C1661 Surrounding and Annihilating President Lyi

When President Lyi caught sight of Yu Yuan, he couldn't help but notice the Chaos Roc as well. The gray-white streak of light that Youyu had conjured also caught his attention. Deep within that light lurked an aura that unsettled his soul. He was initially surprised but quickly sensed that something was amiss.

Yu Yuan, the Chaos Roc, and Youyu—all were significant threats, but he hadn't anticipated that the Divine Soul Sect possessed the capability to command both Youyu and the Chaos Roc to strike. He had underestimated the initial assault from Youyu, thinking it was merely a precursor to something more.

"I'll be leaving first," he declared.

With a whoosh, President Lyi, standing amidst the fiery liquid, cast these words aside and burst through the Yin Lightning Blades, unconcerned with Yinn Tiehua's fate. Like a piercing human spear, he shot straight up into the continent's sky.

He didn't fear Youyu's ambush or the might of Yu Yuan and the Chaos Roc, but Youyu inspired a profound dread within him—Youyu was a ghost. Aware that Youyu, a master of the soul's secret arts and a spokesperson for the Yin God, would not waste time on his gold metal body, President Lyi knew the real threat was to his soul. Youyu would aim to shatter his spirit, ensuring his body would follow suit. The Golden Giant Dragon had met its end in such a manner, its soul eradicated by the Lunar Divine King, leaving its body unable to transform into gold metal. The thought of his own soul suffering a similar fate, potentially exposing a weakness in his gold metal form, terrified him.

"Why are you in such a hurry to leave?" Taixu's voice echoed as a colossal shell, spanning millions of acres, materialized in the sky. The shell hovered above the ground, positioned directly over President Lyi's head like an immense shield. The remnants of the heart clam beast, now a pair of shells, had been consecrated by Taixu. At that moment, the starlight twinkling above the shell resembled a sprinkling of stars.

A whimsical and enchanting microcosm seemed to emerge on the surface of the shell, teeming with tiny, bustling life forms. Then, with a crack, President Lyi's spear-like form pierced the giant shell. The myriad of small creatures on the shell instantly transformed into countless droplets of blood, which then coalesced into the youthful form of Taixu.

"I anticipated this, which is why I took special care to refine this shell. And it just so happens that this shell is not made of gold metal."

The youthful embodiment of the Void Divine King radiated energy and determination, seemingly fearless in the face of any formidable adversary. He observed President Lyi, whose head had been bashed by the shell, his neck wedged within its grasp. With a steely expression, he declared, "We've consistently offered you opportunities, merely asking for your patience. It was your impatience and excessive desires that led to this."

Boom!

The shell, as if transforming into a new landmass, plummeted and compressed with immense force. The weight of countless mountains bore down on President Lyi, sending him hurtling like a meteor toward the ochre earth.

Puff!

The land, shaped by Yinn Tiehua's secret arts, was punctured as easily as tofu by President Lyi's descent. Unable to ascend, President Lyi opted to burrow through the earth in an attempt to flee.

He drilled straight through the dense terrain.

Crack!

The same eerie noise echoed, and the scenario repeated itself. President Lyi, resembling a human spear, impaled another massive shell, only to find himself ensnared once more.

The elegant Void Divine King materialized atop a different shell and proclaimed, "Neither the heavens nor the earth offer you passage."

With a resounding boom, President Lyi, who had skewered the shell, was forced back underground.

"I may not be able to shatter your gold metal form, but I can ensure you remain trapped," he stated.

The two manifestations of the Void Divine King, one atop the celestial shell and the other beneath the terrestrial one, spoke in unison.

The ochre ground, like the heart clam beast's shell, bore two holes from President Lyi's efforts. When he reemerged, he found himself next to Yinn Tiehua once again.

At that moment, the ashen-white radiance conjured by Youyu also emerged upon the land.

"Remarkably formidable, nearly rivaling the edge of the Golden Dragon God," commented the Chaos Roc, casting a sidelong glance at the Dragon Slash Platform beneath Yu Yuan's feet. "Should Youyu fail to inflict a deep wound on his soul, perhaps you could penetrate President Lyi's gold metal body with the sharp tip of the Dragon Slash Platform."

"For the time being, you seem capable, but the future remains uncertain," he advised earnestly.

