C1662 Turning the Tide

Members of the Divine Soul Sect, including the Divine King Tianqi, who had long resided beyond the heavens, found themselves without suitable weapons.

This was due to their prolonged absence from the Vast Ocean.

Only weapons crafted by the Vast Ocean's Refiners could seamlessly resonate with them.

The higher the level and quality of a spiritual weapon, the greater the boost to a cultivator's combat prowess.

The Great Void became aware of Yinn Tiehua's existence thanks to President Lyi.

It was President Lyi's high regard for Yinn Tiehua that piqued the interest of both the Great Void and the Divine Soul Sect.

The Great Void refrained from eliminating Yinn Tiehua initially, even bringing up Yinn Xueqi, in hopes of convincing Yinn Tiehua to renounce her current path and embrace the Divine Soul Sect.

He was well aware of Yinn Tiehua's exceptional talents and believed that with her assistance, many within the Divine Soul Sect would acquire weapons that suited them perfectly.

"Yinn Tiehua, picture this scenario..."

The youthful Great Void's demeanor and voice grew solemn. "Once President Lyi ascends to the pinnacle using this grand avenue, all the weapons crafted by the Artifact Sect's Refiners and the divine armaments of the major sects could be marshaled by President Lyi."

"With an Artifact Soul, these weapons could become his lieutenants and generals, scouring the world to hunt down living creatures."

"In our current era, it is humans who wield weapons. But what if one day, it is the weapons that enslave humans? What a tragic fate awaits those like you, skilled in the art of refining?"

"Can you really expect emotionless constructs of gold metal to respect you and treat you with kindness?"

"The humans, the mighty demons, the alien beasts, and even the Starry Behemoths are all beings of flesh and blood. In stark contrast, a cold mass of gold metal is fundamentally different, no longer part of the same species."

"And yet, as a Refiner, you have the power to create more of these gold metal entities. Do you think they would spare you?"

"..."

Tai Xu painted this grim picture for Yinn Tiehua.

Yu Yuan, descending from above, shuddered at the revelation, realizing the aftermath of President Lyi's rise to power could be far graver than he had initially thought.

"I..."

Yinn Tiehua, her face etched with wrinkles, leaned on her iron crutch and dismantled the Matrix Diagrams, her gaze fixed on President Lyi, filled with complexity.

President Lyi, transformed with bones of gold metal and a body coursing with streams of gold, silver, copper, and iron, had eyes that sparkled with a cold metallic gleam. He no longer resembled a human being.

"Artifacts will ultimately become artifacts, ascending to the divinity of artifacts themselves."

Yinn Tiehua murmured under her breath, her heart torn with indecision.

Many years ago, while she was in the vast expanse, she had experimented with etching Spiritual Array Diagrams onto the Demon Bones of Great Demons to refine artifacts using the living creatures.

Some Great Demons had gained tremendous strength through her technique, yet others perished in combat.

She applied the same method to human cultivators with similar consequences.

Her initial aim was to enhance the frailty of human physiques, but the numerous deaths of both Great Demons and humans led to her being labeled as a Refiner who had lost her way. Sensing trouble, she discreetly fled the vast expanse.

She had always sought to validate her original concept, believing that her past failures were due to her then-imperfect skills.

Refining President Lyi would, if successful, vindicate her past theories.

His unique body could withstand all the Spiritual Array Diagrams she had inscribed. She needn't worry about the robustness of his bones; the explosive force of the diagrams wouldn't compromise his flesh and bone structure.

She saw President Lyi as a masterpiece that could prove her theories, and he, recognizing this, was quick to collaborate. Their partnership was almost instantaneous.

However, after considering Tai Xu's words, she found herself deep in thought.

The more she pondered, the more she dreaded the possibility of President Lyi reaching the pinnacle of his obsessive path and realizing the scenario Tai Xu had painted—

—It would spell doom for any Refiner!

"I have already carved the Matrix Diagrams I intended to. And I've shared with him the methods to meld the diagrams."

Yinn Tiehua was overtaken by a sense of foreboding. Shaken, she approached President Lyi with a newfound trepidation, "I'm washing my hands of this. It's all in your hands now. I can only hope..."

