C1101 True and False
Amidst the turmoil, guests from various tribes sought a way to safely break free from the confines of Ionodios, driven by the encroaching Absolute Darkness and the convergence of Warpbeasts.
When the Deathwing Lair was sealed by a layer of fragile ice, extinguishing all hope, the esteemed Noeyr arrived unexpectedly. Not only did she arrive, but she also carved out a grand Way of Heaven for them, providing an escape from Ionodios. They naturally rallied behind Noeyr, and without any need for further persuasion, they collectively began to exert pressure on Yu Yuan.
Noeyr, however, fell silent. She stood tranquilly at the Deathwing Lair, her eyes—both wise and deep—fixated on the glistening white ice within, as if contemplating the best approach to shatter it.
Swoosh! A tiny spark of crystal light darted within the ice at the lair's heart, seemingly reinforcing the frosty barrier.
It was clear that if they didn't break through the ice promptly, it would only become more formidable. Much like the wall of Ionodios, initially fragile but increasingly resistant as it absorbed more ice energy, making it tougher to penetrate.
"Yu Yuan..." Zhou You of the merchant association was also troubled by the mounting frustration of the guests. He sighed, his face etched with concern.
He too realized that at this moment, Yu Yuan could not withstand the overwhelming tide. It would be best to temporarily make use of the Dragon Slaying Stage.
"Heh, Dragon Slaying Stage." Yu Yuan's mouth curled into an enigmatic smile.
At his mere thought, the elongated, grayish-white stone that had fused into one emerged from his Zigong acupoint. The Dragon Slaying Stage had not been placed into the Cosmos Ring since the Frost Queen was still refining the Frost Well within, so it remained within the cauldron.
"World-Sundering Stone!" The moment the Dragon Slaying Stage materialized, the brilliance that burst forth from Noeyr's eyes was so intense that many averted their gaze.
Her eyes shone like fierce suns! Her lips quivered, and her hands trembled as she, in the presence of all, bowed to Yu Yuan's Dragon Slaying Stage with the reverence of a Voidweaver.
It was as though she was paying homage to the creator of their kind—the colossal, vibrant butterfly.
Crack! Crack! Crack! With the Dragon Slaying Stage now removed from the cauldron, the thin ice layers within the lair, stirred by its presence, hurtled towards them.
Yu Yuan's spirit trembled slightly as he watched the approaching Ice Shard with a mix of shock and uncertainty.
"Master, the Ice Shard is drawn either by the Frost Queen within the Dragon Slaying Stage or perhaps by the Frost Well itself..."
The voice of the cauldron spirit, Yu Yiyi, echoed in Yu Yuan's mind, steadying his nerves as he faced this formidable threat. With a remnant soul, he entered the inner space of the Dragon Slaying Stage.
Amidst the ice peaks formed from the corpse of a tenth-level giant dragon, the Frost Queen stood atop the summit shaped from the dragon's head.
The fragments of the Dark Realm's Frost Well were being assembled piece by piece, forming a mystical ice armor that shrouded her.
Her long scorpion tail extended outside the forming Frost Well, resembling the body of a dragon.
Suddenly, the little world of extreme cold began to be pelted with hail.
This so-called "hail" was in fact Ice Shards that had escaped from the Deathwing Lair. These massive shards, brimming with potent ice energy, were being drawn into the forming Frost Well, merging into it one by one.
Witnessing this, Yu Yuan allowed himself a moment of relief.
He instinctively knew that the Ice Shards fleeing the Deathwing Lair would aid the Frost Queen in refining the well, empowering her to ascend as a supreme Bane.
Moreover, the thin ice sealing the Deathwing Lair was fracturing.
This signified that the Songbird Queen could regain control over the Deathwing Lair, leveraging the power of the merge to manifest overwhelming combat prowess.
The Deathwing Lair was poised to become Chen Qinghuang's edge, elevating her to the pinnacle of power beneath the God-King in Ionodios.
Seeing the benefits multiply, Yu Yuan was content to reap the rewards, allowing the multitude of Ice Shards to transform into hail and enter the realm within the Dragon Slaying Stage.
