"So what's the situation outside, anyway? You things got chased all the way back here? Has my Human Race grown so powerful that you can't handle them?"
"Doesn't look like there are many Innate Domain Lords—most of them ascended later. Seems like quite a few of the ones who left this place back in the day have died."
"Sigh, stop wasting your energy. If this place of mine could be broken so easily, you wouldn't be the ones doing the breaking. Why don't you all take a rest? Sitting down and having a chat would be much nicer, wouldn't it?"
"That one over there with the horns on your head—yes, you. Tell me what things are like outside. In exchange, I'll give you a nice little fortune."
…
Cang chattered on without pause, but the Domain Lords remained silent. The power of Mo surged as they attacked with wild ferocity. Yet even with twenty-four Domain Lords joining forces and unleashing everything they had, they couldn't so much as budge Cang.
The more he babbled, the more ferociously the Domain Lords attacked, as though they wished they could blow him to pieces.
At that moment, from deep within the darkness, a surprised voice suddenly spoke: "You can control the power of Shi?"
Though Cang's movements had been extremely subtle, they still left traces. He had been concealing it well, but at some point he had inadvertently let something slip.
Cang chuckled. "You caught me, huh?"
The voice turned icy. "So that's how it is! No wonder you old fossil managed to stay alive all these years—you can actually control the power of Shi."
Cang sighed. "What choice did I have? You turned this wretched place into a spiritual void. If I wanted to stay alive, I had no option but to sneak in and steal a little from you now and then."
For countless years, it was precisely by manipulating the power of Shi—occasionally devouring a sliver of energy from the darkness—that he had managed to survive until now. Otherwise, he would have perished ages ago.
The voice in the darkness laughed coldly. "You've been careful, I'll give you that. All these years without showing a single flaw—even I never noticed."
"Taking without asking is never a good thing. If the owner caught me, wouldn't that be quite embarrassing?"
"Perhaps you've forgotten how Shi died."
"What can I do? If you want to stay alive, this is the only way."
How could Cang not know how Shi had died? Back then, Shi had devoured so much of Mo's power that he risked being corrupted by it. Only by fusing himself into the sealing formation at the final moment had he averted that fate.
Beings as powerful as they were still could not completely resist the corrosive influence of Mo's power.
The voice in the darkness sneered without pause. "Very well—you want it, don't you? If you want it, then take it!"
As the words were spoken, the calm darkness suddenly began to churn. Violent energy surged and roiled within, madly battering the mysterious sealing formation from the inside.
Cang's expression changed. He barked in a low voice: "Mo, don't do anything rash. If you have something to say, let's talk about it properly."
The voice in the darkness fell silent, but the surging power grew even more violent.
And Cang's body, which had been so emaciated that only bones remained, began expanding at a speed visible to the naked eye. In the blink of an eye, he had transformed into the appearance of a hale, fleshed-out old man.
But it didn't stop there. Cang's body continued to swell, rapidly puffing up like an inflated ball.
"Enough, enough!" Cang cried out, his voice full of panic. "Mo, stop! If you keep this up, I'm going to burst!"
Why would Mo stop? If he could actually burst the old man open, that would be a fine outcome for him.
Outside the sealing formation, the twenty-four Domain Lords saw this and their faces lit up with joy. They attacked with even greater fervor.
Moments later, Cang had swollen into a complete sphere. His facial features were no longer even distinguishable, and he looked as though he could explode at any second.
He called out with great difficulty: "I can't hold it anymore!"
As he spoke, he raised a palm and struck forward.
The Domain Lords who had been pummeling him were instantly seized by a feeling of imminent doom. An overwhelming sense of crisis descended upon them, as though death could come at any moment.
From within the darkness came Mo's panicked shout: "Everyone, get out of the way!"
But it was already too late.
The moment Cang's palm struck, the vast void of that nameless place trembled slightly. Ripples spread across the enormous sealing formation that shrouded the darkness.
The five Domain Lords caught at the forefront were engulfed by the savage force and exploded into clouds of blood mist in an instant—not a trace of their remains left behind.
More Domain Lords behind them were grievously wounded and coughed up blood.
With a single strike, the entire world suddenly fell silent.
Cang's body, swollen into a sphere, deflated like a punctured balloon and rapidly shrank back to his old man form. He wore an expression of deep comfort and let out a long breath. "That feels much better now."
Every surviving Domain Lord was shaken to their core, their faces filled with horror as they stared at Cang.
They were Domain Lords—the most powerful beings in existence. Twenty-four of them had joined forces, bombarding Cang for so long, and not only had they failed to wound him in the slightest, but his counterattack had directly killed five, grievously wounded more than ten, and left the rest without an unscathed body among them.
The power of that single strike had already exceeded the bounds of their comprehension.
Such immense power should not exist in this world.
Within the darkness sealed by the formation, the ocean of Mo power no longer churned.