C1507 Two Inner Demons
"Wake up!"
Yu Yuan's Soul Sound Talisman burst through Ann Ziqing's mindscape with the force of thunderous claps.
The note, imbued with a wisp of his thoughts, revealed her sea of consciousness as a Crimson Realm, akin to the Baneblade Bloodhell.
Ann Ziqing's Lunar Spirit had coalesced into a massive blood-colored vortex, while her Solar Spirit projection had transformed into a peculiar Bloody River.
This Bloody River evoked a vague sense of familiarity in Yu Yuan.
Her dominant soul had blended into the dark red firmament, pervading the void without revealing its mystical nature.
Within her little world, Yu Yuan's thoughts vividly perceived numerous vibrant ripples.
These iridescent waves gently permeated the dark red canopy where her dominant soul resided, encircling her blood-colored vortex-like Lunar Spirit and extending toward the enigmatic Bloody River.
Feelings of possession and destruction, both tumultuous and fierce, permeated her Mindscape, intensifying with each passing moment.
Her clarity, along with the full spectrum of her emotions, was slowly being submerged.
She was succumbing to madness!
At the emergence of this realization, the presence Yu Yuan had left within her Mindscape was obliterated by her overwhelming emotions of possession and destruction.
Thud!
Back in reality, Ann Ziqing's hand, clenched into a fist, struck his chest forcefully, driven by the destructive emotions swirling within her.
Yu Yuan grunted, swiftly disentangling himself from Ann Ziqing's grasp.
Peering through the Dragon Slaying Stage, he observed the Fallen Star Eyes serenely hovering above the dense miasma, with Liu Ying immersed in her cultivation.
Bathed in moonlight as pure as water, with stars twinkling resplendently, Liu Ying and her artifact absorbed the celestial glow to refine her Solar Spirit, the artifact itself gathering stellar energy.
Their celestial positioning was strategic, as the vibrant clouds and rainbows of the Rainbow Ocean could obscure the descent of starlight.
With a shift in thought, the long-absent Shadowflame Blight Array reemerged, enveloping several huts and the modest expanse of the swamp.
Swiftly, Yu Yuan exited Ann Ziqing's hut and positioned himself in a more open space, gazing upon the purple-clad woman now engulfed by an intense longing for possession and destruction, having fallen prey to her inner demons.
"Strange..."
He murmured internally, narrowing his eyes to scrutinize the scene before him.
To his astonishment, he discovered that the blood within the seven amethyst Blood Pools in Ann Ziqing's middle elixir field had suddenly begun to boil!
Within her Solar Spirit Body, numerous new and slender bloodline chains, imprinted with the Secrets of Life, had formed.
Yu Yuan could faintly sense an ancient, enduring will that held a supreme indifference to all beings.
This will's presence was so alien and enigmatic that it seemed almost impossible to confront it directly.
It was as though all intelligent life within the Infinite Galaxy should bow down before it, worshipping and declaring their own insignificance.
The Root of the Solar Meridian!
Yu Yuan's expression grew intensely serious.
He had never imagined that the Root of the Solar Meridian, coeval with the Root of the Lunar Meridian, would bestow such miraculous powers upon Ann Ziqing!
The creator of the Blood Fiend and the Demon God Grec, when had it begun to favor Ann Ziqing?
Was it because of me?
Yu Yuan suddenly recalled that when Ann Ziqing was critically wounded by Cao Yi and teetering on the brink of death, he had used the psionic power of the Altar of Rebirth, along with his own lifeblood, to help her overcome the ordeal.
His Altar of Rebirth, derived from the lifeblood of the Abyssal Leviathan, had later integrated a blood crystal from Grec.
By his estimation, even the Abyssal Leviathan's Sunsorrow contained elements of the Root of the Solar Meridian's life essence.
And Grec, of course, was no exception.
After aiding Ann Ziqing's revival, he had naturally left his lifeblood within her, imparting the marvels of life creation.
The Root of the Solar Meridian had connected with Ann Ziqing through the Primal Blood he had bestowed upon her.
Moreover, the entire repertoire of secret techniques and spells of the Colddeath originated from the Blood Fiend.
The Root of the Solar Meridian was indeed the ultimate source for both her and the Colddeath!
Her soul, the circulation of blood within her, the Solar Spirit she had crafted, and the profound meanings she had grasped all led back to the Root of the Solar Meridian deep beneath the Primal Blood Continent!
Because she carried the Secrets of Life within her, the Root of the Solar Meridian had sensed her presence.
