C1170 The Stupid Decision

Adler and Mitts, two Demon Gods, emerged from the shadows to intercept the howling crescent moon.

Blood Fiend Elder Quealy, the Frostfiend, numerous Warpbeasts, and the Crypt Clan members possessed by Blood Fiends all maintained their composure, halting where they stood.

Though they were both Star-Spawned Terrors, it was clear that they were in different camps from Adler and Mitts.

Lurking behind Adler and Mitts were additional specters, seemingly ready to surge forth at any moment to annihilate all foes.

Yu Yuan gazed down at the Songbird Queen from atop the crescent moon. Her beauty was otherworldly, so surreal it seemed beyond the realm of mortals.

His heart was heavy with a sense of bitter resignation.

Yu Zhu's transmitted message had enlightened him as to why Adler and Mitts had abruptly appeared in the Dark Star and why they had struck a fleeting alliance with the Blood Fiends.

They were convinced that the secular bird, harbinger of death and destruction, would be reborn through Chen Qinghuang.

The mightiest of the Primal Demons, who had once united with the Starborn, Shura, Shadowkin, Dawnbringers, and other tenth-level powers to pursue and ultimately slay the secular bird in the Annihilation Nebula, certainly did not wish to witness her return after a hundred thousand years.

Should she be resurrected, would she not seek vengeance?

A sudden thought streaked through Yu Yuan's mind like lightning.

Back in Ionodios, he dimly recalled Chen Qinghuang's declaration to uphold the secular bird's lingering will.

Hence, she had observed with detachment as the Otherkin's emerging elite and influential figures, gathered in Ionodios, succumbed to the icy onslaught of the Dark Realm and the slaughtering hands of Shura warriors and Warpbeasts.

Was it possible that she had long known she was the secular bird's reincarnation?

After dispersing her teachings in Afnetalos and plunging into the extraterrestrial Astral Domain, she had followed enigmatic guidance to the Nest of Perdition. There, she had grasped the essence of rebirth and swiftly ascended to the Unbound Realm. Had she already unraveled the truth, understanding her own origins?

"Yu Yuan," Tan Junshan inhaled deeply, turning to face him beside the Dragon Slaying Stage. His voice was grave as he spoke, "The Primal Demon Clan boasts two tenth-level Demon Gods! Aside from the Patriarch, their High Priest is a Demon God whose ancient roots surpass even Greco's! With the High Priest en route, we..." He appeared visibly distressed.

Yu Zhu and Yu Yiyi also maintained their silence at that moment.

Adler and Mitts represented another faction of Star-Spawned Terrors, with a more profound heritage and formidable combat prowess. This faction, comprised of even older Star-Spawned Terrors, enjoyed a favorable relationship with the Boulderdawn and the Skyreach Consortium. Currently in a harmonious phase, both parties had collaborated to spearhead the initiative for various races to venture into the Everlands and Ionodios.

From Adler and Mitts' standpoint, if Yu Yuan agreed to surrender the Songbird Queen, they would grant him passage. Their interest lay solely with the Songbird Queen, indifferent to the desires and maneuvers of the Blood Fiend.

As for Chen Qinghuang, her ties with us didn't seem substantial enough to warrant a life-or-death struggle against another faction of Star-Spawned Terrors. Furthermore, if the Primal Demon's High Priest were to arrive, our chances of success, even with a desperate fight, would be slim.

"You too?" Yu Yuan's frown deepened as he locked eyes with Tan Junshan, his tone low.

Chen Qinghuang had made her dramatic appearance on the Primal Blood Continent by revealing a bizarre Divine Visage, a triad entity, and invoking the powers of the Nests of Perdition and Regeneration. She encircled the Dragon Slaying Stage, breaking through the dark red wall imbued with the will of the Root of the Solar Meridian. Consequently, she exposed herself, allowing Greco and Munch to deduce her secret, convinced that the secular bird would resurrect through her. It was this excessive exertion that ultimately forced her into an unconscious state.

But now...

"Yu Yuan, I understand that Chenchen ended up this way while trying to lead everyone away from the Primal Blood Continent," Tan Junshan averted his gaze, seemingly unable to bear the weight of Yu Yuan's disappointment. "I've known Chenchen for a long time. Over the past two hundred years, we've fought alongside each other in the astral domains beyond our world. I've even saved her life."

"But she is the secular bird!" Tan Junshan didn't finish his sentence aloud, but he knew Yu Yuan understood. His reluctance to voice the thought stemmed from a fear that Adler and Mitts, the Demon Gods, would become even more agitated once they grasped the full truth. A hundred thousand years ago, the secular bird had brought extinction to countless beings across the Astral Domains, earning the enmity of all life.

Most intelligent species, with the exception of the Wingkind, had suffered under the secular bird's tyranny, losing their domains to its wrath. The inhabitants of the Everlands, both human and demon, had no desire to see the secular bird resurrected, to witness the spread of death and destruction anew.

Tan Junshan suspected that even the Skyreach Consortium and the Boulderdawn shared this sentiment. If Chen Qinghuang was indeed linked to the secular bird, then she, too, should be utterly obliterated alongside it. Such was the inevitable course of events, unstoppable by any hand.

