Chapter 666: The Third Generation of the World, Blood Sun King

"..."

When Yan Jing suddenly grabbed the hand, it seemed at a loss for a moment.

It trembled, fingers wriggling as it groped for the edge of the nearby fissure.

Perhaps out of nervousness, its first attempt grabbed nothing but air.

Yan Jing smiled. Out of the goodness of his heart, he gripped its wrist and gently rested the hand against the edge of the fissure.

The hand gripped the edge, as if stunned.

Then, as if convinced of his goodwill, another hand—this one covered entirely in fingers—reached out from the crack and grasped Yan Jing's extended palm.

"Lend a hand, brother—"

A muffled voice echoed from within the fissure.

Yan Jing smiled. "No problem."

He lightly raised his palm. The next second, a massive figure flew out of the crack like a dragon bursting from the sea, tracing a graceful arc in the air before landing heavily on the ground.

"Ouch—"

The man cried out, then scrambled to his feet.

He looked up at Yan Jing, and to his surprise, a look of delight washed over the man's face.

"Yan..."

"Advisor Yan!"

Yan Jing looked at the man across from him and blinked.

The newcomer was a burly, rugged man with a black beard and gaunt skin. Most peculiar were his hands: several extra fingers constantly writhed in his palms, a sight that made the skin crawl.

Yan Jing did a quick mental search but couldn't recall ever crossing paths with him.

He might remember if he combed through his photographic memory.

But that didn't seem necessary right now.

The man was already introducing himself.

"It's normal that you don't know me, Advisor Yan. I catch Hand Fish. I'm a retriever."

A flash of realization crossed Yan Jing's eyes.

The man certainly fit the image of a retriever from Bianliu County.

However, he couldn't remember Bianliu County having a retriever like him.

At a glance, the man's Tier was already at the Seventh Rank.

While he was no different from an ant compared to the heavenly prodigies in this generation, in Bianliu County, he would have been an absolutely invincible existence.

Yan Jing blinked again. The man seemed to understand, scratching his head with a goofy smile.

"You definitely wouldn't recognize me. I only advanced in tier after absorbing a strand of dragon aura. My name is Hu San."

He hastily added, "But I know you! You're famous in Minhu right now."

"Really, who doesn't know that Bianliu County produced an Advisor Yan? When Martial Saint Liu conquered the world, your name was the third one written on his banner."

Yan Jing couldn't quite keep the corners of his mouth from twitching upward.

During his conquest, Old Master Liu had insisted on carrying a banner inscribed with the names of those he regretted leaving behind.

The first was Yi Ji.

The second was Chen Nian.

And then it was him, Yan Jing.

The old man might have been old in age, but he wasn't old at heart; he certainly had a knack for playing up the hot-blooded heroics.

Seeing the smile on Yan Jing's face, Hu San seemed to grow a little bolder, sneaking closer with a conspiratorial look.

"Advisor Yan, whose side are you taking this time?"

When Yan Jing didn't answer, Hu San thought he hadn't made himself clear.

"Are you standing with humanity, or with us?"

Yan Jing lowered his head and cast a glance at him. Though he didn't say a word, the look gave Hu San a massive fright. He hurriedly scrambled backward several steps, only halting when he realized Yan Jing had no intention of striking.

In just those few seconds, his face had gone pale from terror.

He couldn't help it. He had personally witnessed the man act like a harbinger of death back in Bianliu County, and he had never once held back.

Yan Jing spoke flatly, "Advent Day has begun. Is there still a division between the Surface World and the Inner World?"

Hu San didn't speak. He truly didn't dare, terrified that Yan Jing might suddenly attack.

Although he didn't know what Tier Yan Jing was currently at, he couldn't see through him, which meant the man definitely wasn't at a lower rank than himself.

Seeing his reaction, Yan Jing smiled helplessly.

"I really don't know. If you do, spit it out."

Seeing no actual intent to attack, Hu San finally breathed a sigh of relief.

"Please don't scare me. I've always been timid."

"You didn't know? It's said that after Advent Day, aside from the struggles between individuals and factions, there's going to be a massive war between the Surface World and the Inner World."

Yan Jing frowned. "Who said that?"

"Who said that..."

Hu San furrowed his brows.

"I can't quite remember."

"Huh, seriously, who was it that said it?"

Seeing Hu San's reaction, Yan Jing actually found himself believing the man's words a bit more.

Hu San wouldn't dare lie to him, and even if he did, he wouldn't use such a flimsy excuse.

