The swiftly hurtling Divine Map space streaked across the sky like a meteor, drifting aimlessly into the distance.
The Formless Child within the Divine Map suddenly cried out without any symptoms, then his body began to rapidly disintegrate, like a piece of ice dropped into boiling water. In less than a breath, it vanished without a trace!
The next moment, Ming Qi's consciousness searched the entire Divine Map space, even its deepest depths, but could find no trace of the Formless Child.
"Did he just disappear like that?"
Ming Qi's pupils suddenly shrank, as if a thought struck him, and he broke out in a cold sweat.
How could the Divine Map space unleash such terrifying power? It could instantly kill a group of Martial Saint-level masters?
In his opinion, the powerful figures from various factions who had been caught and clashed by the giant fist had likely dissipated from the entire world, leaving no trace. This terrifying power was completely beyond Ming Qi's current understanding.
He couldn't imagine what kind of being could so easily unleash such overwhelming power. His greatest concern at this moment was the price his side would pay should the Divine Map Space unleash such terrifying power.
Although the Divine Map Space was innate, it undeniably contained countless unknowns, a fact he might never fully understand in his lifetime.
He raised his hands and looked. The Eye of the North God and the Covenant Monument were still there.
"North God, you too have sensed that powerful force, right? Do you know where it comes from?"
A long silence followed the question.
After a long moment, the North God's voice slowly echoed in Ming Qi's mind.
"He comes from above the Nine Heavens."
Above the Nine Heavens!
When Ming Qi heard those four words, his breathing suddenly became heavier. He had heard those words before. It was the North God who had said them, describing him as a toy for those above the Nine Heavens!
A toy! A chess piece! A puppet!
Recalling all the information he'd received from Beishen, Ming Qi's entire body trembled uncontrollably.
His face was utterly gloomy, his teeth clenched tightly together. At this moment, he even considered hating the Divine Map!
The Divine Map had given him immeasurable things. It's safe to say that without the Divine Map's spatial dimension, he wouldn't have made it this far in his cultivation!
But at this moment, he hated it!
The Divine Map's spatial dimension continued to soar endlessly, like a furnace. The surrounding temperature had reached a scorching level, and only by mobilizing his Yuan Force and True Essence could he withstand the piercing heat.
"Perhaps I'm overthinking this. Perhaps this spatial dimension, on the verge of rupture, simply connected to the power of a similar object, and it simply didn't attract the attention of the important figures."
Ming Qi made no effort to conceal his emotions, so Beishen could clearly sense his thoughts.
"To this space, you are the host. You cannot be destroyed or discarded."
"So that's it? A toy for life?"
Ming Qi's voice was already tinged with anger. Although he still didn't know what this so-called toy was doing, this feeling, this phenomenon, was utterly intolerable to him.
In his mind, Bei Shen sighed softly and then said, "Actually, as long as you're alive, there's hope."
As long as you're alive, there's hope.
Ming Qi wasn't the irrational type, nor was he the type to get carried away by passion when faced with something.
He knew he was on the verge of collapse, so he forced himself to stop thinking about it. No matter how important he was, as long as there wasn't a knife at his throat, he wouldn't consider it for the time being.
Even if he was going to die tomorrow, he would only think about today!
After a long period of calm, he finally calmed down.
"Indeed, surviving is the best way out, because I still have so much to do!"
"You're still very weak for now, and won't affect the overall situation at all. Those important figures won't even notice you."
Beishen, having endured for hundreds of thousands of years, naturally possessed a unique character. At this point, no matter what, he was bound to Mingqi, their lives and deaths intertwined.
After calming down, Mingqi put the ethereal figure behind him and quickly observed the current situation.
The Divine Map space had been flying aimlessly for over an hour, and it was unknown how much longer it would last. However, from within, Mingqi could clearly see the changes in the entire space.
The Divine Map space, which had already faintly shown signs of a world, had been completely reduced to its original form, even worse than its original state.
The once vast space had shrunk to less than a hundred meters, and its walls were dim and dark. The Divine Map core, enveloped by the pristine starry sky, hung overhead. It could be said that the Divine Map space had been completely compressed, and it was likely never to return to its previous state.
However, the only hope Ming Qi still had was that the primordial starry sky surrounding the core of the divine map hadn't collapsed, and perhaps it could recover.
As soon as he sensed the changes in the divine map's space, the entire space began to tremble violently, and everyone was completely unable to stabilize themselves, swaying back and forth with the turbulent wind and rain.
Ming Qi knew that this was because the divine map's power had drastically decreased and could no longer carry so many people, so he opened the space without hesitation, and everyone flew out.
Jiang Ling wasn't strong enough, but fortunately Su Yuan had a flying sword, so carrying her wasn't a problem.
Putting away the divine map, the group quickly descended to the ground.
The landing location was not ideal: a rolling, barren mountain range covered with strange-looking wormwood vegetation. Waves of heat swept over it, as if they were in a furnace.
Smelling the slightly scorching air, Ming Qi knew they had arrived in the Southern Barbarian World.
The so-called Southern Barbarian World is a collective term for the Fire Phoenix Coast and the Crimson Flame Sea. The Fire Phoenix Coast lies south of the Central Land, and further south of it lies the Crimson Flame Sea. However, it's currently impossible to pinpoint their exact location, given the vastness of the Southern Barbarian World.
It was midday, and the group was in unfamiliar surroundings, treading cautiously.
However, this unfamiliar feeling didn't last long, as Zong Feng quickly determined their location.
They weren't far from the Central Land; they were still on the northeastern border of the Fire Phoenix Coast, nominally belonging to the territory of Eight Desolate Fiery City, which in turn belonged to the Flame Palace, the largest power on the Fire Phoenix Coast.
The Lord of Eight Desolate Fiery City, one of the Three Kings of the Flame Palace, was none other than Fire Leopard.