C702 He Shattered His Divine Visage!!
"Bang!"
The Songbird Queen and the Solar Spirit suddenly expanded, revealing a majestic Divine Visage that towered a hundred meters tall.
The Divine Visage shimmered with radiant light, amassing countless psionic powers. It was as though a peacock had fanned its tail, displaying an array of rainbow-colored energy feathers.
Each energy feather harbored the power to subdue deities, annihilate Sky Fiends, and send shivers down the spines of all beings from the extraterrestrial realms.
For cultivators in the Unbound state, the Lunar Spirit, Solar Spirit, and their true form coalesce into one, giving rise to the Divine Visage, its might boundless.
Often, the Divine Visage serves as a hallmark of human cultivators who have reached the Unbound realm and achieved unity with the cosmos.
Upon closer inspection of the Songbird Queen's Divine Visage, one would notice that beyond the distinctive rainbow-colored feathers, the towering form was etched with innumerable glyphs, subtly in sync with the Phoenix Skybreak Array within the city.
It seemed that with a mere thought, the power and might of all of Afnetalos could be summoned to action.
This was akin to Zu Ann revealing his Divine Visage, causing the highest peak of the Everlands, including the entire Skyreach Peak range, to resonate with him. Millennia of accumulated spiritual energy would rally to his cause.
As the Songbird Queen manifested her Divine Visage, the Otherkin powerhouses, archdemons, and Terra Fiends lurking within the Ashen Shadowmist, attempted to probe the seven-colored light feathers with their demon souls, only to feel their very souls on the verge of being rent asunder.
The seven-colored feathers effortlessly obliterated the souls, easily overpowering both the devils and Solar Spirit Realm cultivators.
Whether they were gravely wounded or outright slain, none seemed capable of withstanding their force.
Crack!
A crisp sound emerged from within the Songbird Queen's Divine Visage, echoing throughout Afnetalos.
In an instant, everyone witnessed the intricate and mystical glyphs that adorned the city's terrain, walls, and palace structures crumble to pieces—
As if invisible hands had forcibly torn them apart.
Correspondingly, the glyphs adorning the Songbird Queen's majestic Divine Visage also fractured.
At that moment, the hundred-meter-tall Divine Visage conveyed an eerie sense of instability, as if it were on the brink of catastrophic implosion.
"Your Majesty!"
In the city, loyal members of the Chen family, like Chen Langzhi, wailed in despair.
"Your Majesty, please reconsider!"
Tan Junshan, who had returned from the extraterrestrial realm, was startled by the Songbird Queen's actions and urgently called out to deter her.
Crack! Crack! Crack!
The Songbird Queen's Divine Visage, towering a hundred zhang high, shattered, its seven-colored feathers scattering like broken glass.
The fragments of the Divine Visage transformed into a shower of energy, raining down upon Afnetalos.
An unexpected downpour ensued as the Songbird Queen's Divine Visage disintegrated.
The mournful cries of the Divine Bird echoed from a meticulously carved green phoenix perched on the palace eaves.
Forged from exotic fine gold, the green phoenix had adorned the rooftop since Afnetalos was founded.
This green phoenix was the lynchpin of the Phoenix Skybreak Array, the vessel for the Songbird's artifact soul.
With cries that sounded like sobs, the cyan phoenix, crafted from refined iron, soared into the heavens, merging with its demon soul.
As the Divine Bird spread its wings once more, countless streams of psionic power, stirred by the raindrops from the Songbird Queen's Divine Visage, coalesced and ascended.
Suddenly, a resplendent seven-colored stairway unfurled from within the city, reaching toward the distant skies.
The shattered Divine Visage of the Songbird Queen flickered, and strands of rainbow-colored feathers gently buoyed the stairway leading outward.
Simultaneously, her voice echoed in the hearts of all the sect disciples and elders within the city.
Cultivators, overwhelmed with despair, heard her voice emanating from Heart Lake, and their expressions were struck with awe.
In the next instant.
Representatives from various sects, including Weixian, Jin Xiaolie, Qu Jing, and Zhao Yafu, stepped onto the seven-colored staircase, ascending toward the sky.
Outside Afnetalos, many mixed-blood onlookers with solemn faces watched the staircase that stretched from the city into the sky, their gazes seeking answers from Chen Liangquan.
Chen Liangquan's expression was grave as he stood immovable, like an ancient monolith.
Without a word or command, all the mixed-bloods and Terra Fiends who followed his lead also waited in respectful silence.
"Lord Zu Ann."
Deep within the thick Ashen Shadowmist, a Sky Fiend inquired in a strained, raspy voice.
Yu Yuan instinctively turned his head, noticing a towering specter looming within the dense gray mist, as vast as a mountain, seemingly eager to burst forth and obliterate the rainbow staircase.
Zu Ann's brow furrowed as he gripped the Mirror of Fates, turning to give the entity a cold glance.
The formidable Sky Fiend, on the verge of charging, met Zu Ann's gaze and, as if crushed by the weight of Skyreach Peak, collapsed to the ground with a thunderous crash.
Other Otherkin elites, who had traveled from distant stars, were also tempted to emerge. However, witnessing the Sky Fiend's downfall, they wisely chose to remain silent.
Whoosh!
The crescent moon Tan Junshan had been seated upon drifted from beneath him, gently descending to rest at the foot of the rainbow staircase, akin to a feather of light.
Tan Junshan himself hovered three hundred meters before the archdemon Green Willow, eyeing it with a cautious stare.
