However, Hu Qi paid it no mind.

He looked over at Ouyang Shuokong and asked.

"What are your plans? Will you come with me, or will you continue to search for other worlds?"

He had already done more than enough by bringing him here.

After all, Ouyang Shuokong wasn’t of much use to him.

If he wanted to leave, Hu Qi would respect his choice.

Ouyang Shuokong glanced at the vast, boundless Shallow Wave Zone and answered without any hesitation.

He said in a deep voice, "Master, I will follow you, of course!"

Leaving aside the fact that he had handed over his Divine Soul Origin, everything he had seen and heard on this journey had made him acutely aware of his own insignificance.

For instance, the anglerfish monster below them was no weaker than he was. If it weren’t for Hu Qi... if he had encountered this monster alone, it was hard to say who would have ended up riding whom.

In an environment like the Sea of Sumeru, his combat power was severely diminished, making him only slightly stronger than an ordinary Floating Level being.

Moreover, without Hu Qi’s help, he could barely move an inch and wouldn’t be able to last long.

Following Hu Qi was the only wise choice.

Hu Qi nodded slightly.

Then, he looked at the anglerfish monster that had been his mount for two months.

The creature’s aura was a bit stronger than before.

During this period, quite a few Spirit Level beings from the Spirit Realm had practically delivered themselves to their doorstep, including several at the peak of the Spirit Level.

While Hu Qi had eaten most of them, the anglerfish monster had also absorbed a few, allowing its strength to increase slightly.

"Go on! This power will protect you as you leave the Shallow Wave Zone."

As he spoke, he reached out and patted the anglerfish monster’s rock-hard scales.

A flash of white light surged out and clung to its body.

"Yes. Thank you, my lord."

Hearing this, the anglerfish monster thanked him respectfully.

Only after Hu Qi and Ouyang Shuokong were off its back did it swish its tail, churning the surrounding currents and swiftly departing.

Although being their mount had its benefits, it knew they couldn’t keep it with them forever.

Besides, for an intelligent creature, freedom was just as important.

"I don’t need to explain how to enter a world, do I?"

Hu Qi retracted his gaze and looked at Ouyang Shuokong.

"Of course!"

Ouyang Shuokong took a deep breath, and a semi-transparent Divine Soul separated from his physical body.

Entering other worlds was not that simple.

Worlds are inherently hostile to foreign entities.

Of course, the situation was different for someone like Mother Earth. Her power had reached the Apostle Level, and she had invaded an ordinary world in the Intertidal Zone, one with no Extraordinary Power whatsoever.

Apostle Level power far exceeded that world’s limits, so a forced invasion was naturally possible.

But this place was different.

Moreover, their goal was to enter this world to find an Extraordinary System and grow stronger, so using brute force was not an option.

That left only one path: to dissolve their physical bodies and reincarnate using their Light of the Soul.

Only this method could conceal their otherworldly auras.

The moment Ouyang Shuokong’s Divine Soul appeared, it plunged headfirst into the vortex ahead. 𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

Deprived of his Divine Soul, Ouyang Shuokong’s physical body became an empty shell. The waters of the Sea of Sumeru instantly enveloped it. Like an insect’s corpse dropped into aqua regia, Ouyang Shuokong’s physical body dissolved into nothingness.

This method was equivalent to abandoning all the power of a Refining God Venerable.

He would have to cultivate it all back after possessing a new body and being reborn.

The difficulty of doing so would be immense.

Yet Ouyang Shuokong had done it without a moment’s hesitation.

Hu Qi was very satisfied with this.

The Twisted Light on his body flashed, enveloping him. He then transformed into a streak of Flowing Light and shot straight into the dark vortex.

---

At the very moment Hu Qi used the Twisted Light to completely conceal himself, a beam of white light was streaking through the Deep Dark Zone, an unknown distance away.

Wherever it passed, the creatures of the Spirit Realm scattered in a panic, sensing the pure, bright aura emanating from the white light. Even those that had reached the Apostle Level Peak were no exception.

There was a simple reason for this: the law of the jungle was the most fundamental and purest rule in the Sea of Sumeru. If another being was stronger, you naturally avoided them.

If that were all, it wouldn’t have made them so fearful.

It was the aura of a True God faintly radiating from the figure that did. This person was very likely a believer of a certain True God.

As Immortal beings, True Gods were absolute hegemons, even in the vast Sea of Sumeru.

Their believers were, by extension, not to be provoked.

"Hm?"

Suddenly, the light came to a halt, revealing a golden-haired figure in a white robe. It was Xi Zhongsi.

He frowned slightly, looking down at the crescent-shaped Black Scale in his hand.

The faint, eerie glow it had been emitting had suddenly dimmed.

Of course, he knew exactly what it was.

It was a Reversed Scale from the neck of the Snake of Destruction.

After being refined by that great being, it gained the ability to sense other instances of the Snake of Destruction.

What confused him, however, was that the target’s aura had first been flickering in and out of existence, and now it had vanished completely.

Of course, no matter how puzzled he was, he would never question that great being.

’That fellow must have entered some special region or a world, causing interference!’

Xi Zhongsi’s eyes flickered thoughtfully.

Some special regions in the Sea of Sumeru were extremely dangerous; even an Apostle like him, favored by a True God, wouldn’t dare to enter rashly.

With this in mind, he slowed down but continued in the direction he had previously sensed.

