C1112 The Divine War

In the Dissolving Fortress, Yu Yuan's expression gradually steadied, and the extraordinary glow in his eyes faded into obscurity.

Peering into his Mindscape, he distinctly saw the phantom of his other self, which should have been awakening from his dominant soul, quietly recede along with the fading light.

It was as though it had never manifested any anomaly.

Above the dark expanse of the Deathwing Lair, next to the Golden Chariot, the Dragon Slaying Stage was being subdued by the formidable power of Blood King Sabonis, sinking once again.

No one could halt the descent of the Dragon Slaying Stage into the abyss, nor could anyone draw near the Blood King.

Yet, in that instant, Yu Yuan caught a peculiar smile flickering across Ghost King Tian Zang's lips.

Yu Yuan paused, an involuntary speculation forming in his mind.

The phrase Tian Zang had brought forth sparked a memory that nearly triggered the awakening of his other self within his dominant soul...

Regardless of whether the other self had awakened, the messenger's objective had been accomplished.

The turmoil within his soul and his subconscious murmuring had caused the Dragon Slaying Stage to tremble, sealing the conduit to the Dark Realm and leaving the Shura who had entered first isolated.

Sinton and the platinum Shura could not prevent the Dragon Slaying Stage from departing.

Once the Dragon Slaying Stage was gone, the passageway would shatter, rendering any attempt at reversal futile.

This forced the Blood King, who had been silently observing the unfolding events from the Dark Realm, to make an early appearance.

Harnessing the might of his tenth-level bloodline, Sabonis seized the fleeing Dragon Slaying Stage and eliminated the Voidweaver Noeyr. With her blood as the primer, he redirected the chaotic situation back onto its intended course.

"President Lyi, had you deployed the Golden Throne sooner, it seems you could have contained the spread of darkness," remarked Razses, the Ghost King from the Land of Terror, his eyes alight with a cunning fire. He huffed, "If Blood King Sabonis's true form could halt the encroaching darkness after arriving on the famed Star River chariot, why not earlier?"

Upon hearing his words, Yu Yuan, Ann Ziqing, Luo Yue, and the others experienced a subtle jolt.

Absolutely!

Given that President Lyi is capable now, and considering that Sabonis did not make a personal appearance earlier, President Lyi should have been able to release the Golden Throne, forged by the premier Sunsilver Divine Mountain in the Everlands, and modify the cosmic order of Ionodios to halt the encroaching darkness. Yet, he chose not to act.

Why?

"He's laying a trap, biding his time for Sabonis's arrival," Chen Qinghuang stated with her characteristic detachment and authority within her fortress. "He's not just waiting for Sabonis, but likely also for the Great Demon God Grec, and perhaps even the Abyssal Leviathan that roams beyond our realm."

This revelation brought a hush over everyone in the Dissolving Fortress.

It was becoming clear that the true intentions of the Skyreach Consortium and Boulderdawn were only now beginning to emerge.

"I'll take over."

Jun Chen, the premier counselor of the Skyreach Consortium, appeared in a flash before Zhongli Dapan.

His solitary silhouette swelled before the watchful eyes of all present.

Brilliant stars ignited from the acupoints surrounding him, and he slowly manifested a Divine Visage a thousand feet tall. Dozens of acupoints within him transformed into vast constellations.

Zhongli Dapan, who had been grievously wounded in an ambush by the Great Demon God Grec, looked minuscule in his normal state compared to Jun Chen's towering Divine Visage.

Looking up at the godlike Jun Chen, Zhongli Dapan's expression was one of mild astonishment.

After a brief pause, he nodded and cautioned, "Be vigilant. Grec's power can be channeled from the outside at any moment. You're currently facing only a fraction of his strength. But the next moment, you might be subjected to the full brunt of his assault."

The Blood King Sabonis, who controlled the wall of Ionodios, would certainly not block Grec's infusion of vitality.

Indeed, the power Grec had stationed outside the realm could, in an instant, flood into the Titan avatar, unleashing his peak combat prowess.

Zhongli Dapan's concern was that Jun Chen might underestimate the Great Demon God, and he wanted to ensure that Jun Chen remained on guard.

"I understand."

Jun Chen nodded subtly. His revealed Divine Visage of a thousand zhang left the Starfallen Oracle Beru, Leo with his Altar of Rebirth, and the many surviving members of the Starborn in awe.

The colossal star clusters adorning Jun Chen's Divine Visage astonishingly mirrored the numerous domains within the Annihilation Nebula!

"It turns out that the most vital spell of this top counselor from the Skyreach Consortium originates from the Star Sect," Luo Yue exclaimed in astonishment. "Furthermore, he has covertly harnessed the essence of many domains within the Annihilation Nebula. He's stripped the cores from countless stars and channeled them into his acupoints, constructing a formation of unprecedented scale."

"He has refined the stars of the entire cosmos!" Ann Ziqing's heart trembled with the revelation.

Yu Yuan inhaled deeply.

In that instant, his thoughts turned to Yang Chuhe, the newly appointed sect master of the Midnightshields.

This individual had seized the flow of three great rivers within the Crimson Sun Empire, integrating their essence into his veins, which enabled him to rapidly ascend in power and exhibit extraordinary combat prowess.

The consequence of his deed was that the lands of the Crimson Sun Empire would suffer drought for decades, perhaps even a century.

