Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

In the battle, this was a good perk!

I love Swindler's Leap!

Come on, let's see who will fall for it!

Shen Ye rubbed his hands together, took a deep breath, and shouted loudly:

"You guys from before, wait for me!"

His physique flashed, and he ran towards the deeper part of the corridor.

Not long after.

The area ahead suddenly brightened.

It was a square.

Torches burned all around the square.

The man in the gray Battle Armor, along with five classmates, stood on the square, facing a three-meter-tall monstrous corpse and performing a bowing ceremony.

What the hell are these guys up to?

No.

No matter what they're up to, I have to disrupt it!

Shen Ye strode forward, bellowing:

"Why do you all worship below?"

Whispers of the Dark was immediately activated!

The three-meter-tall monstrous corpse slowly turned its head to look at Shen Ye and said:

"They are summoning me, to bestow upon them the key to that door."

"What door? What key?" Shen Ye asked again.

"The Blood Sacrifice Gate," the corpse replied.

Before Shen Ye could ask further, the guy in the gray Armor charged at him, swinging his fist and roaring:

"Scram! This is not for you to pry into!"

Shen Ye's heart chilled.

At that moment.

He clearly felt the overwhelming murderous intent emanating from the other.

The perk worked, right? So—

In the future, will I face even more "bullying"?

—Not only was the opponent stronger than himself, but he also had five subordinates.

In an instant.

The opponent's fist had already arrived.

Shen Ye unfolded his Dharma Aspect and created Thunder Light with one hand, trying to block the other, while his other hand rested behind him—

The gate.

"Die!"

The opponent's furious roar suddenly rang out, his fist shattering Shen Ye's hand and striking hard against his chest.

Crash—

In the sound of breaking stone, Shen Ye shattered the stone gate behind him and fell into Hell.

He spat out a mouthful of blood but grabbed hold of the opponent's fist, preventing him from getting free.

In the blink of an eye.

A faint light quickly emerged, converging into words:

"You have activated the gate power: Temporal Fluid."

"Description: When you cross the gate, you can make time on one side of the door freeze at the moment you leave it, while on the other side, time for all things proceeds normally."

"This ability can last for 3 seconds."

On either side of the gate.

The left was the mortal world; the right was Hell.

Taking advantage of the opponent's frozen state, Shen Ye stepped forward and unleashed all his might in his attack moves—

North-Eastern Fist,

Taibai Swordsmanship,

Frost Bite,

Thunder Shock Palm,

Sudden Rain,

The three seconds had passed!

In the last moment.

The opponent's figure trembled slightly.

—Not a single injury was apparent!

Shen Ye didn't care the slightest, as a faint frosty light radiated from his body.

Moonlight Divine Illumination!

All Lunar Series Skill power increased threefold!

Plus the 115% from "Swindler's Leap"—

"A grand death feast."

Shen Ye whispered.

"Night Banquet Frolic" erupted!

All previous attacks had their power accumulated and in this moment, it was doubled and released as—

Thunder Shock Palm!

Shen Ye's hands surged with two round masses of Thunder Light, huge as millstones, with layers of blue and white Thunder Light exploding out, emitting an aura of total annihilation.

He stepped forward, pressing both hands against the opponent.

Boom!!!

The enemy's body couldn't withstand such a hit, the chest Armor completely destroyed, chest cavity pierced through, creating a large hole as blood and bone splashed backward.

Shen Ye grabbed him into Hell, pinned him to the ground, then reached out into the void.

A clump of frosty aura condensed out of thin air into a sword.

—The Huntian Sacred Artifact, the Broad Cold Sword!

The sword was raised high.

It came down.

A head was severed from the body.

But the Broad Cold Sword flickered with frost.

Almost simultaneously, the corpse also burst forth with a fierce and powerful light.

The sword instantly released countless mists of ice, enveloping the light.

The light was resistant—

But how could it resist the power of a Huntian Sacred Artifact?

The light was swiftly absorbed by the sword and then entered Shen Ye's body.

Faint light converged into small letters:

""The 'Primordial Extraction' on the Broad Cold Holy Relic has been activated!"

"Description: Slaying an enemy allows you to extract the Dharma Aspect from them, turning it into Origin of the Dharma Realm, replenishing yourself."

"—Hundred Rivers Converging to the Source, Thousand Mountains Becoming Peaks, All Laws Return to the Sect."

"The current extraction target is powerful, accumulating three-tenths of the Star Origin Force for you."

"You still need to collect the remaining seven-tenths."

"Keep going, the dawn of a Mythical Level perk is just in sight!"

All the small characters coalesced.

It seemed slow when spoken, but from the perspective of the Main World—

The moment the opponent's fist landed on Shen Ye, they themselves ended up with a gaping hole in their chest and were dragged through the gate.

Then their origin was sucked away.

All of this happened in just one second!

One second.

The battle was over.

Shen Ye, panting heavily, sheathed the Broad Cold Sword, took out a tooth from Lord Nine Phases, smeared it with blood, and shouted:

"Lord Nine Phases, it's time to eat."

He waited a few breaths.

