In the center of White Lake.

Jets of water splashed into the air as Zhong Lixing and Kong Ge's bodies materialized in mid-air.

Night had already fallen, yet there was no moon in the sky. Their surroundings were pitch-black, and only a scarce few stars dotted the night sky.

Zhong Lixing, who was still holding onto the ancient black cauldron, shuddered slightly. The blood and vital energy in his body churned, and he immediately spat out a large mouthful of blood.

"Zhong Lixing! Are you okay?!" Seeing the blood, Kong Ge immediately shuffled over and provided him with support.

Zhong Lixing waved his hand and replied, "I'm fine. It's just that the spell techniques swallowed by the Darkness Engulfing Divine Demon Cauldron were too powerful. The backlash they created was a little too strong…"

There was a look of lingering fear on Kong Ge's face as she said, "We can't use the Darkness Engulfing Divine Demon Cauldron for ten days. Our most powerful life-saving treasure has vanished… This being the case, it's hard to say whether obtaining the one hundred or so white Realm Essence Crystals was worth it…"

Zhong Lixing fell silent upon hearing this. The value of their yield was close to one million spirit stones, and this was already a huge sum. However, they had lost a valuable life-saving treasure in the process of acquiring this wealth. Being in such a dangerous environment, it was indeed hard to say whether such a tradeoff was worth it.

"Let's go. Regardless of what we think, it has already happened. Let's head somewhere else and try to avoid them." After a moment's thought, Zhong Lixing decided to give up on fighting against An Lin and the others. He planned on searching for other rare opportunities.



Meanwhile, in the mystic realm below the lake.

The towering black pillar started to fracture, and it eventually broke into pieces of large rocks, which thudded into the ground.

An Lin and the others immediately raised their guards and stared at the crumbling pillar intently.

A human-like figure appeared amid the clouds of billowing dust and smoke.

As the dust and smoke settled, An Lin finally saw that figure clearly.

He had a stunningly handsome face, and there was a pair of black dragon horns on his head. His eyes were an intense red, and there was a hint of madness hiding behind them.

"Why… Why am I still alive? Didn't the Time Obliterating Spell Formation already succeed? Why am I still here…" The Dragon Tribe male wore a blank expression as he scoured his surroundings. Tears of grief started rolling down his cheeks.

An Lin: "…"

"An Lin, what's that male saying?" Liu Chuchu didn't understand Ancient Man Language, so she turned toward An Lin quizzically.

Hong Dou and Ling Ying also glanced over at An Lin. This matter clearly piqued their interests as well.

"He seems to be unhappy about the fact that he hasn't died yet," An Lin explained. "He's crying due to frustration."

Liu Chuchu: "…"

Everyone: "…"

The Dragon Tribe male looked toward the expanse of land before him. As if realizing something, his body suddenly shuddered.

"So that's how it is… The Realm Essence Crystals have all disappeared. This must be the reason…"

He shifted his gaze toward An Lin and the others, and a terrifying killing intent swept toward them. "You people dare to ruin my great suicide plan?! Die!" His voice was a deep rumble.

An Lin and the others all felt a crushing power bearing down upon them. This power instilled a feeling of helplessness inside of them. It was as though the Dragon Tribe male could annihilate them with a simple wave of his hand.

"Stop right there! This has got nothing to do with us!" Seeing the male's torrential rage, An Lin immediately shook his head guilelessly. "A short while ago, two true demons came and snatched away all the Realm Essence Crystals that were growing around the black pillar. We had tailed them here, yet we were still a step to slow. In the end, they used a mystic technique and fled from here!"

The Dragon Tribe male faltered slightly upon hearing this explanation, and his fierce and violent aura shrank back significantly. However, his gaze remained transfixed on An Lin. It was as though he was ready to strike at any time.

An Lin breathed a sigh of relief in his mind. Fortunately, this Dragon Tribe male wasn't the kind of crazy person who would attack everyone in sight. At the very least, there was still room for negotiation…

"Senior, since there's no other matter, we'll take our leaves first!" An Lin felt that it was better to leave this place quickly. They had harvested all the Realm Essence Crystals already, and there was no point trying to kill this boss who didn't even have a storage ring.

