C2060 A Difficult Choice

Jiuhui's brow furrowed as he cast frequent glances toward Hao Yun, attempting to communicate with the will of the earth's core.

Yet, the Abyss Origin Soul, deep within the earth, did not respond to him at this time.

Boom!

The Evil God Temple, sprawling across the vast lands of the Profound Sky Continent, suddenly quaked.

"Guardian..."

Jiuhui turned to seek the opinion of the guardian, hoping to find answers.

Suddenly, viscous, multicolored blood began to ooze from the grand hall, its pungent, metallic scent permeating the air around the temple.

The tremors of the temple and the oozing blood were undoubtedly the result of a fierce battle between the Evil Gods and Beilstein.

Beilstein, encased in his iron armor, would not bleed; thus, the blood was mostly that of the Evil Gods.

Both Hao Yun and the temple's guardian were preoccupied with urgent matters and could not respond to Jiuhui.

Jiuhui was unable to discern whether Yu Yuan had awakened or was still lost in confusion.

Yu Yuan's true form was undergoing a bizarre metamorphosis, a process that had not yet concluded.

Jiuhui's sense of awakening stemmed from the presence of original essence within the depths of Yu Yuan's main soul and his successful ascension to the Eleventh Level.

Yu Yuan had not yet achieved this state.

"Think carefully before you answer me."

Yu Yuan, resisting the possession of the Yang God, abruptly looked down at the leader of the human race. Two broad beams of bloody light shot forth from the eyes of the Yang God Yu.

"Han Miaoyuan!"

Han Miaoyuan, overwhelmed with despair, saw the bloody light descending upon him and his face turned pale with shock. He quickly cast the Profound Dao Flag, which he had refined from the barriers of the Vast Ocean.

The bright yellow banner, alive with countless golden patterns, transformed into the mortal realms, including many sects long lost to the annals of history.

Sects that had once flourished and then perished in the Vast Ocean, including some upper sects, now emerged within the Profound Dao Flag.

Mountains and rivers, empires, and oases in the desert were all brought to life by the spiritual energy within the Profound Dao Flag, radiating a brilliant glow.

Han Miaoyuan's lengthy life, filled with historical encounters and observations, was vividly depicted through the Profound Dao Flag.

The rise and fall of the Divine Soul Sect, captured in the tapestry of history, were meticulously chronicled by the Profound Dao Flag, which unfurled its narrative in this defining moment. The annals of human history, with its once-glorious nations, were now encapsulated within the microcosm of the Profound Dao Flag's world.

Han Miaoyuan, who had achieved immortality, stood as the guardian of the vast expanse. The epochs he had witnessed, the ebb and flow of sects, and the passage of time were all etched into the fabric of the Profound Dao Flag, manifesting a formidable power that bridged the ancient and the modern, embodying the tumultuous history of humanity's relentless struggle.

With the integration of the realm wall of the vast ocean into the Profound Dao Flag, the artifact's might was magnified exponentially.

"Heaven and earth, the profound and the primal, are all within my grasp!" Han Miaoyuan declared, wielding the historical might of the Profound Dao Flag to fend off the onslaught of Yu Yuan, the Eleventh Level Yang God, whose eyes blazed with a blood-red fury.

He understood that only by summoning his full strength could he harbor any hope of survival.

The grandeur of the Profound Dao Flag drew the gaze of many, laden with Han Miaoyuan's aspirations. Yet, it failed to unleash its full potential. Cao Jiaze, standing before the Evil God Temple, had discerned the flag's intricate essence and, with a swift tug at the cosmos, altered the course of fate.

With a sharp hiss, the Profound Dao Flag, capable of shrouding the cosmos and eclipsing the celestial sphere, plummeted from the celestial depths. The bonds between the flag and Han Miaoyuan were severed by Cao Jiaze's decisive action.

Thus, the Profound Dao Flag and Han Miaoyuan were estranged forever.

"Cao Jiaze!" Han Miaoyuan cried out in alarm.

"Lin!"

