C1168 The Frostfiend
In the depths of the murky, gray mist, Sky Fiends of bizarre shapes lunged at Yu Zhu's demonic form. These newly emerged Sky Fiends had either transformed a skeleton into their demonform, merged with a type of sturdy armor, inhabited a Divine Weapon, or even taken over the shattered remains of a human Solar Spirit Body. Inside these varied demonforms, there was no flesh or blood, only a dense devil soul pulsating within.
Most of the ancient Star-Spawned Terrors took on such forms, excelling at crushing their enemies' souls with their devil souls, unlike the Blood Fiends who possessed flesh and blood and could even tap into their bloodline to wield their innate mystiques. The toxic miasma, filled with corrosive, poisonous flames, proved ineffective against these types of Sky Fiends.
Yu Zhu, in her true form as a colossal spider with a jade-like appearance, shimmered with clarity. Her demon energy radiated brilliantly, like a dazzling aurora. With swift movements of her sharp spider legs, she sliced through the invading Sky Fiends, cleaving them into fragments. Her fearsome demon energy spread out, instantly dispersing the devil souls of the Sky Fiends that had lost their armor and skeletal demonforms.
However, the Bloodforging technique she had woven with her spider silk had lost its intended effect. She was unable to extract vital energy from the Sky Fiends, which lacked flesh and blood and were merely armor, bones, and weapons forged into demonforms, to replenish her own energy during battle.
Sudden flashes of crimson sword light cut through the dark brown fog, and the Sky Fiends that had leapt at her spider legs fell in rows. The devil souls of these Sky Fiends appeared as faint purple clusters, resembling dimly glowing lanterns.
"It's the Frostfiend," Yu Yuan declared, stepping forward with his sword sheath in hand, his brow furrowed with concern.
Within him, the scarlet Altar of Rebirth was on the brink of transforming into a Solar Spirit Body. By analyzing the blood crystal, his heaven soul had come to understand the origins of this race. The Frostfiends' active domain was not far from the Blood Fiends' Dark Star Domain, and there existed a secret passageway connecting the two.
The chieftains and the entire tribe of the Frostfiends were devout worshippers of the Demon God Grec. This Sky Fiend tribe could be considered Grec's most faithful followers. The hidden passageway connecting the Frostfiends' domain to the Dark Star Domain must be nearby, likely opened by the Demon God's command. They had hurried from their home domain to assist the Blood Fiends in this Astral Domain, intent on eradicating those who were fleeing.
Another slash of his sword sent waves of crimson sword light slicing through the new onslaught of Frostfiends, reducing them to scattered bones.
From the shattered remains emerged faint purple devil souls, like burning embers of dark fire, exuding a chilling, eerie aura as if they were preying on his very soul.
A glint of cold resolve flashed across Yu Yuan's brow.
In that moment, he thought that if a cultivator from Tempest's Edge were present, their Divine Weapons and the barrage of lightning would have been enough to devastate the Frostfiends, now vulnerable without their demonforms.
Star-Spawned Terrors crafted their demonforms precisely to shield themselves from forces like Tempest's Edge, entities that naturally held dominion over them.
With a demonform, they could withstand most lightning assaults, keeping their devil souls unscathed.
Currently, his Moonfall Strike could only blast their demonforms apart, leaving their devil souls relatively unharmed.
He glanced at Yu Zhu, now in her monstrous form, which was considerably larger, and said, "Revert to your smaller form."
The enlarged Yu Zhu deftly maneuvered her spider legs, continuously crushing and slicing through the Frostfiends' demonforms.
Yet, she struggled with the clusters of devil souls, resembling purple flames.
This was precisely why numerous Frostfiends braved the toxic miasma, undeterred by Yu Zhu's fury.
Yu Zhu, after all, was not a being like the Plague God. The venomous cloud she had infused into her demon body was devastating to flesh and blood but could not permeate the ethereal spirited bodies like the Dark Herald's touch, which could erode the devil souls of the Star-Spawned Terrors.
"Understood."
Yu Zhu realized that her enlarged demon form was too conspicuous and failed to protect her entire body effectively.
In a flash, she transformed back into a slender girl, her back sprouting segments of bone that shimmered like the plumes of a peacock.
