C1987 Step by Step Closer
"Soul Projection!"
A tiny, bright yellow Mark of the Celestials appeared on Cao Jiaze's forehead, opening like the divine Eye of God.
With Tan Xiaotian's arrival, the vast Fireheart Mountains, stretching for millions of miles, began to lose their light.
And they continued to grow darker.
It seemed that if Tan Xiaotian lingered any longer, the Fireheart Mountains would be transformed into a realm of darkness.
However, as the Eye of God on Cao Jiaze's brow opened, the space surrounding Zhou Cangmin burst into brilliance, and Zhou Cangmin's Solar Spirit shone resplendently.
Cao Jiaze immediately noticed two phantoms within the center of Zhou Cangmin's brain.
One phantom, trapped near the left ear, was confined by a fiery red halo. Oblivious to being observed, it was fervently analyzing the flame patterns on the halo.
The other, a blood-red phantom, took center stage in Zhou Cangmin's brain, with Serpentflame swirling like Celestial Plumes.
It formed an exquisite fire phoenix.
"Lord State Preceptor!"
Yuan Lianyao, who was nearest to him, also noticed the anomaly in Zhou Cangmin's brain as Cao Jiaze performed his magic arts. She quickly summoned the Red Demon Bell, enveloping herself within its protection.
"He's been possessed," Qin Luo sighed, crouching down to press his palm against the earth, channeling divine power into the Celestial Calligraphy of the Sun.
Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!
Beams of intense fire burst from the earth's fissures, weaving together mid-air to create a fiery sun.
Seven burning suns encased the heavens above Zhou Cangmin's head, preventing her from breaking free with ease.
Beneath Yuan Lianyao's feet, another sun totem blazed, its inner flow infused with Qin Luo's divine flame, safeguarding her, the sect's beacon of hope.
"How did you know?"
Zhou Cangmin, confined by the seven burning suns overhead and targeted by Cao Jiaze's Eye of God, remained unflustered.
"It's merely a flame infused with a sliver of beast soul; dying in the Everlands won't damage my core. What puzzles me is... how you were all prepared for my arrival before I even set foot in the Everlands."
She addressed Zhou Cangmin from within his body.
"Creature from the Otherworld, why harbor so many doubts? You're no different from the Dark Phoenix. As a member of the Phoenix, you should cower in the Extraterrestrial. Yet you dare to trespass into our realm?"
Tan Xiaotian approached Zhou Cangmin with impatience, darkness trailing behind him.
Whoosh!
Countless black clouds burst forth from him, resembling monsters born from the abyss of endless night, relentlessly advancing toward Zhou Cangmin.
As the demonic clouds amassed, Cao Jiaze's Eye of God shattered. The seven burning suns suspended above failed to penetrate the gloom with even a sliver of light.
Zhou Cangmin's Solar Spirit Body, along with the fire phoenix phantom in his mind, were utterly submerged in shadow.
"The Everlands, devoid of its wall, remains off-limits to extraterrestrial beings. Not even the Dark Phoenix dares to venture here. What makes you think you can?" Tan Xiaotian taunted, ready to obliterate Zhou Cangmin's Solar Spirit with the wheel of darkness.
"Mr. Tan, I ask that you spare Zhou Cangmin's Solar Spirit," Cao Jiaze interjected.
Qin Luo was momentarily taken aback.
Zhou Cangmin, now merely a Solar Spirit after losing his physical form, had been taken over by a malevolent entity from the Otherworld. As the leader of his sect, he was prepared to forsake him.
Lacking the means to banish the entity possessing Zhou Cangmin, the most secure course of action seemed to be destruction.
Tan Xiaotian was inclined to agree.
Yet Cao Jiaze, who had no personal ties to Zhou Cangmin and had scarcely interacted with him, unexpectedly pleaded on his behalf.
"You sure do fuss over things," Tan Xiaotian grumbled. Amidst the pervasive darkness, he reached for Zhou Cangmin's mind, intent on extracting the fire phoenix within.
Crack!
Beneath Zhou Cangmin's feet, the earth shattered like brittle glass.
Viscous, seething magma erupted from the ground like the blood of the Everlands, scorching Tan Xiaotian's dark energy and enveloping Zhou Cangmin.
"What is this…?"
Tan Xiaotian suddenly paused, his certainty wavering.
Darkness flooded his body like a rising tide, as if countless streams were merging into the depths of the ocean. Shortly thereafter, Zhou Cangmin's Solar Spirit, ablaze like a Fire Crystal atop the fractured earth, had vanished, along with the fire phoenix that had possessed him. Yet from the fissures below, sparks scattered and the cry of a phoenix echoed.
