The being in the coffin might not want to actually attack Li Qiye with the flames. To do so meant a declaration of war and he understood the consequences.

“You have two choices, either hand the item over or I will take it from your corpse. Pick.” Li Qiye said flatly, not leaving any room for negotiation.

His allies thought that he was more direct and overbearing than any previous encounter. The fact that his opponent was mighty didn’t matter.

He said something that dao lords wouldn’t dare to in such a trivial manner. The being in the dark star needed to heed his threat.

“I have many of those things.” The ancient voice spoke again.

“You know what I’m referring to so don’t waste my time. I’m in the mood to talk right now but this might change and you’ll have to be in that coffin forever.” Li Qiye chuckled.

The being fell into contemplation. He naturally didn’t want to hand it over since it was too important to him. It allowed him to see hope and the door. Unfortunately, he must make a choice right now - either to obediently hand it over or to go all out against Li Qiye in a gamble.

“Creak…” Eventually, a cosmic shift occurred. Space seemed to be sweeping down and flattening everything.

The creaks made the group uncomfortable despite being shielded by chaos energy and Li Qiye’s shadow. It felt as if the heaviest thing in existence was pressing down on them. Of course, they knew full well that without the protections, they would be meat pastes right now.

The lid of the coffin slowly moved enough to leave a tiny gap. “Boom!” The aura rushing out was insane and destructive.

The old man shuddered. Someone like him would have gotten down on his knees from the pressure.

He thought he had a good idea of ultimate power before. Now, he realized that he was just a frog under the well. True power far exceeded his imagination. The dao lords had nothing on this being.

“I… I…” Yang Ling couldn’t speak at all.

The old man, on the other hand, focused on Li Qiye and respectfully said: “The young master is even stronger and scarier.”

Li Qiye stood still, completely unaffected. This aura could crush the firmaments but failed to move him an inch. It seemed that he could easily take it down if he wanted to.

“Take it.” The ancient voice spoke as a box flew out of the gap.

The being chose to obediently hand the item over instead of escalating the issue with Li Qiye. It would be foolish to challenge Li Qiye in this epoch.

He and other top existences witnessed their neighbor being crucified, tortured for millions of years until death. This level of torment was unbearable. That’s why acquiescing was the right choice.

Opportunities could always resurface in the future. He chose embarrassment for this era in order to live many more. He had already endured and toiled for so long, no need to throw all of that away because of pride.

“Those who live this long are never stupid.” Li Qiye caught the box and smiled.

The being didn’t reply, still feeling frustrated and helpless after being threatened.

Meanwhile, Li Qiye’s allies heaved a sigh of relief since no battle would occur. They thought how incredible it was for this monstrous being to yield to their young master. Therefore, the real monster here was their young master. Others, regardless of their power, needed to lower their head before him.

“Boom!” Suddenly, the dark star suddenly opened. It was as if this being opened his mouth in order to devour the world.

“Poof!” Red flames scattered across this endless world started shooting towards the star.

The crowd knew what they were right away - these flames powered the skeletal creatures earlier, serving as their soul. Without the flames, the creatures were useless husks and bones.

The flames granted them power and allowed them to terrorize Black Tides and Black Wood.

Though they didn’t see what was going on inside the coffin, they imagined the being swallowing all the flames.

Back in the starting area, the hordes of creatures crumbled and became mere bones once more. In reality, these bones only withstood the test of time due to the fire's empowerment. With it gone, the mountains of bones slowly turned into dust again.

The group then understood that this being was the mastermind behind the unceasing invasions in history.

“Boom!” As they were still occupied with thoughts, the dark star suddenly pierced through space and disappeared from sight, heading for an unknown destination. Who knows if it would ever appear again?