<h4>Chapter 401: The ming Star Beast, The Abyss of Darkness</h4>


    The ck Phoenix grandmaster handed over its divine spirit origin energy and became Meng Lei’s mount in the end.


    Yep, that’s right, a Chief God-ss mount.


    Meng Lei said dispassionately, “You can now tell me what that thing is, right?”


    The ck Phoenix grandmaster looked absolutely miserable as it replied, “That Nidhogg guy teamed up with a few other Chief Gods to seal me back then, and I was brought here after that. Originally, Nidhogg could’ve killed me, but that thing saved me at the critical juncture.”


    “Go on,” urged Meng Lei.


    Its voice muffled, the ck Phoenix said, “Barring any unexpected events, a lucky fellow like Nidhogg would never be able toprehend supremews of nature and ascend to be an intermediate Chief God even in his entire life. In other words, he had already reached the end of his cultivation journey.”


    Meng Lei nodded lightly to that.


    “But Nidhogg naturally wasn’t content to stay a lesser Chief God for life. Thus, when I told him about that thing, he easily took the bait.”


    The ck Phoenix grandmaster said mockingly, “True enough, he didn’t kill me. Instead, he tried various ways and means to find out about that thing’s whereabouts from me.”


    “What exactly is that thing?”


    It had also piqued Meng Lei’s interest by now. For Nidhogg, a great Chief God, to actually put so much effort into it, what exactly could it be?


    “A Void Beast young!”


    The ck Phoenix grandmaster dropped a verbal bomb.


    “A Void Beast young?”


    A mild jolt went through Meng Lei.


    “To be more specific, it’s a ming Star Beast’s young!”


    The ck Phoenix grandmaster had also be rather excited. It said, “I bumped into that little fellow when I went to that ce to collect objects of extreme cold before the previous war between gods and demons had broken out. It seemed like it had been sealed, but it’s also possible that it was trapped in that ce. In any case, it couldn’t get out.”


    “You didn’t capture it?”


    Meng Lei was rather bewildered.


    “I wanted to! I wanted very much to!”


    The ck Phoenix grandmaster didn’t bother concealing its desire and greed. It said, “The Boundless King’s emergence had shown us gods and demons a whole new way of cultivation. It didn’t require Chief God divine cores or Chief Demon demonic cores, nor did it require one toprehend supremews of nature. All you need is just a Void Beast young!


    “But unfortunately, I entered the battlefield in a hurry after that, and that was the end of it.”


    Its voice full of indignation and regret as the ck Phoenix grandmaster said, “If I had gotten my hands on that ming Star Beast young and taken over its body, perhaps I would also have achieved the same heights that the Boundless King had reached... Sigh! But it’s toote now!”


    Meng Lei hurriedly asked, “Where has that ming Star Beast been sealed?”


    “The Abyss of Darkness,” answered the ck Phoenix grandmaster.


    “The Abyss of Darkness? What kind of ce is that?”


    Meng Lei was rather puzzled.


    “(⊙o⊙)”


    The ck Phoenix grandmaster looked utterly stupefied. It asked incredulously, “You don’t even know about the Abyss of Darkness?”


    “Duh, would I need to ask you about it if I did?” replied Meng Lei with an eye-roll.


    “Kid, aren’t you a little too ill-informed?”


    Moro was rendered somewhat speechless, but nevertheless, he still exined, “The Abyss of Darkness is a terrifying space-time rift in the Void. Some say it’s a dimensional channel, while some say it was left behind during a battle among a few juggernaut-ss experts... Opinions vary on the topic of what exactly it is.


    “However, one thing’s for certain—magic elements, as well as basicws of nature, do not exist in the Abyss of Darkness. Additionally, it’s also an extremely dangerous ce. Even Chief God-ss experts wouldn’t have any chance of survival if they were to enter its depths. There’s no way for them to escape at all.”


    Moro let out an emotional sigh and said, “There’s a mysterious force inside the Abyss of Darkness that constantly destroys thews of nature around it. This leads to the universe’s Power of Origin’s inability to repair the rift. As a result, it continues to exist to this day.”


    “So that’s what the Abyss of Darkness is!”


    Enlightened, Meng Lei then asked, “How do you find the ming Star Beast, Moro? How is it inparison to the Boundless Great Beast? Can it grow to be a Supreme Juggernaut?”


    “What, are you thinking of finding that ming Star Beast young?”


