C1488 The Senior Brother Who Woke up First!

"I'm awake, but you..."

Zhong Chichen regarded Yu Yuan with an odd glint in his eyes, a playful smile tugging at his lips as if he found Yu Yuan's excitement quite amusing.

Clad in a light green robe, he radiated an otherworldly presence. His slight smile conveyed a carefree and rebellious spirit.

Yet, the man before him differed from the senior brother Yu Yuan remembered.

The senior brother of the past was somewhat stodgy and strict, particularly towards him.

Now, the senior brother before him seemed to embody a mystical and free-spirited essence.

"It's been far too long, so long that... I've nearly forgotten who I am."

Zhong Chichen spread his arms wide as if to embrace the universe, his handsome face aglow with a rainbow radiance, expressing sheer bliss and delight.

He was like a wanderer who had roamed the extraterrestrial Star River for countless years, finally stepping onto his native soil.

Every breath of this world, whether pure or tainted, intoxicated him with its beauty, simply because this world was once his, the place of his birth.

"Senior Brother?"

Yu Yuan paused, his heart racing with the fear of the unexpected. He worried that Zhong Chichen had succumbed to demonic transformation, that his recent behavior was a ruse crafted by the arcane arts of the Terra Fiend. In response, Yu Yuan covertly activated his Third Eye and harnessed the power of the Dragon Slaying Stage.

Upon closer inspection, Yu Yuan observed the tainted essence coursing through Zhong Chichen's veins being devoured and purified by the Seven-Colored Dragon, formed from the dragon's breath emanating from the Dragon Slaying Stage.

Contrary to his fears, his senior brother's body did not become a nexus of corruption; it felt purified.

To his astonishment, the Seven-Colored Dragon, after cleansing the impurities, did not dutifully return to the Dragon Slaying Stage. Instead, they integrated into his senior brother's bones and vanished into his heart.

It was only through the Third Eye that Yu Yuan discovered numerous vibrant dragon whelps slowly merging into the cardiac tissue, transforming into crystalline structures.

The bloodline chains had taken on a novel form.

Without notice, the ribs nearest to Senior Brother's heart had transformed into a kaleidoscope of colors, emitting a resplendent divine light.

"I'm fine."

Zhong Chichen cracked a smile once more, his gaze as playful as the grin on his lips as he looked over White Bone of the God of Ghosts, then to Yuan Qingxi and Huangyin, an ancestor of the Terra Fiend.

Finally, his eyes settled on Loong Jie, who stood like a golden rampart, and he let out a soft sigh.

His gaze upon Loong Jie was distinct from the others, reminiscent of an aged clan elder beholding the tribe's exceptional new generation.

"These folks actually believe they can manipulate the course of our lives, thinking that glimpsing something extraordinary grants them the power to alter destiny's path."

Zhong Chichen's expression was laced with mockery as he encompassed everyone present, including the ghosts and demons, in his derision.

This encompassed White Bone, Huangyin, Xuanying, and even Rovi of the Voidweaver clan.

In that instant, Yu Yuan was jolted.

Leveraging the energy within the Dragon Slaying Stage, he engaged his Third Eye through the Soul Forging through Enlightenment technique, shifting his focus from his senior brother's body to his soul.

He dreaded seeing a sphere of deep purple devil soul, signifying his senior brother's complete turn to demonization, a point of no return.

What he beheld, or rather what his senior brother intended for him to see, was his senior brother's Lunar Spirit, a projection akin to his own Solar Spirit, alongside his senior brother's dominant soul.

Deep within his senior brother's dominant soul lay a mysterious soul mark.

This soul mark, shaped like a dragon and bursting with vibrant colors, was none other than the Chronowyrm!

Yu Yuan's body suddenly froze, his expression blank as a flood of questions rose in his mind, leaving him speechless.

"Heh!"

Zhong Chichen moved closer, casually placing his hand on Yu Yuan's shoulder and giving him a conspiratorial wink.

"With all the years we've fought together, you made me a promise," he said with pointed significance. "You agreed to let me reclaim what's rightfully mine, to start anew."

Yu Yuan, his mind a whirl, felt a surge of wariness, but as Zhong Chichen's hand firmly rested on his shoulder, he remained still...

Time and space seemed to have suddenly flipped.

In a fleeting moment, he found himself at the crossroads of time and space, witnessing a spectral apparition.

This colossal phantom called out to the Chronowyrm of the Everlands, hastily striking a deal.

It released the last vestige of the Dragon Soul, long imprisoned within the skull on the Dragon Slaying Stage.

In return, it secured the chance to preserve its soul mark and to be reborn through the twisting of time and space.

The deal was struck in the blink of an eye.

The immense phantom lifted the seal, granting the final wisp of the Dragon Soul its grand liberation.

From across the boundless Star River, the Dragon Slaying Stage acted with sudden force, spanning myriad spaces to reclaim the soul mark left behind in the mortal realm after the dragon's demise.

To avert any mishaps, the Dragon Soul and the soul mark lay concealed in an uncharted expanse once traversed by the Chronowyrm.

