C1003 Warpbeast

Whoosh!

A gaunt demon, its mouth bristling with sharp fangs and shreds of flesh wedged between them, emitted a low, eerie howl.

The howl caught Baruch's attention. Pushing through his heartache, he urgently warned, "Be careful!"

Like an arrow, the emaciated demon launched itself into Baruch, morphing into a dark gray shadow that infiltrated his body.

Soon after, a chilling sound of gnawing emanated from within Baruch.

In no time at all, the second member of the Crypt Clan was consumed entirely.

The demon's blade-like hands ripped through Baruch's flesh, emerging from within his body.

The demon's once withered and slight form now appeared fuller, its pale blue eyes gleaming with a cruel, bloodthirsty light. The visage of the sapphire-skinned, razor-toothed creature was unmistakably that of an Azurefiend from the Sky Fiend lineage.

"Baruch!"

Grace, of the Moonlit Wanderers, was petrified by the horrific sight and let out a piercing scream.

Her scream immediately drew another demon.

Crack!

The demon trembled, shedding fragments of flesh from its skin to reveal the form of a Shura. It bared its teeth in a guttural roar.

Grace, Benin, and Hart of the Silverscale Tribe clutched their ears, their faces contorted in agony.

The Shura warrior, now a demon, seized the moment to vanish into thin air. Before Grace could brandish her gleaming wand, the demon's arm came crashing down with force.

Grace, delicate in stature, attempted to block with her wand, only to witness it shatter instantly, followed by her arm dissolving into a mist of blood.

In the next instant, the Shura demon clutched her pale neck and yanked.

Grace's head and neck severed, her blood spurting out like a fountain.

The demon leaned in, greedily guzzling her blood as if savoring a sweet rain.

Elsewhere.

Having dispatched Baruch, the demon of the Azurefiend Tribe wasted no time in turning its attention to Benin, the Voidweaver.

A bizarre incantation of Soul Demon speech filled Benin's ears, leaving her momentarily dazed.

Hart, of the Silverscale Tribe, who was unskilled in the art of souls, was similarly overcome. First, the Shura demon's roar immobilized him, then the Azurefiend's demonic incantations battered him. He fared even worse than Benin, dragged into a nightmarish illusion where his soul wandered in excruciating torment.

The Azurefiend demon launched itself like an arrow, intent on devouring Benin from the inside out.

Boom!

Striking what felt like an iron plate, the Azurefiend demon reeled, several of its sapphire-skinned, razor-sharp teeth shattering from the impact.

Its eyes, having shifted from pale to deep blue, still blazed with a chaotic, frenzied light. As it prepared to mount another offensive, it instinctively caught the scent of danger.

Staring blankly, it gazed at the figure standing before its intended prey.

"You..."

Benin, of the Voidweaver lineage, looked on at Yu Yuan's back, uncertain of what to do next.

"You hail from the Voidweavers; your life still holds value."

Yu Yuan's voice was detached, his eyes slightly narrowed as he used his vitality to assess the demons before him. Their bloodline levels ranged between seventh and eighth, their internal energies a tumultuous mix, akin to the strange energies of the Nirvana Realm, composed of numerous psionic powers.

Their souls, too, were brimming with an excess of psionic abilities, tainted with foreign residual souls and malevolent thoughts that did not belong in this realm.

"These are all uncontrollable demonic aberrations. Such beings are not uncommon in the domains tainted by the Extraterrestrial Star River. Most are purged by human cultivators and other highly intelligent life forms. Those that escape cleansing continue to battle each other without end..."

Yu Yiyi's voice, the cauldron spirit, informed Yu Yuan about the nature of the bizarre entities before him.

As Yu Yiyi spoke, another memory sparkle detonated within his Lunar Spirit Body, transforming into a stream of memory light that seared itself into his consciousness.

Even before Yu Yiyi had finished her explanation, Yu Yuan had already grasped the origins of these demons, their means of survival and growth, and their ultimate fate.

Thud! Thud! Thud!

