C1102 Only Death!!

Lin Zhuyun let out a soft moan, as if awakening from a prolonged nightmare.

She attempted to move her limbs, and with a series of crackling sounds, fingernail-sized Ice Shards merged into her corporeal body, as nourishing as the rarest snow lotus, aiding in the reconstruction of her form.

A part of her consciousness ventured into her little world of vitality, where she observed her once frozen vitality now fully refined.

The weakness that had plagued her for years was resolved in an instant with the infusion of the Ice Shards.

Years ago, the residual malice of the Frostfiend that sought to consume her shattered into memory sparkles, integrating with her Lunar Spirit, heaven soul, and dominant soul.

Having survived her ordeal, she gradually noticed her condition improving at an astonishing rate.

She even sensed that with additional Celestial Ice Crystals, she could refine a Solar Spirit Body, achieving her long-aspired ideal state.

Her numerous imperfections and defects were miraculously purged and remolded by that horrific nightmare.

A bizarre chuckle echoed from her Heart Lake.

The sound originated from the Abyssal Leviathan, a cosmic giant beast she had encountered numerous times in the Everlands.

"So that's it..."

Shortly thereafter, she sat up, piecing together the cause and effect.

Within the grand palaces of the Titan, amidst the debris of warships, she had absorbed the mottled vitality containing the hidden power of Grec, the current patriarch of the Blood Fiend.

Additionally, she received a mysterious, icy psionic power secretly granted by the Blood King.

In the far reaches of the Star River, two mighty beings capable of piercing the heavens conspired, using her as their vessel to stage an elaborate farce in Ionodios, deceiving all its inhabitants.

Yet, from this misfortune, she reaped a fortune.

The residual strength of the Blood King was sufficient to enable her to forge a Solar Spirit Body in the not-so-distant future.

Grec, the master of flesh and blood powers, had also bequeathed a force to her, cleansing her marrow and transforming her once frail body, laying a new foundation for her advancement.

Behind the gifts from the Blood King and Grec, of course, loomed the shadow of the Abyssal Leviathan...

Feeling a sudden intuition, she looked beyond the realm. In that moment, her gaze seemed to penetrate the crystalline wall, catching a glimpse of the Abyssal Leviathan outside.

"This young lady is quite impressive."

Atop a floating meteorite beyond the realm, the Abyssal Leviathan, having taken the form of a gaunt old man, commended Lin Zhuyun to the Ghoul King at his side. "She has potential. I'll keep an eye on her."

This meteorite, their vessel through the Star River, was as vast as a continent, featuring an ocean reminiscent of the Embers Sea.

Numerous creatures, shrouded in death aura with vacant, lifeless gazes, surged from the islands like a military force.

Among these Ghouls were human cultivators, archdemons, and predominantly warriors from various races, mostly of the seventh and eighth levels.

Scattered among them were a few fallen powerhouses who once boasted ninth-level bloodlines.

Additionally, countless corpses from different races had replaced the original Ghouls, now cast into the numerous boneyards on the island.

The remains of various clansmen, massacred by the Abyssal Leviathan, were all interred within these grounds.

The Ghouls outside and the Warpbeasts perched on the grey, withered trees kept their distance, each drawing closer to Ionodios.

At this moment, the eyes of countless Warpbeasts glowed crimson.

This signified that all the Warpbeasts had been corrupted by the Demon God Grec, transformed into his blood puppets, acting on his will to dominate the heavens and the earth.

The Abyssal Leviathan was well aware that the Demon God had possessed one of the Warpbeasts, but he could not ascertain which one.

"The Blood King and the many Shura of the Dark Realm are within the realm, while Ionodios continues to suffer from the Dark Realm's ice energy. Outside, there's the Demon God Grec and the legion of Warpbeasts. There's also you, Master, and the Ghouls I've refined."

The Ghoul King shook his head, "The secular bird's Deathwing Lair has become a conduit to the Dark Realm, preventing the mightiest of the Boulderdawn from arriving instantly. At present, I see no strategy the Chamber of Commerce or the Boulderdawn might employ to avert the impending disaster for the beings of Ionodios."

"We must never underestimate Boulderdawn," the Abyssal Leviathan declared with gravity.

The Ghoul King was taken aback.

"You haven't lived through the era when the five God-Kings dominated the Star River. You can't possibly comprehend the terror they inspired," the Abyssal Leviathan said, narrowing his eyes. "Consider this: why do I still avoid Ionodios? It's because I lack confidence."

As President Lyi, Zhongli Dapan, Jun Chen, and the ninth-level experts from various races, including the archdemon Green Willow, made their way toward the Deathwing Lair, the weaker members of their races, who had been instructed by President Lyi to convene there, were simultaneously withdrawing in the opposite direction.

The reason was that...

The Deathwing Lair, restored by Chen Qinghuang and Yu Yuan, was now engulfed in the Absolute Darkness. The surging ice energy from the Dark Realm, like bellowing black dragons, spread out in every direction.

With ferocious howls, armored Shura of towering stature emerged from the darkness, no longer concealing themselves within it.

They stood boldly outside the Deathwing Lair, brandishing massive sabers, double-bladed axes, and lightning spears over two meters long.

Each Shura, whether of the ninth or eighth level, exuded an intense aura of cold-blooded ruthlessness.

"Kill!"

This time, there was no offer of surrender from the Blood King. Every Shura that stepped into the Domain immediately drew their weapons.

Their stance made it clear that the Blood King, whose voice had once resonated with authority throughout Ionodios, had no intention of backing down.