"Bloodline, the void trembles."
A vague, ancient chant emanated from Noeyr's heart, her bloodline mysteries seemingly connecting with the sacred domain of the Voidweaver beyond the Infinite Galaxy.
An immense butterfly, with its translucent, colorful wings, suddenly fluttered in an alien Star River.
A dazzling cascade of rainbow light rippled out, inducing boundless transformations within the Star River.
Simultaneously.
The thin ice within the Deathwing Lair was instantaneously crushed, scattering into a shower of icy light.
"Ah!"
Yu Yuan's face turned ashen as he witnessed an extraordinary transformation within the Dragon Slaying Stage's hidden realm. The remnant space magic within the long-deceased Chronowyrm began to coalesce, influenced by Noeyr's bloodline, and miraculously morphed into a stunning butterfly.
As the butterfly emerged, a gateway seemed to open within the Deathwing Lair, revealing new dimensions of space.
The Dragon Slaying Stage, once cradled in Yu Yuan's palm, took flight on its own, soaring into the Deathwing Lair and coming to rest before Noeyr.
This revered Voidweaver Elder approached the Dragon Slaying Stage with a devout reverence.
With trembling hands, she touched the stage, uttering words in an indecipherable tongue, as if in prayer, beseeching her ancestors for a sign.
A radiant brilliance erupted from the World-Sundering Stone, setting off waves of spatial turbulence.
With a soft puff, the remnant soul Yu Yuan had sent forth was snuffed out.
His eyes narrowed, ice forming in his gaze as he addressed the Chief Elder of the Voidweavers, "I thought you were merely borrowing it? To erase my remnant soul as well seems rather presumptuous, doesn't it?"
"Has Elder Noeyr succeeded?"
"She intends to harness the World-Sundering Stone's power to reopen the Starway!"
"At the end of the day, it's the strength of the Voidweaver race that we can count on!"
"..."
The representatives of various races were invigorated as the Dragon Slaying Stage, now in Noeyr's possession, triggered a cataclysmic shift within the Deathwing Lair.
Their exultant cheers overpowered Yu Yuan's objections, rendering his words insignificant.
"Something's not right."
Zhou You, equally attuned to the nuances of space magic, narrowed his eyes, a sense of foreboding rising within him. "Yu Yuan, can you project your remnant soul into the Dragon Slaying Stage once more? I suspect there's more to these changes than simply reopening the Starway."
Chen Qinghuang, who had remained silent until now, let out a derisive chuckle.
Her laugh, laden with icy scorn, seemed to mock everyone present.
"The Absolute Darkness is contracting!"
"It's releasing its grip on Fernand, the Lin family's daughter, and the ice energy from the Dark Realm's stone building!"
"Those Shura from the Dark Realm that appeared to have stepped into the Ionodios earlier weren't real! They seemed more like a dense surge of vitality, each donning Shura armor!"
"I suspect they were blood puppets, crafted by the Demon God Grec using the Blood Fiend's mystique!"
"..."
Zhongli Dapan, Beru, the archdemon Green Willow, and other formidable figures within the realm had been intently observing the darkness so thick it seemed impenetrable.
To their surprise, the darkness that had been spreading wildly outside was now swiftly retreating back toward the stone building, causing them a great deal of unease and anxiety.
Neither the Blood King nor the Great Demon God Grec were the types to easily concede defeat.
Once war was initiated, neither would likely conclude it hastily. Without unleashing a bloody tempest across the Astral Domain, how could they honor the ruthlessness of the Blood King or the brutal reputation of the Blood Fiend patriarch?
Whoosh! Whoosh!
In front of the shadow-engulfed stone building, Shura General Fernand was gasping for air, his strength failing him as he leaned against the wall and slowly slumped to the ground.
He was adrift in a vast emptiness, feeling utterly lost.
Reluctantly watching the Absolute Darkness recede and vanish into Lin Zhuyun's body, he wondered if he had been living a dream.
Of course, dreams are not real.
The "Frost Well" constructed within Lin Zhuyun was an illusion, as were the formidable Shura of the Dark Realm. Could it be that even the king's voice was a fabrication?
