As soon as Wen Yan heard this, he knew for sure—it had to be the Soul Devouring Beast. There was absolutely no way it could be anything else.
If there really was another thing out there—just as huge, also radiating blue light—everyone might as well wash their necks and wait to die.
If it wasn’t for the fact that the souls devoured by the Soul Devouring Beast had shifted from the literal meaning of "soul" to the more abstract sense, then with that enormous body—dozens of kilometers long—it could’ve eaten up all the souls of these three commanderies in just a few days.
To devour the whole Blue Star probably wouldn’t even take a few years.
Wen Yan thought to himself, these domains are connected somehow—could it be because of the Soul Devouring Beast as well?
He calculated the timing. The chemical plant domain must have appeared long ago. The Fake Mo Zhicheng didn’t start making trouble only after the Soul Devouring Beast descended.
So, there might be a connection to the Soul Devouring Beast, but it certainly isn’t the only reason—probably not even the main one.
But as for the Water Ghost Domain, its connection to the Blackwater Domain might have been most affected, turning a closed domain into an open link.
This seemingly boundless expanse, like the Deep Sea itself, could not have been created by the Soul Devouring Beast; it must have existed all along.
"Do you know where that big guy you saw fell? Which part of the water?"
"I don’t know. I just remember that time, never saw it again after. There’s a lot I can’t remember."
"So the one you mentioned, the especially strong guy who managed to kill a white-haired zombie in the water—do you know which patch of water he went to? Take me there, let me have a look."
After hearing Wang Xueqi’s account, Wen Yan realized the Scorching Sun Department was already moving. They’d found a way in and were about to enter the chemical plant domain.
As always, the Scorching Sun Department advanced in waves, pushing and consolidating their strength until they overwhelmed all obstacles.
None of this mattered much to Wen Yan. His role was just to provide information.
The person he wanted to find, based on Wang Xueqi’s description, had to be Qin Kun from Fuyu Mountain.
Currently, within Nanwu County, amongst those directly involved with Duanzhou’s Scorching Sun Department, and whose Yang Energy alone was enough that Wang Xueqi couldn’t even approach him in the water—that could only be the pure martial artist, Qin Kun.
"If he fell in the water here, would he drown?"
"I think he would," Wang Xueqi nodded.
"Is it because he didn’t enter this patch of water through your domain, so he’s not affected by your domain’s rules, right?"
"That’s what I feel."
Wen Yan nodded, silently thinking what a shame. He himself wouldn’t drown here because he entered through the Water Ghost Domain—the rules of the Water Ghost Domain still covered him.
Thinking carefully about the last time, as long as he stayed in this water, those rules would apply to him.
But if he went to another domain and then returned here, perhaps the rules on him would be refreshed—unless he came into contact with Wang Xueqi here again.
Then, because he was "dragged into the water by a water ghost," the rules of the Water Ghost Domain would cover him again, and he still wouldn’t drown.
And all of this probably required one key condition: entering here from the Water Ghost Domain.
The shame was, no one else could achieve this crucial step, since they couldn’t even get into the Water Ghost Domain in the first place.
As for entering this water from someplace else and having Wang Xueqi make contact to see if the "won’t drown" buff could be triggered—it wasn’t exactly safe to test. Someone could easily die messing around with that.
Leave that for another time. Right now, better go check on Qin Kun. After all, he was Old Xi’s senior apprentice-brother. At least get to know his face, maybe help him find his way back.
No way he’d just sit on this information and let the senior brother get trapped here. According to Wang Xueqi, that patch of water above looked pretty dangerous, too.
Wang Xueqi led him to the water where Qin Kun had left. He quietly floated up and stuck out half his head—what he saw was a world of blood and fire.
On the ground, fresh blood pooled and flowed into the small lake, bodies everywhere.
On the distant hill, a mass of Walking Dead lay scattered, and even more of them were heading that way from afar.
The air was thick with the savage tang of the battlefield—killing intent like a tidal wave, making the heart shudder.
Wen Yan had never experienced the feeling of a battlefield before. The moment he emerged, it smacked him in the face—his heart raced out of control, adrenaline flooded his veins, and the awe-inspiring fear gradually eased as he collected himself.
Peeking out with half his head, nothing here even noticed him. All attention was concentrated farther away, on the mountaintop.
At the top of the hill, a robust man clad in tight-fitting fighting gear was locked in combat with another figure—in full armor, radiating killing intent.
When the two clashed head-on, the thunderous thumping sounded like war drums, shaking your very heart as if it’d leap from your chest.
As they weaved and collided, fighting barehanded, even the shockwaves spreading from their blows could be seen with the naked eye. Any Walking Dead that wandered too close was struck by the blast, hurled aside, bodies twisting violently as they were flung away.
The pace of their fight was only accelerating. To Wen Yan’s eyes, both their arms were already blurring into streaks of afterimage.
A deep, explosive bang, like thunder cracking—violent shockwaves spiraled out, hurling both fighters backward at once.
Qin Kun flew back at breakneck speed, using a couple of Walking Dead behind him to cushion the impact—crushing them in the process. He landed solidly and burst out laughing.
Opposite him, the armored figure surrounded by murderous aura steadied himself as well, and with a strangely accented voice, spoke low and deep.