"You little brat, stop right now!"
The voice yelled furiously, but Ian Song ignored him completely, madly absorbing the gray mist into his body and refining it into drop after drop of gray liquid.
Watching the steadily increasing gray liquid, Ian was very satisfied.
But the voice kept roaring in Ian’s ear, so enraged it sounded like it wanted to tear him to pieces.
When Ian switched locations for the third time to absorb gray mist, the voice grew weak: "Kid, you win. One God Emperor-grade cultivation method, one God Emperor-grade divine weapon!"
"Two God Emperor-grade methods, three God Emperor-grade weapons!"
Ian smiled as he bargained.
"Kid, don’t push your luck!" the voice snapped, full of annoyance.
Ian just shrugged, "Honestly, I don’t really care. Refining gray mist is way better than any so-called methods or weapons. If you don’t agree, that’s fine by me!"
The voice went silent. After a full quarter hour, it finally spoke again: "Kid, two God Emperor-grade methods, two God Emperor-grade weapons. No more bargaining. If you dare refuse, even if I can’t kill you right now, when I wake up in the future, it’ll be your end!"
"Haha, deal!"
Ian laughed loudly. The Star King’s legacy hadn’t reached the God Emperor level yet, so the methods he left behind could only be cultivated to peak God King. Ian needed to prepare early for his future.
"Take them!"
The next moment, a flash of light appeared, and two golden divine jade slips, a short sword, and a bead materialized in front of Ian.
Ian picked up the two divine jade slips and probed inside. Sure enough, they contained two cultivation methods. He couldn’t confirm they were truly God Emperor-grade, but he could tell they were far more profound than the God King methods left by the Star King.
As for the short sword, just touching it let Ian feel its terrifying pressure—it was truly powerful. The bead was no ordinary item either, but this wasn’t the place to study them. With a wave of his hand, he stowed all four items away.
"Scram, kid!"
The voice urged him, and at the same time, the exit passage reappeared.
"Let’s go!"
Ian took Selena Owens by the hand and stepped into the passage. The instant he exited, he hurriedly activated the Teleportation Divine Talisman.
"Whoosh, whoosh!"
Both of them vanished instantly.
At the very moment they disappeared, a massive black hand slammed down from above.
Boom!
The void in that area was blasted apart, turning into a yawning black hole.
Fifty kilometers away, inside the Primordial Forbidden Zone.
Ian Song and Selena Owens suddenly reappeared.
Without hesitation, the two of them bolted madly toward the entrance.
"Roar!"
A furious roar echoed from behind. Ian glanced back and saw, high in the sky dozens of kilometers away, the black-mist giant—formed entirely of swirling darkness—the same manifestation that had dragged them into the Primordial Forbidden Zone before.
"Go!"
Suddenly, golden flames erupted from Selena Owens's body. Her speed skyrocketed severalfold, and she yanked Ian along, transforming them into a streak of light shooting toward the entrance.
Boom!
The black-mist giant struck at them.
A colossal palm print slammed down from afar, unleashing destructive force that crashed behind them.
Shards of stone shot out like meteors, pelting both of them in a dense barrage.
Fortunately, Ian's physical defense was sky-high, and Selena Owens was protected by a Heaven-grade artifact. Even so, the stone shards struck them so hard they coughed blood.
Ironically, the barrage actually boosted their speed even more.
Whoosh!
The entrance to the Primordial Forbidden Zone was now in sight.
But the black-mist giant unleashed a second palm strike from midair.
"Go!"
Ian summoned his Divine Combat Puppet, then activated his strongest sword art to meet the giant palm head-on.
Splat!
The instant the two collided, the puppet was pulverized in less than a second.
But that sacrifice bought Ian and Selena Owens just enough time to burst out of the Primordial Forbidden Zone. Yet, a torrent of overwhelming energy still surged after them from behind.
Boom! Boom!
Both were struck by the energy torrent. Thankfully, outside the Primordial Forbidden Zone, its force was greatly weakened—but still far beyond what Ian and Selena could withstand.
Ian felt his body nearly collapse. Terrified, he fired off several beams of Radiance of Life just to keep his flesh from falling apart.
As for Selena Owens, her Heaven-grade artifact was shattered by the energy torrent, which then smashed directly into her body.
Splurt!
Blood sprayed everywhere as Selena Owens was blasted into a bloody figure, flung several kilometers away and crashing to the ground—her fate uncertain.
Cough, cough!
Ian hacked up mouthfuls of blood, but still turned back toward the Primordial Forbidden Zone, flipping it off. "Screw you! Just you wait—one day I'll come back and settle the score!"
"Kid, even if you don't come looking for me, I'll come for you. Did you really think my treasures are so easy to steal?"
The voice of that mysterious existence echoed from deep within the Primordial Forbidden Zone.
"If you've got the guts, come take them back right now... cough, cough!"
Ian cursed at the top of his lungs.
Hmph!
With a cold snort, the other side ignored Ian completely.
Ian continued cursing for a while, but when the entity didn't respond, he got bored. He used three drops of gray origin liquid, and his body rapidly healed at astonishing speed.
Then, Ian rushed to Selena Owens's side. Seeing her lying there, blood-soaked and on the brink of death, he dripped ten drops of gray origin liquid onto her ruined body. Instantly, her wounds began to heal at an astonishing rate.
In less than a quarter hour, a flawless, snow-white body appeared before Ian's eyes.
"Mm!"
With a soft moan, Selena Owens slowly woke up. The moment she noticed Ian's mischievous gaze, she realized with horror that she was stark naked.
She hurriedly fished out a set of clothes from her storage God-ring and dressed herself, then shot Ian a fierce glare.
"You should leave. Let's just pretend we never met!"
Suddenly, Ian handed Selena Owens a jade bottle containing five hundred drops of gray origin liquid. "Consider this compensation," he said.
"What do you mean by that?"
Selena Owens's expression turned icy.
"What, got addicted to being my female slave? Thinking of sticking around for more?" Ian teased, giving her a playful look.
"You bastard!"
Selena Owens spat out a curse, then transformed into a streak of light and vanished.
Watching her go, Ian awkwardly rubbed his nose, thinking to himself, Did she actually develop feelings for me? He recalled how, during their escape, she burned her own soul power but never abandoned him, and couldn't help but feel a pang of guilt.
But he knew he had to do this.
Sooner or later, news of him killing the Nangong Family's Upper-Rank Gods would leak. When it did, the God-King-backed Nangong clan would never let him go. If Selena Owens kept following him, she'd be caught in the middle and suffer for it.
That's why Ian forced himself to drive her away.
Suddenly, he remembered the two Upper Heavenly Gods sealed in his storage God-ring, so he released them.
However, both remained in a deep self-sealed state and would need to be awakened.
"Should I wake them up or not?"
Ian hesitated. If he revived them and they repaid kindness with betrayal, he had no way to stop them.