C1793 I Am Forced to Participate in the Battle Good New Year
In the Dark Star Region, a shattered red moon lay desolate in a remote corner of the Star River. Perched atop a dark red moonstone were the ruins of a purple palace, the seat of the supreme Dark Phoenix. A towering archdemon shadow sprawled across the palace's summit, seemingly fixated on a Dead Star.
This colossal shadow shifted continuously, its form never settling. It was a manifestation of the ancient evilkind from the Everlands, displaying a myriad of mysterious bloodline rules.
From a great distance, ferocious alien beasts from extraterrestrial realms cast occasional glances at the morphing shadow, their eyes filled with a mix of awe and fanatical worship, as if beholding the deities of their dreams.
Deep underground, within the void above the Dead Star connected to Tyria, Ann Ziqing, now a Demon God, was impaled over and over by icy shards. The recently ascended Ann Ziqing, her Solar Spirit Body grievously wounded, lacked the strength to retaliate. Each time an ice shard pierced her, she let out a harrowing scream.
Yet, because she was within the Dark Star Region, and the Solar Meridian bestowed upon her vital energy, even in her near-unconscious state, the gaping wounds left by the ice shards would swiftly heal, fueled by the external infusion of vital energy.
"I never intended to kill you," Lin Zhuyun stated emotionlessly from atop an icy mountain in the Embers Sea, gesturing towards an approaching glacier. Razor-sharp ice spears, hundreds of feet long, soared through the air.
Thud!
Ann Ziqing was impaled midair, a larger cavity torn through her waist, yet not a drop of blood escaped. Her Solar Spirit, having attained the stature of a Great Demon God, was shrouded in the ice force mastered by Lin Zhuyun, freezing every drop of her blood. Only the vital energy from the Solar Meridian could defy Lin Zhuyun's ice magic and aid in mending Ann Ziqing's injuries.
"Coward," Lin Zhuyun muttered disdainfully, her gaze piercing through the depths of the Star River towards a blood-red star.
She was aware that the extraterrestrial powers, led by the Great Demon God Grec and Reid, were gradually withdrawing to the Primal Blood Continent. They, too, recognized that the Solar Meridian sought to stage the final battle in the realm it knew best.
Therefore, titans like Grec and Reid would never rashly reveal themselves.
Anyone who dared would meet the same fate as Ann Ziqing.
The fragmented red moon was the Root of the Solar Meridian's tentative clash with the Dark Phoenix in the outside world—a resounding defeat for the Solar Meridian.
Despite being infused with vital energy and tapping into the carefully cultivated power of the Dark Star, including the hidden strength of certain stars and the blood power of various races, it was no match for the purple phoenix. As the purple palace settled and the shadow of the purple phoenix flickered into view, the moon was cleaved apart by its purple wings.
At the moment the moon shattered, the Solar Meridian's power recoiled, resulting in the instantaneous death of countless members of the Crypt Clan, Fire Lizard, and Shadowkin.
Those second-tier races dwelling in the Dark Star, vassals to the Blood Fiend, were the first to be forsaken by the Solar Meridian.
They became the Solar Meridian's sacrificial pawns, absorbing the brunt of the supreme Dark Phoenix's assault. After leaving behind a sea of corpses, the Solar Meridian successfully transferred its vital energy back to its core.
Now, the Solar Meridian has retreated to the Primal Blood Continent, too wary to emerge again, while the Demon Army and their beasts march forth in a vast, encircling wave.
"Do you believe you can ascend to the Divine Throne if you possess the Origin?" boomed a commanding voice from the purple palace atop the moonstone.
Lin Zhuyun's form quivered with excitement as she gazed upon the palace, the emblem of the supreme Dark Phoenix. She nervously muttered, "The Stardust Blade must fall, and she must vacate the Extreme Cold Sacred Way before I stand a chance. If she lives, clinging to that Sacred Way, I cannot craft the Divine Throne, even with the Origin."
"She resides in the Ashlands and has her sights set on the Dark Star. Should she dare to show herself within this Star River, I will strike her down, securing the critical components you lack to achieve divinity." The ever-shifting Demon Shadow solidified into an elegant purple phoenix, whose solemn and lethal gaze, clear as purple jewels, seemed to illuminate Lin Zhuyun's very soul.
Lin Zhuyun, overwhelmed, quickly averted her eyes and bowed her head in deference.
"I only have one question. Are you confident?" Dark Phoenix inquired once more.
"Yes!"
Lin Zhuyun was overcome with joy as if a pie had just dropped from the sky. She eagerly nodded her head vigorously and knelt toward the palace, touching her forehead to the ground in gratitude. "Thank you for your generosity."
"I appreciate those who are smart and obedient," Dark Phoenix stated, her voice tinged with indifference.
"I will be."
Ann Ziqing, her soul shackled by demon energy and her body manipulated by Lin Zhuyun's ice energy, piercing through her, experienced a fleeting moment of lucidity. She had overheard the exchange between Lin Zhuyun and Dark Phoenix and could sense the anxiety and urgency of the Solar Meridian, yet she was powerless to intervene.
Even as a Great Demon God, she could not be certain whether her real body had successfully traversed the Domain Channel to reach the Ashlands. Nor did she know if she would encounter Yu Yuan.
