C1508 Not Letting Him Have It
No matter how adept Qiyan was at concealing himself, he couldn't escape detection.
He could seize any of the venomous streams into which Qiyan had divided, forcing him to coalesce and obediently reveal himself before him, to assist Ann Ziqing in dispelling her inner demon.
He was confident that Qiyan wouldn't dare defy him.
Yet...
This meant that Ann Ziqing's breakthrough to the Unbound state was likely doomed.
It had been proven time and again that cultivators who had their inner demons refined by Qiyan, rather than overcoming them through their own strength, found it nearly impossible to progress further in their cultivation.
This was certainly not the outcome either Ann Ziqing or Colddeath's Ann Wen desired.
Boom!
Yu Yuan's form shook as he unleashed the "Fiendish Might" from a concealed acupoint, drawing forth a portion of the Soul Power from tens of thousands of Banes, creating a ferocious force that made the soul quiver.
This torrent of soul power burst forth from his muscles, rivaling both spiritual energy and vital energy in intensity.
Ann Ziqing's dress was largely torn, revealing her pale skin, and she couldn't suppress a cry of pain.
With a casual push from Yu Yuan, she stumbled backward, her eyes filling with bewilderment.
"Hmm?"
Yu Yuan was mildly astonished. Upon connecting with the cauldron spirit, he learned that due to the Crucible of Evil's enhancement and the sudden influx of tens of thousands of Banes, the Cursed Artifact had developed new, wondrous abilities.
He could channel the Soul Power of the Bane into his body and directly draw the formidable Bane into the newly opened acupoint.
Thus, he could wield the Bane's power with a mere gesture, causing it to erupt from any part of his body, and seamlessly integrate it with his spiritual energy and vitality.
"Not too shabby," he appraised internally.
With the Dragon Slaying Stage and Bloodhell at his disposal, he noticed that the occasions to utilize the Crucible of Evil had become increasingly rare.
The artifact's diminishing relevance was due to his rapidly advancing combat prowess, which allowed him access to a broader array of more potent tools.
Thankfully, after reaping the rewards from the Defiled World, the Crucible of Evil had undergone another enhancement, preventing him from deeming it increasingly obsolete.
At that moment, the intense possessive emotions that had previously overwhelmed Ann Ziqing were also dispersed by his intervention.
Engulfed by intense possessive emotions, Ann Ziqing's spiritual wisdom was overwhelmed, leaving her with scant attacking power.
In fact, she wasn't even focused on attacking. Her defensive instincts had temporarily vanished, which is why Yu Yuan was able to break free with such ease.
Yet, as the possessive emotions subsided, another inner demon began to inflate wildly.
Ann Ziqing's eyes, filled with a rapidly refining murderous intent, seemed to burn with a perilous flame.
Whoosh!
She launched herself forward again.
Blood-red spears and deep purple lightning burst forth from her palms and the divine armor that adorned her delicate form.
Within her middle elixir field, the conspicuous bloodline chains of her enigmatic Solar Spirit Body suddenly blazed with divine light.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Within the Shadowflame Blight Array, every creature with flesh and blood in the surrounding area perished in an instant.
Streams of vital energy, like raindrops and fireflies, defied the constraints of the Shadowflame Blight Array. Even the blood energy inherent in the rune circle was drawn and absorbed by her power.
They all fused into her body, into the blood-red spears, and into the dark purple lightning.
In that moment, it seemed as if she could command the vital energy of all intelligent life.
From a distance, Yu Yuan discerned that this was a combination of the Colddeath's Bloodforging Technique, the Bloodthirsty Technique, and the Blood Fiend's Blood Transformation and Blood Condensation talents.
Blessed by the Root of the Solar Meridian, she had seamlessly integrated the secret techniques and powers of the Colddeath and the Blood Fiend.
Yu Yuan keenly felt his own lifeblood being drawn towards Ann Ziqing, as if it longed to leave his body and merge with hers.
However, within his little world, Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit Body remained steadfast and immovable.
"This isn't over yet."
With a single thought, a streak of blood light surged forth.
