C1808 A Secret of the Dark Phoenix

On the other side, within the Annihilation Nebula.

A star, desolate for eons, suddenly erupted with purple flames and bloomed with vibrant flowers, their buds teeming with devil souls.

The star had transformed into a living entity, now a demonform.

Whoosh!

A tall, elegant specter materialized like a deity to be revered by all creatures, silently emerging in the void.

Beyond the wall-less realm, in the dark and chilly expanse of the starry sea, a dazzling stream of light raced toward us.

Chi!

The void was effortlessly perforated by the stream of light.

Close to the star, a maelstrom of energies, dust, remnant soul thoughts, and the fragmented cosmic order left by the secular bird millennia ago were shredded into oblivion by the light stream.

The peculiar flowers adorning the star and clusters of enigmatic flames were likewise obliterated by the relentless sword light within the light stream.

The light stream abruptly halted, transforming into Lin Daoke, who appeared intently focused. His demeanor remained somewhat wooden, his green robe dust-laden, but his eyes shone with exceptional brightness.

"Destroy."

With a slash of his sword toward the star, myriad sword rainbows penetrated the world below, causing the manifested specter to scatter into nothingness.

Yet...

More purple flames and an inexhaustible cascade of flowers swiftly sprouted beyond the celestial confines.

The Infinite Galaxy around Lin Daoke, along with the void he had cleaved with his sword light, was swiftly engulfed by magic power.

Countless specters weaved through the billowing purple flames, while two streams—one clear, one murky—entwined above Lin Daoke's head.

Boom!

Threads of karmic reincarnation flooded Lin Daoke's Mindscape, and for a moment, he felt as though he was being dragged across the bridge of death, on the verge of assuming a new identity and soul.

He furrowed his brow and with a light tap at his forehead's center, a sword light pierced forth.

The Ghost Technique, gleaned from the Lunar Meridian, and the mystique of Everlands Reincarnation were instantly severed by the sword light.

"Annihilate."

Lin Daoke's wrist made a gentle twist, and tens of millions of brilliant sword lights radiated wildly from him as their epicenter.

He resembled an immense, luminous porcupine.

Each sword light radiated a chilling power potent enough to obliterate Unbound cultivators and ninth-level Otherkin warriors in an instant.

Tens of millions of sword lights spread out, snuffing out all the purple flames, causing the vibrant flowers to vanish into oblivion.

The enchanting specters symbolizing Soul-Capturing seemed inexhaustible. As soon as one vanished, it would coalesce anew.

Countless sword lights had slain numerous Soul-Capturing, yet the newly emerged Soul-Capturing God-King would reassemble elsewhere. With the arcane Spirit Magic she had mastered, she could materialize in Lin Daoke's Mindscape or take form within his very organs, still finding time to taunt him.

"He won't find her."

Thousands of miles away, Taishi stood with his hands clasped behind his back atop the bronze coffin, speaking with serene confidence, "As long as the Soul-Capturing's Divine Position remains intact, no matter how many devil souls and godly specters Lin Daoke slashes, he cannot touch her essence. Moreover, with each strike of his sword, Lin Daoke's spiritual energy and Soul Power drain away."

"I can't find it either," declared Tianqi.

"That's to be expected."

Taishi's smile was radiant. "I believe Soul-Capturing can handle Lin Daoke because she excels in these protracted battles. She can be formless and multiply endlessly. Yet, her dominant soul and Divine Position are always veiled in secrecy, making it hard for Lin Daoke to pinpoint her."

"As long as he can't lock on, Lin Daoke's swords will merely shatter her phantasmal images."

"Without Han Miaoyuan and an inexhaustible supply of spiritual energy, even Lin Daoke will reach his limit."

Tianqi nodded, expressing his concurrence, "After mastering the Spirit Magic of the Lunar Meridian and successfully forging her Divine Position with the essence of the Everlands, Soul-Capturing has become increasingly enigmatic."

In the starry sky where the bronze coffin resided, seven lifeless stars shattered, scattering a sky full of meteorites and creating a complex sea of meteoric battlefields.

The Annihilation Nebula was an ideal arena for the mightiest combatants. Beyond the few Domain Stars of Ionodios, Zekrica, and the Floating Life World, the rest of the Domain was a desolate expanse.

In the Annihilation Nebula, the original inhabitants had long been wiped out due to the relentless onslaught of various powers hunting the secular bird.

"Taishi."

Clutching the Book of Time, Zhong Chichen emerged from a resplendent, multicolored corridor. He halted before the bronze coffin and said, "If I'm not mistaken, he... has already confronted the Dark Phoenix in the Dark Star, alongside the Dragon Slaying Stage and Ji Ningshuang."

The Time Gate on Tyria's main planet had withstood the assaults of the Dark Phoenix and the injuries of the little spinosaurus, signaling a multitude of issues.

Zhong Chichen had initially assessed the situation in the Ashlands, discovering that the connection to the Dark Star had been severed, prompting his urgent arrival.

He hadn't anticipated that Boulderdawn's Soul-Capturing technique could actually manage to ensnare Lin Daoke, who was accustomed to decisive, one-strike battles, and drag him into a chaotic chase across the Astral Domain. The battle had unexpectedly evolved into a war of attrition.

Observers like Brie, Rebecca, the Abyssal Leviathan, and the Lizard were all within the Dark Star, fixated on the shifting battleground.

