High above the clouds, within the vast expanse of the sky.
The Dragon Palace was barely radiating its orange-gold glow, still trapped within the vortex of black smoke, struggling to withstand the furious assault from outside.
Of the primordial year beasts that had been turned by the Demon Venerable's phantom soul, only three remained.
The rest had been shot down one by one by Wu Shuai, who commanded the Dragon Palace. As for how these year beast corpses crashed into the ground, shattering mountains and claiming countless innocent lives, neither side in the battle cared — least of all about how the common mortal youth Wang Er's life had been turned upside down.
The black smoke clinging to the three remaining primordial year beasts gradually dissipated, restoring their sanity. They turned back to fight the Demon Venerable's phantom soul once more.
But Wu Shuai's mood was heavy.
These primordial year beasts had all been painstakingly collected by Fang Yuan in his attempt to restore the Twelve Zodiac Battle Formation. Yet in this desperate moment, he had been forced to deploy them just to hold the line.
And in the end, under the Demon Venerable's techniques, they had been turned against him instead.
After this ordeal, the three surviving primordial year beasts were covered in wounds, utterly incapable of breaking the stalemate. Fang Yuan's hand had been effortlessly countered by the Demon Venerable's phantom soul — the whole process, he had handled with ease.
The phantom soul could not only suppress soul beasts, but even ordinary enslavement-type methods were ineffective against him. Worse still, he could turn them to his advantage!
Wu Shuai's anxiety deepened: "How much longer can we hold on like this?"
Fang Yuan's brow was equally furrowed. He was currently fighting the Demon Venerable's phantom soul while trying to sustain the situation in the outside world, but inside his Supreme Immortal Aperture, myriad calamities raged — a dire situation indeed. In this brief span of time, a great number of resource sites within the small Southern Border had already been destroyed outright, and the losses were mounting at an alarming rate.
Worse still, even if Fang Yuan severed a portion of his Immortal Aperture, he could not escape the myriad calamities. The Heavenly Dao marks that gave rise to these calamities came from a highly special source and could be freely transferred. The only way forward was to grit his teeth and endure, diligently weathering the tribulation — only then might he have a chance of overcoming this monumental crisis.
The Demon Venerable's phantom soul's eyes glinted with cold light, but rather than pressing the attack and striking a ruthless blow at the Dragon Palace, it turned its gaze toward where it had come from.
At the edge of its vision, a tiny dot appeared first.
But soon, that small black dot rapidly expanded as a primordial legendary beast gradually revealed its true form. It had a turtle-like shell, four ferocious tiger claws, a dragon's tail and a snake's neck, and atop that snake's neck sat a human head — hair wild and disheveled, its face a mask of madness and twisted fury.
It was Qing Chou, pursuing them into battle!
Qing Chou charged in killing intent. The Demon Venerable's phantom soul neither dodged nor retreated. Instead, the corner of its mouth curled into a cold, sinister smile: "You've come to deliver yourself to death? How wonderful."
However, when Qing Chou closed to within striking distance of the Demon Venerable's phantom soul, the edges of its turtle shell popped with a muffled boom, instantly condensing into a pair of enormous bat wings! They bore a striking resemblance to the ghost wings of the Azure-Clawed Ghost-Winged Lion.
Immortal killer move — Azure Maw!
Qing Chou threw open its mouth. Being merely a human face, its mouth was not particularly large. But as it opened now, a massive blackish-green vortex formed before it.
The vortex expanded violently and shot forth like lightning, swallowing the Demon Venerable's phantom soul whole in a single gulp.
The vortex shrank in an instant and withdrew into Qing Chou's mouth. Qing Chou clamped its lips shut, its Adam's apple bobbing as a clearly visible bulge — a sphere — traveled down its long, serpentine neck and descended all the way into its belly.
"A perfect opening!" In that instant, a blinding gleam of light more than an inch long burst from Wu Shuai's eyes.
"This move was saved just for you — trash!" Qing Chou swallowed the phantom soul, threw its head back, and roared in exhilaration. Another flood of memories surged forth…
"What? All three Gu Immortals we dispatched were killed by Ming You?"
"Impossible!"
"But it's the truth. Ming You first feigned weakness, deliberately getting himself injured to lure our three immortals into splitting up and searching separately. Then he lay in ambush, and once he spotted the right moment, he launched a treacherous sneak attack. Our three immortals let their guard down, and all three fell to his vicious hand."
The great hall of the Qing family fell deathly silent.
They had wanted to reclaim their honor, but instead they had suffered catastrophic losses. Seventh Transformation Gu Immortals were not so easily cultivated, and among the fallen were some of the Qing family's elite seventh-level powerhouses.
This loss was devastating to the Qing family — one that could truly be said to have broken bone and torn sinew.
"Ming You deserves to die! We were careless… This lesson is too profound. We must sear it into our hearts and pass it down as a family precept. As for what comes next — I shall handle it personally." The Qing family's Supreme Grand Elder spoke.
The assembled immortals remained silent, none voicing objection.
Using an Eighth Transformation Gu Immortal to deal with a seventh-level Ming You was clearly bullying the weak with strength. But the Qing family could not afford another defeat — every superpower in the Western Desert was watching them and laughing!
However, just as the Qing family's Supreme Grand Elder was about to set out, he received a challenge letter.
This letter Gu came from another Western Desert superpower, one with deep enmity toward the Qing family. The Supreme Grand Elder of that superpower had challenged the Qing family's Supreme Grand Elder to a duel — the outcome would determine the boundary demarcation between the two powers.
"How contemptible — at a time like this!" The Qing family Gu Immortals cursed in frustration.
"This is clearly deliberate on their part. But the boundary demarcation concerns the ownership of a major resource site. The interests at stake are too great. What do you think?" The Supreme Grand Elder hesitated for a moment.
"Allow me to take Ming You's life." The Qing family's Second Grand Elder stepped forward.
"You?" The Supreme Grand Elder wavered.
The Second Grand Elder smiled: "Though I am only at the Seventh Transformation, Ming You is severely wounded and cannot recover in time. Moreover, his true nature has already been exposed. His methods, while novel and bizarre, are mostly of the soul variety. And my primordial desolate beast — the Azure-Clawed Ghost-Winged Lion — is his natural bane. More than that, I have created an immortal move inspired by the Azure-Clawed Ghost-Winged Lion, called the Azure Maw. Once activated, it can devour souls and spirits. Everyone, do not worry — I will certainly claim this Southern Border Gu Immortal's life!"
"Very well. You may go. Be cautious on this journey." The Supreme Grand Elder finally nodded in agreement.
"With the Second Grand Elder going in person, success is guaranteed!"
"Ming You is already a dead man — no longer a concern. The real difficulty right now is this challenge letter."
"Second Grand Elder, you must avenge Qing Hualan and the others!"
…
"I've finally avenged us!" As the memory faded, Qing Chou's voice choked with emotion, and scalding tears streamed from its crimson eyes.
Great vengeance achieved — infinite satisfaction.
"What a familiar sight…" The Demon Venerable's phantom soul's voice, perfectly composed and unhurried, suddenly echoed from within Qing Chou's belly.
Qing Chou's body froze instantly.
And then, it felt the bitterness.
Immense bitterness.
Utterly indescribable, utterly unbearable bitterness!
Bitter. Far too bitter.