The Dragon Tribe male remained silent. Seeing this, An Lin turned around and was just about to flee.

"Halt! If I don't die, then you guys aren't allowed to leave!"

An Lin: "…"

"What's he saying?" Liu Chuchu asked in curiosity.

"He said that if he doesn't die, then we all can't leave!" An Lin's mind felt tired, and he didn't want to speak.

Liu Chuchu winced. Did they come across a retard?

There was a look of grief on the Dragon Tribe male's face. He raised his head and gazed at the sky. "I've already been trapped in this sanctuary for tens of thousands of years. I can't leave, yet I can't die either… Everyone has left my side. Only I remain to experience this never-ending loneliness…"

As he spoke, he shifted his gaze toward An Lin and the others. His face distorted into a wicked expression, and he snarled, "Loneliness! This is never-ending loneliness! Do you know what loneliness means?!"

An Lin felt that the Dragon Tribe male before them had been pushed to the brink of madness by this environment.

What did it have to do with him whether this Dragon Tribe male was feeling lonely or not? What was he going to do? Should he chat with him and play games with him?

"In short… either you guys kill me, or you guys stay here to accompany me!" The Dragon Tribe male finally spoke his true thoughts.

An Lin: "…"

An Lin translated the Dragon Tribe male's demands to the others. They were all stupefied by what they heard.

Okay, they admitted that this male was indeed very pitiable. However, giving up his life due to this was unacceptable! One needed to value their life! More importantly, he wanted to drag them down with him?!

"Senior, how come you can't exit this realm?" Curses flew through An Lin's mind, yet his face remained smiling and respectful.

"See the golden line on the ground? That's the power of natural law, which contains the dao of heaven and earth. I'm already of the Return to Void Stage rank, yet I still can't cross over this golden line. This golden line emits a fearsome repulsive force against beings of the Return to Void Stage, and this prevents me from nearing it. I can't even near it, much less cross over it…" The Dragon Tribe male gazed at the golden line, which lay a few hundred meters away, and a look of grief and despair surfaced on his face.

An Lin came to a sudden realization. The Ancient Divine Division was a realm that prevented beings of the Return to Void Stage from entering.

Then, his eyes suddenly lit up. He immediately sent a voice transmission to the others. "That Dragon Tribe male is of the Return to Void Stage, so he's unable to cross that golden line on the ground. In other words, he won't be able to pursue us if we flee out of the space encircled by that golden line!"

Upon hearing this, flames of hope sparked to life in their hearts.

"But beings of the Return to Void Stage all have spatial-sealing abilities. Although we're only five hundred meters away from the golden line, it's hard to say whether we'll be able to flee across it before he casts the spatial-sealing technique. After all, beings of the Return to Void Stage can seal space with a wave of their hands," Liu Chuchu voiced her concerns.

"Indeed. If we really do fail in our attempt to escape and end up enraging that Dragon Tribe male instead, then we'll all end up dying here!" Hong Dou's cowardice was unbearable right now, and he was in full support of Liu Chuchu's concerns.

At this moment, the Dragon Tribe male continued speaking, "I know what you're all thinking. However, I suggest that you abandon any thoughts of escape. Otherwise, I'll make your lives living hells…"

A cold smile suddenly appeared on his face. He even licked his lips and swayed his head slightly.

A Lin felt a cold chill shoot through his body. This male was definitely retarded! It was just that his retardedness was more low-key. If this Dragon Tribe male were to go crazy, they would definitely die!

"As I said before, you guys can also grant me death. If you succeed, then I'll let you all go!"

An Lin grimaced upon hearing this. If they did indeed kill this Dragon Tribe male, then they would be able to leave this realm even if he didn't approve of it. After all, he would already be dead at that time!

How could a dead person stop them?

Sure enough, the male's IQ had fallen to a pitiable level after being trapped in this sanctuary for too long…The 'Man' in 'Ancient Man Language' isn't to be taken literally. It's a phonetic translation of some made-up language.