A tremor ran through both of them, and they couldn’t help but look up at the hazy, indistinct mountaintop. Rampant energy churned violently as a ferocious crimson clashed with a deep, tranquil blue.

The entire sky above the peak was distorted. The churning energy resembled a raging sea, or countless colossal beasts battling above the clouds. It plunged the summit into a sudden, night-like darkness, only to be intermittently blasted bright by piercing flashes of light too brilliant to behold.

The intense energy fluctuations caused the many nearby Netherworld Creatures to scatter and flee on pure instinct, not daring to approach.

Steward Feng watched nervously, and Qin Tianlin was fully focused. Fan Zhao clenched his fists. Seeing the battlefield gradually move away from the summit, he could no longer hold back. He soared into the air, a streak of purple light shooting straight for the mountaintop.

The chance for Melting a Holy Profession was right before his eyes!

’They’ve made their move...’ Su Chen withdrew his gaze, hiding behind Xiao Hei. His eyes narrowed. He truly hadn’t expected Fan Zhao and his group to show up today as well.

In that case, it was hard to say if there would be a share of this Spiritual Fire left for him.

However, his gaze pierced through the layers of Nether Fog before him, and he could faintly make out two figures. ’These two...’

"It’s not a big problem," Meng Shiyu said in a low voice, not overly concerned.

As Outer Realm Spirit Bodies, they possessed numerous Professional Abilities, and their strength was undoubtedly higher than that of these Netherworld Creatures. They had years of experience to back it up.

Meng Shiyu glanced at Lan Hao and decided to be more direct. "Based on my assessment, given your relationship with Su Chen, you stand to gain nothing even if he grows powerful. In fact, it could even be detrimental to you. But if Senior Brother Tianlin were to take his place..."

Lan Hao’s gaze flickered, uncertain, as images of past events flashed before his eyes.

He grit his teeth, and just as he was about to speak, a sudden chill ran through his body, accompanied by a faint numbness.

Meng Shiyu, standing before him, seemed to sense something. His face filled with horror, and he spun around abruptly.

The roiling fog behind him was suddenly torn apart by a piercing crimson arc of electricity. A heavy hammer, wreathed in berserk energy, broke through the misty barrier and came smashing toward him with a dull roar.

The head of the hammer was entwined with crackling Crimson lightning. Behind it was a blurry Crimson figure whose silhouette flickered violently amidst the roiling Flame Thunder, its exact form difficult to discern.

Only two points of savage light gleamed faintly from behind a Metal Mask. Its chest was equally dazzling, like a small sun.

Countless ferocious arcs of electricity, both fine and thick, coiled around its body like a chaotic cloak woven from pure destructive power, emitting a continuous, scalp-numbing CRACKLE and HISS.

Su Chen had chosen the perfect moment to strike. The Nether Fog provided a natural screen, and his Mighty Lord form gave him an advantage here.

However, in the Nether Realm, both sides were Spirit Bodies and couldn’t use their physical forms, so their strength was not at its peak. The difficulty for a Tier Five to fight a Tier Six was immense.

But Su Chen’s confidence came from the Tier Five Professional Fusion ability granted by All Things—[Crimson Dominator: The Mighty Lord form and the Crimson Thunder Core can merge into one.]

His Spirit Body could take temporary refuge inside the Crimson Thunder Core to evade Mental Attacks, and the Crimson Thunder Core could, in turn, enter his Spirit Body, just as it was doing now.

The dazzling light in its chest was the Crimson Thunder Core. He had already used his Holy Hand ability to augment it, pushing it into a state of total explosive power. Its base amplification was three-fold, but now it was approaching five!

In a real-world battle, as someone who had just entered Tier Five, he might not have been able to defeat Meng Shiyu. But in the Nether Realm, his opponent was only a Spirit Body, his strength already halved, with no weapons to use.

Meng Shiyu’s vision was completely flooded with crimson. The attack was too sudden, too fast; the moment it burst from the Nether Fog, it was already upon him.

He didn’t even have time to defend himself. He instinctively tried to escape, but leaving the Nether Realm required time—time he no longer had!

He desperately tried to mobilize his Spiritual Power to form a defense.

BOOM!

With a deafening crack, the hammerhead struck him square in the chest, and rampant Flame Thunder erupted.

"You..." Meng Shiyu’s pupils widened in utter disbelief.

How could someone suddenly appear out of nowhere in this place to attack him, and with such terrifying strength?!

