no longer grab, they will know whose territory this is."

And just as the Wang Family had already taken action.

North of Fengling City, at the Wuji Army encampment.

The atmosphere here was completely different from that of the Wang Family base.

It wasn't madness; it was anxiety.

A huge, diamond-shaped energy phantom had been suspended above the Wuji Army base for a whole day and night.

Golden light poured down from the phantom, dyeing the entire camp in a dazzling gold.

The light path of the altar extended from beneath the phantom like golden blood vessels, taking root deep into the earth.

All signs indicated that the key's energy was fully charged.

The altar had been activated.

The teleportation should have begun.

But nothing happened.

On the training ground in the center of the camp, the soldiers of various battalions looked up at the diamond-shaped phantom hanging above their heads, their expressions changing from expectation to confusion, from confusion to anxiety, and from anxiety to unease.

"Why is there still no movement?"

"The Wang Family has already gone in, what's going on here?"

"Is there a problem with the key? Or is the altar broken?"

"Broken? This is an altar of the God-level Ruins; how could it be broken?"

The discussions rose and fell among the crowd, buzzing incessantly like flies trapped in a cage.

Captain Zhou Hai of the 3rd Battalion leaned against the door of the barracks, a cigarette hanging unlit in his mouth, squinting at the golden phantom overhead.

His brow was deeply furrowed.

The Wuji Army's key was the first to appear and the earliest to start charging.

In order, it should have been activated earlier than the one at the Wang Family base.

But now, the Wang Family had already teleported, while the Wuji Army was still waiting.

This wasn't right.

Zhou Hai spat out the cigarette and walked toward the command building.

Behind a window on the second floor of the command building, Commander Chu Mingjue stood there, holding a cup of tea that had already gone cold.

He was also waiting.

Waiting from last night until now, from anticipation to anxiety, from anxiety to silence.

He knew where the problem lay.

The owner of that key was Qin Ce.

But Qin Ce was not in the Wuji Army camp, and he didn't know exactly what had happened to Qin Ce.

The corner of Chu Mingjue's mouth twitched slightly.

He picked up the teacup and took a sip; the tea was cold, and the bitter taste dissolved on the tip of his tongue, like his current mood.

The opportunity he had waited for his whole life was being held in the palm of a young brat.

Spies from various factions were like ants on a hot pan, frantically circling around the Wuji Army camp.

They came from the City Lord's Mansion, from the Zhao Family, from the Zhou Family, from the Lin Family, as well as stragglers who had rushed from even further cities, whose identities couldn't even be verified.

Their task was only one—to confirm when the altar at the Wuji Army would be activated and then pass the news back.

And in a place no one knew.

In the Vicious Beast area beneath the Space-Time Rift, on the remaining reefs of the lake island that had been destroyed.

Tianlu lay beside Qin Ce, trembling all over.

Not from the cold, but from fear.

Its hind leg was still lame, the bloodstains had dried, forming a layer of dark red crust.

The nine-colored light on its antlers was as faint as an oil lamp about to burn out, flickering occasionally, dimming, then flickering again, as if it would extinguish at any moment.

It had tried every method it could think of.

Using the spiritual power of the Nine-Radiance Spiritual Wisdom to stimulate Qin Ce's Soul Talisman, but it was useless.

Tianlu even tried biting Qin Ce's fingers with its teeth, drawing blood, but Qin Ce still didn't react.

Qin Ce's body was gradually turning cold.

But Tianlu could feel that the Soul Contract between itself and Qin Ce was still there, but that channel was like a frozen river; the surface was still connected, but the underneath was already empty.

Qin Ce's Soul was not in his body.

Tianlu curled up beside Qin Ce's neck, burying its small head in the crook of his shoulder, its body convulsing.

It was crying.

There was no sound, only tears seeping out from its closed eyes, flowing down its purple-gold scales and dripping onto Qin Ce's collar, drop by drop, and another drop.

It didn't know what to do.

Sister Qingluan was shattered.

Boss was dead.

Its Heavenly Fortune Transforming Wealth still had energy left, but that energy could only extract things from other dimensions and could not bring the dead back to life.

Wait.

Tianlu suddenly raised its head.

Heavenly Fortune Transforming Wealth.

It looked down at the bell on its chest.

The bell was still there, the silver-gray luster was still flowing, and the energy inside had accumulated to this week's amount.