Who had deceived everyone, including himself?
"Ugh!"
Inside the training room of the building, Lin Zhuyun appeared fragile, trembling as she lay on the floor. Her body and soul were still adrift in the Absolute Darkness, struggling to coalesce her consciousness.
She was aware only of an overwhelming force using her as a vessel to orchestrate a farce.
"It's certainly unexpected. She and Fernand are just two pitiful pawns, oblivious to the actual plot," President Lyi mused, pondering the situation.
Suddenly, ninth-level Otherkin, archdemons, and Unbound cultivators like Jun Chen detected a powerful surge of space magic erupting from the Deathwing Lair.
This space magic was accompanied by the chilling presence of the Dark Realm's signature Absolute Darkness.
"World-Sundering Stone!"
"Dragon Slaying Stage!"
The Otherkin experts and the Everlands cultivators shouted different names as they hastened toward the deep pit.
"Retreat! Get away from the Deathwing Lair!"
"Noeyr!"
"What are you doing?!"
Moments before, a guest from the Otherkin who had been singing praises of the Voidweaver Chief Elder was now pointing at her, yelling in fury.
The crowd began to back away.
Yu Yuan turned to Luo Yue, Ann Ziqing, and Tong Laoqian, instructing, "Take Wen Lu and immediately distance yourselves from this Deathwing Lair! Noeyr of the Voidweavers, along with the Blood King and the Demon God Grec, are in league with the Frost Queen!"
Everything clicked for him.
Lin Zhuyun was merely a decoy. The so-called arrival of the Shura from the Dark Realm and the appearance of the Blood King were orchestrations by Grec and the Blood King from the shadows.
The true Frost Well of the Dark Realm had always been with the Frost Queen, hidden within the Dragon Slaying Stage!
The Frost Well's connection to the Dark Realm, aiming to channel the Absolute Darkness into Ionodios, was beyond Lin Zhuyun's capabilities.
Besides the Frost Queen's successful refinement of the Frost Well, the Deathwing Lair and the Dragon Slaying Stage were also necessary!
Within the Dragon Slaying Stage lay the remains of a tenth-level frost wyrm and the residual power of a tenth-level Chronowyrm!
Only by combining the Frost Well, Deathwing Lair, and Dragon Slaying Stage could the sinister plans of the Blood King and Grec be fully realized!
Noeyr had been covertly swayed by the Blood King and Grec. Representing the Voidweaver Clan, she had aligned herself with them to seize control of the Dragon Slaying Stage!
Once Yu Yuan grasped the reality, despite his astonishment, he found himself at a loss for a solution.
Within the realm were the Blood King, the imminent Shura from the Dark Realm, possibly the Demon God Grec, and Noeyr, who had secured the Dragon Slaying Stage.
Outside, the Abyssal Leviathan loomed, and numerous Warpbeasts lurked.
From any perspective, the battle seemed unwinnable.
"I'm sorry."
Noeyr, hovering within the lair, cradled the World-Sundering Stone in her hands and explained to Yu Yuan, "This Hex Stone holds deep significance for our people. You are backed by the Chamber of Commerce and Boulderdawn. I'm well aware that to acquire the World-Sundering Stone, we had no choice but to seek assistance from Grec and the Blood King."
"The third World-Sundering Stone is used to stabilize the destiny of the Nagas within the vast expanse of the Everlands."
"Whether it's the Boulderdawn Sect or the current five dominant powers of the Everlands, none would permit the removal of that World-Sundering Stone from the pinnacle of the dragon vein. Yet Grec and the Blood King are intent on ravaging the Everlands. Their ambitions and actions could aid us in securing the third World-Sundering Stone!"
"Hence, on behalf of the Voidweaver Clan, I've entered into an alliance with them."
Noeyr's reasoning was coherent and methodically explained to Yu Yuan her motivations.
Once she had finished, Yu Yuan immediately grasped her intentions.
She had made her decision for the sake of her people and the Voidweaver Clan. Her choice was justifiable, even though it compromised her own interests and resulted in the loss of a rare treasure.
