C1283 Totempole!
According to Her Majesty, she lost control and spread death everywhere 100,000 years ago due to the machinations of the supreme schemer from Shadow's Keep.
This suggests that the purple phoenix perched atop the mountain peak a century ago was on par with the secular bird.
The secular bird has always been regarded as more powerful than the Voidweaver and vastly superior to the Abyssal Leviathan.
Now, 100,000 years later, she has been reborn. However, she still has a long journey ahead before she can regain her peak combat strength, especially since she hasn't fully sorted out her memories yet.
Meanwhile, the Voidweaver has suffered a separation of soul and body.
After the soul's integration with the Origin Realm, the Voidweaver may have gained additional powers, but her true combat strength may not be at its zenith.
In such a scenario, neither the empress nor the Voidweaver, who could wield her power in Brugeth through the Origin Gate, would welcome the descent of the Dark Phoenix.
Lin Zhuyun and the Ghoul King, undoubtedly terrified of the Dark Phoenix, would not dare to meet here.
Their masters had been subjugated by the Dark Phoenix in the Embers Sea for many years.
"Purple Phoenix!"
Yu Yuan, standing on the totem pole, felt the heat underfoot as he pondered.
The supreme schemer of Shadow's Keep was overwhelmingly powerful.
"I only need one thing."
Lin Zhuyun stood at the summit of an ice mountain, her voice detached and composed.
Yu Yuan was taken aback.
He hadn't anticipated that his fiancée, whose temperament had been edging towards the extreme, would not immediately lash out at him after cornering him. Instead, she was negotiating terms with him.
Previously, their encounters would quickly escalate into intense confrontations, a battle to the death.
This composed version of Lin Zhuyun was unprecedented in his memory.
Suddenly, he recognized that Lin Zhuyun, having survived numerous ordeals and escaped from the brink of death multiple times, had undergone a remarkable transformation. She was no longer the Lin family's young mistress but had become one of the most formidable individuals in the world.
After a brief reflection, Yu Yuan asked, "What do you want?"
"Dragon Slaying Stage."
Lin Zhuyun provided the answer instantly.
"Dragon, Dragon Slaying Stage!"
The exclamation did not come from the Golden Rock Beast King prostrate on the ground, nor from Faang Yao or any of the other Everlands visitors.
It was the Ghoul King!
This towering figure of the evil sect, who had sworn fealty to the Abyssal Leviathan and roamed the Star River alongside the savage elder, had quietly observed the Abyssal Leviathan select rare artifacts from many enigmatic locations across various Star Rivers. He had watched the Leviathan integrate these treasures into the totem poles of the evilkind, meticulously refining each one.
He was well aware of the cunning plan his revered elder was orchestrating.
Out of the thirty-six totem poles, there were six that the elder deemed crucial.
Naturally, one stood out above the rest, corresponding to the pinnacle of Shadow's Keep—the ancient Dark Phoenix clan.
The remaining five were linked to the five clans of the ancient Nagas!
During their zenith, the Everlands boasted five Dragon Gods coexisting in harmony.
That era marked the Nagas' most splendid epoch, a time when they reigned supreme over the evilkind, with all ancient evilkind factions holding the Nagas in the highest regard.
The Purple Phoenix, as the leader and chieftain of the Dark Phoenix, acknowledged its inability to contend with five adversaries and thus submitted to the Nagas.
Of the thirty-six totem poles, five symbolized the five clans of the Dragon Gods!
The totem pole hierarchy, which denoted the status and rank within the evilkind, was an initiative proposed by the Nagas.
Among these, the five most revered totem poles belonged to the Nagas, with only one representing the ancient Dark Phoenix.
Subsequently, the Dark Phoenix allied with the Human Clan to dethrone the Nagas, establishing Shadow's Keep and beginning to consolidate the evilkind under its rule, thereby rendering the totem pole system obsolete.
This move was also intended to erase the grim chapter of history when the ancient Nagas held dominion over the other demons of the Everlands.
Yet, in her efforts to reconstruct the thirty-six totem poles to contain the Abyssal Leviathan, she inevitably included the five poles that signified the ancient Nagas.
Although the dragon's aura within them was faint, and the power they could unleash was negligible, the integrity of the Starborne Ritual of Primeval Demons absolutely depended on those five totem-poles.
"It's for the Dragon Slaying Stage! How did I not see that coming? Why didn't it occur to me? Master, if you knew she secured the Dragon Slaying Stage, you would surely reward her richly!"
