Chapter 234: Do You Have a Choice?
The rolling demonic qi, viscous as if almost tangible, surged forth entirely from the depths of the earth. At this instant, heaven and earth lost their color. The sun and moon dimmed.
At this moment, Yun Yi's consciousness seemed to merge into this newly transformed stretch of heaven and earth. Wherever his will moved, any place in the world could be reached at will. Countless mountains, rivers, and plains flashed past within his consciousness, finally seeming to return to nothingness...
His consciousness was extremely domineering and tyrannical. Although the surrounding space intensely rejected and repelled him, he still forcibly shattered certain barriers.
At a certain moment, his consciousness seemed to drift slightly, spreading towards the void. The entire world reflected within his consciousness.
His consciousness overlooked the world. Within the void, Primal Chaos Light appeared...
"It truly wasn't easy to meet you!" Yun Yi gazed at the Plane Seed ahead and sighed softly.
At this moment, upon the Plane Seed, under that Primal Chaos Light, pitch-black demonic markings had emerged. This was the result of Yun Yi having polluted the territory of the Dou Qi Continent.
"Buzz—"
Sensing Yun Yi's arrival, the Plane Spirit began to tremble violently. An extreme sense of rejection transmitted from the entire space, as if it would expel him from this space in the very next second.
Feeling this, Yun Yi turned his head to look at a familiar figure deep within the Primal Chaos Sea and chuckled lightly, "So this... is your choice?"
The Primal Chaos Light above Xiao Yan's head transformed into a spirit embryo roughly the size of a palm. This spirit embryo hovered there, a hazy, indistinct consciousness transmitting forth: "Outsider... leave this place. This world does not welcome you..."
"Heh—" Hearing this, Yun Yi sneered coldly, "Had you chosen me from the very beginning, why would I have needed to go to so much trouble, ending up in today's situation? Now that I have entered today, it won't be so easy for me to leave!"
As he spoke, Yun Yi's palm swiftly shot out, grabbing towards the Plane Seed. The instant his palm touched the spirit embryo, brilliant, dazzling spiritual light swept across this stretch of heaven and earth.
In a haze, Yun Yi's soul consciousness seemed to touch the very origin of heaven and earth. All the mountains, rivers, and geography of the entire Dou Qi Continent—all creation between heaven and earth—rapidly flashed through his mind. It gave him a powerful sensation of being able to control everything in the world.
Yet this sensation came quickly and left just as fast. As the spiritual light dispersed, the spirit embryo vanished before him. His hand grasped at empty air.
Bang—
Xiao Yan, who had been sitting cross-legged there, slowly opened his eyes. With a palm strike, he slapped towards Yun Yi's hand.
"Yun Yi! Leave the Dou Qi Continent! This is not a place for the likes of you to come!" Xiao Yan roared furiously. Thinking of the scenes he had just witnessed—the countless figures cruelly massacred and dead beneath those rolling demonic qi—a blazing fury ignited in his heart.
"A joke! In this universe, there is no place I cannot go!" Yun Yi replied with a cold sneer. His domineering voice echoed within the plane space, stirring up wave after wave of ripples.
"Slaughtering countless living beings of the Dou Qi Continent—do you not fear retribution?!" Xiao Yan looked at Yun Yi, forcibly suppressing the fury in his heart, and questioned him.
"Retribution?" Hearing this, Yun Yi seemed to have heard something utterly laughable. He smiled mockingly.
"In this world, the strong are retribution! Their deaths only prove they were not strong enough! The weak can only survive under the laws of the strong! When I become the strongest... who can bestow retribution upon me?!"
"Bastard—"
"Receive the fury of the Dou Qi Continent!"
Yun Yi's words completely detonated the fury in Xiao Yan's heart. He lightly pressed his palms together, then formed an extremely ancient hand seal. As this seal was completed, this space seemed to erupt with a humming, buzzing sound.
Swoosh! Swoosh!
Rays of Primal Chaos Light shot from all directions, finally shrouding Xiao Yan's body. Under that radiance, ancient markings actually surfaced on his skin, one after another.
Those patterns were like the patterns of heaven and earth themselves—miraculous and natural.
He clenched his palm. A heavy ruler, permeated with the color of primal chaos, appeared in his grasp. The heavy ruler abruptly slashed and hacked downwards. Instantly, raging, surging Heavenly Flames swept forth turbulently, transforming into a ten-thousand-zhang ruler glow that shot out explosively.
"A futile struggle!"
Watching the incoming attack, Yun Yi snorted coldly. Boundless demonic qi surged in his palm. In the next instant, it violently erupted.
"Devouring Evil Beast!"
The demonic qi churned and seethed. In the blink of an eye, it swelled and expanded. Then, amidst a sharp, piercing roar, it actually transformed into an incomparably enormous, giant dark beast.
That giant beast's entire body surged with evil light. Its beastly eyes were filled even more with brutality, tyranny, and slaughter—as if it wanted to destroy all creation and devour everything.
Roar—
Watching the incoming ruler glow, the dark giant beast opened its colossal, abyss-like mouth and swallowed it into its belly in a single gulp.
