C1949 Those Who Pursue the Blazing Fire!
The Dragon Slaying Stage transformed into a curtain of blood-red that wafted in the sky behind Yu Yuan, resembling a demonic wall.
A force field, emanating from the blood-red expanse, ensnared Alex, making the formidable Otherworld Beast God feel as though he was being crushed by the weight of countless mountains.
Alex gazed in astonishment as the depths of the blood-red curtain shifted with light and shadow, morphing into the creatures of the Origin Realm.
Cosmic giant beasts, dragons, alien beasts, Monster Lords, Shuras, Starborn warriors, and enigmatic enchantresses.
The beings of the Origin Realm that he recognized seemed to coldly observe him from within that blood-red world, as if they might burst forth at any moment to devour his flesh and soul.
A kaleidoscopic River of Swords, filled with countless starshard particles, formed a tightening net, as if it were slowly constricting to dismember him.
A boundless surge of vital energy, unparalleled spiritual energy, and a deep, mysterious sword spell merged into a complex and enigmatic domain.
This domain was saturated with Yu Yuan's essence, a world forged from his blood and soul.
Upon its completion, the divine might of a god wielding the power over life and death radiated from Yu Yuan, blending with the River of Swords and the blood-red curtain at his back.
The Dark Tower's sealing force proved ineffective against this phenomenon.
Panot looked on, utterly astounded.
He sharply perceived that within the depths of the net woven by the sword light, the Dragon Slaying Stage and two unknown domains had formed a delicate link.
A power beyond his knowledge had breached the Dark Tower's seal, flowing into this alien territory.
"Not bad, truly worthy of being my... esteemed senior brother."
Kaiya's light laughter emerged suddenly as she, inhabiting Qin Yan's form, drifted by Panot like a swath of aurora, not pausing for a moment.
As Panot gripped his belt in a shiver of realization, Kaiya's aurora-like specter materialized above the net that seemed to embrace the entire Star River.
Yu Yuan looked up sharply.
Kaiya glanced downward.
Their eyes met briefly, and then Kaiya gestured towards the Monsa Nebula and gave Yu Yuan a knowing wink, signaling her intent to quell the turmoil in another Astral Domain.
Yu Yuan nodded subtly, advising, "Take care."
"The ones who need to be cautious are the Beast Gods of the Monsa Nebula."
Kaiya's specter stretched languidly in the sky above, her Solar Spirit Body, brimming with magic power, emitting a series of odd creaks.
She abruptly ceased her movements, as if coming to the realization that this was not her true form, but merely a vessel she had taken over.
"It's still lacking something," she muttered under her breath, clearly dissatisfied with Qin Yan's craftsmanship of the Solar Spirit Body and its insufficient capacity for magic power.
Alex, who had assumed the form of a human male, curiously looked up, his eyes widening in surprise at her.
"Origin Realm, Sky Fiend!"
The Icefire Phoenix, which had only shown a hint of interest upon learning that Yu Yuan was the spokesperson for Primal Blood, now wore a grave expression at the sight of the devil soul in Kaiya's eyes.
In the Wasteland, as the leader of the Phoenix, it was privileged to heed the teachings of the Lord of Ruin.
Through the Lord of Ruin, it was aware of an impending invasion by a great Demon God named Bertain in the Origin Realm, a being even their king deeply feared.
Bertain was the Sky Fiend of the Origin Realm, the supreme race that had dominated since the fall of the cosmic giant beast era.
Because of Bertain's presence, both it and their king held the Star-Spawned Terror in high regard.
As for the Nagas of the Everlands and the recently risen humans, their resplendent history was deemed too brief to be considered the greatest threat by their king.
"You're mistaken. I possess human lineage as well; the Sky Fiend is merely my soul," Kaiya declared as she glided through the Heavenly Network. She gestured to the human-shaped Icefire Phoenix with a swift, slicing motion of her hand, "You two have fun. I'm off to the Monsa Nebula to take care of those Beast Gods."
With that, Kaiya drifted away.
As she crossed over, the boundary of the Star River began to succumb to the thick, purple hue of the encroaching magic power.
