“Grand Monarch Soul Capturer is Grand Monarch Nether Spirit from back in the day?!” Dylan exclaimed. “This is a significant discovery. I have to send word to the Doomed Star Sea immediately!”
“There’s no need,” Nie Tian said. “He already knows about it.”
“What?” Dylan asked, looking confused.
After a moment of hesitation, Nie Tian explained, “Your master already knows that the Grand Monarch Soul Capturer of today is the reincarnated Grand Monarch Nether Spirit. His soul awareness traveled all the way from the Doomed Star Sea, and entered my sea of awareness through my three fragmentary star marks, where he helped me thwart Grand Monarch Soul Capturer’s attempt to possess me.”
“Oh… that’s great,” Dylan said.
However, the rest of the crowd still hadn’t recovered from the astonishment this shocking news had put them in. “Grand Monarch Soul Capturer is in fact Grand Monarch Nether Spirit?!”
The Snow Devil, Grand Monarch Hell Demon, and the numerous powerful experts from the Doomed Star Sea, along with Chu Rui, Fan Tianze, and the others from the Mortal World all looked grave and worried.
“Grand Monarch Nether Spirit! He explored the Doomed Star Sea before he exploded and died in the Nether Realm in the Spirit World,” Grand Monarch Hell Demon said with a grim expression. “The situation was much more complicated in the Doomed Star Sea before our master came along. During that era, Grand Monarch Nether Spirit entered the Doomed Star Sea and took countless lives.”
Dylan nodded. “That’s right. There are many rumors about his atrocities in the Doomed Star Sea. I guess it’s safe to say that he was the most feared god-like existence in the Doomed Star Sea before our era. Who would have thought that he’s the Grand Monarch Soul Capturer of today!? No wonder the Netherspirits have shown a surprising familiarity with many areas of the Doomed Star Sea when fighting us there.”
Face grim, Grand Monarch Hell Demon said, “In his prime, Grand Monarch Nether Spirit gained the acknowledgment of the Ancientspirits, the Demons, the Fiends, and almost every race in the Spirit World. It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to call him the pride of the Spirit World. He knew the Spirit World, the Mortal World, and the Doomed Star Sea as well as the back of his hand.
“No wonder he could bewitch Luo Wanxiang and get the Demons, Phantasm, and Fiends of the Spirit World to reach a mutual understanding with the three races of the Void World so easily.”
As his train of thought came to this point, a violent shudder ran through him. “Perhaps it was his scheme to lure Grand Monarch Primal Demon, Grand Monarch Nether River, Grand Monarch Nether Channeler, Grand Monarch Crystal Bones, and the powerful grand monarchs of the Ancientspirits to cross the Doomed Star Sea and go explore the forbidden areas in the Void World.
“After all, none of them wanted to work with the Void World.
“If they still controlled the Spirit World, their collaboration with the Void World and joint invasion of the Mortal World wouldn’t have been possible.”
Dylan, the Snow Devil, and even Mo Heng were astonished after hearing these words.
“You may actually be right,” the Snow Devil said with a deep frown. “All of the late tenth grade grand monarchs of the Spirit World and the late God domain experts of the Mortal World had received cryptic messages saying that the secrets of the forbidden areas in the Void World were going to burst forth soon. As long as they were there, they would most likely be able to gain the fortune they needed to enter the next level in their cultivation or bloodline.
“The late tenth grade grand monarchs would be able to join the ranks of Grand Monarch Heavenly Spirit, the Bone Emperor, and the Dark King as paragons, while the late God domain experts would be able to rise to unprecedented new heights as well.
“There were many theories regarding the source of that piece of information, which spread like weeds among the peak experts of the Spirit World and the Mortal World.”
With a short pause, she continued, “Some suspected that it was us in the Doomed Star Sea who spread it. However, I did a thorough investigation among ourselves, and determined that the information didn’t come from the Doomed Star Sea.”
“That settles it then! It must have been Grand Monarch Soul Capturer’s doing!” Dylan exclaimed.
After hearing this, many of the experts present chimed in and shared their thoughts.