Before she could finish her sentence, Yu Yuan, Xuanli, the Chaos Roc, and even President Lyi suddenly turned their attention in one direction. A dense ball of blood energy transformed into a vast scarlet sea of blood. In the deeper reaches of the Gray Domain, the Great Demon God Grec materialized in the form of this blood-red ocean.

"I simply passed along information about your plans and your destination to someone else," Grec's deep and soothing voice emanated from the sea of blood. "That individual is quite intrigued by President Lyi's current predicament, and so—"

Boom!

Thousands of miles away, a powerful spatial disturbance emerged. In the deepest part of the Gray Domain, a mysterious location previously mentioned by Youyu burst forth with wonder due to Grec's words. Beneath Yu Yuan's feet, the Dragon Slash Platform, which housed the Space-time Dragon, began to radiate with a spectrum of divine luminescence.

Within the segments of dragon corpses, the principles related to spatial truths transformed into vibrant Crystal Chains, emitting a blindingly magical light.

Whoosh!

In the far distance, a speck of light the size of a fingernail appeared. In a flash, it expanded a millionfold into a colossal spatial vortex. A fearsome aura capable of consuming all souls and matter emanated from the vortex, resembling an unknown entity opening its gaping maw, ready to devour heaven and earth.

"Chaos Abyss!"

"An already formed Chaos Abyss!"

The Chaos Roc and Xuanli declared in grave tones.

No sooner had they spoken than the spatial vortex instantaneously moved from thousands of miles away to the void right in front of them. "The Chaos Abyss" had clearly performed a spatial translocation within the Gray Domain, an act beyond the capabilities of the Dragon Slash Platform.

With just a single spatial shift, the Chaos Abyss reemerged vastly larger, its swirling maw large enough to engulf several of the stars that the Chaos Roc navigated.

"I am well aware of my own limitations; with my power, I cannot contend with you all. Therefore, I informed the Origin Realm God of your presence," Grec, now a blood-colored ocean, said with a smile, revealing the truth. "He is quite eager to come and observe the venerable President of the Babel Chamber of Commerce and to meet with you as well."

No sooner had the words been spoken than a twisted force, capable of rending the souls of all living beings, emanated from the Chaos Abyss.

As the Chaos Abyss whirled, it seemed as though everyone's souls were being twisted into knots, accompanied by the excruciating pain of being torn asunder. Their very souls were nearly wrenched from their sea of consciousness and drawn into the maw of the Chaos Abyss.

In that instant, all but Youyu, including Yu Yuan, the Chaos Roc, and the Void Divine King, had to muster all their strength to fend off the soul-wrenching pull of the Chaos Abyss.

"Grec, you've conspired with the Origin Realm God. Do you not fear Beilstein's retribution?" Yu Yuan, fighting through the agony of his soul being ripped apart, his eyes a deep crimson, glared at the blood-red sea and roared, "You ought to know that eradicating the Origin Realm God is a cause he has long championed!"

"Conspired? That seems a bit harsh," Grec replied, his blood-colored shadow rising slowly within the crimson sea. His smile was serene, betraying no sign of panic. "You're also seeking him, intent on confronting him. I'm merely facilitating, drawing him out for you. You're free to make your move now. If I see a chance to defeat him, I'll lend a hand."

"Rest assured, I will not assist him, nor will I take any action against you at this juncture."

"At most, I'll simply observe from the sidelines."

He quickly disavowed any involvement, clearly wary of the Great Demon God Beilstein and unwilling to be labeled as a traitor for colluding with foreign entities.

"Please, come to my domain for a discussion."

Suddenly, a voice, seemingly belonging to a gracious host, echoed in everyone's minds, extending an invitation to visit. It was the Origin Realm God, offering his hospitality.

With a whoosh, President Lyi, his body forged of gold metal, soared skyward once more, heading directly for the vast Chaos Abyss.

This time, the Void Divine King, preoccupied with resisting the torment of his soul being shredded, failed to intercept him in time.

President Lyi was the first to plunge into the spinning vortex of the Chaos Abyss, vanishing in the blink of an eye.

Yinn Tiehua's gaze began to falter, and just as she was about to take flight like President Lyi, Youyu firmly grasped her shoulder, anchoring her in place. "Stay put."

Whoosh!

Youyu, having swallowed the heart stone, now expelled it, launching it toward the gaping maw of the spatial vortex.

"This is what you're after. If you've got the skill, come and get it."

...