The only possibility was that some entity had interfered.

"Does everyone in Minhu know?"

Yan Jing looked at Hu San.

"Yeah, everyone knows."

Hu San looked as if it were a matter of course.

"I don't know who said it either, but since everyone knows, it must be true. Don't you think that makes sense?"

Hearing this, Yan Jing became even more convinced that another entity had interfered. None of his clones were aware of this news, which meant the culprit's influence likely couldn't reach his level and was primarily targeting those at lower tiers.

Yan Jing sighed. "Don't tell me everyone with even a little Tier has come here, not just you?"

"They did. Anyone at the Sixth Tier and above came."

"But it really is strange... why did I come here again? How odd, how very odd..."

Hu San frowned, casually dropping a bombshell.

Yan Jing's brows knitted tightly together, his expression turning thoroughly grim.

Although he didn't know the hidden entity's goal, judging from the current situation, it was highly likely to instigate a war between the Inner World and the Surface World.

There was a high probability it was also aimed at causing mass casualties.

"Do you have a way to contact the others?"

He looked at Hu San.

Hu San looked at Yan Jing's dangerously dark expression and subconsciously swallowed hard.

"Y-yes, I do."

"Call everyone to my location. Forbid them from initiating attacks against any entity. If the other side declares war first, have them knock on the ground three times and silently recite 'Fear' in their hearts."

Yan Jing commanded, not wasting a single word.

Hearing this, Hu San subconsciously puffed out his chest.

"Yes!!!"

In that moment, it felt as though the person standing before him wasn't just a human, but had once again become that Advisor Yan.

In Bianliu County.

No one would ever disobey Advisor Yan's words.

...

...

Inside a courtyard.

A pool of blood hovered in midair right at its center.

Within the pool, crimson Red Fish swam about, stirring up ripples that caused the blood lotuses to sway endlessly.

A figure sat cross-legged atop the blood lotus in the very center, his brows currently furrowed.

It was a man with blood-red hair, every strand crystal clear. In the center of his forehead rested a mark that resembled both a flame and a drop of blood.

However, as he frowned, that mark scrunched up into a knot.

"Phew—"

Exhaling a breath of turbid air, the man slowly opened his eyes.

Doubt surfaced in his gaze.

He couldn't figure out why a large portion of his arrangements seemed to have failed.

He had clearly employed his methods ahead of time, invading several Domains of the Inner World, and had even utilized his connections to orchestrate a death trap.

Those low-tier Inner World residents should have been slaughtering the surrounding humans by now.

But...

While it took effect in a few Domains, several others didn't experience the slightest ripple.

"That's impossible..."

The man's brow furrowed deeply.

To earn the acknowledgment of that entity at the pinnacle of the path, he needed to manufacture a massive, bloody slaughter.

But now, the scale he had incited was far from enough.

He thought for a moment, then took a step forward. His figure transformed into a streak of blood-red light, tearing across the sky before landing in front of a small house somewhere.

Bang!

He kicked the door open.

The interior layout was simple, with just a single bed pushed against the corner. On the bed lay a man wearing pajamas patterned with clouds.

The blood-haired man's kick had been incredibly loud, yet it didn't seem to disturb the sleeping man in the slightest.

He lay quietly on the bed, his mouth even beginning to smack softly in his sleep.

He was clearly sleeping soundly.

It wasn't until the blood-haired man charged forward that the pajama-clad man finally sat up.

However, he still didn't open his eyes.

He faced the blood-haired man as if sleepwalking, speaking as if he were sleep-talking:

"What exactly do you want? Shouldn't you be plotting your grand scheme right now?"

The blood-haired man's lips twitched, but he eventually spoke:

"Let me ask you, did your methods fail?"

"...Are you just bored?"

The pajama-clad man frowned, clearly displeased by the questioning.

"For your sake, I propagated the invasion one Domain after another. I had to ensure a massive area of effect while simultaneously making sure not to draw the attention of those high-tier beings. Do you think that was easy for me?"

"Do you think I have too much free time?"

Despite the pajama-clad man's words, the blood-haired man didn't buy it.

"But right now, it hasn't taken effect in many of the Domains."

"..." That statement surprised the pajama-clad man.

"Which Domains?"

The blood-haired man spoke coldly, "Minhu, Eerie Capital, Heavenly Kingdom, Five Elements Heaven... None of these Domains have shown any results."

"That many!"