Within Ann Ziqing's Solar Spirit, it intricately wove a series of enigmatic bloodline chains and etched the essence of life into them. What was its ultimate intention?
Could Ann Ziqing, like the Great Demon God Grec, become its eyes?
Perhaps an extension of its will?
Just as Youyu represented the Root of the Lunar Meridian and Grec represented its will, had Ann Ziqing become another favored by it?
Was she another choice beyond Grec, or was this influence from the Everlands?
Yu Yuan's gaze shimmered with realization.
He suddenly understood that due to the Altar of Rebirth, the blood crystal, and his cleansing by the Shadow Moon Essence, his dominant soul was exceptionally unique. As the Abyssal Leviathan had indicated, once he refined his Solar Spirit, he wiped away all unrelated marks, thwarting the Abyssal Leviathan's calculations.
The Root of the Solar Meridian, initially the prime choice, might have been himself...
Yet, at the very formation of his Solar Spirit, he inadvertently shattered the schemes of both Grec and the Abyssal Leviathan, turning their plots into mere illusions.
With no alternatives, it reluctantly sought another, thus finding Ann Ziqing.
Step by step, Ann Ziqing emerged from the thatched hut, her mind's destructive impulses now overshadowed by an intense possessive desire.
This tall figure, the goddess of the Colddeath sect, brimming with cunning and schemes, lunged at him like a streak of blood-red lightning.
Before Yu Yuan could react, Ann Ziqing entangled him like an octopus, fervently tearing at his clothes.
Yu Yuan was bewildered.
Upon reflection, he realized that at some point, Ann Ziqing had sown two inner demon seeds within his Heart Lake.
These seeds of possession and destruction were the epitome of her sinister thoughts: if she could not have him, she would rather see him ruined.
Previously, she had kept such malevolent thoughts buried deep within her, never allowing them to surface.
It was the Root of the Solar Meridian's favor that had nurtured her across the vast expanse of the starry sky, branding her extraordinary Solar Spirit with intricate bloodline chains.
Throughout this process, she was compelled to extract the lifeblood of various races, and thus, the lifeblood from the Otherkin that she had intended to offer to herself was instead infused into seven amethyst Blood Pools.
After refining her Solar Spirit, Ann Ziqing hadn't had time to purge the impurities and cleanse the filth from the seven Blood Pools, nor from the Solar Spirit itself. In her haste, she also refined the lifeblood of numerous powerful Otherkin, inadvertently strengthening her inner demon seed.
The burgeoning inner demon pushed her to the brink of losing control, with the threat of going berserk looming over her. Then, she found herself in the perilous Rainbow Ocean. The Terra Fiend Clan had gone to great lengths to bring Zhong Chichen to this place because its environment easily stirs up one's inner demons and amplifies negative emotions.
With Qiyan's return, the ancient Terra Fiend from the Defiled World below also released more potent evil energy from the Seven-Colored Lake. In this most dangerous time, Ann Ziqing insisted on refining her Solar Spirit. The convergence of multiple factors led to her losing control; the two inner demon seeds within her Heart Lake swelled immensely, overwhelming her sanity.
"Women are truly incomprehensible!" Yu Yuan lamented, nursing a throbbing headache. He couldn't fathom when exactly Ann Ziqing had sown the seeds of the inner demons within him.
And now, his thoughts turned once again to Qiyan. The Rainbow Ocean, teeming with corruption, easily provokes and strengthens the dark emotions within the human heart, providing fertile ground for evil and malicious thoughts, allowing inner demons to thrive.
Qiyan, born of this place, possessed the unique ability to eradicate inner demons. He had been confined for years because the Thunder Sect wanted to exploit this trait. They used a lightning array to imprison him, aiming to have him assist the upper sect and the dark adepts of the Devil Palace in eradicating their inner demons.
When Qiyan acted, he could obliterate inner demons and, in doing so, grow stronger himself. Hence, the need for the lightning array to restrain him and suppress his power. Those who relied on Qiyan to eliminate their inner demons, rather than their own strength, would find their potential for future breakthroughs severed. They wouldn't die, but they would also never progress further.
Nie Qingtian had once believed that those who depended on Qiyan to erode their inner demons were squandering the fortune of the Everlands, lacking the courage to battle the Otherkin beyond our world. That's why he had chosen to imprison Qiyan and take him away.
Currently, Qiyan was located in the Rainbow Ocean.
Yu Yuan pushed Ann Ziqing away once more. Observing her rage, a murderous glint reappeared in his eyes. He found himself earnestly contemplating whether he should summon Qiyan to his side.
…
