“What should we do now?”

Hua Tianqiong looked at the worried Qin Lie. He himself was sweating heavily. “Is there really no other way?”

“It’ll be difficult,” Qin Lie said while shaking his head.

This was the first time he felt this conflicted.

Not only did the Saint God pose him a tough dilemma, it was one that was nearly impossible to solve.

If he ignored the returning experts and allowed them to do whatever they wanted, the universe might collapse by itself, even before the shadow beings’ return.

But if he interfered, the only way to truly stop them was to kill them all. He would be offending every powerful race in the universe.

He wasn’t even sure that he could kill this many peak experts in a short time.

“Whoosh!”

Suddenly, a beautiful soul figure appeared before him.

It was Ling Yushi’s soul figure. She said, “The patriarch of the Demon Dragon Race, Abrit, is attempting to enter the ultimate realm at the Dragon Realm. Qin Lie, something… doesn’t feel right about these three returnees.”

“Doesn’t feel right?” Qin Lie asked in astonishment.

“I’m able to detect the soul activity of any living being who is born in Spirit Realm, even if they’re someone as powerful as Senior Flame Emperor or Senior Ice Emperor.” Ling Yushi paused for a moment before looking at Qin Hao. She continued, “Not even Uncle Qin, the strongest expert of Spirit Realm, can escape my detection. However, I only have a vague idea of the three returnees’ location, and something seems to be slightly different about their souls. This anomaly is what has been keeping me from sensing them clearly.”

“What do you mean?” Qin Lie didn’t understand her meaning.

“They may be born in Spirit Realm, but I believe that something has corrupted their souls,” Ling Yushi said seriously.

Qin Lie’s expression changed drastically when he heard this. He exclaimed, “It’s possible that the Saint God had influenced them without them realizing it! It could be that the secret art to reach the ultimate realm they received from the Saint God is tied to that anomaly in their soul!”

“Please accompany me to Dragon Realm,” Ling Yushi said.

“Okay!”

Ling Yushi created a spatial rift with her power.

They passed through the spatial rift together.

Qin Shan, Qin Hao, and the Flame Emperor followed behind them without hesitation.

An instant later, the experts of Sky Bearing City arrived at a secluded valley inside the Dragon Realm.

“Qin Lie! The Flame Emperor and the Ice Emperor! Why have you come?”

Barett of the Demon Dragon Race had rushed over from Boluo Realm the moment he heard from his two brothers.

The moment he arrived, he immediately learned from Mitchell that his father was cultivating in seclusion and working toward the ultimate realm.

Barett was absolutely thrilled as a result.

His two brothers and their clansmen all gathered around the valley to protect Abrit while the latter was breaking through.

Then, Qin Lie and his people suddenly came out of nowhere. Barett was confused and unsure as to the intention behind their appearance.

Inside the valley, a huge, black-colored demon dragon could be seen raging inside a cold, dark lake.

“Crackle!”

Lightning crisscrossed above the lake as Abrit roared until the sky was shaking.

The natural energy of the entire Dragon Realm was drawn toward the demon dragon.

“Whoosh whoosh!”

Wisps of invisible lifeforce only an expert’s soul could sense started moving toward the lake.

The lifeforce was coming from… every living being present at the lake!

The three sons of Abrit and the powerful warriors of the Demon Dragon Race especially were losing lifeforce at an accelerated rate.

“He’s absorbing both world spirit energy and our lifeforce!” the Ice Emperor exclaimed in shock.

“The Demon Dragon Race’s condition to enter the ultimate realm is different from the Thunder Emperor or Shang Mou. A demon dragon needs massive amounts of flesh and blood energy to enter the ultimate realm,” Qin Lie said with a dark expression while sensing the flow of energy around him. He then added, “I’ve calculated the amount of flesh and blood energy and natural energy he would need to enter the ultimate realm. Let’s just say he would need an unbelievable amount.”

For example, his body needed a ton of flesh and blood energy to grow.

When he was ascending to a Devil Monarch, he was supported by Flaming Sun Purgatory’s abyss devil energy, the flesh and blood energy of the Flesh Filling Tombstone, and the corpses of the Great Lords of the Abyss who challenged him.

Then, he killed Castor and refined all eight of his avatars to grow to nine thousand meters.

After that, he refined the blood essences he received from all the races and grew to nine thousand and nine hundred meters tall.

Finally, when Lieyan Yuan was on the verge of entering the ultimate realm, he killed him and used his flesh and blood energy to complete the last legs of his growth!

All of his breakthroughs were built on the corpses of the strongest experts. It had taken the Flesh Filling Tombstone, several Great Lords of the Abyss, Castor, and Lieyan Yuan to reach his current level!

The same method was applicable to all Abyss Devils.

An Abyss Devil needed to kill another opponent at the same level and absorb their heart and body. Only then could they accumulate enough flesh and blood energy to achieve a breakthrough.

The source of the Demon Dragon Race’s bloodline was the Abyss Devil Dragons. Therefore, the Demon Dragon Race’s breakthrough was similar to the Abyss Devil Dragons’.

Naturally, Abrit’s breakthrough had to be supported by massive amounts of flesh and blood energy.

Currently, there weren’t many existences who were at the same level as Abrit. Also, he had just returned from the Dark Shadow World, so he naturally needed flesh and blood energy to replenish himself.

So, it was perfectly normal for him to absorb world spirit energy and nearby lifeforce to sustain himself.

“The Dragon Realm’s world spirit energy will be completely devoured before your father can enter the ultimate realm. The world you live in will crumble when that happens,” Qin Lie said while looking at the three brothers seriously. “Even then, there isn’t enough world spirit energy in Dragon Realm to sustain his breakthrough, so he must extract flesh and blood energy—lifeforce—from both Evil Dragon Race and Demon Dragon Race to make up for it. When he’s on the verge of entering the ultimate realm, he will require another massive boost of lifeforce to take that final step, which again will have to be supplied by all of you.”

“His breakthrough may very well drive the Dragon Race to extinction!”

“He’ll become the strongest demon dragon in the Dragon Race’s history, but the price would be the entire Dragon Race and the Dragon Realm itself.”

Qin Lie declared.

“That can’t be possible! Qin Lie, please cease your threats immediately!” Mitchell said angrily.

“There’s no way father would sacrifice the Dragon Realm and the Dragon Race for his own breakthrough!” Barett didn’t believe Qin Lie either.

“Your father was no longer himself when he came out of the Dark Shadow World alive.” Ling Yushi in her soul form scanned the valley interior closely while speaking, “His soul is corrupted by something unique to the Saint God. That thing has turned your father into a simpleton who cares about nothing except entering the ultimate realm as soon as possible! To that end, he can sacrifice anything!”

“In other words, the Saint God has bewitched your father’s soul.”

“However, he isn’t aware of it at all.”