C1070 Chen Qinghuang

In a remote corner of the Ionodios Realm, Xi Quan, a practitioner of the Withered Sword, and a white crane, long pursued by Shadow's Keep, exchanged glares filled with contempt. Their eyes shimmered with myriad flecks of sword light and swirling demonic energy.

The valley they occupied was a place of desolation, where vegetation withered and insects buried deep in the earth met silent deaths.

Archdemon Green Willow let out a soft snort, summoning streams brimming with life to encircle the valley quietly. This was to prevent the pervasive aura of death and decay from seeping out and affecting other regions of the Ionodios Realm.

"What's all this commotion about?" Green Willow asked, his gaze falling upon the white crane. The scorn and mockery on his face were unmistakable.

"Let me remind you both of something," he continued. "The secular bird from a hundred thousand years ago possessed three core powers: destruction, death, and regeneration. Mastery of any one of these can elevate you to the status of a Dark Deity or primordial spirit. However..."

He paused, allowing the gravity of his words to sink in.

Both the white crane and Xi Quan listened with rapt attention, setting aside their rivalry, clearly holding Green Willow in high regard.

Green Willow, like the white crane, was an archdemon of the Everlands, but he was significantly older and already a ninth-level archdemon. He had once commanded the entire Demon Army in the Star River beyond our world. Rumors suggested that he would have ascended to become a Dark Deity if not for the scarcity of Supreme God seats. His knowledge of the extraterrestrial Star River's secrets far surpassed that of both the white crane and Xi Quan.

"Destruction comes first, followed by death, and then the possibility of rebirth," Green Willow explained. "Within the Sword Sect, Du Yuan, ranked third, bears the title Sword of Destruction, while Van Heqing, ranked seventh, is known as Shatterblade. The essence of the swordsmanship they've mastered is fundamentally the same: it's all about destruction."

"The power of destruction is unparalleled in its force, capable of breaking through anything and everything."

"After destruction comes death. The power you both have mastered is that of death. The essence of the energy you emit is the desolate power that remains after destruction. Should it overflow and spread, it will engulf all living beings in its wake."

"The power of rebirth follows next. Among the three powers, the secular bird's regenerative might may not be the deadliest, but it is undoubtedly the most enigmatic and the most difficult to fathom."

Green Willow paused, giving Bai He and Xi Quan a moment to reflect on their own insights.

"It seems the Songbird Queen is delving into the secular bird's regenerative power! It's by harnessing this power that she merged with the secular bird's nest and ascended once more to the Unbound realm. Consequently, she has received grand invitations from the Boulderdawn Sect and the Skyreach Consortium, who hope she can use her regenerative power to mend the severely damaged second nest."

"Furthermore..."

"She arrived from the Dissolving Fortress, bound to the secular bird's nest, and I believe she is still unraveling the profound mysteries of the secular bird's core power of destruction. Should she successfully grasp the true nature of both regeneration and destruction, the future for both of you, as well as for Sword of Destruction Du Yuan and Shatterblade Van Heqing, may be fraught with peril."

Green Willow unveiled the hidden intricacies.

Bai He and Xi Quan, the archdemon and swordman who had mastered the forces of death and desolation, grew somber and fell into a contemplative silence.

"What's the matter, don't you fancy the empress?" Zhongli Dapan asked with a peculiar chuckle.

Green Willow, the archdemon, had planted a seed in the minds of Bai He and Xi Quan, a subtle suggestion to set aside their pride and join forces against the Songbird Queen.

Zhongli Dapan found this quite curious.

"The Songbird Queen's true origins remain a mystery; she's not of the Chen lineage," Green Willow said with a detached air. "Our support allowed Chen Liangquan to stage a coup and take over. Even the Chen family elders acknowledge she's an outsider. Zu Ann and I have done our research, yet her past is still unclear."

"Moreover, it was Zu Ann and I who helped Chen Liangquan dethrone her, causing her to lose her status."

"Bai He and Xi Quan are now officially part of the Skyreach Consortium, aligning them with my camp. Naturally, I'd rather not see her fully integrate the three great powers inherited from the secular bird and ultimately attain the primordial spirit."

Zhongli Dapan's face registered shock upon hearing Green Willow's words.

The three powers bequeathed by the secular bird—destruction, death, rebirth—if the Songbird Queen were to fully comprehend them and use them to challenge the Supreme God, then...