Left with no alternative, he desperately called out to Lin Daoke for aid. Lin Daoke, moved by a surge of empathy, could only watch as two blood-colored streamers, unleashed by the Yang God Yu, impaled Han Miaoyuan's colossal dharma idol.

Within the crimson beams, the dense essence of the Blood Dao emerged, extinguishing all vitality within Han Miaoyuan. The divine seat within his mind fragmented in the blink of an eye.

At the Eleventh Level, Yu Yuan wielded the Dragon Slash Platform against his forehead, thwarting the penetration of the Origin Blood Intent while still finding time to vanquish Han Miaoyuan.

Whoosh!

A black and green Origin Soul burst chaotically from the shattered crown of Han Miaoyuan's head, plummeting into the depths of the Boundless Land.

Cao Jiaze, having already seized the Profound Dao Flag, watched as the black and green Origin Soul descended like a shooting star toward a fissure in the earth.

In his grasp, the flag swiftly contracted, and its pole transformed into a spear.

A web of soul lightning encircled the spear, and as the black and green Origin Soul neared its descent, the spear thrust forward with a swift motion.

Time came to an abrupt halt, and the Origin Soul froze in place, unable to move.

The Profound Dao Flag in Cao Jiaze's hands had become a lethal weapon, piercing and shattering the black and green Origin Soul.

The Spinosaurus Titan perished, its dragon heart plummeting into the subterranean depths. The Abyss Origin Soul, seizing the moment it was refining the Titan's heart, emerged to contaminate it.

It found itself gradually overtaken by the Origin Soul of its own kind, losing its intelligence and will, resigned to serve the other.

The Extreme Flame, its eternal companion, also sided with the Abyss Origin Soul, turning against it to aid the creatures of the Abyss.

Now, having regained its sentience, and spurred by the emergence of Beilstein, Yu Yuan's resistance, and the meddling of both Origin Blood and Origin Soul, it glimpsed a chance for freedom.

It would not let this opportunity pass.

It too was an Origin Soul, once the creator of the Great Demon God Beilstein. After its invasion by a kin from the Abyss, it had been silently refining its essence.

It understood the art of annihilating the source and knew how to diminish its adversary's power to the greatest extent.

Having pierced the source, it flicked the flagpole, unfurling the Profound Dao Flag in the direction of Ji Hui.

Its gaze settled on Ji Hui.

The Soul Summoning Flag, under Ji Hui's command, seemed drawn to the Profound Dao Flag and inexplicably took flight from Ji Hui's hands.

Ji Hui's soul writhed with intense pain, as if needles were piercing through it.

Through Cao Jiaze's eyes, he gazed somberly at Ji Hui, who then began to bleed from all seven orifices.

Deep within Ji Hui's mind, an Origin Soul was dissolving as if corroded by sulfuric acid, slowly melting away.

Ji Hui's Primordial Spirit was also disintegrating.

"Strip away the Origin Soul, or face death."

At that moment, Yu Yuan urgently reminded him, bellowing, "You're not like Zu Ann and Qin Luo. You should have the strength to resist it. Plus, its power is weaker right now."

Ji Hui was tormented by an excruciating headache, bombarded by a cacophony of voices. It was as though the humans, demons, Earth Demons, and ghosts born and perished in the Boundless Land had surged out from the Profound Dao Flag, soaring within his soul, threatening to rupture it.

"I am loyal to you!"

"My lord! I've always been loyal to you!"

"I've never wavered!"

Ji Hui let out a harrowing scream, clutching his head and wailing as a greenish-black Origin Soul seeped from his fingertips.

The seeping greenish-black Origin Soul ate away at his flesh, reducing his fingers to mere bones, stripped of flesh.

The Origin Soul had become the most dreadful of entities.

With a forceful wave of his hand, the Origin Soul that had devoured his flesh transformed into a greenish-black mist, flying toward Cao Jiaze along with the Soul Summoning Flag.

Cao Jiaze deftly enveloped the Soul Summoning Flag and the greenish-black Origin Soul with the Profound Dao Flag. He then rolled up the flag and struck the Evil God Temple's door with it.