Previously, every time Qin Ce used Heavenly Fortune Transforming Wealth to extract things from other dimensions.

Sometimes it was a Heaven And Earth Treasure, sometimes it was intelligence information, and sometimes it was strange objects of unknown use.

Tianlu never knew how those things were extracted; it only knew that every time Qin Ce injected energy into the bell and reached his hand into that silver-gray window, he could touch some things.

Then what if... it reached in to touch it itself?

Tianlu hesitated for a moment, then patted the bell on its chest with its small paw.

The bell didn't react.

It patted it again.

Still no reaction.

Tianlu got anxious, throwing its whole body onto it, hugging the bell with its two small paws, and shaking it desperately.

Ding-dang, ding-dang, ding-dang—

The bell rang.

The crisp sound spread across the deathly silent reef, startling a few water birds foraging in the distance.

At the mouth of the bell, space began to twist.

A silver-gray, circular window slowly opened.

On the other side of the window, it was not the starry sky, deep sea, or endless desert that Qin Ce saw every time, but a chaotic, constantly changing light and shadow.

In that light and shadow, colors flowed, shapes appeared and disappeared, and sounds echoed and annihilated.

Tianlu did not hesitate.

It reached a small paw into the window.

As soon as the paw reached in, it was grasped by something.

Not an object, but—a ball of warm light.

The light poured out from the window, slowly unfolding in the air like a blooming flower.

The petals were seven-colored, each one trembling slightly, emitting a soft and warm glow.

Tianlu's antlers suddenly lit up.

The radiance of the Nine-Radiance Spiritual Wisdom was ten times brighter than before, and the dazzling nine-colored light shot out from the tips of the antlers, merging with the seven-colored light flower.

In Tianlu's mind, it suddenly "saw" a picture.

Not seen with eyes, but perceived with the Nine-Radiance Spiritual Wisdom.

It was a blurry, translucent outline floating in an endless Void Realm.

The outline was shaped like a person, curled up, hands hugging knees, like a fetus in a mother's womb.

His body was transparent, and one could see right through it.

Boss's Soul!

Tianlu's heart skipped a beat.

It desperately urged the Nine-Radiance Spiritual Wisdom, wanting to see the details of that outline clearly.

But it was too far, too blurry; Qin Ce's Soul was floating in an unknown distance in the Void Realm, like a leaf blown away by the wind, drifting further and further away.

Tianlu was trembling with anxiety.

The seven-colored light flower was still there, still emitting a warm glow, still trembling slightly.

Tianlu suddenly understood something.

It used its claws to grab that cluster of light flowers and dragged it out from the window.

After the light flowers left the window, their shape began to change, transforming from flowers into a ball of light, and then from a ball of light into a ribbon of light.

Tianlu shoved that ribbon of light onto its own antlers.

Boom—!!!

In that instant, the Nine-Radiance Spiritual Wisdom exploded violently, like a lit powder keg.

Nine-colored light gushed out from the tips of its antlers, so blinding that even Tianlu had to close its eyes.

The light shot out in all directions, piercing through the mist, the lake water, the rocks, and the Void Realm.

At this moment, Tianlu's perception was infinitely magnified.

It was no longer just perceiving the range of a few hundred meters around it, but could now perceive everything tens and hundreds of miles away—the Vicious Beasts still wandering in the mist, the Beast Tamers fighting for territory on the wilderness, and the crowds frantically looting within the God-level Ruins.

Then, it perceived Qin Ce's Soul.

It was not the blurry, translucent outline from before, but a clear, concrete existence carrying complete life information.

Qin Ce's Soul floated in an endless Void Realm, curled up with his hands hugging his knees. His eyes were closed, and his expression was very calm, as if he were sleeping.

But around his body, something was flowing.

It was a type of energy Tianlu had never seen before—not wind-type, not fire-type, not any attribute it recognized.

It was lighter than wind, warmer than fire, brighter than light, and deeper than darkness.

It flowed slowly around Qin Ce's Soul like a river.

With every circle it flowed, Qin Ce's Soul became one part more solid.

With every part more solid it became, Qin Ce's Soul moved one step closer to his body.

The speed was very slow, but the direction was clear.

Tianlu's tears flowed down again, but this time it was not out of fear; it was out of joy.

It retracted its small claws and withdrew from the window. The window slowly closed, the silver-gray light vanished, and the bell returned to calm.

Tianlu sniffled, wiped its tears with its claws, and then stood up.