A thousand questions swirled in his mind, but in the next instant, cracks spread all over his Spirit Body as the Flame Thunder exploded from within.

"AWOOO!"

A low, deep howl echoed from nearby as a Black Ape shot out. It latched onto the dissipating Spirit Fragments and began to devour them in great gulps.

Lan Hao trembled violently. Before he could even react, his vision blurred, and he was hauled to his feet.

’He’s dead... Meng Shiyu is dead!?’

Lan Hao’s face was a mask of horror. Having one’s Spirit Body annihilated in the Nether Realm was no different from true death; the physical body in the real world would be left as an empty shell.

He instinctively tried to leave the Nether Realm, but a cold, desolate voice sounded in his ear. "If you try to leave, I will obliterate your Spirit Body instantly."

Lan Hao’s heart went cold. The world seemed to spin as he was thrown to the ground. He stared in terror at the humanoid phantom before him.

His heart trembled as his gaze fell blankly upon the Metal Mask fastened to the figure’s head.

Although the design was slightly different, it still bore a resemblance to the nightmare from his memories.

’It couldn’t be... it couldn’t be...’ he trembled inwardly. ’No, it’s definitely not him. How could that Deceitful God’s Follower from Red Thunder Star possibly be here too?’

’The mask is different, too. It’s probably just a coincidence... a coincidence... a coincidence...’ he tried to reassure himself.

But suddenly, his body stopped trembling. His expression went slack, and he just stared blankly.

He watched as the crimson Spirit Body before him gradually turned black. Blurry patterns interwove, converging on its head where a single, black, vertical pupil had formed.

’A Black Tuo Follower?’

He shuddered, still clinging to an imperceptible sliver of hope as he asked cautiously, "You... You couldn’t possibly be..."

Before he could finish, the figure spoke. "Well, what do you know. We meet again."

’It really is him!’

Lan Hao’s vision went black, and he nearly fainted.

Back on Red Thunder Star, his most terrifying memory wasn’t of Su Chen, but of the Deceitful God’s Follower standing before him now.

That had been the closest he’d ever come to death, and it was tied to his deepest secret—the fact that he had leaked his Holy Profession.

Had it been any other member of the Lan Family, that crime alone would have been enough for expulsion.

He had thought he would never see this person again after leaving Red Thunder Star, yet here he was.

"Y-y-y-you... what brings you here..." His expression shifted through several shades before he finally forced a smile.

"What, am I not allowed to be here?" Su Chen stared at Lan Hao.

"Of course, of course," Lan Hao nodded repeatedly. In the face of death, he had no backbone to speak of.

"What were the two of you just talking about?" Su Chen asked with keen interest. Earlier, he had used the Power of Word Spirit and had been able to faintly overhear them.

But then they had switched to communicating via spiritual fluctuations, and he could no longer listen in. Still, he knew it was nothing good, so he had acted decisively to kill Meng Shiyu first and sort things out later.

Lan Hao’s heart pounded. Recalling the man’s bizarre and cunning methods, he didn’t dare hide anything and explained everything in detail.

’So they really were planning to move against me. They deserve to die...’ Su Chen’s expression remained neutral, but his heart was cold as ice.

"So, if I hadn’t acted, the two of you would have ganged up on that... Star Seed, was it?" Su Chen asked casually.

"No, I was planning to refuse him," Lan Hao said, shaking his head. He had nothing to hide from this Ghost God Follower.

"That Meng Shiyu had ulterior motives; he just wanted to drag my Lan Family into this. I may have some friction with Su Chen, but there’s no deep-seated hatred between us. If they wanted to make a move, that was their business. It had nothing to do with me."

’Huh...’ Su Chen was rather surprised. This Lan Hao was certainly an interesting character.

Seeing Su Chen’s silence, Lan Hao’s heart began to pound. Meng Shiyu had died right before his very eyes, and he had no idea if he himself would survive.

Remembering what had happened last time, he asked cautiously, "Do you still need the follow-up professions for the Phoenix Holy Profession?"

Su Chen snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh? You have more?"

"I do," Lan Hao said quickly, adding, "I just acquired them."

’This guy has already become a Nourisher?’

Su Chen thought for a moment. Since that was the case, he didn’t mind accepting this new profession.

He said, "Then tell me."

Lan Hao took a deep breath. His Spirit Body began to distort slightly as he suppressed his pain and recited the requirements for the new profession in full detail.