A figure descended from the sky with a "thud," landing in front of Shen Ye.

It was none other than Lord Nine Phases.

"Wahahaahaha!"

Rubbing his hands together, he walked over excitedly, eyeing the corpse on the ground.

"That scent is unmistakable; it belongs to that guy's subordinate—what a bastard, to think even his lackeys dare to underestimate me."

Lord Nine Phases suddenly quieted down and turned serious as he looked at Shen Ye, saying:

"How should I reward you?"

"Your hearty meal is the best reward for me," Shen Ye replied sincerely.

Lord Nine Phases stared at him and then burst into laughter again:

"Well said! As a reward, I'll spare you—I was supposed to consume you too, to prevent this from being exposed."

"I will find more delicious things for you, my lord," Shen Ye said.

"Not bad at all, you have a fine quality in you called sensibility!" laughed Lord Nine Phases.

Suddenly, his body shuddered.

Dozens of skull heads flew up from his back, landing in front of the corpse, and began to greedily devour it.

"Ah, what a feast... Is this your power?"

"Hehe, after eating your underling, let's see if you can remain so arrogant?"

"You pretentious fool, always so high and mighty."

"Those treasures from Hell must have been stolen by your men, you deserve to die!"

"I'll finish you off sooner or later!"

Lord Nine Phases talked on and on, one moment overflowing with joy, the next filled with rage.

He indeed seemed a bit neurotic.

Shen Ye stood to one side, maintaining his silence.

—Things were aligning with his predictions.

It appeared that even these bigshots did not trust each other completely.

A while passed.

Having finished his meal, Lord Nine Phases paid no heed to Shen Ye, shook his physique, flew high into the sky, and disappeared from sight.

Only then—

Shen Ye stepped forward, extended his hand, activated the ring on it, and collected the remaining skeletons.

He stepped through the gate that had just appeared, heading straight for the Nightmare World.

Within the hidden passages of the Nightmare World's base,

Shen Ye swiped his ring, releasing all the skeletons he had brought.

"Alright, time to work,"

he said.

The Great Skeleton appeared immediately, crouching down, piecing together the bones one by one, and with a pat of its hands, said contentedly:

"Not bad... The skull and throat bone are intact, otherwise you'd only be able to communicate with it through sign language."

Shen Ye stepped forward to inspect.

This set of bones didn't belong to a human at all, but instead bore a resemblance to a lizard.

"What is your mission?"

Shen Ye asked.

Whispers of the Dark activated!

The skeleton suddenly moved and emitted a low voice:

"You killed me, and you still expect me to answer your questions?"

"Don't be so heartless, actually you were the one who wanted me dead the moment you attacked, I was merely defending myself," Shen Ye said with a smile.

"I won't tell you anything," the skeleton said coldly.

Shen Ye sighed, waved his hand, and said:

"First, we teach you manners."

In a flash,

it felt like eons had passed, yet for Shen Ye, the second hand had ticked only once.

Shen Ye squatted by the skeleton, and casually asked:

"Brother, why were five human students following you?"

"Because their ancestors have been our servants for thousands of years. We planted these agents long ago, and only now have we activated them," explained the skeleton.

"Apart from them, are there others who have joined you?"

"Most of the Azure Academy—those who didn't join have already been killed. Of course, there are also some scattered professionals outside the Three Great High Schools."

"Damn it!" Shen Ye cursed, "What exactly do you plan to do?"

"To break the Seal of Fate of the Great Tomb," said the skeleton.

"Seal of Fate—" Shen Ye glanced at the Great Skeleton, which shook its head to indicate ignorance, so Shen Ye continued to ask:

"What is that?"

"I'm not entirely sure myself. I only heard the master mention it once, saying that only by breaking the Seal of Fate would the gates to the deeper layers of the tomb open," the skeleton explained.

"You want to enter that place?" Shen Ye asked further.

The skeleton elaborated:

"Within the Great Tomb, there are three entities who might know how to break the Seal of Fate, namely the Eternal Poisonous Corpse, the Wilderness High Priest, and the Nine Nether Drought Demon."

"We had just found a servant of the Eternal Poisonous Corpse and were about to satisfy it with a Blood Sacrifice to inquire about the whereabouts of its master when you arrived."

Shen Ye nodded slightly.

The Eternal Poisonous Corpse was what the insect referred to as the Eternal Poison Emperor earlier.

This was its tomb.

The effects of the "Poison Corrosion" technique were still enveloping him!

This creature was definitely not to be trifled with.

"Are there others who have penetrated deeper into the Great Tomb?" Shen Ye asked.

"Many hands have come down—we were arranged by our lord to seek out the Eternal Poisonous Corpse; as for the others, I do not know their mission," the skeleton said.

Shen Ye fell into thought.

It seemed like a good time to ask the question that had been looming in his mind.

He spoke with increased gravity, asking earnestly:

"Are you also trying to conquer another world?"

"That world is almost finished; we're just cleaning it up on the side," said the skeleton.

"That world... does it contain something called the Nightmare Crystal?"

"Yes," said the skeleton.