Myriad Realms Gatekeeper

A flash of inspiration suddenly crossed Shen Ye's mind.

That voice—

It had told him from the beginning that he had gained some kind of power.

That voice had also provided the Dusk Shortsword.

—The Dusk Shortsword had evolved into the Broad Cold Holy Relic.

This is a Sect weapon!

So, from the beginning, that voice had some sort of connection with the Chaotic Heaven Gate!

"Explore the secrets of this world—your friends will help you, but you have to help them first."

That was the last thing it said.

"This world" refers to the Nightmare World.

Helping his friends was helping himself—

Because both worlds were under attack from the enemy!

He finally understood the meaning of that sentence!

However, more questions surfaced in Shen Ye's mind.

"Unseal the fate... And then what? What exactly are you planning to do?"

Shen Ye asked.

"The lord once said that we should seek a being deep in the Great Tomb, one that knows the truth and secrets of the universe."

"One last question, who is your master?"

"It's—"

There was a "crackle" noise, and the skeleton's entire body completely exploded, turning into small pieces of bone fragments.

A fire appeared on the bone fragments, burning them to ashes.

"Such a powerful curse..." the large skeleton muttered.

"So much precaution? Afraid of us finding out who it is? Or is it for some other reason?" Shen Ye asked.

"I have absolutely no idea," the large skeleton sighed.

Shen Ye also sighed.

"Can't be helped, let's head back to the Great Tomb for now; it still has a few underlings," the large skeleton suggested.

"No way! I refuse to give up!" Shen Ye stared at the ashes.

The large skeleton looked at him, then at the pile of ash on the ground, and hesitantly said:

"What else do you want to try?"

Shen Ye stepped forward and collected all the bone ashes around him, piling them together.

"Alright, let's continue asking—who is your master?"

Whispers of the Dark continued to activate!

The ashes moved about, slithering across the ground, and formed a line of characters:

"My master is: Tai Yan."

Shen Ye wanted to ask more, when suddenly a gust of wind blew, scattering all the ashes, leaving no trace.

"That's it for the fun—well, let's head back," Shen Ye sighed.

Tai Yan.

Nine Aspects.

"Who are the other powerhouses in the 'Five Desires' world?"

He summoned the gate, stepped through, and arrived back at the underground plaza from before.

Elsewhere.

In the Main World.

Over the ocean.

A giant, endlessly rotating cube hovered in midair.

Each face of the cube had nine squares, and every time the squares aligned with each other, a Technique would emerge, bombarding an island.

However, there seemed to be a defense barrier over the island.

The continual barrage of Technique hit nothing but thin air and did not reach the house on the island.

Suddenly,

The cube stopped rotating.

The white-robed man hovering above the cube turned his head and squinted toward the edge of the sea.

"Dead..."

"Who killed my servant?"

"Hmph, to trigger the Cursed Oath of Venom upon dying—if it weren't for the issues here, I'd actually go have a look."

He shook his head and redirected his gaze back to the island.

On the island.

The door opened.

A tall woman wearing slippers and pajamas, toothbrush in hand, stepped out to take a look, then turned around and went back to her room, slamming the door shut with a "bang."

"Are all the powerhouses in this world nuts? I've been bombarding it for half a day, and she just noticed?"

The white-robed man smiled wryly and placed his hand on the cube.

"So, starting now, I'm done probing—"

"Full power attack!"

A strong fluctuation suddenly rose from the cube.

A Technique of a completely different level than before was about to form.

In that instant.

The white-robed man was about to release the Technique when he suddenly looked up at the sky.

All he saw was the sky disappearing.

A massive sword obscured the sun and emitted millions of sharp Sword Qi, manifesting as myriad layers of sword light in the void.

All the sword lights howled as they struck towards him.

"Good, finally something interesting."

The white-robed man excitedly raised his hand.

Dong!

A faint sound rang out.

The vast expanse of the sword illusion was suddenly frozen in place.

There was an afterimage holding two swords, slashing down from behind, blocked by the black cube-transformed Shield.

Although blocked, the white-robed man still sported several deep wounds.

"Sneaky!"

The white-robed man's face changed as numerous stars emerged behind him, forming a grand and immeasurable Stellar Nebula Chart.

—Dharma Aspect!

Angered, he was going to fight with full force!

...

Shen Ye passed through the gate and returned to the Main World.

This place was still the underground plaza.

Five classmates formed a defensive Array, staring fixedly at Shen Ye.

"Why so tense, we're all classmates, can't you relax a little?"

Shen Ye shrugged.

"You just killed our leader," one classmate said in a low voice.

"Why are you helping the aliens, do they pay you a salary?" Shen Ye asked curiously.

"We are life forms from that planet," another classmate said.

Shen Ye looked at them, and saw that they were covered in scales, different from before.

Three people raised their hands to form spell seals, ready to attack.

One person retreated.

Another hesitated.

—Facing five alone was not easy.

"Considering we're classmates,"

Shen Ye sighed and waved his hand, throwing something.

The leading male classmate caught it and looked.

