C2050 The Supreme Command

In the Dark Realm, Tan Xiaotian seethed with rage. His immense divine body was shrouded in swirling dark energy, and his eyes, like twin black suns, devoured all the light in existence. On the ice field, the blood-red divine radiance of the Dark Phoenix Zhiya, the luminescence of the Dark Tower, and the demon energy within the Ape and the ice phoenix were all extinguished with a mere glance from him.

He was the sovereign destined to plunge the heavens into darkness; the very presence of his being demanded that the universe succumb to eternal night. The Ebon Meditation Mat, upon which he sat in contemplation, drifted upwards, drawing upon the hidden dark energy of the Dark Realm to construct the Darkland.

Transformed, the Ebon Meditation Mat became a land of shadow. Thick, black clouds roiled as ancient palaces rose, shrouded in the gloom of a world born from the mat itself. The dark gods and demons seemed to revel in the adoration of countless souls within his Darkland.

"Dark Overlord!"

"Dark Overlord!"

The sonorous praises reverberated ceaselessly throughout the divine nation. Beings from the Three Realms, devoted to darkness, invoked his name, Tan Xiaotian, from secret enclaves across the Astral Domain.

Streams of dark magic coalesced into pitch-black clouds, turned into shadowy lightning, or manifested as black flames within this increasingly tangible realm. The pre-existing dark magic rules of the Dark Realm were reinforced, and new ones emerged, clashing with the ice force.

Only beings of Yuan Le and Zhiya's caliber could perceive the thunderous collision of cosmic orders, echoing through the dark depths, instilling awe in all creatures. In the shadows, ice-bound stars shattered, casting forth ghostly cold lightning, while new stars emerged, born of the Tree of Life and the fresh influx of darkness.

The ice magic, once entrenched in the frigid depths, was now being unraveled by the residual might of the Golden Shura. Despite his formidable presence as the Demon Lord in the Dark Realm, Tan Xiaotian found no joy. For the Dark Phoenix Zhiya, who had once overpowered both him and Lin Daoke on the ice field, showed no sign of defeat under the crushing weight of the ultimate dark energy. It was evident that Zhiya had not ascended to the eleventh level, a tier that was decidedly beyond his own.

"Tan Xiaotian, you're as arrogant as ever."

Amidst the boundless dark light, Zhiya observed the World of Darkness that seemed to spring from Tan Xiaotian's thoughts and power. She scoffed with contempt.

Her shapely and delicate form remained untouched by even a strand of darkness.

Regardless of the form of dark energy Tan Xiaotian directed at her, she effortlessly snuffed it out with a mere gesture.

Her purple wings, though not particularly broad, beat gently like an extra pair of hands.

The bizarre landscapes formed of darkness burst apart one by one, the dark magic shattered to pieces.

This left Tan Xiaotian both astonished and bewildered.

Yet, as he was about to summon greater power, even considering a direct communion with the Dark Anima, the image of Yu Yuan materialized in his mind.

Yu Yuan called his name, and his remnant soul manifested in his divine seat, striking at his core.

Thus, his bellows resounded like the eerie laughter of innumerable Demon Gods, reverberating at the ends of the Dark Realm and the fringes of the Astral Domain: "I will never submit to you!"

Crack! The sound of fissures forming could be heard.

The immense black crystal, emblematic of Tan Xiaotian's divine seat, showed cracks from his seething rage.

"I have ascended to the eleventh level. Even without the augmentation of my primal source, I am immortal!"

Tan Xiaotian stood in defiance against the mental projection of Yu Yuan.

Yu Yuan's spectral image, towering above, gazed down indifferently at the anomaly in his divine seat, seemingly detached, as if waiting for Tan Xiaotian's rage to intensify.

Meanwhile, across the fragmented ice field.

"Zhiya is truly remarkable."

Yuan Le, merely a blood clone, had already signaled to Untamed, the ice phoenix Alex, and the Rat God Panot to stay their hands.

A congregation of Beast Gods and Dark Deities assembled around the shrinking Dark Tower, opting to spectate the clash between the Dark Phoenix and Tan Xiaotian.

Yuan Le stood with his hands clasped behind his back, exuding an air of tranquility as he spoke without urgency, "Without the Primal Blood's blessing in the Wasteland, and until I bring it under my dominion, your Phoenix clan remains the mightiest." Yuan Le's gaze settled on Alex.

Alex, who had learned the truth, was left feeling as though he had been sculpted from solid ice following the departure of his sister, the fire phoenix. He harbored no desire to assume human form and, with a bowed head, he inquired, "Master, why bring up these matters so suddenly?"

