Sanctuary Paradise

Chapter 867 The Curtain Falls and the Beginning (Part 1)
Rumble——! !

On the battlefield, with the appearance of the Deathbringer, extremely dense abyssal energy surged forth from the abyssal rift behind it.

The massive amounts of abyssal energy collided with each other, forcefully resisting the suppression of the elemental barrier and creating arcs of lightning as thick as buckets. These arcs crashed heavily onto the earth in a flash of lightning, stretching the shadows of the Deathbringer and the colossal ghost god long.

Ivy Shal stared at the other person and the abyssal rift behind them, and unusually fell silent for several seconds before speaking:

"I should have opened that abyssal rift myself."

She remembered clearly that the abyssal rift should have led to the depths of the abyss where her true self was, not where the other party was located, but now…

"I've taken it, that's all."

As the indifferent voice fell, the Death Bearer spoke, and wisps of dark flames began to rise from the blade in front of him. Seeing this, Ivy Shal, realizing that she had been locked onto by the other party, gradually became serious.

Om-! !

An invisible sense of oppression, accompanied by the dark, ghostly aura of death, spread out, causing the abyssal energy remaining on the Death Bearer's sword to condense into droplets, which rolled down the blade. The moment they rolled off the tip and sizzled onto the ground—

"Roar!!!"

A deafening roar, like that of a wild beast, exploded out. At a glance, the Gluttony Cloak that had been attached to Avessor's body seemed to be stimulated and surged out, transforming into a gigantic beast head hundreds of meters tall in front of her, its blood-red maw gaping as it tore towards the direction of the Death Seeker.

Meanwhile, Ivy Shal, positioned at the rear, slid backward without hesitation, disappearing into the shadows, immediately preparing to open a new abyssal rift to escape—

Dark Slash - Annihilation!

Clang——!!!
In an instant, a blade clanging sound, somewhat similar to Xie Kuang's previous strike but far more ferocious, erupted. A jet-black slash, over a thousand meters high, shot into the sky, sweeping across the earth with terrifying force, instantly cleaving everything in its path in two amidst a deafening roar and overwhelming deathly aura.

When the commotion subsided, the pitch-black beast skull that had blocked its path disappeared, replaced by a torrential downpour of black rain that had collapsed due to the power exceeding its limits, a huge rift that split the entire earth in two, and Avesal, whose body was reduced to only half, rapidly turning into withered white ashes from the erosion of the Netherworld's death energy.

"Heh...it seems...we've gone a bit too far this time..."

As the alluring voice, carrying a sense of sorrow, faded, Ivy Shal, realizing that her avatar couldn't hold on much longer, smiled weakly. The Death Bearer, however, simply slashed out with a calm gaze, instantly obliterating her remaining body.

[Hint: The embodiment of great sin, Ivy Shal, is dead...]

The cold notification sound faded, and Mingyu and the others, who were in the distance, watched this scene. They looked at Ivy's corpse, which had crumbled into ashes, and then at the bottomless, huge rift in front of them. For a moment, they couldn't help but feel a little thirsty. Even Guilong, who was used to showing arrogance, was unusually quiet at this moment.

A knife.

From the moment Avezel made her move until she was defeated by the giant demon along with her Gluttony Cloak, the Deathbringer only struck once.

With just this one strike, they instantly annihilated Ivy Shal, whom they had been unable to defeat even with their combined efforts.

The Gluttony Cloak, which seemed like an insurmountable chasm to them, suddenly became a paper shield in front of their opponent, unable to even block a single full strike.

Is this... the gap between them and the top-tier, unconventional elite?
Everyone remained silent, but at that moment, Mingyu, who was standing to the side, suddenly turned pale and vomited a mouthful of black blood. The abyssal aura around him began to rapidly intensify.

"Netherworld!!!"

"Cough cough...cough cough! It seems...my time is almost up for me?"

Faced with the sudden turn of events, Xie Kuang's expression changed slightly, and he grabbed the other person to support him. Ming Yu, on the other hand, wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth with a pale face, glanced at the Abyss Potion's duration of only about 1 minute remaining on the branding interface, and then spoke with unusual calmness.

Abyss Potion.

From the moment he took it, his fate was already sealed.

Without the protection of the Angel Potion, it's a pipe dream for him to rely solely on his own strength to withstand the three instant-death effects after the Abyss Potion ends. Therefore...

"There is a way for you to survive."