The Blood King would not forgive those cultivators and archdemons who had attacked the human practitioners.

He had arrived and was set on severely punishing all traitors who dared to heed the Chamber of Commerce and Boulderdawn's call to enter Ionodios.

The bloodshed commenced in an instant!

Luo Yue, Tong Laoqian, and Yu Yuan, with Wen Lu in tow, retreated, their eyes filled with enmity as they gazed into the dense darkness, unable to spot Noeyr.

Yu Yuan understood that the Blood King and Noeyr's strategy had triumphed.

The Frost Queen had successfully refined and constructed the Frost Well, and the ice energy along with the temporal forces concealed within the Dragon Slaying Stage had now linked the Dark Realm and Ionodios.

He could no longer sense the presence of the Dragon Slaying Stage.

"Chen Qinghuang..." he said, his expression complex as he gazed at the Songbird Queen, who stood closest to him, maintaining her composure in a way that set her apart. "I have just one question: were you involved in this? Are you, like Noeyr, secretly in league with the Blood King and Grec?"

Doubt gnawed at him. Without his return to Ionodios, neither the Frost Queen nor the shattered Frost Well within the Dragon Slaying Stage could have made their way here, and the true passage would remain closed.

Chen Qinghuang had repeatedly tried to persuade him, confirming his decision time and again... Now, he even suspected that her counsel might have been a form of seduction and temptation!

"I had no part in this. I'm as taken aback as you are," the Songbird Queen replied, her voice cool yet tinged with a hint of anger. The subtle shift in her expression beneath the phoenix coronet was telling. With a dismissive wave of her hand, she sought to demonstrate her innocence.

"Flame of destruction!"

From nowhere, the Wingkind's "Dissolving Fortress" appeared in the sky, unleashing torrents of fiery Serpentflame.

Several eighth-level Shura warriors, freshly emerged from the Dark Realm, were instantly engulfed by the flames. Those Shura, shrieking in agony, retreated into the enveloping darkness, using the Dark Realm's ice energy to douse the Serpentflame, their cries of pain echoing relentlessly.

"I will slay the Shura for using my Deathwing Lair without my consent," declared Chen Qinghuang as she ascended gracefully towards the "Dissolving Fortress." She gestured towards Wen Lu and Tong Laoqian. "Yu Yuan has entrusted me with your safety. I will guide you and do everything in my power to protect you."

Yu Yuan, momentarily taken aback, quickly instructed, "Luo Yue, Wen Lu, Ann Ziqing, follow her lead and enter the fortress!"

He trusted that the fortress, once the vessel for the Nest of Perdition, would be able to resist the Dark Realm's ice energy to some degree, offering a sanctuary more secure than any other.

"Follow his advice!" Luo Yue urged, seizing Wen Lu and darting towards the Dissolving Fortress, their figures streaking through the air like a radiant rainbow.

"I've been invited by the Chamber of Commerce and Boulderdawn from across the Astral Domain. I won't be rescuing those Otherkin," Chen Qinghuang declared, waving her hand as she guided Wen Lu, Tong Laoqian, and the others with streams of light. "Because I, too, want to see them perish here. What I've inherited and understood are the three great powers of the secular bird."

"The secular bird was pursued to this Astral Domain by the tenth-level bloodline experts of their race and was slain in Ionodios!"

"Whether she can resurrect or not, I am aware of her desire. She wished for the descendants of the races that besieged and led to her demise to also meet their end on the very ground where she fell."

The Songbird Queen expressed her thoughts with a chilling detachment.

A secular bird, ten thousand years ago, was besieged and killed here by the combined forces of peak tenth-level bloodline experts.

As her successor, she had grasped and received the secular bird's three great legacies. She was determined to honor the secular bird's wish by eradicating the elite Otherkin before her.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The enormous gray withered trees, as if granted permission and acknowledgment by the crystalline wall of Ionodios, began to ripple with a layer of icy light. The withered trees, like passing through a curtain of water, manifested within Ionodios.

Then, they witnessed a swarm of Warpbeasts leaving the branches, plummeting like meteors.

"A horde of Warpbeasts!"

"My god! There are so many, and they're not fighting each other!"

"The red glow in their eyes indicates they've been domesticated by the Demon God Grec, transformed into blood puppets!"

"We're finished."

"Curse that Noeyr!"

Amidst the clamor, Yu Yuan also noticed a swarm of Warpbeasts descending near him, relentlessly advancing in his direction.

The red glow in the Warpbeasts' eyes gave Yu Yuan the unsettling sensation of being covertly observed by the Demon God Grec.

"Fight to the death!"

Without further thought, Yu Yuan unsheathed the Baneblade, Bloodhell, gripping its hilt with both hands. As the Altar of Rebirth activated, his surging vital energy transformed into a torrent of blood, infusing the Baneblade with power.

The Baneblade flared with a dazzling crimson light as countless Bloodwraiths howled within, overwhelming Yu Yuan, its wielder, with a sense of dizziness.

He had no particular moves or strategies in mind; instead, he instinctively slashed at the oncoming horde of Warpbeasts.

This action gave rise to a river of blood-red light. Several Otherkin warriors, once of the seventh level in bloodline, were suddenly engulfed by this river. The chilling sound of bones cracking filled the air as the Warpbeasts gnawed on the warriors' bones and flesh, as if they were prey to savage beasts, until there was nothing left.

Yu Yuan, gripping the Baneblade tightly, sensed new specks of bloodlight flickering within the Bloodhell.

​