C984 Natural Enemy!
Grec's smile was gentle and understated, his proposal seemingly heartfelt.
Only ten steps away...
Yu Yuan, clutching a fragment of the Dragon Slaying Stage, had exerted his utmost effort. With the ashen stone that entombed the Chronowyrm, he had erected dozens of overlapping spaces between himself and the formidable Demon God, Grec.
What appeared to be a mere ten steps was, in fact, a chasm of dozens of distinct spaces.
This was the pinnacle of power that the Dragon Slaying Stage could muster in his hands, given his current state and strength.
In a way, even if he were to traverse the world at this moment, he might lack the capacity to create as many spatial barriers between himself and Grec.
Nevertheless...
Despite the multitude of spaces separating him from the Demon God, Grec's words and proposal still sent a shiver down his spine.
His entire body—blood, muscles, pores, and organs—felt searing hot, as if about to ignite.
The presence of the Blood Fiend patriarch, along with his dominion over strange powers, had penetrated the stacked spaces and was spreading towards him.
Thump! Thump, thump!
His heart and the crimson Altar of Rebirth pulsated and quivered wildly.
It felt as if his heart would burst, and the Altar of Rebirth was on the verge of crumbling.
His consciousness seemed to be eroded by the abnormality of his body, by the stirrings of his flesh, as if it would collapse at any moment, succumbing to Grec's influence.
He was on the brink of willingly stripping away the Altar of Rebirth and presenting it with both hands.
Thump! Thump, thump!
The thunderous heartbeats emanated from the Golden Elephant God, the Peacock Queen, Zhongli Dapan, Colddeath's Ann Wen, and Cao Yi, each a ninth-level Otherkin leader endowed with robust physiques and abundant vitality.
Not just Yu Yuan, but any being brimming with vital energy was susceptible to Grec's sway.
The more powerful the individual, the more intense the impact.
Conversely, the frail-bodied humans, Spirit Walk and Solar Spirit cultivators, and Otherkin like the enchantresses and Shadowkin, whose strengths did not lie in flesh and blood, were comparatively less affected.
Whoosh!
For titans like Zhongli Dapan, the Golden Elephant God, and Ann Wen, each breath seemed to deplete all their strength.
The formidable Demon God Grec, second in rank among the Star-Spawned Terrors, was a master of vital energy, with an unrivaled understanding of the blood essence across all races. Merely standing still with his "Altar of Rebirth," he caused many of the physically robust individuals present to feel so unwell they nearly vomited blood.
"Give it to me."
He stepped forward once more, a smile gracing his lips. The space between him and Yu Yuan began to undulate, sending out concentric ripples that disturbed the spatial barriers invisible to the average person.
Yu Yuan, seated on the Dragon Slaying Stage where the frost wyrm lay buried, experienced a sudden surge of red in his eyes. His soul seemed tainted by the collapse of his own body, his consciousness and reason now compromised.
The corner of Yu Yuan's mouth quivered, as if he were on the verge of yielding, ready to obediently hand over the Altar of Rebirth.
Then, from the Dragon Slaying Stage beneath him, beams of extreme cold burst forth. These beams, infused with the power of the Frozen Hellscape and the crystalline chains of ice magic, burrowed into Yu Yuan's body, animating his bones, organs, and the recesses of his mind.
Crack, crack!
Yu Yuan's body was encased in ice, transforming into a sculpture before violently shattering, revealing his original form once more. The red glow in his eyes flickered on and off, repeatedly.
By the ninth cycle, the invasive blood influence of the Great Demon God Grec had been purged. Yu Yuan's self-awareness and spiritual wisdom were restored.
He shuddered, suddenly understanding why the frost wyrm, the giant yellow tiger, and the contaminated Otherkin warriors had spiraled into uncontrollable madness. Any creature of flesh and blood could fall prey to possession by Grec!
A mere wisp of Grec's vitality could turn an eighth-level or lower archdemon into a mindless follower, stripped of their selfhood.
Should he choose to expend a drop of his lifeblood and infuse it into a ninth-level archdemon, especially in its weakened state, the odds of successful possession were significantly high.