"A cellphone?"

He didn't understand what Shen Ye meant.

"Turn it on and take a look, it's got something you need," Shen Ye said with his arms crossed, looking utterly bored.

The few of them looked at the cellphone screen.

It showed that all the other apps had been deleted.

There was just one video playback app. Read exclusive adventures at empire

He tapped to open it.

A video immediately appeared before their eyes.

The monster covered in skull heads—

The Nine Aspects!

It suddenly shuddered, releasing all the skull heads to gnaw on the familiar corpse.

The Nine Aspects burst into a neurotic laughter, shouting:

"What a delicacy... Is this your strength?"

"Hehe, after eating your underlings, I'd like to see you act so arrogantly!"

"Damn guy, always acting so high and mighty."

"I'll kill you sooner or later!"

The video ended quickly.

"Why are you giving this to us?" the lead classmate asked.

"The mission failure isn't your fault—with this video, you can explain yourselves when you go back, can't you?" Shen Ye said with a smile.

The group exchanged glances, nodding silently to themselves.

To be honest.

Failing on their first mission would undoubtedly result in harsh punishment.

But if the mission failed due to the meddling from above—

No one would have anything to say.

Submitting the video could save their lives!

"What do you want in return from us?"

The lead boy asked.

Seizing the moment as the atmosphere relaxed, Shen Ye smiled and said:

"I just have a few little questions—"

"Fellow students, although you have human flesh and blood, is your heart that of an alien?"

After contemplating, the lead boy replied:

"Shen Ye,"

"Actually, my family has been living in this world for many years and has long assimilated into it. If we had a choice, no one would want to fight."

"Oh? So you're being forced?" Shen Ye was somewhat surprised.

"The world is already dead," the male student said, "extensive investigations all point to this conclusion."

——The Master of the Weeping Demon Prison had said something similar!

Shen Ye's heart tightened as he pressed for details:

"Please explain, I don't quite understand."

"In reality, the world itself is the truly powerful entity," the boy explained, "Seeing as you've provided this cellphone, I'll tell you a bit more—"

"If the world's will has already perished, then the mere creatures of the world are incapable of contending with other living worlds."

That was the end of the conversation.

The five human-looking aliens began to retreat.

They were getting ready to leave!

Shen Ye pointed upwards and asked:

"That beam that blasted through the campus, was that your doing too?"

The group remained silent.

It seems it was, otherwise, why hit so precisely, and target an area where students were gathered?

Shen Ye nodded thoughtfully.

He even folded his hands behind his back, his face wearing a congenial smile, and said:

"Well, we've said all we need to say. Until we meet again, please take care."

This demeanor slightly eased the aliens' anxieties.

They immediately activated their teleportation technique, ready to depart.

In an instant.

The surroundings suddenly became different.

It got dark.

——Indeed, this was no longer the tunnel.

Had they already successfully teleported?

The lead boy looked down and found himself standing on a vast plain made entirely of ice crystals.

In front of him was a colossal, boundless palace complex.

"Where is this place!"

He exclaimed.

However, his companions didn't answer.

"Hey—you—"

He turned around to look, only to see his companions, with lost expressions, flying one after another into the darkness, vanishing from sight.

He was left standing alone.

So...

Escape?

Or enter the palace to find out what's happening?

The boy was at a loss.

But the next moment.

The palace complex, the ice plain, the dark night sky—all vanished into thin air.

He realized he was still standing in the plaza deep in the Great Tomb, his hands forming a spell seal, about to activate a special teleportation array.

Nothing was different.

No.

His body ached.

It was a pain that drained all strength, and he could even feel his life force rapidly ebbing away.

During the time he had "left"...

The boy's eyes shifted slightly and he saw three corpses next to him.

His companions were also dead.

Only the single girl was still standing in her spot.

Shen Ye's voice came from afar:

"Sorry."

"Before fighting, my teacher generally makes the opponent think everything's settled."

"It's quite sneaky, but also very effective."

The boy looked towards Shen Ye.

Shen Ye was holding a longbow formed of frozen frost, as if he had just completed an attack.

"You killed us?" the boy asked with a trembling voice.

"Right, why should you be allowed to bomb Xi Rang High School without us retaliating?" Shen Ye asked incredulously.

The boy had no words to reply.

—His chest had been pierced; it was a miracle he had lasted this long.

Thud.

He fell, lifeless.

The only one alive was the girl.

"Sorry," Shen Ye said with a grin, "it looks like I'll have to trouble you with this matter."

He walked forward, picked up the cellphone from the boy's body, and tossed it to the girl.

The girl, shivering, caught it and activated the spell seal in her hand.

In a flash.

She disappeared with the cellphone.

Deep in the Great Tomb.

Within another tunnel.

A rushing group suddenly stopped.

"Trouble!"

"The team responsible for the other route has lost all contact!"

The leader pondered briefly and ordered:

"Stick to the plan, request reinforcements immediately!"

"Come, release all power, activate the summoning array, and when reinforcements arrive, kill all the enemies over there—"

"No matter who they are!"