C1171 Time and Space Restriction
On the Dragon Slash Platform, as smooth as a polished mirror, Chen Qinghuang lay with a body cold as ice. Her stunning visage, capable of captivating all creation, was flawless, as if sculpted by the gods themselves, aligning with the aesthetic ideals of every being. Men of the human race, valiant males from other realms, even Great Demons and alien beasts—all who beheld her face were struck by her radiant beauty.
Perhaps for this reason, she seldom revealed her true appearance, often opting for a crown with a beaded curtain that concealed her features.
At that moment, whether sensing impending peril or not, her normally steady breathing became slightly erratic.
"In my presence, you've done no wrong," Yu Yuan said softly, gazing down at her with tender eyes.
A sudden realization struck him: he and Chen Qinghuang shared many similarities. Recalling their encounters from their first meeting to the present, he grew more certain of the profound connection between them.
"In this life, you haven't disappointed me, so I cannot stand by and let you die," Yu Yuan whispered to himself.
A myriad of peculiar lights twinkled from the Dragon Slash Platform beneath Chen Qinghuang, suggesting the presence of two mysterious inner worlds.
Yu Yuan's left index finger gently pressed against the acupoint on his forehead, and he closed his eyes.
Yu Yiyi's mind thundered as if she could hear whispers from bygone times. As the Artifact Soul of the Evil Cauldron, her delicate form shuddered intensely.
"Master..." she murmured, stepping behind Yu Yuan and kneeling on one knee, just as she had done before.
"In the Plover Realm, you wouldn't awaken. On the Origin Blood Continent, you were indecisive. And now, for the Luan Bird Queen, you're willing to awaken your former self," Yu Yiyi said, her shoulders shaking as she shook her head in confusion and turmoil.
She couldn't fathom why Yu Yuan would abandon his reason and embrace an aspect of himself he had long resisted, all for Chen Qinghuang, with whom he wasn't particularly close.
"Don't awaken that part of you. Please, I'd much prefer you, as you are now, to take me to see the vast expanse of the heavens."
She whispered to herself, confident that Yu Yuan could hear and feel everything.
Yet, Yu Yuan paid her no mind.
Tan Junshan and Yu Zhu, caught in the act of closing the crescent moon, were clueless about what was happening, their faces a picture of astonishment.
Rip! Rip!
One after another, dazzling spatial rifts inexplicably tore open near the crescent moon.
These rifts, unlike those commonly seen in various Realms, exuded a mysterious energy capable of distorting time and space. This phenomenon caused Quealy of the Blood Devil Clan, who was near one of the rifts, to undergo a bizarre transformation.
Quealy observed the crack, now aglow with dancing lights, and tentatively reached out with his Devil Soul.
Then, he was engulfed by the surge of Space-time Extraordinary Talent.
The venerable Blood Devil Clan member, who had lived over three thousand years, felt his power ebbing away. The blood energy he had refined over the last eight hundred years inexplicably vanished.
He grew much younger, his vitality surging, but his bloodline level had plummeted to the Eighth Level!
Eight hundred years of arduous cultivation vanished in a moment, leaving Quealy terrified.
Rip!
A peculiar spatial rift appeared where the mutated monsters dwelled. Those whose souls and bodies were long lost to corruption suddenly showed a glimmer of awareness in their eyes.
For a brief moment, they seemed to revert to a time before the corruption, gazing around in confusion.
Crack!
The contracting crescent moon came to an abrupt halt, its radiant lunar energy ceasing to converge.
The elongated Dragon Slash Platform glowed brilliantly as Yu Yuan laid his hand upon it.
His eyes remained shut, the other hand pressing against his forehead as if a third eye were emerging beneath his fingertip.
Time stood still, space crystallized into stillness.
Beyond Yu Yuan, within a million miles of the Dragon Slash Platform, the fabric of time and space, along with the fundamental laws, were upended and shattered.
After a short pause, he removed his finger from his brow.