Suddenly, the cold voice of the Death Bearer rang out. He walked to the Netherworld Prison, looked down at the Prisoner who was struggling to stay upright, and said:

"Over in the Netherworld, there's a guy who's taken a liking to you. If you're willing to be his successor, he has a way to help you overcome the backlash from this potion."

Is there a way... for Netherworld to withstand the backlash of the Abyss Potion?!

Upon hearing the words of the one who had taken the death penalty, Xie Kuang and the others all suddenly raised their heads, their breathing becoming rapid.

"You, the one who carries out the death warrant, are you telling the truth?!"

Xie Kuang looked at the Death Bearer before him, shrouded in a dark aura of death, like a ghost descended from the underworld, and a hint of excitement appeared in his eyes. Ming Yu, whom he was supporting, coughed violently twice, glanced at the black-haired woman before him, and spoke directly:

"Cough cough... No problem! Tell me, what should I do?"

"Grab this mark. As long as you can gain its approval, it can grant you direct immunity to instant death penalties related to the Abyss."

The Death Bearer spoke calmly, using death energy to send a strangely shaped, pitch-black brand into the sight of the Underworld.

To grant him a direct exemption from instant-death penalties related to the Abyss?!

"it is good."

Upon hearing this, Mingyu's gaze flickered slightly, but after seeing the remaining ten-odd seconds of the potion's duration on the branding interface, he decisively nodded and, following the description given by the Death Bearer, grabbed the brand in front of him.

Om-! !

In an instant, an incredibly dense abyssal aura surged forth from between his palms, causing Xie Kuang and the others around him to instinctively take a half-step back, their eyes filled with horror.

"Cough cough! Cough cough!!!"

As the violent coughing subsided, Mingyu, who had just grasped the brand, suddenly turned pale and then bluish-white. In the end, he staggered and vomited a mouthful of blood. His life force became extremely weak, causing Xie Kuang and the others to gasp in their throats.

[Warning: The "Abyss Potion" duration has ended. Due to the potion's backlash, the contractor will suffer "super-massive" Abyss corruption and 3 "instant death" checks!!]

Almost the instant the effects of the Abyss Potion on Mingyu wore off, a terrifying surge of violent abyssal energy erupted from his body, causing him to cough up a mouthful of black blood. He was instantly engulfed by the dark abyssal aura, but in the end—

[Note: Due to the "Netherworld Mark (Abyss)" effect, you are completely exempt from the "Abyssal Erosion" and "Instant Death" effects this time!]

Boom—!

As the cold notification sound faded, Mingyu, located in the abyss of energy, suddenly opened his eyes, and his life force began to rise rapidly, causing Xie Kuang, Lao Hantui, and the others beside him to brighten up.

"Netherworld, you really..."

"Hmm, it seems... I've escaped with my life again."

Mingyu let out a long sigh of relief, feeling his body rapidly regaining its vitality. His gaze shifted slightly as he looked at the executioner before him and spoke:

"Tell me, what is the price?"

"You've already paid."

"Ok?"

"Those who have refined the Netherworld Mark can only continue to exist as my servants in the future."

"What did you say?!" The Death Bearer answered calmly, while the Underworld Prison, upon hearing this, suddenly opened its eyes wide, jolting awake from the excitement of surviving the ordeal.

"From now on, you are my servant."

"I choose to die."

"It's up to you, but as long as the Netherworld Mark remains, resurrecting you is just a matter of spending resources."

"..."

"Haha! Now you, surnamed Ming, are one of us... huh?!!"

As the indifferent voice finished speaking, Mingyu fell silent. Xie Kuang and the others, who were watching this scene, suddenly had strange expressions. Guilong even chuckled and was about to burst out laughing to mock the other party when a pale bone hand suddenly appeared and slapped him into Mingyu's shadow.

"Tsk." After throwing the most annoying one into his Shadow Kingdom, Mingyu clicked his tongue lightly, looked at the Death Bearer before him, and after a moment of silence, spoke:

"As your servant, is there anything I must do?"

"Loyalty to me? Gone."

What about the normal world progress?

"Just continue at your original pace."

"what about others?"

"It depends on my mood."

"..."

After a brief Q&A session, Mingyu fell silent after confirming a few questions. He stared at the black-haired woman before him for a long while before finally speaking in the deathly silence:

"Okay, then it's settled. I accept the price."