Yu Yuan nodded thoughtfully, his mind flashing back to the moment in the Boundless Underground's Foul World above the Colorful Lake. There, as Rovi suffered under the Space-time Ban, Yu Yuan had driven the pointed end of the Dragon Slash Platform into Rovi's heart.

The Golden Dragon God's blade was so sharp it could pierce through any barrier or hard substance in the world, making stars seem as delicate as paper.

President Lyi, who stood before him, had not yet attained the ability to completely disregard such sharpness. Using the tip of the Dragon Slash Platform, it should be a simple task to pierce through President Lyi.

"No need."

Youyu, upon hearing the exchange between Yu Yuan and the Chaos Roc, responded.

"Soul Silence."

In Youyu's grayish-white eyes, fine streams interwove, giving rise to a kind of secret arts of the soul.

Rip!

A murky shadow emerged at the center of President Lyi's forehead, transforming into a turbid river of souls that invaded his mind.

Within his mind, the soul threads that Youyu had previously laid became a counterfeit President Lyi, warping his spirit and leaving him momentarily disoriented.

For a brief moment, President Lyi was shocked to feel as if his soul had split in two.

Once he sensed the anomaly, he realized his sea of souls had failed to erect a defense in time, allowing Youyu's intrusion to succeed.

His mind now housed a murky river, where countless tormented souls wailed.

Earlier, within the Sea of Hearts, he had witnessed numerous alien souls and remnants of alien beasts' thoughts being dragged into this very river.

A colossal Rotten Spirit Bird, its wings reeking, burst forth from the murky stream, viciously attacking his soul.

Warriors from the Silver Scale Clan, transformed into vengeful specters, lunged at him.

Female demons and a host of devils, all in the guise of spirits, emerged from the murky soul river, causing chaos in his mental world.

President Lyi was suddenly struck by an excruciating headache.

Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!

The Spiritual Array Diagrams etched onto his skull and neck bones flared to life, morphing into ethereal lightning that surged into his eyes, nose, and ears.

The remnant souls of the various clan warriors and alien beasts, which Youyu had refined in the Sea of Hearts, along with the muddy river, began to be obliterated by the lightning.

President Lyi's mental clarity swiftly returned.

"Yinn Tiehua."

Youyu, whose attempt on Yinn Tiehua's life had failed, cast a cold glance at the Void Divine King descending gently on a seashell. "Why did you hold back? With Yinn Tiehua's level and combat prowess, she should not have survived an assault from you."

Yinn Tiehua is the kind of talent our Divine Soul Sect needs. She's an exceptionally gifted descendant who we've brought beyond our world." Void Divine King came to a halt.

The multitude of blade lights aimed at Yinn Tiehua vanished, revealing her figure previously obscured by a web-like pattern.

"Her name is Yinn Xueqi, also hailing from the Artifact Sect, where she was deliberately taught the art of artifact refining by their elders. Yinn Tiehua, your refining techniques were simply not recognized by Han Miaoyuan and his peers in the past, leading them to brand you as a heretic. But times have changed, and we are ready to embrace both you and your refining skills."

The assault on Yinn Tiehua ceased, and the Void Divine King gazed at her earnestly.

Wrapped in the Matrix Diagram, Yinn Tiehua looked skeptical, uncertain whether to trust these words.

"Yinn Xueqi?" Yu Yuan arrived aboard the Dragon Slash Platform and hovered next to the Void Divine King, asking with astonishment, "Is that the same Yinn Xueqi, or a descendant of hers?"

"Yes."

The Void Divine King nodded, once again attempting to convince Yinn Tiehua, "Whatever President Lyi can offer you, we in the Divine Soul Sect can match. With your exceptional artifact refining skills, you shouldn't confine yourself to the Gray Domain indefinitely. With President Lyi's current return to the Boundless Underground, we are set to confront Han Miaoyuan and his allies."

"Staying by his side offers no future or hope, only a path to certain death."

The Void Divine King's restraint was an attempt to recruit Yinn Tiehua, hoping to leverage her refining prowess to produce more fitting artifacts for the Divine Soul Sect's champions in the outer realms.

Yet, if President Lyi were to survive and successfully transform into a humanoid Artifact, he would command the use of all artifacts under heaven.

This road, though it may disrupt the cosmic order, would face opposition from all living beings determined to prevent him from reaching the pinnacle.

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