After ten thousand years, it finally saw the vast sky once again, but there was not a single shred of joy in its heart, only bone-deep rage and sorrow.
Its master had yet to appear. Could it really be that...
It frantically destroyed the ancient altar that had once suppressed and imprisoned it, then threw its head back and roared, a dark-gold beam of destruction sweeping across the entire land.
Wherever the beam passed, the earth cracked and ruptured, debris flying in all directions, leaving the entire area utterly devastated.
Glimpsing the crowd watching from afar, it did not hesitate for a second, spitting out another beam of destruction. Taking heavy, massive strides, it slowly closed in on those minuscule figures.
After only a few steps, it halted all movement. A thread of an incredibly familiar aura quietly permeated the air—it was its master's aura!
The presence was right before it. It looked down at that spot, where the void was slowly churning and twisting.
A wisp of pitch-black mist seeped out from a rift in the void, slowly condensing into a deep, blurry silhouette.
The giant beast's massive body trembled violently. It immediately bowed its head, prostrating itself flat on the ground in the most devout posture.
It had waited for thousands of years, yearned for thousands of years, and its master had finally come to take it away. Even if its own life source was on the verge of exhaustion, it had absolutely no complaints.
A thousand years of lonely imprisonment had finally culminated in this moment.
Meanwhile, Bai Xuan's consciousness was floating in an endless darkness.
Was this what death felt like? No light, no sound, unable to feel the weight of his body, only an infinite void.
He floated aimlessly, unable to tell the passage of time. Perhaps it was only a few short seconds, or perhaps ten thousand years had already passed.
In his daze, he remembered the Divine Crest worn on his chest.
This Divine Crest was a Holy Relic gifted to him by the old nun, which had later transformed after receiving the blessing of the Goddess of Radiance, granting him a one-time resurrection ability to reverse life and death.
Was it really fake? Bai Xuan felt he had miscalculated, if he even had a body left to feel regret with.
Just as he fell completely into confusion, a bizarre, cold force quietly wrapped around him.
But he could feel that power. Pleasure, rage, fear... countless emotions wrapped around him like tentacles, slowly dragging him toward the depths of the unknown darkness.
He instinctively resisted; the feeling of being dragged away filled him with unease from the depths of his soul.
His struggle had some effect. The cold tentacles loosened slightly, but they did not dissipate, still pulling at his soul.
Just as he was about to be dragged completely into the endless darkness, a thread of warm, gentle light suddenly enveloped him from behind.
Those cold tentacles of emotion instantly shrank back and dissolved as if meeting fire, vanishing without a trace.
The warm light completely enveloped him like a safe, gentle harbor, smoothing away all his fears and restlessness. His consciousness couldn't help but drift.
In the next second, he snapped his eyes open.
He was suspended several yards in the air, his battered, damaged body completely restored, and the white robe on his body returned to its original state.
The white hem of his robe fluttered gently against the backdrop of the gilded Holy Light. The Divine Crest on his chest was warm and bright, as a continuous stream of holy power surged from the badge, washing over and reshaping his muscles and bones.
Directly in front of him, a dense, deep mass of darkness quietly floated in the air.
This darkness had no fixed form, slowly diffusing like ink dropped into clear water, yet it carried a heavy pressure that caused Bai Xuan's heart to involuntarily contract.
And the giant beast, which had just been rampaging with terrifying might, was now crouching before the darkness with its head lowered, completely shedding all its hostility and ferocity, leaving only devoutness.
The gilded Holy Light around Bai Xuan grew increasingly dazzling, like the dawn breaking to dispel all surrounding darkness.
The deep mass of darkness contracted slightly, as if wanting to resist, but ultimately, it inexplicably retracted all of its power.
The giant beast's massive body began to turn transparent and dissipate, starting from the tips of its claws. It did not struggle in the slightest, remaining quietly prostrated on the ground, peacefully awaiting its end.
The diffusing darkness slowly gathered, wrapping around the dissipating particles of light from the giant beast, re-condensing into a blurry silhouette before completely annihilating into the void.
The black mist filling the sky receded like a tide. The golden light radiating from Bai Xuan expanded outward, clearing away the last trace of gloom to reveal the desolate ruins below.
Bai Xuan slowly landed, the Holy Light around him gradually fading away. The Divine Crest on his chest also dimmed, leaving behind only a trace of warmth.
Standing amidst the ruins, he looked up at the void where the giant beast had vanished, where not a single trace remained.
The darkness in the sky had completely dispersed, leaving only a bleak landscape behind.
Bai Xuan stood in place, sensing the Staff of Guidance.
The staff had not fallen too far, only buried under the collapsed rubble near the edge of the rift.
He raised his right hand, and with a thought, activated 【Soul-Bonded Recall】.
A faint hum echoed from the pile of rubble nearby, and a black shadow shot out from between the rocks, tracing a sharp arc before landing back in his palm.
A few faint white scratches from wear and tear had appeared on the surface of the staff.
Bai Xuan gripped the staff, thinking to himself that the range of this recall skill was still too limited. A distance of fifty meters was a bit short, and he had to find a master blacksmith as soon as possible to completely perfect this staff.
The Evil God Inverse Scale was gone.
He couldn't say exactly when it had been lost. Perhaps it had accidentally fallen when his body was torn apart by the giant beast, or perhaps it had been quietly taken by a mysterious shadow hiding in the dark.
But Bai Xuan had no intention of looking for it. It was just as well that it was lost; the item was too dangerous, and keeping it on him would always be a hazard.
It had indeed saved his life in a moment of crisis, but it had also nearly ruined him.
This was a forbidden item with both pros and cons. In the end, his current strength was simply insufficient to fully control its power.
There was also Phoebe. At the moment he tore open the teleportation scroll, he had only had time to tell her the name “Myriad City,” and he wasn't sure if she had heard him clearly.
The maximum teleportation distance of this Speed-Shift Scroll was up to a thousand kilometers, so Phoebe had likely been randomly teleported to another country.
All he could do now was hope that she remembered the location and would head to Myriad City on her own to regroup with him.
Such an earth-shattering commotion had just erupted in this area; the emergence of the giant beast and the return of the Ancient Glay Plains to the surface would bound to attract the attention of all forces across the continent.
It wouldn't be long before experts and factions from all sides flocked to this place.
When that time came, top factions like the Mulan family would certainly dispatch high-rank Class holders to investigate. Being at the very center of the incident, he would be far too conspicuous and could easily become a target of close scrutiny for various forces.
Leaving this place was the safest option.
Myriad City was undoubtedly the most suitable destination. Amelia, whom he had met once, was there, and she had gifted him the admission token for the Icarus Magic Academy.
Bai Xuan pulled out the silver academy badge from his chest and spun it gently on his fingertips.
This was the special admission token for the Icarus Magic Academy. There was still a month left before school started, which should be enough time for him to reach Myriad City.
Stowing the badge away, he identified his direction and set off toward Calais Town.
Before departing for Myriad City, he still had a few things to take care of.
A moment after he left, light footsteps echoed from the gaps in the pile of rubble.
A figure was the first to poke his head out from the edge of the rift, gazing down at the messy expanse of collapsed rocks and the yet-to-dissipate dust below.
Instead of rashly heading down to investigate, he turned and waved to the crowd behind him.
A large number of adventurers immediately swarmed forward, torches held high and crude weapons in hand, their faces a mix of panic and relief after surviving a disaster.
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