There was an island floating above the sea. It had many big trees that made it look like a black water lily. The trees on this island were so huge that they were like high mountains. They were as thick as a meadow.
The island had so many different colored flags, which had many drawings of resentful souls and wailing ghosts. Those flags flew with the wind like a bunch of ghosts and demons screaming and hissing.
Deep in the center of the lush forest were many rooms made of dry trees. Most of them were closed, and only a few of them had human footmarks
At this moment, a warrior of the Soul Clan was kneeling in front of the door of a lodge and speaking in the language of the Soul Clan to report, "Teacher, we got news."
"Come in," a senile, male voice came out from the room.
The Soul Clan warrior respectfully stepped in. It was a plain room with more flags on the walls. The brocade flags here all had drawings of wailing ghosts and resentful souls. Just like the main power Upanishad of the Soul Clan, they felt dark and horrible.
A haggard, old man with many wrinkles on his face was sitting on a cattail hassock. He was wearing a thick black robe that shrouded his thin body of a dry corpse. He looked as if he would die in the next minute. However, his eyes were like a cold water pond at night. They were deep and cold, and they didn't show human emotions.
"We got news. Singh was killed on Dragon Lizard Star. Forefather Dragon Lizard had joined hands with Tu Shi Qi and Ya Yun of the Mysterious Sky Clan. The Dragon Lizard Clan announced that they officially become a dependent clan of the Mysterious Sky Clan," reported the young warriors who had reached Second Sky of Immortal Realm. "Singh was so incompetent! He borrowed your Soul Refining Cauldron and still failed!"
The old man was as calm as usual. It seemed like he had predicted this result beforehand. "Continue. I want more details."
The young man pulled a serious countenance and reported the details of the battle that took place on Dragon Lizard Star.
The old man quietly listened to him. After a while, he looked surprised. "Oh, a junior with the soul clone of an Absolute Beginning creature. Interesting. If we can merge his soul to the Soul Refining Cauldron, it will significantly contribute to healing the cauldron. Yeah, I'm sure it's not less than Forefather Dragon Lizard's soul."
Then, he opened his mouth. Something emerged from the tip of his tongue.
Surprisingly, it was the Soul Refining Cauldron that had stirred up the entire Dragon Lizard Star!
This divine weapon from the Absolute Beginning Era had disappeared discreetly after the battle on Dragon Lizard Star ended. It had returned to this old man's tongue. He spurted it out. The Soul Refining Cauldron flew out and enlarged massively, floating above the island.
So many complicated but exquisite Absolute Beginning Era symbols on the cauldron's surface revived at the same time. They turned into twisted, evil ghost faces that moved around the cauldron…
Flows of souls flew out of so many brocade flags on the island. Once the souls left, the drawings on the flags also left. From the bird's view, thousands of departed souls and ghosts were silently getting into the Soul Refining Cauldron and the cauldron took them all in.
The Absolute Beginning Era symbols on the cauldron surface became stranger and more mysterious after the cauldron had received more souls. It was now filled with enormous energy.
Not long afterward, the ghosts and evil souls kept in the brocade flags on the island were all gone. They were the souls that the old man had recently collected. His eyes flashed and the Soul Refining Cauldron became much smaller. He swallowed it right after that.
"I still need a lot," the old man mumbled. Pondering for a while, he turned to the young man, his eyes sinister. "Tate! You know why I came to the Sea of Annihilation this time. You've been in this area for years. You should know what to do to satisfy me!"
The young man of the Soul Clan shivered inwardly. He put on a solemn face and said quickly, "Teacher, don't worry. I know what to do. You need war and death. That's how you collect the souls. I'm on it!"
The old man grinned contentedly, his grin evil and eccentric. "You're my good disciple. Anyway, it's not easy to trigger a war in the Sea of Annihilation. Even if we, the Soul Clan, want to do that, we'll need a cause or an excuse. I hope you can arrange things properly. Don't let the other clans catch our tail. They will say our Soul Clan broke the rules."
"Our General Commander was murdered. It's not a bad cause. I'm going to take care of it," said Tate.
The old man nodded and then looked at the ground underneath. It seemed like his eyes could pierce through the island to watch something in the sea. "Remember, don't bother the old freak underneath. Otherwise, it will be very troublesome."
"Understood."
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A small island floated in a remote corner of the Sea of Annihilation had thunderstorms wreck the place year-round.
Apparently, it wasn't a good island for creatures to live on. Low-realm warriors buried their bodies here. They had to reach the Immortal Realm to stay intact on this island.
Audrey stood alone on a barren mountain on the island and looked afar.
She had come to the Sea of Annihilation six months ago. Right after she had arrived, she decided to choose a remote island to stay in. This area had harsh conditions and it was almost isolated. Not many people would notice this island.
After they had parted, she had followed Tu Shi Qi's direction to come to the Sea of Annihilation alone.
