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

He turned to look at the man in gray.

Yan Kuangtu grabbed the gray-clad man by the back of his collar and shook him. The gray-clad man's cloak slipped down, revealing an ordinary face, but at this moment, that face was full of ashen color.

The black lotus mark on his palm had completely faded, and the power of the Ten Thousand Demons Sect attached to him had been completely suppressed by Yan Kuangtu's aura of creation.

"The Ten Thousand Demons Cult."

Dongfang Weiwo walked up to the man in gray, looked down at him, and asked, "Who sent you? Who's behind you?"

The man in gray raised his eyes, looking at the dark gold lines spreading across Dongfang Weiwo's face, and suddenly smiled—a strange smile, carrying an almost pitying weariness.

"...You thought it was the Ten Thousand Demons Sect? The Ten Thousand Demons Sect was just... a messenger. By the time you got the fourth bone, you already knew what you needed to know. In that hall... what did you see?"

Dongfang Weiwo's pupils contracted slightly. He did "see" something the moment he touched the fourth bone fragment, but he hadn't had time to think about it—it was a scene even more ancient than what he had seen at Starry Manor. Before the giant shadow was first formed, something else was watching him from behind it.

He didn't press further. He straightened up and looked at Guan Yutian and Xiong Ba:

"Northern Desert. Crimson Abyss Volcano. Emperor Taiyuan will remain—he has handed over the map of Crimson Abyss and the rules governing the Fire Abyss's defenses. The Taiyuan Dynasty still exists, and the Undying Guards have retreated to the western desert border. One more step eastward, and there's no need to keep them here."

Emperor Taiyuan did not haggle any further. He took out an old animal hide from his robes and threw it to Dongfang Weiwo, then turned and mounted the bone lizard. The two hundred thousand Undying Armored Guards retreated into the night like a tide.

The Radiant Armor Formation of the Dharma King Jingguang also quietly withdrew.

Before departing, the Dharma King paused briefly a hundred feet away, glanced back at Dongfang Weiwo, and spoke in a voice that was neither too loud nor too soft:

"When the fifth bone is born, the Bright Heaven Palace won't come to steal it. But if you die in the Crimson Abyss, the western front of the Heavenly Profound Palace... I will eventually have to face it."

After saying this, he left. The thirty thousand Radiant Armorers disappeared behind the sand dunes, like the tide receding into the deep sea before dawn.

Dongfang Weiwo unfolded the rolled-up animal skin map and glanced at it—the entire Crimson Abyss Volcano appeared before his eyes. The volcano's interior was divided into nine levels, with the fifth level and below marked with unknown symbols. The rules for guarding the pass of the Fire Abyss Lord were written on the back of the animal skin:

"Those who enter the volcano must have one person stay behind for each level they descend. Those who pass all nine levels may proceed to the bone."

He put away the map and walked to the man in gray. Yan Kuangtu loosened his grip so the man in gray could look up and speak.

"You said you're not a member of the Ten Thousand Demons Cult."

Dongfang Weiwo stared into his eyes. "Who are you?"

The man in gray's lips moved, but in the end he only uttered four words:

"...The gatekeeper. I am the gatekeeper's shadow. Before that giant shadow shattered itself, it left itself an 'observer' to prevent the seal from being broken from within. I am that observer's...copy."

The master woke up before you; He was waiting for the fifth bone to reset.

The fourth bone fragment that had been integrated into the spine behind Dongfang Weiwo suddenly felt a burning sensation.

"What is He waiting for?"

His voice trailed off.

The man in gray looked at him, his compassionate smile deepening.

"He is waiting for you. Waiting for you to gather all nine bones, and then make that choice for Him."

The desert wind howled past, scattering the gray-clad man's last half-spoken words into the swirling yellow sand.

Dongfang Weiwo stood silently for a long time before finally rolling up the animal hide map and putting it into his pocket. He then turned and walked towards the remaining afterglow of the teleportation star array. Yan Kuangtu followed behind him, carrying the gray-clad man, with Guan Yutian and Xiong Ba on either side. The four of them stepped into the starlight.

"To the Northern Desert."

Dongfang Weiwo closed his eyes, his voice calm, "Crimson Abyss Volcano, the last piece."

Star Shine surged again.

In the desert, the bronze secondary hall slowly sank back into the yellow sand, leaving only a dark golden array pattern imprinted on the sand surface, which flickered three times before going out completely.

The sky over the northern desert is leaden gray.

From the moment the teleportation array of Starry Mountain Villa landed, Dongfang Weiwo smelled a strong odor of sulfur mixed with magma. The frozen soil beneath his feet was cracked by the geothermal heat of the volcano, and dark red light shone through the cracks, like the earth opening countless fiery eyes.

The Chiyuan Volcano stands at the edge of the field of vision, its entire body as black as ink. Not a blade of grass grows on its surface, except for layers of basalt formed by the cooling of lava, which are stacked up to form an inverted cone-shaped giant tower.

