C1508 Not Letting Him Get away with It

No matter how expertly Qiyan concealed himself, he could never escape detection by his keen senses.

He seized one of Qiyan's toxic streams, compelling Qiyan to coalesce once more and obediently appear before him to assist Ann Ziqing in vanquishing her inner demons.

He was confident that Qiyan wouldn't dare defy him.

Yet...

In doing so, Ann Ziqing's progression to the Unrestrained Stage might be jeopardized.

It's been proven time and again that cultivators whose inner demons were refined by Qiyan, rather than by their own strength, found their future cultivation realms impenetrable.

Certainly, this was not the outcome either Ann Ziqing or Ann Wen of the Blood God Cult desired.

Boom!

Yu Yuan's form vibrated as he unleashed the formidable "Evil Desolation Great Strength." He drew upon a fraction of the soul power from tens of thousands of Evil Demons within his hidden meridians, creating a tumultuous force that made the soul quiver.

This impressive soul power burst forth from his muscles, rivaling both spiritual and blood energies in intensity.

Ann Ziqing's dress was nearly torn to shreds, leaving parts of her alabaster skin exposed, eliciting a pained cry from her.

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 soul, he discovered that the Evil Cauldron had not only grown stronger due to the sudden surge of tens of thousands of Evil Demons but had also developed new mystical properties.

This allowed him to channel the soul power of the Evil Demons into his body and directly pull the formidable beings into his opened acupoints.

Thus, he could summon the power of the Evil Demons with a mere gesture, unleashing it from any part of his body and combining it with his own spiritual and blood energies.

"Not too shabby," he appraised internally.

Having recently acquired the Dragon Slash Platform and Blood Prison, Yu Yuan noticed that the occasions to utilize the Evil Cauldron in battle were diminishing.

The cauldron's diminishing relevance was due to his rapidly increasing combat prowess, which granted him access to a wider array of more potent artifacts.

Thankfully, after reaping benefits from the Foul Land, the Evil Cauldron had undergone a resurgence in power, preventing it from becoming obsolete in his eyes.

At that moment, he also managed to disperse the overwhelming possessive emotions that had previously engulfed Ann Ziqing.

In such a state, overwhelmed by possessive feelings, Ann Ziqing's ability to mount an attack was significantly diminished.

Instead of attacking, Ann Ziqing seemed to have let her guard down entirely, her defensive instincts momentarily vanished, which is why Yu Yuan managed to break free so effortlessly.

But as her possessive emotions faded, another, more destructive inner demon began to grow wildly within her.

A lethal intent refined swiftly in Ann Ziqing's eyes, as if a perilous flame were kindling within them.

Whoosh!

She launched herself forward once more.

Blood-colored spears and purple lightning burst forth from her palms and the purple armor adorning her graceful figure.

Within her Dantian, the enigmatic Yang God body and the prominent Bloodline Crystal Chain suddenly blazed with divine brilliance.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

In an instant, every living creature with flesh and blood within the Ghosts Poisoning Array and the surrounding area perished.

The life force and energy, like raindrops and fireflies, defied the constraints of the Ghosts Poisoning Array. Even the blood energy inherent in the array itself was drawn to her power.

These forces then converged into her body, into the blood-colored spears and the deep purple lightning.

At that moment, it seemed as though she could command the blood energy of sentient beings for battle.

Yu Yuan, from a distance, quickly deduced that this was a mysterious fusion of the Blood God Cult's Blood Refining Technique, Bloodthirsty Technique, and the Blood Devil Clan's Blood Demon Power and Blood Concentration Talent.

Blessed by the source of the Yang energy, she had seamlessly integrated the secret arts and divine powers of the Blood God Cult and the Blood Devil Clan.

Yu Yuan keenly felt his own essence being drawn towards Ann Ziqing, as if it were desperate to leave his body and merge with hers.

Yet, the Yang God within his own microcosm of blood remained steadfast and immovable.

"This isn't over yet."

With a single thought, a streak of blood light burst forth.

