This was essentially a debuff that made others feel disgusted with him.

It would even cause the creatures of this world to progress from disgust to hostility, and finally to an overwhelming urge to kill him on sight.

Although this sort of thing couldn’t cause him any substantial harm, it was definitely unsettling.

Fortunately, Hu Qi was about to leave anyway, so he didn’t plan on dwelling on it.

...

The night passed without incident.

「The next day.」

In the Inner Earth World, within the Valley of the Earth Abyss, a scorched-black gorge scarred the landscape like a gaping wound torn into the earth.

The floor of the Gorge looked as if it had been seared by Hellfire, leaving it pitch-black.

The scent of sulfur still hung in the air.

The area hadn’t changed much in the last hundred years. It remained a barren wasteland where not a single blade of grass grew.

The fissures created when the ground collapsed during Mother Earth’s awakening were still starkly visible.

Due to the unique nature of this location, the Federation had dispatched an army of tens of thousands to garrison the area, preventing any humans from the Inner Earth World from forcing their way through.

At this moment,

beneath the lava,

deep inside a grotto,

several figures stood facing one another.

Xuanqing looked at Hu Qi and cupped his hands. "Sir, after we part ways today, who knows when we will meet again. I hope you will take care on your journey."

Hu Qi’s gaze swept over Xuanqing, Lei Bao, and the others, and he smiled faintly.

"Mm, you all take care as well."

With that, Hu Qi turned and walked forward.

Ouyang Shuokong, for his part, cupped his hands toward the group before following closely behind Hu Qi. One after the other, their figures entered the Spirit Realm Sea Eye, which continuously spewed specks of green light.

Their figures gradually vanished.

Xuanqing, Lei Bao, and the others watched, standing there for a long time with indescribably complex expressions on their faces.

"Let’s head back."

After a long moment, Xuanqing spoke.

Then, his figure transformed into a streak of pure light and departed.

Seeing this, the remaining three exchanged a glance.

...

Not long after,

a terrifying virus appeared on Earth Star. Once infected, a person would rapidly and massively dehydrate, turning into a mummified corpse in a short amount of time.

And there was no cure.

Fortunately, the virus had a very short incubation period. All that was needed was to quarantine the infected and wait for the virus to die off on its own.

However, what no one expected was that

the Xia Federation’s policy of quarantining the infected, offering no treatment, and coldly watching them wait for death

aroused the discontent of some.

They united with the so-called Lower Class from the Inner Earth World.

They formed a resistance army and clashed with the Federation’s military.

Ultimately, they managed to seize control of the Inner Earth World in a short time, turning it into their main base of operations and launching a prolonged war against the surface-dwelling humans.

...

As for the events that transpired later, Hu Qi was completely unaware.

After entering the Spirit Realm Sea Eye,

Hu Qi felt the clear scene before him suddenly begin to tremble violently, like a calm lake’s surface after a boulder is thrown in, sending out chaotic ripples.

Immediately after, the vibrant, colorful scene shattered in an instant, like glass struck by a sledgehammer.

His body felt as if it had lost its anchor to reality, plummeting endlessly into a deep sea.

He was surrounded by endless darkness and silence as he sank continuously, like a feather drifting powerlessly down into the unknown depths.

An invisible pressure surged from all directions, squeezing his body as if to tear it apart.

The surrounding space seemed to stretch, and light became distorted, inducing a dizzying sensation.

In the face of this situation,

Hu Qi remained calm and unflustered. ’I’m passing through the Spirit Realm Sea Eye, piercing the barrier between the mortal world and the Spirit Realm to enter the Sea of Sumeru.’

Sure enough,

this state of affairs didn’t last long.

The next moment,

the scene before him blurred.

His senses, which had vanished, suddenly returned, like a diver breaking the surface of the water. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝚠𝕖𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝕖𝚕.𝚌𝗼𝗺

It was as if he had passed through an invisible barrier of water.

At the same time, the scene before his eyes abruptly sharpened into focus.

What greeted his eyes was a vast ocean composed of innumerable pale green specks of light.

