Apocalypse: Master of Soul Beasts

On the compass, the dot representing Tang Haofei stopped hundreds of kilometers away from Wen Yu, indicating Tang Haofei had halted his advance in the distance.

Then, as Wen Yu watched, the dot representing Tang Haofei began to move again. However, this time it wasn’t heading toward Wen Yu’s location but was instead moving directly to Wen Yu’s right.

He must have run into some sort of situation… Wen Yu thought. He then reconfirmed Tang Haofei’s position on the compass, transformed into a shadowy fog, and slowly drifted towards Tang Haofei’s location.

Wen Yu’s plan was simple. Since Old Tang had changed direction, it meant there were either unknown dangers ahead or Tang Haofei had discovered something else. Regardless, it was best to regroup first and face the unknown risks with their combined strength.

「...」

Far from Wen Yu, Tang Haofei was hiding nearly 100 meters beneath the ground.

Under the influence of the Power of Heaven and Earth (Species-specific Esoteric Level, Active Skill), the sky and earth became Tang Haofei’s eyes, allowing him to gather intelligence about his surroundings.

The Power of Heaven and Earth was Tang Haofei’s first skill and the one he was most proficient with. Each Esoteric Level skill had significant potential for mastery. As for this, his first skill, Tang Haofei’s command and application of it were naturally beyond question.

Using the power of the earth to conceal his aura…

Using the power of the earth to hide underground and move rapidly beneath the surface…

These were simple applications of the Power of Heaven and Earth.

Thus, the situation Wen Yu feared did not materialize. In this state, Tang Haofei was very difficult for a Level 7 Demon Fiend to detect.

What made Tang Haofei stop and even change direction were four natives of the Universe of Immortals and Heroes, directly above him on the surface!

「...」

”How much farther is it?”

A deep male voice resounded. The vibrations were transmitted through the air and earth to Tang Haofei’s ears. At this distance, from his hiding place underground, the movements and conversations of the group above were no secret to him!

”Twenty minutes’ journey away.”

Another, slightly sharper male voice responded.

Hearing this, Tang Haofei narrowed his eyes and promptly took out the compass connected to Wen Yu from his space ring.

After a quick calculation, Tang Haofei immediately identified the target of the group above—it was Wen Yu!

Sensing he had uncovered some crucial information, Tang Haofei made a swift decision and immediately began to tail the four natives of the Universe of Immortals and Heroes above him.

「...」

”Southwest. Position hasn’t changed.”

Another voice reported Wen Yu’s real-time location to his teammates.

”Are there any Demon Fiends around?”

”I haven’t sensed any. Boss, you know my ability can only lock onto and locate one target. Strictly speaking, Perception Ability isn’t my strong suit!”

”Heh, I’ve slept for who knows how many years. I’d actually forgotten about that.”

As the team’s scout and captain chatted, the atmosphere within the group gradually lightened.

”Captain, what’s this mission about? Why does Lord Heaven’s Path want us to eliminate His Highness the Young Master?”

Hearing this, Tang Haofei’s eyes narrowed. Although he already knew of Heavenly Dao’s inexplicable hostility towards Wen Yu, Tang Haofei hadn’t expected Heavenly Dao to be so blatant, deploying pawns to openly seek Wen Yu’s death!

Perhaps Heavenly Dao’s actions had given Tang Haofei the wrong impression. He had thought that Heavenly Dao wouldn’t need to go to such trouble to kill Wen Yu, which was why Tang Haofei had believed Heavenly Dao’s hostility was just that—hostility. And hostility didn’t necessarily equate to murderous intent!

But now it seemed...

Before Tang Haofei could delve deeper into his thoughts, the conversation above resumed.

”How would I know? I’m just a runner. Seconds before teleportation, Lord Heaven’s Path messaged me, telling us to eliminate His Highness the Young Master right here. Do you know what the reward is?”

The captain’s words, pertaining to potential gains, immediately grabbed the team members’ attention.

”What?”

”AHEM.”

The team captain cleared his throat purposefully before slowly speaking.

”Permanent residency in Outer Space…”

”Really?”

An incredulous voice rang out.

”Idiot! Lord Heaven’s Path’s word is gold! How could he deceive us?”

The captain seemed angry, but another person chimed in.

”Deceiving us is impossible, and... Lord Heaven’s Path is truly determined this time, even offering residency in Outer Space!”

”No kidding.”

The captain’s voice sounded again, though this time it was very low and grave.

”You all know the situation we’re in. We’ve been resurrected as wraiths, but this form of resurrection is far from perfect. This method is only slightly better than a Dominator’s resurrection...

”At every moment, every action we take causes a slight depletion of our wraith forms. Even if we do nothing, we can only live for another eighty or a hundred years at most. And with the current war…

”I haven’t lived enough yet!”

”Who has lived enough? No one ever has!”

Another team member interjected.

”So, we must obtain residency in Outer Space. Don’t forget, Outer Space, as the ultimate sanctuary of the Universe of Immortals and Heroes, not only has the Spirit Realm’s Spring capable of nurturing Souls, but also the Reincarnation Ancient Tree, which allows people to reincarnate yet retain their memories. I also heard…”

The captain lowered his voice even further.

”Outer Space can block a Dominator’s gaze and also possesses the formidable power to break through space. I even heard that Lord Heaven’s Path has resolved that if the war goes badly, he will immediately manipulate Outer Space to preserve the last spark of life for our Universe of Immortals and Heroes.”

”Heh heh, who wouldn’t want to be that spark of life?”

The captain’s words once again plunged the team members into silence. After a while, another voice chimed in.

”I think those are probably just rumors. Otherwise, during the Final Battle, why didn’t Lord Heaven’s Path use Outer Space to preserve a spark of life for the Universe of Immortals and Heroes?”

”Yeah, I think it’s fake too...”

A clamor of discussion rose once more.

”Stop! Stop!”

The team captain shouted twice, halting their discussion before making his summary.

”True or not, we’ll know once we reach Outer Space. Anyway, you all need to understand one thing: if we want to live, entering Outer Space is our only path. In our current situation, we could be wiped out by Demon Fiends at any time. At least after entering Outer Space, we won’t have to fight or consider the threat of Demon Fiends. That alone should be enough, right?”

”It certainly is!”