She had encountered some dangers on the way. She had killed all the warriors who had approached her with malicious attempts.
She had reached Third Sky of Incipient God Realm. Every day, she made good progress. Also, she still had an Immortal Pellet. If she had enough time, she could reach the Immortal Realm soon.
Because she had merged with Ming Hong's soul and taken in the Singh's seven brutal souls, she had accumulated such attainment. She also understood the cultivating techniques of the Soul Clan.
The Soul Clan was a peculiar race that mainly cultivated the soul altar. Their understanding of the soul altar had surpassed many other great clans.
Imperial Dark Tribe was rumored to be the clan that Desolate had created with the Soul Clan as the model. Imperial Dark Tribe had similar physical and metal features as the Soul Clan. Even their cultivating techniques were similar.
Tu Shi Qi gifted her the souls of the Soul Clan and Singh was the Soul Clan's General Commander. After she had refined those souls, Audrey now had a deep understanding of the soul altar power Upanishad of the Soul Clan.
Her realm could increase rapidly.
Ming Hong and those brutal souls could make up for her insufficient power. They were her source of energy.
To break through the realm, the warriors needed to accumulate energy and develop a deeper understanding of power Upanishads. When these two weren't a problem, it was natural that Audrey could become stronger fast.
Audrey's thoughts flickered and so many souls emerged by her. This cluster of ghosts consisted of thousands of resentful souls and ghosts. They gathered in clusters, which were massive and terrifying.
Ming Hong, the brutal soul, was the master of those souls. He turned into his appearance when he was still alive, which was an elder of Imperial Dark Tribe. "The entrance to our territory is right under a current at the seabed of the Sea of Annihilation. It's an isolated area, indeed. That year, I came through the entrance and I was lost by the edge of the Sea of Annihilation's seabed. When I got out, I was in another area."
Audrey frowned. "After you were gone, there were many people at the Immortal Realm in our Desolate Territory. They could go to the Sea Domain of Nihility through the territory entrance too. However, they have never met any creature in the Sea Domain of Nihility. Do you think it's strange? According to you, the Sea of Annihilation is really vast and countless creatures have come here. How could they not have met any of them?"
Ming Hong forced a smile. "Because we were wrong and those who came later took the wrong way too."
Audrey looked as if she wanted to ask for more information.
"Perhaps you can't imagine it. Actually, the Sea of Annihilation is connected to our Desolate Territory. The entrance to the territory is right at the border. The entrance is where our territory meets the Sea Domain of Nihility. There are vast seas on both sides of the barriers. We have to get through a sea to get to the Sea Domain of Nihility. Also, when we get through the sea, we will meet a river that leads to a terrifying, massive ocean…"
Ming Hong saw her baffled, so he rose his hands to gather a group of souls to sketch a map. At first, he drew a massive sea. From the sea as the center, he drew more rivers, which connected to the big sea.
"Those rivers flow to the Sea of Annihilation. In some aspects, they are parts of the Sea of Annihilation. After we get through the territory entrance, we don't have to follow the river to the Sea of Annihilation. No one has gotten to the seabed of the Sea Domain of Nihility because it was impossible to do that. We couldn't endure the terrible water pressure under the sea. On the way, we took a branch that led to the other areas far away from the Sea of Annihilation. They were relatively safe areas in the Sea Domain of Nihility. Anyway, they are the remote areas where we rarely saw any footmarks.
"The area I arrived on is a desolate corner of the Sea Domain of Nihility, which is pretty far from the Sea of Annihilation. It doesn't have many creatures living on it. I thought that the other warriors from Desolate Territory came here after I also arrived at the isolated areas where there were no footprints. Only one expert had taken the right way as soon as he had entered the Sea Domain of Nihility. He got through the Sea of Annihilation's seabed and emerged on the surface of the Sea of Annihilation," Ming Hong wore a strange face.
"Who is he?" asked Audrey.
"Bloodthirsty. He was the only one who had followed the right route through the river to the seabed of the Sea of Annihilation after crossing the territory entrance because his power and realm were enough to endure the terrifying water pressure there. He figured out the ideal way and emerged from the seabed to the surface. He appeared in the friendly, lively area of the Sea Domain of Nihility."
Ming Hong showed his respect and sighed, "I know this through Singh's research. I know he was here for a short time. The Devouring Clan had fought against him once. He had killed many of them. He had even battled against Han Tian of the Mysterious Sky Clan. I heard that he won. However, Singh didn't know his real identity. Bloodthirsty had subdued our Imperial Dark Tribe and stopped us from thriving for ten thousand years. Anyway, with his competence, he had topped our territory!"
Audrey also respected the expert.
"I know the location of the territory entrance. I can take you out of here and return to Desolate Territory. I've been waiting for that day. But I don't know what makes you hesitant. You've been here for half a year. What are you waiting for?" Ming Hong was clueless.
"I'm waiting for a man. He and I will return together," answered Audrey.