The crater constantly spews forth crimson smoke, which rises into the leaden-gray sky and condenses into dark clouds, obscuring the sunlight for miles around. The spiritual energy here is chaotic and violent, with fire-attribute spiritual power accounting for more than 90%. Ordinary celestial beings find it difficult to even breathe when they step into this place.

Behind Dongfang Weiwo, Yan Kuangtu, Guan Yutian, and Xiong Ba formed a triangle to protect the four sides.

Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng stood on either side, while the Zhenwu Sect Leader protected Qin Lin'an at the very back. The gray-clad man, his hands bound by Yan Kuangtu with a dark gold rope, stumbled along the back of the group.

Yan Kuangtu looked up at the black volcano and whistled:

"This place is even more sinister than the forbidden area of ​​the Power Gang that I infiltrated back then. Young master, what does it mean by 'One person must stay behind for each level' written on that animal hide? Can the person who stays behind come out alive?"

Dongfang Weiwo unfolded the animal skin map, his gaze sweeping over the nine layers of markings on the volcano's cross-section—the first to fourth layers were marked "Fire Spirit Nest," the fifth to seventh layers were "Lava Maze," the eighth layer only had three words "Lord's Mansion," and the ninth layer was blank, with a circular mark drawn in cinnabar in the center and a line of small text next to it: "Left Leg Bone - First Crack Site."

"Those who remain will guard this level of the barrier to prevent the passage from closing."

Dongfang Weiwo put away the map. "After clearing all nine levels, those remaining on each level can retreat on their own, provided that all restrictions are unlocked when the last level is opened. In other words—I need to bring enough people down, leaving one person to guard each level, in order to reach the bottom."

Guan Yutian asked in a deep voice, "Young Master, how many people do we have now?"

Dongfang Weiwo quickly counted: Yan Kuangtu, Guan Yutian, Xiong Ba, Ximen Chuixue, Ye Gucheng, Zhenwu Sect Leader, Qin Lin'an, plus himself, a total of eight people. The gray-clad man was bound and could not be counted as combat power.

"Eight people." He frowned slightly. "We're one short of the ninth floor."

Xiong Ba suddenly spoke up: "Send the man in gray down to guard the first floor."

Dongfang Weiwo turned around and glanced at the man in gray.

A bitter smile appeared on that ordinary face:

"My cultivation was mostly shattered by your man, and now I'm not even stable as a Celestial Being. You want me to guard a level? I can't even guard the gate."

"Then you can stay on the outer layer to provide support."

Dongfang Wei didn't hesitate; her gaze swept over the crowd.

"Eight people will descend eight levels. One person will remain on each of the first to eighth levels to guard the restrictions. I will go alone to the ninth level to retrieve the bone. If the passage closes or is invaded by external enemies while I am guarding a level, crush this."

He took out eight dark gold bone talismans from his sleeve, each bearing one of his array runes, and handed them to each person:

"I can sense when the bone talisman shatters. No matter which floor I'm on, I'll come up."

Yan Kuangtu took the bone talisman, weighed it in his hand, and grinned, saying:

"Rest assured, young master, I'll guard the eighth floor. If anything dares to come down from up there and disturb you, I'll make sure it's reduced to ashes."

Guan Yutian continued, "I'll guard the seventh level. The core restrictions of the Lava Maze require the suppression of a Creation Realm expert; otherwise, the passage will close on its own."

Xiong Ba looked up at the sixth level's label: "The sixth level belongs to me. The Threefold Returning to Origin Qi can seal the lava flow."

Ximen Chuixue and Ye Gucheng exchanged a glance and each chose the fifth floor and the fourth floor, respectively.

The True Martial Sect Leader chose the third level, while Qin Lin'an chose the second level.

Dongfang Weiwo carefully put away the last two bone talismans and stepped onto the first black stone staircase leading to the crater.

The seven people behind him followed in one by one. The man in gray was left in a cave at the foot of the mountain. The True Martial Sect Leader used the True Martial Sword Formation to lock the entrance of the cave before following up.

The moment you step onto the stairs, a wave of heat hits you.

The first level entrance was a naturally formed stone platform beside a lava pool, where crimson-orange magma surged, and the spiritual pressure was equivalent to the full-force pressure released by a Celestial Realm cultivator at the initial stage. Qin Lin'an stopped on the stone platform, gripped the bone talisman tightly, took a deep breath, and nodded to Dongfang Weiwo.

The Eastern Unique Self continues its downward trend.

The second entrance was a narrow crevice, barely wide enough for one person to pass through. Qin Lin'an's voice came from behind: "Lord of the Manor... don't die in there."

Dongfang Weiwo didn't turn around, but waved his hand. The heat wave surging from the depths of the rift made his robes flutter loudly.