A blood-red moon hung high in the sky, casting its crimson glow upon a devastated land. The scorched earth lay exposed, riddled with wounds of destruction.
The air was thick with gray ashes, exuding an ominous aura.
Blood-red and deathly gray became the sole colors of this world's requiem.
"Ah! Stay away! Don't come any closer!"
"Don't eat me!!!"
A piercing scream echoed.
A tall young man thrashed about on the blackened ground, his hands clawing desperately at his own head, his face twisted in agony.
Yet, his eyes were tightly shut, and there was no one around him.
"How tragic."
A sigh rang out. The voice seemed to originate from the very heavens of this world. Though soft, it resounded clearly in every corner of this desolate land.
"Buzz! Buzz! Buzz!"
Ripples spread through the air as countless blood-red glows and gray ashes gathered toward the sky.
As the two forces converged, a gray throne covered in blood-red patterns manifested in the sky. Screaming souls were engraved upon it—some were soul beasts, others were human...
A figure clad in a black robe appeared upon the throne, his eyes glowing eerily as he gazed upon everything before him.
This figure was none other than Jiang Jue, and this place was the illusionary realm of Endless Sea of Grievances.
Jiang Jue's slender fingers tapped rhythmically against the throne, his gaze sweeping over the man on the ground—Yan Feng.
"I wonder if this will work…"
The Endless Sea of Grievances was a domain-type soul skill obtained from a twenty-thousand-year-old Six-Faced Ghost Dream Cicada, which Zhongli Wu had personally captured for Jiang Jue.
The Six-Faced Ghost Dream Cicada had an exceptionally unique bloodline. From birth, it existed between illusion and reality, its greatest strength being its ability to create illusions and draw soul beasts into them, devouring their spiritual power.
Due to its reproduction and habitat constraints, its population was incredibly rare—rarer than even the Dark Gold Dreadclaw Bear. However, in terms of strength, it ranked among the strongest of its kind for its age group.
The cicada possessed both spiritual and death attributes, which perfectly complemented Jiang Jue's Soul Refining Banner.
The Soul Refining Banner inherently carried three attributes: spiritual, death, and evil—primarily spiritual, with death and evil as secondary.
The Endless Sea of Grievances domain worked by weakening the spiritual power of all enemies within its range. Depending on their level and spiritual strength, the reduction varied. Against weaker foes, it could reach a maximum suppression of 100%, while against stronger opponents, the minimum reduction was 7%. As long as the target remained within the limits of this world's creatures, even an Ultimate Douluo would not be exempt.
This was a forced suppression effect, and among known forced soul skills, only the Dark Demon Evil God Tiger's Life and Death Arena had a similar effect.
Additionally, the domain inflicted various negative effects, including delay, pain, dizziness, and slowed movement.
Most importantly, after Jiang Jue refined the Six-Faced Ghost Dream Cicada's beast soul into his Soul Refining Banner, an unexpected transformation occurred.
Now, when Jiang Jue activated the Endless Sea of Grievances, the Six-Faced Ghost Dream Cicada could create illusions within the domain and draw enemies into them—through its cicada song.
However, this ability had a minimum requirement: the target's spiritual power had to be lower than Jiang Jue's.
Jiang Jue, after being nourished by Gold of Life and the spiritual essence of the Heavenly Dream Ice Silkworm, had already reached the threshold of the Formless Intangible Realm—a level that marked the gateway to becoming a Titled Douluo.
Thus, among non-Titled Douluo, aside from specialized spiritual-type soul masters, few could surpass Jiang Jue in raw spiritual power.
However, if the opponent's level was far beyond his own, even the Six-Faced Ghost Dream Cicada would struggle to ensnare them.
As Jiang Jue observed the writhing Yan Feng on the ground, he raised his right hand and snapped his fingers.
"Snap!"
A crisp sound echoed throughout the illusionary realm.
Yan Feng's eyes snapped open, bloodshot and filled with madness. His face was covered in deep, self-inflicted scratches, with fresh blood seeping from the wounds.
"Where… is this place?"
His voice was hoarse, his body limp as if his soul had been drained away.
Moments ago, he had been dragged into an illusion of his deepest fears—a nightmare where he was haunted by the people he had once killed and absorbed into his bone dragon.
In that illusion, he lost his soul power and every advantage he had relied upon. Those he had slain repeatedly tore into his flesh, consuming him alive. The agony of being devoured played out again and again.
Each time he was reduced to nothing but bones, he would be restored, only to experience the horror once more. He remained fully conscious, unable to pass out from the pain.
Over time, the physical torment numbed him—but the torture of his soul was only beginning.
Thus, he sank deeper and deeper into the nightmare, losing himself…
Until Jiang Jue's voice pulled him back.
"Hahaha! Why? Why is this happening?!"
"To think I, Yan Feng, a peerless genius of my generation… You are also a genius, yet why have I lost so utterly?!"
Yan Feng's pupils slowly refocused, his voice filled with unwillingness and madness.
He knew—he had lost completely!
"Genius is merely the entry ticket to my stage."
Jiang Jue spoke softly, his indifferent gaze fixed on Yan Feng, who lay like a beaten dog.
These words hit like Garen building Last Whisper—silent, yet utterly devastating.
"I… I have lost!"
Yan Feng lay motionless on the ground, as if all the bones in his body had been removed.
Only the weak sought validation—true kings simply sat upon their thrones and looked down upon all.
First, the torment of the illusion. Then, Jiang Jue's psychological onslaught. Yan Feng's Dao Heart had completely collapsed.
Jiang Jue's lips curled into a knowing smile as he gazed at Yan Feng.
He knew—the real experiment was only beginning.
Jiang Jue gently stroked the Six-Faced Ghost Dream Cicada resting on his finger. The cicada's blood-red eyes flickered before it took flight, vanishing briefly before reappearing on Yan Feng's body.
"Offer your heart!"
Jiang Jue's voice rang out like a thunderclap, shaking the very heavens.
Behind him, two figures emerged—Nan Gongwan and Wang Gengyin.
But this was only the beginning. More figures followed, nearly a hundred beast souls filling the sky.
"Offer your heart!"
The voices overlapped and resonated, each soul speaking in unison.
"I…"
Yan Feng's pupils slowly focused again, his voice dry, like a man dying of thirst in the desert.
"Offer your faith!"
Once more, the voices boomed—grand like the ringing of a celestial bell, yet laced with an intoxicating allure.
"Faith…?"
"Do I… have faith…?"
Yan Feng muttered, his face blank with confusion.
"Offer everything you have!"
The voices thundered once again!
Even the crimson moon in the sky grew more sinister, while the gray ashes in the air surged like torrents, consuming all.
"Offer… everything I have…"
"Yes!"
"I have faith!"
"My faith is in the Holy Son!"
"My heart belongs to the Holy Son!"
"Everything I have belongs to the Holy Son!"
Yan Feng's gaze turned fervent. He crawled forward, kneeling before Jiang Jue, his voice filled with fanatical devotion.
Above him, the Six-Faced Ghost Dream Cicada chirped incessantly…
(End of Chapter)