He even shook his head at Green Willow, silently cautioning against any hasty actions.
A fierce glint flashed in Green Willow's vertical pupil as it snorted dismissively.
The images of Zhan Tianxiang and Zhao Yafu, two young cultivators training within Shadow's Keep, were clearly visible within the pupil, as if to say Green Willow's restraint was not due to Tan Junshan.
Tan Junshan's mouth quirked, but he held his tongue.
Chen Liangquan remained still, Green Willow silent, and with Zu Ann's stern warning to the Sky Fiend, all the Sky Fiends, Otherkin, hybrids, archdemons, and Terra Fiends respectfully observed the Songbird Queen's Divine Visage shatter, the refined iron Divine Bird take flight, and the formation of the seven-colored staircase.
They also watched as cultivators from various sects within the city seized the chance to descend the rainbow staircase and evacuate from Afnetalos.
Yu Yuan stood in the Crucible of Evil, behind Zu Ann and Chen Liangquan, with the dense Ashen Shadowmist at his back.
Now that the Ashen Shadowmist surrounding the city had been cleared and the green light curtain had vanished, he had a clear view from the floating Crucible of Evil of each person ascending the seven-colored staircase.
Qu Jing, Qi Jinghai, Xie Bin, Jin Xiaolie, Zhao Yafu, Liu Ying, Zhan Tianxiang, Weixian...
Similarly, those descending the rainbow staircase, escorted by the Songbird Queen and Tan Junshan, could also see Yu Yuan among them.
Yu Yuan was clearly aligned with Zu Ann and Chen Liangquan.
Standing behind the two and in front of the Ashen Shadowmist, Yu Yuan's presence spoke louder than any words or actions, seemingly declaring his allegiance to the entire Everlands.
On the rainbow staircase, friends like Liu Ying, Zhao Yafu, and Xie Bin looked on with eyes filled with pain and helplessness.
Jin Xiaolie, on the other hand, appeared shocked and confused, unable to grasp why Yu Yuan, who had no master or sect, would join forces with Zu Ann, Chen Liangquan, and Green Willow.
Those who bore ill will towards Yu Yuan, such as Qu Jing and Qi Jinghai, nodded with a look of realization.
It was now clear that Yu Yuan had conspired with extraterrestrial demons, betraying the Everlands.
Yu Yuan let out a deep sigh.
He suddenly understood that from this day forward, no matter how he tried to explain, the orthodox cultivation sects of the Everlands would lump him together with Zu Ann, Chen Liangquan, Green Willow, and others as demonic entities.
They would see them as rebels of this realm!
Friends like Zhao Yafu and Zhan Tianxiang, and women with whom he shared a subtle connection, like Liu Ying, Yuan Lianyao, and Chen Qingyan, might one day be commanded by their sects to hunt him down.
He might never return to the Forgotten Ruins or be able to walk openly into Asvetaesi again.
The Yu family could also become a target of the Shadowlight Empire because of him.
"Farewell, Your Majesty!"
As the rainbow staircase carried away the sect disciples and cultivators from the city and slowly departed from the towering Afnetalos, Chen Liangquan bowed, paying homage to the fragmented Divine Visage of the Songbird Queen.
Surprisingly, even the ninth-level archdemon Green Willow and Zu Ann bowed slightly in a gesture of respect.
"A cultivator of the Unbound Stage, upon seeing the imperfect land of merge, shattered his Divine Visage and returned to the Solar Spirit."
Zu Ann inhaled deeply, his voice brimming with admiration as he spoke, "The Everlands become a dreamland at the heart of the cosmos because of such individuals! It's the reason why countless Sky Fiends and Otherkin fervently swarm to it, desperate to wander within its bounds."
As a traditional cultivator of the Unbound realm, Zu Ann held the Songbird Queen's actions in high esteem, considering himself among the strongest human cultivators just below those with a primordial spirit.
His speech was laden with commendation.
"Once Her Majesty ascends to the Unbound realm once more, she will emerge even mightier. Her Majesty's future will remain unscathed by today's setback," Chen Liangquan remarked, his respect evident. "On the contrary, if Her Majesty knew of my tampering with Afnetalos and still staunchly refused to retreat, she would have forever lost the chance to attain the Solar Spirit state."
Chen Liangquan, a hybrid from the Chen family, beamed as he spoke.
"This Afnetalos was but a stumbling block I laid on Her Majesty's path of cultivation. His Majesty, truly the First Female Emperor of All Ages, did not fall for it in the slightest, instead breaking free in the most resolute and straightforward manner!"
With each statement, Chen Liangquan paid his respects to the Songbird Queen as she ascended the rainbow staircase.
"Truly lives up to the name," Green Willow commented in a steely tone.
Yu Yuan exclaimed, "She shattered her Divine Visage, plummeting to the Solar Spirit stage!"
Listening to the three magnates converse, Yu Yuan finally grasped the situation. As he watched the Songbird Queen depart, he too was deeply stirred.
Because of the imperfections in Afnetalos, the Songbird Queen, who had chosen the city as her merging ground, shattered her Divine Visage, forsaking the Unbound realm.
The Unbound is the lifelong dream of many cultivators!
Out of millions of cultivators, only a select few ever reach the Unbound realm, making them exceedingly rare.
To have reached such a state, to have formed a Divine Visage and grasped the ultimate truths of the Way of Heaven, and yet to decisively shatter one's realm, reverting to the weaker Solar Spirit stage—
Did they not fear that their Sacred Heart would suffer irreparable damage, hindering any further progress?
