C984 Natural Enemy
Grec's smile was gentle and understated, his proposal seemingly offered with genuine sincerity.
Merely ten steps away...
Yu Yuan, gripping the Dragon Slash Platform, had exhausted his strength to lay down dozens of overlapping spatial barriers between himself and the Great Demon God Grieg.
What appeared to be a mere ten steps was, in fact, a chasm of dozens of distinct spaces.
This was the pinnacle of power Yu Yuan could muster with his current level of cultivation and strength.
In some respects, even if he were to traverse the world at this moment, he might lack the ability to construct such an extensive array of spatial barriers between himself and Grieg.
Yet...
Despite the layered spaces separating him from Great Demon God Grieg, Yu Yuan's heart pounded with trepidation at Grieg's proposal.
Every fiber of his being—his blood, veins, pores, and every muscle-bound tissue—screamed with a heat that threatened to ignite.
The presence of the Blood Devil Clan patriarch, wielding a mysterious divine power, had pierced through the stacked spaces, reaching out to him.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
His heart and the crimson "Life Altar" pulsed and quaked wildly.
His heart was on the brink of bursting, the "Life Altar" near to shattering.
His consciousness, besieged by his body's anomalies and the stirrings of his flesh, felt on the verge of collapse, ready to yield to Grieg's will.
He was moments away from willingly stripping away the Life Altar and presenting it with both hands.
Thump! Thump! Thump!
Thunderous heartbeats echoed from the likes of the Golden Elephant Ancient God, Peacock King, Zhongli, Blood God Cult's Ann Wen, Cao Yi, and other Ninth Level Outsiders, all with robust physiques and vigorous vitality.
Not just Yu Yuan, but every being of substantial flesh and blood essence was under Grieg's sway.
The more formidable the individual, the more severe the impact.
Conversely, the more frail human cultivators, such as those in the Soul Wandering Stage and Yang God Stage, and races less reliant on physical strength like the female demons and Dark Elfkind, experienced a milder effect.
Whoosh!
For powerhouses like Zhongli, the Golden Elephant Ancient God, and Ann Wen, each breath seemed to drain them of their very strength.
The Great Demon God Grieg, a preeminent figure among the Outland Devaputra and second only in might, stood motionless, his mastery over flesh and blood energy and profound insight into the blood essence of all races so potent that merely his presence caused the assembled titans to feel as if they were on the verge of coughing up blood.
"Give it to me."
He stepped forward once more, a smile playing on his lips. The space between him and Yu Yuan suddenly came alive with undulating ripples, as he effortlessly navigated through invisible spatial barriers.
Yu Yuan, seated on the Dragon Slash Platform that entombed the Frost Dragon, experienced a sudden flare of red in his eyes. His soul seemed tainted by the collapse of his own body, his consciousness and reason now in ruins.
Yu Yuan's mouth twitched, suggesting he might soon relent and willingly produce the Life Altar.
Abruptly, from beneath him, the Dragon Slash Platform erupted with beams of piercing cold ice light. These beams, infused with the power of the Nether Abyss and crystalline chains embodying the extreme cold laws, burrowed into Yu Yuan's body, invigorating his bones, organs, and the recesses of his mind.
Crack crack!
Yu Yuan's form was encased in ice, transforming into a sculpture before violently shattering back to flesh and blood.
The red glow in his eyes flickered on and off, repeatedly.
On the ninth cycle, the blood's erosion from the Great Demon God Grec was finally purged.
Yu Yuan's self-awareness and intellect were restored. He shuddered, instantly understanding why the Frost Dragon, the massive yellow tiger, and the tainted Eighth Level warriors, demons, and monsters had suddenly spiraled into madness.
Flesh and blood beings were susceptible to possession by Grec!
A mere trace of Grec's blood could turn Eighth Level warriors, demons, and monsters into his devoted minions, stripping them of their self-will.
Should he choose to expend a drop of his blood essence and infuse it into a Ninth Level demon, he stood a great chance of seizing control during their moment of weakness.
"Great Demon God Grec!"