Pah! Pah! Pah!

Boom! Boom! Boom!

After three strikes, another surge of Origin Soul shattered, causing the Evil God Temple to tremble incessantly.

Cao Jiaze's gaze then returned to Zu Ann and Qin Luo.

"Hold on a moment. You go and kill Han Qi first."

Yu Yuan, in his true form, instructed Cao Jiaze, then shared with Zu Ann and Qin Luo the technique to detach the Origin Soul without succumbing to its corruption.

"If you wish to live, cast off the Origin Soul and preserve your Primordial Spirit using my method!"

...

In the Dark Domain.

Demon Lord Tan Xiaotian did not witness the anticipated light. Instead, beams from the heavens rained down, obliterating his demonic form and wiping his nascent reign from the Dark Domain.

Leaves resembling patches of land ceased to gather light.

The Abyss Wood, cleaved by Jee Ningshuang, retreated further into the abyssal darkness of the Dark Domain.

Tan Xiaotian was somewhat bewildered. He didn't understand what had transpired, how he had so effortlessly dodged disaster, spared from annihilation by the light, and remained alive to this day.

"My father saved you."

A Devil Soul of Andrea manifested in the Dark Domain. "Tan Xiaotian, the Evil God Temple's foundation includes the Abyss Wood, which is why it can channel the power of light. My father is currently besieged by the Evil Gods within that temple."

"Your father is Beilstein?" Tan Xiaotian asked in astonishment.

Andrea nodded slightly. "The Gray Domain has shattered. You, born of the Boundless Land, need not continue to battle in the Dark Domain."

Her Devil Soul glanced at Zhiya, only to find she had vanished in an instant.

Tan Xiaotian had aspired to forge his own realm of darkness in the Dark Domain, but after hearing her explanation, his attention shifted to Yuen Bu, who had arrived from the Desolate Realm.

Yuen Bu offered a warm smile. "It's time for me to leave."

His gaze fell upon the Ice Phoenix, now a mere mount under Jee Ningshuang's control, drained of its flesh, blood, and frigid powers.

"Alex, you should come back now."

Yuen Bu gestured towards the Black Jade Altar at his feet.

Alex abruptly came to his senses, enveloped by a surge of blood energy, and swiftly broke free from Jee Ningshuang. He was teleported, barely clinging to life, to the Black Jade Altar within the Shrouded Tower.

Yuen Bu and Tan Xiaotian exchanged nods. Turning to Andrea's Devil Soul, Yuen Bu said, "I haven't forgotten you slaying many of my Beast Gods."

He breathed out towards Andrea's Devil Soul.

With his breath, the Devil Soul she had placed in the Dark Domain burst like a bubble.

Whoosh!

The Shrouded Tower vanished from the Dark Domain, leaving only a ripple of space in its wake.

The crystalline barrier of the Dark Domain was breached by Tan Xiaotian, further shattered by the Abyss Wood, and began to crumble like the Gray Domain, slowly transforming into a tangible world.

The Shrouded Tower possessed the power to rupture the fabric of space, harnessing the spatial laws.

These towers could also teleport among themselves, converging in the blink of an eye.

...

"Yuen Bu!"

"The true Yuen Bu is arriving from the Origin Realm!"

Across the Holy Devil Continent, where countless Devaputras howled, Andrea stood atop a towering Magic Mountain. Below, in the churning depths of the devil clouds, billions of little devils were chanting Beilstein's name.

When Beilstein reappeared in the Gray Domain, every Outland Devaputra received word of his return.

The Devaputras erupted in cheers, as if celebrating a victorious battle, singing praises of Beilstein's valor.

Yet Andrea was aware that the King of the Desolate Realm, Yuen Bu, was likely marshaling the second wave of Beast Gods to once again step into the Origin Realm.

This time, Yuen Bu's form, having advanced to the Eleventh Level ahead of Yu Yuan, would join them.

It seemed the Desolate Realm was poised to deploy its full might.

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