His Yang God emerged, taking the place of his physical form, and with a sweep of its arms, it shattered the hundreds of blood-colored 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 control.

The presence of Yu Yuan's Yang God intensified the impact on Ann Ziqing, making it a hundredfold more alluring to her Yang God.

Ann Ziqing emitted a muffled, frenzied shriek as she fearlessly lunged at his Yang God.

It was then that Yu Yuan witnessed Ann Ziqing's Yang God burst forth from her bosom, hurtling towards his own.

The two Yang Gods clashed in front of each other, their forms colliding in an instant. A myriad of blood rays wove together as purple lightning streaked chaotically, activating the various blood essences Yu Yuan had mastered and refined, revealing themselves in a dazzling array of lights.

Bright flashes sparkled within his Yang God, reminiscent of colorful stars or the beautiful pebbles on the ocean floor. At this moment, the will of the Yang Meridian's source flickered within Ann Ziqing's Yang God, brimming with longing.

A blood-red river stealthily emerged in one of Ann Ziqing's eyes, a soul projection of her Yang God. This river seemed like a minor offshoot of the Yang Meridian's source, a tiny tributary, yet it was filled with profound mysteries and the deep lore of blood.

"I understand," Yu Yuan murmured, his face set in a steely expression. The Dragon Slash Platform appeared in his grasp, and his Yang God instantly returned to him. As Ann Ziqing's Yang God frantically lunged, unable to find his, Yu Yuan swung the Dragon Slash Platform with force, shattering her translucent purple Yang God.

With a resounding burst, Ann Ziqing's Yang God exploded into thousands of purple crystal fragments, each the size of a fingernail. Clutching the Dragon Slash Platform, Yu Yuan gazed down at the scattered crystals at his feet, a growing yearning within him mirroring the desire Ann Ziqing's Yang God had shown for him.

He refrained from further strikes and even stepped back, watching as the purple crystal shards swiftly rose and vanished into Ann Ziqing's chest. Piece by piece, they reassembled, reforming her Yang God.

"Do you intend to strip away another part of my Yang God, to consume the blood essence of the various Demonic Beasts I've refined over the years?" Yu Yuan realized.

He was convinced that this was not Ann Ziqing's true intent. It was the distant entity at the other end of the galaxy, which, while caring for Ann Ziqing, had subtly infiltrated her with a sliver of its will.

That being had calculated his gratitude towards Ann Ziqing and the Blood God Cult, knowing well that he would not bring himself to deliver a fatal blow. Thus, it used Ann Ziqing as a conduit to seize the life essence and the fragments of existence once carried away by the Chaos Roc.

"Do you really believe that the core essence of my Yang God—be it the Giant Beast Amber from the Chaos Roc or the blood crystal from Grec—originates from you? And because I refuse to submit and be at your beck and call, you intend to reclaim it?"

"Through her?"

Yu Yuan's words were icy.

He wasn't addressing Ann Ziqing, who was tormented by the demon within her, but rather the origin of the Yang Meridian.

It was unclear to him whether the distant source of the Yang Meridian, with only a trace of its aura and will remaining, could hear his voice.

Nonetheless, he was determined not to let the source of the Yang Meridian succeed.

"Sigh..."

In that moment, Yu Yuan heard a sigh, laden with resignation.

The sigh did not emanate from Ann Ziqing.

Whoosh!

Setting Ann Ziqing aside for the moment, Yu Yuan covertly amplified the potency of the Ghosts Poisoning Array, confining her within. Clutching the Dragon Slash Platform, he suddenly stepped outside the formation.

Bathed in the cold, serene moonlight stood Ann Wen, clad in a vibrant red robe, his features so striking they bordered on otherworldly.

Ann Wen's dark red eyes, as if stained with fresh blood, met Yu Yuan's gaze. With a wry smile, he said, "My name is Ann Wen. I'm the one who sent the young lady here. It was a move born of necessity."

Yu Yuan regarded him with solemn respect.

…