The Black Phoenix grandmaster handed over its divine spirit origin energy and became Meng Lei’s mount in the end.
Yep, that’s right, a Chief God-class mount.
Meng Lei said dispassionately, “You can now tell me what that thing is, right?”
The Black Phoenix grandmaster looked absolutely miserable as it replied, “That Nidhogg guy teamed up with a few other Chief Gods to seal me back then, and I was brought here after that. Originally, Nidhogg could’ve killed me, but that thing saved me at the critical juncture.”
“Go on,” urged Meng Lei.
Its voice muffled, the Black Phoenix said, “Barring any unexpected events, a lucky fellow like Nidhogg would never be able to comprehend supreme laws of nature and ascend to become an intermediate Chief God even in his entire life. In other words, he had already reached the end of his cultivation journey.”
Meng Lei nodded lightly to that.
“But Nidhogg naturally wasn’t content to stay a lesser Chief God for life. Thus, when I told him about that thing, he easily took the bait.”
The Black Phoenix grandmaster said mockingly, “True enough, he didn’t kill me. Instead, he tried various ways and means to find out about that thing’s whereabouts from me.”
“What exactly is that thing?”
It had also piqued Meng Lei’s interest by now. For Nidhogg, a great Chief God, to actually put so much effort into it, what exactly could it be?
“A Void Beast young!”
The Black Phoenix grandmaster dropped a verbal bomb.
“A Void Beast young?”
A mild jolt went through Meng Lei.
“To be more specific, it’s a Flaming Star Beast’s young!”
The Black Phoenix grandmaster had also become rather excited. It said, “I bumped into that little fellow when I went to that place to collect objects of extreme cold before the previous war between gods and demons had broken out. It seemed like it had been sealed, but it’s also possible that it was trapped in that place. In any case, it couldn’t get out.”
“You didn’t capture it?”
Meng Lei was rather bewildered.
“I wanted to! I wanted very much to!”
The Black Phoenix grandmaster didn’t bother concealing its desire and greed. It said, “The Boundless King’s emergence had shown us gods and demons a whole new way of cultivation. It didn’t require Chief God divine cores or Chief Demon demonic cores, nor did it require one to comprehend supreme laws of nature. All you need is just a Void Beast young!
“But unfortunately, I entered the battlefield in a hurry after that, and that was the end of it.”
Its voice full of indignation and regret as the Black Phoenix grandmaster said, “If I had gotten my hands on that Flaming Star Beast young and taken over its body, perhaps I would also have achieved the same heights that the Boundless King had reached… Sigh! But it’s too late now!”
Meng Lei hurriedly asked, “Where has that Flaming Star Beast been sealed?”
“The Abyss of Darkness,” answered the Black Phoenix grandmaster.
“The Abyss of Darkness? What kind of place is that?”
Meng Lei was rather puzzled.
“(⊙o⊙)”
The Black Phoenix grandmaster looked utterly stupefied. It asked incredulously, “You don’t even know about the Abyss of Darkness?”
“Duh, would I need to ask you about it if I did?” replied Meng Lei with an eye-roll.
“Kid, aren’t you a little too ill-informed?”
Moro was rendered somewhat speechless, but nevertheless, he still explained, “The Abyss of Darkness is a terrifying space-time rift in the Void. Some say it’s a dimensional channel, while some say it was left behind during a battle among a few juggernaut-class experts… Opinions vary on the topic of what exactly it is.
“However, one thing’s for certain—magic elements, as well as basic laws of nature, do not exist in the Abyss of Darkness. Additionally, it’s also an extremely dangerous place. Even Chief God-class experts wouldn’t have any chance of survival if they were to enter its depths. There’s no way for them to escape at all.”
Moro let out an emotional sigh and said, “There’s a mysterious force inside the Abyss of Darkness that constantly destroys the laws of nature around it. This leads to the universe’s Power of Origin’s inability to repair the rift. As a result, it continues to exist to this day.”
“So that’s what the Abyss of Darkness is!”
Enlightened, Meng Lei then asked, “How do you find the Flaming Star Beast, Moro? How is it in comparison to the Boundless Great Beast? Can it grow to become a Supreme Juggernaut?”
“What, are you thinking of finding that Flaming Star Beast young?”
A mirthful Moro said, “Millions of years have passed since the war between the gods and demons. That Flaming Star Beast young has probably already fled a long time ago. Even if it hasn’t, it must be dead by now.
