C2270 They Made a Deal

As Yu Yuan spoke, the once noisy crowd fell silent.

Green Willow and Ballo, the newly ascended supremes, turned their attention to Bertain, while Loong Jie's golden eyes betrayed his concern.

They were afraid, too.

Bertain had made it clear during the All Spirits Ban, when he executed Mu Xiao and the Moon Succubus Queen, that any supreme being breaking the seal would inevitably fall under his influence. In time, they could become Divine Weapons at his command, just like Loong Jie.

Bertain had mentioned that dealing with them would be a hassle, and since Mu Xiao and the Moon Succubus Queen weren't worth the effort, he simply eliminated them.

Now, with the Demon God himself in peril, were they truly safe?

This worry had driven Green Willow, who ought to have been fortifying his realm with water essence in the Wasteland, to join Ballo and Loong Jie.

"Are you sure you can't handle it?" Chen Qinghuang asked, her brow furrowed.

"The Soul Cleansing Brilliance is no longer effective," Yu Yuan sighed.

Upon hearing this, those familiar with the Soul Cleansing Brilliance realized Yu Yuan had attempted to use it. His failure led him to seek answers from Kurkova at the Spring of Death.

"I'm prepared," declared the Demon God, flashing a carefree grin as if life and death were of no consequence. "Let's hear it, how can I assist you?" He gazed at the shadowy figure within the spring.

The Spring of Death began to swirl outward, casting ripples of light that emanated from the shadow at its heart. As the spring rotated, the light reached outward.

Within these ripples, eerie runes brimming with the essence of death moved like fish on a grim mission.

The assembly of the mighty observed the runes dancing in the light.

Loong Jie was confronted with a vision of innumerable dragon carcasses, the remains and bones of giant dragons floating amidst the light, which made his breath catch from the overwhelming sense of oppression.

Youyu and Yu Zhu saw a different sight: the Wraithlands laid to waste, all ghosts and spirits perished, with Shadow Mountain and Levi River consumed.

The Light Spirit, Mother Earth, and the Tree of Life witnessed their kin, primal anima like themselves, fading into streaks of light against a desolate sky.

Different individuals perceived varying scenes, yet they all shared a sense of extreme oppression and dreariness.

As the gray and white light unfurled, everyone except the Secular Bird Queen instinctively evaded it.

Despite the light being a great distance away, they still scrambled to avoid it.

Even the Peak of Creation and the Tree of Life kept their distance from the spring.

Whoosh!

Yu Yuan boldly stepped into the range of the gray and white light.

The instant numerous eerie runes touched him, an overwhelming presence associated with death attempted to flood his consciousness and warp his will.

At that moment, a crimson light burst forth from his brow.

The tenth tier of the Soul Altar emerged abruptly, unleashing a red hue with the utmost life force, which devoured much of the invading gray-white light.

The robust vitality radiated outward as a red glow, causing the gray-white light to crackle and vanish.

Life and death are inherently antagonistic.

The life force Yu Yuan displayed was evidently more potent than Kurkova's death force, effectively nullifying the deadly energy within the light.

Whoosh! Whoosh!

The light swiftly contracted and vanished into the Spring of Death, ceasing to seep out.

After a brief silence, the gray silhouette of the Death God, Kurkova, conveyed a message that both Yu Yuan and Chen Qinghuang could perceive.

She demanded all knowledge concerning the Evil Temple in exchange for her assistance in purging the invasive force within the Demon God, Bertain.

"Alright."

Yu Yuan promptly consented, saying, "First, address the contamination within him."

Unexpectedly, the Death God did not haggle. She did not insist on Yu Yuan surrendering the knowledge about the Evil Temple first but instead sent a pulse, guiding Bertain to the heart of the Spring of Death.

"She wants you to head to the center of the Spring of Death, but there's no need to delve too deeply," Yu Yuan advised, turning to the astonished Bertain. "Just be cautious."

"No worries."

The valiant Demon God, clad in his Golden Dragon Armor, chuckled nonchalantly. He then strode past the Secular Bird Queen to the spring's central region, peering curiously into the Ashlands and inquired, "Are you certain you can do this?"