"I share this with you to make you aware that your Phoenix Clan is truly favored by destiny. It's not that I emerged out of thin air, nor is it due to the changing times. The rightful Lord of Ruin should have arisen from within your Phoenix Clan," Yuan Le said, his demeanor warm and soothing. "Perhaps, through Zhiya, you too will come to understand the formidable nature and uniqueness of your clan."

The ice phoenix appeared bewildered.

Just then, a distant sound of a sword's cry pierced the air.

Stirred by the sound, the ice phoenix's bloodline surged, his mind plunged into disarray, and he burst forth from the Dark Tower.

Alex unfurled his wings and took to the sky, his feathers shimmering with a cold light as he traversed vast distances in an instant.

In mere moments, the ice phoenix from the Wasteland found himself at the feet of Ji Ningshuang, subdued by the Grand Sword Immortal of the Sword Sect.

The ice energy Alex had amassed in the Dark Realm, the ice force he had refined in the Wasteland, and the ice magic he had honed—all were now at Ji Ningshuang's command.

He became both Ji Ningshuang's steed and her sword.

This was because he was now in the Dark Realm, formerly known as the Frostlands, a world that had once nurtured the most potent ice magic.

As an ice phoenix, Alex's demon energy, bloodline, and bones were all subject to the control of this realm.

On one hand, this world resonated with Ji Ningshuang's ice magic and the Way of Heaven; on the other, it was dominated by the Dark God, Tan Xiaotian.

Thus, the ice phoenix, having mastered the ice magic and fused with the ice energy in this realm, was transformed into Ji Ningshuang's sword.

His will was no match for such forces.

"Tan Xiaotian."

Yu Yuan's voice once again echoed in Tan Xiaotian's mind.

Because Tan Xiaotian was sufficiently powerful, because he hailed from the Everlands, and because his mind housed an origin, Yu Yuan was able to penetrate the Dark Realm's seals and manifest within his consciousness.

"I've had enough!"

Tan Xiaotian bellowed in a hushed fury.

"Eleventh level," Yu Yuan said with a mocking smile. "You've ascended to the eleventh level, yet you struggle against Zhiya. Do you understand why?"

At Yu Yuan's words, Tan Xiaotian's roaring ceased abruptly.

Deep within his own consciousness, the Demon Lord gazed at the immense greenish-black projection and asked, "What are you getting at?"

"The dark magic that was bestowed upon you comes from a mere intermediate Primal Anima. It's a stroke of great fortune that allowed you to ascend to the eleventh level. But since its Primal Anima is of a lower tier, the version of you it has created falls short of Bertain, Yuan Le, and myself."

"That's why, as an eleventh level, you appear weaker due to a weaker source."

"Tan Xiaotian, your power is inextricably linked to it. You ventured into the Dark Realm to forge your Darkland, aiming to spawn more dark creatures. You plan to use the Dark Realm as a springboard to consume more of the Astral Domain, to disseminate darkness across the broader expanse of the starry sea—all in aid of its metamorphosis."

"It must ascend to a higher-level Primal Anima first, for your eleventh level power to correspondingly increase."

"The road is long and arduous. If you can't even free yourself from it, how can you dream of defying the Will of the Deep from the Everlands?"

"Because your creator must submit to it, you, Tan Xiaotian, must also dutifully heed my words."

Yu Yuan, like a devil, set out to shatter Tan Xiaotian's pride and lay bare the harsh reality.

He was well aware that the greenish-black Primal Soul in the Everlands was also listening to his words, and curiously, the Primal Soul made no move to intervene.

"Lin Daoke."

His spectral form once again appeared in the mind of the Sword Sect's leader, before the primordial spirit sword.

"Mr. Lin, with your exceptional talent, are you truly content to be eternally subservient? Oh, I almost forgot, it doesn't even qualify as human."

"You've been working on evolving this primordial spirit sword towards the source of the sword, but have you considered breaking free from all constraints?"

"After all, shouldn't the pinnacle of swordsmanship at least grant you freedom?"

Yu Yuan's alluring shadow and voice echoed in the minds of various supreme beings.

Simultaneously.

Within the magnificent Evil Temple that emerged from the Abyss, all the Evil Gods were observing Yu Yuan's soul projection.

They watched as the Lord of the Abyss's phantom shifted, appearing in the consciousness of different supreme beings.

One by one, he attempted to turn these supreme beings to his cause, persuading the mighty ones from the Everlands to embark on a path of rebellion against the Primal Soul of the Abyss.

Any who willingly shattered their origin would weaken the power of the Primal Soul.

"I have my bets on Tan Xiaotian."

Inside the stone pillar, the Demon God Bertain burst into a hearty laugh, "It's broken! Hehe, Tan Xiaotian has been swayed and voluntarily shattered his divine body, stripping away that part of his origin!"

"Eh?"

"Lin Daoke, could he have...?"

...