“However, the Flaming Star Beast is indeed very powerful. They are fearsome monsters that possess pinnacle-level Void Beast blood in them. They feed on the sun and are also creatures of extreme heat and Yang energy[1]. Thus, they are known by the name of Flaming Star Beasts. In terms of their bloodline, they are in no way inferior to the Boundless Great Beasts.”
“Is the Abyss of Darkness far from here?” asked Meng Lei.
“Not really.”
Moro said, “The Abyss of Darkness happens to be located right in the center of the universe, while high-end existential planes such as the Earth Divine Realm are in extremely close proximity to the center of the universe.”
“It’s great that it’s not far away!”
Meng Lei nodded slightly and said, “In that case, let’s head over to the Abyss of Darkness and take a look.”
“I reckon you’re going to return empty-handed this time, though!”
“We’ll just take it that we’re touring the Abyss of Darkness!”
After that, Meng Lei returned to the alternate dimension with the Black Phoenix grandmaster and continued to look through the boxes. The Abyss of Darkness was a trip he must make, but it would have to wait a little longer.
The fifth box was relatively bigger, measuring 10,000-feet-long but only 100-feet-wide. Long and thin, it looked exceptionally strange. Meng Lei opened the lid—a crimson-red pillar with several spiral patterns of fire circling around it engraved on its surface laid quietly in the middle of the box.
“What’s this?”
Meng Lei reached into the box and grabbed the crimson-red pillar. It felt incredibly heavy—it actually took extremely strenuous effort for him to hold it despite his lesser Chief God-level body.
“This is just a 10,000-feet-long, 100-feet-thick pillar, yet it’s so heavy?” Meng Lei was rather astonished. “What is this thing made out of?”
“Hehe! Didn’t you intend to head to the Abyss of Darkness to look for the Flaming Star Beast just now? If I’m not wrong, this thing right here is the Flaming Star Beast’s horn itself!” said Moro as he clicked his tongue in wonder.
“The Flaming Star Beast’s horn?”
A huge jolt went through Meng Lei.
“Nidhogg made efforts to collect things related to the Flaming Star Beast after he got to know about the Flaming Star Beast young from me back then. This horn is likely something that he had specially obtained,” said the Black Phoenix grandmaster in a muffled voice.
“No doubt about it, then!”
Moro nodded slightly and said, “Any normal person would end up displaying all sorts of obsessive behavior when they simply can’t get a treasure that they could have gotten. What a shame, though, that a horn is ultimately still just a horn. It can’t compare to a living, breathing Flaming Star Beast at all.”
Moro shook his head before he floated over to the sixth box and waited for Meng Lei to open it. What puzzled him, however, was that Meng Lei didn’t move at all. Instead, he continued to stare hard at the Flaming Star Beast horn.
“Don’t bother looking at it anymore. It’s just a broken horn.” Moro urged, “Hurry and open this box instead!”
“Just… A horn?”
Meng Lei’s lips curled up into a mysterious smile. A bunch of blazing hot tricolored flames suddenly burst forth from him. Then, more and more flames started to gather, instantly turning Meng Lei into a man on fire.
“(?◇?)?”
“(⊙o⊙)”
“What’s going on?”
“What’s the matter with you, kid?”
Looks of stupefaction came over both Moro and the Black Phoenix grandmaster’s faces.
He was fine and dandy one moment, and then he had burst into flames the next?
Crackle, crackle!
Just as the two of them were utterly baffled, tricolored scales suddenly started to form one by one on Meng Lei’s skin, and three horns emerged from his head. The one in the middle was straight and sharp, while the other two at the sides curved outward slightly. Tricolored fire spiral patterns covered their surfaces.
Splurt!
Right on the heels of it, Meng Lei’s clothes suddenly split open at the back. A pair of wings covered in hard, tough, scaly armor emerged from within, and they turned into gigantic wings that blotted out the sky in the blink of an eye.
His body hunched over slightly, his hands turned into sharp claws, his feet turned into clawed hooves, his neck lengthened, and a long tail grew from his bottom. His body shape was well-proportioned, and his muscles clearly defined…
“This, this…”
Flabbergasted, both Moro’s and the Black Phoenix grandmaster’s eyes almost fell out of their sockets.
[1] [Annotation text missing]