The pajama-clad man opened his eyes.

"How is that possible!"

The moment he opened his eyes, the blood-haired man faintly heard the sound of popping bubbles. Those were the dreamscapes woven by the pajama-clad man, now entirely shattered because he had woken up.

"You aren't trying to trick me into waking up so you can attack me, are you?"

The pajama-clad man's eyes went wide.

The blood-haired man spoke coldly, "Feel it for yourself."

The pajama-clad man closed his eyes again, as if entering a dream.

Seconds later, he opened them, confusion written on his face.

"I can sense that it definitely succeeded earlier."

"Then that means they discovered you."

The blood-haired man said coldly.

"Impossible!"

The pajama-clad man immediately denied it.

He adamantly refused to admit that someone could see through his methods.

The blood-haired man looked grim.

"The blood flowing right now simply isn't enough. The ritual will very likely fail."

"Do you think I'm not frustrated?"

The pajama-clad man's expression was no better than the blood-haired man's, his gaze gloomy.

He wanted to gain that entity's acknowledgment, and the ritual he performed involved altering the current worldline through dreams.

But now, with the collapse of the blood-haired man's plan, his had collapsed as well.

The blood-haired man spoke coldly, "We can only make a move now."

"If the others seize the initiative, we won't have any chance of winning."

"Go out now?"

The pajama-clad man hesitated.

In truth, both he and the blood-haired man possessed a Divine Throne. With the arrival of Advent Day, they could directly step into the Demigod Realm right now if they wished.

They had only resorted to this kind of ritual in order to vie for the Divine Throne of a far more powerful entity.

Now that the ritual had failed, he wasn't exactly keen on going out and taking risks.

Out there, entities stepping into the Demigod Realm were everywhere. They had made quite a few enemies; going out now would likely lead to trouble.

But the blood-haired man had already left, one step ahead of him.

He knew that Advent Day had only just begun, and the others wouldn't ascend to the status of Demigod that quickly.

Only by seizing this window of opportunity could they possibly resolve everything in one fell swoop.

Soon, he arrived at a certain region.

This was the Domain related to Minhu that he had sensed.

According to his design, this place should have been filled with screams and wails, with slaughter and battle spreading endlessly as blood converged into gurgling rivers.

But instead, the area was covered in verdant grass and completely empty. Let alone screams, there wasn't even the sound of people talking.

What he failed to notice was that upon his arrival, the lush root systems waiting patiently underground seemed to finally detect his presence. They rapidly began to sprout and spread, transmitting this news back to their master.

Not long after, Yan Jing hurried over.

He watched the blood-haired man from afar, just as he was preparing to approach.

Right then, a figure stepped out from the shadows.

It was a man who also had blood-red hair. He was bare-chested, revealing explosive muscles stacked together like bricks. Suspended between his well-developed pectoral muscles and collarbone was a necklace made of Beast Teeth. Every single tooth looked incredibly rough and was stained with blackened blood.

He wore a simple animal-hide skirt around his waist, standing barefoot on the ground.

A bloody aura so dense it was nearly tangible radiated from his body, spreading out in ripples. Any vegetation it touched instantly withered away.

"Did you do this?"

The blood-haired man frowned as he looked at this man who somewhat resembled him.

"Did I do... what?"

The man with the Beast Teeth sounded as if he hadn't spoken in a long time; his voice was a bit coarse and rusty.

He looked at the blood-haired man, and then, he suddenly started laughing.

Like a neurotic, he bared his prominent canine teeth, practically oozing a feral aura:

"I'm here for you."

"I heard that in the Surface World, you are one of the ten strongest people of this generation."

"And you also walk the Blood Pathway."

"What a coincidence. So do I."

As his words fell, the man roared at the sky, and the bloody aura surrounding him erupted entirely.

His blood-red hair whipped back, every strand exploding with ultimate power. They danced in the air, creating a series of sonic booms.

Bang! Bang! Bang!!!

Streaks of bloody aura bloomed behind him like distorted sunlight, resembling a massive wheel of blood standing tall between heaven and earth.

The man offered a vicious smile to the shocked blood-haired man opposite him:

"Let me introduce myself. Inner World, third generation, Blood Sun King!!! Fan Li!"

"Today, I will slay you!!"

Before the blood-haired man could even speak, the very next second, Fan Li raised his hand. The massive wheel of blood behind him instantly expanded, coiling around his thick arm.

He threw a punch straight at the blood-haired man.