Her combat prowess would likely be unrivaled across the Everlands.

"No wonder she was so bold, even in the presence of President Lyi," Zhongli Dapan mused, nodding slightly.

...

Within the secular bird's nest.

Yu Yuan concentrated on the nest that had successfully merged with the Songbird Queen, reconstructing it with branches as thick as giant dragons where it had been damaged.

A resplendent divine light appeared to flow gently within the branches, their unique and wondrous aura eliciting awe from Yu Yuan.

He was certain his intuition was correct; the secular bird's nest was no mere object—it was alive, akin to a peculiar kind of living being.

Observing closely, he noticed the Songbird Queen's nest was undergoing subtle changes.

From a mere nest, it was transforming, becoming more and more bird-like...

A bird with emerald feathers, slowly unfurling its wings in a display of otherworldly beauty.

"Songbird!"

Shock etched itself across Yu Yuan's face as he realized the nest before him increasingly resembled the scarred Songbird he had encountered three hundred years prior.

Back then, the Songbird possessed only a fourth-level bloodline, feeble yet fiercely protective of its master.

Later, upon his arrival in Afnetalos, he learned through various means that the Songbird's physical form had perished, leaving only its demon soul.

The Songbird's demon soul had merged with the Phoenix Skybreak Array, becoming the soul of the array and its central hub, aiding the Songbird Queen in manipulating the grand formation.

But with Chen Liangquan's successful coup, both the Divine Bird and the Songbird Queen vanished.

"Your Majesty, this Songbird?" Yu Yuan couldn't contain his curiosity.

The Songbird Queen, adorned with a phoenix coronet, paused before smiling and responding, "I am Chen Qinghuang."

Chen Qinghuang, the Songbird Queen?

Surprise flickered through Yu Yuan's mind as he pondered momentarily, unsure of the proper way to address her.

"Just call me Qinghuang."

"Qinghuang, alright." Yu Yuan gave a slight nod and asked, "What's the connection between the Songbird's demon soul and the secular bird's nest?"

"The secular bird's nest has become the new body for the Songbird, and it's even more powerful than before," the Songbird Queen said with a smile, not going into detail. "Yu Yuan, both the Songbird and I are very grateful to you. We seem to have a real connection. Had I known it was you in Afnetalos City, I might have left the Songbird Empire much earlier."

"How so?" Yu Yuan inquired, intrigued.

"In truth, I intended to disperse my Dao upon my return to Afnetalos. Before coming back, I discovered the secular bird's nest and learned of the extraordinary power it held. My return was to disperse my Dao and, as a Solar Spirit, to ascend once more to the extraterrestrial. I merged my Dao in Afnetalos, so it's only here that I can disperse it."

The Songbird Queen's peerless beauty shone with a cunning smile from behind the pearl curtain.

Yu Yuan was taken aback, "So you were already planning to renounce your throne and disperse your Dao? The schemes of Boulderdawn and Skyreach Consortium, along with Zu Ann and Green Willow's collaboration with Chen Liangquan, all played into your plans?"

"Mm, I owe them thanks. Without their actions, I would have struggled to justify my decision to the upper sects," the Songbird Queen acknowledged with a nod.

As Yu Yuan was about to delve deeper, she interjected, "We'll talk about this later!"

Yu Yuan promptly fell silent.

Shortly thereafter, President Lyi of the Skyreach Consortium reappeared, cradling a massive silver platter.

Upon his arrival, the platter began to expand incrementally.

The platter slowly revealed chunks of robust flesh and blood, alongside numerous jars and containers filled with the lifeblood of Otherkin or the still-beating hearts of dire beasts.

Yu Yuan's internal Altar of Rebirth responded intensely, instantly identifying the blood and flesh as almost entirely from ninth-level Otherkin warriors, or creatures and archdemons of equivalent stature.

None were below the eighth level.

"For the time being, this is what we have."

President Lyi turned to Yu Yuan and continued, "The rest is on its way. Rest assured, the Consortium is fully committed to investing in the restoration of the secular bird's nest."

Whoosh!

The ever-expanding silver disc descended upon Yu Yuan's head, creating a microcosm within its confines.

Yu Yuan was able to perpetually harvest chunks of flesh and fresh blood from this realm, processing them through the Altar of Rebirth. After transformation, he refined a power imbued with the essence of life, which he then used to nourish the Songbird Queen.

...