Starting as the heir of a marquis's mansion, I gained access to a summoning system.

The frozen tundra of the North. Deep within the eternally frozen ice plains.

The fierce wind whipped up snowflakes that stung his face like dull knives cutting into his flesh. Dongfang Weiwo wrapped his shadow cloak tighter around himself and followed the silent figure ahead, traversing the ice crevice for a full half-day.

The deeper you go, the heavier the chill in the air becomes—it's not just cold, but a kind of oppressive feeling that surges up from the depths of your blood, making your bones tremble.

Pang Ban suddenly stopped.

"arrive."

I looked up from the east, and my breath caught in my throat.

At the edge of the ice field stood a huge black stone wall, tens of feet high, its surface covered with dark green moss and dense runes.

Those patterns share the same origin as the remaining traces at the exit of the Penglai passage, but are older and more complex. Each one looks as if it were carved into the stone with blood, and has not been worn away even after countless years.

In the center of the stone gate was a palm print, its edges tinged with a faint dark gold, exactly the same as the lines on his father's palm.

But the palm print was no longer complete.

There were several claw marks around it, as if someone had pried it open with brute force. Wisps of black gas surged from the depths of the cracks, temporarily sealed by the ice on the surface of the frozen soil, but the putrid smell still seeped out—it was of the same origin as the demon race.

Dongfang Weiwo crouched down, his fingertips touching the surface of the frozen earth. The black mist seemed alive, and as soon as it sensed human presence, it coiled around his fingertips.

"The Underworld Emperor has visited."

Pang Ban also squatted down, his fingertips tracing a deep claw mark on the frozen ground, his tone indifferent.

"Three days ago. He tried to force the door open, but failed. Only members of the Dongfang family can activate the seal of the Demon-Sealing Bloodline; it cannot be pried open by external force."

Dongfang Weiwo didn't speak, but stood up and walked to the stone gate, placing his right hand on the palm print.

The moment their palms touched, two completely different auras surged into his meridians simultaneously—the chill of the stone gate itself made his finger bones turn white; but a scorching undercurrent welled up from the depths of his blood, as if something that had been dormant for too long had been awakened by his press.

The heat surged within him for a moment, then, like a giant beast slowly opening its eyes, began to flow along his meridians.

The stone gate trembled. Dark green runes lit up one by one, spreading outwards from the palm of the hand. The black energy seeping from the cracks in the ice was forced back by the dark golden light, shrinking inch by inch into the depths of the stone gate.

The veins on Dongfang Weiwo's forehead bulged.

"Pang Ban, help me."

Pang Ban didn't ask any questions. He placed a palm on Pang Ban's back and poured in the demonic energy in a gentle manner to support the spiritual energy in Pang Ban's body that was about to be depleted.

With their combined efforts, the ancient runes on the stone gate finally shone brightly, and dark golden light covered the entire stone wall, even covering the cracks that had been damaged by the Underworld Emperor.

As the light reached its zenith, a deep rumble echoed from the depths of the stone wall—like a door that had been closed for millennia.

The black energy was completely forced back into the stone gate, and the cracks on the surface of the frozen soil healed at a speed visible to the naked eye. The ice layer re-frozen, covering all traces under the pure white snow.

Dongfang Weiwo withdrew his hand, his figure swaying slightly. Pang Ban gripped his shoulder, the strength in his palm steady and heavy.

"It's sealed." Pang Ban looked up at the now-calm stone gate, but his brow remained furrowed.

Dongfang Weiwo responded to his words:

"But it won't last long." His gaze fell on the palm print in the center of the stone gate. The dark golden light was slowly dimming. Although it was much more stable than before, the suppressed power deep within the stone gate was still surging. He could feel it, like a wild beast chained up, crashing down again and again.

Pang Ban remained silent for a while.

"Six months. A year at most."

Dongfang Weiwo turned around and walked back. His boots left deep imprints on the frozen ground.

"A year is enough."

He said his tone didn't sound like he was comforting Pang Ban, but rather like he was telling himself.

"The spiritual energy of heaven and earth is rapidly recovering, and the fragments of the Tianxuan Continent will inevitably re-merge. The Penglai Passage is merely a harbinger, as is the Northern Stone Gate. When the seals on the entire continent are completely loosened, and the demons surge in from all directions..."

"At that time, the Eastern Continent needed to be strong enough on its own," Pang Ban said calmly, following behind him. "But a year is not enough, as the various factions in the Eastern Continent are still engaged in civil war."

Dongfang Weiwo didn't reply. He walked away quickly.

Several faces kept flashing through his mind—his little sister coughing under the covers, his mother's graying hair as she brewed medicine under the lamp, the dark golden lines on his father's palm, and the image of his father standing on the porch without chasing after him the night he turned and left the Dongfang family.

All of these things were forcing him to run.

He thought of the East Sea. He hadn't found the Underworld Emperor in the East Sea. As General Black Stone retreated deeper into the passage, the wisp of eerie green Netherfire vanished along with it.

The Underworld Emperor was not stupid—he knew what it meant for Dongfang Weiwo to appear on Ten Thousand Snake Island with the Demon-Sealing Bloodline.