Tens of thousands of years later, a Dragon Soul and a primordial spirit bearing a supreme soul mark burst forth, re-entering the vastness of the Everlands.

One emerged as Hong Qi, while the other took the name Zhong Chichen.

The Chronowyrm, having fallen to the dragon slayer, left behind only a sliver of Dragon Soul sealed within the Dragon Slaying Stage for ages.

In the subsequent eons, the dragon slayer wielded the Divine Artifact, carving a path of destruction through the Star River.

This demonstrated that humans, as the new sovereigns of the Everlands, would surpass the might of the Nagas!

The majority of the resplendent Divine War and the Seven-Colored Dragon were both witnesses and direct participants.

Regrettably, in that final conflict, the Dragon Slaying Stage, for various reasons, ended up in the Everlands...

"A bunch of jesters."

Zhong Chichen smiled as he withdrew his hand, winking at Yu Yuan once more, "Remember, you must keep your promise."

Yu Yuan remained stunned.

"I had hoped, expected even, that you would be the one to send me inside."

Zhong Chichen gazed at the luminous platform beneath his feet with a look of disappointment, as if he could see his former Seven-Colored Dragon form, now severed and scattered in the world below.

"It's a shame I couldn't descend; that's quite the regret."

He shook his head and squinted at the chief of the Voidweaver Clan, his thoughts a mystery.

Within the Dragon Slaying Stage, the Chronowyrm's body was awash with countless streams of Seven-Colored light, now striving to break free and fuse with his own form.

As the master of the Dragon Slaying Stage, Yu Yuan could see the Seven-Colored Lights constantly colliding with the stage's celestial canopy, reminiscent of Zhong Chichen's earlier onslaught...

He had the choice to either let them pass or not.

"You owe me this..."

Zhong Chichen suddenly looked at him, his face tinged with a trace of resentment.

After a moment's hesitation, Yu Yuan made up his mind and lifted the restriction.

In an instant, thousands of Seven-Colored Lights burst forth from the Dragon Slaying Stage, flocking to Zhong Chichen's body like swallows returning to their nest. They infused his solar spirit and bones, swirling and taking root around his heart.

Huangyin, Yuan Qingxi, and the elegant specter within the wooden tombstone all exhibited a subtle shift in their expressions.

"Huangyin, did you foresee this?" Yuan Qingxi inhaled deeply, his mood suddenly turning somber. "You all picked him, believing he had the potential for demonization, that he met all the criteria. But why has it come to this? His transformation into a demon has ceased? He seems more lucid than ever!"

"We were convinced he would succeed based on the state of his body and the transformation of his soul. Moreover, his body readily assimilates tainted essence. Indeed, he was the prime candidate to become the source of corruption."

"But now..."

Huangyin was also perplexed.

With a slash, the Terra Fiend that had emerged from the gray fox and coalesced was sliced into segments by a rogue Rift Cutter, vanishing into an obscure spatial fissure.

The Terra Fiend's demise was utterly baffling.

"Xuanying!" Huangyin looked up at Rovi, who was single-handedly forcing the lecherous dragon, Tan Junshan, and Chen Liangquan into retreat. "Please, get a handle on his power!"

"It was merely a minor mishap," Xuanying's demonic voice emanated from Rovi's purple eyes. The progenitor of the Terra Fiends was equally mystified, unable to grasp why a Rift Cutter and a concealed portal had materialized near the Terra Fiend linked to the gray fox, causing its abrupt demise.

"Stay clear of the skies. Don't attempt to approach or assist. You cannot aid Rovi."

Xuanying continued, her voice steady.

Yu Yuan looked at his senior brother, Zhong Chichen, with astonishment, standing shoulder to shoulder with him. He surmised that it must have been Zhong Chichen who had stealthily intervened, wielding his mastery over space to perform some enigmatic feats.

"This fellow named Rovi wants to reclaim the Dragon Slaying Stage. It is, after all, rightfully his," Yu Yuan mused.

Zhong Chichen stroked his chin, unfazed, "Xuanying, to think you managed to locate Rovi, trapped in the Maw of Oblivion, and even assisted him in reaching the Everlands..."

As he spoke, a chill crept into Zhong Chichen's gaze, "The sound of butterflies flapping their wings is what I detest the most. It grates on my ears."

With a swift tearing sound, a series of slender, luminous blades descended from the heavens, targeting Yuan Qingxi, Huangyin, and the wooden tombstone.

The Rift Cutter, a spatial blade spanning a hundred zhang, embodied the rule of space itself, altering the complexions of the three demonic titans. They scattered in a frenzy, each one berating Xuanying in turn.

Splash! Splash! Splash!

The radiant blades cleaved through the Seven-Colored Lake, segmenting the water into blocks.

The vibrant and splendid waters of the lake parted like slabs of tofu, the blades reaching all the way to the lakebed, etching deep scars into its surface.

"It wasn't us!" Xuanying's voice, tinged with urgency, once again emanated from Rovi's purple eyes.

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