The Ashlands, a realm associated with the Death God, quivered subtly as a message emanated from within.

Bertain nodded and said, "Alright, begin."

The Demon God had discerned the specific meaning behind the aura that the Death God was releasing.

She claimed that if she could address the spiritual sense of the Primal Soul in the Underworld on the other side, she could erase the contaminants within Bertain's devil soul.

She further explained that Yu Yuan was unable to break free because the Primal Soul and Yu Yuan shared nearly all the secrets of the rules, and the Primal Soul understood everything about Yu Yuan—except for the Secrets of Life tied to the Primal Blood.

Whoosh!

A horrifying energy, filled with an overwhelming desire for death, surged from behind the shadowy figure and engulfed Bertain.

His Golden Dragon Armor and amethyst demonform were completely submerged by this force.

The artifact, however, seemed unaffected.

Yet, Bertain's devil soul radiated an intense longing for death.

The Demon God immediately sacrificed his soul in a self-immolation!

Kurkova's power abruptly intervened, forcefully subduing the death wishes emanating from Bertain's devil soul, reducing them to mere thoughts.

A separate will to die, not belonging to Bertain, materialized as threads of black smoke, seeping out from his demonform.

Yu Yuan observed the escaping smoke and his eyes brightened slightly.

The Death God had indeed succeeded!

"Both blood and soul are susceptible to her death force, while artifacts, like the amethyst demonform, remain untouched," Yu Yuan concluded after a moment of observation.

She was capable of annihilating the spiritual sense in the Underworld because the body of the Undead Sovereign, being a true flesh and blood entity, was brimming with powerful Soul Power.

The Evil Temple, on the other hand, was classified as an artifact, not a body, and she had to first unravel the temple's mysteries to confront the Primal Soul's spiritual sense.

"And there's more..."

Abruptly, the Secular Bird Queen turned to Loong Jie, Lin Daoke, Green Willow, and Ballo and stated, "Your souls, too, are tainted by his influence. If you wish to eliminate this threat, you must proceed as Bertain did."

Before Chen Qinghuang could finish speaking, Lin Daoke swiftly entered the center of the Spring of Death, standing shoulder to shoulder with Bertain's demonform. He had repaired his primordial spirit sword using a portion of the refined Soul Power gifted by Bertain. Knowing that Bertain had succumbed, Lin Daoke realized his own escape would be unlikely.

As he stepped into the spring, a greenish-black smoke began to seep from the corners of his eyes. Yet, both Lin Daoke and Bertain stood unfazed under the overwhelming death force, their composure intact. Chen Qinghuang couldn't help but admire their resilience silently.

She was well aware of the Death God's terrifying influence, and it was clear that Bertain and Lin Daoke, as the dominant forces of the Origin Realm, possessed an extraordinary mental strength that was not easily matched.

After a brief pause, Loong Jie, Ballo, and Green Willow also entered the spring. Their faces twisted into grotesque expressions as they fought a torturous battle between life and death, gasping for air as they desperately resisted the urge to succumb.

They lacked the composure of Bertain and Lin Daoke. Moments later, when the last traces of the greenish-black smoke had dissipated from their bodies, the engulfing death force was retracted by Kurkova.

Yu Yuan, having received the information through the gray shadow's message, understood that the more one focused on soul cultivation, like the mighty Demon God Bertain, the harder it was to rid oneself of its corrupting influence.

Lin Daoke, being the pinnacle of humanity, also had a soul strong enough to resist the Primal Soul's attempt at possession. In contrast, Loong Jie, Green Willow, and Ballo, who had concentrated on enhancing their bloodlines and physical prowess rather than soul fortification, would find it easier to break free from the Evil God's grasp in the future.

"I too shall honor my promise," Yu Yuan declared, clearing his throat. A stream of gray-green light emerged from his forehead, halting before the gray shadow. The stream, like a flowing river, contained all his memories of constructing the Evil Temple and everything associated with it.

The gray figure nodded in approval, sending back a message, "Remember, never allow the ninth level of your Soul Altar to become the tenth. When you can no longer contain the ninth level, and it ascends to the top, He will come to possess you once more."

...