’Since my Lord entrusted this task to me, it means the target can’t be that powerful. It’s unlikely to be in the Deep Dark Zone.’

He decided to follow this bearing toward the Shallow Wave Zone and investigate there first.

...

As evening fell, dusk descended like a vast, gray curtain.

Suddenly, a muffled rumble of thunder echoed from the horizon.

Leaden clouds hung low, an oppressive black mass rolling in from all directions, threatening to swallow the entire world.

In an instant, the heavens opened up. Fat raindrops hammered the ground, soaking the earth and kicking up a faint, loamy smell.

As the rain grew heavier, it created splashes in the puddles forming in the dips and hollows of the ground.

On the street, pedestrians frantically searched for shelter from the downpour.

The road was instantly flooded, and the water rushed in turbulent streams toward unseen corners with a gurgling sound.

On the rooftop of a residential building more than twenty stories high, a figure sat leaning against a water tank.

Several empty liquor bottles lay scattered beside him.

The figure was a blur in the heavy rain, but it was just possible to make out a Young Man in a white shirt.

The Young Man’s face was deathly pale, whether from exposure to the storm or the effects of alcohol, it was hard to say.

"Dammit!"

The Young Man slammed a fist on the ground beside him, veins bulging on his temples and his eyes bloodshot.

"Why did I have to get this disease? I haven’t even gotten my revenge yet... I just can’t accept this."

As he spoke, his gaze was fixed on a crumpled white medical report in his hand.

The black print was blurred by the rain, smudging into an inky patch, but on closer inspection, the general meaning was still vaguely discernible.

Under the "Diagnosis" section, the words were clear: Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.

It is a progressive, neurodegenerative disease that primarily affects the motor neurons in the brain and spinal cord.

Patients gradually develop symptoms such as muscle weakness, atrophy, and stiffness. As the disease progresses, the body’s motor functions are steadily lost, potentially leading to death from respiratory failure.

Because it feels as if the patient’s limbs are being "frozen," a sensation that gradually spreads to all muscles in the body, it’s as if the person is slowly being "frozen" solid.

This disease also has another Name: Gradual-Freeze Disease.

Certain medications can only slow the progression of the disease to some extent; it cannot be cured.

He had noticed something wrong with his body before, but he had dismissed it as simple overwork and paid it no mind.

One day on his way home from work, he fell to the ground and was taken to the hospital.

Now, after a series of tests, he had unexpectedly learned of his condition.

This disease isn’t usually immediately fatal; some patients who manage their condition well can live for over a decade.

Of course, there are also severe cases where the patient doesn’t have many days left.

He belonged to the latter group. His condition was deteriorating rapidly. At this rate, he didn’t even have a year left.

Every day he awoke, he could clearly feel the severity of his illness’s progression.

"You want me to lie in a hospital bed in agony and wait to die? Heh, I won’t give you the satisfaction!"

At this moment, perhaps due to the alcohol, he swayed to his feet, his steps unsteady.

Just walking to a corner of the rooftop—such a short distance—already left his entire body feeling weak, as if he were about to collapse from exhaustion.

After taking two gasping breaths, he looked down.

The street below was empty due to the rain.

The streetlights were blurry, hazy glows in the curtain of rain.

Looking at the scene below, he felt no fear. Instead, he leaned his body slightly forward, feeling the wind and rain beating against his face.

His eyes were empty.

’It’s better to be dead. That would end everything. A good way to leave this miserable world...’

The thought arose in the Young Man’s mind.

The next moment, he lifted his foot, about to step forward.

However, he failed to notice a sliver of silver light falling from the sky, mingling with the raindrops, and shooting straight into his body.

Suddenly, the foot he had lifted froze in mid-air.

It wasn’t just his foot; it was as if he had instantly lost control of the lower half of his body.

"Since you no longer wish to live, then give your body to me."

Suddenly, a calm male voice echoed.

The voice was incredibly abrupt.

"What... Who is that? Who’s speaking?!"

The Young Man’s heart leaped in shock. He whipped his head around, thinking someone was speaking behind him, but there was no one there—only a few clotheslines and a pink comforter that someone hadn’t managed to bring inside in time.

The situation was too bizarre.

And the voice was too clear, as if it were ringing inside his own mind.

"That is not important. You need only know that I have taken a liking to this body of yours. In exchange, state your wish. I may be able to grant it."

The Young Man was startled by the words, but then, miraculously, his panicked expression relaxed.

"My body... if you need it, take it. As for my wish, if you can, kill the person who murdered my mother!"

After he spoke, the voice did not reply immediately.

Just as the Young Man was beginning to think it had all been an illusion, the voice spoke again.

"As you wish."

The next second, he felt his connection to his surroundings being slowly severed by an invisible veil.

His hearing, vision, and sense of touch slowly faded. The cold feeling of the raindrops on his skin grew ever fainter.

The Young Man felt his perception of his surroundings gradually slipping away.

Seemingly aware that he was approaching the end of his life, the Young Man’s face showed not a trace of fear.

On the contrary, a pale yet relieved smile slowly spread across his lips.

It was a smile of release, of letting go, of a final farewell to this world.

He struggled to open his mouth, using all his remaining strength to force out two words: "Thank... you!"

With those words, his consciousness plunged into eternal darkness.

A few moments later.

Suddenly, the Young Man’s body shuddered, and his expression grew calm.

He glanced down at the street below.

He retracted the leg that was frozen in mid-air.