As soon as he finished speaking, Xie Kuang, who was standing to the side, couldn't help but show a look of surprise in his eyes.

'Old Ming, you really...'

'We had no other choice, and in terms of the outcome alone, perhaps I'm the one who actually benefited the most.'

"Mingyu answered in his mind, sensing the massive amount of information surging into his mind and the various prompts popping up frantically on the imprint interface, a barely perceptible look of shock flashed across his eyes."

Just as he said, putting aside the fact that the price was only one life for another, if the information that appeared in his mind was correct, then he was the biggest beneficiary of this deal.

Or rather, in terms of inheritance potential, the inheritance attached to that Netherworld Mark just now, in terms of its upper limit... has far exceeded any top inheritance he knew.

Yes, not comparable, but far surpassing. At least... based on the information he saw, if the other party wasn't deliberately misleading him, then this inheritance alone would be enough to guarantee him reaching the peak of the ultimate realm, and even have a very high probability of giving him the opportunity to compete for the top.

'The Lord of the Underworld… If those descriptions are true, and such a being is merely a servant, even ranking only third among the lords, then who exactly is this so-called Lord of the Underworld…'

Mingyu pondered, his gaze shifting several times. After a long while, he calmed down, suppressing these inappropriate questions, and looked at the Death Bearer, asking:

"Speaking of which, where are Black Sword and the others? I remember you guys were supposed to be operating as a team?"

“He went in another direction. According to the divination, there is another place besides here that needs support.”

"Instead of worrying about these things, you should be more concerned about your own situation, after all—"

The one who carried out the death answered calmly, glancing at the elemental pillar of light that illuminated most of the sky in the distance. His eyes lowered slightly as he spoke:

"This is not over yet."

……

……

Reef No. 127, the area where the No. 4 abyss suppression device is located.

clang--! !

A dull thud of metal clashing rang out as two figures, one in black and one in white, collided at high speed on the battlefield, then retreated, carving two long furrows into the earth.

"Huff...huff...!!"

As the heavy breathing subsided, in the scorching firelight, large beads of sweat rolled down the white-haired boy's forehead, evaporating and turning into wisps of white smoke that lingered around his body.

Before him, a figure with six arms and a fanatical expression suddenly stood up. As his arms grew rapidly, he looked at Bell with an extremely excited and manic smile. The incredibly vigorous life force emanating from the figure made Bell's eyes even more solemn.

So, he's gotten stronger again?

Goldra, a member of the Great Sinners.

The holder of the Sin of Wrath possesses an exaggeratedly terrifying regenerative ability comparable to a true immortal being, and melee skills even stronger than those of a typical Grandmaster LV.20.

Its most troublesome aspect is that the opponent's authority of rage can make the opponent stronger each time they are injured.

To illustrate this with the most intuitive data, initially, he could only use his opponent as a target to attack. But now, even with the speed effect of the Short Blade Master LV.20, he is only about 40-50% faster than his opponent, and can no longer form the overwhelming advantage he used to have.

Of course, if that were all, it wouldn't be so bad, but the most important thing is...

'Is the duration of the Abyss Potion almost over?'

A solemn, scrutinizing gaze fell upon him. Bell watched the figure approaching step by step, took a deep breath, and the power of the world within him ignited, causing a striking white light to emanate from his body.

Boom——! !

The resounding chimes echoed the commotion caused by Star Maiden and her companions battling the abyssal creatures in the distance.

Meanwhile, Goldra, who was in front of Bell, shifted his gaze slightly, as if he had heard some kind of horn. He took a sudden step forward and charged towards Bell's direction with an extremely violent howl.

Upon seeing this, Bell's crimson pupils narrowed slightly. Just as he was about to use his speed advantage to dodge the attack, a black and white light suddenly bloomed in both his and Goldra's vision—

That is? !
Endless Law - Devouring Annihilation.

boom--! ! !
The enormous black and white orb of light, accelerated to its limit, crashed down from the sky, striking Gordra with a speed too fast for the naked eye to perceive clearly. In the white-haired boy's suddenly brightened gaze, it engulfed the six-armed race's figure with a deafening roar.

“Yo, Argo.”

The next second, a familiar greeting rang out, and a black-haired youth, exuding a strong abyssal aura, stepped out from the black and white explosion of light, smiling and greeting Bell:

"Congratulations on successfully entering the extra-disciplinary echelon."

……

(End of this chapter)