C1685 Hand in Hand with the Young Beast!
"The offspring of the Old Titan Spinosaurus?"
Xuanli clutched his ears as the Abyssal Leviathan refined the Water Domain, with strands of faint electricity flying from his fingertips to counter the sound waves embedded in the dragon's roar.
The three ninth-level alien beasts had already collapsed to the ground, their massive bodies quivering slightly.
Accustomed to the Ashlands, they were shaken to their core by the roar of the young Titan Spinosaurus, their bloodlines quivering as if on the verge of shattering.
This was a pressure that neither the Abyssal Greater Basilisk, the Abyssal Leviathan, nor the Secular Bird Queen could exert.
The reason lay in their existence within the Ashlands, having refined much of the cosmic energy native to the region. Their blood and bodies bore the mark of the Ashlands.
The Ashlands were the domain of the Old Titan Spinosaurus.
The young creature that had burst forth from the Dragon Slaying Stage was a direct descendant of the Old Titan Spinosaurus. Even in its youth, its bloodline resonated with the Ashlands, rendering the three alien beasts incapable of even contemplating resistance.
"It's aiding Yu Yuan, but truly, it's helping itself."
Yin Tiehua, her face etched with wrinkles, leaned on her crutch and gazed at the Eiwrone with a somber expression. "The Origin Deity and the Abyssal Greater Basilisk aim to consume all the energy of the Ashlands, transforming it into another Brugeth. That's something it cannot tolerate."
Yin Tiehua, also a denizen of the Ashlands, felt a deep connection to this land and was loath to witness its destruction.
She had fully awakened to the realization that President Lyi, in league with the Origin Deity, had forsaken the denizens of the Everlands, poised to become a new blight upon them.
"I just hope I haven't contributed to tyranny or given rise to an evil Sunsilver deity," Yin Tiehua reflected with regret.
"You speak the truth," Xuanli concurred.
The juvenile Titan Spinosaurus was intent on navigating its youth within the sanctuary of its ancestral lands in the Ashlands, aspiring to mature there.
Should the Ashlands vanish, the young creature would be compelled to venture into the astral expanse, facing grave perils.
The foremost threat was the Dark Phoenix.
It had always shown a preference for Yu Yuan, so it chose to assist him in confronting the Origin Deity at this pivotal moment. There was nothing amiss with its decision.
Whoosh!
Yu Yuan, standing on the Dragon Slaying Stage and wielding the Titanblade, emerged within an expansive shadow.
Above him, the Secular Bird Queen, with each feather radiating a dazzling divine glow, let out a melodious cry in response to his unexpected arrival.
In an instant, the queen transformed into a Divine Visage, complete with an imperial crown.
Towering tens of thousands of feet high, the queen bore three heads and six arms, resembling an ancient deity stepping right out of myth.
Her resplendent Divine Garment, ablaze with the flame of destruction, was accompanied by streaks of gray-white lightning.
She wielded the profound meanings of death, destruction, and rebirth, commanding these rules with divine authority.
Anyone who beheld her would naturally feel awe and be captivated by her enigmatic beauty.
The Origin Deity was no exception.
"Such a magnificent Divine Bird should not be confined to this realm alone. The Abyss, too, would be awestruck by your splendor and ensnared by the power you wield."
The Origin Deity's words of admiration echoed from the Maw of Oblivion he had transformed into, all the while mocking the Dark Phoenix, "The unsightly Dark Phoenix, out of envy, conspired to end your life. Such a tragedy. Should you agree to accompany me to the Abyss, I vow to aid you in vanquishing that repulsive creature."
Hearing this deepened Yu Yuan's sense of unease.
"I find no pleasure in the aura of the Abyss, nor in the world you inhabit."
The queen responded coolly, her gaze drifting down to Yu Yuan, her elegant jawline just visible. Her eyes, veiled by a curtain of pearls, seemed capable of reviving the essence of life itself.
On either side of the queen, a mystical barrier, one gray-white and the other pitch-black, materialized like shields of death and destruction.
With a swift tear, the barriers, resembling wings, sliced through the vast shadow.
The elder of the Shadowkin, hidden within the shadow, let out a muffled groan, seemingly sustaining a minor injury.
Beneath the shadow of division, a continent of vibrant hues emerged, where an ancient tree, lush and dripping with vitality, stood with leaves as green as jade, seemingly capable of exuding sacred green waters.
Its sap, like dewdrops, had the power to nurture any exotic flora, prompting them to burst into bloom and fruit in mere moments.
This nascent "Uxthar Tree" brimmed with the robust life force of the plant world, still releasing a delicate fragrance that conveyed a sense of purity, untouched by any corruption.
The verdant ancient tree took root in the Five-Colored Earth, drawing in the enigmatic sustenance from the soil.
It grew steadily, untouched by the evil energy of the Origin Deity, fresh from rebirth.
The tree's spirit began to show as its leaves whispered in the breeze, as if joyfully anticipating the return of the secular bird.
It reminisced about the distant past when the beautiful Divine Bird had perched upon its branches, keeping it company for ages.
Yet...