"Heaven-Devouring World-Destroying Hand!" Yun Yi pressed his advantage, fiercely stomping his foot once more.
Boom!
The surrounding space shattered layer by layer. Countless ten-thousand-zhang demonic qi shot into the sky. Within that rolling demonic qi, an indescribable, unimaginable giant hand extended from the depths of the earth.
That giant hand was utterly pitch-black, radiating a boundless sense of evil. Under a single palm, even an empire or dynasty would likely be annihilated beneath it.
Under that demonic hand, even Hun Tiandi's earlier Blood Emperor Body, which had been ten thousand zhang tall, appeared utterly minuscule and insignificant.
At the center of its palm, there was actually a pitch-black giant mouth. That giant mouth was like a black hole. As it writhed, it seemed to devour all things between heaven and earth into it.
Once fallen inside, even top-tier experts at the nine-star Dou Sheng level would be forcibly reduced to nothingness in an instant.
Xiao Yan, watching the incoming demonic hand, had calm, tranquil eyes. He lightly raised his palm. Brilliant, dazzling flames howled over, finally converging in his palm and transforming into a dazzling cluster of fire.
That dazzling cluster of fire was exceedingly beautiful, presenting a color of primal chaos, yet also seeming to contain thousands upon thousands of colors. Only, beneath that swaying, dancing beauty... was contained a terrifying power that made one's heart tremble with fear.
The power of this flame of Xiao Yan's already approached closely that of the Emperor Flame, ranked first on the Heavenly Flame List. Once this flame landed on the Dou Qi Continent, a radius of several hundred thousand li would likely be transformed into a sea of fire in an instant. All living beings within it would be annihilated along with it.
The dazzling, brilliant flames churned. Every time a tongue of flame leaped up, it caused that stretch of space to continuously collapse. Then fragments of spatial debris fell down, directly incinerated into nothingness by the flames.
The dazzling cluster of fire churned in Xiao Yan's hand, then rapidly compressed. Several breaths later, an exquisitely delicate fire lotus appeared in his hand.
It was precisely Xiao Yan's signature, renowned ultimate technique—the Buddha Fury Fire Lotus!
Holding the fire lotus, Xiao Yan looked at Yun Yi and smiled coldly and fiercely. Then, with a flex of his finger, he flicked it. That delicate, dazzling fire lotus slowly drifted forth, heading straight for Yun Yi.
Boom!
The fire lotus spun, tracing a beautiful tail of flame through the void. Facing the sky-covering, sun-blotting demonic hand, the fire lotus didn't pause in the slightest. It directly transformed into a streak of fiery light and directly crashed into it.
At the instant the two made contact, the fire lotus blossomed to its most perfect moment. Immediately following, boundless, endless flames, as if billions upon billions of volcanoes were erupting simultaneously, filled the entire space with dazzling, brilliant flames.
Clang!
"Xiao Yan! You still fall short by a level!"
Within the sea of fire, Yun Yi was cold and indifferent. His palm abruptly clenched. Endless demonic light converged from all directions, finally forming a ferocious, malevolent black great halberd.
Swish!
Yun Yi, wielding the great halberd, shot forth explosively. Demonic qi rippled. In the next instant, the spear tip trembled. Shadow after shadow of the halberd roared forth like demonic dragons, thrusting towards Xiao Yan's vital points.
"Eternal Heavenly Flame Ruler!"
Facing Yun Yi's attack, within the fiery light, Xiao Yan's figure shot out explosively. A low shout rang out. Raging, blazing flames coalesced before him, finally actually transforming into an enormous fiery ruler. Terrifying flames blazed upon it.
"Sever!" The ruler body slashed down, as if even heaven and earth were cleaved apart. A scorching, blazing heat pervaded the world.
Clang!
The sound of clashing metal resounded. What followed was an impact like a tempest. In the void, as far as the eye could see, space continuously collapsed. Even spatial fragments couldn't withstand that impact and burst apart.
"Boom! Boom! Boom!"
In a mere few minutes' time, within the space, the two figures had already exchanged over a thousand rounds.
Bang—
In the blink of an eye, a flash of black light streaked across the void. The two figures also came to a halt. Deep within that space, a human figure faintly appeared. Impaled backwards into his body was a zhang-long, ferocious, malevolent great halberd.
That figure was precisely Xiao Yan. Only, at this moment, the surface of his body was actually covered with cracks. Seen from afar, he looked like a shattered porcelain doll.
"Truly tenacious..." Yun Yi looked at the shattered Xiao Yan. At this moment, strands of Primal Chaos-colored energy were surging into his body from around him, repairing his shattered form.
"However, this is the end!"
As his voice fell, a pitch-black radiance grew larger and larger in Xiao Yan's eyes, until finally, his vision completely darkened.
The outside world.
On a certain mountain range in the Central Plains, Xiao Yan sat quietly cross-legged. The Primal Chaos Light around his body grew thicker and more intense as time passed. Then, it seemed as if the entire world was trembling at this moment.
At a certain moment, his body began to tremble violently. Between heaven and earth, black demonic markings flashed and vanished in an instant.
