For a fleeting moment, the Butcher's dark golden eyes seemed to ignite with golden flames, burning away the darkness of the storm like the radiance of the sun, as if it were the junction of dusk and night.

A black Qilin's spectral form surged heavenward and roared in defiance!

Ancient, majestic syllables echoed like a thunderclap!

Silence was torn apart, as the divine wrath burned fiercely in the stormy night. A king-like furious roar engulfed everything like a domain, plunging the world into a trembling abyss of endless descent.

This was supreme divine power, the ultimate dominion of the Supreme, containing the creation and annihilation of universes. When that apocalyptic syllable was fully enunciated, it would herald the day of divine punishment.

The command issued by Him was death!

From this moment onward, the human world plummets into hell!

Boom!

The Nightmare Master's guttural syllable was abruptly cut off, swallowed by the resonance of silence.

The Ancient Divine Language he uttered to conjure his domain crumbled like a fortress of sand swept away by the wind, shattered into fragments!

Because what he faced was none other than the Ancient Divine Language.

And it was a higher-tier form of the Ancient Divine Language, the divine punishment of an Ancient Supreme!

When two forms of Ancient Divine Language clash, the stronger reigns supreme while the weaker is obliterated!

Amidst the cascading sound of shattering, the dragon horn atop the Nightmare Master's head fractured on cue, scales exploded one by one, his dragon tail burst into a mist of blood, and his body crumbled like a corpse weathered by millennia, decayed into ruin.

Finally, from those dragon-transformed slit pupils, thick, rancid blood began to flow.

"W-what is this power… This is the authority of the Supreme! This is… the Supreme's rage!"

The Nightmare Master frantically uttered a hysterical scream: "A miracle! A miracle indeed!"

From his blood-soaked slit pupils, an endless flood of blood-red color spread outward. At the heart of the darkness, a massive crimson one-legged dragon coiled and roared in infuriated chaos.

"Qilin!"

A giant sigh resonated amidst the storm.

The pitch-black Qilin's spectral form made no reply, merely gazing downward from its towering height. Its blazing golden slit pupils burned like twin suns in the storm, steeped in majesty and fury.

Even the Ancient God behind the Nightmare Master dared not meet the gaze of those majestic golden eyes brimming with anger!

Defeat!

Whether in strength, authority, or the essence of existence itself.

A complete and utter defeat!

The symphony of destruction reached its zenith, as the ancient, solemn murmurs disintegrated amidst the heavens and the earth!

That crimson dragon let out a skyward roar in the darkness, its blood-colored slit pupils spilling molten lava-like tears. Its feral aura was obliterated into emptiness, vanishing entirely.

The Nightmare Master's consciousness dwindled within his deteriorating body, extinguished.

The world fell into profound silence.

Yet, from the depths of an unknown darkness—deep and silent as a tomb—an anguished roar erupted.

The darkness quivered as though teetering on the edge of collapse.

"He still lives! He has awakened!"

Amid furious dragon roars, a vast and imposing voice emerged.

At this instant, the Nightmare Master lay naked amidst a tide of countless Gu Worms, vomiting a mouthful of blood as his pallid body took on a deathly gray pallor.

Even though the Ancient God managed to extract him from the battlefield in time.

The Supreme's law of death still extended over him.

The Nightmare Master unleashed a terrified scream, for he could distinctly feel his spirit disintegrating inch by inch, his spirituality dissipating to ash. His soul rank plummeted violently, leaving him in a state of extreme frailty.

Sixth Rank, Fifth Rank, Fourth Rank, Third Rank, Second Rank, First Order!

The blessings bestowed by the Ancient God Clan rapidly decayed and faded, ultimately vanishing entirely!

Eight years of effort, countless trials to climb ranks, all undone in one devastating fall!

This was the punishment delivered by a Supreme!

"No, no—"

In the silence, a wrenching, piercing wail resounded, saturated with unbearable agony.

The Nightmare Master's roaring cry was laced with despair.

This was a fate a thousandfold more torturous than mere death.

·

·

In the deepest tomb of the Qilin Immortal Palace, the golden flames within Gu Jianlin's eyes gradually subsided.

The majesty of divine wrath dissipated into nothingness, the king-like fury extinguished, and all returned to dead silence.

Finished!

"Thank you for teaching me how to use Divine Servants."

He murmured softly, "Otherwise, I really wouldn't have known how to utilize the Ancient Divine Language this way."

Only now did he understand the true significance of Divine Servants: they serve to unleash the true power of Ancient Gods who cannot exert their full strength within the mortal realm.

Divine Servants act as mediators for Ancient Gods to wield authority.

Although the power unleashed through a Divine Servant pales in comparison to the Ancient Gods themselves.

The advantage lies in not having to pay the price of violating worldly rules or suffer repercussions.

What was more surprising was the Butcher's remarkable talent.

This seemingly simple-minded brute, reckless to the core, managed to fully endure the baptism of Ancient God's Blood. Just a single drop was enough to accomplish true Divine Servant Transformation.

Moreover, it revealed a form resembling a Qilin.

In contrast, the Scholar's evolution appeared to be a failure, manifesting merely in the likeness of a snake.

The Nightmare Master also achieved Divine Servant Transformation.

But therein lay the problem.

Behind the Nightmare Master stood an Ancient God—that being Kui!

However, Kui wasn't a Supreme, but a lower-tier existence.

A Primordial Ancestor.

And there was no doubt that it was severely weakened.