Lurking beside the Five-Colored Earth it called home was a massive Chaos Serpent. Its four icy, malevolent eyes seemed to bridge four chaotic worlds, amassing power for her titanic form, readying her for battle.
Upon the Dragon Slaying Stage, Yu Yuan caught sight of the "Uxthar Tree" flourishing anew and immediately understood the situation.
The Secular Bird Queen, upon learning that the Uxthar Tree had been reborn and remained untainted by the Origin Deity, intended to take it from this place, to bring it back to the Shadowkin domain.
The Chaos Serpent stood vigil over the reborn divine tree, while the Origin Deity refrained from infusing it with evil energy, not wishing to defile it, having anticipated the Queen's arrival.
Had the divine tree been truly defiled, it would have been beyond salvation, and perhaps the Empress would have then abandoned hope.
But the Origin Deity had offered her a glimmer of hope, allowing her to witness the divine tree's purity, bolstering her belief that she could take the divine tree with her.
"Are you here to rescue it?"
Yu Yuan looked up at the towering figure of the Queen, pausing thoughtfully before asking, "Do you possess the power to return to any one of your nests?"
The nests of Death, Destruction, and Rebirth were all under the Queen's dominion, and she wielded the power to instantly return to them through her bloodline's cosmic energy.
For instance, Yu Yuan could instantly return to the Dragon Slaying Stage from another region.
"The Ashlands are the territory of the Old Titan Spinosaurus. It imposes a natural limitation on me; I'm unable to teleport," Chen Qinghuang whispered.
"No wonder..."
Yu Yuan nodded in understanding. He attempted to gaze upon the majority of the Origin Deity's soul, which had transformed into the "Maw of Oblivion." He then remarked to her, "You're too tall."
Whoosh!
No sooner had he spoken than the empress, towering thousands of feet, retracted her magnificent Divine Visage.
She now appeared as a normal human woman, roughly the same height as Yu Yuan, without the multiple heads and arms. Yet, she still donned the imperial crown, and her presence continued to exude an aura of destruction and death.
Yu Yuan's abrupt appearance had significantly lessened the Origin Deity's oppressive influence on her soul.
The Chaos Serpent, which had been stealthily assaulting her and nipping at her wings from the shadows, had also unexpectedly quieted down.
She now had a rare moment to breathe, so she no longer kept to her Divine Bird form nor invoked her extraordinary Divine Visage.
Hiss! Hiss! Hiss! Hiss!
The two-headed Chaos Serpent emitted eerie sounds in the void, its soul and blood casting a faint glow as if probing for something.
The Origin Deity of the Maw of Oblivion abruptly assumed a faint, delicate human-like soul form, surveying the surroundings with a furrowed brow.
"A young Titan Spinosaurus has you this cautious? Surely, you didn't think it wouldn't intervene when you engulfed the Ashlands with Eiwrone?" Yu Yuan said with a cold laugh.
The Chaos Serpent and the Origin Deity, along with the Shadowkin Elder lurking in the shadows, had ceased their assault on the Secular Bird Queen not because of his presence.
It was the young creature that had caused them to halt.
The young beast's dragon cry, coupled with his instant arrival, gave the Origin Deity and the Chaos Serpent a premonition that the young beast was close by.
The young beast's emerging dominance over the Ashlands had given the Origin Deity cause for concern.
"You certainly have a strong presence in the Ashlands."
Yu Yuan silently commended the young beast, acknowledging its proximity.
He could sense it and knew its general vicinity, yet he was unable to see it with his eyes.
The Origin Deity and the Chaos Serpent were searching in vain, having extended their souls and vital energy, but they remained oblivious to its presence, unable to pinpoint its exact location.
Should it be allowed to mature, if it became sufficiently powerful, it could deal a significant blow to both the Origin Deity and the Chaos Serpent. They would be left reeling from a stealthy assault, clueless as to how it was executed or where it had hidden.
Sizzle! Sizzle! Sizzle!
Mysterious cosmic energy converged from all directions, streaming toward the vast expanse of shadow that had been cleaved apart.
The shadow, manifested by the bloodline of the Shadowkin elder, resembled a blood clot doused in sulfuric acid, quickly dissolving into a gaping hole.
The Shadowkin elder shrieked in agony as the vital energy she had infused into the shadow vanished in an instant.
Her clothing and flesh began to smolder, and she was compelled to emerge from the shadow, flailing her arms as she absorbed the remaining uncorrupted shadow into her palms.
"Master!"
She sobbed and screeched, pleading for the Origin Deity to intervene on her behalf.
"It's that juvenile creature."
The phantom of the Origin Deity, attuned to the strange disturbances nearby, spoke calmly, "Do not fret, it has yet to reach maturity. Once Eiwrone consumes the Ashlands, and they become as void as Brugeth, this little one will have nowhere to leap. When the murky pond is drained, not a drop remaining, where can it possibly hide?"
Roar!
The young beast issued another dragon-like bellow.
The vibrant land where the Chaos Serpent lay coiled began to quake. The earth around the roots of the Uxthar Tree thunderously split open.
"It can even move this land!"
The Chaos Serpent, in a sharp and acerbic female tone, sounded flustered as it took flight from the colorful continent.
It dared not let its serpentine form touch the ground again.