He was surrounded by transparent seawater, which enveloped and submerged him.

To Hu Qi, this water didn’t feel much different from ordinary seawater.

However, that was only true for Hu Qi.

The water of the Sea of Sumeru was, of course, anything but ordinary.

As part of the Spirit Realm, the Sea of Sumeru was the birthplace of the will of Divine Souls, a plane existing above the All Heavens and Myriad Realms. Its waters possessed the Ability to cleanse and scour away the memories of any living creature.

Furthermore, it possessed a terrifying power of Erosion against the physical bodies of living beings.

Anyone who entered it would have their physical body instantly annihilated, leaving only a single Light of the Soul. Then, washed over by the seawater, that light would instantly transform into one of the pure green specks.

After losing all memories and sense of self, it was no different from death.

Even if one were to be reincarnated, they would no longer be the same person.

Thinking of this,

he glanced at Ouyang Shuokong beside him.

In stark contrast to Hu Qi’s composed demeanor,

a membrane formed from the Power of the Heart had materialized around the other man’s body, holding the surrounding seawater at bay.

His expression was one of extreme strain.

Seeing this,

Hu Qi pointed a finger.

A flash of white light transformed into a circular shield, instantly isolating Ouyang Shuokong from the surrounding seawater.

"Thank you, Master!"

Ouyang Shuokong felt the oppressive pressure around him vanish and hurriedly thanked Hu Qi.

At the same time, he was inwardly grateful for his decision to acknowledge Hu Qi as his master.

’The power of Erosion from the Sea of Sumeru’s water is far more terrifying than I ever imagined,’ he thought. ’If I had entered alone, I have no confidence I would have survived long enough to find another world.’

Hu Qi paid him no mind.

He glanced behind him.

There, a massive, colorful, constantly distorting bubble floated.

Hu Qi could sense a familiar aura from within it.

It was the Earth Star World.

Seeing this,

he released his perception.

A tendril of his Power of the Heart spread out in all directions.

It was completely unaffected by the waters of the Sea of Sumeru.

If he were only at the Void Realm, also known as the Apostle Realm, he would not have been able to accomplish this so easily.

But in addition to being an existence at the Apostle Realm, he also possessed the Bloodline of the Three-Eyed Primordial Serpent.

For an Overlord Level creature like the Three-Eyed Primordial Serpent,

returning to the Sea of Sumeru was no different from coming home, so naturally, it was not subject to its constraints.

Soon,

his perception discovered another colorful bubble.

However, Hu Qi chose not to head toward it.

’This is the Intertidal Zone. The worlds here are mostly ordinary, possessing no Extraordinary Power. Entering one would be a waste of my time.’

His goal was to find the right direction and head for the Shallow Wave Zone.

With the Bloodline of the Three-Eyed Primordial Serpent and the memories from Mother Earth, accomplishing this wouldn’t be difficult.

Soon, Hu Qi had confirmed a direction.

He took one last, deep look at the Earth Star World behind him.

Then,

he and Ouyang Shuokong transformed into a streak of Flowing Light and departed.

...

The very instant Hu Qi and his companion entered the Sea of Sumeru,

an unknown distance away in the vast Sea of Sumeru,

the seawater was a murky gray. Within it floated a world.

This world was unique; it had no starry expanse.

The entire world consisted of a single, irregularly shaped continent under a domed sky.

The continent was surrounded by a protective shield formed from countless hexagonal crystals, resembling a honeycomb.

The continent itself was impossibly vast and sprawling.

At this moment, in the very center of the continent,

stood a white Holy Hall that towered into the clouds. Its golden spire gleamed brilliantly in the sunlight, as if attempting to pierce the very heavens.

Its silhouette shimmered, bathed in a mysterious halo of light.

All who gazed upon this scene did so with expressions of deep piety.

At this moment,

inside the solemn and dignified main hall,

a figure clad in a white robe stood in quiet stillness.

Seemingly in prayer.

Suddenly,

the figure seemed to sense something.

The figure abruptly raised its head, revealing a pair of pale golden eyes, indifferent and devoid of any discernible emotion.