His Solar Spirit Body detached itself, taking the place of his real body. It swung its arms, shattering the hundreds of blood-red spears and soul-crushing purple lightning.
But whether it was the spears or the lightning, they could reform after being shattered, still under Ann Ziqing's command.
The moment Yu Yuan's Solar Spirit emerged, its influence on Ann Ziqing's Solar Spirit surged a hundredfold!
Ann Ziqing let out a muffled, crazed shriek as she fearlessly hurled herself toward his Solar Spirit.
In that instant, Yu Yuan saw Ann Ziqing's Solar Spirit burst forth from her chest, lunging towards his own.
Their Solar Spirit Bodies collided in a flash before them.
A chaotic dance of bloody rays and wild purple lightning erupted as the lifeblood Yu Yuan had refined was triggered, revealing itself in a dazzling array of lights.
Brilliant glimmers sparkled within his Solar Spirit, reminiscent of colorful stars or exquisite pebbles on the ocean floor.
At that moment, the will of the Root of the Solar Meridian faintly manifested within the veins of Ann Ziqing's Solar Spirit, brimming with longing...
One of Ann Ziqing's eyes subtly unveiled a Bloody River, the soul projection of her Solar Spirit.
The Bloody River seemed like a minor offshoot of the Root of the Solar Meridian, a tiny tributary, yet it was replete with enigmatic secrets and the esoteric knowledge of blood.
"I understand," Yu Yuan said, his expression chilling.
The Dragon Slaying Stage appeared in his grasp, and his Solar Spirit swiftly returned to him.
As Ann Ziqing's Solar Spirit, unable to find his, desperately lunged forward, Yu Yuan brandished the Dragon Slaying Stage and ferociously smashed it into Ann Ziqing's crystalline purple Solar Spirit.
With a resounding burst, Ann Ziqing's Solar Spirit shattered.
It fragmented into thousands of purple crystal shards, each the size of a fingernail.
Yu Yuan, clutching the Dragon Slaying Stage, gazed down at the scattered purple crystals, a growing thirst awakening within him, mirroring the yearning that Ann Ziqing's Solar Spirit had shown for him.
He refrained from striking again and instead stepped back, watching as the shattered purple crystals swiftly rose and vanished into Ann Ziqing's chest.
There, the crystals merged piece by piece, reforming her Solar Spirit.
"Do you seek to strip away another portion of the life force that I've refined over the years from the Abyssal Leviathan?" Yu Yuan realized.
He was convinced that this was not Ann Ziqing's true intent.
Rather, it was the distant entity at the other end of the Star River, which, while caring for Ann Ziqing, had stealthily infiltrated her with a fragment of its will.
He was aware of his gratitude toward Ann Ziqing and the Colddeath Divine Cult, confident that he wouldn't bring himself to harm her.
Thus, he sought to claim the life essence within her, once carried away by the Abyssal Leviathan.
"Do you really believe that the core of my Solar Spirit Body, whether it be the Sunsorrow of the giant beast or Grec's blood crystal, originates from you? And since I refuse to comply and be at your beck and call, you intend to reclaim it?"
"Through her?"
Yu Yuan's voice was icy.
Clearly, his words were not meant for Ann Ziqing, who was tormented by her inner demon, but for the Root of the Solar Meridian.
He was uncertain whether the Root of the Solar Meridian, so distant and only a faint presence and will, could hear him.
Nevertheless, Yu Yuan was determined not to let the Root of the Solar Meridian succeed.
"Sigh..."
It was then that Yu Yuan heard a resigned sigh.
The sigh did not emanate from Ann Ziqing.
Whoosh!
Setting Ann Ziqing aside for a moment, Yu Yuan covertly amplified the potency of the Shadowflame Blight Array to confine her. Clutching the Dragon Slaying Stage, he suddenly stepped outside the rune circle.
Bathed in the stark, cold moonlight, Ann Wen, clad in a vivid red robe, possessed a beauty bordering on the ethereal.
His dark red eyes seemed painted with blood. Upon Yu Yuan's emergence, he offered a wry smile, "My name is Ann Wen. I'm the one who sent her here, out of necessity, not desire."
Yu Yuan regarded him with solemn respect.
