C1138 The New Dragon Whisperer

Crackling sounds filled the air as Chen Qinghuang and Cao Yi unleashed a grayish-white death force, with streaks of blood-red lightning weaving through the pulsating mass of flesh, causing Grec to groan without end. He morphed, taking on the form of Winona, an elder of the Moonlit Wanderers, and became a gaunt man. This man resembled a younger, more slender version of Grec, sans the thick beard, his mouth clean-shaven, and he exuded an extraordinary handsomeness. Yet his dark red eyes betrayed his confusion, paying no heed to the ongoing spray of fire and death force that enveloped him. "Where is the young beast's soul?" Grec furrowed his brow in concern.

Cao Yi and the Songbird Queen, previously locked in fierce combat, ceased their struggle in the face of this unexpected transformation. Their gazes shifted to the head of the dragon. "A disturbance in the psionic power of space..." Chen Qinghuang whispered to herself, suspecting a connection to the Dragon Slaying Stage that Yu Yuan possessed. Yu Yuan had mentioned more than once that he'd detected a strong heartbeat emanating from the artifact. The Dragon Slaying Stage housed the remains of dragons, all progeny of the Titan Spinosaurus. A young Titan Spinosaurus, newly awakened to spiritual wisdom, might have resonated mysteriously with the Chronowyrm's remains, and Yu Yuan had seized the chance to spirit it away. She was confident her speculation was close to the truth.

Regaining her composure, the creator of the Songbird Empire raised her delicate arm and pointed at the now dashing Grec, instructing Cao Yi, "You do the killing." "Why not you?" Cao Yi asked, taken aback. "I haven't practiced the mystique of the Colddeath. Killing him myself would yield me no benefit," Chen Qinghuang explained with a sense of obviousness. "But if you kill him, you can absorb the vital energy he's imprinted within Winona's body. And as for the devil soul he's refined, just force it out, and I'll handle the rest."

Cao Yi didn't hesitate. Upon receiving her proposal, he lunged at Grec without another word. The air whooshed as a thick death force, emanating from his wings, began to fill the fissures of the dragon egg. As Cao Yi made his move on Grec, Chen Qinghuang assisted, ensuring that not a single crack in the violet-gold dragon egg would allow for an easy escape.

Even Grec, if he wished to escape through those fissures, would first need to shatter the death wall she had conjured.

Two formidable titans from the Everlands had reached an unspoken agreement when Grec employed the arcane art of Soul Swap to transfer the devil soul from Lee Yupan to Winona, bringing her into their battlefield.

'Take down Grec first!'

With the death force sealing the dragon egg, Grec's thaumaturgy of Soul Swap would become ineffective, preventing him from returning to Lee Yupan's body by the same means.

If the residual consciousness of the devil soul were to be obliterated, Grec would be dealt a severe blow.

Moreover, even if he managed to reconstruct the unique physique of the Blood Fiend Clan, rooted in that peculiar heart, the destruction of this part of the devil soul would necessitate more time and effort to reclaim his lost memories.

Slash!

A massive ice blade swept over the Lunarphite, drenching the sky with the blood of Lee Yupan, who was inhabited by Yue Fei.

Pain and struggle flickered in Lee Yupan's pale eyes as her moonlight shield was effortlessly penetrated by Yu Yiyi's enormous ice lance.

Lee Yupan staggered backward, her slender form repeatedly encased in ice only to be shattered by her moon energy.

The moment Grec's devil soul and vital energy took residence in Winona's body through Soul Swap, her fighting prowess was significantly diminished.

Initially, Grec and Yue Fei could manipulate the various forces of this realm, bending the rules at will to greatly amplify her power.

Such a version of Lee Yupan could match Yu Yiyi blow for blow, avoiding a clear disadvantage.

But with Grec gone, Yue Fei was left to struggle alone, quickly revealing her fatigue.

"This is the end."

Yu Yiyi's face was a mask of indifference as she brandished her ice lance, engulfing Lee Yupan in a dazzling blizzard of ice light.

With a whoosh, the Crucible of Evil, ancient in style and intricately patterned, detached from Yu Yiyi and reformed into a dark cauldron, shrouding Lee Yupan amidst the radiant ice light.

