C625 One Step to the Altar One Step to the Abyss!

The Withered Bone Palace loomed ominously over Yellow Mountain, bearing down like a colossal peak with the brute force of a demon, capable of crushing all life and quelling malevolent spirits. It thrust unyieldingly through the heart of Yellow Mountain!

As soon as the Withered Bone Palace made its presence known, Yu Yuan's Consciousness Little World was overwhelmed by the immense pressure. He could sense that Rogue Cultivator Liang Jingyin's fate was sealed.

Puff! A muffled cry echoed from within the bowels of Yellow Mountain. In the next moment, nearly three thousand strands of golden lightning scattered, some soaring skyward, others diving into the earth's hidden depths. These were the desperate soul thoughts of Liang Jingyin, frantically bursting forth in a last-ditch effort to escape as his Yang God essence shattered.

Rogue Cultivator Liang Jingyin, faced with dire straits, had made a swift and merciless choice, seeking a sliver of survival.

Alas...

Raven let out a disdainful snort, channeling all his fury into Liang Jingyin. With a piercing screech, he unleashed a sonic assault that seemed to rend the heavens and the earth, sending shivers through the very soul.

Targeted by the screech, Liang Jingyin bore the brunt of its devastating impact and met a gruesome end. The golden lightning bolts, each a flicker of hope for his survival, were snuffed out one by one under the relentless shriek.

Not one of the golden bolts, whether high in the sky or deep within the earth, was spared. They were obliterated in succession.

In that moment, the Withered Bone Palace seized the opportunity to claim its place atop Yellow Mountain.

Boom! The ground itself appeared to plummet dramatically.

Crack! Inside the mountain, the five-tiered pagoda released by Liang Jingyin, along with his true form, were shattered to pieces by the ferocious demonic energy of the palace.

Raven burst forth, streaking into the mountain's core like a beam of light.

"Liang Jingyin is beyond saving," Python Queen Xu Zixi observed, quickly reassuring Yu Yuan. "A loose cultivator remains just that—a loose cultivator. Without reaching the Yang God Stage, their worth is exceedingly limited. To the three upper sects, the Demon Palace, and the Devil Palace, the demise of those below the Eighth Level or not yet at the Yang God Stage is inconsequential."

"What about a solitary cultivator?"

Upon hearing this, Old Cash's expression became the most unsettled.

Like Liang Jingyin, he too was a solitary cultivator, lacking the support of a powerful sect.

Liang Jingyin, on the verge of condensing his Yang God, had Taoist Chongxiao of the Spirit Void Sect pleading on his behalf, yet he was still slain by the infuriated Raven. Old Cash wasn't even on par with Liang Jingyin. As a solitary cultivator, if powerhouses from the Demon Palace or Devil Palace sought his life, what could he possibly do?

With these thoughts, Old Cash let out a wistful sigh, his smile tinged with bitterness.

In private, he pondered whether he should cling to Yu Zhu as a lifeline within the Absence Relic.

"Alas."

The Yin God of Taoist Chongxiao, lurking in the mountain's shadow, let out a melancholy sigh, murmuring, "There's nothing more to say at this point. The failure to condense the Yang God has dashed all future hopes. He's nothing but a useless piece of trash now."

Taoist Chongxiao's Yin God vanished into the earth, traversing hundreds of miles beneath the surface.

Xu Zixi, Old Cash, and Zhu Peining, scrutinizing closely, discovered that Taoist Chongxiao was aiding the Raven Lord in capturing and snuffing out each of Liang Jingyin's fleeing soul remnants.

This time, Liang Jingyin was truly beyond saving.

"A divine altar one moment, an abyss the next."

Gao Qin from the Babel Chamber of Commerce glanced towards Yellow Mountain and casually stated a harsh truth, "Had Liang Jingyin truly succeeded in condensing his Yang God and been officially welcomed by the Spirit Void Sect as a guest elder, even the Raven Lord would have to weigh his actions carefully."

The upper sects, along with the Demon Palace and Devil Palace, had an unwritten rule: those at the Yang God Stage were deemed worthy to wage battles across the stars.

Such individuals, unless they breached the stringent edicts of the upper sects, Demon Palace, and Devil Palace, would find their past transgressions overlooked and not pursued.

Had Liang Jingyin actually succeeded, his malicious assault on the Babel Chamber of Commerce would have been erased.