"Master, we should deliver her to Adler," Yu Yiyi suggested, her dislike for Chen Qinghuang now compounded by the revelation of her identity as a reincarnation of the secular bird. This woman exuded an aura of mystery and danger. Yu Yuan had hinted that upon Chen Qinghuang's awakening, the profound mysteries of destruction, rebirth, and death might converge into one. Then, Chen Qinghuang would embody the secular bird in its entirety, either as a primordial spirit, a Dark Deity, or perhaps both.

Who wouldn't harbor fear for a being who, a hundred thousand years prior, had sown endless slaughter and was now poised to return in a new form? Within the Everlands, the Boulderdawn and the five supreme sects clashed fiercely. Beyond, the Star-Spawned Terrors were embroiled in their own ceaseless turmoil.

Every intelligent species had been drawn into these conflicts. The Star River's world was already in disarray, and the emergence of a new secular bird threatened to tear it asunder. How many established and nascent domains would be obliterated in its wake? Would billions of lives once again march toward ruin and death?

As Tan Junshan, Yu Yiyi, and the others gazed upon the stunning silhouette atop the Dragon Slaying Stage, bathed in the light of the crescent moon, they each felt an overwhelming sense of dread.

"I..."

As Yu Yuan began to speak, he caught Tan Junshan's light head shake, a silent warning against foolish, rash actions when the outcome was clearly futile.

"Heh, I have my convictions!"

Yu Yuan stood beside the Dragon Slaying Stage, resting one hand lightly on its smooth surface. He locked eyes with Tan Junshan before continuing, "I understand the logic, and I know the better choice to make. I don't even harbor a sliver of false hope."

His words softened the expressions of Adler and Mitts, who were less familiar with him. The two Demon Gods, hearing his clarity, assumed he had come to his senses and would willingly surrender Chen Qinghuang to prevent bloodshed.

Tan Junshan, who had not known Yu Yuan for long but had taken great interest in understanding his character, massaged his temples in response. Sighing deeply, he said, "Are you really seeking death? Don't you see there's not even a glimmer of hope? Even with your stubbornness, you must consider the situation you're in."

"Master?!" Yu Yiyi called out in alarm.

"Silence," Yu Yuan commanded coldly, giving her a blank stare, "Remember who you are."

Yu Yiyi, startled, quickly bowed her head, murmuring a subdued, "Yes."

"I had higher expectations for someone so esteemed by the chief," Quealy, the Blood Fiend elder, mocked from behind the crescent moon. The space magic adept glided past the Frostfiend and numerous Warpbeasts to suddenly appear behind Adler and Mitts.

Quealy, taken aback, bowed respectfully to the shadowy specter lurking behind Adler and Mitts.

It seemed he recognized the presence of a formidable Sky Fiend, prompting him to show deference.

His behavior weighed heavily on Tan Junshan, who instantly realized that an even more formidable Demon God, likely an ancient and cunning big devil, was backing Adler and Mitts.

After receiving acknowledgment from the shadows, Quealy turned to join Adler and Mitts in gazing at the crescent moon, "To think they could be so foolish, so utterly irrational. Well, that puts my mind at ease."

He realized that Yu Yuan had made the worst and most foolish decision despite everyone's winding attempts to persuade him otherwise.

But what was the point?

Without the requisite combat strength, what could he possibly do?

Quealy snickered at the thought.

From the shadows behind Adler and Mitts, a gentle, articulate voice in the human tongue emerged, "If that's the case, there's no need for further hesitation. You may proceed."

Tan Junshan's face turned ashen. He raised his hand and bellowed, "Stop, let me handle this! I'll capture him and deliver the Songbird Queen to you! High Priest, I ask for your indulgence, and for the sake of Taishi from the Boulderdawn, grant me this favor."

"You, who are not yet a deity, do not command such respect. As for Taishi..." The High Priest of the Primal Demon, concealed in darkness and uncertain whether his true form was present, paused briefly before conceding, "Go ahead."

"Good! I'll do it! I'll do it!"

Tan Junshan dismissed the mockery, seemingly worried about a change of heart, and eagerly accepted the task.

"Seal!"

With a swift turn and a soft command, the crescent-shaped weapon began to retract.

Rings of radiant moonlight converged with the blade, folding in like the petals of a blossoming flower returning to bud form.

Within the confines of the crescent blade, Yu Zhu, Yu Yiyi, and Yu Yuan were suddenly immobilized as if time itself had stopped.

Their spiritual energy, vitality, and remnant souls were all ensnared by Tan Junshan's might, held in check by the cool moon energy and the Cosmic Order, unable to break free from the crescent's grasp.

The item was on the cusp of ascending to a Divine Artifact, and its bearer, Tan Junshan, was in the late period of the Unbound state, with Yu Yuan and the others trapped within.

Escape was impossible, evasion futile.

"Yu Yuan, I'm doing this for your own good, don't hold it against me."

Inside the now-closed crescent, Tan Junshan's voice of resignation echoed slowly.

Yu Zhu and Yu Yiyi, witnessing the turn of events, refrained from desperate struggles or superfluous actions.

They clearly approved of Tan Junshan's approach, understanding that whatever he did was, in another sense, an act of protecting Yu Yuan.

Their concern lay solely with Yu Yuan, not with the Songbird Queen.

They were pleased to witness its success.

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