    A mirthful Moro said, “Millions of years have passed since the war between the gods and demons. That ming Star Beast young has probably already fled a long time ago. Even if it hasn’t, it must be dead by now.


    “However, the ming Star Beast is indeed very powerful. They are fearsome monsters that possess pinnacle-level Void Beast blood in them. They feed on the sun and are also creatures of extreme heat and Yang energy[1]. Thus, they are known by the name of ming Star Beasts. In terms of their bloodline, they are in no way inferior to the Boundless Great Beasts.”


    “Is the Abyss of Darkness far from here?” asked Meng Lei.


    “Not really.”


    Moro said, “The Abyss of Darkness happens to be located right in the center of the universe, while high-end existential nes such as the Earth Divine Realm are in extremely close proximity to the center of the universe.”


    “It’s great that it’s not far away!”


    Meng Lei nodded slightly and said, “In that case, let’s head over to the Abyss of Darkness and take a look.”


    “I reckon you’re going to return empty-handed this time, though!”


    “We’ll just take it that we’re touring the Abyss of Darkness!”


    After that, Meng Lei returned to the alternate dimension with the ck Phoenix grandmaster and continued to look through the boxes. The Abyss of Darkness was a trip he must make, but it would have to wait a little longer.


    The fifth box was rtively bigger, measuring 10,000-feet-long but only 100-feet-wide. Long and thin, it looked exceptionally strange. Meng Lei opened the lid—a crimson-red pir with several spiral patterns of fire circling around it engraved on its surfaceid quietly in the middle of the box.


    “What’s this?”


    Meng Lei reached into the box and grabbed the crimson-red pir. It felt incredibly heavy—it actually took extremely strenuous effort for him to hold it despite his lesser Chief God-level body.


    “This is just a 10,000-feet-long, 100-feet-thick pir, yet it’s so heavy?” Meng Lei was rather astonished. “What is this thing made out of?”


    “Hehe! Didn’t you intend to head to the Abyss of Darkness to look for the ming Star Beast just now? If I’m not wrong, this thing right here is the ming Star Beast’s horn itself!” said Moro as he clicked his tongue in wonder.


    “The ming Star Beast’s horn?”


    A huge jolt went through Meng Lei.


    “Nidhogg made efforts to collect things rted to the ming Star Beast after he got to know about the ming Star Beast young from me back then. This horn is likely something that he had specially obtained,” said the ck Phoenix grandmaster in a muffled voice.


    “No doubt about it, then!”


    Moro nodded slightly and said, “Any normal person would end up disying all sorts of obsessive behavior when they simply can’t get a treasure that they could have gotten. What a shame, though, that a horn is ultimately still just a horn. It can’tpare to a living, breathing ming Star Beast at all.”


    Moro shook his head before he floated over to the sixth box and waited for Meng Lei to open it. What puzzled him, however, was that Meng Lei didn’t move at all. Instead, he continued to stare hard at the ming Star Beast horn.


    “Don’t bother looking at it anymore. It’s just a broken horn.” Moro urged, “Hurry and open this box instead!”


    “Just... A horn?”


    Meng Lei’s lips curled up into a mysterious smile. A bunch of zing hot tricolored mes suddenly burst forth from him. Then, more and more mes started to gather, instantly turning Meng Lei into a man on fire.


    “(?◇?)?”


    “(⊙o⊙)”


    “What’s going on?”


    “What’s the matter with you, kid?”


    Looks of stupefaction came over both Moro and the ck Phoenix grandmaster’s faces.


    He was fine and dandy one moment, and then he had burst into mes the next?


    Crackle, crackle!


    Just as the two of them were utterly baffled, tricolored scales suddenly started to form one by one on Meng Lei’s skin, and three horns emerged from his head. The one in the middle was straight and sharp, while the other two at the sides curved outward slightly. Tricolored fire spiral patterns covered their surfaces.


    Splurt!


    Right on the heels of it, Meng Lei’s clothes suddenly split open at the back. A pair of wings covered in hard, tough, scaly armor emerged from within, and they turned into gigantic wings that blotted out the sky in the blink of an eye.


    His body hunched over slightly, his hands turned into sharp ws, his feet turned into wed hooves, his neck lengthened, and a long tail grew from his bottom. His body shape was well-proportioned, and his muscles clearly defined...


    “This, this...”


    bbergasted, both Moro’s and the ck Phoenix grandmaster’s eyes almost fell out of their sockets.


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