56: See if death can provide reputation.

Thud—

After an unknown period of walking, Yang Kaishan fell again.

Cough! Cough!

This time was even worse; the blood he coughed up was mixed with fragments of his internal organs.

Yang Kaishan knew that, given his current condition, he probably wouldn't be able to reach the rendezvous point.

This time, he didn't struggle to get up; instead, he gently rolled over, lay on his back, and stared blankly at the sky.

Perhaps dying like this wouldn't be so bad.

He couldn't help but recall his experiences over the past ten years, and he felt that this moment was the most relaxed he had ever been.

But if he died like this, what about his teammates' revenge?

Thinking of this, Yang Kaishan used his last ounce of strength to stand up again.

Just as he was about to continue carrying the two coffins, he suddenly noticed a golden light ahead.

Since it was on the way, he might as well go take a look.

This thought suddenly popped into Yang Kaishan's mind, and without much deliberation, he picked up the coffins again and slowly walked towards the light.

Soon after.

Yang Kaishan arrived at the edge of a huge pit.

Looking down, he saw a small pool of golden water in the center of the pit.

Even from a distance, Yang Kaishan could feel the majesty emanating from the pool, along with an oppressive, suffocating sense of Life-level suppression.

The only drawback was a faint wisp of black energy swirling around the pool, somewhat marring its beauty.

Although he didn't know what it was, Yang Kaishan could feel the immense energy contained within it.

However, he only looked for a moment before deciding to leave.

This kind of thing was clearly not something he could touch.

Just then, the rock beneath his feet suddenly loosened.

Yang Kaishan realized the danger and tried to leap away, but due to his extreme weakness, he not only failed to jump clear but also violently coughed up several mouthfuls of blood, falling faster.

His body uncontrollably dropped downward, and the two coffins on his back got caught by two rocks.

The light and shadows before his eyes rapidly streaked past.

Yang Kaishan subconsciously tried to activate the power of the Star Mark within his body, only to find it had long been exhausted.

His body had also reached its limit, unable to muster even a trace of strength.

“Ah, it's fine to end it this way.”

Yang Kaishan murmured to himself.

“The only regret is that I couldn't bring my two teammates back.”

Yang Kaishan closed his eyes, allowing himself to fall into the golden pool.

He had originally thought that this violent force would instantly tear him apart.

However, the reality was completely different—a searing, lava-like energy surged into his limbs and bones, catching him off guard.

“Ah—!”

Yang Kaishan suddenly opened his eyes, a painful roar erupting from his throat.

The golden pool water seemed to have a Life of its own, coiling around his body.

His skin cracked inch by inch, his flesh and blood vessels ruptured under the erosion of the pool water, and even his cells were destroyed.

But in the very next moment, these wounds rapidly healed in the intense light.

His bones emitted brittle, unbearable sounds, and his spine seemed to be crushed by an invisible hand, then reassembled.

This process repeated itself, each time bringing unbearable agony.

This pain far surpassed any torment Yang Kaishan had ever experienced.

Even with his willpower, he could only endure for a few minutes before passing out.

However, the golden pool water seemed to be conscious; upon sensing his unconsciousness, it did not stop its operation.

Instead, it injected an even greater force, causing the unconscious Yang Kaishan to be jolted awake by the pain once more.

Upon realizing Yang Kaishan had woken up, it surged in even more fiercely, plunging the newly awakened Yang Kaishan back into intense pain.

This cycle continued until the pool water gradually diminished, eventually leaving only a small amount.

The remaining pool water frantically surged into Yang Kaishan's body, activating his ability—Five Elements Guardian!

Yang Kaishan's Five Elements Guardian had entered the second awakening stage, but it had been interrupted by Blood Skyhawk earlier and remained incomplete.

This time, not only did it resume the interrupted process, but it also directly bypassed to the third awakening.

However, due to the excessive number of awakenings, Yang Kaishan needed to choose a specific direction for guidance.

At this moment, Yang Kaishan's consciousness suddenly cleared somewhat, realizing that his ability was awakening, and he had to make a choice.

But at this moment, Yang Kaishan was lost in confusion.

If his direction had been guardianship from the beginning, what about now?

After everything he had experienced today, he began to doubt: What exactly was his guardianship?

Was it truly just repeating past failures?

Repeating the kind of past where he could only watch helplessly as his teammates fell, powerless to do anything.

At this moment, Yang Kaishan suddenly had a realization—the key to the problem was power.

He understood that the reason he couldn't protect his teammates was because he was too weak.

What was the meaning of guardianship? If the enemy was completely eliminated, wasn't that also a form of guardianship?

After thinking it through, Yang Kaishan made a decision.

His ability also changed accordingly: the original Five Elements Guardian evolved into the current Five Elements Slaughter.

The previous Five Elements Guardian formed a protective barrier by absorbing the surrounding Five Elements energy.

The current Five Elements Slaughter, however, forcibly plunders the surrounding Five Elements energy, directly mobilizing it to launch fatal attacks on enemies.

Just as Yang Kaishan's ability changed, a black energy beside the golden pool water also sensed the movement.

As an enemy, this black energy naturally refused to be outdone and attempted to intrude into the golden pool water.

However, as soon as it approached, it was detected by the golden pool water and slapped away.

The black energy was not resigned and repeatedly tried to rush in, but each time it was slapped back.

Ultimately, it abandoned the idea of a direct assault.

Subsequently, this black energy circled Yang Kaishan once, finding that although he was weak, he was better than having no target at all.

Thus, a surge of dark energy directly drilled into Yang Kaishan's body.

With the entry of the dark energy, the “Star Mark” within Yang Kaishan's body quietly changed, transforming into a strange, dark-tinged blood pattern.

...

At the same time.

In the sky, a black figure emerged.

That was the clone Su Yi had left here earlier, who was now the Lord of the Underworld.

Behind the Lord of the Underworld, the Netherworld Codex flipped its pages without any wind.

With each page turned, some brownish-green spots appeared on the book; these were the souls of this city.

However, at this moment, a slightly larger brownish-green spot appeared on the Netherworld Codex—that was Huang Yu's soul.

This spot only flashed for an instant before the page was turned.

After a long time.

The Lord of the Underworld finally collected all the souls of this city into the Netherworld Codex.

He looked at the now thick codex and couldn't help but sigh.

“Keeping these souls stored like this, neither letting my pets absorb them nor wasting space, is truly inefficient.”

He thought to himself.

However, this was a decision made by the main body after learning that the deceased could not directly generate prestige.

After all, to gain prestige, major events had to be created, and major events often accompanied death.

But once someone died, prestige would decrease.

Hence, this arrangement was made—he was responsible for collecting the souls of the deceased.

He wanted to see if he could eventually create a place like the Underworld, allowing those who died to continue providing prestige to the main body in their soul form.