Gu Jianlin reflected on the law of karmic cycles. His intervention during the blood sacrifice at the periphery of Qilin Immortal Palace brought about this victory!

In this battle, Gu Jianlin had won.

Or rather, the Qilin Venerable had triumphed.

You are weakened, so am I.

You transformed into a Divine Servant, as did I.

Your Divine Servant may be of a higher rank, but it doesn't matter.

As long as my authority rank surpasses yours, I will prevail!

According to Ether Association's official records, the gap between Supremes and other Ancient Gods was like an unbridgeable chasm—not something the difference between Fourth and Fifth Ranks could ever hope to surmount.

"That was clearly an incarnation of the Candle Dragon Clan's heritage. If my guess is correct, what Mr. Liu and the others referred to as the Candle Dragon's legacy must be guarded by Kui. What exactly is it?"

Gu Jianlin narrowed his eyes, murmuring as he contemplated.

If trapped, and knowing that another Ancient God lurked within the Immortal Palace, he would be deeply fearful.

But now, with the ability to leave at any time, it was a different story.

Conversely, he even began coveting that Ancient God's possessions.

Who knows what treasures the Candle Dragon Venerable might have left behind?

Surely, it must be something extraordinary!

Suddenly, the pitch-black chains binding him quivered violently, resembling countless black dragons coiled around him. Thunderous dragon roars echoed through the silence, as the world seemed to plunge into the Netherworld!

Boom!

The darkness seemed to boil; heaven and earth began to collapse.

A splitting headache, soul trembling.

Amid the sensation of a soul being torn apart, a dim light ignited within the shadows.

Gu Jianlin felt as if he had fallen into a bottomless abyss, witnessing a towering black stone pillar leaning and breaking amidst the flashes of lightning and thunder. The firmament shattered, pouring molten lava down in torrents.

The earth was engulfed by endless black rivers filled with skeletons and corpses, swallowing the entire world.

Blood rained from the fractured heavens, while two terrifying rifts burning with endless spectral light glared down upon the earth.

No.

Those weren't rifts.

They were eyes!

Eyes infused with thunder and lightning, divine slit pupils!

Boom!

The sound of annihilation.

The sky wasn't merely the heavens—it was a colossal black dragon shrouding the firmament.

Its eyes flashed with electric light, its breath emitted thunder, and its body coiled amidst storm clouds.

"Qilin, after two millennia, you still live."

Ancient whispers echoed through the Netherworld.

Yet, it was unmistakably a woman's voice, drifting across the firmament like the wind, mingling with the roar of ravaging tides and the wrathful thunder, boundlessly majestic.

A figure in red stood atop the towering stone pillar amidst the crimson rain, her silhouette graceful and ethereal. She resembled a scarlet flower blossoming from the Nine Netherworld, gazing down upon the earth with unrivaled beauty, radiating a seductive bloom.

She stood between heaven and earth, as though observing the raging Nether River.

The inky black dragon coiled beside her, roaring skyward.

"The Vermilion Bird has returned, Bai Ze is waking—surely, you won't be absent either."

Her voice rang like wind chimes, resonating across the cosmos: "I've taken the step forward. What about you?"

A searing bolt of lightning flashed past, illuminating the black dragon horn atop her head, her snow-white flawless profile, her long jet-black hair flowing in the wind, and her blood-crimson gown.

The air was filled with dragon roars.

Gu Jianlin's heart pounded fiercely, as if countless souls screamed within his being.

An overwhelming terror detonated deep within his heart.

A terror that shattered his spirit!

In the Northwest Heaven lies the Netherworld Country, lit by the Candle-Bearer Dragon's light!

Gu Jianlin saw the Netherworld—a vision identical to the one portrayed in the painting he had previously encountered!

Jiuyin!

Candle Dragon!

The woman before him was none other than… the Candle Dragon Venerable!

This was a power beyond compare, the true strength of an Ancient Supreme, capable of transcending time and forcing her will upon his space. Even the Qilin Immortal Palace itself was being assimilated!

The wind howled.

Blood rain swirled across the skies.

That stunning figure in scarlet appeared to turn around, lightning intertwined and thunder rumbled.

Fog-like Candle Breath enveloped the area.

Her crimson gown seemed to transcend time itself, drifting closer.

Gu Jianlin felt as though an entirely new world was about to descend!

From the darkness, a pair of enchanting blood-colored slit pupils ignited, like the twilight cloaking the heavens.

The mere glance of those slit pupils was breathtaking.

With the space fracturing around him, she drew nearer!

A misty haze birthed a pair of ice-like, snow-white hands whose nails gleamed blood-red.

From the shadows sprouted clusters of blood-red flowers, resembling an ocean of coagulated blood.

Seductive, dangerous.

Gulp.

Gu Jianlin swallowed hard. Even he, with his insane disposition, felt no desire to fight.

Not to mention that even the genuine Qilin Venerable would tread cautiously here.

Let alone Gu Jianlin, the Second Generation Qilin Venerable!

Yet, under the immense pressure of his crumbling will, he suddenly chuckled softly.

"Candle Dragon, long time no see."

Feigning nonchalance, he greeted, while his mind envisioned the great Qilin Island hovering above the skies, which suddenly vanished into thin air.

Silence engulfed the darkness.

Ultimately, those ethereal, haunting hands grasped at nothing.

"Hmm?"

A pair of mesmerizingly demonic blood-red slit pupils lit up within the void, revealing a hint of astonishment.

[PS: First release on the Qidian app; next chapter tomorrow at 8:30 PM.]