C2216 The Dark Phoenix Was Trapped
The young creature lurked in the depths of the sea, thick with demon energy. It was unclear when Zhiya had begun to nurture it, but it was steadily growing more formidable.
He had managed to produce a little spinosaurus, but he hadn't anticipated Zhiya's ferocity; she had gone a step further and conjured a chaos Titan.
Deep within Yu Yuan's hazy memories lay recollections of the chaos Titan, shrouded in the perpetual darkness of the Genesis Continent, once the mightiest chaos Titan of the Abyss.
Their mutual slaughter seemed to have precipitated the ultimate ruin of the Abyss.
From where had Zhiya acquired such knowledge about the chaos Titan to create a young one?
The juvenile chaos Titan desperately tried to hide its presence, halting the pulsations of its bloodline and the beating of its heart, attempting to elude Yu Yuan's detection.
"Afraid of me?" Yu Yuan was taken aback.
As he pondered in silence, the Book of Time, bearing Zhong Chichen, Loong Jie, and Green Willow, transformed into a cascade of colorful light and drifted toward him, soon materializing in the starry expanse behind him.
"There are no traces of water essence being born in the Wellspring of Creation, but the surface of the pond seems to contain the true essence of water I seek," Green Willow observed, his vertical pupil gleaming. He had scrutinized the Wellspring of Creation for quite some time and had discerned numerous subtleties of water essence.
Loong Jie nodded vigorously, his face alight with eagerness. "And there lies the golden cosmic order I long for!"
Together with Zhong Chichen, they had ventured into the Wasteland, seeking the aura of water and golden Primal Anima, hoping to emulate the likes of Tan Xiaotian and Yuan Lianyao. They aimed to use the Primal Anima corresponding to their own nature to find a shortcut to ascend to the eleventh level of supremacy.
Regrettably, even with the aid of the Book of Time, their search throughout the Wasteland proved fruitless.
Neither the Water Spirit nor the Golden Spirit seemed to manifest in the Wasteland.
However, upon reaching the Peak of Creation, the transformation of the rule patterns on the periphery of the Wellspring of Creation allowed them to glean some intricate doctrines related to water and gold.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, within the eleven layers of the resplendent sealing wall, the meteorites and stars encircling the Bloody River underwent a startling transformation.
Stars sparkled brilliantly, intermingled with the divine radiance of the sun and moon, creating an overwhelming celestial might. The sun and moon were not only visible together but were also plentiful, unleashing a force capable of oppressing the soul.
Under this celestial might, the Bloody River that Zhiya had conjured was compelled to reveal itself in its primal state.
With the sound of a crisp phoenix cry, a modestly sized purple phoenix emerged, gracefully unfurling its wings and casting forth streaks of violet-golden light.
The violet-gold feathers, reminiscent of divine metal, gleamed with a chilly metallic sheen, and from the wings, they detached like razor-sharp blades.
The violet-gold Celestial Plumes cleaved through massive meteorites as if severing numerous worlds. In an instant, the meteorite sea encircling the phoenix was reduced to ash and fog.
As the phoenix's wings drew together slightly, the myriad violet-gold Celestial Plumes returned to her wings as swiftly as leaves to a towering tree.
Above, starlight cascaded like a deluge. Mountains sprung up around the phoenix, their polished surfaces firing off beams of sword light.
These blinding streaks of sword light, imbued with the ultimate truth of the five elements and accompanied by thunder and hailstorms, once again shrouded the phoenix.
The torrential rain was composed of lethal Divine Swords, and the sword light emanating from the mountains epitomized the purest form of swordsmanship. The phoenix was engulfed by the endless sword light, seemingly sinking into an ocean of luminescence.
Confusion flickered in Zhiya's eyes. She had only experienced such an unadulterated sword's will with Lin Daoke, the master of the Sword Sect. Yet, this swordsmanship did not fall within the scope of the eleven Primal Anima rules.
