C1632 The Fallen President Lyi

"Eh!"

Yu Yuan gazed down at his pierced waist, where rust was scattering and a mix of gold, silver, and iron powders were fusing into his flesh.

Before tapping into the life power of the Solar Spirit, his body's natural healing had been nearly obliterated by the Sunsilver force left by President Lyi.

The wound on his waist refused to close and instead continued to tear further apart.

Amidst the ghastly bloodied hole, particles of gold, silver, and iron threatened to infiltrate his flesh and organs, threatening to transform him into a Sunsilver puppet.

He was at risk of being turned from a living creature into a metallic monstrosity.

"This is a peculiarly sinister power."

After a moment of intense scrutiny, Yu Yuan's eyes took on an unusual hue. He turned to President Lyi, who had reverted to human form, and said, "Have you forged an entirely new Way of Heaven? If you persist down this path, you'll cease to be human or even a living creature. You'll become nothing more than a Divine Weapon, a mere object. Is that truly your desire?"

"What it is to me no longer matters. What's important is my freedom from the constraints of others, my ability to shatter anyone who dares block my path," President Lyi replied, his humanity becoming increasingly elusive. "That includes Loong Jie and any future Blood Kings that may emerge!"

"Pitiful creature..."

Surrounded by a horde of refined iron puppets, the Abyssal Leviathan's giant form was flecked with rust and dusted with gold and silver.

His scales glinted brilliantly as he fended off the refined iron beings' assaults, yet he was far from serene.

"The soul of the Divine Artifact from the Everlands dreams of possessing a corporeal body, of existing in the world as a complete being. And you? You choose to defy the natural order, to transmute your flesh into a lump of Sunsilver. Do you really believe this will enable you to confront Loong Jie in the future?" The Abyssal Leviathan sneered dismissively.

Whoosh!

A swath of azure water swept up dozens of refined iron puppets, the dense aquatic energy dragging the creatures away to some distant place.

The Abyssal Leviathan appeared to have finally found a moment of respite.

Yet, Yu Yuan could still distinctly observe that wherever the iron, gold, and silver dust had settled in the crevices of its scales, its flesh seemed paralyzed as if tainted by poison.

Despite being a cosmic giant beast and cleansing its wounds with water currents, President Lyi's sinister power continued to erode its flesh.

Much like the troublesome iron dust lodged in Yu Yuan's own abdomen, the Abyssal Leviathan was similarly afflicted.

"To infuse one's corporeal body with the essence of gold, silver, copper, and iron, retaining only a sliver of life force to sustain the heart's vitality—this is an unconventional cosmic order I've never encountered before. You differ from Loong Jie, who had no intention of forsaking his flesh nor of extinguishing his spirit entirely."

"President, you have truly embarked on an extreme and deviant path."

After a moment of reflection, Yu Yuan wielded the Dragon Slaying Stage, which released an intense cold fog, engulfing the pierced region of his chest.

The emergence of the cold fog instantly froze all the rust and metallic dust, preventing them from scattering further.

Yu Yuan's soul stirred, and streams of pure Soul Power penetrated the depths of the fog, rapidly eroding President Lyi's lingering soul force.

"I understand you wish to see if your mastery of the Path of Metal could transform me into a refined iron puppet. I'm afraid you're not there yet."

With a whoosh, the icy fog, now devoid of President Lyi's soul force, swept away the rust from the cavity in his waist.

"Purification."

At his command, the vital energy within his little world, imbued with the essence of life, expelled the remaining rust that was still afflicting his flesh.

Once free of President Lyi's minuscule metallic remnants, his life power surged into action.

Consequently, the gaping wound in his chest swiftly closed, as if invisible stitches were knitting the flesh back together.

"Have you considered what will become of the Skyreach Consortium due to your demonic transformation?"

Grasping the Dragon Slaying Stage, Yu Yuan's expression darkened, "Because of you, the Consortium has amassed significant influence across the Everlands and beyond. President Shi Jing'er has devoted her life to your cause, as have Jun Chen, Feng Zhong, and others. Do you intend to doom the Consortium?"