"It's the Earthfire," Yuan Lianyao exclaimed.
Qin Luo reflected for a moment before speaking, "That fire phoenix understands the intricacies of Cometfire and has even mastered the mystique of refining the sun. It seems... she can also smelt magma and fire within herself. Her phoenix form embodies numerous aspects of fire magic, and she must have come for the Earthfire."
"The Earthfire sees her as a valuable entity. She must have been the one to entice Mo Baichuan away," Qin Luo speculated.
"I have a feeling that..." Cao Jiaze, touching his forehead, pressed the tiny Mark of the Celestials into his flesh and continued, "She has sent a flaming soul to draw near to the Earthfire, to let it know that in this world, there exists an alternative being like her, a more suitable choice than Mo Baichuan."
"What does the Blazing Fire intend to do?" Tan Xiaotian furrowed his brow and huffed, "If it chose Mo Baichuan, then why leave behind the Flaming Soul after the Dark Phoenix and the fire phoenix were defeated?"
"Do you think it possesses human emotions?" Cao Jiaze questioned.
Tan Xiaotian remained silent.
...
In the Secret Realm of Time, Loong Jie, manifesting his golden dragon god form, lashed his tail that spanned tens of thousands of miles, turning the fragmented land into dust. In the Starry Sky Forbidden Zone, he was an unstoppable force; no vital energy or matter could injure him.
After slaying a Bloodscale Beast God and snapping its body, Loong Jie transformed into a streak of golden radiance. The broad swath of golden light sent shivers through all the Beast Gods present, as they realized that this Dragon God of the Everlands was a peril beyond their capacity to confront.
The second Bloodstorm Beast God, bracing for defense, felt as if time itself had begun to crawl.
Its massive form, shrouded in demonic blood-colored mushroom clouds, suddenly exploded in a desperate attempt to shatter the seal.
Zhong Chichen chuckled and laid his hand upon the Book of Time.
Beside the Bloodstorm Beast God, two streaks of unknown light transformed into Chains of Order, seemingly capable of sealing time and space itself, and they firmly anchored its beast soul in place.
With a tear, Loong Jie, having used his dragon horn to clear a path, burst through the Bloodstorm Beast God. Clutching a pulsating beast heart in one dragon claw, he swallowed it whole.
Loong Jie sneered menacingly, turning his gaze to the nine-tailed black fox.
"My lifeblood is not yet in the hands of my king!"
The nine-tailed black fox shrieked, steering the Dark Tower in a desperate flight, lacking the courage of the Bloodscale Beast God and the Bloodstorm Beast God.
It seemed aware that the two Beast Gods Loong Jie had slain could be resurrected in the Wasteland and might even receive the king's favor.
But if it perished, only the next leader of the black fox clan would benefit, for it would not return from the dead.
Thus, its only option was to flee.
Another Dark Tower, tearing through multiple layers of space, descended abruptly.
A giant ape, its head among the stars of the Star River and its neck amidst the constellations, swung its colossal hammer down, creating a vast chasm in the firmament and the Secret Realm of Time.
A stream of rarefied cosmic energy, intermingled with starlight and vital energy, cascaded from the great void.
Boom!
Loong Jie, in pursuit of the nine-tailed black fox, was struck dizzy by the blow, as if assailed by an onslaught of towering mountains.
"Loong Jie!" bellowed the giant ape, swinging its hammer once more with a boisterous laugh. "You've come of age, daring to slay Beast Gods beyond our world!"
As the gleaming hammer descended, a majestic mountain, as if immersed in a sea of starshards, plummeted toward Loong Jie, crafted from the giant ape's demon energy.
Confronted with the mountain encircled by stars, Loong Jie felt an overwhelming sense of insignificance, as if his bloodline had been sealed.
He quickly realized it was no illusion.
As the hammer and mountain struck together, Loong Jie's "Ultimate Golden Body" bloodline momentarily failed him. Each dragon scale, no longer as resilient as divine iron, shattered by the hundreds.
Loong Jie let out a mournful howl.
"This shattered Secret Realm of Time is now in ruins. I'm eager to see if Yu Yuan will come to your rescue," declared the giant ape, brandishing a gleaming silver hammer. The white boa, Rat God Panot, Alex, and the rest of the Beast Gods materialized one by one.
"If Yu Yuan doesn't cross through the Abyssal Gate, the two of you will perish here. But if he does come, the Abyssal Gate will be destroyed. I'm curious to see what he'll decide," the white boa stated icily.
