C2061 A Chaotic Battle
"Don't concern yourself with Yuen Bu."
A vast and ethereal shadow emerged from the void behind Magic Mountain, overseeing the countless Devaputra.
"Great Demon God!"
"Old Patriarch!"
As his image materialized, the Devaputra erupted in cheers, bowing in reverence.
"Father!"
Andrea's face lit up with surprise. She was about to join the Devaputra in their jubilation when she noticed that Beilstein's image lacked a dense gathering of Devil Souls.
It was merely an image with a trace of spirit, devoid of overwhelming power.
This indicated that the Beilstein before her, though seemingly vast and enigmatic, was nothing more than an illusion without the formidable demonic might to terrify the heavens.
"Times have changed. Even with Yuen Bu's true form here, he cannot upend the cosmos."
Beilstein's imposing shadow first soothed the agitated devils before calling out, "Saka, Sable!"
From the heart of the power-infused mountains on either side, two voices responded, "We are here!"
The two masses of Devil Soul, acknowledging the Great Demon God Beilstein, shifted the colossal mountains to manifest their presence. "Patriarch, we have been awaiting your call."
Saka and Sable, both Great Demon Gods, had long stood guard over this land, never venturing out.
Few knew of these loyal Great Demon Gods, who had withstood the Devaputra Race's many changes.
Absent from the rankings of foreign powerhouses, they were more ancient than the High Priest Reid himself.
Without Beilstein's summons, they would remain eternally silent, their existence concealed from the world.
"Keep a vigilant watch over the abyss, especially for any stirrings in the darkest depths."
With this command issued, Beilstein's colossal shadow vanished into the void behind Magic Mountain.
His final whisper reached Andrea, "Monitor the Demon Phoenix closely. Her decision is crucial. With the Gray Domain shattered, you should focus most of your Devil Souls there. Be cautious, as the Origin Souls from both the abyss and the Demon Phoenix could corrupt you."
"I understand!"
...
In the Gray Domain, Han Qi, ascended to a ghostly deity with a core of dark blue essence, transformed into a wisp of gray-white light and fled through a fissure.
With Han Miaoyuan dead and his talented disciple Cao Jiaze intervening, Han Qi sensed impending doom and dared not linger in the Gray Domain any longer. His only thought was to flee as far as possible.
Cao Jiaze could only watch as Han Qi made his escape.
"Youyu, Matina, Wagner," Yu Yuan commanded, his voice echoing amidst the blood-yellow currents of the Grim River as he observed Han Qi's fleeing figure. "Eliminate him."
Youyu departed in silence.
Matina and Wagner turned their gaze to an ancient vine tree rooted in Dark Mountain, seemingly seeking its counsel.
The vine tree's leaves rustled softly in response.
With a nod from both, they followed Youyu's lead and pursued the escaping Han Qi.
The Undead Ruler's stance was unequivocal. Han Qi embodied the Abyss's Origin Soul, and the will within the Demon Domain had struck a minor alliance with two other great Origin Souls from the Origin Realm. Together, they would stand against the Abyss's mightiest Origin Soul.
"When you detach from your core essence, try to avoid the Gray Domain—the farther, the better," Yu Yuan, an eleventh-level Yang God, advised Zu Ann and Qin Luo as they prepared to excise their own origins. "I'll assist you."
With a whoosh, twin orbs of iridescent light enveloped Zu Ann and Qin Luo, carving a passageway through the void and transporting them to a secluded cavern within Heaven Opening Flare Star.
When they reemerged, they found themselves within the Plover Realm of the Oblivion Starfield.
"Hmm," Yu Yuan murmured, peering into the distance.
Beyond the Gray Domain, a thick, purple miasma churned tumultuously.
A palace, marginally smaller than the Evil God Temple and cloaked in deep purple, floated amidst the roiling clouds, merging seamlessly with the mists.
The palace, nestled deep within the demonic cloud, inched closer to the Gray Domain.
A golden giant deer, an iron-wing bird, and a Tenth Level Dark Gold Beast God, along with a silver wolf and a crow, revealed their immense Demon God and Beast God forms before the palace in the cloud.
From these stalwarts loyal to Zhiya, streams of white, gold, dark gray, and silver blood energy seeped out, enriching the hue of the supporting demonic cloud.
Yu Zhu and the Sky Tiger maintained their human shapes.
With a creak, the heavy doors of the palace swung open. Zhiya, who had just been in the Dark Domain, stepped through the portal within the hall and emerged from the now-open doors.
She stood before the Phoenix Shrine, peering into the Gray Domain through the rift torn open by the "Heaven Opening Flare Star."
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
Members of the Banshee Clan, Rock Clan, and Fire Lizard Tribe flew out from the gaping tear.
Most of these Bloodline warriors were merely at the Eighth and Ninth Levels. As soon as they burst from the Gray Domain, they were met with the sight of a grand palace amidst rolling demon clouds and towering Beast Gods exuding ferocious auras, which nearly scared their souls out of their bodies.
"Phoenix Shrine!"
"Majestic Demon Phoenix!"
The Bloodline warriors from the various races were filled with dread as they skirted around the fearsome shrine.
They tread lightly, wary of the Beast Gods and Demon Gods before the palace, lest they provoke a sudden attack.
