C699 Divine Bird Ascends to the Heavens
The crisp call of a bird suddenly pierced the air from the direction of Afnetalos. Zu Ann, who had been conversing with Yu Yuan, adjusted his crest with a subtle shift in expression, as if bracing for a formidable opponent, and declared, "They have finally arrived!"
Rising to his full height, Zu Ann grasped the Mirror of Fates in one hand. With a gentle flick of his other hand, Yu Yuan was whisked away, soaring into the dense fog behind him as if riding on clouds.
"I will do everything in my power to protect you."
The Terra Fiend, no longer assuming a human shape, transformed into a shadowy specter, positioning itself in front of Yu Yuan. The specter absorbed the light, rapidly turning into the deepest shade of black, while slowly gathering the eerie strength of magic power.
Behind the specter, Yu Yuan felt an inexplicable sense of security. It seemed that no matter what transpired, the dark specter would sacrifice itself before him, standing as his shield.
As an Unbound cultivator wielding the Mirror of Fates, and with the assistance of Green Willow, a ninth-level archdemon, Zu Ann's protection seemed impenetrable. Who could possibly harm Yu Yuan? The thought left him astonished.
Then, a more plaintive cry shattered the silence.
To Yu Yuan's amazement, above Afnetalos, innumerable streaks of dark lightning merged into an Azure Divine Bird, its wings outstretched in flight. The bird exuded majesty as it ascended, seemingly draining all the energy and spiritual essence from the city and its hundred-mile radius.
Within the city of Afnetalos, intricate arrays were deeply embedded in the high towers, stone pagodas, city walls, and the very earth itself, all inlaid with countless soulstones. The vast and boundless spiritual energy flowed into the Azure Bird. How mighty was this Divine Bird?
In the next instant, the Divine Bird unfurled its wings, veiling half the sky, its emerald-glow eyes gazing down imperiously. Even the thick Ashen Shadowmist began to dissipate with the bird's ascent, mysteriously thinning and vanishing.
In a mere moment, the fog that had enveloped the ten-mile perimeter of Afnetalos lifted, and the sky cleared once more.
The Azure Bird ascended gracefully from the city, its wings beating against the firmament. The moon shone brightly, stars twinkling like jewels, as the Divine Bird, an eternal celestial being, regarded those below with a disdainful and aloof stare.
Yu Yuan stood within the Crucible of Evil, a chill creeping down his spine as he gazed upon the Azure Bird. He scrutinized the Divine Bird, noting the complex scars interwoven across its forehead, as if carved by a sharp blade into a unique, unrecognizable mark. The sight of the mark sent a shiver through Yu Yuan, his eyes widening in astonishment.
Suddenly, an anomaly occurred.
"Chi! Chi! Chi!"
Beams of azure light burst forth from the Divine Bird's eyes. In an instant, the Demon Generals and Demon Guards of the Sky Fiend were reduced to ash by the emerald glow.
A towering Stoneborn, under the cover of night, raised his arms and bellowed, rallying his scattered kin. But then, a streak of Divine Thunder, green and unyielding, pierced him, shattering his deep red form into a scattering of small stones. His soul was obliterated.
A black giant ape, its face twisted in savagery, stalked through the Ashen Shadowmist, clutching the delicate arm of a woman, gnawing on the arm bone with relish. Its eyes gleamed with a brutal light as it searched for its next victim.
With a crackling sound, a bolt of Divine Thunder, thick as a pillar of divine punishment, struck the giant ape's crown. The seventh-level archdemon, nearly ten meters tall, was engulfed by the green Divine Thunder. Within moments, the formidable creature, on par with a human of the Spirit Walk realm, was reduced to nothingness.
Sky Fiends, Terra Fiends, Otherkin, and archdemons alike became prey to the Divine Bird's wrath. Those malevolent beings near Afnetalos fell almost instantly to the green Divine Thunder.
"The Divine Bird ascends! The Empress reclaims her throne!"
"The Songbird Queen returns from beyond the stars!"
"The Empress has come back to the city!"
Euphoric cheers echoed through Afnetos, stirring the blood of its inhabitants. Zu Ann, wielding the Mirror of Fates, stood atop the Chen family's teleportation circle, a smirk playing on his lips as he focused his thoughts.