The oldest sealing formation in the entire Eastern Continent recognizes the blood of the Dongfang family, and if he, with his demon-devouring bloodline who had betrayed the Dongfang family for hundreds of years, were to get too close, he would be instantly devoured by the formation. So he ran away.

They escaped into the Southern Frontier Continent through a deeper entrance, completely retreating into the territory of the Demon Clan.

Dongfang Weiwo gritted his teeth.

As long as the Underworld Emperor lives, the poison in my little sister's body will never be cured. But to kill the Underworld Emperor, his current cultivation level is far from sufficient—he's only a Grandmaster at the second level, not even enough to touch the hem of the Underworld Emperor's robes.

He stepped out of the ice field crevasse, stood in the howling wind and snow, and looked at the gray-white horizon in the distance.

"I'm going into seclusion."

Pang Ban walked to his side without saying a word, waiting for him to continue.

"Six months."

Dongfang Weiwo's voice was somewhat scattered by the wind, but every word was clear: "I want to fully awaken the Demon-Sealing Bloodline and at least break through to the seventh level of the Grandmaster realm."

Pang Ban turned and glanced at him, his gaze lingering on his face for a moment. "Your current cultivation level, reaching the seventh level in just six months?"

"Not enough." Dongfang Weiwo turned his head, his eyes shining brightly in the wind and snow. "Then let's reach the summit. The ninth level of the Grandmaster realm."

Pang Ban stared at him for a long time.

The wind swirled the snow between the two people.

"Beneath the core of the array on Ten Thousand Serpent Island lies a ley line cave," Pang Ban finally spoke, his tone as calm as ever, "The sealing power resonates most strongly with your bloodline. You can cultivate in seclusion there. I will guard the East Sea passage; there's no need to be distracted."

"Jiangnan, the capital, the northern border..."

"Bai Yujing and Li Chenzhou are not the same people they were six months ago."

Pang Ban interrupted him, "During your seclusion, Young Master, the Azure Dragon Society will operate on its own. If anything truly dire happens, I will secretly cover for you in the name of the Underworld."

Dongfang Weiwo remained silent for a moment.

He nodded.

There was only one thing he could do.

Become stronger. Strong enough to venture alone into the Southern Frontier Continent and drag the Underworld Emperor out of the Demon Clan's lair.

Six months later. East China Sea, underground caves of Ten Thousand Snake Island.

Dark golden light surged from the depths of the cave, coating the rock walls of the entire passageway with a flowing glow.

The spiritual energy in the earth's veins was being drawn in like mad, converging into the figure sitting cross-legged in the center of the cave.

Dongfang Weiwo closed his eyes, his long hair reaching his waist, and his dark robes fluttered wildly in the storm of spiritual energy.

Dark golden patterns appeared on the surface of his skin, exactly the same as those on the stone gate's palm print, spreading from his heart to his limbs, as if the blood itself was glowing.

The dormant demon-sealing power within him is awakening at an astonishing speed.

One month, body refinement perfected. Two months, peak of the Heavenly Empress realm. Three months, breakthrough to the Grandmaster realm. Fourth month, fourth level of the Great Grandmaster realm. The speed did not decrease but increased. In the fifth month, the seventh level, and just after the sixth month, the aura had already climbed to the peak of the ninth level of the Great Grandmaster realm.

A hair's breadth away from becoming a celestial being.

But he wasn't in a hurry to cross that threshold.

His awakened demon-sealing bloodline told him that the Dongfang family's cultivation method followed the path of "sealing" rather than "breaking through realms," and the stronger the foundation, the wider the road ahead.

He stopped at the peak of the ninth level of the Grandmaster realm, repeatedly compressing, refining, and polishing all his true energy until the dark gold patterns in his body were completely stabilized and integrated with his meridians and bones, without any further agitation.

The storm of spiritual energy outside the cave gradually subsided.

He opened his eyes.

Those eyes were much deeper than they were six months ago, with a layer of dark golden light in their depths, like an inextinguishable lamp lying in the abyss.

He stood up, cracked his wrists, and his knuckles made a series of fine cracking sounds.

At the peak of the ninth level of the Grandmaster realm, his combat power is unparalleled. At least on the Eastern Continent, this level is enough to make most people dare not look him in the eye.

He walked out of the cave.

The sunlight was blinding. The sky above Wanshe Island was cloudless, and the sea was as smooth as a mirror.

But Dongfang Weiwo stood there looking into the distance, his brows slowly furrowing.

Many broken ship planks float on the surface of the East China Sea, some with fragments of flags from various families stuck on them.

There was a faint smell of burning in the air, the lingering scent of a large-scale battle.

"Young master."

Pang Ban's voice came from behind.

Dongfang Weiwo turned around. Pang Ban stood on the stone steps at the entrance of the cave. His face looked more weathered than it had been half a year ago, and there was a thin scar on his forehead, but his aura was as steady as a mountain—his cultivation at the mid-stage of the initial stage of the Celestial Realm had deepened another level compared to half a year ago.

He held a thick stack of military reports in his hand, his expression unusually solemn.

"Young Master has been in seclusion for the past six months," Pang Ban stepped down, handing him a military report, his voice deep, "The Eastern Continent... has changed."