It was then that Yu Yuan heard the icy call of the Starfrost Sword wielder, Jee Ningshuang.
A dazzling sword light, brimming with the chill of the cosmos, cleaved through the heavens and hurtled towards Grec's chest.
Whoosh!
Beneath Yu Yuan, the Dragon Slash Platform responded with three hundred strands of cold light, converging with the brilliant sword light.
"Starfrost Sword!"
"Jee Ningshuang!"
Numerous formidable beings from the five great powers inwardly stirred.
With Ann Wen incapacitated, Tian Zang departed, and Zhongli's vitality in chaos, Luo Yue ensnared by the ice storm, Yu Yuan found himself without protectors.
The Golden Elephant Ancient God, Mighty Spirit King, Yao Huangqi, and others were wary of Grieg's might, yet indifferent to Yu Yuan's fate.
Beru, Mia, Sansom, and other non-humans, recognizing Shi Yuxuan as the formidable Great Demon God Grieg, dared not act rashly.
They were acutely aware of Grieg's merciless nature.
Should any of them attempt to aid Yu Yuan after Grieg's identity was revealed, their kin, tainted by Grieg's aura, would perish in an instant.
They themselves would face Grieg's wrath, with all hope of escape snuffed out.
As for the Demon Gods...
Even Yuv Qian had retreated to the Horror Land, and with Sidla and the other two Demon Gods bowing in submission, resistance was unthinkable.
Thus, when the Starfrost Sword cleaved through the air, it caught the attention of many.
"The Sword Sect, the Great Sword Immortal."
Grieg, still in the guise of Shi Yuxuan, watched intently as the sword light capable of grievously wounding Demon Gods Sidla, Mitts, and Adler was intercepted.
At that moment, Yu Yuan sensed that the sword light, drawing upon the Dragon Slash Platform's chilling energy and weaving through layered spaces, had been severed by Grieg.
With a slash, the star-studded sword light, as if arising from the blood of the Outland Star River, was bisected by streaks of crimson.
This bloody radiance, forged from the essence of all Outland beings, pulsed with the raw breath of life.
"The enigmatic Life Altar!"
Yu Yuan's spirit trembled, envisioning the Outland Star River's beings within those crimson beams, morphing into myriad forms across various nations and realms, cycling through life and death.
With a thunderous crash, a figure was flung from a spatial rift by the Starfrost Sword.
As it passed, space shattered like fractured glass.
"Flee! To the Outlands!"
A notion surged in Yu Yuan's heart, "With the Dragon Slash Platform in hand, dive into the Realm's passageway, and through its fissures, seek refuge in lands yet undiscovered!"
The silhouette abruptly halted at the threshold of the forbidden zone, as if time itself had come to a standstill.
Ji Ningshuang, now in her true form, gripped the Starfrost Sword in her bloodied hands. Her own blood, tainted by Grec's power, transformed into vicious insects gnawing at her flesh.
Flecks of cold crystal sword light shimmered on her arms, dispelling the bizarre blood drop by drop.
Her complexion was a shade paler, beads of cold sweat dotting her neck and forehead.
Her gaze met Yu Yuan's across the distance, filled with subtle but urgent pleas.
"You're concerned for her?" Grec, the Great Demon God inhabiting Shi Yuxuan's body, let out a dry chuckle, his expression oddly twisted. "So many powerful allies in the forbidden zone, friends who know you, who care for and protect you, yet you remain unmoved. But the moment she suffers a minor injury, you're suddenly on edge."
"How amusing," he remarked.
No sooner had he spoken than three massive yellow tigers roared and charged at Ji Ningshuang.
Meanwhile, the insects born from her corrupted blood, now infused with tenfold vigor by Grec, shattered her cold crystal sword light and frenziedly feasted upon her arms.
In a mere moment, Ji Ningshuang's flesh was stripped clean, leaving only two blood-drenched bones.
"Ji Ningshuang!"
"Junior Sister!"
Van Heqing and Xi Quan exclaimed together.
Yu Yuan's face turned a grim shade of iron.