The Ghoul King was inwardly howling.
He was acutely aware that the five totem-poles, corresponding to the ancient Nagas, were feeble because the dragon's breath within them was plundered by the Dark Phoenix from the dragons of Dragon Lake.
The dragons in Dragon Lake were rarely of the ninth level, mostly just eighth or seventh level.
What formidable power could they possess? Could any impressive dragon scripts or dragon blood be inscribed within those five totem-poles?
The Dragon Slaying Stage, however, was a different story!
Inside the Dragon Slaying Stage, which Yu Yuan had brought from beyond the stars, lay the tenth level corpses of the Chronowyrm and the frost wyrm, as well as other ninth level dragon corpses corresponding to the ancient Naga totem-poles!
Once the Abyssal Leviathan acquired the Dragon Slaying Stage, in that peculiar realm mimicking the Embers Sea, it could harness the power of the remaining totem-poles to seize the dragon corpses within! At least two crucial Naga totem-poles could be refined, significantly enhancing the potency of the remaining three!
The fearsome might of the Starborne Ritual of Primeval Demons would soar as the Naga totem-poles were consecrated!
In that instant, the Ghoul King gazed at Lin Zhuyun with envy and a hint of trepidation.
The Ghoul King knew that if Lin Zhuyun succeeded, her master would reward her with a lifeblood cleansing, aid her in refining the Frostfiend, perfect her Solar Spirit, and grant her the right to wield the Starborne Ritual of Primeval Demons—all of which would be well-deserved!
"Yu Yuan, don't let her have it!"
With a resounding bald head and barely regained combat strength, Faang Yao suddenly cried out amidst the silence and Yu Yuan's contemplative frown, "Yuanyuan won't die! It's only a Solar Spirit Body. Even without it, she can still survive after a fall in her cultivation level."
"However, she will no longer be able to ascend to a higher realm or progress further on her cultivation journey."
Yuan Lianyao was not Xu Jingyao, nor was she a core seed of the sect. She wasn't destined to retain a precious Solar Spirit mark.
With her Solar Spirit destroyed, she would lose her heaven soul, effectively halting her path of cultivation.
Still, she could continue to live, enduring a decline in her realm just like Xie Bin had, waiting for the day her lifespan would run out.
After all, she was not Zhou Cangmin, nor was she a Hellbreed of the Ruby Hand.
The Ruby Hand would not expend rare treasures for her, nor would they leave a heaven soul imprint, giving her a second chance to refine her Solar Spirit even if it were destroyed in the extraterrestrial.
"They're actually asking for the Dragon Slaying Stage."
Yu Yuan was mulling over this in his mind, his perspective differing from the Ghoul King's. He was unaware that among the thirty-six totem-poles, five were linked to the ancient dragon races.
He also didn't realize the significant impact that successfully refining these totem-poles would have on the Abyssal Leviathan.
His thoughts were quite straightforward.
The wounded Abyssal Leviathan, a cosmic giant beast, required an infinite supply of vital energy for recovery.
Just as the secular bird needs sustenance, the Abyssal Leviathan sought the dragon corpses within the Dragon Slaying Stage for its restoration.
"It probably hasn't arrived yet."
Yu Yuan scanned the area and focused his remnant soul on the little world of vitality, monitoring his transforming Solar Spirit.
His Solar Spirit's main body, constructed from the Altar of Rebirth, was fused with the lifeblood of various races and a blood crystal from the resurrection of the Demon God Grec.
If the Abyssal Leviathan were nearby, he should have felt its presence.
"If it's truly not here, then I can take a gamble! I'll wager that woman has no idea that a young Titan Spinosaurus now guards the Dragon Slaying Stage!"
With this thought, Yu Yuan inhaled deeply and exclaimed, "Alright!"
Whoosh!
He summoned the elongated Dragon Slaying Stage from the acupoint's little world, gripping it in his free hand, and called out to Lin Zhuyun, "How should I hand this over to you?"
After multiple refinements, the two pieces of the Dragon Slaying Stage had fused into a single entity, now imbued with a multitude of mysterious psionic powers, gleaming like white jade.
The Dragon Slaying Stage radiated a brilliant light. Upon its arrival in this realm, it immediately unveiled a host of wonders.
Yu Yuan was taken aback.
He distinctly observed that five totem poles, previously positioned inconspicuously and at a great distance from one another, were now emitting a bright glow.
Mysterious dragon patterns began to slowly emerge on the surfaces of the five totem poles.