"From the moment I chose this path, I was prepared to sever ties with the Skyreach Consortium and step down as President," President Lyi said, a flicker of humanity shining in his eyes. He experienced a pang of long-lost pain. "When I ventured into the Ashlands alone, without informing the Consortium, I no longer considered myself part of it. Without the backing of formidable power, even a vast enterprise is but a rootless weed."

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

Numerous refined iron puppets intertwined within the Water Domain of the Abyssal Leviathan, forming a vibrant mountain range of sunsilver.

The moment the mountain materialized, an eerie ripple, previously unseen and mingled with particles of gold, silver, copper, and iron, began to spread slowly.

Beneath the mountain, the ripples gently swayed, seemingly intent on transforming all living creatures of the Star River into lifeless iron and stone, devoid of spiritual wisdom.

This appeared to be President Lyi's malevolent grand ambition, the ultimate truth he sought in his pursuit, the root of his descent into darkness.

Beams of gold, silver, black, and pale green light, bearing the twisted cosmic order of metal, cascaded down from the sinister mountain range towards the Abyssal Leviathan.

The Abyssal Leviathan sensed the psionic power within the light, and a clear fear emerged in its eyes. It realized that its vital energy was rapidly draining under the mountain's luminescence.

It was gripped by the horrifying prospect of transforming from a cosmic giant beast into an inanimate object of metal.

The vital energy inherent to the giant beast and the Water Magic it had mastered seemed to struggle against the mountain's radiance.

The Abyssal Leviathan, not one to act recklessly, quietly contracted its massive form into a small green fish.

This nimble green fish easily dodged the beams of light and swam up to Yu Yuan. "Yu Yuan, I'm somewhat weary, and you could use a challenge like him to hone your strength and integrate your combat techniques," it said.

Without a hint of shame, it left President Lyi for Yu Yuan to confront.

"The metamorphosis of the golden dragon is not meant to be this way," Yu Yuan declared sternly.

President Lyi's path of Sunsilver was marked by the shadow of the ultimate form of the golden dragon, yet it was entirely distinct.

Regardless of how the golden dragon tempered its body, its mind remained unaffected. It would not succumb to the influence of gold, silver, copper, and iron, nor would it degenerate into a monstrous aberration like President Lyi.

"I know," President Lyi admitted without denial, his voice cold. "But I am not a golden dragon. I lack the bloodline of the Nagas. Even if I were aware of the method to refine Loong Jie's ultimate form, I couldn't achieve it as he did."

"Neither can I, nor can Blood King Sabonis. Having chosen this path, I'm aware of what I stand to lose. I can't foresee what I'll become in the future. I had no other options, which led me to this state. You're to blame for this!"

He dismissed any further engagement with the Abyssal Leviathan. Realizing that his power to transform Yu Yuan into a refined iron puppet, as he had done with other alien beasts and Otherkin, was ineffective, he resolved to rethink his strategy.

The last vestiges of his humanity vanished from his eyes.

Yu Yuan and the Abyssal Leviathan sensed that the life power emanating from his body was nearly imperceptible.

Boom!

A bizarre, sinister mountain, constructed from the corpses of various races, settled beneath him.

Subsequently, streams of gold, silver, copper, and iron slid from his sleeves, each piece fusing with the mountain.

This Sunsilver, originating from the Everlands' inaugural peak and the renowned Sunsilver ranges within the extraterrestrial Star River, had been mined and refined by President Lyi into weapons that augmented his power.

"Though he has not secured a position as a Supreme God, his current state is no less formidable than Zhu Zhenlin or Lee Tianxin, both bearers of a primordial spirit. His transformation into a devil through dark arts has rendered him enigmatic, beyond my comprehension. You'd do well to exercise caution. Furthermore, if President Lyi continues down this path of madness, there's no telling what he might become."

No sooner had the Abyssal Leviathan spoken than President Lyi's form gradually assumed that of a Golden Shura.

From his nearly motionless heart emanated the presence of Alonso, the Great Commander of the Shura.

The vitality was barely perceptible, intermittent and faint as if it were barely there.

"The Everlands are teeming with madmen. He totally abandoned his humanity in an attempt to become a Golden Shura. It looks like he failed, and that's what led to his current state."

"He's turned into a monster the likes of which we've never seen before."

The Abyssal Leviathan let out a piercing scream.

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