Crops in numerous villages and towns would fail, leading to widespread starvation.

Yang Chuhe's conduct was condemned as profoundly malevolent, and his spellcraft was deemed dark magic.

Yet now, Jun Chen, the man in white, had taken it a step further!

After his departure from the extraterrestrial Star River, he refined the Star Crystal Core of a Domain and merged it into his acupoint, creating a sort of Constellation Formation.

He himself became the heart of the rune circle, the very lynchpin!

As for the fate of the domains' stars within the Annihilation Nebula—whether they would implode or shatter into countless meteorites—he seemed utterly indifferent.

Viewed in this light, Jun Chen was truly a dark disciple, which explains why the Starmoon Sect had kept silent about his practices.

And Jun Chen himself seldom disclosed his most profound mystique and spiritual spells, let alone his ties to the Star Sect.

Tian Zang smiled knowingly, "Without such techniques and power, how could he possibly confront the Great Demon God Grec head-on?"

"Star Movement."

With these two words, Jun Chen's towering Divine Visage initiated a slow shift in the celestial bodies within his chest.

Numerous stars and lands from the domains began to drift away in silence, outpacing the Voidfarer, the Divine Weapon, and even surpassing the speed of the God-King.

A psionic power capable of shaking the Star River itself was bestowed upon Jun Chen's Divine Visage, bypassing the wall of Ionodios entirely. "With both of you at the helm of the Skyreach Consortium, it's no surprise that you've earned the Boulderdawn's endorsement."

Grec, inhabited by a Titan, broke into a wide grin and chuckled heartily, nodding in admiration. "The Everlands truly abound with exceptional individuals. They've grasped the power of stars with such finesse that they surpass even the Starborn in depth and mystery. I must admit, they've earned a newfound respect from me."

At his words, Beru, Leo, and the rest of the Starborn couldn't help but show their discomfort.

The Otherkin experts from the extraterrestrial Star River were well aware that the arcane spells of the Starmoon Sect originated from the Starborn, who had once sought to empower humanity to counterbalance the Nagas.

Now, with an outlier like Jun Chen, who had penetrated the Way of Heaven of the Star River and harnessed the cores of stars for his own use, the future was uncertain. Should someone as unorthodox and malevolent as Jun Chen ascend to the level of a primordial spirit, it was anyone's guess how many stars would be extinguished by his hand, turning vibrant regions into desolate wastelands.

Jun Chen was, in essence, a cosmic giant beast in human guise, a devourer of worlds within the Domain.

His path, his deeds, they mirrored those of the cosmic giant beasts from the age of chaos. It's no wonder that the Death Crane, serving as his mount, exhibited both fear and unwavering loyalty towards him.

"Are they truly unafraid to breach the Annihilation Nebula, risking its complete obliteration?" mused the Ghost King, Razses, shaking his head with a light sigh. His eyes, aglow with the flame of insight, turned towards Chen Qinghuang, who stood with her back to the group. It seemed the enigmatic empress had her own agenda, her own strategic calculations.

"That will depend on the perspectives of the Skyreach Consortium and the Boulderdawn," Chen Qinghuang responded with an icy tone.

Whoosh! The air stirred as the Stormcrowned Emperor, the Sky Fiend Indigo Wraith, and Hei Xun, all allies of the Boulderdawn, converged near the Dissolving Fortress, close to Tian Zang.

At that moment, Yu Yiyi, who had been kneeling for an extended period, stood up without a word.

"Are you alright?"

Yu Yuan's thoughts reached her on a frequency that was theirs alone.

"No, I'm fine. I just experienced a fleeting illusion," Yu Yiyi replied as she settled back into the cauldron. Her demeanor had become somewhat restrained, a departure from her usual easygoing manner.

As the Stormcrowned Emperor, Hei Xun, turned his gaze upon her, she retreated into the inner world of the cauldron.

"Master, there's no need to be overly concerned about the Frost Queen. She is merely a formidable Bane, not worth your worry. Moreover, she is near the Dragon Slaying Stage, and I doubt that Lin Zhuyun has the capability to refine her, to use her as the vessel for the Solar Spirit," Yu Yiyi continued to communicate from within the cauldron.

Yu Yuan sensed that the cauldron spirit, which had assimilated her form, was behaving oddly.

Previously, the cauldron spirit had valued each Bane highly, especially the Frost Queen, who had reached her ultimate form and was regaining her memories.

But now, according to Yu Yiyi, the Frost Queen and the other Banes seemed to have lost their significance.

"This is not enough, nowhere near enough," Blood King Sabonis muttered, shaking his head. As he watched the Dragon Slaying Stage disappear into the depths of darkness, he felt his power firmly suppressing the Hex Stone, leaving him without any concerns. Ascending step by step in his Golden Chariot, he quickly rose to level with President Lyi's Golden Throne, independent of the darkness below.

"Just the two of you? You stand no chance of victory. Regardless of what you possess or the preparations you've made, unless you enter the realm of the primordial spirit, facing me will always lead to a dead end," Sabonis declared, pointing skyward.

In the Ionodios Realm, amidst the darkness, billions of golden rays, silver lightning, and streams of black iron essence surged forth, transforming into torrents and steel pillars that began to assault President Lyi's Golden Throne.

"The world rules you've built beneath my feet are nothing but a joke."

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