"I hope I did," she prayed, her heart heavy with sorrow and a sense of impending doom as if the Solar Meridian was about to forsake her.
Suddenly, the blood in her Solar Spirit Body began to circulate in an unusual pattern.
From afar, the massive phoenix shadow atop the palace shifted its gaze from Lin Zhuyun to Ann Ziqing, revealing a hint of curiosity in its jewel-like eyes.
Elsewhere, in the Ashlands, Zhong Chichen led the Abyssal Greater Basilisk, the Abyssal Leviathan, and Loong Jie toward Eiwrone, eager to observe the clash between Soul-Capturing and Lin Daoke in the Annihilation Nebula. The battle held great significance, and those of a certain stature were keen to witness it up close.
After ingesting several pills to boost her vitality and spirit, Ann Ziqing's form began to fill out, and she abruptly stood tall. Yu Yuan, attuned to the change, narrowed his eyes and noticed a new Blood Pool forming within her little world of vitality. This new Blood Pool was not the color of amethyst but a deep red, reminiscent of the red moon that traversed the Dark Star.
"My, my... the power within my Solar Spirit is returning!" Ann Ziqing exclaimed, unable to contain her excitement. She scanned her surroundings, searching for the source. "It's coming from somewhere peculiar within the Ashlands!"
Ji Ningshuang sat in quiet astonishment, watching her, the Dire Bear, and the three remaining alien beasts who looked around, bewildered.
Yu Yuan bellowed, "Grec! The Solar Meridian!"
As the ruler of this world, he had pinpointed the source of the disturbance in an instant.
It was a blood-red floating rock in the Ashlands.
The Demon God Grec had once sat upon that rock, etching patterns with his blood—depictions of birds, beasts, ancient woods, mountains, rivers, and the layout of the stars.
These odd, unrefined patterns seemed to be Grec's interpretation of bloodlines. They were not particularly profound, so Yu Yuan hadn't given them much thought.
Now, the floating stone that Grec had once occupied and then abandoned suddenly transformed after being suffused with vital energy.
It became a red moon, etched upon the stone.
The original patterns were wiped away, leaving only the red moon, as if it were about to emerge from within the rock, ready to manifest in the Ashlands.
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The red moon struggled against the fundamental rules of the Ashlands, unable to fully materialize. Yet, orbs of blood-colored light shot out from the red moon within the stone.
They vanished as quickly as they appeared.
Simultaneously, in Ann Ziqing's little world of vitality, the corresponding blood-colored light solidified in an instant into a blood crystal.
These miraculous blood crystals were fragments of Ann Ziqing's Solar Spirit, delivered all the way from the Dark Star.
"Yu, Yu Yuan!"
Ann Ziqing seemed to glimpse a newfound hope. She unconsciously gestured with her hands before her chest, exclaiming, "It has sent my Demon God Body from the Dark Star in a way I can't comprehend! I believe I can reassemble the Solar Spirit here, turning fragments back into a whole!"
"Is that even possible?" Ji Ningshuang was equally amazed.
"It's beyond what I expected," Yu Yuan admitted.
He turned his gaze toward the floating stone, now enveloped in a shroud of deep red blood light, from which blood-colored shadows continued to emerge.
The red moon hung in the sky like a painting, nestled within the blood-red floating stone, seemingly smirking at Yu Yuan in self-satisfaction.
He took pride in his creation!
Yu Yuan could easily shatter it with a swing of his sword if he chose to.
But if the floating stone were to break, the vital energy transfer to Ann Ziqing's Solar Spirit Body, far away in the Dark Star, would be severed.
To prevent Ann Ziqing from losing her Solar Spirit Body, he had to safeguard both the floating stone and the red moon!
The Solar Meridian had exploited his bond with Ann Ziqing and his remorse towards Ann Wen and the Colddeath to coerce him into this predicament.
The Solar Meridian was indifferent to Ann Ziqing's fate, using her merely as a pawn and a token in its strategic game.
"I..."
Ann Ziqing gazed at him earnestly, her lips quivering, her bright eyes shimmering with surprise and hope.
"I'll do everything I can to help you."
Yu Yuan whisked her onto the Dragon Slaying Stage and in a flash, they were atop the blood-red floating stone, facing the red moon within.
Almost immediately, Yu Yuan noticed a dark purple stain, like ink, spreading across the red moon.
The Dark Phoenix had intervened.
The exalted Dark Phoenix had detected the Solar Meridian's machinations, realizing its intent to fragment Ann Ziqing and transport her to a secret location in cahoots with the Solar Meridian.
She stepped in to not only thwart Ann Ziqing's fragmentation and escape but also to deliver another blow to the Solar Meridian's underhanded tactics.
Sizzle sizzle!
Beams of crimson sword light, born from Yu Yuan's blood and the Titanblade, streaked towards the red moon within the floating stone, colliding with the supreme Dark Phoenix deep within the Dark Star.
In essence, he was unwillingly allied with the Solar Meridian, united against the Sovereign of the Shadow's Keep.
This was far from his desire, a consequence of the Root of the Solar Meridian's devious plot, using Ann Ziqing's Solar Spirit as leverage against him.
"I finally understand why the Abyssal Greater Basilisk, the Abyssal Leviathan, Zhong Chichen, and Loong Jie have all grown to dislike you. You truly are a contemptible and dishonorable creature."
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