C1805 Unfortunately There Were No Ifs
Majestic purple demon energy surged from the wings of the Dark Phoenix, clinging to the wall, and poured into the Crimson Realm.
The once dark red wall of the realm gradually took on a light purple hue, casting an ethereal glow over the Primal Blood Continent below, as if it were a dream.
The vital energy she had drawn flowed through her unique demon form and seamlessly became her own.
Once reintegrated into the wall, it obliterated all traces of the Solar Meridian, replacing the sealed spiritual wisdom within, and assumed control of the wall.
Yu Yuan's influence was meticulously expunged by her, leaving not a single mark.
At that moment, Yu Yuan and the Demon Gods on the Primal Blood Continent suddenly felt cut off from the outside world.
When Yu Yuan attempted to reach out to Ji Ningshuang, he discovered his voice could not penetrate the now light purple wall.
The Dark Phoenix had sealed off this realm!
With a resounding boom, the ice rock on the outer layer of the wall shattered into myriad ice crystals, which then transformed into beams of frigid ice light, devoured by Ji Ningshuang's Image of God.
In a flash, the Grand Sword Immortal from the Everlands Sword Sect reverted to her natural form.
Holding the Stardust Blade in her hand, she stood outside the light purple wall as if grasping a dazzling galaxy.
Looking down, she could see Yu Yuan's figure and that he seemed to be shouting something to her, but she couldn't make out any sound.
She remained composed, feeling the crystalline cold light, while the ice magic inscribed itself onto her concealed Solar Spirit Body. She then turned her gaze to the Untamed, standing close by.
The Untamed, the Moonfang Tiger, and Green Willow, the mightiest of the evilkind, exchanged knowing looks, yet none took action.
Ji Ningshuang was the supreme expert of the Everlands and a Grand Sword Immortal of the Sword Sect. Despite her earlier intervention with her sword against the Dark Phoenix, Shadow's Keep and Han Miaoyuan's human forces were still officially allies.
Moreover...
The Untamed and Green Willow, the two Dark Deities, were not unwaveringly devoted to the Dark Phoenix. They were willing to strike at the Blood Fiend, but if Ji Ningshuang were the target, they would not comply so readily.
Ji Ningshuang, separated by the power of the Dark Phoenix, stood outside the dreamlike purple wall of the Primal Blood Continent, unassailed by the Dark Deity's forces.
"She's an enemy!"
Deep within the fractured Embers Sea, Lin Zhuyun was enshrouded in demon energy. The submerged totem-poles emerged, arranged in the ancient Starborne Ritual of Primeval Demons.
Seizing what she thought was an opportunity, Lin Zhuyun moved the Embers Sea beside the towering Astral Tiger and pointed at the solitary figure of Ji Ningshuang, saying, "On the other end of the Star River, she brandished her sword at the Hall Master. You all saw it. She was the one who thwarted the Hall Master before. Shouldn't you take action?"
The brutish Astral Tiger transformed into a muscular human warrior, his forehead marked with tiger stripes. He frowned and said coldly, "This isn't your place to speak."
The Ape flashed a mischievous grin. "Green Willow and I aren't part of Shadow's Keep. We're here in the Dark Star Region because of her promise. But now, that little spinosaurus she's been dealing with is practically skinned and boned. I wonder if she can still honor her word."
"Heh!"
The Ape gestured toward Green Willow. "Yu Yuan and Boulderdawn have invested heavily in him! And I've always had a closer bond with Boulderdawn. You naive girl, can't you see the lay of the land?"
"Ah, it's no surprise Yu Yuan has no regard for you!"
At that moment, Ji Ningshuang, wielding the Stardust Blade, materialized within the Embers Sea like a specter. With a few casual strokes, she sealed the area in new ice rock.
The evilkind's totem-poles and the despairing Lin Zhuyun were instantly encased in ice crystals.
"You truly are clueless."
Ji Ningshuang stood before the ice-bound Lin Zhuyun, gazing directly into her eyes, and spoke with detachment, "You've lost all value. The moment I entered the Dark Star Region, the moment the extreme coldness chose me, your fate was sealed. To be frank, the extreme coldness favored me and sought my presence, all thanks to Yu Yuan."
She stated the truth nonchalantly, "I merely basked in his reflected glory."
"And you..."
Ji Ningshuang shook her head, "If you truly became his fiancée, if you earned his recognition and trust, starting from Asvetaesi, your life and destiny would have taken a drastically different path. Perhaps, with the support of Boulderdawn and his influence, you would have ascended to supremacy before me."
"Or maybe, shortly after arriving in the Dark Star, you would have been struck by the extreme cold from beneath the surface."
"Alas, there are no 'ifs'."
Amidst her despair and bitterness, Lin Zhuyun shattered like an ice sculpture under the relentless mockery of Ji Ningshuang.
She fragmented into ice shards, merging with the rare stone that emulated the Embers Sea, leaving not a single trace behind.
Yu Yuan's fiancée was gone, her spirit dissipated, without leaving any mark.
Twisted by hatred, it seemed she only recognized her own errors at the moment of her death.
The choices she made, the actions she willfully ignored, all led her to drift further away from Yu Yuan.
