The Ancient Gods' Whisper

As the words fell, the giant sword fell silent, and the soul bound to it seemed to vanish.

Gu Jianlin listened to the final remark, feeling somewhat confused: "Your teacher is really…"

Tang Ling glanced at the sword, pressed her cherry lips together without a sound, and murmured, "She's like that, don't mind it."

She paused briefly before changing the subject: "Um… Regarding what happened earlier, I won't tell anyone. Although I don't understand why someone with your level of power would choose to hide it. After all, this could have easily qualified you for the Omega Sequence. But since you've chosen to act this way, you must have your reasons."

Gu Jianlin was silent for a moment: "What is the Omega Sequence?"

Tang Ling cast him a suspicious glance: "You don't know?"

Gu Jianlin admitted that he truly didn't know.

"You'll find out soon enough. Based on what you've just done, someone must have seen it."

Tang Ling gazed deeply at him and said, "Aside from the Eye of Horus, the highest-ranking official on this mission is a Seventh Rank Holy Sanctuary Level Ascender—Chen Bojun, whom you met earlier, although he didn't come down. The Omega Sequence is under his jurisdiction. It's a special sequence within the association, yet completely autonomous, designed to counter the cultivation efforts of the Ancient God Clan."

She added, "And based on your performance just now, you'd easily qualify to join the Omega Sequence. Once you're in, you'll have access to unparalleled resources and protection. You can even venture into the Qilin Immortal Palace to seek ancient secrets and soar to greatness. At that point, we'd become competitors."

This girl was clearly different from the other investigators.

She wasn't just treated as the ace of the operations team; she was also in direct contact with headquarters.

Gu Jianlin looked up at the flowing deep-blue sea tide overhead.

"If they've seen, they've seen,"

he said flatly, "It was about time they looked anyway."

He wasn't wrong; this operation had been under surveillance all along.

After all, he hadn't revealed anything critical, and even if the Ether Association investigated, they wouldn't find anything.

As for mental intrusion or similar tactics, they wouldn't work on him in the slightest.

Gu Jianlin's goal had always been to showcase a portion of his strength to obtain more resources.

The Ether Association wasn't limited to just one faction like the Judgement Court.

"But what I do want to know is—this, is this your plan?"

He suddenly asked, "The Ether Association's real objective isn't simply to wipe out the Grave Digger Organization, is it?"

Tang Ling hesitated before responding: "That's correct. Outside the Qilin Immortal Palace, there's a Primordial Ancient God trying to break free. It's currently in an extremely weakened state and most likely belongs to the Candle Dragon Clan. Its task here is to guard the Qilin Venerable!"

Gu Jianlin fell silent upon hearing the final remark.

So that Kui was indeed a Primordial-level existence.

And it was from the Candle Dragon Clan, no less.

Once Gu Jianlin broke free of his own seal, the odds were he'd have to face this horrifying being.

Too terrifying—it sent chills down his spine.

He lowered his gaze to the Blood Crystal Stone clutched in his hand, thinking that this trip had been worthwhile.

Otherwise, he might suffer deeply in the future.

Boom—

The ground began to tremble, and deep within the underground palace, something seemed to roar, as waves of blood-colored mist surged forth.

Following the black mist and white mist… blood fog emerged!

This fog carried an eerie and sinister presence, sending chills down the spine.

Uncle Mu warned before—never touch the blood fog!

At the same time, the blood fog echoed with countless eerie murmurs, as if a horde of ghosts were whispering to each other in secret, or as if tortured souls were madly chattering—insidious murmurs that bordered on madness!

Tang Ling abruptly clasped her ears, her pale face twisting in agony.

Gu Jianlin, too, heard those uncanny murmurs.

"Blood Crystal Stone… throw it into the Blood River!"

A majestic and chilling whisper—it was as if gods issuing their orders from the heavens!

Tang Ling's eyes flashed with struggle and bewilderment; a trace of blood-red light gleamed in her pupils, staring intently at the crystal stone in his hand!

Her grip tightened around the sword hilt, and she harbored the urge to seize it!

Meanwhile, Gu Jianlin glimpsed a pair of blood-red, vertical slitted eyes within the fog, terrifying and grotesque!

Kui!

It was deploying some method of mental manipulation!

This Ancient God, even in battle, attempted to manipulate them and complete its Blood Sacrifice!

With a thunderous roar,

Gu Jianlin perceived the roar of the Black Qilin deep in his consciousness. Golden eyes ignited within the darkness, blazing fiercely.

His mind instantly cleared. Staring at the vertical slitted eyes in the depths of the blood fog, he coldly declared:

"Stay weakened for all I care!"

Crunch—

The Blood Crystal Stone shattered in his grasp!

Boom—

A piercing, furious roar erupted from the deepest abyss of darkness!

The entire underwater palace trembled violently, on the verge of collapse, teetering precariously.

Tang Ling's gaze regained clarity, and a flicker of lingering fear appeared in her expression.

"Retreat!"

Gu Jianlin grabbed her by the arm: "Don't linger here!"

In the depths of the blood mist, a grim and colossal black figure seemed to rise skyward. Its towering form evoked the image of a god's titanic body from the Ancient Times, surrounded by storms of blood and wreaking havoc.

Flames of primordial rage burned within those blood-red vertical eyes, and as they swept down, they carried the wrath of a god, as if the infernal fire would reduce everything to ash!

Before this monstrous entity, two shadowy silhouettes stood eerily within the blood mist, attempting to emerge.

One of them raised a hand gently, as though reciting an ancient hymnal.

The ground quaked and splintered, and from the fissures crawled an army of countless Gu Worms—dense, innumerable, and surging like a tide.

Tang Ling snapped back to attention. The Extreme Thunder Great Sword burst forth with fierce lightning, engulfing the swarm of Gu Worms in a single strike.