The Sky Tiger, radiating a fearsome presence, gave them a glance and waved them through.
Relieved as if pardoned, they dared not linger and quickly retreated.
"Hall Master?"
The burly Sky Tiger touched his brow, his eyes cold and piercing, "Something is still trying to invade and warp my thoughts."
"Same here."
Yu Zhu, whose features were still far from delicate, murmured softly.
She watched as Yu Yuan used the Dragon Slash Platform to shield his forehead, seemingly to prevent external forces from penetrating.
Crimson stars circled the head of Yang God Yu, the eerie blood-red halo warping the void and emitting whispers that she could sense.
These murmurs momentarily disoriented Yu Zhu's Devil Soul.
A foreign consciousness occasionally surfaced within the depths of her Devil Soul, seeking to infiltrate her spirit, but her steadfast will held it at bay.
Sky Tiger and Yu Zhu's quiet words hung unanswered.
They looked up to see Zhiya returning from the Dark Domain, only to find their gaze fixated on the Secular Bird Queen, whose exquisite features on the Demon Phoenix's face created a jarring dissonance.
The Sky Tiger was at a loss for words.
"Harlot!"
Zhiya hissed through clenched teeth, forcibly diverting her stare from Chen Qinghuang, "Yuen Bu has arrived."
The Sky Tiger and Yu Zhu were taken aback.
Zhiya's deep purple eyes peered through a fissure in the Gray Domain, quickly discerning the tumultuous scene and identifying each individual present.
Her somber gaze moved from Yu Yuan's corporeal form, to his Yang God incarnation, and finally to his true self.
She didn't even spare a glance for Lin Daoke, Reid, Ji, Zhong Chichen, Loong Jie, or any of the other exalted beings.
Ultimately, her attention settled on the Evil God Temple, which towered over half of the Profound Sky Continent. She observed Cao Jiaze, who had just obliterated a source with the Profound Dao Flag.
In that moment, Cao Jiaze also sensed her presence and looked up.
This Cao Jiaze, who had remained silent until now, seemed to radiate a warmth upon seeing her and the Phoenix Shrine.
A thread of his soul's consciousness echoed within the depths of Zhiya's Demon Soul.
"You are unlike the other humans and demons."
"You are a being that came into existence in the Vast Expanse before the Titan and spinosaurus entered, bearing traces of me within your soul," he said, extending an olive branch to Zhiya.
The White Divine Tiger, Qilin, Desolate God, and Yu Zhu, along with the other Demon Gods, were all born in the Vast Expanse following the fall of the Titan and spinosaurus.
Since they were tainted, the Abyss Origin Soul left its mark deep within the souls of the new generation of Demon Gods.
The Demon Phoenix, however, was an exception.
She and the Great Demon God Beilstein were nearly contemporaneous creations. When she came into being within the Vast Expanse, the Titan and spinosaurus had not yet arrived, nor had they brought the Abyss Origin Soul with them.
"You ought to assist me, and in turn, I can offer you my aid."
He projected his thoughts to her.
The Demon Phoenix remained unmoved, withdrawing her gaze from Cao Jiaze with a dismissive shake of her head. Her attention then shifted to the deep crimson moon, a transformation of the Great Demon God Grec.
The once vibrant crimson moon now appeared subdued, its sanguine hue significantly paler.
As she locked eyes with the crimson moon, brimming with the principles of life, it seemed to reciprocate her gaze.
The Origin Blood conveyed its own silent message.
Yet again, she shook her head, her expression icy, "You're too late. When I ventured to the Dim Starfield, you withheld your favor from me, resisting me at every opportunity."
"Since you've chosen him and bestowed upon him the complete life sequence, you must now bear the consequences."
Yu Yuan's refusal to possess another and his capability to influence the Origin Blood's intentions became evident when Zhiya appeared.
The Origin Blood sought a new target, aiming to enlist Zhiya to its cause and conspire to eliminate Yu Yuan together with Yang God Yu.
It pledged to Zhiya that once Yang God Yu was shattered, it would grant Zhiya the complete life sequence, filling in what Zhiya lacked, enabling her to ascend to the Eleventh Level and become a being akin to Yuen Bu, the King of the Desolate Realm.
Whoosh!
The Secular Bird Queen, Chen Qinghuang, suddenly took notice of the Phoenix Shrine's emergence and the presence of the Demon Phoenix Zhiya.
Without a moment's hesitation, she stepped onto the branches of the Hannya Divine Tree and, buoyed by the Muddy Divine Soil, burst forth from a fissure in the Gray Domain.
Her towering dharma, with three heads and six arms, manifested in an instant, with strands of Dao laws encircling it like dazzling ribbons.
Behind her dharma, a chaotic and mysterious sea materialized, with green Divine Birds soaring through it. As their wings beat, the light of death and the flames of destruction flared anew.
Now fully recovered, the Secular Bird Queen's combat prowess had reached new heights, her fearsome power capable of devastating the heavens and the earth.
"Whore! You're on a path to your own demise!"
Zhiya screeched.
The Secular Bird and the Demon Phoenix were fated adversaries. Upon encountering each other, all other matters would be cast aside in favor of a battle to the death.