It limped over to Xuan Li's side.

That newly hatched young beast was currently curled up in a pile of rubble, covered in wounds.

Its scales had lost their luster, its body was ice-cold, and its breathing was so faint it seemed like it could stop at any moment.

But it was still alive.

Tianlu could feel that Xuan Li's Soul Talisman was still operating. Although it was very slow and very weak, it was still spinning.

It was Qin Ce's Pet Beast.

The contract had been completed.

If Qin Ce died, Xuan Li would also die.

If Xuan Li died, Qin Ce's Soul Talisman would also be damaged.

They were one.

Tianlu grabbed Xuan Li by the scruff of its neck with its mouth and dragged it to Qin Ce's side.

Xuan Li's body was very light, as light as a feather, but it had too many wounds on its body, and every time it was dragged, it left a trail of blood on the rubble.

Tianlu placed Xuan Li on Qin Ce's chest, then used its small claws to tug at Qin Ce's arms, making him wrap them around Xuan Li.

Qin Ce's arms were very stiff; Tianlu had to pry them several times before it succeeded.

Then it adjusted Qin Ce's posture again, having him lie on his side, shielding Xuan Li in his arms.

Not face-to-face, but with Qin Ce's chest against Xuan Li's back, and Xuan Li's spine against Qin Ce's heart.

Front and back, chest and back leaning on each other.

Tianlu stepped back two paces and tilted its head to look.

Something was still missing.

It looked down at its own claws.

The tips of its claws were still oozing blood.

Tianlu squatted down and began to draw on the reef with its claw tips.

The first stroke was an arc, drawn from Qin Ce's feet to Xuan Li's tail.

The second stroke was a broken line, drawn from Xuan Li's tail to the top of Qin Ce's head.

The third stroke was a spiral, drawn from the top of Qin Ce's head back to Xuan Li's forehead.

Every stroke carried the blood from its claw tips, and every stroke left a dark red mark on the reef.

Those marks began to glow the moment they were drawn, turning from dark red to pale gold, and from pale gold to crimson gold.

Tianlu drew very slowly, pausing for a long time with every stroke, as if confirming something.

It didn't know what this rune meant, didn't know where it came from, and didn't know why it appeared in its memory.

It just did it when it felt that it "should do so."

When the last stroke was finished, all the lines lit up simultaneously.

Crimson gold light gushed out from the rune, enveloping Qin Ce, Xuan Li, and Tianlu completely.

The energy in the surrounding heaven and earth, in that instant, was like it had been stirred by an invisible hand, and began to surge toward the direction of the rune.

It wasn't the wind blowing, nor water flowing, but the energy itself moving.

From the mist, from the lake water, from the air, from the rocks—wisps of energy were extracted, like countless tiny threads, surging toward Qin Ce and Xuan Li.

The moment the energy threads touched Qin Ce's body, they sank into it.

Beneath Qin Ce's skin, a faint light began to glow.

Reborn.

That warm, vitality-filled energy was activated within Qin Ce's body.

It was not the slow, trickling stream-like repair from before, but a forced, accelerated operation, as if pushed by something.

The energy flowed through his Meridians; it would stop to repair wherever there was a break, and once repaired, it would continue to flow forward.

It would stop to clear blockages wherever it encountered them, and once cleared, it would continue to flow forward.

The Reborn energy circled once within Qin Ce's body, and then, following the point of contact between Qin Ce and Xuan Li, it was transferred into Xuan Li's body.

Xuan Li's body trembled violently.

At the edges of those shattered scales, new, tiny scale buds began to emerge. On the surface of those dried wounds, pink, tender flesh began to grow. The stagnant blood began to flow again.

But the speed was very slow.

Like a rusted machine being forced to turn, every rotation required a huge effort.

Qin Ce was injured too severely, and Xuan Li was injured too severely.

Although the Reborn energy had been activated, it was not strong enough, not fast enough, and not sufficient to support the healing of two people simultaneously.

Tianlu squatted to the side, watching the dark red rune fade bit by bit, watching the light on Qin Ce and Xuan Li dim bit by bit.

Its mouth was moving, but there was no sound.

It was praying.

It did not know how long had passed.

Perhaps it was a quarter of an hour, perhaps an hour, perhaps a day and a night.

Qin Ce's body suddenly moved.

It was not the movement of being pushed by external force, but movement of his own.

