C1133 Fusion of Righteousness and Evil

Chen Qinghuang hovered above the Titan Spinosaurus dragon egg, enveloped by the forces of death, destruction, and rebirth. These powers swirled around her like divine rays of order, creating an aura so commanding that one glance at her was like beholding a deity.

With a whoosh, she summoned the tiny Deathwing Lair once more, transforming it into gray-black wings that materialized behind her. The death force coursing through these wings was in perfect harmony with the death aura she exuded, making her seem like a goddess of death who had just ascended to a new level of power.

The remnants of Grec's resurrection ceremony had not unsettled her. However, upon suspecting Cao Yi's presence, the Songbird Queen exercised exceptional caution, her actions underscoring the high regard she held for the Ebon Star prodigy.

Meanwhile, Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit had converged with the Crucible of Evil, and alongside the cauldron spirit Yu Yiyi, they observed the massive egg from above. From their vantage point, they could discern a blood shadow weaving through the egg's fissures, confirming Chen Qinghuang's assessment. It was indeed Cao Yi, the one who had slain Ann Jieshan and who had mastered the arcane teachings of the Colddeath and the spells of the Ebon Star.

Chen Qinghuang, standing beside the Crucible of Evil, spoke with her usual detached tone, "The Great Demon God Grec once sought to hatch the Titan Spinosaurus dragon egg, using the tenth-level Lunarphite to slowly nurture it. The hatching of a cosmic giant beast is a lengthy process, spanning centuries, even millennia. The heart, of unknown origin, connected to the Lunarphite's chest by strands of blood, refined the archdemon's residual vital energy."

"After refinement, the energy was channeled into the dragon egg above, aiding the development of the young Titan Spinosaurus within. However, Grec encountered difficulties in the Ionodios. Forced to resurrect himself using the heart's remaining power, he ceased the hatching of the young cosmic giant beast. Instead, he drew upon the dragon egg's energy through a covert resurrection ceremony."

The Songbird Queen clarified the situation.

"Winona is done for."

Tan Junshan let out a soft sigh, observing the Moonlit Wanderers elder whose eyes glinted red and whose face and neck were gradually covered with blood-colored glyphs. With a tinge of regret, he said, "She's inevitably going to become a blood bound slave."

"Now that Cao Yi has arrived, even as a blood bound slave, she won't consider us her main target," Chen Qinghuang remarked coldly, casting a glance at Winona and noting the bloody traces in her eyes. "She'll be under the thrall of Grec's lingering will, drawn to the shattered dragon egg to seek out Cao Yi first."

With a hiss, the Altar of Rebirth, which had been floating in Yu Yuan's chest cavity, had fully absorbed and refined the chunks of vital energy previously tossed to it by Chen Qinghuang. With a mere thought, the altar repositioned itself within the Profound Gate, nestled in the vitality of his chest.

His real body ascended, converging with the Lunar Spirit in the high skies.

In that moment, he had a revelation. He realized that the Ebon Star's cunning prodigy must have known about Demon God Grec's entrapment in Ionodios and had seized the chance to infiltrate the Blood Fiend's sacred ground.

Cao Yi, like them, had deduced that Grec wouldn't return. Upon encountering the Titan Spinosaurus dragon egg, his excitement must have been palpable. He wasted no time breaking the shell and employing the arcane arts of the Colddeath to assimilate the essence of the nascent cosmic giant beast to amplify his own power.

Grec, anticipating his demise in Ionodios, likely invoked a hidden theurgy to initiate the resurrection ceremony.

With the commencement of the ceremony, the incubation of the cosmic giant beast was effectively halted.

Grec aimed to reclaim the nurturing power of the cosmic giant beast and integrate the potentially formless youngling into his resurrection ceremony.

This strategy would ensure the fortification of his combat prowess post-resurrection.

In due time, once the tumult in Ionodios subsided, he planned to stealthily re-enter the Annihilation Nebula in his resurrected form, reclaim the remnants of his will scattered across the star domain, and gradually rebuild his strength to return to his zenith.

Yu Yuan, after some contemplation, believed he had unraveled the truth.

Cao Yi aimed to first refine the essence of the young creature, seeking to secure greater advantages thereafter.

The resurrection ceremony for Grec demanded the full strength of the young beast, hence the two had already commenced battle prior to their arrival.

Whoosh!

In the moment Yu Yuan's real body charged toward the Crucible of Evil, Winona, an elder of the Moonlit Wanderers, glowed with blood-red eyes, her body radiating a powerful moon energy. True to expectations, she targeted the cracked dragon egg, intent on eliminating Cao Yi who was causing mischief within.

This time, no earth-shattering heartbeat emanated from the peculiar heart below.

Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!

Winona's lithe figure wedged into the largest fissure of the dragon egg, and numerous Moonblades materialized in an instant, striking the Titan Spinosaurus's shell and sending sparks in all directions.

Yet, the shell remained unbroken.

"This shell is incredibly robust, almost as if it could be forged into a Divine Weapon."

Yu Yuan descended into the Crucible of Evil, his Lunar Spirit returning to the sanctuary within his brow. Narrowing his eyes and peering down, he sensed a response from the Altar of Rebirth within him, having processed Grec's vital energy and shattered the blood light and blood crystals.

Threads of vital energy, brimming with the essence of life, flowed into his bones and sinews, integrating with his internal organs.

Suddenly, his consciousness wavered, and he glimpsed a series of indistinct images.

He faintly saw another Grec, a younger version without the dense beard that now obscured much of his face, standing atop a colossal, vibrant heart.

The heart in the vision was not the one beneath the dragon egg; it was larger and its contained demon energy and vitality were staggeringly potent.

The youthful Grec, employing the arcane techniques of the Blood Fiend, was refining the still-pulsing heart.

And with it, he sought to challenge the position of the Demon God.

The scene shifted once more, seemingly spanning many years.

Grec, now middle-aged and bearded, had ascended to the status of Demon God. He returned to the secluded forbidden area with another heart and a violet-gold egg, employing mystique to extract strands of blood light from within himself, laying them like a crimson web over the opened chest cavity of the Lunarphite.

As the blood-colored grid touched down, it began siphoning the nourishment from the Lunarphite's limbs.

The heart, significantly smaller and more withered than in the initial scene, lay atop the grid. Above it rested a violet-gold dragon egg.

Grec proceeded with his preparations, embedding a blood crystal into the heart.

This was undoubtedly the resurrection ceremony he was orchestrating for himself.

There were other, more indistinct images of Grec visiting the forbidden area on several occasions, each time enhancing it further.

Sometimes he would pause to delve into the intricacies of vital energy, other times to recuperate after sustaining injuries, or to bring women of exquisite beauty from various tribes for his indulgence.

Puff! Puff! Puff!

As Yu Yuan pondered, the blood shadow within the dragon egg and Winona, now a blood bound slave under Grec's control, engaged in combat.

Subsequently, Yu Yuan witnessed Lee Yupan soaring into the heavens, hurling chunks of red crystal at him.

When Yu Yuan reactivated the Altar of Rebirth, a terrifying suction emerged from within the eggshell, latching onto the altar and drawing it toward the egg.

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