Upon Kaiya's arrival in the Monsa Nebula, psionic power from all directions converged upon her.
Clusters of demon flames and bizarre flowers blossomed amidst the stars, where the alien beasts roamed, their forms manifesting.
The Astral Domain, once overrun by alien beasts, plunged into turmoil at the mere presence of Kaiya.
A multitude of alien beasts let out piercing screams as they met their tragic end.
"Lord Alex! I, I..."
Panot stood at the heart of the Onyx Altar, gazing into the distant cosmos. He noticed an area tainted purple spreading at an alarming rate.
It was clear that before long, the entire Monsa Nebula would be engulfed by Kaiya's magic power, leaving no escape for the alien beasts.
The Dark Tower beneath his feet had lost its connection to its counterpart within the Monsa Nebula.
Kaiya's emergence and the wild spread of her magic power were slowly transforming the Monsa Nebula into a dead zone for life.
With the Stoneborn gone, the Monsa Nebula was left to the alien beasts, now at the mercy of Kaiya's unrestrained display of power as she slaughtered them with abandon.
The Beast God's roar, too, was uncontainable, reverberating through the cosmos.
But gradually, all sounds and the tumult of battle were smothered by the encroaching purple magic power.
The Monsa Nebula fell into eerie silence.
Panot was utterly bewildered. The Monsa Nebula, adjacent to Aihoyari, seemed like a swath of territory surgically excised from the Origin Realm.
The Monsa Nebula vanished from his view, imperceptible to the Dark Tower, and beyond the reach of vital energy detection.
It was as though it had vanished into nothingness.
"Is this the might of the Origin Realm's Demon God?"
Alex, too, was momentarily shaken, his gaze repeatedly drawn to the now elusive Monsa Nebula, as if trying to pinpoint Kaiya's whereabouts.
Yu Yuan, ensnared within the Heavenly Network, felt the cataclysmic upheaval of the Monsa Nebula, his emotions tinged with complexity.
Kaiya appeared to have grown even stronger.
Unleashing her fury, Kaiya had saturated the vast Monsa Nebula with her fearsome magic power, converting all cosmic energy into her own force.
This seemed to include the alien beasts that had been slain in an instant.
Kaiya, with her murderous intent, now surpassed her previous encounters with Lin Daoke in the Annihilation Nebula and even exceeded the forces within the depths of the Wraithlands.
This left Yu Yuan with the unsettling realization that he might never fully grasp the extent of her power.
"Who is she? How can a Demon God from the Sky Fiend be so powerful?!" Alex exclaimed in shock, his human form suddenly giving way to his true nature as a Beast God, transforming into a majestic fire phoenix with outstretched wings.
Kaiya had struck a nerve.
He couldn't believe that any Demon God from the Origin Realm could match Kaiya's strength, daring to single-handedly take on several Beast Gods like himself!
If all the Demon Gods of the Origin Realm were as formidable, he would have to call upon their king to descend immediately!
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Infinite flames burst forth from his fiery wings and phoenix form, soaring towards the intricate web created by the intersecting River of Swords.
Tens of millions of fiery orbs evolved, revealing endless truths of fire. The flames transformed into various phenomena: erupting volcanoes, magma pools, and fire spirits unknown to Yu Yuan, even becoming violent torrents within this world he had forged.
Some flames magically coalesced into Fire Stars, spreading the veins of earthfire, while fire spirits, elf-like in appearance, burst forth with new life.
The enigmatic wonders of the flames dazzled onlookers, each revealing itself in rapid succession, eroding the crystalline grains within the sword light.
Boom! Boom! Boom!
Within the expansive River of Swords, the sword lights that Yu Yuan had refined collided with the orbs of flame, shattering the newly-formed Star River.
Rip! Sizzle!
The Dark Tower's seal on the spatial rifts in Aihoyari seemed to crack at the first clash between Alex and Yu Yuan.
Panot, trembling with fear, maneuvered the Dark Tower away from the battlefield, then knelt and began to mutter incessantly.