"How odd," she murmured, transforming her expansive wings into sharp blades of violet-gold light, slicing through the myriad sword lights.
Suddenly, her demon soul was overcome with a sense of powerlessness.
Above her, within the luminous depths of the Star River, the already bright stars morphed into amethysts.
Countless amethysts were orchestrating a fearsome array, capable of throttling souls and muddling thoughts. Her ideas and the connection to her lineage became tumultuously disordered.
"Demon God Bertain!" she exclaimed, for the first time showing signs of distress within her confinement.
As she shattered the cosmic order, the invincible sword light from the master of the Sword Sect, Lin Daoke, and the supreme Spirit Magic of the Demon God Bertain converged upon her simultaneously.
Even with her mastery of the Secrets of Life, gleaned from the Primal Blood within Yuan Le's body and the integration through that mass of flesh and blood, perfecting her own chaotic life rules, the ordeal gave her a splitting headache.
A Bertain at his peak was enough to make her swear in frustration, her certainty of victory slipping away.
To make matters worse, Lin Daoke, who had perfected his swordsmanship to a transcendental level, was there, and she found herself trapped within a sealed barrier, cut off from the Beast God Temple and the Phoenix Shrine.
She had never experienced such overwhelming pressure!
How could the alliance of Demon Lord Tan Xiaotian and Lin Daoke even begin to compare to the formidable team of Bertain and Lin Daoke now?
Swoosh! Swoosh! Swoosh!
The sword light, imbued with metal, ice, and lightning, tore through her violet gold wings, leaving numerous punctures.
Though the holes swiftly healed, her phoenix eyes betrayed a grave concern.
The amethyst stars above her head imposed a severe constraint on her demon soul, and the link between her spirit and flesh was beginning to fracture.
She didn't know Bertain's whereabouts, yet this old Demon Lord, who had long instilled dread in her from his reign over the Origin Realm, was always a source of her deep apprehension.
Slowly, in the depths of her phoenix eyes, flashes of purple lightning began to emerge.
With a muffled groan, her flight within the barrier suddenly became awkward and ungainly.
"Mother!"
"Hall Master!"
Yu Zhu, the Moonfang Tiger, and numerous Beast Gods witnessed her dire predicament within the barrier.
The golden lightning, sharp as a sword, pierced her wings, as tough as divine metal, leaving gaping holes.
This indicated that she might very well perish within!
Those outside, both humans and Beast Gods, were oblivious to the true essence of Lin Daoke's swordsmanship and unaware that the might of the Great Demon God Bertain had also been transferred there.
They assumed it was the barrier's inherent power, refusing her an easy exit, intent on blasting her to oblivion within its confines.
"There's more than one spiritual sense!"
Mother Earth herself was deeply shaken, her gaze fixed intently on the Wellspring of Creation, cautious not to let her spiritual sense wander in.
Zhiya's distress was palpable, and it filled her with anxiety and foreboding thoughts. The Wellspring of Creation, perched atop the Peak of Creation, was a place where her spiritual sense had once wandered within the confines of a sealed barrier. Observing the scene, she became convinced that an external force was behind Zhiya's current predicament.
"Yu Yuan!" he called out, his voice piercing the heavens.
Yu Yuan had been contemplating the profound mysteries related to the Chaos Titan that Zhiya had uncovered, his gaze fixed on the sea of deep purple demon energy. The desperate situation Zhiya found herself in, along with the alarmed cries of Yu Zhu, the Astral Tiger, and Mother Earth, compelled Yu Yuan to turn his attention to the Wellspring of Creation.
Noticing the celestial patterns had morphed into amethyst and the trajectory of the golden sword light concealed deeper truths, Yu Yuan sensed something was amiss. He was familiar with Bertain's amethyst form and the ultimate truth of the Sword Sect's swordsmanship, which led him to surmise that the amethyst and the golden light were manifestations of the cosmic order of those two individuals.
