Boom, boom, boom!!
The mountains by the coast shook, rocks cracked, as if an earth dragon was struggling below, yet was firmly suppressed by the Celestial Spirit Demon-Suppressing Pillar, akin to the Sea-Stabilizing Divine Pearl.
Amidst the light resembling veins spreading, a faint wail emanated from the depths of the mountains.
In this era of transcendent existence, everything can awaken; thus, Jiang Hou wasn't surprised by the preliminary spirit born from this extraordinary ore vein, nor did he pay much attention to it.
'Nature' has always been this cruel.
Standing on the top of the giant pillar, Jiang Hou raised an eyebrow; the refinement speed of the Celestial Spirit Demon-Suppressing Pillar seemed a bit slow, estimating over a day to refine this mountain range.
Given the present intensity of the world's tides, the real world would soon see daylight.
This means he could either leave the Celestial Spirit Demon-Suppressing Pillar here to retrieve it at night or stay here for a day.
After a brief contemplation, Jiang Hou made a decision, leaping a thousand meters high once again, head down, feet up, transforming into a black ray descending from the sky.
Boom! Jiang Hou's palms struck the top of the Celestial Spirit Demon-Suppressing Pillar, under immense power, the giant pillar shuddered, sinking hundreds of meters deep into the ore vein.
......
Sunday morning.
After breakfast, Qin Siyu crouched beside the cat nest, looking at the kitty that had slept all day, hesitantly asking, "Jiang Hou, is Feitong sick?"
"No worries, it's just breaking through in strength."
"Siyu, I'm going to the base later, just call me if there's anything."
Qin Siyu nodded, "Alright, you go ahead."
Last night, not long after Jiang Hou entered the ruins, the passage in Salt Mountain Province started showing abnormalities, with a mineral extraction point attacked by high-level fiends.
Late at night, deep within another province's large passage, an ancient Stone Demon, massive as a mountain, was discovered moving towards the passage.
And it's not just around the southwest here, many large passages within Dongqin Kingdom also saw activities of high-level, even saint-level monsters and beasts.
Due to the seriousness of the matter, Li Mengwu called Jiang Hou last night, though the call didn't connect.
In the base conference room, Extraordinary beings above level five, including Feng Qing, Li Mengwu, Shentu Ni, Yu Jing, and Zong Zheng Nan Mo were seated on both sides.
When Jiang Hou appeared, everyone stood up.
"Everyone, be seated."
Jiang Hou nodded towards them, took the main seat, then looked at Li Mengwu, "What's the situation now?"
Li Mengwu's expression was grave, "This morning, the provincial city passage in Wuzhi Province was invaded by a Demon God, but it was slain by the Northeast Guardian, causing minimal casualties."
"Over in the south, Wudu and the two cities' passage-facing bases suffered serious casualties from monster tides."
"Among the nineteen large passages in the seven provinces on the west side, five have detected energies and auras exceeding high-level monsters, currently under investigation."
"The only somewhat better situation is here with us, where only one passage in Salt Mountain was attacked."
"And it's not just us in Dongqin; today, Dragon City headquarters sent news that starting from the day before yesterday, many passage entrances worldwide are showing anomalies."
"Many areas around passages that have been cleared of monsters suddenly witness numerous high-level monsters, causing significant casualties."
"Last night in the Fifteen Western Countries, a passage was breached by an Evil God, invading reality and causing tens of thousands of deaths."
"Fortunately, a Dragon General from the Demon Dragon Divine Hall arrived, or the casualties would have been even greater."
Jiang Hou pondered, "It seems the appearance of the Evil God in Zhangxi Province yesterday wasn't coincidental, but one of the precursors to this ruin's anomaly."
"I think so too," Li Mengwu nodded.
"Notify the other five province heads, closely monitor the passage surroundings, set up more monitoring points, clear them early upon finding isolated high-level monsters."
"If there's any trace of an Evil God grade, report immediately," Jiang Hou said, glancing at Shentu Ni and the others.
"Zong Zheng, you just accepted the task of exploring the ore vein resource sites, place some cameras while you further explore the surroundings."
Zong Zheng Nan Mo chuckled and nodded, "No problem, leave it to us."
Jiang Hou's expression grew solemn, "With humanity's high-end combat power deep in Realm Abyss, the sudden large-scale monster riot near real-world passages makes me feel an ominous foreboding."
"Everyone needs to be more cautious recently. Notify Jiang Wanshan and the others to be careful when entering the ruins."
"If anything feels off, retreat immediately, that includes all of you."
Yu Jing nodded with emphasis, "We'll pay attention."
Following this, everyone discussed a few more matters. After Shentu Ni and the others left, Jiang Hou connected with the other three Guardians in Dongqin to discuss the anomaly.
By the time everything was finished, it was already noon.
"Minister, the Celestial Demon Soul Crystal you've ordered has arrived at Yidu Airport, expected to be delivered in an hour."
"It's here." Jiang Hou's face showed a smile.
Due to waiting for these resources, Jiang Hou didn't go back home for lunch, instead resolving the meal with Li Mengwu at the base's upscale cafeteria.
When Jiang Hou and the others finished their meal and returned, the 'courier' from Dragon City had just arrived.
The young man in a black suit solemnly bowed to Jiang Hou, then handed over the black box he was carrying, "Guardian Envoy, here are the resources you've redeemed, please check."
"If everything is fine, please sign here."
Extraordinary resources worth hundreds of thousands of points are enough to drive any Celestial Demon Awakener insane, hence the strict procedures by Heaven's Punishment.
Jiang Hou received the box imbued with space power, directly tore off the seal on top, and delved his consciousness in.
Suddenly, in his 'vision', over a hundred black-red, watermelon-sized polyhedral crystals appeared; each Soul Crystal emitted astonishing energy waves.
Inside these high-level Demon Soul Crystals were demon soul shadows.
Three black lions, a one-legged giant rhino, a fiery golden raven, and others, each representing the original demon power trace left by a fallen Ancient Great Demon.
Once Jiang Hou confirmed there were no issues and signed, the escort breathed a sigh of relief, courteously bidding farewell.
Jiang Hou turned to look at Li Mengwu beside him, "Li Tongxue, I'll be heading into the ruins soon; if there's anything urgent, discuss it with Sister Feng first."
"...Okay." Li Mengwu paused slightly, then nodded.
With the Celestial Demon Soul Crystal in hand, Jiang Hou felt an urgency, thus immediately entered the ruins through the alternate space entrance beside the base.
Whoosh!
In a world shrouded in black mist, Jiang Hou transformed into a black shadow, sprinting hundreds of kilometers until he reached the familiar black forest.
"This should be good, right here." Jiang Hou licked his lips, a bit eager.
Roar! An imposing and violent roar burst forth, as Jiang Hou's figure rapidly expanded, transforming into a fierce Giant Ape over 130 meters tall.
Thud!
The black box was crushed by the Giant Ape's fingertips, and the Demon Soul Crystals all dropped into the ape's mouth, swallowed whole mixed with saliva.
