# 1400
Chapter 1401: Worship
Deep within the Island.
In a dim valley, two black crocodiles crawled silently from the shadows, while a figure ghostly rose from the ground.
Yue Huai hunched over, his gaze sweeping across the surroundings as successive rumbling sounds echoed from the distance, yet the valley remained deathly silent.
A faint smile curved his lips.
As he had anticipated, as the entire Makara clan launched their assault on the Island, the true guardians here emerged one by one—Nie Jinshan, Li Kengqiang, Tang Yusheng, Wang Qing... these former commanders-in-chief of the Night Watch, even though they had become spirits, remained fused with Great Xia's national fortune and their combat power was no less than when they were alive.
The four of them held this position, forcibly delaying nearly all the Makara. Had it not been for bringing enough subordinates, infiltrating this island would have been nearly impossible.
But now, all four commanders had been deployed around the Island's perimeter. The core area guarding Great Xia's national fortune should be unguarded.
Furthermore, even if there were still a Great Xia deity hidden here, with the two Makara creating a diversion and his own abilities, he was confident in his escape. Merely being able to probe Great Xia's final trump card regarding national fortune would make this trip worthwhile.
"Let me see... where is Great Xia's national fortune hidden?"
Yue Huai drew an ancient compass from his怀中, its needle spinning rapidly before quickly locking onto a direction.
Following the compass's guidance, he walked for about two minutes before finally stopping on a spacious clearing.
Yue Huai glanced down at the earth, his eyes narrowing slightly:
"Beneath the ground, then..."
Yue Huai extended a palm, gently pressing it against the ground. A black lotus petal pattern on his palm began to emit a faint, ethereal glow.
At that moment, Yue Huai seemed to sense something,猛地 lifting his head to look toward a nearby location.
"Someone else?" His brow furrowed.
From the dim jungle, Lin Qiye and his group walked out slowly, their expressions grave.
Following Wang Qing's instructions, Lin Qiye's group had gone directly to the Island's deepest point, only to encounter Yue Huai and two black crocodiles who had invaded from outside the island the moment they arrived.
"It's him?" Upon recognizing Yue Huai's familiar face, Lin Qiye's gaze hardened.
The confrontation with Yue Huai in the Virtual Reconstruction a couple days ago left a deep impression on Lin Qiye. He knew that even though the Church of the Ancient Gods had retreated into obscurity, this oldest evil god still lurked somewhere in Great Xia. But he hadn't expected to encounter the other party again in just a few short days.
The only difference was that last time he saw Yue Huai, the man had appeared around thirty years old, whereas now the one standing before Lin Qiye was an elderly man in his seventies.
Lin Qiye recognized Yue Huai, but Yue Huai did not recognize Lin Qiye.
His impression of Lin Qiye's group was merely a group of young Night Watch who had been running wild on the Island for a few days, the strongest among them only at the Klein realm—meaningless to him.
The furrow in Yue Huai's brow eased slightly. He had thought he might have encountered some formidable opponent, but it turned out to be just a bunch of kids.
"Kill them." Yue Huai waved his hand casually, and the two black crocodiles shot forward like lightning, lunging aggressively toward Lin Qiye's group.
Lin Qiye gritted his teeth, gripping White Slash and Ame-no-Murakumo in his hands as he growled, "Prepare for battle."
He had thought this was the safest place on the entire island, never expecting to directly stumble into Yue Huai. The four commanders were still intercepting the black crocodile horde at the island's periphery, leaving them with no assistance. They had no choice but to fight with their lives on the line.
Just as Lin Qiye's group was about to charge forward, a cold hum突然 from the void!
The moment this cold hum sounded, the two Divine Beast black crocodiles charging forward instantly froze in place like sculptures!
The sea wind brushed through the dim mountain forest, countless fallen leaves swirling with the breeze, and simultaneously hung suspended in mid-air as an invisible wave spread outward. The twinkling stars visibly dimmed, and an intense chill rapidly enveloped the entire valley.
Just as Yue Huai was about to slap open the ground with his palm, he felt his body sink, becoming as heavy as lead, as if an invisible force was compressing his muscles, attempting to take control of his physical form.
"Who's there?!" Sensing the change upon himself, Yue Huai's heart sank.
He furrowed his brow, his Human Apex-level spiritual power surging and churning, attempting to disperse the mysterious force ensnaring his physical form. But the more he struggled, the stronger that force seemed to become.
His entire body standing in place began to tremble slightly, and cracks rapidly spread across the ground beneath his feet.
Bang—!!
The ground beneath his feet exploded with a thunderous roar, and a spear shot out from the flying debris. A single spear point aimed directly at Yue Huai's brow!
Yue Huai's pupils constricted sharply!
In that critical moment, Yue Huai's God's Ruins unfurled. The spear that had shot from the earth suddenly became ethereal, floating lightly through his head, transforming into a wisp of starlight that vanished at the horizon.
Yue Huai's body stiffly rode the shattered earth as it flew into the air, beads of sweat sliding down his cheeks, his face deathly pale.
Just now, he had brushed past death.
The spear's appearance had been completely without warning. Had his reactions been even a fraction of a second slower, he would have been instantly slain!
In that brief moment of distraction, the mysterious force controlling his body erupted once more!
Yue Huai felt invisible threads connected to his body, every muscle no longer obeying his will. He hung suspended in the air like a puppet, his expression ghastly!
At the same time, the two black crocodiles frozen before Lin Qiye and his group began uncontrollably quivering, as if they had seen something utterly terrifying. Their massive bodies, as if pressed down by an invisible boulder, tremblingly prostrated themselves on the ground.
It wasn't just the two black crocodiles in the valley. Throughout every corner of the Island, the black crocodiles battling the various Night Watch commanders simultaneously stopped moving, lowering themselves to the ground one by after another...
And they were all facing the cave opening from which that spear had emerged!
In an instant, the Island, which had just been shrouded in chaos, fell into absolute silence.
"How is this possible?" Seeing all these black crocodiles kneel in submission, the suspended-in-mid-air Yue Huai's eyes were filled with disbelief!
The Makara were a race created single-handedly by that大人. They were pure-blooded Divine Beasts! How could they possibly bow to anyone else besides that大人?!
Who in the world was stationed beneath this Island?
"Strange, all four commanders have already left... then who is the one making a move now?" Cao Yuan, seeing this scene, was equally bewildered.
From Li Kengqiang's account, they knew the Spirit Hero team was composed of spirits of former Night Watch commanders-in-chief. But before Ye Fan, there had only been four commanders throughout Night Watch's entire history... so where had this current attacker come from?
Lin Qiye's gaze swept across the two black crocodiles prostrated on the ground, then looked toward the helplessly suspended Yue Huai in mid-air. After contemplating for a moment, he said:
"Do you all feel like... this ability seems familiar?"