"Demon God Grec!"
In that instant, Yu Yuan heard the icy challenge from Ji Ningshuang, wielder of the Stardust Blade.
A dazzling sword light, brimming with an intensely cold aura, sliced through the heavens and suddenly lunged towards Grec's chest.
Whoosh!
Beneath Yu Yuan, the Dragon Slaying Stage responded with three hundred beams of cold light that fused into the radiant sword light.
"Stardust Blade!"
"Ji Ningshuang!"
Many experts from the Otherkin and the top cultivators of the Five Great Powers were inwardly stirred.
With Ann Wen incapacitated, Tian Zang gone, Zhongli Dapan's vitality in upheaval, and Luo Yue ensnared by the ice tempest, Yu Yuan found himself without any protectors.
The Golden Elephant God, King of Wraiths, and Yao Huangqi, while wary of Grec's might, also felt that Yu Yuan's fate was of no concern to them.
Beru, Mia, Sansom, and the Otherkin, recognizing Shi Yuxuan as the Demon God Grec, dared not make a move.
They knew all too well Grec's temperament and ferocity.
Should any of them attempt to aid Yu Yuan at this moment, after Grec had revealed his identity, their kin tainted by Grec's aura would perish within seconds!
They themselves would be relentlessly hunted by Grec, obliterating any chance of escape.
As for the Sky Fiend...
Even Youqian had avoided confrontation and retreated to the Land of Terror. Sidla and the other two Demon Gods had already knelt in submission, not daring to resist.
Thus, when the Stardust Blade streaked through the sky, it caught the attention of many.
"Sword Sect, Grand Sword Immortal."
Shi Yuxuan, still in the guise of Grec, watched intently as the sword light, potent enough to grievously wound the three Demon Gods, was severed.
Rip!
In the interstices of different realms, the River of Swords, as if woven from the lifeblood of the Otherkin, was sliced apart by strands of blood light.
The blood light, seemingly composed of the lifeblood of all the Otherkin from the extraterrestrial realms, carried the primal essence of life.
"It's the enigmatic Altar of Rebirth!"
Yu Yuan's mind reeled as he witnessed the Otherkin from the Star River of the Domain transforming into myriad forms of life, each undergoing the cycles of birth, aging, sickness, and death within their respective realms.
Boom!
A figure was hurled from a space rift, ensnared by the Stardust Blade.
Rip!
As the figure passed, space shattered like a mirror.
"Escape! Flee to the extraterrestrial domain!"
A thought rippled through Yu Yuan's Heart Lake: "With the Dragon Slaying Stage in hand, penetrate the Domain Channel and slip into an uncharted land through the passage's fissures!"
At the entrance to the forbidden area, the figure came to an abrupt halt.
Time appeared to stand still.
Ji Ningshuang, now in her true form, gripped the Stardust Blade, her arms drenched in blood. Her own lifeblood, tainted by Grec's power, transformed into vicious insects gnawing at her flesh.
Ice Shard sword light emerged on her arms, dispelling the strange blood.
Her complexion was pale, beads of cold sweat forming on her neck and forehead.
Her eyes locked onto Yu Yuan from a distance, conveying a subtle sense of urgency and desperation.
"Are you concerned for her?"
The Demon God Grec, inhabiting Shi Yuxuan's body, chuckled with a peculiar look, shaking his head. "Surrounded by so many powerhouses in the forbidden area, people who know you, care for you, protect you, yet you remain unmoved. But at the sight of her minor injury, you're actually tense."
"How amusing."
No sooner had he spoken than three massive yellow tigers charged at Ji Ningshuang with a roar.
Simultaneously, the insects, born from Ji Ningshuang's corrupted blood and empowered tenfold by Grec, shattered the Ice Shard sword light and frenziedly consumed Ji Ningshuang's arms.
In a mere moment, Ji Ningshuang's hands were stripped of skin and flesh, leaving only two blood-drenched arm bones.
"Ningshuang!"
"Junior Sister!"
Van Heqing and Xi Quan exclaimed together.
Yu Yuan's face turned a ghastly pale.
"..."
