The Last King Of Darkness

The Book of Knowledge muttered, "Perhaps the Primordial Goddess, with Her transcendent Spirituality, foresaw something—the Black Fog’s corrosion of the Sea of Source may have exceeded our imagination."

"You mean," Rod asked in a low voice, "before we completely accomplish the Purification of the high-layer Spirit Realm, the Primordial Divine King might break free of the Sea of Source’s backlash, or even utterly corrode the Sea of Source?"

The Book of Knowledge turned its pages with a heavy rustle. "Exactly. Once the Primordial Gods fully complete their Awakening, They may set out into the Starry Sky and tear the Sea of Source apart. Once the Primordial Divine King Atos slips his shackles, our Doomsday will arrive."

Rod fell silent. He knew that even if the Black Fog had not yet finished corroding the Sea of Source, as long as the Primordial Divine King Atos descended into the Main Material World, humanity would be annihilated. Once the final sparks of fire were extinguished, the Sea of Source would not endure for long—being consumed utterly was only a matter of time.

"We must hasten our pace."

What troubled him, however, was that although the Dream Realm had reached an unprecedented height, its speed had not attained that of the Spirit Realm Ship. The Book of Knowledge told Rod this was because the actual Space of the Dream Realm had increased enormously, causing its speed boost to fall short of expectations; and the distance from the "Ice Prison" to the "Light Country" was extremely vast, requiring at least several days. In the past, it might well have taken several months without ever reaching it.

Now that the Primordial Divine King has Awakened, every second is precious beyond measure; several days is far too long.

Just as Rod’s anxiety peaked, Old King suddenly told him that perhaps Qingyu had a way to let the Dream Realm reach the "Light Country" in an instant.

Rod was utterly astonished. "Qingyu has a way? The Dream Realm is the embodied form of my Divine Country and cannot exist within my Soul. Even if I arrive in the ’Light Country,’ the Dream Realm cannot reach it. Without the Dream Realm, there is no way to Purify the high-layer Spirit Realm, nor to plunder the Primordial Gods’ Divine Countries and thereby force those terrifying beings into an early Awakening."

The power of the Primordial Gods was too vast; Awakening ahead of time would cost Them a portion of unstable power and might even trigger unforeseen consequences. They needed to accumulate enormous power before They could fully Awaken. Precisely because of this, the creations of those Primordial Gods were so frail, and only thus did those horrifying prefigurations and echoes appear in prophecy.

Qingyu looked at Old King with equal puzzlement, unable to understand what he meant.

"Little Rod."

Beneath the golden Primordial Fire, Old King’s smile was just as it had always been. Though Rod’s power had long surpassed his, one could still find in his voice a thread of reassurance.

"We have already kindled the Initial Fire. This is Tenth Level Holy Fire—the most powerful Holy Fire. Its projection has already penetrated the Spirit Realm, far beyond what it did back when I was the Holy Fire Guardian. I believe some of its branches have already grown from the Outer Spirit Realm into the high-layer Spirit Realm. Within the ’Light Country,’ what you see may well be the projection of the Primordial Fire in the Spirit Realm."

Qingyu tilted her head slightly, still not understanding what use this would be.

Rod only froze for a moment before realizing, and exclaimed, "You mean the Teleportation Gate can be opened near the Primordial Fire’s projection in the Spirit Realm?"

Old King smiled. "I believe so. The fire’s projection is nothing other than an offshoot of the Fire Domain. Your Teleportation Gate cannot fail to function there."

Rod clenched his fist. Yes—so long as the Dream Realm could pass through the Teleportation Gate, it could reach the "Light Country" in an instant.

"Book!"

He shouted.

𝕗𝚛𝚎𝚎𝐰𝗲𝗯𝗻𝚘𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝕞

"Can the Dream Realm pass through a Teleportation Gate?"

The Book of Knowledge trembled, immediately grasping its master’s intent, and shouted, "Of course it can. Though the Dream Realm is highly unusual, in essence it remains an entity, and can traverse a highest-rank true Teleportation Gate."

"Good!"

Rod turned at once and asked, "Qingyu, can you confirm that the Primordial Fire’s projection has reached into the Light Country?"

Qingyu closed her eyes. Flames like Condensed Light coiled around her slender form, while a faint glow that seemed to hail from the dawn of the world surfaced upon her body. This was the Initial Fire, created jointly by the earliest human heroes and the Primordial Gods. It was the antithesis of the Black Fog, the Orderly Light of the Supreme Universe and the Source of Purification, the manifestation of the 108th category of Primordial Source, the power by which the Law Origin Ring corrects aberration.

As long as it exists, the world will never be completely corroded.

That mighty Purification power drove deep from the Main Material World into the Spirit Realm and down into the Sea of Source, branching out like roots and boughs, ten thousand lines of Purification spilling across the Spirit Realm. From the macroscopic vantage of the cosmos, it formed something like a World Tree blazing with Golden Light.

At this moment, one tip of the World Tree had already probed into the high-layer Spirit Realm, yet had not fully entered the "Light Country." Qingyu gathered all her strength; the flame of her Soul drove the Initial Fire to its utmost, even at the cost of burning her Soul Body as Fuel Element. This was the strongest Fuel Element, able to bring the Primordial Fire to peak combustion in a short time.

The Primordial Fire at full blaze erupted with unimaginable Golden Light. That boundless radiance drowned all of Troli, even illuminating the Gray Soil Continent. A surging tide of flame soared into the sky, spreading all the way to the edges of the firmament. And within the Spirit Realm, the golden tree began to stretch rapidly; soon, one great branch thrust into the Light Country.

"Rod, I’m ready!" Qingyu cried.

Rod did not hesitate for even half a second. He immediately brought forth the Spirit Realm Ship, and in but an instant he arrived in the dim "Light Country." In this ashen region, shattered wreckage lay everywhere. Amid this desolate ruin, he saw the place Qingyu had indicated—that single thread of blazing radiance, like a newborn hope for this gray and broken world.