In the dim void, the giant white fissure filled with blood-light, akin to an eye, slowly opened wide.
Suddenly, a hand with three red lines on its back, its skin pale as a corpse, burst forth from the fissure's blood-light.
It resembled the hand of a Buddha, and in an instant, it was bearing down on Xia Feng.
Xia Feng's expression shifted slightly as he retreated into the Holy Knight Space, but the space shattered like a broken mirror with a ripping sound.
In just a moment, it was as if the Death God had descended; his nerves were taut, knowing he had no power to fight back. Yet his thoughts still raced, weighing whether to return directly to the Evil Dragon Space.
In the end, he decided to take a risk, not choosing to use any other methods. Like a little chick, he was snatched up by the Buddha-like hand, and began to ascend.
As the great hand withdrew back through the space fissure.
Standing by, He Jianzhu looked up at this scene, her beautiful eyes slightly narrowed, but with no sign of panic. With an indifferent expression, she stepped forward and leaped into the space fissure.
At the same time, the faceless ones on the battlefield were sucked into a white vortex that appeared behind them.
Bai Nuo, though puzzled, also took the Bone Snake man and the Spider man, and jumped into the vortex, vanishing from sight.
This piece of the void immediately returned to darkness and silence, with only a few scattered rocks floating quietly.
Xia Feng's vision darkened, and after a while, it gradually cleared to reveal a hellish vision of dead spirits struggling and wailing in an endless Magma Sea.
Xia Feng looked down around him, only to realize that he was standing on a cliff.
However, that was not the point. The point was that the beat of his heart suddenly quickened without warning, with a thumping that left his ears ringing and his spirit in a daze.
He turned his head with a sense of foreboding and saw a towering giant tower in the void, so high that it seemed to have no end. The tower, majestic and thousands of meters tall, with walls dark as ink, had strange and mysterious symbols and patterns carved into it, exuding a mysterious authority.
Moreover, countless bronze-like chains ran vertically along the tower's body, winding upwards in loops, forming a cage that reached into the heavens.
"Boom, boom, boom—" Xia Feng's heart tightened, his breathing quickened, and he felt a strong connection between the tower in front of him, the Refining God Tower, and the Evil Demon Heart.
Although he wanted to enter the tower immediately to explore, Xia Feng suppressed the excitement in his heart and looked down, his gaze lowering slightly.
In front of the base of the tower, there was an imposing throne constructed of fresh blood. A mysterious being was leaning casually on it, draped in a black long coat, with messy pale hair falling over their back. They slowly lifted their sinister Nuom mask.
Xia Feng distinctly felt a creepy gaze sweep over his entire body. His ears seemed to echo with countless tiny whispers, intermingled with numerous chilling, sharp cackles.
"Ri Nuo, have you stooped to bullying a junior now to demonstrate your power?" The woman's soft voice rose, and Xia Feng felt a hand lightly pat his right shoulder from behind, banishing the eerie voices and terrifying pressure in an instant.
He looked back and saw He Jianzhu, who had followed him at some point; her gaze was gentle.
"Oh?" The sinister Nuom mask concealed the man's expression, but his tone was amused, "Moon Princess, you've been fleeing through the Evil Demon Sea for so many years, and now you've walked into the trap because of a human? What, is this ant your son?"
He Jianzhu smiled and tenderly ruffled Xia Feng's hair, her gaze affectionate, "He is indeed my son."
"?" Xia Feng raised an eyebrow sharply, swatting her hand away.
"Fine, since he is your son, that's easy to deal with."
Ri Nuo spoke indifferently, "If you're unwilling to unseal me, then let your son do it for you. It's not an issue."
Unable to bear this form of address, Xia Feng wrapped his arm around He Jianzhu's waist: "Correction, I am her husband!"
"Both son and husband?" The man's Nuom face twisted, "Moon Princess, it's been many years since we last saw each other, and you've been quite the player."
He Jianzhu: ".....?!"
Moon Princess? Xia Feng pondered in his heart—the woman just said that Ri Nuo was sealed here by Moon Princess, didn't she?
So, Moon Princess is herself??
According to official disclosures, both Ri Nuo and Moon Princess were disciples of the Second Gate Pillar and existed nearly at the level of Sages.
Yet, Xia Feng always felt that He Jianzhu's identity was more than it seemed.
After all, He Jianzhu possessed the bizarre ability of a Diversion Body; it wouldn't be surprising if "Moon Princess" was also one of her diversion bodies.
A Sage-level diversion body, if true, would mean He Jianzhu's origins were quite terrifying.
The continuous sound of water drew Xia Feng's attention, and he turned to look.
At the base of the tower, nine chains were arranged into a high bridge in a ring, extending outwards.
Below the bridge, a constantly churning blood-red magma boiled; atop were the members of the Evil Clan, sporadically captured by the faceless. Find the newest release on novel[f]ire.net
These beings possessed the Evil Heart Demon Blood; although its regenerative effects weren't as potent as the Evil Heart Demon's blood, the result was the same if the quantity was sufficient.
Based on Xia Feng's observations, the physical bodies of those pushed into the magma were melted, but their souls did not disintegrate.
The souls wailed and struggled for a moment before, under the protection of the Evil Blood Mist, they floated toward the base of the central tower and gathered together.
The base of the tower was now crowded with a dense mass of translucent Spiritual Bodies whose fierce faces intertwined, presenting a somewhat terrifying sight,
which made Xia Feng slightly claustrophobic.
Also, Xia Feng keenly noticed among them a few familiar faces, probably members of the Evil Clan he had encountered on his way to the Refining God Tower.
No wonder he hadn't come across many living creatures after entering the Evil Demon Sea—all had been captured here.
"Ant, do you know what those beings are used for?" Ri Nuo's indifferent voice arose.
Xia Feng looked up at the man on the throne, "You went through great lengths to capture me; you must have an agenda. Speak plainly, what do you want to do?"
"Good, you are much more aware of the situation than that diversion body," the Nuom-faced man said, leaning back on the throne, tapping his fingers on the armrest before gesturing to Bai Nuo beside him.
Bai Nuo's spiral eyes narrowed slightly, rotating clockwise as he spoke,
"Over a thousand years ago, Father was trapped here by a Divine Power Seal set up by Moon Princess. Hmph~ She thought Father would never rise again, but little did she know Father had acquired one of the Divine Relics in his early years—the Refining God Tower."
"Although the tower is damaged, it still has an extraordinary effect on Divine Power, even Original Divine Power, and can easily break the Divine Power Seal set by Moon Princess—"
"Thump, thump—" Ri Nuo tapped on the armrest and looked up, "Bai Nuo."
Bai Nuo knew Father disliked his needless chatter and had no choice but to get to the point.
"But, to activate or even use the Refining God Tower is not an easy feat! It requires not only a large amount of Evil Heart Demon Blood but also a substantial number of high-quality Living Spirit Spirit Bodies. To meet these conditions, the difficulty is comparable to....."
"..." Xia Feng listened silently to the rambling and realized, after all this time, this creature still hadn't explained why he was captured and what exactly they planned to do.