The emerging space rifts were hastily mended by the silver lightning spilling from the Dark Tower, preventing temporal chaos and the arrival of more powerful entities from beyond.
Amidst the myriad flames, Yu Yuan sensed an overwhelming array of fire rules: the blaze of the sun, the scorching heat of magma, the descent of flame meteors.
The explosive force of fire crystals, the diverse powers of alien beasts, the fiery veins of intelligent life, and even the warmth of souls and human hearts—all seemed to be fully comprehended by the Icefire Phoenix.
Alex, the phoenix, appeared to have unified all the fire sources of the Wasteland into one grand fusion!
Naturally, the most intense Earthfire from the depths of the Everlands was not included.
The fire phoenix exhibited a myriad of fire forms, each with its own unique ignition and extinguishing characteristics.
It was as if through endless eras of observation and enlightenment, Alex had merged with the flames, gaining profound understanding.
This understanding was fully integrated.
Ultimately, it became ingrained in the very depths of its bloodline.
To Yu Yuan, it felt as if Alex was attempting to assimilate all sources of darkness into itself, much like Tan Xiaotian.
Crack! Boom!
The River of Swords that Yu Yuan had effortlessly conjured, along with the intricate sword spells and sword lights, were shattered by Alex's thousands of fireballs. The wall he had erected vanished in an instant.
The only thing remaining was the blood-red curtain fluttering behind Yu Yuan, resembling a vast, blood-colored cape.
"You're from the Everlands, I've heard..."
Alex, in his fire phoenix form, briefly glanced at Kaiya entering the Monsa Nebula before speaking, "She once told me that if I chose to follow her, she would take me to the Everlands. She claimed that deep within the Everlands lies something I've longed for."
"That thing could elevate me to a stature akin to that of our king."
Alex's eyes betrayed an unmistakable yearning.
He was referring to the blazing fire!
Alex had exhaustedly gathered all the fire seeds, fire sources, and fire source veins from the Wasteland. The arcane secrets of fire magic he had mastered could no longer advance in his realm.
The Wasteland held no wonders on the level of the blazing fire.
His fervent arrival here was driven by a desire to reach the Everlands, the Dark Phoenix's place of origin in this world.
He aimed to delve into the earth's core and seize the supreme flame spoken of by the Dark Phoenix!
What he sought was not to gain the Earthfire's recognition like Mo Baichuan.
He intended to refine the blazing fire itself!
"I've also heard..."
His words shifted as his form transformed once more into that of the ice phoenix.
A cold fog enveloped the area, and a storm of ice materialized around him.
Ice blades, ice knives, and ice spires within the storm radiated outwards from him, transforming the Star River for thousands of miles into a harsh and frigid Frozen World.
It was demonstrating another of its abilities!
"Since you've gained the favor of the Primal Blood, you surely realize that the protector of your realm is a conscious entity of extreme natural cold!"
"I'm well aware of that!"
Alex cried out.
Within the massive ice storm, his bloodline chain had morphed into innumerable glittering ice shards, capable of freezing the void and encasing all things in a true deathly stillness.
A significant amount of ice energy from the Wasteland had been refined and understood by him as well.
However...
Yu Yuan keenly felt that the bloodline chains within the ice storm were nowhere near achieving a grand fusion. It seemed that the internal cold currents and ice magic of the Wasteland were severely lacking compared to fire.
The Wasteland's unique climate was supposed to be relatively hot, with fewer frigid areas.
This also led to the conclusion that if Alex were to rely on unleashing ice powers, he would be significantly weaker.
He simply hadn't been able to merge with an ample amount of ice magic.
It's no surprise then that he had always presented himself in the form of an ice phoenix with a male body – a form that was, in fact, weaker.
When breaking free from the River of Swords, he transformed into a fire phoenix without a moment's hesitation, revealing a wildly fiery demeanor.
The fire phoenix was a more dominant form than the ice phoenix.
His most powerful state was supposed to be the Icefire Phoenix, constantly shifting between the two, merging the powers of ice and fire, and transitioning between male and female forms.