Nie Tian listened, and soon realized that the three kingpins from the Doomed Star Sea and human experts like Mo Heng, Fan Tianze, and Chu Rui had all harbored deep apprehensions about Grand Monarch Nether Spirit when he had been alive.
Now that they had determined that Grand Monarch Soul Capturer was Grand Monarch Nether Spirit, more matters from the past were dug out.
They reflected upon the major calamities and strange matters that had taken place in the three worlds over the years. After linking him to them, they found that it answered many questions and solved many mysteries.
Nie Tian also learned from these experts that as a transcendent existence in his era, Grand Monarch Nether Spirit had practically brought the entire Spirit World to heel and overshadowed the four great human sects single-handedly.
After the clamorous experts finally quieted down, Pei Yukong of the Voidspirits approached Nie Tian with his badly injured clan members, and said apologetically, “Nie Tian… I admit that I coveted your wondrous bloodline and did things that I shouldn’t have. I’m sorry.
“Now, I’m being punished for my mistake, and I don’t have much time left. This time, I’ve come to apologize to you in person.”
Standing next to him, Pei Qiqi looked pale as well. She seemed to want to say something, but gave up on second thought.
As soon as Pei Yukong made his apology, everyone stopped discussing, and started examining the Voidspirits with different looks on their faces.
Nie Tian also frowned and ran his gaze over the Voidspirits. After spending a few seconds examining Pei Yukong carefully, he discovered that his bloodline was wreathed in a death aura that couldn’t be neutralized.
That death aura was the same kind that had plagued the Rampage Behemoth’s bone.
He had failed to discover it during their first meeting because his cultivation base and bloodline grade had been lacking back then. But now, after a careful examination, he was able to see that countless sparkling gray strings were wrapped around Pei Yukong’s Bloodline Crystal Chains and gnawing away at his life force day and night.
That bone of the Rampage Behemoth had tried for who knew how many years to get rid of a similar death aura, and failed.
Eventually, it was with the help of the Ripper Behemoth’s power and his bloodline power that it had finally driven that death power out.
However, as for Pei Yukong…
Nie Tian pondered in silence for a long while before saying with a cold face, “To give face to Senior Martial Sister Pei, I’m going to give you another chance, but don’t blame me for my manners if something like this happens again.”
“I promise it won’t happen again,” Pei Yukong said.
“So Nie Tian, about his injuries?” Pei Qiqi asked, as if she were begging with her eyes.
Nie Tian shook his head slightly. “There’s nothing I can do.”
He didn’t know who had released those sparkling pale-gray strings that had infiltrated Pei Yukong’s bloodline, but he knew that since he wasn’t the Rampage Behemoth, there was no hope for him now that every single one of his Bloodline Crystal Chains had been wrapped around by that peculiar death power.
WHOOSH!
All of a sudden, a streak of starlight shot over from the distant sky.
It seemed to be heading towards somewhere else originally, but changed its direction and flew towards Nie Tian instead after being attracted by the Magnetic Star Crystal.
BOOM!
A crystal the size of a fist hit and attached itself to the Magnetic Star Crystal.
The starlight wreathing it vanished.
Then, more streaks of starlight shot over from the distant sky.
However, since they didn’t have star core fragments inside of them, they weren’t affected by the Magnetic Star Crystal.
Instead, they flew into the bottomless entrance to the Dark Abyss one after another.
Watching the streaks of starlight flying into the entrance to the Dark Abyss, the experts from the Ancient Fragmentary Star Palace sensed them with rapt attention. Soon, surprised looks appeared on their faces. “Hmm?!”
After observing for a while, Chu Rui was the first to say, “It appears that those streaks of starlight are being sucked into the entrance to the Dark Abyss. If that Magnetic Star Crystal has already flown out and become your possession, why are those streaks of starlight still being sucked into it?”
“Someone in there, someone very weak, seems to be channeling and gathering star power.” With these words, Nie Tian beckoned with his hand. Then, the All Manifestations Star Banner wrapped around the Magnetic Star Crystal and flew into his hand. “This star core fragment captured by the Magnetic Star Crystal should have flown down there as well.”
“Someone very weak?” Chu Rui took a moment to think before his expression suddenly flickered. “It’s the sectmaster!”