His real body had traversed from a similar barrier within the true Abyss. Bertain and Lin Daoke were now within that sealed realm. The two barriers were interconnected, and Bertain and Lin Daoke were besieged by the cosmic seals, tirelessly contending with them.
"Are their powers being exploited, or has their Cosmic Order been imprinted by the barrier?" Yu Yuan pondered.
Bertain's Spirit Magic, derived from the vast Primal Soul of the Everlands, was no longer vital since the Primal Soul had been consumed by the Abyss's own. Lin Daoke's swordsmanship had yet to achieve the complete state of a Primal Anima. The barrier remained unchanged, still consisting of eleven layers. This indicated that someone with control over these barriers had linked the two similar ones.
A barrier had been erected between the Dark Phoenix Zhiya, Bertain, and Lin Daoke, rendering them invisible and insensible to one another, forcing them to clash using their own strength.
Someone had deliberately pushed the Dark Phoenix, Bertain, and Lin Daoke to their limits, exploiting their powers for their own ends.
"Yu Yuan, the Dark Phoenix isn't merely confronting a manifestation of an ultimate Primal Anima. There are unseen, formidable entities wielding their power against her," he realized.
The Earth Spirit was visibly shaken by the unfolding events. "Could it be? The one born from the Abyss of Truth, the devourer of the Everlands' Primal Soul, has its consciousness breached the barrier?"
Yu Yuan shook his head. "Not necessarily."
"Master!"
The Moonfang Tiger unleashed a thunderous roar as it burst forth from the Beast God Temple, situated atop the sea of demon energy, and descended toward the Wellspring of Creation in human form, clearly intent on joining the fray.
At its movement, the golden deer, the Iron-winged Bird, and the Beast Gods who had long followed the Dark Phoenix, echoed the Astral Tiger's roar in solidarity.
"Don't rush to your demise," Yu Yuan warned.
He lifted his arm, and a blood-colored mountain range manifested before them, instantly transforming into a wall that spanned thousands of miles, halting the Moonfang Tiger and the other Beast Gods in their tracks.
His arm, now a formidable barrier, weighed heavily on the Beast Gods, stifling their breaths.
"Astral Tiger, you must understand the consequences of entering the Wellspring of Creation. You are not Zhiya; you cannot withstand the corrupting twist of flesh and blood. Without Zhiya's touch, you'll be assimilated into the mass of flesh just like the white boa was," Yu Yuan declared, stating the harsh reality.
"You've seen for yourself the fate that befell the three Beast Gods who pursued you."
His words prompted the impulsive Astral Tiger to recall the horrific events of the past.
"The mass of flesh and blood has yet to stir, to unleash that dreadful energy. You should count yourselves fortunate." With that, Yu Yuan's arm, now a blood-colored rampart, quivered.
A tide of vital energy surged like a colossal crimson wave, hurling all the Beast Gods, including the Astral Tiger, back to the sanctuary of the Beast God Temple.
The tremor from Yu Yuan's arm sent many Beast Gods reeling, their vitality thrown into chaos, their skin lacerated.
Even the Astral Tiger couldn't help but grunt as it withstood the formidable might concealed within the blood-red limb.
The Beast Gods, the Astral Tiger, and the black goat all regarded Yu Yuan with grave looks.
They were acutely aware of the immense power emanating from within him, a force capable of annihilating them all—a terror that loomed above, akin to divine retribution.
"They can't manage it, but I can."
Yu Zhu paced through the void, watching as the grand Phoenix Shrine diminished gradually.
A rainbow-hued light, manipulating the Void Rules, emanated from beneath the Phoenix Shrine, its spatial complexities catching even Zhong Chichen's eye with their unusual nature.
"My existence isn't solely tied to this Dark Deity form; it's also bound to my soul."
Huff! Huff!
Yu Zhu steered the Phoenix Shrine toward the Peak of Creation, swiftly crossing the deep purple sea of demon energy. "I want to support my mother in battle. Please, don't stand in my way."
Her plea was earnest as she lightly bit her lip. "I have to get my mother out!"