Like a receding tide, the Ashen Shadowmist swept away the Sky Fiends, archdemons, and malevolent creatures, retreating swiftly from the city of Afnetalos.
He seemed reluctant to confront the overwhelming might of the Phoenix Skybreak Array at that moment, unwilling to let numerous evil demons perish needlessly.
Yu Yuan, standing behind him within the Crucible of Evil, peered out and observed a host of massive specters and indistinct archdemons retreating amidst the Ashen Shadowmist.
He instantly realized that the formidable Sky Fiend experts and the fearsome archdemons had not perished.
Moreover, in the southern skies above Afnetalos, there stood a slender green figure with hands clasped behind his back.
A barrage of emerald Divine Thunder struck towards the figure, only to be effortlessly repelled by a shimmering green water barrier that prevented the bolts from reaching him.
"Chief Commander of Shadow's Keep, Lord Green Willow."
Even from such a distance, Yu Yuan could easily identify the green figure who dared to linger in the sky at this time as the ninth-level archdemon who had escaped from the Sword Prison.
Green Willow, without revealing his real body and assuming human form, gazed towards Afnetalos, his brow furrowed in contemplation.
After a succession of Divine Thunder strikes proved futile, the Azure Bird's eyes ceased to emit any further gleams of light.
The Azure Bird clearly recognized its inability to affect Green Willow and thus refrained from squandering its spiritual energy.
Green Willow, watching the Azure Bird, let out a soft huff and spoke in the ancient tongue of evilkind, "Little one, when your Grandfather Green Willow was unrivaled beyond the stars, you hadn't even grown your feathers."
"Lady Empress! Lady Empress!"
The cheers from the people of Afnetalos erupted like a torrential flood. Whether they were the remaining mortals or the disciples and elders of the sects, everyone found solace in the ascent of the Divine Bird.
Atop the teleportation circle in the northern part of the city, Zu Ann clutched the Mirror of Fates and hummed lowly once more.
Whoosh!
A mysterious wraith materialized out of thin air before Zu Ann.
She was a woman of stunning figure, clad in a green phoenix robe, with a silver crest adorned with a beaded curtain that cascaded down, concealing her unparalleled beauty from all eyes.
Yet, Yu Yuan, from within the Crucible of Evil, recognized the woman at the moment of her appearance as none other than the Songbird Queen, the foremost figure of Aetherius.
"Senior Zu Ann, what exactly are you planning to do?"
As the Songbird Queen spoke, Yu Yuan, trailing behind her, felt a slight tremor in his shoulders.
Memories of his travels through the Skyborn Empire three hundred years prior began to unfurl like a long-sealed scroll.
Over three centuries ago, under the adoration of many, he traversed the renowned mountains and rivers of the Skyborn Empire aboard a high-level flying artifact, gathering medicinal herbs. It was then that he encountered a fourth-level Songbird fiercely guarding a disheveled little girl, about seven or eight years old.
The Songbird bore a similar crest on its forehead, and the girl was gravely injured, her life hanging by a thread.
As he approached the Songbird on his flying artifact, the creature, whose spiritual wisdom had not yet fully awakened, flapped its wings in a desperate attempt to protect the girl, attacking his vehicle.
He watched for a moment, moved by compassion, and had someone deliver a healing pill he had crafted himself.
After tossing the pill to them, he didn't linger on the matter. He instructed his crew to restart the artifact, ready to depart.
As the artifact powered up, the little girl, barely clinging to life, uttered a promise to repay his kindness someday.
He merely smiled, not taking her words seriously.
After all, he was the Sect Master of the Order of Healing at the time, and the girl had only just begun her journey on the path of cultivation, her abilities too insignificant to note.
The Songbird was merely a fourth-level demon bird, its spiritual wisdom not yet fully realized.
But now, as he watched the Divine Bird ascend from Afnetalos and observed the Songbird Queen approach, whether in her Solar Spirit Body or her true form, he couldn't help but wonder if she was that same injured girl and if the Songbird had been her guardian.
Could it be that after more than three hundred years, the fourth-level Songbird had grown so formidable?
Was the once grievously wounded child now the revered Songbird Queen?
With this thought, Yu Yuan's mouth twisted into a wry smile, overwhelmed by a sense of the surreal and utterly preposterous.
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