The grey wilderness had no end.
The dim stars in the sky each radiated an aura of death and oppression. Hua Sui leaned on the crimson Life-Severing Sword, his every step producing a tooth-grinding friction against the grey sand below. It was the silt left behind by the weathering of countless divine skeletons.
Behind him, 4402 kept her head low. Her black hair obscured her expression, save for the flickering gold light on her back that moved like a venomous snake slithering beneath her skin.
"The laws here... are dead," Hua Sui spoke suddenly, his voice raspy, sounding like two rusted iron plates grinding together.
He could feel the swallowed "Empyrean True Fire" within him clashing violently with the death qi of this wasteland. His Inverse Veins throbbed frantically; every pulse felt like a steel needle being driven into his internal organs. Yet he did not stop, for the God-Burying Tablet in his hand was emitting a warm, guiding glow.
They had arrived.
In front of a solitary mound stood half of a giant severed finger. Even as a mere fragment, it stood ten chang high, pointing diagonally at the firmament as if accusing someone even in death.
"Undertaker, ahead lies the 'Tomb of the Remnant Spirit'."
The small vermillion characters on the God-Burying Tablet glowed slightly. The pitch-black body of the tablet began to ripple like water, revealing a blurred image: a giant clad in tattered battle armor, standing alone to block the judgment thunder descending from the heavens as the earth split apart, finally being struck dead in this wilderness.
"This was once a War God of the High Realm. Because he refused to slaughter the mortal world, the Saint Ancestor personally flayed his skin and dismantled his bones, discarding him here," 4402's voice came from behind, trembling with an unknown fear. "Hua Sui, are you truly going to perform a burial for such an existence? If you disturb this mound, the brand left by the Saint Ancestor will sense it immediately."
Hua Sui turned his head, casting a cold glance at her. Deep within his indigo pupil was a death-defying resolve that made 4402's heart skip a beat.
"The Saint Ancestor? He hasn't cleared his debt with me yet. Why should I fear his senses?"
Hua Sui walked to the severed finger and suddenly thrust the Life-Severing Sword into the mound.
BOOM—!
The earth shook violently, and a low roar echoed from the deathly silent wilderness. The half-severed finger suddenly straightened, golden divine blood seeping from the joints. Though it had been dry for ten thousand years, the pressure unique to a god still made Hua Sui's legs tremble.
"Mortal... why do you disturb my eternal slumber..."
The mound split open, and a massive, translucent divine soul avatar slowly rose from the earth. Though half its body had rotted away, the battle intent radiating from the War God's avatar still caused countless cracks to appear in the void.
Facing the pressure capable of crushing a Qi Refining cultivator into blood mist, Hua Sui swung the pitch-black God-Burying Tablet with his right hand.
"I am not here to disturb you. I am here to take you home."
Hua Sui took a step forward, his Inverse Vein True Qi erupting in full. Dark-red flames burned around him. Without any complex forms, he smashed the massive tablet directly toward the divine soul avatar.
"Inverse Path: Rest in Peace!"
This strike did not target the physical body, but the causality of existence.
The avatar let out a roar of rage, its massive palm descending like Mount Tai.
Hua Sui bit the tip of his tongue, spitting a mouthful of essence blood onto the God-Burying Tablet. The characters for "God-Burying" became soaked in fresh blood, and a suction force from the depths of the underworld erupted, forcibly seizing the War God's threads of karma.
"Imprisoned in life, discarded in death. Since the heavens are unjust, I shall reclaim this remnant for you!"
Hua Sui merged with the tablet, turning into a grey meteor that crashed directly into the chest of the War God's avatar.
CRACK—!
The avatar began to collapse. It wasn't destruction, but a long-overdue liberation. As the avatar dissipated, countless golden specks of light flooded into the God-Burying Tablet, and the severed finger finally softened, sinking back into the earth.
At that moment, a sudden change occurred.
4402, who had been standing at a distance, let out a scream of agony. The golden totem on her back exploded at the moment the War God vanished, transforming into a pair of giant golden hands that clamped tightly around Hua Sui's neck.
"9527... kill me..." 4402's eyes were once again occupied by white-gold flames. Her body rose into the air uncontrollably, her voice filled with despair. "The Saint Ancestor... his divine decree... I can't control it!"
In the void, that voice as cold as the sky echoed once more:
"Rebel, did you think burying a dead god would let you escape the board? The 'Blood Covenant' in this girl is the final 'gift' I have left for you."
The golden hands tightened their grip. Hua Sui's neck bones made a terrifying cracking sound.
Simultaneously, the entire grey wasteland began to boil. Countless divine mounds vibrated at once, as if something extremely malevolent was awakening.
Hua Sui was suspended in mid-air, his face turning a deep purple-red, but he didn't try to pry away the golden hands. He turned his head toward the shivering 4402, and a cruel yet tender smile touched the corners of his lips.
"Sister... endure it."
He let go of the God-Burying Tablet. His left hand formed a claw and plunged directly into his own chest—the source where the Inverse Veins converged.
"Secret Technique: Fate Swapping!"
Hua Sui was going to use his own Inverse Path karma to forcibly graft the Saint Ancestor's Blood Covenant from 4402 onto himself!
Deep Within the Gods' Graveyard.
A figure was riding backward on a green ox, slowly making his way across the grey wilderness. The man wore a faded, white deacon's uniform from the Scarlet Cloud Sect, with a wine gourd hanging at his waist. His expression was lazy and unrestrained.
If Hua Sui were here, he would surely recognize this man as the mysterious old sweeper who had guided him to 0911 before disappearing.
"Tsk, tsk. The Undertaker of this generation has a real temper."
The old servant took a sip of wine and squinted in Hua Sui's direction.
"But... since you dare to bury a god, you must be prepared to be dragged into the coffin yourself."
The old servant patted the ox's head.
"Oxie, move faster. If we're late, that kid's fine skin and bones will be torn apart by those old monsters."
The green ox let out a long, dragon-like cry. Its hooves caught the wind, and it vanished into the grey mist instantly.