Within Yu Yuan's little world, the Altar of Rebirth—a crystalline scarlet structure—suddenly vibrated with longing.

He let out a soft exclamation, glanced at his chest, and then turned his attention back to the demons.

These eerie creatures had somehow stirred the Altar of Rebirth's interest, awakening its desire to consume and refine them. Could it be?

Yu Yuan scoffed to himself.

Ah! The howls! The whimpers!

The tremors from the Altar of Rebirth instilled a primal fear in the bewildered demons.

They immediately abandoned their assault on Benin and Hart, hastily dragging Grace along with the bodies of two Crypt Clan brothers as they fled.

Just then, the Crucible of Evil hovering above Yu Yuan shot up into the sky. Utilizing its elevated perspective, Yu Yuan was taken aback to see that the fiends were still viciously fighting over a few corpses. He also noticed caves in the distant mountains, with boulders tumbling from the rock faces to reveal hidden openings.

From these caves emerged uncontrollable Warpbeasts. The more formidable ones immediately sought out prey to hunt. Upon success, they would gruesomely consume their victims alive. It was a scene of unspeakable cruelty and bloodshed.

"They'll prioritize hunting uncontrollable, living beings, whose flesh they find delectable. Without such targets, they'll go after weaker demons. The weak prey on the weaker, hunting and devouring them to grow stronger and advance their bloodline..." Yu Yiyi's voice echoed in his mind.

After observing through the cauldron's vision for a while longer and getting a grasp on the demons' behavior, Yu Yuan shifted his focus away from them. He turned to face Benin and Hart, who looked stricken with grief. The Otherkin pair, mourning the loss of their three companions, suddenly recoiled as he turned.

Their gaze upon Yu Yuan was filled with a fear not unlike the one reserved for the man-eating fiends. The humans of the Everlands might not engage in such bloodshed when venturing into the Star River of the extraterrestrial realms, but their actions bore a striking resemblance to the Warpbeasts of the Nirvana Realm. They, too, harbored a deep fear of Yu Yuan.

"If you wish to die, feel free to leave and seek vengeance against those fiends," Yu Yuan said with unshakable composure. "You're well aware of what befell your three companions."

Upon hearing his words, Benin and Hart managed to suppress their sorrow. "What do you want from us?" Hart asked, his voice quivering.

"You're of no use to me," Yu Yuan replied with a frown.

At this, the beautiful Benin seemed to realize something, nearly bursting into tears. "I—I'm not yet of age, according to the years of our Voidweaver kind."

"Whether you're of age or not is irrelevant to me," Yu Yuan stated icily.

"I'd rather fight those monsters!" Benin shrieked.

"Suit yourself."

Yu Yuan shrugged nonchalantly. "Actually, I can glean a lot from your soul. Rest assured, in this realm, before your soul dissipates, my cauldron can extract plenty of useful information."

"What exactly are you planning to do?" Benin's tension eased slightly.

She then noticed the grey-white stone entangled in the massive "spider web." After a moment's hesitation, she ventured, "Is the new rift in Veilfall Canyon because of that stone? Could its material be the same as the World-Sundering Stone lost by my people?"

Yu Yuan was tempted to confirm that the stone was indeed the Voidweavers' World-Sundering Stone, but he held back, instead explaining, "The space rifts in the canyon are increasing, but they will eventually stabilize to the point where they can be used for teleportation. I'm not well-versed in the intricacies of space, so I need you to inform me which rifts can be used safely for transport and their possible destinations."

"I see." Hart's mood lightened somewhat.

He forced himself to stop dwelling on Grace's death and that of his two Crypt Clan comrades, constantly reminding himself to stay cool and collected.

"Do you want to leave the Nirvana Realm safely?" he inquired.

Yu Yuan nodded.

"We do too," Hart responded quickly.

He was eager to return to the Domain, where intelligent life thrived, to report the irregularities in the Nirvana Realm so that more powerful beings could come to address the rampaging Warpbeasts.

"That stone!"

Benin, the Voidweaver, pointed at the assembled Dragon Slaying Stage and suddenly exclaimed in alarm.

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