His fingers curled slightly.

Tianlu's eyes widened abruptly.

It pounced in front of Qin Ce and nudged his face with its head.

Qin Ce's brows furrowed slightly.

His eyes were still closed, his lips were still pale, and his breathing was still faint.

But his Soul was being pulled back into his body by an invisible force.

The speed was very slow, so slow that it took a long time to advance even a little bit.

But the direction was correct.

He was returning.

Tianlu sniffled and cried again.

And just at this moment, something beneath the clothes on Qin Ce's chest lit up.

It was not the light of Reborn, not the light of the Soul Talisman, but a purer, more brilliant golden light, like sunlight compressed to the extreme.

The light was too bright, so bright that Tianlu couldn't even open its eyes.

Tianlu covered its eyes with its claws, peeking out from between its fingers.

A diamond-shaped golden crystal floated slowly out of Qin Ce's clothes pocket.

The key to the God-level Ruins.

Then, from the distant horizon, a golden beam of light shot straight over.

That was the energy of the altar.

It was the energy that had been searching for the main body of the key.

It had been searching for a long time, starting from the Wuji Army camp, spreading in all directions, scanning across the wilderness, across the hills, across the streams, and across the mist region under the Space-Time Rift.

It had never found it.

Because the key was not at the Wuji Army camp; the key was on Qin Ce. And Qin Ce had an energy barrier from the God-level Ruins on him, which masked the key's signal.

But now, the energy on Qin Ce had triggered the key; the key had lit up, and the signal had been sent out.

The altar's energy had finally locked onto it.

The golden beam of light shot from afar, so fast that even Tianlu's eyes couldn't keep up, accurately hitting the diamond-shaped crystal floating above Qin Ce's body.

The crystal vibrated violently.

Then, golden light gushed out from the crystal, enveloping Qin Ce, Xuan Li, and Tianlu completely.

Tianlu only felt everything go black before its eyes.

Then, it heard the sound of wind.

Not the dull, damp, and cold wind from the mist, but a fresher wind, carrying the scent of green grass and flowers.

Tianlu opened its eyes.

Blue sky.

White clouds.

Sunlight.

Beneath its feet was soft grass; the grass was thick and very green, and stepping on it felt like stepping on cotton.

Qin Ce was lying beside it.

Xuan Li was also lying beside it.

Tianlu stood up and looked around.

This was an unfamiliar world. The hills in the distance were covered with fruit trees, fish were swimming in the nearby stream, and colorful birds were flying in the sky.

Rich energy was flowing in the air; with every breath, it could feel energy surging into its body, warm and comfortable, like soaking in a hot spring.

Tianlu did not recognize this place.

But it could feel that the energy concentration here was more than ten times higher than outside.

If Boss were recovering from his injuries here, he should be able to recover faster, right?

Tianlu thought to itself.

And behind it, in the Void Realm.

Qin Ce's Soul had not come in with his body.

The teleportation had come too suddenly; his Soul was still floating in that endless Void Realm, still being pulled back bit by bit by that invisible force.

But his body had already been dragged into the God-level Ruins by the altar's energy.

His Soul and body had been separated.

It was as if a person's shadow remained in place, while the person had already left.

Qin Ce's Soul hovered in the space-time of the God-level Ruins, overlooking this world from a perspective he had never experienced before, completely different from that of a Physical Body.

He could "see" everything.

Not with eyes, but with perception.

His perception was magnified countless times at this moment, so great that he could "see" everything within a radius of hundreds of miles.

He could see those Beast Tamers who were frantically looting resources.

He could "see" the people of the Wang Family driving away others from other factions, marking out territory.

He could "see" the people from the City Lord's Mansion setting up camp on a hill, with Jiang Ruowei standing in the center of the camp, saying something to the people around her.

He could "see" the people of the Zhao Family, the Zhou Family, and the Lin Family busy in their respective territories, some gathering Spiritual Plants, some capturing Spirit Beasts, and some surveying mineral veins.

He could even "see" those commoners.

They had no Pet Beasts, no combat power, and could only follow behind the Beast Tamers to pick up scraps. Someone picked up a feather dropped by a Colorful-Feathered Bird and danced with joy. Someone caught a fish from the stream and couldn't bear to eat it, wrapping it up in their clothes to hide it.

Everyone was desperately trying to obtain resources, and everyone was seizing this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Then, Qin Ce "saw" something different.