Until her demise at the hands of Yu Yuan's past lover.
Untamed, Green Willow, Moonfang Tiger, along with the Monster Lords and Beast Kings, were indifferent to her death.
Because she was human.
"A stubborn and foolish woman."
Ji Ningshuang let out a cold huff amidst the swirling ice shards and settled above the wall, now saturated with demon energy, contemplating her next move to assist in the battle.
Neither the archdemons nor the beast kings retaliated for Lin Zhuyun's death.
The likes of Untamed, Green Willow, and the Astral Tiger, as Dark Deities, had their reasons for not striking her, and the extraterrestrial beast kings, not having reached the tenth level of bloodline, lacked the power to challenge her.
Curiously, the supreme Dark Phoenix within the wall seemed indifferent to Lin Zhuyun's demise, as if she hadn't even spared her a glance.
After infusing the wall with her deep purple demon energy, the first thing she did was to slay Munch!
Her gaze fixed on Munch, the Dark Phoenix said, "You played a significant role in the Kylin's grave injury back then. Many of my Monster Lords fell because of you. You've been cautious these years, hiding in the Dark Star region, making it difficult to find you."
As she spoke, Munch's body, belonging to the Blood Fiend lineage, suddenly became rigid, and the circulation of his vital energy came to a halt.
With a gentle lift of her hand, the Dark Phoenix unleashed an invisible force that everyone could feel. It enveloped Munch, lifting the longest-lived elder of the Blood Fiend into the air.
Whoosh! The air echoed with the sound of blood-colored specters materializing behind Munch, forming the visages of the fallen Sky-Shaking Ape, warriors of the Silverscale Tribe, platinum Shuras, and a renowned Unbound expert from the Human Tribe. But as they took shape, they were dispersed with a mere flick of the Dark Phoenix's hand, dissolving into nothingness.
Suspended uncontrollably in the void, Munch called out in desperation, his devil soul and heart reaching out through the Solar Meridian, seeking redemption from the Ancestor. Yet, there was no answer to his pleas.
With a thunderous boom, Munch exploded into a shower of crimson light that, rather than falling, streamed anomalously towards the purple wall behind the Dark Phoenix's expansive wings.
A peculiar light flashed in Yu Yuan's eyes. Munch's cries for help echoed deep within him, as if he had become the creator of the Blood Fiend, hearing Munch's calls.
"Take this!" Reid, the High Priest, draped his treasured black cloak over Flekke of the Nightfiend, a fellow tenth-level Demon God. With a pained expression, Flekke nodded in understanding.
The Dark Robe, imbued with dark energies that Flekke could harness, was Reid's way of showing his readiness to fight to the end. He removed the robe, which had been stripped from a former Demon Lord, entrusting Flekke to unleash its full potential.
Combining the Nightfiend's devil soul and arcane with the Dark Robe, Flekke might just be able to hold his ground.
Reid, his gaunt figure casting a long shadow, watched as the dark fire in his eyes grew more intense. Across the Primal Blood Continent, a multitude of devil souls began to emerge from the land, as if answering a silent call.
Clutching a staff that resembled a withered branch, Reid chanted softly, his voice barely a whisper. The countless devil souls around him suddenly sharpened into focus, revealing themselves to be the lost souls from the Dark Star domain. Among them were the Moonlit Wanderers, the Crypt Clan, the Fire Lizards, the Shadowkin, and the remnants of the Blood Fiend, including fallen warriors, archdemons, and alien beasts. Any soul that had not been consumed by the void now formed the soul clusters under Reid's command.
The staff remained, but High Priest Reid's specter had already silently merged with the multitude of devil souls.
A sea of colorful phantoms, like a vast ocean, filled the otherworldly void of the Primal Blood Continent, attempting to counter the might of the Dark Phoenix.
"You flatter yourself," the Dark Phoenix scoffed with contempt.
Her imposing shadow, as if plummeting from the heavens, materialized in a vast canyon.
With her hands placed on either side of the canyon, she exerted a slight force to pry it apart!
Crack!
The Primal Blood Continent shook violently, dust billowed, and countless mountains crumbled as the fissure in the canyon widened dramatically.
Beneath the fissure, from the dark depths, a streak of blood-red light emerged!
"Solar Meridian!"
"Progenitor!"
Flekke and Grec exclaimed in unison.
Swoosh!
Yu Yuan stood atop the Dragon Slaying Stage, gazing down at the canyon she had pried open, looking deep below the surface at a towering figure that shone like a red crystal.
It was his Solar Spirit.
His Solar Spirit sat within the no longer endless Bloody River, as innumerable blood-colored threads and bolts of lightning streaked through the river, converging upon his Solar Spirit like countless streams flowing into the ocean.
"Solar Meridian, Yu Yuan, and..."
The exalted Dark Phoenix paid no heed to High Priest Reid or to Flekke, who was prepared to fight to the death. She gently descended onto the massive purple Divine Throne and watched indifferently from above, "Everything I desire is now assembled. Don't let me down."
The wall was within her grasp, allowing her to summon anyone or anything from the outside world at will.
Supported by her purple Divine Throne, she hovered above the canyon, pausing briefly before descending gracefully.