Pfft—
In that instant, Xiao Yan abruptly opened his eyes. A mouthful of fresh blood sprayed from his mouth. His face ashen pale, he collapsed to the ground. That state of merging with heaven and earth he had just been in had actually been forcibly expelled by another, extremely terrifying power.
He clearly knew what that power was. At this moment, his eyes lifeless and blank, he lay on the ground, gazing at the blood-red array in the sky. He murmured, "Defeated... Everything has failed..."
A moment later, ignoring the feeling of weakness within his body, he forcibly summoned a trace of Dou Qi, slowly rose, and headed towards the distant Gu Clan's great army. Even if he was to die in the end, he wanted to be with the most important people in his life.
Just as Yun Yi and Xiao Yan were battling within the plane space, within a certain mysterious space, a light chuckle rang out.
"It seems you have lost!"
In a sea of fire, a black-robed young man sat quietly cross-legged. At this moment, he opened his eyes, which shone as brilliantly as the stars, and looked into the distance, speaking softly.
The surroundings were a sea of fire, and the color of this sea of fire presented a multicolored, varied and diverse appearance, dazzling and gorgeous to the point of stunning awe.
This was a sea of fire composed of the Heavenly Flames of the Dou Qi Continent. Around him, one Heavenly Flame after another clustered close to him, wanting to draw near and appear more intimate, yet also avoiding and shunning him for some reason.
Deep within the sea of fire, flames coalesced and condensed, transforming into an enormous flower bud of flame. The flower bud slowly bloomed and unfurled. Inside sat cross-legged an aged figure clad in dark-colored robes.
The young man was precisely Jiang Yun, who had entered the Ancient Emperor's inheritance space. And the old man was precisely the Dou Qi Continent's last Dou Di of these past ten thousand years—Tuo She Ancient Emperor!
At this moment, hearing Jiang Yun's voice, Tuo She Ancient Emperor opened his eyes. He gazed at the young man not far away and sighed with a deep, quiet melancholy, "One move short... It seems, ultimately, I am no match for you!"
Hearing this, Jiang Yun showed no trace of pride. Instead, he replied calmly, "I could have broken through to Dou Di long ago. If it were not for the sake of rapidly breaking through to Heavenly Sovereign, I wouldn't have needed to go through such extensive trouble. I made ample preparations. One could say I had already paved ninety-nine percent of the way. If under these circumstances I still lost to you... then how could I ever achieve the goal in my heart?"
Tuo She Ancient Emperor looked at Jiang Yun with a complicated expression and sighed quietly once more, "If only you were not a person from that realm... how wonderful that would be."
Jiang Yun remained silent. His origin was not something he could decide. All he wanted was to free the Evil Spirit Clan from the Extraterritorial Evil Clan and allow them to live freely and unrestrainedly in this universe.
Even if this goal was extremely difficult to achieve, he was still striving and working hard for it.
"If you succeed... how will you treat the living beings of the Dou Qi Continent?" Tuo She Ancient Emperor seemed to have accepted the fate he was about to face. He looked at Jiang Yun with a burning, intense gaze and asked.
Hearing Tuo She Ancient Emperor's question, Jiang Yun didn't answer. Instead, he stared unblinkingly at the other, remaining silent. His eyes were deep and profound, like black holes, making it impossible to discern the thoughts within.
Watching Jiang Yun's reaction, Tuo She Ancient Emperor sighed once more and spoke softly, "So be it. I am merely a remnant wisp of consciousness. Now, I cannot even protect myself. The living beings of the Dou Qi Continent... will depend on their own fortune."
"When I gathered spirits and achieved the Emperor's throne, it was all thanks to the Flame Incantation. Only after becoming an Emperor did I learn a trace of this cultivation method's origins. I never imagined that ten thousand years later, this cultivation method would actually be obtained by its 'enemy.' Truly, the affairs of the world are unpredictable."
"However, I believe you are not that kind of person. Handing this inheritance over to you cannot be considered a betrayal of the original body's original intent."
As his voice fell, Tuo She Ancient Emperor lightly flexed his finger and flicked it. This boundless, endless, dazzling sea of fire suddenly began to writhe. Finally, fire dragons surged, coalescing in mid-air into a fist-sized, brilliant and beautiful flame lotus seed. On the surface of the lotus seed, many small flames leaped and danced.
"My inheritance... requires a heart as firm and unwavering as solid rock. As long as a single thought persists... one may endure indestructibly!"
Tuo She Ancient Emperor gazed at Jiang Yun and smiled faintly. Then, with a light flick of his finger, that dazzling, brilliant flame lotus seed slowly drifted down, finally hovering above the top of Jiang Yun's skull.
"Heh—"
Seeing this, Jiang Yun sneered coldly. Raising his head, he looked at that fire lotus radiating a strange, peculiar luster. The black-and-white flames within his body transformed into two demonic dragons that shot into the sky, swallowing it into their bellies in a single gulp.
Watching the stunned, blank-faced Tuo She Ancient Emperor, Jiang Yun sneered, "Old bastard, who are you putting on an act for? Did you have a choice?"