Yet the battlefield was in constant flux, seemingly on the verge of escaping the Annihilation Nebula altogether. The upheaval in the Ashlands went unnoticed.

When the forces of time stirred, he instantly returned to the Ashlands, only to realize it was too late; Yu Yuan and Ji Ningshuang had already departed.

"That quickly?" Taishi's face showed a trace of concern. After a brief pause, he added, "If there's no connection between the Ashlands and the Dark Star, do you have no other hidden passages? It seems rather precarious for him and Ji Ningshuang to rush to the Dark Star so hastily."

"No."

Zhong Chichen's frown deepened as he shook his head. "The Starway in Kobran was destroyed by the Dark Phoenix during her assault on the Dark Star. All the Domain Channels that once surrounded the Dark Star have also been obliterated. The internal conditions of the Dark Star have become exceedingly bizarre; even I cannot traverse there in a short time."

"Let me think this over," Taishi said, massaging his temples with a look of fatigue.

Outside the Primal Blood Continent, the Star River stretched into the cosmos. Yu Yuan, draped in a blood-red robe, had his arms, neck, and limbs glistening like translucent red gems, with thousands of crimson lightning bolts flashing within them.

Perched atop the Dragon Slaying Stage, he smiled at Untamed and Green Willow and said, "I'm not here to interfere with your plans."

The Ape, looking slightly embarrassed, chuckled awkwardly. "Our journey to the Dark Star is a quest for eternal life. As you know, I'm on my last legs—a dying old man. So naturally, I'm a bit anxious. The Blood Fiend and the Solar Meridian, after all, are sworn enemies of the Everlands."

Green Willow gestured a respectful bow towards Yu Yuan but remained silent.

"To plead with her?" Yu Yuan pointed nonchalantly at the Dark Phoenix seated on the purple Divine Throne and said, "You might as well ask me for help! I haven't figured out how to assist the extraterrestrial Otherkin in reaching the tenth level. But granting you and beings like Green Willow, a Dark Deity, an endless lifespan is well within my capabilities now."

Upon hearing this, Ape and Green Willow's eyes sparkled with excitement.

Untamed clapped his thigh and winked, "I always knew you had something up your sleeve! I've never doubted you, hehe!"

With a mischievous laugh, the old Ape from the Everlands settled next to the Astral Tiger and assured him, "Rest easy. If you're going to battle her, I'll be a well-behaved spectator! And Snow, I'll keep an eye on him to ensure he stays out of the fray! Of course, if you fall to her and meet your demise, then my deal with her will stand."

Green Willow rolled his eyes in response.

Yu Yuan, familiar with his antics, chose not to engage in a verbal sparring match. With a serene and composed demeanor, he turned his gaze toward the grandiose purple palace.

Inside was Yu Zhu.

Moreover, it housed the Heart of the Titan, extracted from the little spinosaurus by the Dark Phoenix, containing the legacy bloodline of the ancient spinosaurus.

With a flick of his fingers, Yu Yuan sent a barrage of scarlet blood lights soaring toward the stately palace adjacent to the supreme Dark Phoenix.

"You should be focusing on me."

The gaze of the Dark Phoenix turned icy. Yu Yuan's assault on the Phoenix Shrine seemed to have crossed a line for her, reigniting her fury. "Don't bite the hand that feeds you!"

Her massive purple wing descended from the heavens, unleashing a storm of vital energy reminiscent of the Maw of Oblivion.

Blood lights, crystallized into shards, plummeted into the heart of her tempest, and the roars of countless beasts erupted, obliterating the bloodline mysteries Yu Yuan had imparted to the shrine.

It was as if a miniature world, crafted from blood, was being ravaged by dire beasts.

"I don't understand."

Yu Yuan, his brow furrowed, kept his gaze fixed on the grand Phoenix Shrine. His soul, sight, and vital energy were extinguished around the shrine, leaving him blind to its contents.

Not even the Dragon Slaying Stage offered any insight.

"I've witnessed you slay the eight-legged spider in the Star River. You were the one who killed her. So why then, do you painstakingly nurture Yu Zhu?" Yu Yuan voiced the perplexity that not only troubled him but also confounded all Dark Deities and beast kings.

"You don't need to understand."

The Dark Phoenix replied with a chill in her voice. Her vast purple wings fluttered gently, and the Phoenix Shrine, along with the Untamed God, Green Willow, the Astral Tiger, and a host of archdemons and beasts, seemed to be expelled beyond the heavens by her will.

In an instant, the Primal Blood Continent vanished.

The vast Dark Star region appeared to be left with only Yu Yuan and her, as if they were the sole inhabitants. Yu Yuan could no longer sense his own form, nor could he connect with his sword spirit.

Dense purple lightning wove through the newly formed Otherworld, revealing the silhouette of the Dark Phoenix.

Her throne transformed into a bridge upon which she stood.

Behind the bridge, silence and void stretched out, as if it marked the very edge of this realm.

Yu Yuan felt a sudden jolt.

At the bridge's far end, within the depths of silence and void, he beheld the vista described by the Abyssal Greater Basilisk—a golden stag and a colossal frog clutching a sun in its jaws.

Contrary to the Lizard's tale of three suns, there were seven.

These were merely two of the oddities within the bizarre vista. Yu Yuan, having heard of them before, was deeply impressed, allowing him to instantly identify them.

The Dark Phoenix had astonishingly reached into another realm!

...