The next instant, nearly ten thousand Banes surged forth, arranging themselves into a vast array resembling a soul vortex.

Armor Crusher, Grimlantern, Chebus, Silver Chain, and Shadowfox all presided over the heart of the vortex, commanding the lesser Banes to create a suction force that no soul could resist.

Whoosh!

Yue Fei, her form that of a devil soul clad in an ancient palace gown, was forcibly extracted from the crown of Lee Yupan's head.

She plunged into the vortex, only to be swiftly caught by Shadowfox, Armor Crusher, Grimlantern, Chebus, and Silver Chain.

Her devil soul gradually descended into the miniature universe within the cauldron, finding herself confined to a seat at the eighth level.

Almost immediately, a tumultuous onslaught of consciousnesses from thousands of Banes surged forward, shattering Yue Fei's memories, life experiences, and all that she had known.

Remarkably, her knowledge of the Moonfiend Clan's arcane secrets remained unscathed.

"Master, I've captured another formidable Bane for you."

Yu Yiyi, now without her armor and merely holding an ice blade, looked up expectantly at Yu Yuan, who was gripping the Dragon Slaying Stage, lost in thought.

Yu Yuan paused, then peered downward.

Through a shared telepathic link, he needed only a moment to perceive Yue Fei within the cauldron's little world, in the process of being refined.

Yue Fei was situated on the eighth level of the Crucible of Evil, mirroring Shadowfox's initial placement.

"She's of Demon God caliber, and her strength remains almost entirely intact with hardly any loss. Once she's refined, her original memories will be dispersed. I'll imprint new slave seals on her, ensuring she instinctively obeys me. After the refinement is complete and she's subdued, she'll ascend even higher."

Yu Yiyi elaborated.

The Frost Queen, during her time in the Embers Sea and manifesting as a Sky Fiend, was in fact incomplete and significantly weakened.

Having suffered grave injuries previously, she couldn't hold a candle to the present Yue Fei.

Thus, the Frost Queen required gradual progression, step by step, breaking through each level.

Yue Fei, however, was different. Once successfully refined into a Bane, she would, like Shadowfox, relentlessly ascend the levels, possessing the potential to reach the utmost tier of Bane on the tenth level in a relatively short span, akin to the Frost Queen.

"Excellent! Very well done!"

Yu Yuan bestowed upon her the praise she sought, without reservation.

Elsewhere.

Within the inner realm of the Dragon Slaying Stage, the young Titan Spinosaurus stretched out its coiled body comfortably, its curiosity piqued as it surveyed its surroundings.

Countless crystals of light burst forth from the corpses of eighth and ninth level dragons, all converging towards it.

With each passing moment, it could sense its power growing.

It reveled in the sensation.

The demon energy and vitality within the Lunarphite's body required a double purification by the heart before it could be absorbed, allowing it to slowly develop bones and sinews from the nourishing blood.

The Lunarphite was not of its kind, nor was it an ideal choice for its growth.

The crystallized psionic power within the dragon corpses of this realm was the optimal choice for its growth!

No extra purification was necessary; the psionic power could merge directly into its spirited body.

Immersed in a sea of endless crystal light, it had nothing to do but watch as the strange power within the crystals bolstered its soul, refining its vitality and gradually solidifying into actual blood and bone.

"The shell, I can use the eggshell," the young creature, still bearing a vague dragon shape, said to Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit, seemingly eager to please.

"Wait a bit longer. Once Grec's devil soul perishes, I'll attempt to collect your eggshell," Yu Yuan's Lunar Spirit responded before returning to the Mindscape. He continued to monitor the young beast's every move on the Dragon Slaying Stage with just a thought.

At that moment, Yu Yuan was struck by an odd sentiment.

If he truly had a previous life, it was highly probable that he was the God-King of Boulderdawn, the one who had vanquished the Nagas and elevated humanity to the pinnacle of the Everlands. Using the Dragon Slaying Stage, he had suppressed the dragon race, preventing the birth of a Dragon God for tens of thousands of years.

Yet now, he found himself rescuing a young Titan Spinosaurus and sustaining it with dragon corpses.

Indeed, the ways of the world are unpredictable.

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