At the center of his brow, a colossal soul shadow, minuscule in size yet vast in essence, observed the world with an indifferent gaze, as if peering through the deepest secrets of the soul with the aid of space-time abilities.
Yu Yuan, his eyes sealed shut as if a third eye had opened, cradled Chen Qinghuang in one arm while his other hand lightly grasped the Dragon Slash Platform. He stepped off the halted crescent moon, striding through the void before halting before Tan Junshan. The enigmatic shadow at his brow seemed to scrutinize Tan Junshan deeply.
Tan Junshan, who had reached the late Unrestrained Stage and aspired to ascend to a divine position in the future, remained as immovable as a boulder. He was paralyzed, unable to move despite his desire.
His blood, spiritual energy, and consciousness were all sealed, and within his sea of consciousness, his soul could barely discern a towering, terrifying shadow that nearly suffocated him and caused his three souls to shudder.
After a moment, Yu Yuan withdrew his gaze and tapped the Blood Devil Clan's Quealy with the elongated Dragon Slash Platform. Quealy shattered like a porcelain vase hitting the ground, disintegrating into innumerable fragments that hung motionless in the air.
The statuesque Adler and the divine Mitts remained frozen in their last postures, unable to move even their Devil Souls. Time's power had locked their thoughts and awareness in an icy grip.
Hiss! Hiss hiss!
From the darkness behind Adler and Mitts, strange noises emerged. Something seemed to be clawing and gnawing at the fabric of the space-time barrier, struggling to break through from an Alien Realm into this one, to shatter the eerie stillness enforced by the combined might of time and space. Alas, it failed to penetrate.
The minuscule yet immense shadow at Yu Yuan's brow watched the dark expanse with a curious interest, patiently biding its time. The entity from the other side remained unable to fulfill its intent.
Pop! Pop pop!
Beyond Adler and Mitts, the Polar Devaputra, the Crypt Clan members possessed by the Blood Devil, the mutated monsters, and another detachment of Devaputra soon to arrive, all burst into clouds of blood mist and ash. These clouds, upon exploding, froze into an uncanny state of stillness.
After a while, Yu Yuan, who found nothing out of the ordinary, grew bored.
He gently held the Dragon Slash Platform, aiming it at a spatial rift. As he adjusted the direction and coordinates, the rift's interior weathered a storm of changes.
Soon, a Starfield illuminated by the sun and moon began to emerge.
The Starfield gradually came into focus, locking onto a dark yellow star, mysteriously connecting that place to this one.
He hesitated briefly, then turned to look at Yu Yiyi, who was kneeling on one knee with her head bowed.
He let out a deep sigh and ultimately remained silent.
Cradling Chen Qinghuang with one arm and holding the Dragon Slash Platform with the other, he stepped into the spatial rift with composure.
Yu Yiyi and Yu Zhu were left behind.
As he entered the rift, his unique aura, powered by the Dragon Slash Platform, began to recede.
Once he vanished, the rift swiftly healed. The Starfield's laws and the shattered Great Dao appeared to be meticulously reconstructed.
Tan Junshan was the first to escape the Space-time Ban, his face etched with astonishment.
Following him, Yu Zhu, Yu Yiyi, Adler, and Mitts all awoke, exchanging bewildered glances, clueless about what had transpired.
With a whoosh, Quealy, now reduced to chunks of flesh, plummeted downward. His own spatial forces obliterated his blood, soul, and heart.
Thus, Quealy was robbed of any chance of revival.
"Where's Yu Yuan?"
"And the Luan Bird Queen?"
Adler and Mitts scanned their surroundings frantically. Upon realizing that both Yu Yuan and Chen Qinghuang were missing, they erupted into panicked shrieks.
"They're all dead, every last Demon God loyal to Grec," Yu Zhu stated, her gaze empty.
Yu Yiyi, the cauldron soul, wept quietly as she gazed at the floating Evil Cauldron, feeling its reawakened presence. Through her tears, she whispered to herself, "Have you truly forsaken me?"