As a guest elder of the Spirit Void Sect, he was taken to the Outer Star River to battle the Devaputra and various star races. Should Liang Jingyin accrue sufficient valor, he might be hailed as a hero and receive rewards from the three upper sects, the Devil Palace, and the Demon Palace. Such achievements could elevate him to godhood.

Without the Yang God, Liang Jingyin lacked the means to transcend this realm. A lone cultivator without a sect's support was insignificant, destined to die unremarked and unmourned. That was a descent into oblivion.

"I've seen enough."

Yu Yuan nodded contentedly, offering Xu Zixi a smile before gesturing to Zhan Tianxiang, "Take me to Darkmoon City, please."

"Brother Yu?" Old Cash hesitated, then spoke up.

Yu Yuan looked down at Yellow Mountain and Old Cash pointed, "This one, that one, the mountain is mine. If Liang Jingyin dies, should I...?"

"We'll discuss it when she returns," Yu Yuan replied.

"Got it!" Old Cash beamed with a smile.

Zhan Tianxiang steered the Divine Mount, soaring beyond Yellow Mountain toward Spider City.

"Master, oh Master..."

At the mountain's base, Su Che mourned as if orphaned, his sobs quiet, his face devoid of life.

Yu Yuan glanced down but remained silent.

With a whoosh, a dry bone sliced through the air like a blade. Su Che, from the Su family, taken to Spider City by Su Xiangtian and entrusted to Liang Jingyin, fell silent mid-cry.

"So tiresome."

The grumbling of Raven Lord echoed within Yellow Mountain. Yu Yuan's audacity to speak to him so casually irked him, yet he was cautious of Yu Zhu, soon to be a Demon God, and restrained himself from acting against Yu Yuan.

Liang Jingyin's demise served as an outlet for his frustration and rage.

As for Su Che, it was mere irritation at the crying that prompted his abrupt end. The Raven Lord cared little for Su Che's lineage; if he was willing to kill even Liang Jingyin, what was a mere disciple to him?

"Su Che..."

Zhan Tianxiang, perched atop Gold Mountain, uttered the name with a soft exhale, his expression tinged with complexity.

Within the same empire, Su Che of the Su family had once been a peer, a fellow young prodigy. But Su Che had been absent from the Fallen Moon Forbidden Area trial, engrossed in a breakthrough.

In the blink of an eye, years had slipped by.

Zhan Tianxiang, now an Imperial Envoy and direct disciple of the Golden Elephant Ancient God, soared over Yellow Mountain commanding the "Divine Mount." Reverence was shown to him by the likes of Python Queen Xu Zixi and Raven Lord.

Su Che, of equal standing, had done nothing more than annoy the Raven with his cries before meeting his untimely end...

Zhan Tianxiang suddenly grasped the depth of Gao Qin's recent words: One step to the divine altar, one step to the abyss.

He had ascended to the divine altar, while Su Che had plummeted into the abyss.

Such was the cruel and curious nature of human fate.

Within a mere fifteen minutes, the Divine Mount had reached Spider City, hovering midair.

"The Divine Mount! The throne of the Golden Elephant Ancient God!"

"The one at the helm appears to be Zhan Tianxiang, who visited a few days ago!"

"The Python Queen is present as well!"

The practitioners from the seven lower sects within Spider City gazed up at the hovering Gold Mountain, their exclamations filling the air.

Other sects' flying artifacts might hesitate to dock in Spider City, wary of inciting the wrath of the Demon Palace and facing retribution from its formidable demons.

Naturally, the Demon Palace's own were exempt from such concerns.

"That body appears to be..."

Atop the Gold Mountain, Zhao Yafu narrowed her eyes, her gaze lingering on the Cold Yin Sect's pavilion, "There lies a frozen corpse, seemingly Lim Zhuyun's father."

Yu Yuan had noticed it earlier. His father-in-law, who had repeatedly sent Yin Jue to assassinate him.

After his failures, he had brazenly come to Darkmoon City to provoke trouble in the Yu family's grand hall.

Now, Lim Hanyu lay lifeless within a massive block of ice, evidently dead for some time.

"My apologies, please forgive me."

Elder Weixian of the Cold Yin Sect greeted Xu Zixi and Yu Yuan with a traditional fist-and-palm salute, nodding respectfully. "Rumors have reached me that Lim Zhuyun, a daughter of our sect, retains her consciousness. The truth of the matter eludes me, but regardless, the Cold Yin Sect must declare its position."

He gestured towards the body of Lim Hanyu's father. "This," he said solemnly, "represents the stance of the Cold Yin Sect."

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