These bone segments, reminiscent of her spider legs in miniature, could also serve as blades in her hands.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
As expected, the bone segments behind her spun rapidly, effortlessly piercing through several Frostfiends adorned in ornate armor.
A few slower Sky Fiends were penetrated by her demon energy, their devil souls infiltrated, and they let out agonized howls.
"He is Yu Yuan, the human who has thwarted Lord Grec's plans in the Everlands!"
A mass of purple devil soul, spanning three acres, undulated and slowly took the form of a sinister purple wraith. "He's worth a fortune in gold. Come with me to assault his Mindscape and soul! But remember, don't obliterate his soul entirely. We must keep his spiritual wisdom intact—we aim to take him alive!"
The Frostfiend let out a frenzied roar.
Dozens of various clans answered his call, swiftly converging around him. They looked like a collection of eerie, burning purple lanterns.
"Soul Guide!"
The lead Frostfiend bellowed in the ancient demonic tongue.
Yu Yuan was jolted to his core. He felt as if his Lunar Spirit, dominant soul, and even the heaven soul within the little world of his vitality, which continued to refine the Altar of Rebirth, were bound by innumerable ropes, being drawn out of his flesh and into the spreading purple dark fire of the Frostfiends.
"Hehe, amateurs playing with fire."
After the initial shock, Yu Yuan quickly steadied his three souls and sneered, "Haven't you heard? The Crucible of Evil I wield is also equipped with numerous Circles of Damnation. Did Grec fail to mention that I've mastered the Spirit Magic of the Boulderdawn? The Boulderdawn was founded to counter beings like you—the most ancient and purest of the Sky Fiends!"
As he spoke, he activated the Wraithbinding.
His Lunar Spirit, releasing an irresistible aura within his Mindscape, instantly sent the Frostfiends into disarray.
At the moment Wraithbinding was deployed, he sensed the magic power and soul techniques of the Frostfiends become ineffective.
The ancient and pure Frostfiends were particularly vulnerable to the Wraithbinding and all the arcane Spirit Magic of the Boulderdawn!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Clusters of smaller purple dark fire, ignoring the lead Frostfiend's attempts to stop them, rushed directly into the acupoint on his forehead.
"Fools! He's a disciple of the Boulderdawn. Don't be deceived and enter his Mindscape!"
The mightiest Frostfiend could only just manage to keep his spiritual wisdom from being ensnared by Yu Yuan, but his cries and the soul remnant he emitted were utterly ineffective.
The diminutive Frostfiend's spiritual wisdom was shattered in an instant as it hurtled toward Yu Yuan.
"It's actually Wraithbinding."
A deep voice emanated from a dark red suit of armor floating in midair. Flesh and blood within the armor began to writhe, quickly forming bones, veins, and even refining organs.
In a mere moment, Quealy, whom Yu Yuan had previously encountered on the Primal Blood Continent, took shape.
As soon as Quealy spoke, the Frostfiends, whose spiritual wisdom had been compromised by the Wraithbinding, regained their clarity. They halted in their tracks just before reaching Yu Yuan.
Quealy's hands extended from the armor, elongating steadily.
Seconds later, he had fully assumed the form of the Quealy from the Primal Blood Continent, the only difference being the additional dark red armor.
"You go after the girl from Shadow's Keep. Yu Yuan is mine."
As Quealy spoke again, a crimson river of light materialized between Yu Yuan and Yu Zhu, effectively dividing the two.
This scarlet light concealed space magic, making Yu Zhu and Yu Yuan feel as though worlds apart despite being visible to each other.
"A Blood Fiend adept in space magic."
Yu Yuan was taken aback. On the Primal Blood Continent, Quealy had not stood out, nor had he displayed his true power.
He was mostly silent, standing behind the young Grec, leaving Munch and Affo to take the lead. It was unexpected that Quealy, who had seemed unremarkable, was in fact so extraordinary.
"Why can't we master space magic when the human race has many cultivators who can?" Quealy huffed, "We have flesh and blood. Anything humans can achieve, we Blood Fiends can accomplish with just a bit of effort."
He paused briefly.
Then he declared arrogantly, "We are the superior race in the vast Star River! We, the Blood Fiend, are destined to rule all beings, following the divine will to purge the universe of filth and malignant tumors like the Everlands!"
